Bahia Principe Grand Coba Review: Is This Family Resort Worth it in 2025?
An honest Bahia Principe Grand Coba review for families of a great family-friendly resort in the Riviera Maya
This post was last updated on 23/06/2025 to share the most up to date information about the hotel.
In May we spent 2 weeks in Mexico staying at the Bahia Principe Grand Coba. I’ve got so much content to share from what was an amazing trip to a beautiful country. And the Bahia Principe Grand Coba was a great hotel to choose, especially for families.
The kids couldn’t have loved it more! This is the perfect family friendly resort in Riviera Maya. As a more discerning grown ups I noticed there were things they could have done better, but it was still an amazing resort and an epic holiday.
I often hesitate before sharing not 100% perfect reviews. But we did enjoy our Bahia Principe Mexico family holiday. And in the spirit of helping others that might be looking at the same hotel, and want an honest review, here goes!
- The Facilities At The Bahia Principe Grand Coba, Mexico
- The Food And Drink At The Bahia Principe Grand Coba, Mexico
- How To Book Your Stay At The Bahia Principe Grand Coba
- Is Bahia Principe Grand Coba Family-Friendly?
- The Hotel Rooms At The Bahia Principe Grand Coba, Mexico
- FAQs: Bahia Principe Grand Coba, Riviera Maya
- Our Honest Bahia Principe Grand Coba Review
Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
The Facilities At The Bahia Principe Grand Coba, Mexico
This is a hotel that is packed full of facilities. Pools, 7 bars (including a sports bar) a spa where I had my nails done (and they did a great job!), and golf buggy shuttles to get you everywhere you need to go.
These buggies were essential as this resort was huge! We used them every day. Especially as the beach isn’t really walkable from the hotel, and some of the a la carte restaurants you can choose are in other hotels that are part of the group.
For a small tip, the buggies would take you wherever you wanted to go – we loved this!
The hotel has two large pools and a good splash park, which is suitable for younger kids (I would say under 10? My 11 year old found it a little small).
There isn’t a ‘proper’ water park here, but that isn’t unusual for hotels in this part of Mexico, and we didn’t miss it. We were all just happy to swim everyday anyway! And both of the boys were very happy to run through this splash pad, meeting other kids and cooling off.
We’re early risers rather than night owls so we got the pool as it was opening (straight after we’d had breakfast, so around 9.30 each day) and some mornings we were the only ones there for the first half an hour or so. Which felt heavenly!
The mornings were the best times to be by the pools if you want lots of space! The 2 pools were a great size, so there was always room to play, and inflatables and pool floats were also permitted.
My top tip would be to bring your own inflatables to the Bahia Principe Coba! There was huts selling them on either side of each pool but the prices were frankly eye watering! $50 for a pool float? I’m very glad we brought our £10 ones from home!
Two of the pools had swim up bars, which was a real treat to grab an icy cold drink, and you were allowed to drink in the pools which isn’t particularly common. But with this upside comes a downside.
This isn’t particularly a criticism of the hotel, because the hotel can’t control the people that frequent it or their behaviour, but it is worth noting that 4 times in our 2 week stay one or the other of the pools was closed due to someone vomiting in it. Sadly not children that couldn’t help themselves, but adults getting a little too involved in the pools swim up bars. Drunk in the pool? It’s not a good look! A real shame to experience, and one that did mean we tended not to visit the pools in the late afternoon, preferring the beach instead.
And the beach was beautiful! Soft white sand and clear turquoise water. There are rocks in the water here, but this is normal for this part of the world and nothing you cant fix by wearing water shoes (or swimming over them!)
I know one of the things people worry about is getting sunbeds: There were always plenty of sunbeds for everyone here too. But not all of these were in the shade, so if you won’t want to be in the blazing sun it’s worth considering arriving early. We were happy in the sun, and you couldn’t drag us out of the water anyway!
The Coba doesn’t have any snack bar or food at the beach, but there is a small bar where you can get drinks. You could take your drinks back to your sunbed, and the service at the bar was both super fast and well organised.
I can’t overemphasis how lovely the beach was. The water was full of fish and we even spotted a stingray close to the shore. It was everything we imagined Mexico to be.
We took a lot of day trips because we don’t like sitting around doing nothing.
From the resort we visited Chichen Itza, the ruins in Tulum, the Xplor natural water park, Akumal to swim with the sea turtles, and Playa Del Carmen for a wander around the shops. You’ll find reviews of all of these day trips here:
- Ultimate Experiences: Swimming with Sea Turtles in Akumal Mexico
- My Top 5 Tips For Visiting Chichen Itza, Mexico With Kids
- The Ultimate Guide to Xel-Ha, Riviera Maya, With Kids
But there was always plenty to do on the resort, including sporting activities such as water polo, football competitions and yoga classes.
One day the boys and I even took a guacamole making class (and I now make the same recipe at home every week!) so if you don’t want to leave the resort you could still fill your days with the activities put on by the entertainment team. The entertainment team were EXCELLENT, so friendly and enthusiastic.
