Barcelo Gran Faro Los Cabos: Great resort

We have been here twice now and have enjoyed it both times. The grounds are well maintained and the pools are great. Service is good in all areas. We found a couple great servers and once we make connections with certain people, our trip is that much more enjoyable. Elvis in the dining room made our mealtime great and Luis at the pool made activities fun.

Palma Real: Enticement discount of $450 required

Our January 2018 visit to Cuba illustrates the discount of $450 (Canadian) dollars between 3 and 4 star rated hotels. This amount will vary monthly and seasonally. In Veradero, we stayed at the Palma Real all inclusive, which is across the street from the Starfish resort. (Resorts change their prefix names as ownership changes: Palma used to called the Gran Caribe Palma Real, now it's Allegro.) Palma Real's price is (needs to be) cheaper by $450 because it's: >Located 5 minute walk across th [... read more]e road from beach >Less attractive room with poorer bed and other furnishings, hallways, lobby, etc. >Lower quality food >Less attractive reception, lobby >Different quality clientele >Lower quality evening spectacles We have considerable experience among Cuban resorts. To reiterate a truism, price reflects quality, especially when economic demand is large. To entice customers to purchase this resort, Cuban central planning managers have calculated that a discount of $450 per week is required. And there's still plenty of people who regularly come back to this resort to have a grand old time. Most visitors are from eastern Canada and Russia. So why did we choose to subject ourselves to this discount? (Small discomfort, not suffering.) Since we consider ourselves so (sniff!) superior. Well... n.b. the savings amount to $900 for a couple. For this, I can enjoy 9 high quality candlelight dinners at the restaurant of my choice when I get home. We value this location and like to stay near a town where other than beach diversions exist. This hotel is near several exciting night clubs, stores and businesses for variety. You can have an interesting walk around town, nature and amusement parks. You can meet locals in addition to tourists from around the world. There are many transport alternatives: walking, horse carriage rides, three or 4 wheeled taxis, buses, motorcycles. The nearby nightclub "Calle 62" is worth special mention. It's a really fun place with lively live Cuban music with dancers and audience spilling into the street. Whatever your temperament, just go and take a look, hang out for a while. Drinks and BBQ chicken are priced reasonably. Won't cost you a thing except a short walk. Conversely, if you don't mind a more isolated location with 4 or 5 star rated service costing 2-3 times this price, then this is not the hotel of choice for you. An additional aspect to consider is the nature of the clientele here. It is a certain yahoo segment of society less likely to be found at more expensive venues: slovenly, boisterous, tattooed, hard drinking, fun-seeking people, and in this demographic I include both young and old. Speaking for us, we also enjoy meeting and conversing with the international clientele. A pleasant surprise was roving Cuban troubadours singing and playing music at our hotel buffet supper. We took a break between soup and main to dance among tables. Thoughts about weather... Many people talk about it, but few take action. Would you spend extra to purchase fine weather? We fortuitously saved $900 due to bad weather, an unfortunate fallout of the winter storm on the east coast of America in January, only 90 miles from our Island paradise. Another fallout of the bad weather here is the interminable length of this travel review, time permitting. Adios amigos from Cuba.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Beautiful Resort!

We had such a wonderful experience during our stay at the Barcelo. The resort is absolutely beautiful, and very well kept. The workers are so friendly and helpful. There is always something to do, and the food is terrific. Such care is taken into the display in the buffets, and the restaurants are top notch. Although a little small, our room was very comfortable, and the cleaning and restocking service was exceptional. We would definitely consider another holiday here, and will recommend the [... read more] Barcelo to our friends. Thank you!

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Nice complex

The staff were great, grounds well maintained. The pools were COLD though. The food was good & grear that you have the ability to go to the other restaurants & buffets. The gym is good, but the odd morning lacked bottled h20.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Amazing resort

Great hospitality with good services, amazing food with the diversity in restaurant types, interesting kid’s drop off program with both indoor and outdoor area facilities but not a luxury room which free internet access was not available. Interesting shopping mall and bowling center with the perfect photo shoot service located in the hotel.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Beautiful resort

Went with my husband and 2 kids for a week, and bought the unlimited pass to the Xcaret park. We had a great time - and I recommend it. It was a different experience than our typical beach vacation - but it was a nice change. The monkeys and the jungle-style setting were a thrill. The resort is gorgeous, the food was mediocre and a little disappointing compared to our previous stay at the Iberostar - but we always found something. The staff were mainly lovely, with the exception of our con [... read more]cierges which employed high pressure sales tactics and appeared to be mocking us more than once - it got the point where we would try and avoid eye contact. Overall though - a great week!

