Jaime's at the Blue Reef

[DunkelBierJay]

Rarely, when I go to an all inclusive or do an excursion do I develop an emotional attachment to a place and to a staff on shore like I do with my stateroom attendant and MDR waiters, but Jaime's at the Blue Reef did that for my wife and me.

The staff and service is friendly, welcoming and impeccable. Martin, Digby and Rodrigo are at risk for becoming famous for their service and wonderful approach. The food is outstanding, the margaritas are really tasty (try the tamarind), and the atmosphere is festive and restful at the same time. The beach is fairly small, but the water is warm and shallow in close proximity to the huge reef off shore, and there is a rooftop pool with an amazing, albeit windy view when we were there. When going up the steps, you notice there are no room numbers. The rooms are designated by fish species names.

I really like the proximity to other amenities along the beach, and Pepe's Dive Shop which is attached is absolutely fantastic. It was staffed by Pepe (not the owner), Siri (divemaster), and Cata who I believe is also a divemaster/instructor.

The reviews on TripAdvisor are legit as well. My only hesitation is that the word will get out, and it will become increasingly difficult to get a reservation for next time. And, yes, I am going back asap.

Since the location is in the middle of the beach in Mahahual, there are vendors who come up trying to sell stuff, but they aren't pushy. One is in a pic below and is dressed as a mime.

 

 

 

 

[GatorCruiser]

thanks for the review. In your opinion, would it still be a solid choice if you had children with you, say compared to maya chan?

[AlmondFarmer]

Thank you for thorough review. I have a reservation for 20 people in a month. 11 of which are children (not all mine) 

[JennaRCB]

I went here in September and loved it! I liked how it was in the middle of Mahahual so you could walk around the town for a bit during the day.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I am a fairly loyal Krazy Lobster customer BUT I may have to try Jaimie's as I have many visits to Costa Maya in my future.  Do you have to make reservations up front or can you just "show up" ?

[AlmondFarmer]

14 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I am a fairly loyal Krazy Lobster customer BUT I may have to try Jaimie's as I have many visits to Costa Maya in my future.  Do you have to make reservations up front or can you just "show up" ?

I emailed back and forth with Jamie 6 months before sailing. He took a $100 deposit for my group to reserve spots. Website says limited to 35 guests per day. I would assume if count is below this and you walk up day off, access would be allowed. 

[Bean79]

Looking at the website it looks like you have to make a reservation as they only want 28 guests at a time.

[WAAAYTOOO]

Roger that - thanks @AlmondFarmerand @Bean79

[jbrinkm]

We were at Jaime's in April and to be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the place. We are visiting Costa Maya again next spring and I've already booked Maya Chan to try it out instead. I respect that people are going to have different opinions about different places, but I had only read great things about Jaime's before we went and I ended up disappointed. Maybe we were just there on an "off" day - very possible - but I do want to share my mediocre experience as additional information for people trying to decide.

I think Jaime's does a great job for what it is - beach access along the Malecon. It was crowded when we were there. It may have been more enjoyable if there had been fewer people, at a less busy time of year.

Pros: the food and drink were delicious, the staff was amazingly friendly, there is a rooftop pool (small) with amazing views, the swings by the bar are fun, there are some beach toys (paddleboard, kayak), you have access to snorkeling boats (extra fee) if you want to go out, and it wasn't too far from the port.

Cons: service was agonizingly slow for us, it felt very cramped with the number of people and how close together everything is along that strip, the seating/shade was not all equal, it was difficult to enjoy the water - again, because there is not a lot of space in the allotted water square in front of the club, we were constantly asked if we wanted to buy things (not harassed, just asked and people moved on when we said no, but constant all day). In the hours we were there, I think we each ended up with 2-3 drinks and one plate of food, and we had to go to the bar for the second round of drinks. I was disappointed that we weren't able to enjoy more food & beverage for our $50pp. The value to us felt like $30pp. The people next to us joked that that was how to make a profit on a AI - to just not serve anyone anything. Plus you end up paying for taxis each way. For my family of 4, that added $16 each way to the price, even though it was not that far.

At Maya Chan, each party gets a bed and hammock and their own palapa. (at Jaime's we were put in a squished row of 4 with another couple, and then our teens were put two rows ahead of us.) I'm looking forward to the buffet because I won't have to wait to be served. Looks like quite a few more "toys" at Maya Chan and space to be able to use them. My son was trying to paddleboard at Jaime's and could move one or two strokes, then had to stop and change direction to not bump someone or run into the rope. Transportation is included both ways, so the price ends up being the same for both places. I'll reserve final judgement until I've been to Maya Chan but it just seems like you get more for your money out there. 

[mac66]

Maya Chan is $69 now.  Been there, done that. It was okay. Not going back.  Food & service was very good. Beach not so much. Lots of seaweed, nothing to see there. The ride was long and uncomfortable to get there and back.  But....it's a very nice place and we did have a good time.

[asquared17]

we’re excited to do maya chan!!

i had looked at jaime’s, and of course, loved reading the reviews of everyone here and jenna’s experience on RCB. i think it’s probably a little more mainstream than we are looking for — being close to town, beach vendors, even the arrangement of the chairs etc — which leads me to believe that maya chan (more laid back) will be perfect for us. 

thanks for all the great insight, everyone!

[mac66]

To the OP regarding diving at Jaime's...

Since you mentioned Pepe's dive shop....I assume you dived with them. Do they dive off the shore?  Can you just walk up to the shop and dive while you are at Jaime's?

[jbrinkm]

3 hours ago, mac66 said:

To the OP regarding diving at Jaime's...

Since you mentioned Pepe's dive shop....I assume you dived with them. Do they dive off the shore?  Can you just walk up to the shop and dive while you are at Jaime's?

I'm not the OP and can only speak about snorkeling, but from the response I got, my feeling is that it would be easy to just walk up and dive. We were in contact with Gypsea Divers (another highly recommended shop that is right next to Jaime's) about same-day snorkeling and they said just contact them when we got there if we decided to go (via WhatsApp). We ended up just using the guys that are AT Jaime's for snorkeling but all the scheduling seemed really easy & relaxed for the dive shop. 

[mac66]

18 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

I'm not the OP and can only speak about snorkeling, but from the response I got, my feeling is that it would be easy to just walk up and dive. We were in contact with Gypsea Divers (another highly recommended shop that is right next to Jaime's) about same-day snorkeling and they said just contact them when we got there if we decided to go (via WhatsApp). We ended up just using the guys that are AT Jaime's for snorkeling but all the scheduling seemed really easy & relaxed for the dive shop. 

Thanks a bunch. I was considering Gypsea as well but didn't know where they were.   This may work out well. My wife, brothers/wives and I can go to Jaime's and I can dive wth Pepe's or Gysea.

We are now booked at Jaimie's and I contacted Pepe's. They suggest I book a spot with them ahead of time (of course).  Their dive boat goes out at 9 and 11:30 am, sometimes full, sometimes not so it's better to reserve a spot. I could easily get in 2 dives with the rest of the afternoon for food and drinks.    Seems like a plan