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Jaimies At the bluereef Full review-


proggieus
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So we have been back for a few weeks and I thought it was time to post my thoughts on Jaimies-

 

We had attempted to book MayaChan for a beach day but since we had a group of 15 they were unable to accomidate our group, They had recomended jaimie's to us as an alternative choice.

 

I read the reviews on trip advisor and honestly took them with a grain of salt, all were glowing and to be frank its not often that 100% positive reviews are all truthful.

 

I made contact through the contact us page on thier website and had a response from Jaimie himself within about two hours, I informed Jaimie of the dates, the group size, and the fact that we were traveling with two celiac children.

 

So pricing at the time we made the reservation was 45.00 per adult, 25.00 per teenager and kids were free, I do not know the age cutoff between teen and child(sorry)

 

I believe it is now $47.50 per adult

 

We paid a deposit of $100 for the entire group and then waited for the cruise to arrive. A few weeks out from departure i sent a brief email confirming all of the details(especially the celieac info) and was again resonded to qiuckly by Jaimie.

 

 

DAY OF ARRIVAL-

 

The port of Costa Maya Is not that easy to get out of, follow the shops around behind the pool and you will see a small alley to get out,

 

PROTIP

alot of the stores on the backside of the pool have door at the very back of the store as well as the door facing the pool, as you are walking look through the stores and as soon as you see one with a open door at the back you can cut through and save a fair amount of walking since you have to walk back past those same stores again on the other side to get to taxis or shuttle.

 

 

GETTING TO JAIMIES

We took the trolly, we had several children and they wanted to ride it, It was three dollars per person and was neat to take it a little slower and see what was going on in the area, which is mostly construction and empty lots.

 

Take the trolly to the last stop(#3) and tell the driver you are there for Jaimies, they will alert the staff who will come and greet you and escort you to your home for the day.

 

THE STAFF

 

Jaimie and Norma Introduced themselves and showed us our area, there was a very large cooler filled with ice cold beers and bottles of water we could help ourselves to as well as place orders with Norma and her assistants for any cocktails we wanted.

 

You were told if you needed ANYTHING to just ask and it felt like they meant it.

 

Bit of a tangent here but bear with me-

 

I have a friend who is a restaurant owner in Puerto Vallarta, Several times while either visiting him for drinks or eating dinner at his place i have seen him send staff to the store to get an item that a customer requested thet he did not have on hand. I got the feeling that the same would happen at Jaimies

 

Tangent over/

 

FOOD AND DRINK

 

Like i said above, beer and water were self serve(although the staff would gladly get you that as well).

 

The coctails were speedy and strong. I was drinking Bacardi Anejo which is a little uncommon in a all inclusive bar.

 

THE FOOD

 

The menu was explained as smaller portions because "we want you to try everything"

 

The ceviche was to extremly good ( i ordered at least three orders of it),

 

The onion rings were incredible,(as in some of the best i have ever had) just the right thickness to the onions so as to not be overpowering and the perfect amount of breading. Unfotunatly i was too full of ceviche to eat as many as i would have liked:D

 

The burger was far and away the best of week, very tasty, perfectly cooked and seasoned.

 

Others in the group had the fish tacos and i didnt see anything left on the plates so i assume they were as good as everything else.

 

One small thing here-

 

I mentioned in the beginning that we had two children with celiac disease traveling with us, The children are so sensitive that the parents travel with a fairly expensive gluten tester to verify food if they feel unsure about its status, often the cost of the test materials is more then the cost of the meal.

 

The kids ordered some chicken breasts and we were very happy to find that they passed the tester and the kids were able to eat like everybody else instead of out of thier little meal kit they brought along just in case.

(aways do your own research if you are sensitive as well, cross contaminiation could happen at any time)

 

 

BEACH AND AREA

 

The beach in Mahaul is very interesting. the waves break about 200-300 yards out and the water is very shallow all the way out to the break, you can walk out about 200 yards and only be in 4 feet of water. there are boat channels cut through and little islands peppered all over the place.

 

Overall the area is very pretty and you can see your ship from the water, there are several types of fish and sea life in the water. the water and beach were mostly clear of sea grass but this may change day to day.

 

There were a few vendors that would visit but Jaimie and staff would attempt to keep the worst of it away, they also made to sure to inform us if any venders were particulary shady( known fake or scams)

 

I did do a 1 hour beach massage for i believe $40. It was fine but still a beach massage.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

I cant tell you that Jaimies is better then Maya Chan since i have never visited Maya Chan,

 

but I can not imagine how Maya Chan could be better then Jaimies, the friendly and personal service left you feeling like you were with family, there were many, many hugs exchanged as we said good byes, Jaimie made sure my "to go" cocktail was refilled at least three times as we settled the bill and said goodbyes. The staff arranged for our taxis to return to the port and made sure we were told the correct fare before we got into the cab.

