Why I Should Or Shouldn't Choose "Almaplena" Beach Resort

I keep reading about Maya Chan, Nohoch Key, and Almaplena.

I'm leaning toward "Almaplena". This is "splurge" day... so cost is not a factor for the two of us. That being said, why should I or shouldn't I choose Almaplena.

I hope especially to hear from those of you who have actually been to Almaplena.

Thanks.

You should go:

- fabulous pristine beach with turquoise water, no seagrass

- no crowds

- amazing snorkeling (bring your equipment)

- good mexican food

- guaranteed shade

You shouldn't go:

- 30 min. drive

- beach service not so fast

- not all the staff can speak english

- if you don't like all inclusive

Read Mitsugirly's review here (from post #190-#219)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1755846&page=10

Lots of great pictures of the facitlities and info.

Bill

I would pick Almaplena in a heart beat. This place is absolutely gorgeous! If you are looking for that beautiful crystal clear blue Caribbean water, this is the place. The other 2 places do not have this. It's a very nice relaxing day with beauty all around you. The owners are fabulous.

Read my review listed in my signature, look at the pictures from there, form your own opinion. I also have reviews for Maya Chan and Nohoch Kay in my signature.

I keep reading about Maya Chan, Nohoch Key, and Almaplena.

 

I'm leaning toward "Almaplena". This is "splurge" day... so cost is not a factor for the two of us. That being said, why should I or shouldn't I choose Almaplena.

 

I hope especially to hear from those of you who have actually been to Almaplena.

 

Thanks.

We have'nt been yet, but are booked to go in January. We chose it largely due to Mitsy's review, of both it and other spots.

So far I have been very pleased with the service.

Along with what others have said they also offer massage for $25.00 (?) You need to pre-reserve so they can make sure the lady is a vailable.

It is notmally on the beach but I told her I wanted some place private..No Problem! Also we are celebrating my husband's birthday...she is going to have a birthday cake for us.

So to add to why you should go..excellent custamer service and accomodating.

Plus...only 20 people MAX and often there are less than that.

I'm subscribing here bc we are trying to decide if we should stay on ship or do one of these places with our two young kids. Our port time is only 1-5:45 so I'm not sure any of the all inclusive places would be worth it? Does anyone know if they offer like a half day rate for the shorter port times?

@mitsugirly hi, I've read all your reviews regarding Almaplena Maya Chan and and blue kay ? I am traveling in April with my wife and my little 2 year d daughter, what I like about Almaplena is the all inclusive package, would you choose Blue Kay over Almaplena ? Why ? Thank you very much for your answer

@mitsugirly hi, I've read all your reviews regarding Almaplena Maya Chan and and blue kay ? I am traveling in April with my wife and my little 2 year d daughter, what I like about Almaplena is the all inclusive package, would you choose Blue Kay over Almaplena ? Why ? Thank you very much for your answer

Sigh...it's really a hard call to make. Both places are beautiful and fit all our needs. But, if I had to choose, I probably would pick Blue Kay, especially with a 2 year old. The beach is a lot bigger and longer and more shallow. At Almaplena, they have a bit of a drop right before you hit the water, so you have to kinda climb down the drop (for a 2 year old) before getting in the water and at Blue Kay, it's not like that. It's all smooth and very nice all the way out to the water. I just think it would be safer with a little one.

There's also a lot more shade at Blue Kay. Plenty of shade actually...under lots of palm trees and also palapas. At Amaplena, you have a thatched roof umbrella, but you will constantly move your chairs to stay in the shade.

Although Blue Kay doesn't offer an AI package, we still found it to be A LOT cheaper than going to an AI. We basically ordered drinks and food all day and was more than satisfied and it was only $48 for the 3 of us versus what you would pay per person at an AI.

Another added plus is that it's only 5-10 minutes from the port and you eliminate a lot of the travel time going to a from the place. You can also see the ship in port and it makes for some nice pictures.

These are just my thoughts though. Only you can look at the pictures and determine what's best for your family. Either way, I hope you have a wonderful day in Costa Maya. Please come back and let us know how things went where ever you decided to go. :)

Thanks !! That is all I needed to know , yes I've figured out that the beach is shallower at blue Kay, and the port distanced is a plus, I am very excited about cruising again ! I've never been in a small cruise ship as the NCL sun. Thanks for your answer

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Thanks !! That is all I needed to know , yes I've figured out that the beach is shallower at blue Kay, and the port distanced is a plus, I am very excited about cruising again ! I've never been in a small cruise ship as the NCL sun. Thanks for your answer

 

 

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We just got off the Sun 2 months ago and had the best cruise ever. It's a very small ship, but it seemed like there weren't much people on there and it was wonderful. Did you see my Sun review with pictures? :)

I will, :) thanks for your help again!