Occidental Tamarindo: Great location and staff

Loved the hotel and beach! This was our fourth time back and we loved it even more this time. The staff are always pleasant, helpful, and do their best to make you feel at home. The beach is the best part of the hotel - one of the world's best

Occidental Caribe: Very nice resort!

The grounds at this huge hotel were spectacular! I loved the beach the best, great for a long walk, sand was soft to walk on and not hot, and not too much seaweed in this area! There were waves every day and the kids loved that! Lots of places to eat besides the buffet, and we always found something we liked! We went for the New Year's week and the weather was excellent as well! The only thing I would do next time is get the upgraded room facing the pool and the ocean. Our room was a little bit [... read more] antiquated, it did the job but it could have been better! The pools were great as well!

Allegro Cozumel: Mixed feelings

This hotel is well kept. BUT, we never had (and we've been in at least 20 resorts) a room so noisy. PROS -directly on the beach -well kept -the personel is nice and try to accomodate you -the beach is beautiful BUT just besides, there are plenty of garbage on the beach CONS -rooms are very noisy because the tiny tiny wall separating the other room makes you INSIDE the other room. If you paid for 2 rooms, then it's nice because they are communicating from inside but if not, and if you  [... read more]have a noisy neighbor - or if you have different schedules, like having young children and in the other room there are young adults - then it's nightmare -the food is ok but, sincerely, not that great. The big plus is the fresh juices that someone makes for you. But the food doesn't have a lot of taste and, the organization is poor (for example, we always had to wait a long time in line. Also, for Christmas, we were like 400 people but they had like 50 scampies... Or if there is a better dessert, there are only 40 portions for 400 people.... -BEACH: the boats drive too much near the beach, so you are confined in a little area and the boats have all the space and the sea to themselves

Allegro Cozumel: Amazing Resort

A fabulous resort...loved the size..everything was open...food was great selection...staff was fantastic.... Diving experience was great... Lots to see ..went into Cozumel by cab walked around the markets and cruise ship area

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Substandard Resort

Check in - Rooms were to be ready at 3pm and they were not. Resort - is massive with a ton of people Staff barely speak English Wait was very long for water, food at any restaurant Sante Fe Steakhouse was a horrible meal, quality of food was very poor Rest of the a la carte restaurants are good to better Drink selection is adequate not great. Although they say 3 rounds of golf are included; you still had to pay $75 US per person per golf round for the golf cart. Ants in room; after getti [... read more]ng them to spray still took a few days to go away You could only exchange beach towels from your room; you couldn't get any additional beach towels and the towel staff was very rude about it. Pool and beach were extremely overcrowded with no available loungers at anytime of day The golf course and the staff at the golf course were the only highlights of the trip. Although the landscape staff is constantly trying to sell you balls in secret from Hole #1.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Great Vacay!

We are just home from one week at this resort and we didn’t want to leave. The resort was fabulous. The rooms were clean and spacious with outside sitting areas. The beaches were amazing and we were always able to find eight chairs for everyone. There are lots of pools and activities. Our four al la cartel restaurants were great too. Kyoto was my favorite. The staff were always friendly and helpful. We all really enjoyed ourselves and ended up not even leaving the resort. We will be back!

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Lots to do for everyone

We have been to many All-Inclusive, as well as stayed off resort in Mexico and the Caribbean. This resort by far had the most comprehensive list of items to do, great snorkeling right of the beach, awesome children areas, bowling etc. There are a total of 5 resorts, which you have access to the facilities of 4, although most facilities are a copy of the others (just slightly different set up), it does mean you get a choice of the show at the theater for the night or the specials in the buffets.  [... read more]Over the 4 resorts the area is large, however on the resort you are staying it is not that far from room, to beach to lobby/buffet etc and as each resort has everything you don't need to travel far. The food would be the one let down, no one got sick, but it is sub-par come compared to other areas we have stayed (even Cuba). We would definitely go again - great service, no waiting for drinks, no having to save chairs, great beach

Occidental Nuevo Vallarta: Nice Resort but "less than expected "quality of services

