After a 10 hour flight and 2 hours to get through the airport arrivals i was a little bit apprehensive about what the hotel was going to be like from our journey from the airport. The area on the way to the Blue Bay Club is not the best to say the least. There was graffiti everywhere and almost every window had bars on them. On arrival at the hotel we were put in a room with no balcony across the road away from the main part of the hotel. My first thought was this is turning into a nightmare instead of a holiday in paradise!!! However, on complaining to the staff at reception we were offered an upgrade to a sea-view room as soon as one became available.
This is when the holiday really started. The sea-view rooms are amazing, really spacious and comfy, we had two double beds! The rooms were cleaned daily to a very high standard, with fresh towels everyday. We never seen our room-maid but did leave her a big tip at the end as she had done such a wonderful job.
All the staff in the hotel are really friendly from the bellboys, to the cleaning staff, to the waiters and entertainment team. Everyday everything is cleaned, there is always someone sweeping the halls, restaurant, stairs. The seaweed is removed from the beach every morning and the decking and pool area is washed down every night.
The food in the main buffet style restaurant is fantastic with a good variety every mealtime. Breakfast is lovely and the pancakes and french toast are well recommended!! Ostras & Oysters is okay depending on what kind of food you like, I don't like fish so wasn't really for me. The outdoor restaurant (italian style) pasta & pizza is also very good. There are also snacks available late at night after the restaurants have closed.
The pool is not as big as I thought it would be, however, it is a good pool with 3 jacuzzis that you can sit and relax in. The deck is super for sunbathing or there is the beach with the tiki umbrellas for a quieter time sunbathing away from the kids playing.
The entertainment in the hotel is really good, the staff are superb especially Dario, although they are all really friendly and take time to talk to guests. There is a varied entertainment program during the day for young and old alike, inluding volleyball (pool and beach), football, quizzes, bingo! The entertainment team is not very big but the are so energetic and are on the go all the time. They provide entertainment during the day at the pool area, and also at night in the Theatre 3 nights a week, plus evening entertainment at the pool bar, with kids contests followed by adults contests. They don't stop there though, there is also a trip every night to one of Cancun's top nightclubs. Coco Bongos is out of this world, everyone should visit this at least once!!!
We took the shuttle bus to the Blue Bay Getaway one afternoon, and took a few taxi journeys to the shopping mall, great shops at La Isla. We would recommend taking taxis from the hotel as you get there quicker and they are reasonable price we never paid more than 200 pesos for any journey. Wet & Wild is an okay waterpark, nothing special with only 3 big rides and a wave pool, although there is the opportunity to swim with dolpins and sealions at the park.
Reading some of the reviews people were complaining about timeshares sellers in the hotel, we were never approached by any and although there was tour operators in the hotel you were never hassled into taking any of the tours.
We went on two trips while in Cancun, Pirate Assault and swimming with dolphins. The Pirate Assault was good, you travel to Isla Mujeres (Woman Island) it was a bit disappointing to find out it wasn't the trip with the actual pirate boats but was highly entertaining. Swimming with dolphins was amazing, definitely the best thing i have ever done in my life, however be careful because it can be quite expensive when it comes to buying photos, dvds etc. afterwards.
Some day we will definitely return to the Blue Bay Club, after being round to the hotel zone we more than satisfied with our hotel as it was quiet the hotel zone always seems so busy no matter what time of day your there.
If you're looking for a nice calm relaxing holiday, with the opportunity to go mad once in a while, then the Blue Bay Club is the place to stay, and please please don't be put off by the surrounding area, we had the time of our lives here.