I spent May 10th - 17th at the Akumal Beach Resort (ABR), in Akumal Mexico, and
here is my review of the resort..  excuse the jumping around of topics, as
I tend to just type whatever is entering my mind that I remember at the time..

The resort was rated 3 to 4 stars, depending on which book you looked at.
I'd have to say, for a 3 star resort, they did a pretty good job.  

I didn't spend any time in the older rooms, but heard the rooms in buildings 5, 6, and 7
are the best.   I was in building 7, on the third floor in room 752.  The building was
the furthest south from the central area of the resort, but it was a fairly short walk to
the main area, and actually led directly in to the buffet.    The room was
comfortable, with a nice, long, counter, and lots of space at the sink in the bathroom
area, but was lacking a dressor, and/or shelf space for clothes.  (There were a few shelves, half of
one is taken up by the safe, so you couldn't put much on that shelf if you 
want to use your safe on a regular basis.)   There was a lot of room to hang clothes though,
and quite a few hangers.  (Though bringing a few of your own hangers is never a bad idea if you
have a lot to hang, plus you can  hang things that won't fit on the shelves.)  Oh, if you
only had 1 person in the room, there is plenty of room for everything.  It's just if you have 2
or more, you'll start wishing for a bit more space.
The shower was spacious, but the water flow was low, with not much pressure, which is a bit strange since
the pressure in the sink was pretty good.   Luckily the shower head was one of those
hand massager types that you can adjust flow, and remove to get water to the areas
you needed it.   Was a very minor annoyance more than anything.   There was also a string in the
shower you could stretch accross and use to hang your wet clothes.  
I found the space under the counter in the main room, and under the sink in the bathroom were
a great place to put extra luggage, or snorkel/dive equipment and water toys.  Much easier access
than trying to put everything in the closet.

The deck to the room was comfortably shaded, and nice to sit on and have a drink and look out
over the ocean.   If it wasn't raining, you could leave things out on the deck to dry.  If you expect rain,
remove your things from the deck though, as the roof to the deck is actually designed with
a large hole in it, so the rain will rain down on some of your things.   (Bad design!!)


I tried both the Italian and Mexican restaurants there.  The Mexican was
the best of them, with good food and seclection.  While the Italian, I thought was
just average.  (I had a stuffed turkey dish there)

Oh, you may have read things about the wine at the buffet not being very good.  My friend tried the wine
and concurred with that.   Actually, he mentioned only 2 things in the buffet he would never try again,
the coffee from the automatic machines there, and the wine.     If you want a good cup of coffee, an
espresso, or cappacino, go to the main bar where they make it all by hand, like they would at a good
coffee shop.

The buffet restaurant always had a good selection of food, with a made to order station available at
every meal.   Breakfast you could get omellets, eggs, pancakes, and frech toast made to order.  (I
highly recommend the omellets!).   There was always fresh fruit at every meal as well, with the watermelon
being especially delicious!  (Pineapple and cantelope were also quite good!)   Lunch and
dinner also had a pasta area, as well as a salad bar, and a variety of meats of fish.   For lunch
or dinner, the made to order was usually fish or some meats, or both.   
And of course, they always had the fresh pico/salsa, and chips and guacamole..  if nothing else,
if you're a fan of good chips and salsa, you could live the whole week on just these.  YUM!
Though be wary of adding the extra peppers they sometimes offered, the habaneros were quite hot!
Oh, every day/night they had something different, so the variety was really good and you shouldn't
get bored with the "same old thing" every day.    Some of the desserts were average, but a few
were really good.  Try the banana pie when they have it.   Also, the pecan pie was good as well.
(I didn't have many more than that, as I TRIED to stick to fruit as my dessert.)
Oh, the buffet didn't seem to have Air conditioning, so if you wanted to be a bit cooler, you might
want to try to get near a window to get a breeze.   I wouldn't say it would be "hot" in there,
but when you just spent hours in the sun, you kind of want to cool down a bit.

At the snack bar you could get hot dogs, chips, pizza, fries, hamburgers, etc.  Also, if you wanted ice cream,
the only place to get it seemed to be from the soft serve machine at the snack bar.   They never had it
at the buffet.   Oh, the pizza might not look too appetizing, but it was quite good, so don't be afraid
to give it a try!