 

 

My Sisiter was on a cruise a few weeks after we returned that included Costa Maya, We suggested she visit Jaimies with her crew, they had the same experiance we did with the serivice and food. so we know it was not a one off, She also agreed to the feeling that Jaimie was much like out friend in Puerto Vallarta in terms of attitude towards customer service.

 

All of the adults agreed that this was the best day of the trip, (the kids preferered the day they held sloths)

 

We as a group have a cruise booked next year on symphony of the seas that includes another day in Costa Maya, the final determining factor for that itinerary was the fact that we could go back to Jaimies.

 

 

 

PICTURES

 

View of the beach from Jaimies bar

DSC02857.jpg

 

View down the beach

DSC02832.jpg

View of the beach from the lounger

DSC02790.jpg

Waves Break 200+ Yards out

DSC02662.jpg

Beach vegetation

DSC02755.jpg

Cruise Port from Beach

DSC02753.jpg

Another view of the beach break

DSC02689.jpg

Jaimies From the water

DSC02635.jpg

DSC02857.thumb.jpg.8cc96ce2157f4b1af22146c71e16293f.jpg

DSC02832.thumb.jpg.fa5b6c3d75a044872db037ee512cda06.jpg

DSC02790.thumb.jpg.e29375730cb4c898b388c2b919453534.jpg

DSC02755.thumb.jpg.75bc85b1f7023ea5c8e4e2c32af33ecd.jpg

DSC02753.thumb.jpg.97eb3017f37400650b6e85e2c546806a.jpg

DSC02689.thumb.jpg.8ffcd366e0e4a9f577a17bbd5cacf285.jpg

DSC02662.thumb.jpg.b2ae05478154915c88fdadea7d78502d.jpg

DSC02635.thumb.jpg.ce0bd621b603d013ed8893d6a9a1e355.jpg

Edited by proggieus
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Thanks for your review.

 

We've known Jaime since his Playa del Carmen days. Always a gracious and caring host. Last time we were in Costa Maya, he took us on a tour of the new place still under construct. So glad to hear it's bearing fruit.:D

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Thanks for your review.

 

We've known Jaime since his Playa del Carmen days. Always a gracious and caring host. Last time we were in Costa Maya, he took us on a tour of the new place still under construct. So glad to hear it's bearing fruit.:D

Crewsweeper, is this the same Jaime who used to run Nohoch Cay?

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
did you have any trouble contacting Jaimie? I sent 2 requests and havent heard anything for our cruise in January

 

 

I had no problems getting a reply any of the times I have contacted them, most recently about 3 weeks ago when I reserved for next march

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"I have a friend who is a restaurant owner in Puerto Vallarta, Several times while either visiting him for drinks or eating dinner at his place i have seen him send staff to the store to get an item that a customer requested thet he did not have on hand. I got the feeling that the same would happen at Jaimies"

 

 

Hi p,

 

 

Boy this sure sounds like Joe Jack's Fish Shack? My wife and I love that place and will return there in December.

 

 

Enjoy!

Kel:D

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"I have a friend who is a restaurant owner in Puerto Vallarta, Several times while either visiting him for drinks or eating dinner at his place i have seen him send staff to the store to get an item that a customer requested thet he did not have on hand. I got the feeling that the same would happen at Jaimies"

 

 

Hi p,

 

 

Boy this sure sounds like Joe Jack's Fish Shack? My wife and I love that place and will return there in December.

 

 

Enjoy!

Kel:D

 

it was called

Mi Rueda, It was a couple blocks up the hill near the Hotel Rosita

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Hello, did you snorkel there? Is there any coral/fish out in front?

Thank you, Tracie

 

 

we did not snorkel

there are a few fish in the water but not really a snorkel spot-

 

some of the "pools" out near the break may have had more but we did not venture out there with the kids.

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  • 1 month later...
did you have any trouble contacting Jaimie? I sent 2 requests and havent heard anything for our cruise in January

 

I made contact via the website, using the contact page. Despite the time difference I had a very quick response. The booking process was a little complicated but easy to follow instructions. $50 for the day to be paid when we leave. $50 deposit for the four of us.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
So we have been back for a few weeks and I thought it was time to post my thoughts on Jaimies-

 

We had attempted to book MayaChan for a beach day but since we had a group of 15 they were unable to accomidate our group, They had recomended jaimie's to us as an alternative choice.

