Maya Chan

Maya Chan sounds like exactly what i'm looking for: private palapas, all inclusive food/drinks, transportation included, limited number of people per day, massages on the beach, amazing customer service, etc.

BUT after reading reviews, i'm concerned about the water. We will be traveling with 3 young children. is the water so bad they won't want to get into it??

i'm looking for reassurance that the water isn't that bad OR recommendations on another beach that's equivalent of Maya Chan in terms of amenities.

Thank you!!!

No one can guarantee you or reassure you what your kids will or will not like, but I will tell you, in the reservation confirmation I got from Mark @ Maya Chan, he said this:

We are just a very simple funky beach hang out. We don't have pristine water since we all keep our waters natural. Just like it should be. We clean our beach of seagrass everyday. The Costa Maya Coastline is a turtle preserve. If you need to have a Disney created beach, stay at the Port, or go into town. In town, they use dredges and tractors to make it look better. If you want the real Caribbean experience, then our place is for you.

No one can guarantee you or reassure you what your kids will or will not like, but I will tell you, in the reservation confirmation I got from Mark @ Maya Chan, he said this:

 

We are just a very simple funky beach hang out. We don't have pristine water since we all keep our waters natural. Just like it should be. We clean our beach of seagrass everyday. The Costa Maya Coastline is a turtle preserve. If you need to have a Disney created beach, stay at the Port, or go into town. In town, they use dredges and tractors to make it look better. If you want the real Caribbean experience, then our place is for you.

Thank you for your reply.

Has anyone taken kids and had any problems with the water conditions for playing/swimming?

When we were there in February 2015 there was sea grass that they worked diligently in raking away. But yes, there was sea grass, some in the water, some where they were working their way towards. We didn't have any young kids there the day we were there.The sea grass is just about everywhere down there. If you're worried, perhaps you might want to check out another resort.

Needless to say, we had one of our best days ever at Maya Chan! The owners are kind, the food fantastic, the drinks kept flowing and our couples massage fun!

I book Costa Maya just so that I can spend the day at Maya Chan; I love the place. If I could figure out an easy way to get there, I would go and stay for a while. Never had water issues. Beach toys and kayaks are gratis. Try the ocean breeze cocktail.

We saw several reviews complaining about being very crowded and lousy service....:eek:

I have never stayed there . However we vacation @ a resort up north that has a lot of sea grass . My now 8 yr old grand daughter loved the sea grass . She said it felt soft & squishy . She is a very adventurous & not afraid of getting into anything . I would be more concerned about the surf being gentle or rough .

We've been to Maya Chan in Nov,2014. This year we planned the cruise due to Maya Chan. Not a place that has icebergs in water or jet skis, but, it has the perfect setting. Relax on the beach, take a kayak out, grab some good tasting food or have a few drinks. It is up to you what your idea is of a great time. For us, 12 to 70, it is ''just right". Also like that they have a limit so not all jammed together.

We saw several reviews complaining about being very crowded and lousy service....:eek:

We've been to Maya Chan in Nov,2014. This year we planned the cruise due to Maya Chan. Not a place that has icebergs in water or jet skis, but, it has the perfect setting. Relax on the beach, take a kayak out, grab some good tasting food or have a few drinks. It is up to you what your idea is of a great time. For us, 12 to 70, it is ''just right". Also like that they have a limit so not all jammed together.

We also visited Nov 2014 and despite an awful day weather wise I couldn't complain about the service and helpfulness of the staff.

I also thought the number of reservations was limited so i am surprised to hear you have read reviews about overcrowding.

We have been there 6-7 times.

The seagrass last visit 6/2016 was non existant.

It seems to rely on wind currents pushing the grass onto the beach area.

They rake it constantly. Going into the water is fun.

You can float around in your own chair tube and the staff actually come out to take drink orders. They return on foot obviously. You can also snorkel off the reef.

Of all the time we have been there since our first visit, the grass was only a problem once.

That did not matter as with our own private palapa, great service, excellent lunch we did just fine.

The reviews on Maya Chan are excellent.

No idea if the grass is a seasonal thing-should have asked them about this.

If you go, you will have a great day.

We returned recently from a visit at Maya Chan. There were about 80 folks there that day (max capacity is about 100, per owners) and it was anything but crowded. There were families with children, and the kids enjoyed both sand and water play. There was minimal sea grass - easy to see the sand while in the water. There was some grass floating in the water, but not much. There was a "beach guy" who checked out kayaks, instructed on snorkeling if needed. and kept an eye on water activities. Maya Chan was simply heaven!

