Nacho’s Beach Club at Blue Kay

[PGHCruising]

So we contacted Jaimie’s for reservations but unfortunately they are all booked up. They recommended a “sister” beach club: Nacho’s Beach Club, which I have learned is located in/at the Blue Kay hotel.

 

Has anyone experienced Nacho’s? They do have a website that offers some information, but I haven’t seen reviews or anything.

 

So: Any information on Blue Kay? Do they have good food? Top-shelf alcohol?

 

Looking at Google Maps satellite image, it looks like Blue Kay is at the northern part of the the Mahahual beach - how is this area for snorkeling? On the satellite image I am seeing brown structures - what looks like coral Bonnies/ reef structure. Is my interpretation of the images accurate? Is this coral? Is this accessible from shore by swimming?

 

Thanks in advance for any information you’re able to provide.

[crewsweeper]

AHA!!!  At last the name of the club that took over the Senior Frogs facilities.

 

I know nothing about this place, or how "sister" it is to Jaime's.  According to Steve Uhl at Tropicante, Blue Kay and this place and the building where Jaime's is located are owned by an absentee landlord who uses a group of "thugs" (Steve's description) to run these places (not Jaimes).  This includes the "managers" of El Faro, next to Tropicante, who are known for their attempts to redirect people away from Tropicante, poor service and incidents of price gouging and credit card scams.

 

But again, that's a rival beach clubs opine.  I do know that El Faro is no longer a great place that it used to be 6 or 8 years ago before the owner "retired" and hired these new people. And I have laughingly witnessed their schemes to persuade people walking by they are part of Tropicante.

Edited March 20, 2019 by crewsweeper
removed wrong website link

[crewsweeper]

Oops, I stand corrected.  Found a web link.

 

https://www.nachosbeachclub.com/?fp=IvUHwsWQLOn2WVPKiisSuEngj8pz8gBNgVrQDJNN%2FasbsXq00dABrEIT9x6uZwfFVOenRaupEXftXsFLZZDAyeNcSWJAD%2BwNeA6XgOP0DGcEmiFokYNkZpo6VwseyP5xrs7yT1Gc3vml2YtnCaSzBAtOad41uCS%2Bl6R2KJugGPeMUyRcXzAhCxXb8me5i6At&poru=zsMRBAXi6hevVEqad%2FlngyqvqpxOw1Dj4cFVXcJbc3a4CfvRXzDhpGYAGAI6tdKI&prvtof=ToNeytuNHko0Zh%2FLBuQL014ow0tOtiJsCPSgoh5Ezhs%3D

 

Nachos Beach Club is NOT in the old Senor Frogs complex.  Rather it is the NEW NAME for Blue Kay. 

Looks like they switched to an AI.  Other comments above remain uncorrected.

 

[PGHCruising]

Hi crewsweeper, thanks for your input! I just wish your scathing review of the unknown place wasn’t the #2 comment on this discussion... not very fair to Nacho’s - hopefully anyone with information on Blue Kay or Nacho’s will chime-in!

 

I’m curious how this area of the beach is. Is there any coral structure to be found within swimming distance of the beach?

[PGHCruising]

Also, crewsweeper, Tropicante was also booked or reservations, but pointed us towards their regular menu. How is the beach by the Tropicante? How was the food there? Did they have a good selection of alcohol? Thanks!

[c-leg5]

16 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

AHA!!!  At last the name of the club that took over the Senior Frogs facilities.

 

I know nothing about this place, or how "sister" it is to Jaime's.  According to Steve Uhl at Tropicante, Blue Kay and this place and the building where Jaime's is located are owned by an absentee landlord who uses a group of "thugs" (Steve's description) to run these places (not Jaimes).  This includes the "managers" of El Faro, next to Tropicante, who are known for their attempts to redirect people away from Tropicante, poor service and incidents of price gouging and credit card scams.

 

But again, that's a rival beach clubs opine.  I do know that El Faro is no longer a great place that it used to be 6 or 8 years ago before the owner "retired" and hired these new people. And I have laughingly witnessed their schemes to persuade people walking by they are part of Tropicante.

 

Crew you said in your previous warning that Blue Kay was not involved in this - has this changed again?

