Beautiful resort, not large easy to get around. Nice that you could sit at pool area and also be close to the ocean. Many planned activities. Staff friendly and helpful. Rooms clean . We are not picky eaters however we had some difficulty at evening meal. Breakfast buffet excellent. But evening meal did not appeal to us.Food was never hot just luke warm We enjoyed Italian restaurant. Excellent resort for families , felt very safe and secure.
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Lisa1011 -
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Occidental Tamarindo: Beautiful sunsets
Beautiful sunsets on the beach. It is a very clean resort with staff willing to go above and beyond to ensure a home away from home. I did not order the wifi and was told it was sketchy due to high winds. Food was amazing. No al la carte restaurant due to private booking and I was entitled to 2 reservations so I was disappointed with the service. Evening entertainment was lacking and very rushed. Do not go to this resort to swim and snorkel as the beach had high winds and rocks, more of surf des[... read more]tination. Lots of touristy things to do within a couple of hours and Tamarindo has a beautiful beach to access via bus 5min or walk the beach when low tide.
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Freeman -
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Barcelo Maya Colonial: Great resort
Beautiful ground. Very good food. Very nice pools. A lot of activities such as mini golf , tennis , kayaking , free catamaran lessons Wind surfing lessons water tricycle paddleboard and so on to keep you busy . I would definitely come back .
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Dizzylizzy -
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Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Amazing Resort
This was by far the best resort I have ever stayed at everything was terrific, if I had to make one complaint it would be that the free WiFi is only available 10.00 to 1.00pm located in the mall, other resorts have had free WiFi in the hotel lobby in the evening, but to be honest it was really nice not be on cell phones the whole time and we had a famous week. The Japanese restaurant was awesome.
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Kevin -
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Barcelo Maya Colonial: Mixed feelings
The maya colonial is an amazing property, very large with plenty of amenities. Unfortunately we did not enjoy our time there as much as we liked and considering the premium we paid for it we had high expectations. Our rooms ( another family came with us ) were unsatisfactory and their explanation was bizarre to say the least ( they cannot garantee the rooms at booking time??) When they finally found us a room with 2 beds they were double beds and we would have expected queens. They were unable t[... read more]o provide us with any ala cartes before 930 pm for the first 4 days, the 5th day was available but was not my prefered choice. We reached out to trip central on 2 occasions and they were unable to provide assistance, air transat was also unable to provide assistance. All staff at the hotel were friendly and professional at all times. Despite the amenities included they were constantly hitting us up for extra charges, in some cases more than what trip central had on file ( pirates island ) . The mini golf looked fun but was only complementary during the day, after 7 pm they wanted 10 dollars us per person to play, i found that tacky to say the least. The resort was full but it never loomed full which speaks to the overall size of the place. I suppose i would stay there again but i would need some better assurances on rooms and ala cartes in advance.
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Private -
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Occidental at Xcaret Destination: A Little bit of Paradise
This was a very nice all-inclusive resort. There are several buildings to accommodate guests. Our room was nice and clean with stocked bar fridge daily! The views from most rooms open out to a balcony that has wildlife literally outside your window.
It's a nice size resort in a jungle setting which is a plus if you enjoy watching animals in the wild as you are right in the middle of monkeys, iguana's, parrots and so many other interesting wildlife.
There are lots of beautiful pools, an[... read more] adult pool, and a beach inlet that has a net to keep most ocean wildlife out of the resort beach ocean swimming area. Some smaller fish do make their way in, though and the inlet shelters keep the beach goers from some wind - in this inlet is where the snorkeling is - the water was quite murky and smelly on some days - I think it depends on the current that allows the water to refresh from the ocean.
The resort's beach area is located at the back of the resort, depending on which building you are in, it can take a good 10 minutes to walk there. There is no ocean front sandy beach this was a huge drawback for us. The resort allows you 1 free hour of snorkeling a day, but we had to carefully climb down the rocks and carefully swim out to snorkel to avoid the sharp rocks.
Food was great, selection at the main buffet was amazing, they even have the specialty teas and a cappuccino machine! The food is upgraded at the Specialty restaurants, which include a Steak house, Italian, Mexican, Seafood & Asian. Our favorite was the Seafood restaurant - the bonus is there are no reservations at any of the restaurants - and you can go more than once! There is the Pizza Grill and Paco Taco's which is casual dining open until the wee hours of the morning.