We plan to try MC during our 2017 cruise

I have never stayed there . However we vacation @ a resort up north that has a lot of sea grass . My now 8 yr old grand daughter loved the sea grass . She said it felt soft & squishy . She is a very adventurous & not afraid of getting into anything . I would be more concerned about the surf being gentle or rough .

Most kids love playing in the seaweed. Maybe a pre teen might not like the smell etc, but young kids should be fine. You know your kids best though.

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we've been 3 times with kids aged 4-8, and always had a great time. The water does vary- twice we had no issues (March and April) and once there was a decent amount of seagrass (November). But there are kayaks and floats, and the day when the seagrass was worse (the weather overall was worse- windy and a little rain) the kids floated on the rafts, kayaked, built sand castles, etc.

I'm surprised to hear anyone can complain about the service- we found it outstanding every time- they are great with the kids (made lots of different milkshakes), even made my picky eater plain cheese quesadillas at lunch. They told the kids that if they wanted to make sandcastles they would rate them- I think all the kids who made one came in "first" HA! They got bracelets, and bubbles, and stuff like that as "prizes". It's one of our favorite places.

We saw several reviews complaining about being very crowded and lousy service....:eek:

They have a 50 person limit and it's by far the best beach club experience I've ever had.

DH and I went to Maya Chan and absolutely loved it in July. The service, food, drinks, and people were fantastic. However, the water was very brown with lots of seagrass. There were workers constantly cleaning it, but it just kept coming. This did nothing to diminish our experience but I can tell you with 100% certainty my kiddos would not enjoy it. DD7, especially, would not go near the water (she is not fond of seaweed in general) so we are skipping it on our upcoming cruise. However, it really does depend on the child. We saw kids there having a great time.

I know it's an all inclusive but is there anything there you need cash for (other than tipping)? Messages? Thanks

They do offer massages for additional cost. I hope to take advantage of that next month when we are there. :D

I know it's an all inclusive but is there anything there you need cash for (other than tipping)? Messages? Thanks

Massages were available at $25 cash for 30 minutes. Definitely worth it!

I tried, twce, to get a reservation for DH and me for February 23, but alas, they are fully booked.

Where else to go in Costa Maya for a beach break? Similar to Maya Chan?

I tried, twce, to get a reservation for DH and me for February 23, but alas, they are fully booked.

 

Where else to go in Costa Maya for a beach break? Similar to Maya Chan?

We are sailing Feb 5th and we too got a message that they are booked when we tried to make a reservation. They did suggest that we piggy-back on with another cruiser...which I don't really understand WHY that works as bottom line it adds two more people. But....I posted to my Roll Call (NCL DAWN) earlier to see if anyone was willing to let us be added to their group.

Hoping to learn if YOU found another option, or not?

(I read about Tropicale but saw on TA that someone recently got food poisoning there so we will avoid that location)

We are sailing Feb 5th and we too got a message that they are booked when we tried to make a reservation. They did suggest that we piggy-back on with another cruiser...which I don't really understand WHY that works as bottom line it adds two more people. But....I posted to my Roll Call (NCL DAWN) earlier to see if anyone was willing to let us be added to their group.

 

Hoping to learn if YOU found another option, or not?

 

(I read about Tropicale but saw on TA that someone recently got food poisoning there so we will avoid that location)

Does that mean you would be sharing their palapa?

Some of the palapas hold more people so they might not have reached their maximum number but they may have filled reserved all the palapas.

I tried, twce, to get a reservation for DH and me for February 23, but alas, they are fully booked.

 

Where else to go in Costa Maya for a beach break? Similar to Maya Chan?

Maybe Almaplena?

See Mitsugirly's signature for photo reviews of both.

Does that mean you would be sharing their palapa?

 

Some of the palapas hold more people so they might not have reached their maximum number but they may have filled reserved all the palapas.

Honestly, I don't know. I imagined us just sitting in beach chairs on the beach? Maybe I haven't researched an AI beach experience enough? I wasn't thinking that we would have a "cabana". Truthfully, we are not really 'beach' people so this was going to be our first attempt at AI beach time! :o Ha!

Everyone one has own palapa which are larger than usual beach ones Ours held a hammock, 2 chaise loungers and a sort of sofa bed We could have easily fit another few people in