Occidental Arenas Blancas: Trip to Cuba-Barcelo Arenas Blancas

We had a good trip to Cuba. It was very clean, pool was great and it definitely is situated on a very nice part of the Varadero beach. I found that the resort front desk staff had a bit of an attitude and the Nexus representative was not on-site when we arrived. We had arrived at 10:30am in the morning and had to wait until 4:00pm to check in which was difficult for my parents who are seniors. We did not find out until the next day that we could have used a courtesy room to get showered et [... read more]c. Overall I would recommend this resort to others. The food was generally good as well.

Barcelo Gran Faro Los Cabos: Pretty much a perfect week!

This was my first time in Mexico. 6th all-inclusive in total (4 Cuba, 1 DR). We went in late April 2017, and the weather was perfect. I befriended a native who said this area of Mexico sees less than 14 days of rain. I want to highlight that there wasn't a cloud in the sky for 7 days. It didn't rain once. And it wasn't too hot. The highest it got was around 31, 32 Celsius, and at night wasn't too chilly. The weather was literally perfect. The ocean is un-swimmable because of the high tide, [... read more] but you can still go in a bit as long as you're an adult and have basic swimming. I would not recommend any children under the age of 14-16 in the water. Otherwise, you can only about 50 feet out, some days it's a little calmer. Just be aware, but honestly you can go in have fun, you just have to continually mind where you are and let the tide bring you back to shore, otherwise the outbound tide will take you out. You're basically playing chicken the whole time, but it's fun, and safe as long as you're an adult and just stay in the 50 foot from shore zone. The pool area is nice. Good service. Some of the reviews said it was a quiet hotel. That all depends. We got a group of 20 people that took over the pool area on the one side, played a lot of 80s rock like def lepard, bon jovi, etc. which frankly I did not want to hear, at, all. In the morning they were playing Tycho which was AWESOME. So, it all depends who's there that week. But great, heated pool. They have a separate salt water pool as well which faces the ocean. Everyone that worked there was nice. Allie and Ingrid at the front were so very helpful, very nice girls that gave us tips of where to go and what not. They were really down to earth people that love their job and were very accommodating. They always greeted us with a smile and were very bubbly. I was very happy to deal with them! :D But otherwise, as with any resort, everyone was super nice. The rooms were fine. I mean they were great. It's an all inclusive. It had a nice bed. No problems with anything. The view was from almost any room is spectacular. What else can be said. A+. Moving on. The food was outstanding. Different theme every night but as food goes, I really enjoyed every meal. Plenty to choose from. I didn't have anything I didn't like. All the meat was cooked properly--cooked and still juicy. I was actually impressed how they kept it succulent all throughout the 3-4 hours each meal is open. And it's no surprise that the head Chef Julian was amazing! My girlfriend has a peanut allergy and he was there almost everyday I was there, and every meal he personally walked me through everything that was laid out and told us what was and wasn't off limits. I got to speak to him as well and he's such a genuine, hardworking individual and it really shows through how the kitchen is operated and the quality of food that is prepared. He is a serious asset to any kitchen. The gym was what you would expect for a resort. Small, but it had everything you needed so you didn't fall behind. 3 elliptical, 3 treadmills, a bike lots of free weights, and bow-flex type of thing. I went to Mexico with the intention of not losing any mass, just maintaining, but I actually gained. Busiest time is 7am-11am. I actually rarely saw anyone in there passed that time but you can workout up to 11pm. Was seriously a life saver. Bottom line: Great hotel! 5 stars, A+, I would love, love, love, to come back! OH, one last thing, the town is only a 15 minute walk away which is neat and absolutely worth at least 1 visit at night. And if you're looking for sports since they don't carry many channels, there's a bar LITERALLY across the street that played Champions League, and if you were looking for NBA, NHL I'm sure you'd find a bar that plays them on the strip which is just 1 minute further down. You have to walk through the strip to get to the town square so you wouldn't miss it anyway. Thanks so much Barcelo! Marco PPS this hotel is spectacularly designed for people in wheel chairs!

