Blue Bay Hotels, Cancun

BLUE BAY GETAWAY & SPA
Blvd. Kukulcan Km. 3.5 Zona Hotelera
Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico 77500
Tel: (9) 848-7900
Fax: (998) 848-7994

Located in the hotel zone, approximately 25 minutes drive from Cancun airport lies Blue Bay Getaway and Spa, an adults only all-inclusive hotel. Its sister hotel Blue Bay Club allows children and is a short bus or boat ride away - transport between the two is free and is scheduled ...
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This is where Blue Bay Getaway really excelled itself. The hotel complex contained several bars, restaurants and pools.

- Bars

* Margaritas Bar - open 5pm-11pm
Since it is so close to the lobby this is bound to be your first port of call. Check out the cocktails plus local Dos Equis (xx) beer.

* Diego's pool and swim up bar - open 10am-7pm
Located next to the sexy pool

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BLUE BAY GETAWAY & SPA
Blvd. Kukulcan Km. 3.5 Zona Hotelera
Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico 77500
Tel: (9) 848-7900
Fax: (998) 848-7994

Located in the hotel zone, approximately 25 minutes drive from Cancun airport lies Blue Bay Getaway and Spa, an adults only all-inclusive hotel. Its sister hotel Blue Bay Club allows children and is a short bus or boat ride away - transport between the two is free and is scheduled daily.

RECEPTION

Upon arrival, bellboys immediately greet you and take your cases into the reception area/lobby where you check in and pick up your room key. We checked in with a lovely man called Jesus (pronounced "Hey-zeus"). Check in was quick and efficient as well as friendly, which you will come to expect from most Mexicans. Once you get your room key, your eager bellboy will escort you to your room, dragging your cases with him on a trolley. It is customary and polite to tip your bellboy a couple of dollars once you reach your room. This may seem annoying to those unused to tipping but please remember that most Mexicans aren't paid much.

The lobby area is clean, fairly comfortable and relatively modern for the area. Funky waterfall ledges sit in the middle of the area - so don't be tempted to rest your weary bum there! Along the sides of the lobby are desks for information, meeting your travel representative and booking day trips. There are also a few PCs for checking your e-mail, charged at 500 pesos (approximately $5 or £3) for half an hour, however they don't really time you. The internet connection is very slow so I wouldn't bother using this service unless you really have to.

ROOMS

We stayed in an older room at Block G of the hotel. The room was very clean, quite comfortable and of course had the all-important air conditioning. The bed was a huge king-size (about 6 foot wide), but other rooms contained 2 double beds instead. Our room contained a TV with satellite channels (CNN, HBO and 2 hotel channels), a table & 2 chairs, 2 bedside tables, a dressing table, a wardrobe/cupboard (which didn't contain many hangers so I used the shelves) as well as an outside table & chairs on the balcony. Inside your closet you'll find your safety deposit box, which costs $3 extra a day, payable when you check out. You chose your own pin number so no one else can gain access to your safe. The bedding & curtains were a little bright for my tastes but the lovely wooden headboard made up for that. Barring the ugly air conditioning vents (which do rattle a bit) the room was quite attractive.

BATHROOM

Open the door inside your room and you'll gain access to your modest shower/ toilet room. Our bathroom was commonly referred to as "the one with the horrible yellow tiles". Newer rooms don't have these so it's a bit of a lucky dip, although I was happy to keep the garish tiles for a shower that didn't have a door with a tendency to fall off - we instead had a thick shower curtain. Please remember not to flush any toilet roll etc down the toilet - that is what the bin is for. It's not pleasant but it's no great shock to anyone who has visited the Greek Islands. Toilet rolls, soaps, flannels, towels etc are replenished daily by the maid, as are sheets and pillowcases but not your comforter. There is also a tea & coffee machine in the bathroom. Curious place for it but handy if you're like a caveman before your morning cup of coffee. The tap water is drinkable but slightly warm so I preferred not to.

FACILITIES

This is where Blue Bay Getaway really excelled itself. The hotel complex contained several bars, restaurants and pools.

- Bars

* Margaritas Bar - open 5pm-11pm
Since it is so close to the lobby this is bound to be your first port of call. Check out the cocktails plus local Dos Equis (xx) beer.

* Diego's pool and swim up bar - open 10am-7pm
Located next to the sexy pool

* L'Alternative bar - open 5pm-1am
Say "Hola" to Francesca here and she'll rustle up a potent cocktail or tequila slammer for you (her Long Island Iced Tea is lethal!). This bar houses pool tables, several TV screens showing sport and comfortable sofas at the back.