Staff was very nice and pleasant. Entertainment - the best show we thought was "Mexico" - which had dances and costumes that represented the whole of Mexico. A truly beautiful relaxing place to stay.
The only downfall of this place is the staff that try and sell upgrade packages - and do not take no for an answer. This unfortunately put a damper on our vacation - as there is someone who sits at the entrance of your bldg all day - so trying to avoid them is almost impossible, which they know. We made the mistake of agreeing to see the club package - we were asked for deposit of $20US - 2nd mistake, we were told this reserves a spot and you get funds back after presentation. We were also offered the Xcaret park entrance at a discount, we told them we were not interested in that then the rep Carlos mentioned some other tour packages and asked what we were interested in only after this we were allowed to leave and head to breakfast and we were late for our presentation meeting with airline rep (which they are fully aware of too). They gave us this bright pink beach bag as a token. We felt we were literally forced - after this playing on our minds most of day, we went back to tell that we would like to cancel as this does not interest us. There was a different person at the desk - he said he would have to call his supervisor. We waited for the supervisor - he arrived and went over everything we had heard in the morning - we told him several times we felt we were rushed this morning we had another meeting to attend which we were late for due to this - we simply want to cancel. This supervisor Christian Muniz became quite rude - and told us it will affect Carlos numbers and we are taking away from him - this is his bread and butter! We apologized and again politely told him we would like to cancel we have already wasted so much time. Eventually, he said ok but wait till you speak with Carlos when he returns tomorrow am before your presentation. Again, we reinforced that we just want to cancel and would like our $20US back. He started getting upset and said you were given a beach bag....we told him he can have that bag back! Then he said that he does not have funds and they can be reimbursed tomorrow! He took the form we had been given earlier that day - I asked to take a pic before he took it and that's when he literally lost it - he took out his wallet and slammed the $20.00US on the table !!!! Needless to say, we avoided coming in and out of our building during the rest of our stay!
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Fabiano -
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Occidental Punta Cana: Ok Resort
All in all I can say I had a great vacation, staff is slow especially on checkin, at the main lobby bar Leandro was the man, and in the buffet, Franklin Cedano, and Roberto, you guys rock.. but would I come back to this resort.. NO
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Private -
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Barcelo Maya Colonial: Amazing resort !
It was our first trip to Mexico and wanted it to be agood experience for my husband. So glad I booked at Barcelo Maya Colonial. It is a beautiful resort with everything inside. There are other Barcelo Resorts side by side to each other and we are allowed to see and use their facilities too. We went to use all their beaches, and went bar hopping. It's also a very family friendly resorts. So much to do for kids. They will never get board. Staff and services can't complain. They were all am[... read more]azing. The grounds beautifully landscaped. Loved being on the beach. Wonderful sea breeze. Lots of coconut trees and brand new looking lounge chairs. Beautiful view.
Most importantly for me, being able to attend a Mass on a Sunday afternoon within the resort. They had everything we need.
My husband was already thinking of going back 😊 Thank you Barcelo for a wonderful time !
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Sheena -
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Occidental Papagayo: Has potential but not well run.
Beautiful property and location. Check in was really late and unorganized. Guest services was not available nearly enough. You had to go through them to make a la carte reservations but could only book 24 hours before. Because they start late and finish early, if you are on an excursion you can't make a reservation. We were able to eat at the Italian and it was good. The wait Staff were lovely but didn't know anything about wine in terms of what kinds they had to offer. We came back late after a[... read more] 17 hour excursion and we could get nothing to eat. We were told by one employee that there was nowhere to get food, then another employee told us to go into the disco and we would find finger food there which was adequate. We ran out of hot water in our room and had to have keys redone 3 times and the safe re-keyed once. Rooms were clean but air conditioning was very poor considering the heat. Wifi was scetchy at best. Nightly entertainment was one man with a sax in the lobby. Entertainment staff were great. The only bar around the pool was only for show. It wasn't functional and only one staff member taking drink orders for the entire pool. Again they were great doing the best they could to keep up, there simply were not enough staff. The pool was cloudy and murky all week. Food was good but a very small buffet. The Grille by the pool had good food as well at lunchtime. The bar "by the beach" is nowhere near the beach or the pool. It is in between the two and there are no toilets close by. When we checked out we paid our bill in cash and they had no change available. Do not book tours with Benito from Air Transat. He is misleading and uses scare tactics to get your business. He shows you one tour and you think that is the one you are buying then you go on a different one day of. Very disappointing. He just walked away when we questioned him at the airport. That was the first opportunity we saw him after the tour. All in all not a terrible place and it has so much potential. We got a good deal in terms of cost and I feel it was good for what we paid. Just needs some TLC.