Barcelo Maya Tropical: Not Bad, Not Great

Not bad, but not great. The positive: The grounds were beautiful and there was a lot to do during the day as this resort is huge! There were several pools and the pools were nice. There was also a shopping mall, several water parks for the kids, nightly shows, a spa, bowling and mini golf at an additional charge. There were lots of food options at the buffets. This resort is best suited for families with young children. My partner and I didn't mind sharing the resort with many kids. Most of the [... read more] wait staff were great 😊. Especially in the buffet restaurants. There were many options at the buffet and the food there was overall pretty good. My partner lives seafood and he had seafood on a couple of occasions and said it was good. The Japanese (Kyoto) a la carte restaurant and the steak house (Santa Fe) were also very good. Negatives: The beach is very rocky in most spots which makes it hard to enjoy swimming in the ocean (which I love). You need to bring water shoes. Many of us cut our feet on the rocks. This is not a romantic resort for couples and there's not much to do for the adults after the nightly entertainment is over. It's a quiet resort after 10:30 PM. They could definitely improve the food at the Italian a la carte restaurants. The food at the Italian restaurant was disappointing and we had a very rude waiter there. He was terrible. This is my 4th time in the Mayan Riviera and each time I've stayed at a different resort. I would say that this is my least favourite 4-5 star resort that I've stayed at in the Mayan. It's my least favourite due to the quality of the beach, some of the a la carte restaurants and the fact that it's too large to feel that attention to detail and also there's not much to do in the evenings. It would be nice if they had a piano bar that was open after the nightly show where adults could have a drink or cappuccino. However, if you have young children, this resort is great 👍. It wasn't bad, just not worth the money for a couple travelling without kids compared to the other resorts you could choose from in the Mayan. On another note, our Sun Wing Rep was terrible! Our plane was delayed 3 hours in Toronto for our departure. We were not informed at all of the delay. We waited 3 additional hours after our scheduled pick up time in the hotel lobby for our bus to pick us up and take us to the airport. When I called to find out what was happening as nothing was issued in our hotel, I was told that a Sun Wing Rep would be coming to provide an update. No one showed up. Ever. We all waited for 3 additional hours in the hotel lobby with no update or contact from a Sun Wing Rep at all. Terrible customer service from Sun Wing!!

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Amazing Paradise!

Our trip was from April 28 - May 5. It was one of the most enjoyable vacations that my husband and I have taken. We went to Los Cabos four years ago and it was over the top. Service, location, hotel, food all amazing. We felt perfectly safe, but were a little hesitant about elsewhere in Mexico, but the Occidental at Xcaret Destination exceeded our expectations. It was like a perfect paradise - from the amazing wildlife, beautiful resort, excellent service, delicious and plentiful food. We en [... read more]joyed every minute. So wonderful to see monkeys swinging from trees, iguanas, flamingos, deer, turtles, coatis all on the resort. The staff were all friendly and helpful and our maid Angela took amazing care of us. We were located in building 18, right near the main pool, which was great and in close proximity of the main lobby and restaurants. Just a short five or so minute walk to the beach, but there is a tram if this is an issue. I was happy to see that the staff followed through with dress codes in the buffets and the a la carte restaurants as many do not and I do not think that is right. This annoyed some people, but come on people, do your homework before you go and make sure you bring the proper attire. The only slight negative is the pressure at the beginning to take advantage of viewing their club (members area), basically timeshare. You just have to remain firm if this is something you are not interested in pursuing and they left us alone after the second day. Overall would highly recommend this resort to anyone and would return in a heartbeat.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Definitely return

Adults only side was right choice. Beautiful grounds, friendly staff. Always chairs available at beach or pool. Food was good but warm to cool. Good variety. Disappointing night entertainment. Premium level gave you better choice of house wine.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Beautiful Resort

The resort is absolutely beautiful. Loved that the resort has some Mayan Ruins right there. The grounds are kept immaculate. The food was delicious. The staff were friendly. The animals were a delight for my son.