* Bikinis pool and swim up bar - open 10am-9.30pm (or 11 depending on when Norberto feels like closing!)
This was our favourite bar in the evenings (from 6pm) when hilarious Norberto takes over. Ask him about "the corner in the house" if you need the toilet. Norberto makes the best (read: strongest) cocktails and is very friendly/entertaining/loco!

* Nice shoes bar
This bar is only open at night when the adult contests take place. Activities here include a kissing contest, sexy legs, anything goes and a beer-drinking contest. We avoided this bar as we didn't fancy getting naked but it's great for singles.

* Theatre bar
This bar is only open when shows are on at the theatre e.g.
Tuesday 9.30pm Mexicano
Thursday 9.30pm Comedy night
Saturday 9.30pm Desire
Sunday 9.30pm Majesty

There is also entertainment in Margaritas Patio bar, for example on Saturday night there is Caribbean music; activities in the sports pool (water volleyball/basketball) and the sexy pool (crazy games and not for the timid!) If you prefer to chill out I'd recommend the quiet pool by Bikinis bar, which has 3 jacuzzis (the sexy pool has 4) and also a swim up bar which is open until 5pm.

- Gym

There is a gym at the hotel but it is quite small and not terribly well equipped. My boyfriend is a fitness fanatic and was disappointed but you do go on holiday to relax.

- Beach

The hotel has it's own private beach, which is common in Cancun, but please remember that it is federal property and therefore your hotel is not responsible for accidents or theft on it. The beach is lovely white sand and contrary to what I had read before going, it is very clean. You will often see a member of staff cleaning away seaweed from the beach & sea area. There are plenty of loungers on the beach but you may be harassed by people selling puppets, sunglasses and wraps if you sunbathe here. A simple "No" or just pretending to be asleep usually works.

- Food

There is a LOT of food available at Blue Bay Getaway. As well as 3 a la carte restaurants there are buffet restaurants so you'll never go hungry.

Breakfast is served daily at Embarcadero, next to Margaritas bar, from 7am until midday. If you want something before this you can get a continental breakfast from 6am at Margaritas. There is everything for breakfast - cereals, continental, cooked & fruit. You make your own toast in the rotating toast machine (tip - keep it on about 3 or it'll burn!) I recommend the bacon - very crispy - and the waffles with maple syrup.

For lunch you can choose between Embaradero (1-3pm) or Bella Vista snack bar (12-5pm). Embarcadero serves buffet food, cakes and salad. The curly fries & lattice fries are worth trying. Bella Vista's lunch menu includes salad, nachos, pizzas (lovely Hawaiian), burgers, hot dogs, pasta, fries and cakes. We had lunch there most days.

Snacks are available most days from 5-6pm at Las Margaritas, after which their Mexican buffet begins (tortillas, nachos, fajitas).

Dinner is available at Embarcadero from 6-9.30pm:
Monday - International
Tuesday - Mexican
Wednesday - Italian
Thursday - Argentinean
Friday - Spanish
Saturday - Caribbean
Sunday - Oriental

The food is ok but they don't really cater for vegetarians and once you try the a la carte restaurants the buffet restaurant seems horrible!

To use the a la carte restaurants you must book in advance and you only get one ticket for each restaurant per week. If you really don't like one of the restaurants on your first week they will let you swap.

* The Village Wok Chinese restaurant - open 6-9.30pm except Sunday
Nice little restaurant but the menu is limited and they use spaghetti instead of chow mein 3/5

* Bella Vista steak house - open 6.30-9.30pm, closed Tuesday
The food & service is good at Bella Vista. The cream of asparagus soup is delicious, as is the half grilled chicken. It's just a shame you only get half a baked potato with your meal. 4/5

* Il Piaccere Italian restaurant - open 6-9.30pm, closed Wednesday
This is a beautiful place and my favourite restaurant. The whole experience is very romantic and it's well worth dressing up for a meal here. I highly recommend the potato soup and fettucine alfredo. 5/5

COST

I won the first week of this holiday but we paid £310 per person for the second week. Expect to pay between £600 - 900 per person for 2 weeks holiday here, including flights & transfers with Cosmos.

ADVANTAGES?
Friendly staff, very clean, good food & drink and a nice beach. You couldn't really ask for more.

DISADVANTAGES?
One thing I will say about the hotel is that there are lots of steps. If you are elderly or disabled it might be a bit of a challenge to get around. Although there are ramps, there are no lifts so it would only be possible to stay on the ground floor.

Overall I had a great holiday at Blue Bay Getaway. It's an ideal place for couples or singles aged 18-45 to visit. It can be rowdy in places but you can easily avoid the games and chill out by the quiet pool/bar. The food in the a la carte restaurants was good, although the buffet restaurant was quite repetitive if you stayed for 2 weeks. I would go back again and that's not something I would often say. 

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