Feels like a place where you feel 'special' because you are in the know. Jaime's at the Blue Reef…read moreis a restaurant the offers an AYCE food/drink experience on the beach at Costa Maya for $61 for a day pass per person (if you contact the business directly). It also includes free rental of canoe or paddleboard (which we did not take advantage of). They only have a certain number of slots per day, though on our day, there were plenty of spots still open. My brother and I spent a half day experiencing their hospitality on a port day from the Harmony of the Seas, and it was great, exceeding my expectations.
My brother was able to book directly with them days before. Once off the boat, we took a taxi from the cruise port for $5 a person. It was .about a 10 minute ride, going through very bumpy and potholed roads. We got dropped off in a rural area, and it's definitely an island vibe in the area. Blue reef is the hotel which the taxi driver knew and routed towards. Once we checked in at the hotel, we got the choice of shaded loungers closer to the water or a bit further back (good to bring a rented towel from the boat). The beach in back of the hotel has palm trees to provide shade, and the water is extremely shallow, protected by a man-made barrier . It's a public beach, so a lot of vendors initially asking for purchases, but after enough 'no, thanks', they left us alone (though new ones popped up during our stay).
It wasn't so busy, so our waiter/beach attendant came by pretty often to check on us. The first order of business was to get the wi-fi password, and the wi-fi worked well throughout our 4 hour stay, letting me catch up a bit. Of course, we started with drinks, so off the focused menu, got two mojitos. They were surprisingly good...served in cheap plastic mile glass, but had plenty of fresh muddled mint...tasted really good and I probably had too much. Also towards the end of our stay, got a mango margarita (served frozen, but done so a bit melted, preventing a brain freeze) and a tequila sunrise. Both were well made, with a decent amount of alcohol.
As for food, we ordered a lot off the menu and everything was decent to very good, especially since it was served to you beachside in small portions. The corn tortillas were fresh, home style, thick and greasy: perfect for the various dishes that we ate with them. Nachos had choice of chicken and beef, and both proteins were excellent: good flavor, cooked over a flame. It also used nacho cheese, and a good mix of diced onion and cilantro. The quesadilla used good flour tortillas, intentionally cut into very small squares for sharing, and used the same good meats. I had to try their shrimp ceviche, and definitely better than i expected, with good mexican white shrimp and a good mix of lime juice and tomato/onion to bring out the flavor. Recommendation is to keep ordering every time the server comes back, until one is satisfied.
The friendly service was excellent, with Roberto (main server) and Chucho being the two servers with Ale being the bartender, who made the excellent drinks. One can definitely get much food and drinks as wanted in the shade, and with the constant excellent weather, a really great way to spend the day if coming in for the day on a cruise.
