Just got back from the Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda near Playa del Carmen. We were looking for a gay-friendly hotel in the area. The hotel staff were polite to us, and over-all, I would say this place could be considered gay friendly. The hotel has almost 1,000 rooms, and we were there From April 26 - May 3rd - towards the end of the busy season. We were lucky to be there at a time when the hotel had a very low occupancy rate - only about 25 - 30% full. So from about 250 hotel guests, we saw about 3 other gay couples. What was nice about being there when the hotel was not full was we were able to find our own corner to hang out in by the pool where we were not going to be disturbed. The hotel has about 5 big buildings, and they seemed to keep the adults-only area well away from the families area. This means that the adults who don't want to be surrounded by kids on their vacation don't have to be.

Good points about the hotel:
1) The little cabans on the beach looking out onto the ocean were perhaps the nicest part of the place. It was really great to relax there, and it was quite easy to get a caban to enjoy when we went as there were not too many people. The other review sound like it was hard to find a spot when the hotel was more full.
2) The food was quite good. And the drinks were non-stop at the open bars. This was the first all-included vacation I have been on. Very enjoyable, but the challenge is not to eat too much when so much is available.
3) For gay travelers, you can expect to be comfortable here. I would recommend going at off-peak travel times so you can avoid the large crowds. However, if you are looking for a gay, gay, gay destination, this is not the place for you.

Bad points about the hotel:
1) If you are not lucky enough to get a room with one bed for the two of you, you'll be forced to have a room with two "double" beds. These are not large enough for two people to share comfortably. The staff were reasonably respectful, if not entirely comfortable, in booking to men into a room with one king sized bed.
2) Make sure you book a room off the ground floor - there are mosquitos on the first floor.
3) Over-all we had a good experience there, but the hotel is more of a 4 star pretending to be a 5 star. For example, the spa looked nice, but many of the jets in the pools didn't work.
4) MOST importantly, if you want a hotel with beautiful, clear, swimmable oceans, DO NOT stay here. I knew from other reviews that the water was bad, but it was still disappointing to see that there was so much sea weed in the water that you really could not swim. If you want nice water, stay closer to Play del Carmen. For that reason alone, do your research about the water conditions at your hotel.

Over-all, the hotel was very nice. Super relaxing. And being there in the off-season was good also. We had a hard time finding the gay bars in Playa del Carmen, but there were a lot more gay couples on the beach in the town of Playa del Carmen than on the beach at the BBGE hotel (which is 10 minutes up the coast).

Great place to relax, but not so great if you are looking for lots to do.

Spent the week of April 12, 2208 to April 19, 2008 at this resort and had a wonderful time.

We read a lot of reviews about bad experiences with this resort so we were not expecting a lot but we were pleasantly surprised.

Beach - The beach itself is very clean however the water is murky. There is a lot of seaweed present in the water which does not make for a pleasant swim. If you like walking on the beach not a problem.

Pools- there are three huge pools. 2 by the beach and one at the top of the resort. The two by the beach were the most popular but we had no trouble finding chairs, though shade was a problem. Pools were very clean. There was good pool service for drinks and staff were continually picking up empty glasses and keeping the area clean. We tipped but not too excess. ($1.00 went a long way)

Food – Excellent. 6 a la Carte restaurant and we tried them all. You have to make reservation the day ahead you cannot book all at one. Only one bad experience at the seafood resturant, we just marked it as a bad day for them and moved on. The French, Mexican, Oriental, Steakhouse and Italian were great both in service and food. There are three buffets, one by the beach, one near the lobby and one by the upper pool. All were good but we enjoyed the one by the lobby the most, had a greater selection of food and it was indoors. The lobby buffet is the only buffet open for dinner and while we didn’t have any issues getting a table we did see others lined up, to solve this just watch what time you go, the most popular time appear to be between 8:00 – 9:00 pm

Rooms - Clean and modern. Maid service not a problem. (We read that people had problems with the “Do Not Disturb” sign, note it really says “Maid Service Please” so if the maid knock don’t get upset read the sign.

Staff- Friendly and very accommodating. English is not their first language, but they do try and we are in Mexico so we tried also to speak Spanish, so between their broken English and our broken Spanish we laughed a lot but we got service. Evening shows were enjoyable.

Bars: - no problems getting service at any of the bars and there are bars everywhere, more at night than during the day. Again we tipped but not every time. The drinks were weak, which is in our opinion very typical for all inclusive. Just ask for more booze in the drink, problem solved.

Overall – We had a wonderful time and met some wonderful people. Would we go back, yes if the price was right but not during peak season. One last note to be mindful of: We had one day where the air had an odour of burning garbage, this is because there is a waste plant near the resort and depending the weather conditions and the wind you might smell it.

We spent 2 weeks at the Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda, to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. The hotel lived upto and exceeded all the gloss published in the travel agents brochure. From arrival at the resort, where we were met with a cold fizzy drink and escorted to our room through until we checked out, the all inclusive experience was immense. Food was very good with 3 buffet venues for breakfast and lunch and 1 for dinner and 7 specialised restaurants, reservation required, where you could dine in style and luxury. Drinks were on tap, cocktails by the pool and good wines with dinner, be careful of the tequilla, the cervesa was good and cold. The staff were excellent, welcoming and friendly, nothing was to much for them, they were the best part of an amazing holiday experience. Facilities, Gym and Spa and 2 amazing swimming pools, 1 really large. Although the hotel is very large, 900 rooms, you never felt that it was crowded. We would recommend Mexico and especially the Blue Bay group and Grand Esmeralda.

Before booking we had read the comments on the internet about this resort, there were so many negative comments we nearly cancelled. But are we ever glad we didn't, although we would have had a bery good price for 2 weeks we decided only one, big mistake it would have been wonderful to spend 2 weeks at this resort. First & most impressive to my husband and I were the accessiblity for whellchairs, being a former health care worker, maybe that is why we noticed it. Plenty of ramps,very wide, elevators, also huge showers. Bathrooms at the restaurants, lobby, very accessible. Bravo, we have told our travel agent about these accomadations.Again Bravo.

Food: Excellent, lots of choice, something for everyone, even people with children 5 stars

Cleanliness: Our room 6236, was super clean, change of towels in P.M. Corridors and grounds very clean 5 stars

A la Carte Restaurant: Excellent food, excellent service but if you want quiet, remember this is not an adult only resort 5 stars

Service: At the reception, Bar,Restaurants, very courterous & helpul. Especially J.J. from signature tours 5 stars

Animation: Very energetic at the pool, the shows at night cannot comment early to to bed , early to rise.

Beach: Would need more Parasols, this resort went from 200 to 900 rooms.

The only negative comment about this resort is the beach area in front of our hotel , sandy & musky, we solved this problem by going just a bit further down, 3 min walk. This is a Grand Resort, anybody that has anything negative to say should stay home & shovel snow. We would definetely go again & we would recomment this place to anyone, a great place for a family vacation & also couples. We go down south every year.