PGA Riviera Maya — Attraction in Quintana Roo

It was obvious upon our arrival they were not ready for us. The lady at the front desk had a very hard time finding our reservation and it wasn't until I revealed paperwork that we were able to proceed. Several times she acted like we were at the wrong golf course. Once we got down to the cart area, nobody helped us at all. It wasn't until we engaged them with our golf receipt that we could get clubs and a cart. We got all loaded up on the cart and then found that the straps to hold the bag were both broken and after waiting for a while he returned with another cart, which we were to find out had basically no brakes at all and would not lock in place. We carried a rock with us the whole round and blocked the wheels at any incline to prevent the cart from rolling away.

After communicating several times we had a 11:40am tee time and it had passed, they said, "We are not ready for you, we have an outing going on. Please go down and hit some balls at the practice range, there are balls there for you, we will come get you when we are ready for you to go." Upon arrival at the range there were no golf balls. We searched closets, coolers, walked all around the range and ended walking out into the practice area picking up balls so we could hit a few. After hitting some on the range and seeing our tee time had passed and we were on a timeline, I told my partner, we need to just go to the first tee and begin going. We drove back and made the turn heading to the tee box, they stopped us and said you cannot go. We then communicated the time was well past, they asked if we would go do some holes on a par 3 course and they would come get us when they were ready. We had no choice so off we went. They never came to get us, so after 3 holes we drove back and they then said we could go to the first tee. It was just after 1:00pm.

We debated on whether to call and back up the transportation a bit knowing we were going to be late getting back, but decided not to, thinking timelines in general in Mexico are not held to and were confident the driver would wait for us. Forward wind to the 15th hole and the arrival of staff telling us our ride was waiting and would only wait 15 more minutes and was leaving. I told them to tell him to wait and we were going to finish our round. They returned 5 minutes later and said the driver would not wait and we would be on our own to hire a taxi for our return. Needless to say, we drove off the course, not finishing our round and...

“We are golfers, and know what golfers want.”

This quote by the staff perfectly sums up the experience at PGA Riviera Maya and is the reason they are in the running for Mexico’s “Course of the Year”.

Two of us booked two days of unlimited golf while staying at Bahia Principe Si’an Kaan. Both days we played were the two best days of golf service we have ever experienced.

From the welcoming greeting at the door and VIP bag service, to the cold towels hand-delivered by staff while we were out on the course, the perfectly equipped golf carts and amazingly kind starters, we could not find anything lacking while playing.

The course cuts through jungle with ample water and scenery, with hundreds of iguanas, geckos, and coati everywhere. The scenery simply cannot be beat and is a welcome enhancement to your round, without having a single distraction.

During our round, the drink cart was frequently circulating with friendly staff, the starter team came around and even asked slower groups before us if we could play through (without us having to ask), and members of staff came around often to offer cold towels in the mid-day heat, as well as additional tees to supplement what we lost.

The greens were in very good shape and fairways were immaculate. Staff was on the course actively making it look nice during the round, and would disappear into the trees when we were up to hit.

The 18 holes are plenty challenging, and we were lucky we met a group of locals to give us more balls to replace the many lost to Tulum’s natural greenery aligning each fairway. The 9-hole executive is pretty, and provides some short-course challenge to supplement the amazing PGA course.

We played in July for $105 per person, per day of unlimited. Normal rate was listed at $135 while we were here. For the money spent, we felt we got an incredible value, and wouldn’t have a single complaint even at twice the price. We both agreed in the end, our golf days were the highlight of the trip.

We played terribly with big smiles on our faces, and shared laughs with an amazing staff in an amazing setting.

Thanks to all who made this a vacation highlight experience. If you’re even considering a round here, do not pass up the opportunity - you will...

TL;DR: Expensive for a casual golfer, but very much worth it.

Review: This is an expensive course (as expected) but BOY is it worth it. The greens fee includes a lot of amenities like water, sweat towels, and tees.

The golf carts are fantastic, work very well, and include Bluetooth speakers which was nice. The drink cart came very regularly, which was great because you need to hydrate. You'll sweat, but man is it worth it.

There are bathrooms placed at great intervals along the course, as well as ample trash cans.

The entire experience was wonderful, we saw lots of wildlife, and the greens are the nicest greens I have ever played on. I even sank some awesome putts, thanks to these super consistent greens.

The rental clubs are great, and we ended up doing this instead of bringing our own. These were a little expensive too, but the clubs themselves were in excellent condition and are way nicer than my own clubs. I actually am considering buying a few because of how enjoyable they were to use.

The course is quite difficult, also as expected, so plan on losing a lot of balls. Still, even if you're a bad golfer, you'll have a great time with the scenery and the perfect grass.

We did take advantage of the range balls which are included in the fee, to give us some time to work...