Just off of the Sun yesterday, and we spent our Costa Maya day at Almaplena so I wanted to chime in here. The beach looked very different from Mitsugirly's pics. There was no drop off to the water - completely shallow all the way in. Also, there was a 6-8 foot wide section (parallel to the water) of washed up brown seagrass or seaweed that was about 3-6 inches deep that you had to walk through to get to the water. They did shovel out a section of it so you could walk on sand to get into the water. I'm guessing it all washed up due to a storm, as it rained for the first 3 days of our cruise. With that being said, I'd still go back in a heartbeat. It was peaceful, food was good, and the margaritas were fabulous. Just hoping next time it doesn't storm the week prior to our arrival. :rolleyes: Any questions, let me know!

Just off of the Sun yesterday, and we spent our Costa Maya day at Almaplena so I wanted to chime in here. The beach looked very different from Mitsugirly's pics. There was no drop off to the water - completely shallow all the way in. Also, there was a 6-8 foot wide section (parallel to the water) of washed up brown seagrass or seaweed that was about 3-6 inches deep that you had to walk through to get to the water. They did shovel out a section of it so you could walk on sand to get into the water. I'm guessing it all washed up due to a storm, as it rained for the first 3 days of our cruise. With that being said, I'd still go back in a heartbeat. It was peaceful, food was good, and the margaritas were fabulous. Just hoping next time it doesn't storm the week prior to our arrival. :rolleyes: Any questions, let me know!

Glad to hear it sounds like you enjoyed the place.

Just for clarification, I assume you are referring to the following small drop right before you hit the water correct?

This ledge is caused by the water coming up and going back out and erodes the sand away and creates a ledge. It came happen anywhere at any time depending on the ocean conditions and height of the waves. I have seen it happen different places that I have been to while also seeing previous pictures of it never being there. I know some beach clubs in different ports will rake this ledge for a more smoother entry for guest. :)

We love Almaplena and had a wonderful time there. It is so beautiful and maybe we'll make it back again some day. Meanwhile, we have also found another beautiful place and will probably go back there next time we are at Costa Maya.

Glad to hear it sounds like you enjoyed the place.

 

Just for clarification, I assume you are referring to the following small drop right before you hit the water correct?

Yep, that was exactly the drop I was referring to. It wasn't there this past week at all. The beach I live on now is the same way - some days there's a ledge/drop, some days not. Some days there are small sand bars a foot or two out, some days not. Ah, the beauty of our ever changing world. :)

I was all set for Almaplena until I read this thread. I want the white sand and clear blue waters, but I don't want a long drive as we will be traveling with two three year old twins. But I will put up with the drive for the water quality. What I really need to know is do you need to reserve a spot at Blue Kay or do you just show up? Are there massages available? Was there a lot of sea grass? Thank you for any help.

I was all set for Almaplena until I read this thread. I want the white sand and clear blue waters, but I don't want a long drive as we will be traveling with two three year old twins. But I will put up with the drive for the water quality. What I really need to know is do you need to reserve a spot at Blue Kay or do you just show up? Are there massages available? Was there a lot of sea grass? Thank you for any help.

No reservations needed, just show up and find a spot and tell them you will order food and drinks while there.

Yes, they have massages right there on the beach.

No, there's not much sea grass at all.

I have a complete review listed in my signature line with over a hundred pictures of the place to help you see everything there and to let you know everything they have.

:)

Thank you your review was very helpful.

No reservations needed, just show up and find a spot and tell them you will order food and drinks while there.

 

Yes, they have massages right there on the beach.

 

No, there's not much sea grass at all.

 

I have a complete review listed in my signature line with over a hundred pictures of the place to help you see everything there and to let you know everything they have.

:)

MISTUGIRLY..... I have spent the majority of my day reading your reviews thanks so much for all the time you put into this. Carnival Magic 2/2015 will be my 6th cruise, and I'm attempting to let Carnival Redeem themselves after a horrible experience last cruise. So I am attempting to "stick it too them" as much as possible and booking everything myself. Any other tips please pass along.

This cruise is going from Galveston to Costa Maya, Cozumel (this will be by 6th visit) and Progresso

We were at Almaplena last week and the water was beautiful. Monica mentioned that they had had some bad weather in recent weeks and they had gotten some sea grass for a few days - she said that was very unusual and they were glad it was gone. The "drop off" had been raked down so from the lounger areas into the ocean was a smooth slope, however, I could see on the outsides of that area about a foot of a drop. There was no drop off once you got in the water - there WAS that drop off in both Roatan and at 7 Mile Beach in Grand Cayman though.

We were there Jan. 30. Even though it was partly sunny, the water was brown and stormy and uninviting. No one would have been foolish enough to try to snorkel. It was not a pretty beach by our standards, more seaweed than they could keep up with and lots of plastic waste.