Let me stress again just how good the chips and Pico/salsa and guacamole were..    They are almost worth
the trip to ABR, just for them.  Always fresh and delicious!   And you could get them at the snack bar, or
at the buffet.

Also the Main bar had a small clear plastic container of breakfast croissants and such in the morning, and small
sandwiches in the afternoon.  Look to the right of the main area of the bar and you'll see them.  I
had the sandwiches a few times and they were actually pretty good.  

I never ate at the "Pay" restaurant, that is apparently just a small room near the Main bar and buffet entrance.
I looked in there and it looked ok, but they don't seem to advertise that restaurant much.   Plus the food at
the buffet and Mexican restaurant were pretty good, so didn't feel the need.

Most of the staff was friendly, and the drinks were always flowing at one of the 3
bars.

I'd say the atmosphere around the "Moon Bar" was the most fun at times, followed
by the main bar, then the bar at the Snack Bar.

Food could be had nearly all day, either at the buffet, or the snack bar.

All the bars seem to make similar types of drinks, but I think the main bar did it best,
especially when the Moon bar was without a blender for a few days!

There were definitely issues with having to get up at 6am to put a towel on a chair to get
some shade.  But the resort seemed to be adressing that issue as it was putting up new palapas
for shade.  I don't know how many they planned on adding, but they added 3 or 4 the week I was
there, and saw room for them to easily add another 9 or 10.  (allowing about 40 more people to
sit in the shade.)

A little known secret is the small palms on the north side of the resort near the Moon bar.
You could drag chairs under them for shade, and you didn't have to get up at 6am to get a chair.
I often arrived at 8:30 or 9am and still found lots of trees available.  Though some are a few steps
 further away from the beach, behind the soccer field, you still get a great view of the ocean.
Also, further north from the resort boundary, there were many palms you could drag a chair to as well.

Speaking of the soccer field, if you enjoyed playing or watching soccer, a great game seemed
to happen every day around 4:30.  Many of the staff play regularly, with guests joining in.
The game is quite competitive, and I noticed a few injuries of players due to some of
the friendly aggression and competition.  (Mostly ankle types, and possibly a dislocated or
broken toe!)

I can't speak for the nightly "Theater" productions put on by the cast, as I only attended one
for a brief moment.  I saw guests apparently dressed in balerina costumes and dancing around the
stage....  I guess I've seen enough shows where they make fun of the guests that 5 minutes of
this was enough..   I was going to attend another night, when there was supposed to be a good
"MTV" production, but the power went out in the central part of the resort and the show was
cancelled.  The power did flicker on and off occasionally around the resort throughout the week,
it was usually just a flicker and power was back on immediately.   Though I think all the
power flickers eventually got to the clock in my room, as it never seemed to want to program
to the proper time, so was just left to flash continuously.  (Probably should have just unplugged
it.)

There was also usually nightly entertainment in the Main bar, by Silvia and Lupo.  They sung a variety
of songs mostly in English, with a few Italian or Spanish songs thrown in.  The songs ranged in variety
to 80s, disco, pop, rock, or whatever.   I believe you could make requests.   Personality wise, they
were great people.   Singing wise, um..  Let's just say that they were typical "Lounge" singers.  When
you have to sing such a variety of songs, you can't focus on just the songs you might sound best at, so
other songs end up sounding a bit cheesey or out of tune.  If you know what I mean by the Lounge
singer sound, you'll know what I'm talking about.   When singing the songs that more typically
suited their "sound", they sounded much better though.   (This is not meant as a knock on them, there
aren't many that could do great at every song, nor should some even sing certain songs.  For those that
watch American Idol, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.)

Another thing I really liked about the resort, if you wanted to get away from the loud music, you just
had to be a little way away from the pool area.   The rest of the area was quite relaxing, with only
the sound of the waves on the beach.  Actually, now that I think of it, there was less of the "loud
music" at ABR than I'm used to at some of the other resorts, but they still have a bit of it.