Occidental Cozumel: Things to consider

We went to this hotel at the beginning of May. We liked the setting in the "jungle", spacious rooms, and friendly staff. But there are some disappointing things: the see was terrible!!! Dirty grey water! We could not swim there and had to rent a car for the whole stay to go to other beaches, where the water was absolutely clean. We were told that it depends on the direction of the wind and the water is clean during other months... May be, but we were frustrated. Another thing is the restaurants. [... read more].. The food is tasty, but there is no variety, not much choice. Sometimes we had to wait until they bring something as the trays were empty. And no air- conditioning!!! You feel like in the sauna!

Occidental Tucancun: Very Nice Resort

The grounds and public areas were always very clean. The staff at all the restaurants were amazing, always polite and helpful. We had a young girl at one of the pools serving drinks, she was so wonderful, very good with all the guests and had a great sense of humor. The only part of our time at your resort that I hated was when we went to this boardroom the day after we arrived, they offer all these free gifts and they tried to sell us time at your resort, I don't like these sales tactic [... read more]s. Also in the middle of the night the ceiling outside our room collapsed in hallway. I realize things get weak and rusty with all the humidity they have in Cancun.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Barcelo beach resort

The rooms were a outdated for a 5* resort, my wi-fi that I paid to have was not working and wouldn't let me on. The front desk tried to tell us their was more than one device using it, that's why and would not do anything about it. I know their wasn't more than one, cause my husband also paid for his wi-fi and his worked. I didn't' find a lot of staff friendly, it's like they have to be there, but don't want to be. Just overall bad experience with staying at a Barcelo.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Barcelo beach resort

The rooms were a outdated for a 5* resort, my wi-fi that I paid to have was not working and wouldn't let me on. The front desk tried to tell us their was more than one device using it that's why and would not do anything about it. I know their wasn't more than one, cause my husband also paid for his wi-fi and his worked. I dodn't find a lot of staff friendly, it's like they have to be there, but don't want to be. Just overall bad experience with staying at a Barcelo.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Occidental review

Found this place to be very nice and all personnel extremely polite except for the Air Transat rep at Hospitality desk who worked May 1 from 4 to 6 pm. This does not reflect on the resort but on Air Transat only.The food was ok in buffet area but the Italian restaurant Was over the top. Service was excellent and food supper good. The chef took the time to actually come out and greet me us and paid close attention to our allergies issues. Highly recommend this place to anyone especially the Itali [... read more]an restaurant.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Excellent Family Vacation

The resort was clean and well kept. The food was good, lots of variety at the buffet and the a la cartes were great. Never had difficulty finding loungers at the pool or beach. Drinks were plentiful and service was great. Would definitely return.

Occidental Caribe: Paradise!

The hotel was amazing! Service and rooms were awesome and my friends and I had a very memorable time! The workers were very engaging and spent time playing volleyball with us. 100% would go back, we loved it!

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Beautiful resort, terrible check-in

Grounds are lovely + we'll manicured, pools + beach are amazing, food is excellent, Ala cartes are superior. It's a shame that the 1st day + a half was spent trying to get into our room! We got to the resort at 11 AM, given a room number + tags for our luggage + room # to book our Ala cartes. When we came back to reception @ 3PM as we were instructed they told us they gave our room away + assigned us another room but had to wait another 2 hrs to get into that room' where the door lock was broken [... read more] + the room safe would not lock! We called + were told we would be moved the next AM To another room but had to stay that night in a room with a broken door lock + we had to carry our valuables with us. In the morning we went back to reception to a long line up + very disorganized staff who told us we had another room but had to wait again til after 3PM to get the key. At 3 PM we were told the room was not cleaned + to wait 20 min. We were told this @ 3 PM + 20 min after that + 20 min again + again + still no room!! My ice pack for my insulin had melted + we asked another couple if they could put my insulin in their room frig as we had no room yet + guest services had no idea what to do! At 5:15 we got upset as it had been over 28 hrs since we checked in + still no room! We were given our room key + the bellboy took us + our luggage up to the room only to find the room still had not been cleaned. By now I was in tears + demanded I wait outside the room til the maid cleaned it. When we finally got into the room it had 2 double beds; not King which is what we had paid for!! Double beds. My spouse is 6' 3"!! We were fed up + wanted to just settle In a room so we stayed in the room with 2 double beds!! A horrible check- in experience + a horrible way to start our vacation. We had been at this resort 4 yrs ago + it was good back then but this was a nightmare so we will not ever return to a Barcelo resort. The check in process needs a total overhaul + we have advised our friends of our horrible experience.