And for the record, I had no problem being escorted by an El Faro employee (albeit against my wishes) directly to Tropicante. I was insistent that I knew where I was going (I didn’t!) and had a reservation, nevertheless he didn’t try to take us else where.

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, PGHCruising said:

Also, crewsweeper, Tropicante was also booked or reservations, but pointed us towards their regular menu. How is the beach by the Tropicante? How was the food there? Did they have a good selection of alcohol? Thanks!

 

Tropicante is PAYG and has a menu of food and drinks on its website. It is in the middle of the malecon. 

 

Blue Kay is about the first beach club on the northern end. Use the search engine for this forum to find posts on Blue Kay by Mitsugirly and you will find at least a couple of photo intensive reviews of Blue Kay in her signature, including lots about snorkeling. I am presently in email contact with Nacho’s to see if they are exclusively AI now, or if it is just a small section of the property, or if they have in fact changed management and name of the beach club.

 

Several discussions about Blue Kay on this forum but if it has changed management they might not be applicable.

Edited March 21, 2019 by c-leg5

[c-leg5]

17 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

Oops, I stand corrected.  Found a web link.

 

https://www.nachosbeachclub.com/?fp=IvUHwsWQLOn2WVPKiisSuEngj8pz8gBNgVrQDJNN%2FasbsXq00dABrEIT9x6uZwfFVOenRaupEXftXsFLZZDAyeNcSWJAD%2BwNeA6XgOP0DGcEmiFokYNkZpo6VwseyP5xrs7yT1Gc3vml2YtnCaSzBAtOad41uCS%2Bl6R2KJugGPeMUyRcXzAhCxXb8me5i6At&poru=zsMRBAXi6hevVEqad%2FlngyqvqpxOw1Dj4cFVXcJbc3a4CfvRXzDhpGYAGAI6tdKI&prvtof=ToNeytuNHko0Zh%2FLBuQL014ow0tOtiJsCPSgoh5Ezhs%3D

 

Nachos Beach Club is NOT in the old Senor Frogs complex.  Rather it is the NEW NAME for Blue Kay. 

Looks like they switched to an AI.  Other comments above remain uncorrected.

 

 

Good catch on the website! I wonder if they have new management.

Edited March 21, 2019 by c-leg5

[crewsweeper]

8 hours ago, PGHCruising said:

Hi crewsweeper, thanks for your input! I just wish your scathing review of the unknown place wasn’t the #2 comment on this discussion... not very fair to Nacho’s - hopefully anyone with information on Blue Kay or Nacho’s will chime-in!

 

I’m curious how this area of the beach is. Is there any coral structure to be found within swimming distance of the beach?

 No BlueKay/Nachos is not the #2 in the comments.  But as I understand, and again this is from the perspective of a club owner who does live there, the absentee owner of both properties and several others along the malecon, is the same.  Management is supposedly different but I have heard they switch personnel around a bit.

 

I think the beach at Blue Kay/Nachos is the better beach area south of the lighthouse.  Plus it is isolated some what from the main malecon.  The main malecon beach can be okay, but sandy bottom gets churned a bit with boat traffic and it is very shallow.  Clubs tend to run next to each other so can be hard to distinguish if unfamiliar.

 

Coral structure is minimal at Blue Kay/Nachos and non-existent elsewhere.

Best coral structure from shore is up at Uvero Beach, a bus ride north of the cruise port which requires a ship excursion to visit.  However, you can arrange a snorkeling excursion offshore with one of the dive shops.  Not far off shore is the northern section of the great barrier reef that goes past Belize. The Chinchorro Banks are only about 19 miles off shore, but depth may not make snorkeling an option.

 

Doctor Dive,  Nomad Divers, Mahahual Dive  Shop have good reps, PADI certified and good crews.

 

 

[Gatordad815]

19 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

I am presently in email contact with Nacho’s to see if they are exclusively AI now, or if it is just a small section of the property, or if they have in fact changed management and name of the beach club.

 

I’d be very interested to see what you learn from your email contact, as we will be in Costa Maya on a cruise stop in 2 weeks and we had settled on Blue Kay based on the reviews/pics here. But we do not want an AI as we have small children with food allergies so we aren’t really planning on eating full meals wherever we go. Pay as you go definitely works better for our family.