 

I read the reviews on trip advisor and honestly took them with a grain of salt, all were glowing and to be frank its not often that 100% positive reviews are all truthful.

 

I made contact through the contact us page on thier website and had a response from Jaimie himself within about two hours, I informed Jaimie of the dates, the group size, and the fact that we were traveling with two celiac children.

 

So pricing at the time we made the reservation was 45.00 per adult, 25.00 per teenager and kids were free, I do not know the age cutoff between teen and child(sorry)

 

I believe it is now $47.50 per adult

 

We paid a deposit of $100 for the entire group and then waited for the cruise to arrive. A few weeks out from departure i sent a brief email confirming all of the details(especially the celieac info) and was again resonded to qiuckly by Jaimie.

 

 

DAY OF ARRIVAL-

 

The port of Costa Maya Is not that easy to get out of, follow the shops around behind the pool and you will see a small alley to get out,

 

PROTIP

alot of the stores on the backside of the pool have door at the very back of the store as well as the door facing the pool, as you are walking look through the stores and as soon as you see one with a open door at the back you can cut through and save a fair amount of walking since you have to walk back past those same stores again on the other side to get to taxis or shuttle.

 

 

GETTING TO JAIMIES

We took the trolly, we had several children and they wanted to ride it, It was three dollars per person and was neat to take it a little slower and see what was going on in the area, which is mostly construction and empty lots.

 

Take the trolly to the last stop(#3) and tell the driver you are there for Jaimies, they will alert the staff who will come and greet you and escort you to your home for the day.

 

THE STAFF

 

Jaimie and Norma Introduced themselves and showed us our area, there was a very large cooler filled with ice cold beers and bottles of water we could help ourselves to as well as place orders with Norma and her assistants for any cocktails we wanted.

 

You were told if you needed ANYTHING to just ask and it felt like they meant it.

 

Bit of a tangent here but bear with me-

 

I have a friend who is a restaurant owner in Puerto Vallarta, Several times while either visiting him for drinks or eating dinner at his place i have seen him send staff to the store to get an item that a customer requested thet he did not have on hand. I got the feeling that the same would happen at Jaimies

 

Tangent over/

 

FOOD AND DRINK

 

Like i said above, beer and water were self serve(although the staff would gladly get you that as well).

 

The coctails were speedy and strong. I was drinking Bacardi Anejo which is a little uncommon in a all inclusive bar.

 

THE FOOD

 

The menu was explained as smaller portions because "we want you to try everything"

 

The ceviche was to extremly good ( i ordered at least three orders of it),

 

The onion rings were incredible,(as in some of the best i have ever had) just the right thickness to the onions so as to not be overpowering and the perfect amount of breading. Unfotunatly i was too full of ceviche to eat as many as i would have liked:D

 

The burger was far and away the best of week, very tasty, perfectly cooked and seasoned.

 

Others in the group had the fish tacos and i didnt see anything left on the plates so i assume they were as good as everything else.

 

One small thing here-

 

I mentioned in the beginning that we had two children with celiac disease traveling with us, The children are so sensitive that the parents travel with a fairly expensive gluten tester to verify food if they feel unsure about its status, often the cost of the test materials is more then the cost of the meal.

 

The kids ordered some chicken breasts and we were very happy to find that they passed the tester and the kids were able to eat like everybody else instead of out of thier little meal kit they brought along just in case.

(aways do your own research if you are sensitive as well, cross contaminiation could happen at any time)

 

 

BEACH AND AREA

 

The beach in Mahaul is very interesting. the waves break about 200-300 yards out and the water is very shallow all the way out to the break, you can walk out about 200 yards and only be in 4 feet of water. there are boat channels cut through and little islands peppered all over the place.

 

Overall the area is very pretty and you can see your ship from the water, there are several types of fish and sea life in the water. the water and beach were mostly clear of sea grass but this may change day to day.

 

There were a few vendors that would visit but Jaimie and staff would attempt to keep the worst of it away, they also made to sure to inform us if any venders were particulary shady( known fake or scams)

 

I did do a 1 hour beach massage for i believe $40. It was fine but still a beach massage.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

I cant tell you that Jaimies is better then Maya Chan since i have never visited Maya Chan,

 

but I can not imagine how Maya Chan could be better then Jaimies, the friendly and personal service left you feeling like you were with family, there were many, many hugs exchanged as we said good byes, Jaimie made sure my "to go" cocktail was refilled at least three times as we settled the bill and said goodbyes. The staff arranged for our taxis to return to the port and made sure we were told the correct fare before we got into the cab.