Occidental Caribe: Great vacation with friends

My friends and I just came back from Occidental Caribe, and it was a fantastic time! Service was okay, the pool staff was amazing! Most of the other employees didn't really know much English (which is to be expected in a Spanish speaking country). Food was okay not the best though. Beach is amazing! We would definitely go back!

Occidental Cozumel: very good resort

Beautiful resort with amazing landscaping, accommodation was super, my cleaning lady was the best (#1235). Beautiful sandy beach but a lot of litter in spite of garbage bins and ashtrays everywhere ( maybe guests' attitude should change as well). In the morning beach was tidied up but litter was still there. Service - a little slow, front desk always busy, but 2 men who were usually there were trying their best,very friendly and helpful but couldn't keep up with workload. Do not purchase Inter [... read more]net service - it's expensive and doesn't work properly ( some days it worked for 10 minutes only!) Activities - so much to choose from but if some of them didn't start from hotel grounds you have to pay transportation - taxi ( not cheap).Looks like they have "flat fee" wherever you go.Overall I had wonderful time. Nothing is perfect,you cannot please everybody.Restaurants - I used only buffet,it was OK but I would prefer better selection of fish and seafood in general. My recommendation - to hire more people a and to have ice machine in villas. .

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Overall good trip has potential to be great!

Both my wife and I were at the Barceló Grand complex between April 24 to May 1 2017. We flew in with Air Transat from Toronto to Mexico. Unfortunately there was an emergency on the plane in which we had to land in the US for a delay. Once we finally arrived in Mexico we did take a long bus ride to the Barceló complex in which we were greeted by the front desk. As you could imagine we were both exusted and tired from our unforeseen journey. On the plus side one of the staffers did greet us [... read more] with a nice cool beverage at the lobby. We were scheduled to stay in the Barceló Maya Beach resort area but we were told there were no rooms available and had to be moved to the Barceló Colonial area. We had to take a small golf cart shuttle to the Colonial lobby only to find out that the key to our new room was not given to us from the previous lobby enterance in the Maya Beach area. At this point we were getting quite frustrated with all the shuffling around that we just wanted to get to our room and call it a night. Once we did get our key for our room, the bell hop man reassured us that it is a short walk and did not take our luggage to our room. It was anything but a short walk to our room but luckily we did not pack heavily to our trip! Upon entering the room, we did receive what we requested; a higher room with a king size bed (2 double beds combined). The room had a fridge stocked with all the major brands of drinks including beer and snacks. The room was also situated in the middle of the large complex which was nice. After a few days of settling in at the nice and large resort we hit another large bump in the road. One of the days, there was a loud banging being done just above our room. I did not think much of it and we continued with our day as normal and left the room. Upon coming back to our room, we immediately felt the A/C not running. This was not acceptable as to the heat was already in the high 20C’s to early 30C’s. I was reassured that compensation would be given to me for the troublesome night. I did get 2 passes to the Barceló Waterpark which my wife enjoyed and 2 small bottles of alcoholic beverages. However we were thinking I would at least get a relaxing massage that both my wife and I endured from the previous night. Positives - A+ Entertainment throughout the week – Very talented individuals that put on a great show every night. - Lots of things to see and do such as: Maya Mall, a 24HR Sports bar with Mini Golf and Bowling Alley, A Dolphin aquarium, large number of pools throughout the Barceló Grand Resort. - Very clean resort with friendly staff that greet you as you pass by, including 2 gentleman I would like to acknowledge that tried to smooth out our stay. One named Memo which is at the front desk in the Tennis area. The other gentleman named Tomas in the Colonial reception area. Both were wonderful to speak to and were very genuine and friendly. - Italian a la carte restaurant was great and highly recommended. - Large 2 decker bus that takes you throughout all 5 parts of the Barceo complex. This bus is free to ride and is a great way of seeing the large Barceló complex. Negatives - As both my wife are vegetarians, the only thing that peeved us was there were a lot of cross contamination at the stations. It would be nice if certain utensils were not being used for meat dishes. - More fish options or a fish station would have been a big plus. Other than our snags that I am sure a lot of travelers face when they do travel, the Barceló Grand Resort is a great option to visit in the Rivera Maya in Mexico.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Very enjoyable time.