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Cindy -
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Occidental Cozumel: Nice Resort
This resort was I guess a standard all inclusive, beautiful grounds in the jungle, the beach was nice but a bit messy with seaweed, and shells but it is a typical beach, the snorkeling is pretty great - lots of fish to see. The food wasn't horrible, lots I didn't try as didn't no really what they were, or had something I didn't like, there was always a good variety at the buffets if you chose to try everything, they also offer to cook up fresh fish or meats or omelets, eggs, etc. They have al [... read more]a carte resturants, you have to book reservations, 2 at a time early in the morning and wait in line to do it.
Staff works very hard and are always friendly or helpful, front desk would be better to have a few more english speaking, seems they had none of our requests at all, so had to ask when we arrived, it worked out but only because the supervisor was there. The rooms are very nice and large, cleaned well. Bar staff at the pool and beach were always busy, they needed some help, the entertainment was fun they tried to get people involved. Kayaks and snorkeling were free for an hour.
If you don't like to or can't walk or go up stairs, this isn't the place for you, I didn't mind at all. Nightly entertain was funny, and interesting, the disco was too loud to the point you had to scream in your friends ear. There is nothing close around to do at night.
Rented a car, which is interesting, the gas stations swarm you and you can't see what they put in in gas - and tell you how is it now, then he hasn't put in the right amount, so check the actual pump for numbers and litres pumped, happened to most who rented.
Also, biggest turn off is the damn Occidental so called staffers, that hover and get you to go on a 90 min tour for buying time - high pressed at the end, but they scam you into going for a really cheap rental price or free snorkeling trip. They shouldn't be allowed to where those shirts - it looks like they are the staff - they are NOT! just sales men. They warn you but when you see they are part of the hotel you think you are in the right place to rent, there is another place for excursion and rentals. should be clearer.
We loved touring the island and going into the town it was fun and felt very safe and we were there for Carnival so extremely busy. Check taxi prices - the hotel at the front the guy will tell you the prices, and ask on the way back to be sure.
Over all we had a great time, hotel is average I would say maybe 3.5 - 4 star. Not are nice as other places I have been in Mexico but again it was a great holiday, met a lot of fun people that made it better!
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Private -
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Allegro Cozumel: Fantastic Resort!
This was a beautifully kept resort-the staff were friendly and professional.
The food was fantastic-there were a number of comments on Trip Advisor regarding the line-ups for the buffets, but we found even with a long line the guests got sat quickly and the buffet offerings were different every night. The a la carte restaurants were all fabulous, with the Oriental being the most fun & delicious.
Rooms were small but beautiful and the cleaning staff was amazing.
My only suggestion would be [... read more]for more "evening" outside seating areas. Our group of 13 found it difficult to find an area to gather and socialize after dinner. The Sports Bar was open until 1:30 am, but the seats are inside the main building. With the beautiful weather we would have rather been able to sit outdoors!
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Private -
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Occidental Punta Cana: Not great
The new renovation to most of the rooms were nice and clean. As for the service very poor on the most part and the food and drinks were not great. The pools are great and the beach is beautiful. This was our second visit and since it has changed owners would not recommend.
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KevinD -
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Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Bavaro Beach - Adults Only - Geat Relaxing Location - Sandy, Shallow and Warm Sea
Pros: The Adult Only rooms [Bavaro Beach - S. side of resort] have been modernized and are very spacious. We got to experience both types of rooms types [Palace side - first - then Bavaro Beach side last] when we requested another room because they could not fix the phone which rang intermittently in the early hours of the morning 3 or 4 time each of the first two nights we spent there. The Beach side of the resort tends to be much quieter. Great food and A La Carte restaurants. Caribe Restauran[... read more]t is the main destination for your meals with a good selection [get the crepes or order your eggs any way you want]. Chez Gourmet and La Brisa was unbelievable for quality of food and presentation. The wait staff were friendly and efficient. La Brisa is open for lunch at 11AM offering a full bar which the Caribe does not offer - they serve wine and Le Presidente draft beer only at all meals.
