This Hotel complex is HUGE, they are three hotla together, but you don't have that bad sensation of being enclosed in a BIG building with the standard pool... all the buildings and the restaurants have a nice mexican style. Rooms are really comfortable and big, staff is really nice. Location is perfect, near to the main places (XEl-Ha, Tulum, Playa del carmen ... ), i wouldn't recommend to book a tour with them because of course is more expensive, if you go to playa del carmen there are many people in the streets offering fantastic tours so much cheaper. I would definetly recommend this Hotel to everybody... if you want to stay in the Hotel you have ALL you need, if you want to travel and go around, you have everithing near... I booked the all package trough Lastminute... the price of the hotel was cheap but I wouldn't recommend to flight with Monarch Airline (from london)... it's like a Ryanair flight ... lasting 9 hours! DEFINETLY CHOOSE THIS HOTEL, WON'T REGRET!

I have to give this place a GREAT review. This was a 30th birthday celebration trip and it was a blast - mainly b/c it was all about relaxation and having fun. The resort, including beach, is beautiful and the staff is extremely friendly and polite. The food was good but be prepared for buffet dining at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I highly recommend the chips n salsa - yum yum! Depending on how many days you stay - there are limits on how many times you can eat at the other various restaurants on the resorts. 2 thing you must do: 1. make sure you grab a drink at the bar on the beach 2. go on the snorkeling trip that leaves from the resort - the guys walk around the beach selling this trip. One more must do: when you stop at the bar on the beach for a pina colada and also sign up for the great snorkelling trip - please tell Angel (bartender), Juan & Giovanni (sales guys) that the 4 bonita chicas from Pennsylvania said HOLA! These guys are great - they totally made our trip memorable.

Side note: double check your room reservation before you leave for vacation. Make sure you get the rooms which you booked!

My husband and I went two years ago to the Akumal section of GBP and could not wait to take our friends and family.
Our group of 17 had a fabulous time as expected. We were there from June 16-26th. We stayed in bldg 51and took up the entire bottom level.

The snack bar has the best ice cream and guacamole!!!

The services and facilities were top notch and the staff were outstanding. They have a way of making you feel at home in this huge resort. The nightly shows are very entertaining and worth seeing. It's was so nice to be able to visit the other sections for a change of pace during our stay.

A funny personal note; I fell in love with the lounge singer (Tony) the last time that we were there and I was so happy to see that he is still there! My husband was very amused!
We can't wait to go back!

We just returned from the Akumal July 8th, 2007. There were 6 of us ranging in age from 2 years to 62 years old. There was plenty to do and eat at the Akumal to satisfy everyone completely.

We arrived around midnight, and found the staff quite efficient and accomodating. There was a 24 hour snack bar which was great since our airline barely fed us and we were famished.

The rooms were quite spacious and easily slept a family of four with a king sized bed, a day bed and a extra double set up for us when we arrived. The plumbing was fine, the water was purified, the mini fridge and coffee makers were well stocked.

The grounds were impecably well kept and beautiful. The pools were quite large and very clean. The beach was spectacular.

The a la cart restaurants were a mixed bag. The Mexican was the best, the others were fair to aweful in my opinion, and I'm by no means picky or particular at all. The buffet was really quite good. There was always plenty of choices at any time of day, and there were never any lineups. The wait staff all around were very good, seemingly happy and eager to please, but not always hasty and sometimes forgetful, especially in the buffet.

The mini club for kids was somewhat well stocked, airconditioned and had a really basic playground. We didn't spend more than a couple hours there all week as my kids prefered the pool and the beach. I wouldn't advise leaving your children there as when we were there, the only supervisor was a 16 year old girl who spent most of her time playing xbox and not attending to the children under her care.

The mini disco run by Carlitos was a highlight of the trip for my kids. It's on the main stage by the lobby every night at 8:00pm. Gets the kids really tired and ready for bed.

The extra curricular activities and day trips offered at the hotel were quite expensive and a little dissapointing IMHO. Between the four adults we chartered a fishing boat $150 for 2 hours and caught only sea sickness in the 6 foot swells; snorkeling at turtle reef $40 per person were forced to wear uncomfortable life jackets and glimpsed 2 turltes for about a split second; went on a day trip to Xel-Ha ( a snorkeling park ) $69 per person and enjoyed the time away from the kids more than anything, stay away from lazy river, it's more like immoveable river and takes you 2 hours to swim down it!

If you want to save money or better yet time, snorkeling out from the beach at Akumal is just as good as Turlte island or Xel-Ha. If you want to do one better, there is a little hidden bay with a beach just around the southern tip of the hotel past the rocky section where very few people go. There my wife and I had one of the best snorkeling experiences of our lives being surrounded by a school of literally a hundred thousand fish, followed a 6 foot stingray, saw hundreds of varieties of reef fish and corals.

My only complaint about Akumal is the exchange rate on Canadian dollars is grossly misrepresented. At the hotel they will gladly exchange your CAD$ for 6.5 pesos per dollar. The real exchange rate is more like 10 pesos per dollar. In Playa Del Carmen you can get the real exchange rate, just not at the hotel.

Other than that, there is little to complain about at the Akumal. We chose this hotel because others on this website rated it highly, and it certainly is deserving of it. Just beware that any of the extra pay as you go activities are not the best value, but if you only want to enjoy what the hotel and environment has to offer, you will not be dissapointed.