There is a kids club, but the boys didn’t go so I can’t comment on this! We were so happy exploring and spending time as a family.
In the middle of the 4 hotels in the Bahia Principe group you’ll find the Hacienda. This has a great atmosphere, and is the place to go if you want to shop. You’ll find both stores and market stalls here and there are dozens of vendors.
It’s also a great place to take photos – the big ‘Viva Mexico’ sign we posed in front of above is found here.
Shop here if you don’t want to leave resort – although actually, we found the prices were fairly comparable to the prices we found on 5th Avenue in Playa Del Carmen anyway.
The Food And Drink At The Bahia Principe Grand Coba, Mexico
Before we arrived at the Bahia Principe Grand Coba I had read mixed reviews of the food and drink, but our experience couldn’t have been much better! We were all-inclusive (I think everyone in the hotel is?) and the hotel had the most extensive buffet restaurant I have ever seen.
The selection changed daily, and the main buffet restaurant was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I embraced the Mexican spirit and got into the habit of eating guacamole loaded tacos for my breakfast every morning! If you’re more interested in fruit or a Full English then there are all of those options too.
In the evening there were live cooking stations, and the theme of these changed daily too. From traditional Mexican dishes, to Chinese or Spanish paella, there was tonnes of choice.
My hubby and I are foodies and one of our boys is a really fussy eater and we had full plates and happy tummies every day.
By the main pool is a smaller restaurant where food is served buffet style at lunch time. We ate here on the days when we were enjoying the main pool activities.
Then by the quiet pool is the Food Truck. This also opens for lunch time and you can order ‘junk food’ – burgers, chips, pizza, chicken wings etc. These are made to order.
This was our least favourite place to eat lunch as I wasn’t keen on the quality here, but the kids loved it! This is also the only place where kids can get ice cream during the day, so as you can imagine we were here a lot.
3 times per week (so 6 times for us as we were staying for 2 weeks) you can book a la carte restaurants. It is possible to book these on arrival but reservations go quickly so I recommend you download the Bahia Principe app and book these in advance. That’s what we did, and we managed to get a table at all the restaurants we wanted to try (a couple of them twice!)
The a la cartes available are Mashui Nikkei (a Japanese Peruvian fusion affair), Cozumel ( a Mexican which we enjoyed very much), the gourmet creations of La Gourmet, Meditereneo (this one was Greek inspired) the Italian Portofino, the Brazilian Grand Tortuga, and the Mexican buffet Tequila.
You can see all of the restaurants and their menus on the Bahia Principe website.
We had nothing but good experiences in the a la cartes. In fact I have nothing bad to say about the food at all!
By far our favourite was the Brazilian Rodizio. This was actually in the Tulum hotel but Coba guests can access it. The quality of the meat was excellent, the service was impeccable, and there was a huge selection of salads, side dishes, and desserts you could help yourself to too.
We’re not big drinkers, but we also thought the quality of the drinks were good too, and I did manage to try one of everything from the cocktail menu!
They weren’t using big brand spirits in the cocktails, but I didn’t notice, and thought the drinks tasted good (and not watered down as I had read). If this is a concern for you, there was a premium bar where you could pay a little extra for branded drinks, but we didn’t try this.
Do go to the sports bar! It’s the only room in the whole of the hotel that has proper air conditioning and it was our sanctuary! A place where we could have a cold drink and a little respite from the unrelentless heat.
How To Book Your Stay At The Bahia Principe Grand Coba
There are lots of different ways to book your stay at the Bahia Principe Grand Coba. You could choose to book via a travel agent (like TUI) who will offer you a package with transfers, hotel and flights on the same booking.
But its often more economical to book directly with Bahia Principe and then book your flights separately, because the process is so straightforward and the rates are competitive, especially for families. It’s almost always cheaper to book your hotel direct than with another platform.
👉 Bahia Principe Grand Coba – Check prices here
👉Bahia Principe Mexico Resorts Overview
Remember that if you’re travelling with kids you shouldn’t just book the cheapest room – check room configurations first! We had a lovely room with two double beds which worked for us, but it might not work for other families to have kids together. But the Coba is one of the most family-focused resorts in the Riviera Maya so you’ll find the right room configuration for you here.
Is Bahia Principe Grand Coba Family-Friendly?
The short answer to this question is yes! The Bahia Principe Grand Coba is an incredibly family friendly hotel. Think children’s water park, kid friendly pools, and an entertainment crew that have the happiness of the kids in mind.
We didn’t try the kids club, but we saw them romping around the resort with their leaders and they looked like they were having so much fun. And the Grand Coba entertainment crew made the effort to greet my kids at every meal time, and they were even making balloon animals in the foyer on certain evenings. The entertainment was kid-friendly too, and there were always children’s shows they could be invited to be a part of too.