Oh, there is some music playing at the Moon Bar that you can hear a little if you are in that area,
but it is not loud or obnoxious.  Though after a week you will know every song possible with "Mexico"
and "Tequilla" in the words, as they seem to play the same CD or two over and over.  I would guess if
you brought a CD, they would play it for you while you were there.

The main bar seems to be open just about all hours of the day, (though not overnight) while the snack bar opened a bit later,
I think 10 or 11.  The moon bar opened around 10 or 11, and seemed to close at 5 or 6pm.  (Which was
a bummer when you wanted to keep the party going!)   When you ask "Gimme your best margaritta" and offer 
them your empty thermos.. they deliver.    (Remember to tip once in a while!)

Another note on shade at the resort, there were actually plenty of tables at the snack bar, and a few at
the Moon Bar, that you could take a reprieve from the sun at.  (Stay as long as you like)   Also, for 
relaxing at night or just to get away from the beach and pool, you could relax on the quite comfy
chairs and couches in the lobby, (Nice, laid back lobby!)  or the small building between the lobby and the pool.
All are open air, so there is usually a nice breeze.

There usually was a breeze coming off the beach to keep things a bit cooler.  Some days the wind was
quite strong, while others just a calm one.   I'd say that half the time the bay in front of the
resort was fairly calm, while the other time was medium sized waves.   
other half it was a bit more wavy.


The resort area itself was always spotless, with people vigilant in raking the weeds off the beach,
picking up any trash, trimming the grass, etc..   Very picturesque.

Water...  There were large 5 gallon jugs of water in dispensers in each building, and water could be
had at any of the bars.  (The main bar and snack bar also  had some juice drink of some kind).   There
is also a half gallon thermos jug in your room you can fill with water at any time and take with you
around the resort.   I'd also recommend bringing your own insulated mug to keep your fruity drinks cold.
(plus they tend to hold a lot more, so less trips needed to the bar for refills)  The plastic cups they
use for drinks work, but won't keep your drinks cold.

If you're a snorkeler, there was great snorkeling right in front of the resort and to the north
near the boats.  Actually, you could usually spot an array of turtles near where the Parasailing
boat sits.  (They leave a kayak in it's place when they take the boat out during the day.)
Aside from the turtles, you'll find some good coral, lots of fish, sting rays, and even some
Squid if you're lucky enough.  (I spotted 2 one day, and 4 another.)   There was also at least
one huge barracuda in the area, as well as a few other large game fish.   There were
apparently tours being offered to some of the snorkeling areas, ask the "animation" team
about it, or check with the Scuba diving shop near the pool.

The pool was in the middle of the resort.  It was pretty big, probably able to fit a hundred or
more people comfortably, with most of it being only about 4 feet deep, so easy to just relax in.
Though they do have a separate "deep" pool where you can really dunk your head, or take scuba lessons, if you like.  
(The jacuzzi is attached to the deep pool.  Of course the Jacuzzi is not HOT water as you might find 
in the states or Canada, but the usual pool temp water you find all over Mexico.)    They did have water polo 
nets and baskets should you want to play in any of those sports in the pool.  

The animation team was nice, and offered many differently activities you could participate in if you liked.
Though like all animation teams, they tended to be too aggressive sometimes at trying to get you to get
up and enjoy yourself.   Beware if you are sitting around the main bar at night when the music is playing,
you'll more than likely be pulled to the dance floor, or made to feel guilty if you don't!   But this seems
typical of most animation teams at other resorts as well..  There job is to try to get you to have fun and
enjoy your stay.   They also have dance lessons, games, volleyball, and contests they'll try to get involved in.
Join in if you like, or stay a bit further away from the pool area if you don't want to be involved and asked.

In summary, I would highly recommend the resort.   Great beach, decent service, average
to good food, and an incredible value when compared to other all inclusives resorts in the area I have
been to.  (Barcelo, Grand Porto Real, Copacabana)  I would definitely go back.

If you have any questions you'd like answered, please feel to email me at snorky@frontiernet.net.
I'd be happy to answer them.   I can also give you a link to pictures I took while there, of the
resort, and of snorkeling in front of the resort.