The resort was very clean and nice to look at. The staff was great and very friendly and helpful. The food for the most part was great although the Mexican restaurant (in Mexico) was very underwhelming. I would highly recommend the Oriental restaurant and Buffet. The group we went with had a great time overall and all stated we would go back. Negatives were that one day the pool with the bar was extremely cloudy to the point where I couldn't see my feet at the bottom of the pool. Also there  [... read more]was a strong smell of sewage at some parts of the resort including one of the pools. I would still recommend this resort to my friends as these are minor issues that are probably being resolved.

Barcelo Maya Tropical: Loyal Barcelo fan

This was somewhere between my 10-15th time at the Barceló in the Mayan. I've stayed at the Colonial or Tropicale each time. The grounds are beautiful, very well kept and the staff work really hard. The pool is the best I've seen and I travel a lot. Very clean, large and well kept. The food is very good at the buffet and a la carts but my favourite is the Japanese at the Mall - amazing! I only have a few things that annoy me. One is that wifi is free only between certain hours, usually during b [... read more]each time and only in the lobby. Who wants to walk back to lobby to send an email. I've traveled around the world, stayed in a little rom in a remote Greek village and it had free wifi. I don't think guests should pay extra in this day and age. Also, the rooms are too humid, our clothes and sheets felt wet. This wont prevent me from going back as we do our annual vacation there 17-25 people. Oh I am annoyed that as a loyal customer for over 15 years their computers only go back to 2012 so they can't see our loyalty oh and the front desk never picks up their phone

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Awesome experience - highly recommended for couples/families

Great: Resort was incredibly clean. Staff incredibly friendly. Facilities well-kept and beautiful all around. Everything was at our finger-tips and people tried hard to accommodate any requests or concerns. My hubby found there to be far too much walking (other resorts this size have golf carts you can jump on and off of to get around more easily). This resort has busses that run along the back from one to the next... but they're not very convenient. I would definitely prefer a smaller resort  [... read more]in the future. The food was fantastic and there was always lots of selection. The Japanese Chef should be absolutely commended for his performance and I was surprised at how much I loved the food there (not having liked Asian food in the past). I don't think I'd change a thing about our trip if I could really... best beach I've stayed at along the Mayan Riviera (having stayed at four other resorts previously). Not-so-great: The excursion-coordinator failed to mention to us about all of the hidden/added costs when we booked one of our excursions. We elected to go snorkeling at Xhel-Ha and were told about all of the wonderful things we could do there... but there was no mention that after paying a huge amount to get into the park, all of the activities over and above snorkeling would be extra. We'd only brought $$ for photos and souvenirs and having no credit card with us, we missed out on several things we would have liked to have done. The front desk is absolutely terrible. The employees who work there speak very broken English compared to others we encountered, making every interaction with them frustrating and slow. At the airport and amongst other resorts, this resort has a reputation for terrible service at their front desk. I had to wait nearly an hour to get some American money changed into Pesos and check-in and check-out were very painful experiences.