Friendly staff - Guest Services is an amazing group of people. Poolside and foyer wait staff were very attentive, but be aware that they DO accept tips. Exchange your $US for $1 bills from the front desk.
***** Recommended highly as an all adults only destination *****
Cons: Palace side rooms [N. of the Bavaro Beach Reception area] are circa 70's but still spacious and comfortable. The Beach side is adults only and the Palace side is family oriented. The Sante Fe steakhouse [Palace side] was a glorified version of a very bad "Ponderosa with table cloths." Stay clear of this restaurant. The wait staff were an abomination and disorganized. The Palace Hotel resembles a two-story shopping mall with the emphasis on retail sales and marketing. Gorgeous foyer but the mall atmosphere is a huge distraction. Owners would come out of their retail stores stand in front of you and try to coax you into their shops - very annoying!!!!! We went one night and I can only describe the Palace Hotel as "mayhem central." This side of the hotel is filled with families and children. Going back to the Beach side was like returning to another world - quiet - reserved - and friendly. If you enjoy the adults only vacation stay on the Beach side of the property.
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Private -
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Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Beautiful beach
We loved the beach. Food was good and enough options. Rooms were clean, beds were comfortable but decor was tired. Pools were large and plenty of chairs around pool and beach. Enjoyed having a balcony off room. Smaller bars offer better quality drinks.
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Stephaniecarr1995 -
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Occidental Caribe: Beautiful resort/bad timing
Everything about occidental caribe was amazing. People were so welcoming and nice. The food was to die for, the room was gorgeous, the excursions were fun! The only bad thing I would have to complain about that it was spring break. So there was tons of unappreciative/disrespectful kids running around. Made for sleepless nights due to noise, knocking on our door and running and loud music all night. To get drinks took forever because they were understaffed because of the amount of people. Other t[... read more]hen that it was an amazing experience and I would love to go back.
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Donnaloo -
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Occidental Punta Cana: Occidental Punta Cana DR
The grounds are absolutely beautiful. Well maintained and very clean. At night the lights on the pool and buildings cast a lovely ambiance on the property. The staff are very nice although English is a bit of a challenge for most of them. The nightly entertainment was very good from the trapeze acrobat show, Las Vegas show, Michael Jackson show (which was excellent), with lots of crowd participation. The Entertainment MC's were both awesome. The a la carte restaurants were just average. F[... read more]ood was never too hot and all the courses seemed to arrive at the same time. We were disappointed that there was no premium liquors at the bar. The dinner house wines were never consistent - different at every meal. The new renovated rooms are updated with nice touches like magnifying mirrors in the bathroom, hairdryers and all the shampoo/conditioner and body wash you needed. Always had to ask for maids to replenish beer in the room fridge and never had more than 2 beers at once. Lobby was beautiful and clean and enjoyed all the singers that performed. The outside couches were comfy and a nice touch. Overall, a very nice property.
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Private -
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Barcelo Solymar: Solid resort
Great beach - not a rock in sight
Good weather
Good service
Slow reception - they need to handle incoming guests more efficiently
Average food - hit Andrew miss a la cartes - the Spanish one was excellent
Limited entertainment
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Private -
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Barcelo Maya Colonial: An Amazing Resort
The grounds were very, very well maintained; staff were always cleaning the grounds. A few rocky areas on the beach, but for The most part, the beach was nice.
The rooms were clean and all the staff were friendly; language barriers with some presented a few issues, but nothing serious.
The buffets were awesome with plenty of variety and again, the waiters and waitresses were very friendly. The a la carte restaurants were also excellent.
All in all, it was a beautiful resort.
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Private -
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Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Occidental Xcaret
Our trip was great, Jairus was very helpful with explaining what to expect at this resort.
Food, rooms and all staff were excellent.
The only thing we did not enjoy was the people trying to talk us into Time Shares.
We will use Jairus again for additional trips.
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Private -
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Occidental Punta Cana: AmaZing resort!
Staff was very friendly , the hotel and grounds were very well maintained , big room, lots of food options which were all great , especially the a la cartes, would recommend this resort to anyone and can't wait to go back!