It's a beautiful resort, clean and well kept. The beach was beautiful and we could walk for miles on the fine sands, good for beach lovers. -It wasn't the most of welcoming of check -in that we have been experienced. The front staff offered slow services and some appeared not knowing how to provide good customer service. -The room was nicely setup but it was too small for three adults. we had an exactly similar room as our son's with similar size and arrangement but he paid for two  [... read more]guests and we paid for three. Although we had paid triple and had requested a room with 2 double beds and one sofa bed, we were offered a room with only 2 beds, without sofa bed. We were given only 2 sets of towels, 2 glasses, 2 cups...and had to repeatedly asked the housekeepers for extra daily. When we asked the front desk that we had reserved a room with sofa bed, we were told that it's a busy time and they have none available but they do have one in the Royal level with an extra charge of 3500 pesos per day, or 2750pesos after the discount ( we had a discount coupon ). We told them that we don't need Royal service but just need a bigger room with enough beds for three persons, they then asked us to pay 2500pesos extra per day. We felt not being fairly served and decided to stay in the same room. -the wifi was another disappointment. They charge US$12/ day/ device. Unlike other resorts, there was no wifi available in the lobby at this resort. - the food was just ok. There were limited selection of food at the buffet in the first few days when we arrived, but we had better selection from The XMas day, though nothing special. The restaurants food were much better. We like the services at the Hacienda and Tokyo. - the entertainment were ok. We like the Michael Jackson show, but too bad the announcements were all in Spanish, possibly the resort wanted to entertain the majority of the Spanish speaking guests. -some of the staff were very friendly and some bartenders provided good services. We can't forget the good services and good conversations we had with Ricardo Marcos, Miguel, Jesus,... at the Hacienda and with the staff at Tokyo restaurants.

Occidental Caribe: Good week away

A lot of positives: incredible beach, nice staff, nice hotel, good a la cartes (especially the Italian and Japanese). A few negatives: lunch and dinner buffet (breakfast is good), overly pushy condo sales team and excursion reps at the beach and pool. Tip the staff and you will have no problems. Fresh towels, room upgrade, great service. Very nice people.

Barcelo Gran Faro Los Cabos: amazing hotel

Hotel was very nice. i liked the way it looked service was good. i enjoyed the food and the hospitality was good. The pool and beach were very nice. liked the view from the restaurant and the snack bar

Barcelo Karmina: Great stay

Beautiful resort, good food, friendly and attentive staff. Our first time in Mexico were not sure what to expect, but were delighted with our stay. We will return in the very near future, thank you for a wonderful week.

Barcelo Karmina: Excellent Resort

No line up, no waiting !Our suite was waiting, Beautiful,5 th Floor,balcony overlooking well kept grounds,beautiful polls and terrific view of the ocean.In minutes we were in swimwear,lounging at an adult pool, with a cold drink of our choice,delivered by the excellent pool service. No need to line up for 2 of our 3 a la carte suppers. Reservations were in our welcome package. Our first a la carte was the Kyoto, Japanese. So much great food, pleasant atmosphere,and excellent service. Our next A [... read more] la carte was the Agave, Mexican, restaurant. It's location and atmosphere is wonderful. The open air,and ocean setting is very special. The food and service could not have been better.We enjoyed a view of perhaps the longest and perhaps best fireworks display across the water from here--how lovely !! The Barceló treated us to a Christmas Eve Buffet and stage entertainment. This was beautifully set up on the grounds. The food selection was truly exceptional. Turkey, Barbequed steak, shrimp cocktails and so many-many- other dishes and choices !! We loved the Italian , Capri, perhaps the best. The a la carta was good food and excellent service, but their breakfasts and lunches were the very best. The friendliness and service we will never forget. The breakfast grill cook made your morning. Her smile, and knowing what our order was and how we liked it cooked was terrific. The staff all so friendly, and again excellent service. We so much enjoyed the extended a la carte lunches, of excellent "specials"from the menu, superior service and great view ! Our maid service was very good. She maid us feel very special with a floral flower heart decorating our bed and a hand written Feliz Navidad Christmas Eve. Our only bad experience was the Bugambilias Resturant. We were assigned a table and upon returning with our food found our table was taken. We immediately took another nearby table that was not set up. We were told we could not sit there , and moved to a table that was not set up. No glasses or linen. No service.After some time we were able to flag down a waiter, and ask for water and wine. Finally water came but never wine !! Oh well guess we can't expect perfection !!! The Mexican Show was very entertaining and well done.

Barcelo Puerto Vallarta: Great Time!

Pros: My husband I had a great time and enjoyed all the amenities of the hotel. The hotel was clean, staff very friendly. Our room was nice and comfortable and kept clean. Cons: Only problem is that I got sick on the last night of our vacation, so not sure if it was the ice in the drink or the food. Also be wary of being caught by timeshare selling at the airport when you arrive -we were delayed with the timeshare pitch and took a taxi to our hotel instead.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Great Stay

We've been here twice and this resort is fantastic (the whole complex). Food is decent but the beach and ocean are spectacular. You can snorkel right off the beach and see sea turtles, schools of fish, and some big guys too. Only downside is the lack of decent night time entertainment, but its certainly not a deal breaker. Resort is exceptionally clean and well kept. You won't regret coming here.