 

 

My Sisiter was on a cruise a few weeks after we returned that included Costa Maya, We suggested she visit Jaimies with her crew, they had the same experiance we did with the serivice and food. so we know it was not a one off, She also agreed to the feeling that Jaimie was much like out friend in Puerto Vallarta in terms of attitude towards customer service.

 

All of the adults agreed that this was the best day of the trip, (the kids preferered the day they held sloths)

 

We as a group have a cruise booked next year on symphony of the seas that includes another day in Costa Maya, the final determining factor for that itinerary was the fact that we could go back to Jaimies.

 

 

 

PICTURES

 

View of the beach from Jaimies bar

DSC02857.jpg

 

View down the beach

DSC02832.jpg

View of the beach from the lounger

DSC02790.jpg

Waves Break 200+ Yards out

DSC02662.jpg

Beach vegetation

DSC02755.jpg

Cruise Port from Beach

DSC02753.jpg

Another view of the beach break

DSC02689.jpg

Jaimies From the water

DSC02635.jpg

 

 

Would you recommend Jaimes as a place to snorkel? I have my own gear.

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I am not saying anything negative about Jamie's because I have not been there. Someone made the comment that Jamie's was wonderful and could not imagine how Maya Chan could be better. Maya Chan is smaller and lots less people. The only chairs touching or near each other is the people in your group. Last year 2 of us enjoyed a secluded shady couch, chairs, hammock, table area. and also chairs in the sun. Five years ago we had a larger area that 4 family members enjoyed. Price is about the same. So I think it is the number of people that is different.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the detailed revue. We were looking for a beach break and this one sounds good. Maya Chan is sold out for our date, we were there a few years ago, so I am glad you recommended this so highly. Jamie got back to me the same day so we will work out the details and hopefully have a great experience like you.:D

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So we have been back for a few weeks and I thought it was time to post my thoughts on Jaimies-

 

We had attempted to book MayaChan for a beach day but since we had a group of 15 they were unable to accomidate our group, They had recomended jaimie's to us as an alternative choice.

 

I read the reviews on trip advisor and honestly took them with a grain of salt, all were glowing and to be frank its not often that 100% positive reviews are all truthful.

 

I made contact through the contact us page on thier website and had a response from Jaimie himself within about two hours, I informed Jaimie of the dates, the group size, and the fact that we were traveling with two celiac children.

 

So pricing at the time we made the reservation was 45.00 per adult, 25.00 per teenager and kids were free, I do not know the age cutoff between teen and child(sorry)

 

I believe it is now $47.50 per adult

 

We paid a deposit of $100 for the entire group and then waited for the cruise to arrive. A few weeks out from departure i sent a brief email confirming all of the details(especially the celieac info) and was again resonded to qiuckly by Jaimie.

 

 

DAY OF ARRIVAL-

 

The port of Costa Maya Is not that easy to get out of, follow the shops around behind the pool and you will see a small alley to get out,

 

PROTIP

alot of the stores on the backside of the pool have door at the very back of the store as well as the door facing the pool, as you are walking look through the stores and as soon as you see one with a open door at the back you can cut through and save a fair amount of walking since you have to walk back past those same stores again on the other side to get to taxis or shuttle.

 

 

GETTING TO JAIMIES

We took the trolly, we had several children and they wanted to ride it, It was three dollars per person and was neat to take it a little slower and see what was going on in the area, which is mostly construction and empty lots.

 

Take the trolly to the last stop(#3) and tell the driver you are there for Jaimies, they will alert the staff who will come and greet you and escort you to your home for the day.

 

THE STAFF

 

Jaimie and Norma Introduced themselves and showed us our area, there was a very large cooler filled with ice cold beers and bottles of water we could help ourselves to as well as place orders with Norma and her assistants for any cocktails we wanted.

 

You were told if you needed ANYTHING to just ask and it felt like they meant it.

 

Bit of a tangent here but bear with me-

 

I have a friend who is a restaurant owner in Puerto Vallarta, Several times while either visiting him for drinks or eating dinner at his place i have seen him send staff to the store to get an item that a customer requested thet he did not have on hand. I got the feeling that the same would happen at Jaimies

 

Tangent over/

 

FOOD AND DRINK

 

Like i said above, beer and water were self serve(although the staff would gladly get you that as well).

 

The coctails were speedy and strong. I was drinking Bacardi Anejo which is a little uncommon in a all inclusive bar.

 

THE FOOD

 

The menu was explained as smaller portions because "we want you to try everything"

 

The ceviche was to extremly good ( i ordered at least three orders of it),

 

The onion rings were incredible,(as in some of the best i have ever had) just the right thickness to the onions so as to not be overpowering and the perfect amount of breading. Unfotunatly i was too full of ceviche to eat as many as i would have liked:D

 

The burger was far and away the best of week, very tasty, perfectly cooked and seasoned.