 

Any additional information sincerely appreciated-thanks!

[c-leg5]

17 hours ago, Gatordad815 said:

 

I’d be very interested to see what you learn from your email contact, as we will be in Costa Maya on a cruise stop in 2 weeks and we had settled on Blue Kay based on the reviews/pics here. But we do not want an AI as we have small children with food allergies so we aren’t really planning on eating full meals wherever we go. Pay as you go definitely works better for our family.

 

Any additional information sincerely appreciated-thanks!

 

I had a couple of prompt replies from Nacho’s but I am still not entirely understanding the “set-up”.

 

“Nachos Beach Club is located at the beach in front of the Blue Kay Eco Resort.  It is close to the old Senior Frogs but is a little to the north.  We offer an all-inclusive beach club experience.  It may be possible to order from the menu depending on the date of your visit.”

 

I am not sure if they are leasing an area of the beach, (like Blue Kay appear to have done with the area to the right, away from the cruise port). They would appear to be in front of the new two-storey accommodations built by Blue Kay. It would appear they have their own kitchen and are independent. Hopefully someone actually visiting will be able to report back because it seems the land operated by Blue Kay is getting smaller, which was one if its main attractions, especially with little ones. The following reply implies you can still go to Blue Kay but the area may be more restricted than in the past.

 

“Nachos has part of the beach and Blue Kay has the other part.  I am not sure what they charge for the use loungers but I am sure it is possible to enjoy the beach at Blue Kay and be served from their restaurant.”

Edited March 22, 2019 by c-leg5

[abatlin]

We were able to contact Blue Kay a couple of days ago through Facebook.  We had tried several times through email without a reply. They are now offering two price structures.  The pay as you go is $12 per person, going towards two welcome drinks, or a three hour all inclusive at $45.  Looking at past posts in January, they were charging $35 for the same three hour all inclusive.  In two months, the price has jumped $10!  I have read about the inconsistencies in their pricing structure.  For this reason, we have chosen to go to Maya Chan.  For $59 it includes transportation, all inclusive for as long as you like, beach toys, snorkel equipment, and over the top service. If you go to trip advisor, you will see the reviews given are all 5 star.  

[Gatordad815]

Thanks to both replies. I appreciate the info! 

 

I’m kind of concerned about arriving with the kids only to be told it’s AI only, which won’t work for us, so I think we will skip it.  Seems from what I’ve seen it wouldn’t be easy to just walk next door from this place if we got there and couldn’t just pay as we go.  The lack of many close neighbors was part of the appeal of this place originally, but I guess that’s also a drawback if you can’t be sure you know what you’d get when you arrive...

[c-leg5]

1 hour ago, Gatordad815 said:

Thanks to both replies. I appreciate the info! 

 

I’m kind of concerned about arriving with the kids only to be told it’s AI only, which won’t work for us, so I think we will skip it.  Seems from what I’ve seen it wouldn’t be easy to just walk next door from this place if we got there and couldn’t just pay as we go.  The lack of many close neighbors was part of the appeal of this place originally, but I guess that’s also a drawback if you can’t be sure you know what you’d get when you arrive...

 

Not sure how old your kids are but it is quite easy to walk the whole length of the malecon - it is a little over a mile, with most places being around the half-way mark. Blue Kay is certainly not isolated like Maya Chan but it did have space between loungers.

 

Not sure if you have seen the following thread but someone on a cruise this week has promised an up to date review of Blue Kay when they return, which may help you in your decision.

 

[Gatordad815]

7 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Not sure how old your kids are but it is quite easy to walk the whole length of the malecon - it is a little over a mile, with most places being around the half-way mark. Blue Kay is certainly not isolated like Maya Chan but it did have space between loungers.

 

They’re 5 and 3 and certainly capable of walking a mile (they do it every time we take them to Magic Kingdom!) I was under the impression Blue Kay wasn’t really close to other options, so it’s good to know that’s not really the case. 

 

Thanks also for for pointing out the other topic to keep an eye on. Thank you!