Our 4-Day/5-Night Stay at Bahia Principe in Akumal, Mexico

While we enjoy engaging food tours in foreign countries, hiking volcanoes, and riding in hot air balloons over ancient ruins, sometimes we just need to kick back and relax. We chose to spend five days and four nights at the all-inclusive Bahia Principe in Akumal, Mexico for a quick, but relaxing break. There are 4 resorts on the Bahia Principe complex. As a guest at any one of them, you can access as a guest. We chose this Akumal-based resort because it was well-rated, had a good location, and was a pretty good value for the stay. Most of all, we wanted a place where we could relax in between our other travels!

We stayed specifically in the Bahia Principe Luxury Akumal within the Bahia Principe resort. The Luxury Akumal part of the resort has 3 pools, including an adult only one, a swim up bar, and beach access with lounge chairs. 

The facilities were clean and all of the staff were very friendly, always smiling and helpful.  

Aside from swimming and sunning, you can also participate in various activities, like water aerobics, all kinds of contests, shows, water sports, or even things like pottery painting.  

Shows 

In the evening, you can attend various shows, including music/dance performances, acrobatics, or magic. We went to Origen, a small scale cirque du soleil-like show, which was very good. The only annoying thing were other guests holding their phones up to take photos and videos the whole time… but otherwise this show was definitely worth it. It honestly exceeded our expectations. The performances were great, the effects awesome, and even the stage settings were wonderful. We also caught the tail end of a magic show, which seemed pretty good, as well. Honestly not sure how they do some of those stunts. Pretty impressive!   

Excursions

Snorkeling with Sea Turtles 

Snorkeling with sea turtles seems to be a very popular excursion. It was okay, but very crowded with other tourist groups and the water gets cloudy from all the turned up sand. Our group saw a total of 4 sea turtles. I only saw 2, though. It was hard to get a good glimpse of the other turtles with the crowds clamoring around the water, and I didn’t care to push my way through. So if you’ve never seen a sea turtle in the wild, this is a great way to do it. But be prepared to contend with a lot of people who aren’t great swimmers or snorkelers to get a glimpse.

Swimming in the Cenotes

What are cenotes? Cenotes are natural limestone pits filled with freshwater. This was a huge highlight of the trip, and if you’re in the area, an absolute must-do experience! There are thousands of cenotes in the area. Many of the most beautiful ones have been turned into tourist attractions to visit, with good reason.

We chose to visit Casa Tortuga Tulum. The water was very comfortable and crystal clear. You could swim under a beautiful green canopy, snorkel, or do some cliff jumping. We did 4 cenotes in total, 2 open ones and 2 caves. We even saw some bats in the caves. Casa Tortuga was a great way to experience a sampling of very different cenotes if you’re looking for a good place to start.   

Other excursion options include Chichen Itza, ATVs, horseback riding, ziplining, swimming with dolphins or whale sharks, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, sailing, and more. The prices offered by the resort actually weren’t dramatically different than prices for tours offered by other local companies, so if you feel more comfortable doing a resort-sanctioned tour, don’t worry about feeling like you’ve spent an excessive amount of money. 

Dining

We’ve been to a couple all-inclusive Mexican resorts and have to say the food here was better than we experienced previously. There are also tons of restaurant options at Bahia Principe, so many that we couldn’t possibly even go to them all. 

For breakfast and lunch, there are several buffet options with extensive offerings. Food is always available, so don’t worry about going hungry. You can even visit their snack tent at 2:00AM if you want for some late night pizza or other bites. 

In the evening, other restaurant options are available. They fill up though, so we definitely recommend making reservations so you don’t have to wait. 

Here are the 5 restaurants we went to during our stay, as well as a list of some other options!

Mikado

Mikado is one of three Japanese restaurants available at the resort and there are two dining options here, the general a la carte dining or teppanyaki grill (where your food is cooked on a grill in front of you). So be sure to specify the one you want when you make reservations. We did the teppanyaki grill, of course. It’s just more fun! 

The spring rolls were very good and the vegan sushi also looked quite tasty. I wasn’t a fan of the miso soup though. Too seaweedy for me!

Within our group we tried a number of entree options, including steak, chicken, shrimp, and scallops. It wasn’t the best cut of steak and the scallops were overcooked, but the chicken and shrimp were good and we all enjoyed our dessert. I recommend the white chocolate and green tea mousse! 

Dolce Vita Restaurant

Dolce Vita is one of two Italian restaurants available. For me, it was a little underwhelming. Just your basic pizza and pasta restaurant. 

I had the salmon, which was good, but didn’t come with any sides. And I wasn’t a big fan of their panna cotta. It was a bit like rubbery jello. 

Other members of our group had the lasagna and the spaghetti alla napoletana, which did not impress. 

The winner of the evening was Tony’s filetto di manzo baresi (a filet with coffee demi-glace and sauteed potatoes with rosemary), which was actually quite good.

Thali Restaurant

Thali is an Indian restaurant and one of our favorite restaurants that we tried at the resort. 

For starters, we recommend the samosas or shammi kebabs. And instead of opting for a traditional main dish, we recommend going for one of the tasting menus, so you can try a bit of everything! The tasting menus are available in meat and vegetarian options. And don’t be afraid to request a different rice or naan substitution that suits your preferences!

Los Corales Pool & Steak House Restaurant

Los Corales is an outdoor grill / steakhouse near one of the adult pools. 

For starters, definitely get the caprese and meat empanadas. They were absolutely delicious! I also recommend the sirloin with the chimichurri sauce. We also tried their ribeye and hanger steak, as well as the blue cheese and green pepper sauce, but the sirloin with chimichurri sauce was hands down the best!

The service here was definitely the slowest of the restaurants we ate at. I’m not sure if they were just randomly short staffed that night or if that’s a regular thing. And this was the only restaurant we ate at that was outside, which can be a little annoying if you attract mosquitoes like me, but the food was good. And definitely get the rolls. The flavored butters were amazing!

Arlequin Restaurant 

Arlequin is considered one of the resort’s gourmet restaurants. I think what set this restaurant apart from the rest was the service and presentation. The waiters were very timely with each course. Bread and a complimentary appetizer were served before the main starter. The soup was poured at the table from a silver boat and each dish was presented with a silver serving lid.

My favorite course was the soupe parmentire (a light cream of potato leek soup), which may not sound like much, but it was quite tasty. And Tony enjoyed his oyster starter, as well. 

I had their lobster, which was okay, but definitely not the best. And it said thermidor lobster, but it definitely wasn’t cooked that way. I think if I went again I’d go for their beef tenderloin. 

I’d steer clear from their lobster bisque. We heard it was a bit fishy. And if you’re a creme brulee fan like me, I’d avoid that, as well. Theirs was thicker than most creme brulees I’ve had, more like a flan, and it seems like they haven’t quite figured out how to get that nice caramelized sugar layer on top. 

Other Options

• Burgers 
• Brazilian 
• Japanese-Peruvian fusion
• Mediterranean 
• Seafood
• Sports Bar 
• Additional Italian, Japanese, and Gourmet restaurants

Final Thoughts

We had a relaxing vacation at the Bahia Principe. We’re not expert resort travelers and have only stayed at a few all-inclusives, but we had an overall good experience here. I wouldn’t hesitate to return. Bahia Principe offers a lot of bang for the buck, and I wouldn’t hesitate to return here if I’m looking to kick back, drink some tropical cocktails, and relax by the sea.