The "shade" is pretty iffy too. There were two or three shade structures with white covers, and the other lounges were grouped under small palapas whose shade moved all day long. The lounges would neither lay flat nor sit up in a decent reading position.

The food was pretty good, but you get what they serve you. You have no chance to select. And the only food you get is at a set time you pick. In other words, "all you can eat" doesn't mean there's a buffet. I guess it just means you can ask for seconds.

Of the three drinks I had, I had to go up and ask for two of them. I'm not saying it was a ripoff, but we would not go back. For $64 per person, there must be something better.

Jim

I will second what Jim said. I could not have been more disappointed, we were there last Wednesday.

They were not even trying to keep up with the sea grass. It was really bad. My wife was eaten up with sand fleas.

We only had two drinks and had to ask for them both, no one coming around and asking if we wanted anything.

We thought the food was really bad. There was a menu but we were not offered it. We saw them offer it to another family, but they told them to pick what they wanted and they would tell them what they were making. We were only asked what time we wanted to eat.

I will post pictures this weekend when I get more time.

This could be a great place, but it is far from it right now.

Wow, I hate to hear this place seems to have went down since we were there. We were there when they were pretty much first offering day packages to the cruisers and hardly anyone knew about them.

While I can understand the seaweed, that can happen anywhere along any beach. One of the posters said that Monica said they had a storm prior, so that can be understandable. But, yes they could have been racking it off the beach and cleaning it up.

We didn't have any problems with the chairs when we were there. They sat up or reclined and they were some of the nicer chairs.

We did have someone coming out to serve us with both food and drinks. However, the service was faster if we walked up to the bar.

As for the food, we were given menu's to pick from, but I left it up to them and told them to pick for me and surprise me. I did not care for the food they surprised me with but did notice the other family picked their meal and it looked yummy (and they had confirmed it was). But I figured that was my fault for not ordering.

I know that the shade was "iffy" there because it was fairly new and not a lot of vegetation at the time. I have seen updated pictures and thought that it looked like the place might have more shade and greenery now after several years. I might be wrong?

Either way, sorry to hear those of you that did not enjoy yourself.

Next time you are in Costa Maya, I highly recommend checking out Blue Kay. 5-10 minutes from the port by open air bus ($3/pp) and GREAT food, good prices, crystal clear water, powdery sand, awesome snorkeling (and easy to get to), decent service and tons of shade with lots of palm trees. It's my #1 go to place now. The 3 of us ate and drank for $48 for the day...no admission price. It couldn't be beat. I have a review of it in my signature line with over 100 pictures from our day there. The beach is HUGE too and plenty of places to spread out. :)

mitsugirly thank you for the pics of Almaplena.

We were there Thanksgiving week in 2012, and was impressed, it was very peaceful.

Snorkeling is best described as minimal, in fact a better term would be bad or non existent, but that is true along any coast that doesn't have a lot of rocks or reef.

Food and drinks were good, but were difficult to get.

The biggest problem that I see is the 20 - 25 minute cab ride.

If you want peace and quiet this is a good place to go.

mitsugirly thank you for the pics of Almaplena.

 

We were there Thanksgiving week in 2012, and was impressed, it was very peaceful.

 

Snorkeling is best described as minimal, in fact a better term would be bad or non existent, but that is true along any coast that doesn't have a lot of rocks or reef.

 

Food and drinks were good, but were difficult to get.

 

The biggest problem that I see is the 20 - 25 minute cab ride.

 

If you want peace and quiet this is a good place to go.

You're very welcome. I'm glad you were able to have a good time.

The snorkeling/reef area is actually a bit of a swim out there. It's not along the beach area and you have to swim out there a little ways, but it's there. I was having issues with my snorkel and my daughter making the swim, so I didn't get to go out. My hubby did and took some video of it. Others on our roll call went out several times and said it was decent.

Check out Blue Kay the next time you are in Costa Maya. It is awesome there, a much bigger beach, awesome food and service and the snorkeling there was pretty good and a super easy swim in fairly shallow water. You could actually stand up once you got over there and I saw a lot of things out there. It's only 5-10 minutes to the place and located right on the Malecon...first place you come to. :) I'm always checking out new places and this is definitely my favorite now.

Mitsugirly, we defiantly will check out the other resort.

I booked as well under your recommendation. There was plenty of greenery but allot of trash also.

I agree that the storm brought the seagrass in, but it was disappointing that they made no effort to remove any of it.

It did not help that the next day was Little French Key and that was everything that you want an excursion to be.

I think that if Almaplena cleaned up the trash, repaired the chairs, upped the customer service and lowered the price a little they could grow the buisness very quickly.

You just can't charge for top of the line when it is not.