The Hotel Rooms At The Bahia Principe Grand Coba, Mexico
So this is where my small negative judgements are going to come in. If we were judging the Bahia Principe Grand Coba on its restaurants and facilities alone, we would have been very happy campers! 10/10, no complaints here.
But the resort hasn’t been updated for a while, and that shows most in the hotel rooms. We found that they were tired and in need of a refurb. Not the end of the world, but worth mentioning for this review to be as honest as possible.
When we opened the cabinet drawers to put our clothes in one was broken and fell out. There were some cracked tiles in the bathroom. The bathroom mirror had a crack in it. All minor inconveniences, but nothing that we couldn’t live with!
We’d been warned before we arrived that the humidity meant the rooms could sometimes smell damp and musty – that’s the environment more than the hotel and we were prepared for that. We packed our own disposable dehumidifiers (based on other reviews of the hotels we’d read on the internet) and these helped loads. Definitely worth bringing!
But what really killed us? The air conditioning barely worked at all! In fact, on several days coming into our room to change and cool down felt as oppressive as being outside. We were told that they level of air conditioning was set to be the same for all of the rooms, but this setting just wasn’t enough for us.
Why was this frustrating? Simply, because our youngest son has severe asthma, so air con is a must for him in humid environments. So this might not bother all families, but it was a pretty big deal for us.
The rest of the hotel was cooled by fans. And everything was open air, which meant when there was a breeze it felt lovely and when there wasn’t….not so much!
I love the heat. I love being in it, I’m a real summer person. But without any respite it was just too much even for me. And with no escape from the hot moist air, it was a nightmare for my son!
FAQs: Bahia Principe Grand Coba, Riviera Maya
1. Is the Bahia Principe Grand Coba good for families with young kids?
Yes! We found the Bahia Principe Grand Coba to be incredibly child friendly – the boy were welcome in all of the a la carte restaurants and we saw more families than couples around the pool. Before we booked I did a tonne of research and found that it’s one of the more family-friendly resorts in the Riviera Maya. There are splash pools, a mini water park, kids’ clubs, and evening entertainment that children will enjoy. My boys were never bored here.
2. Are there height restrictions on the water slides and pools?
No, it isn’t that kind of water park. There are slides, but these are smaller splash slides and there isn’t a height limit for these. We saw toddlers going down and even a mum taking a baby down the slide on her lap. Having said that, the slides are small but they’re fast – enough to entertain kids for an hour or two.
3. Is Bahia Principe Grand Coba all-inclusive?
Yes, Coba is an all-inclusive resort. This includes buffet and à la carte dining, drinks (including alcohol), snacks, entertainment, and most on-site activities. We were impressed to find that even renting paddle boards on the beach was included in the all inclusive package.
So what wasn’t included? Some premium services, like spa treatments or certain excursions, cost extra. But this is the case in all all-inclusive resorts.
4. How far is the resort from Cancun Airport?
Honestly, this was another drawback of the hotel. After a long flight and spending hours getting out of the airport, the Bahia Principe Grand Coba is still approximately a 90-minute drive from Cancun International Airport. But I will say that ultimately we decided it was worth the drive.
Transfers are usually included in package holidays, or can be booked separately through providers like Klook.
5. Can you visit other Bahia Principe hotels while staying at Coba?
Guests at Grand Coba often have access to some shared facilities across the wider Bahia Principe complex. This varies depending on the type of package you book (and the wristband you have). We couldn’t use the facilities in the Tulum or Akumal hotel, but we did use their restaurants, and it gave us the chance to explore the other resorts.
Our Honest Bahia Principe Grand Coba Review
It is for this reason that we wouldn’t go back to the Bahia Principe Grand Coba. But we WOULD go back to another hotel within the Bahia Principe group in the Riviera Maya. We loved everything about this resort, except the air conditioning in the rooms.
We have heard that other hotels in the same complex (such as the Tulum or the Akumal) don’t have the same problem? These are newer-looking hotels, and I know the rooms have recently been refurbished. Perhaps these would be a viable alternative? Certainly, were we to ever go back, it wouldn’t be to the Coba!
Ready to book the Bahia Principe Grand Coba – Despite my own minor reservations, I think you’ll have an amazing time! It’s a genuinely beautiful resort.
Have you stayed in this hotel? Or are you thinking of staying in this hotel? I would love to hear your thoughts. And am more than happy to answer any questions about our experience too!
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Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
MERCI POUR CE BLOG, je pars dans 15 jours au Coba, je suis rassurée sur la restauration mais pas sur le logement, y a t il possibilité de changer de chambre s’il n’y a pas de climatisation?
sinon, l’accueil est il ouvert en permanence et est ce que l’on peut trouver une personne qui parle français?
peux ton faire du change à l’accueil où faut il le faire à l’extérieur?
MERCI pour vos réponses
Thanks for your comment! The reception weren’t able to change the temperature of the air conditioning, unfortunately, but there is a reception desk and the team there were helpful. Apparently other people that complained about the air conditioning situation were given wristbands that gave them access to the whole resort. I hope you have a great trip!