 

Others in the group had the fish tacos and i didnt see anything left on the plates so i assume they were as good as everything else.

 

One small thing here-

 

I mentioned in the beginning that we had two children with celiac disease traveling with us, The children are so sensitive that the parents travel with a fairly expensive gluten tester to verify food if they feel unsure about its status, often the cost of the test materials is more then the cost of the meal.

 

The kids ordered some chicken breasts and we were very happy to find that they passed the tester and the kids were able to eat like everybody else instead of out of thier little meal kit they brought along just in case.

(aways do your own research if you are sensitive as well, cross contaminiation could happen at any time)

 

 

BEACH AND AREA

 

The beach in Mahaul is very interesting. the waves break about 200-300 yards out and the water is very shallow all the way out to the break, you can walk out about 200 yards and only be in 4 feet of water. there are boat channels cut through and little islands peppered all over the place.

 

Overall the area is very pretty and you can see your ship from the water, there are several types of fish and sea life in the water. the water and beach were mostly clear of sea grass but this may change day to day.

 

There were a few vendors that would visit but Jaimie and staff would attempt to keep the worst of it away, they also made to sure to inform us if any venders were particulary shady( known fake or scams)

 

I did do a 1 hour beach massage for i believe $40. It was fine but still a beach massage.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

I cant tell you that Jaimies is better then Maya Chan since i have never visited Maya Chan,

 

but I can not imagine how Maya Chan could be better then Jaimies, the friendly and personal service left you feeling like you were with family, there were many, many hugs exchanged as we said good byes, Jaimie made sure my "to go" cocktail was refilled at least three times as we settled the bill and said goodbyes. The staff arranged for our taxis to return to the port and made sure we were told the correct fare before we got into the cab.

 

 

My Sisiter was on a cruise a few weeks after we returned that included Costa Maya, We suggested she visit Jaimies with her crew, they had the same experiance we did with the serivice and food. so we know it was not a one off, She also agreed to the feeling that Jaimie was much like out friend in Puerto Vallarta in terms of attitude towards customer service.

 

All of the adults agreed that this was the best day of the trip, (the kids preferered the day they held sloths)

 

We as a group have a cruise booked next year on symphony of the seas that includes another day in Costa Maya, the final determining factor for that itinerary was the fact that we could go back to Jaimies.

 

 

 

PICTURES

 

View of the beach from Jaimies bar

DSC02857.jpg

 

View down the beach

DSC02832.jpg

View of the beach from the lounger

DSC02790.jpg

Waves Break 200+ Yards out

DSC02662.jpg

Beach vegetation

DSC02755.jpg

Cruise Port from Beach

DSC02753.jpg

Another view of the beach break

DSC02689.jpg

Jaimies From the water

DSC02635.jpg

Is there always a lot of seagrass? We plan on visiting early January. Looks fabulous.

 

Sent from my SM-T550 using Forums mobile app

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bubblegummermom, Thank you for your detailed review of Jaime's Blue Reef.

 

Having known Jaime for many years, from his Playa days to NoHoch Kay, I can back it up that he and the staff he surrounds himself with make service to guest a first priority. Like your friend in PV, he would go, and has gone, out of his way to accommodate a guest's request if at all possible.

 

DW and SIL are heading to Blue Reef in April for the first time. Unfortunately, I'll be home dog sitting. :( But looking forward to being there in 2020.

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bubblegummermom, Thank you for your detailed review of Jaime's Blue Reef.

 

Having known Jaime for many years, from his Playa days to NoHoch Kay, I can back it up that he and the staff he surrounds himself with make service to guest a first priority. Like your friend in PV, he would go, and has gone, out of his way to accommodate a guest's request if at all possible.

 

DW and SIL are heading to Blue Reef in April for the first time. Unfortunately, I'll be home dog sitting. :( But looking forward to being there in 2020.

 

Crewsweeper...the review is not mine, but does sound fabulous :cool:. I've already contacted this establishment yesterday but have not yet heard back. Hopefully I will hear back today so I can plan accordingly. I saw another poster who commented on another establishment (not one of the places talked about here, something like barefoot beach club) where her husband got so ill from the alcohol served. It was his last drink and he took one sip and said it was different tasting and diff color then all the rest. I'm not a big drinker and I don't want to sound naive...but I would hate for something like this to ruin a great cruise. Is that something that I should be worried about here or maya chan? Thanks. Nancy

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