Barcelo Montelimar: Could not be any better

This is the best resort I have been to yet. The only down side was no direct flight from Edmonton Alberta. The hotel staff were wonderful a bit of a language problem that In my opinion will be over come soon as the staff is working hard to learn English and French we managed to understand each other. The recreational staff are the best and are very good with children and all the tourists at the resort. There are activities for everyone young and old. They put on a show every night I admit I [... read more] did not go because it was way to loud for my ears. It is a large resort 80 acres, I did not get to see all of it and I was there for 2 weeks. There is the best mini putt golf course I have ever seen, the best golfer would be challenged by it. There is also a golf course, a tennis court a badminton court, darts, volley ball by the pool and in the pool also basket ball in the pool. The resort is so clean they pick all the leaves, they wash every thing they even wash the streets. The pools are filtered and refreshed every day in the early morning. There are no bugs, no flys no mosquitoes lots of dragon flys I saw in the evenings. No nasty sewer odors all smells nice and clean and is nice and clean. The food oh wow the food is way to good, the beef cooked to perfection, steaks roasts pork pork chops chicken roasted and deep fried to equal Kernel Sanders. Salads vegetables fruit any kind one could want. The drinks are the usual resort drinks nothing special there. The ocean is good for people who like to jump in the waves, the sand is dark with black sand in it. One must go to the beach in the early morning by 10 A.M. the sand is to hot to walk on. If one could pick this resort up and move it to the Caribbean side of Nicaragua it would be perfect in every way.

Barcelo Karmina: Amazing Resort

This resort is just a nice as it shows in the pictures. We could not have asked for a better stay. All the restaurants, including the buffet were excellent and we would recommend to all. Our only downfall for this trip, was that even though we requested for the 2 couples to be together, we originally ended up in 2 different area's of the hotel. They were good enough to change rooms for us to the same section, but different floor. The pools were all very nice and had enough chairs for all. I mu [... read more]st say, the water temp was a little cold for some of us. It took us a bit to get into it, but once in, it was very refreshing. The beach, was small and not as inviting as I like. We did see quite a few people using the beach every day.

Occidental Cozumel: Cozumel Occidental Grand, pros and cons

Here is my evaluation of the Occidental Grand Cozumel at which my friend and I stayed January 27 to February 3, 2017. The evaluation is meant to help you guide others who might be contemplating staying at this resort. 1. The grounds of this hotel are quite beautiful and meticulously maintained. The cottages are secluded and interspersed, each sitting in a lovely botanical setting and independent of the others, offering perfect privacy. 2. Our room seemed to have been recently renovated. I [... read more]t was a generous size, clean, and bright. The linen was good quality. Bottled water in our room was always in good supply. I found that tipping the maid ahead guaranteed exceptional service. She was excellent. 3. The bathroom also seemed new, tiled from floor to ceiling in a terracotta large tiles. 4. Hot water was always available, and the shower heads, one fixed and one hand-held, worked well. The safe and the closet were both situated in the bathroom. This is not a practical arrangement. This inconvenience brought my rating of the room to "fair" 5. If we left a request, towels were replaced daily, and in generous numbers. 6. Bathroom items such as soap and shampoo were plentiful. 7. The air-conditioning unit worked; however, the thermostat control did not. No matter at what temperature we set the unit, it ran continuously. The air-conditioning vent was situated in an upper section of the wall in such a way to blow directly onto one of the beds. 8. The fan in the room worked and for my purposes was a perfect solution to nocturnal temperatures. I am a sound sleeper and the buzz of the fan did not disturb me. 9. The main buffet restaurant offered average quality dishes, but there was ample choice, and even a chef making tasty meat or fish dishes to request. Salad choices were ample, vegetables were offered raw as well as cooked, and there were numerous desserts. The desserts to me were mostly inedible, but perhaps my dessert palate is not accustomed to Mexican sweets. For example, their mousse bore no resemblance to mousse one eats at our restaurants. There was, however, always fresh fruit. 4. We were led to believe that we would be entitled to eating at speciality restaurants 3 times during our stay. However, once we checked in, someone told us that the resort is so full that we would be able to eat at these restaurants only 2 times during our stay. Evidence showed that this is a deliberate deception in the brochure, as these speciality restaurants were never filled to capacity. On the contrary, they seemed more than half empty every single day. 4. Food in speciality restaurants turned out to be exactly the same as in the buffet. The chef took a tiny cut of meat or fish (2 square inches), fanned a few slices of zucchini and carrots around it, and drizzled some reduced balsamic over the dish, and presented it as a gourmet plate. The pasta in the Mediterranean Room was really quite horrible, overdone and soggy. The Seafood Specialty Restaurant on the beach was mediocre at best, although the ocean view and the stars made up for the food mediocrity. All in all, one did better to eat in the buffet restaurant and design one’s own specialty dishes. 5. The waiters were all hardworking and accommodating, courteous and professional. 6. The beach was always overcrowded and it was nearly impossible to find two chairs together. 7. The big pool offered no shade whatsoever. 8. The smaller adult pool was lovely with new well padded loungers. Iguanas lived by the pool, sometimes as many as 8. I found the first 2 charming “guests”, but more than that an utter annoyance. I could tell the iguanas were enjoying themselves, making love all day and resting in between. Another negative about this pool was how guests monopolized the chairs by parking towels on them at 7 am and not showing up until after lunch. The only way we could get a lounger was to come out at 7 am as well. We felt no guilt over this tactic because we actually used the loungers all day. 9. My biggest complaint about this resort is unequivocally about the vast number of smokers around the pool and in the lobby area. Since we in Canada (perhaps in big cities only) find smoking to be so passé and so dangerous really, I had a hard time with this imposition on my enjoyment of the resort. For this reason alone, I would never revisit this resort. 10. The gym had new equipment: 3 treadmills, 1 elliptical, 1 bicycle, one rowing machine, and various weights. It was never busy, so I could enjoy 2 hours every day of uninterrupted solitude and alone time. BELOW IS A REPORT ON WHAT HAPPENED TO US BECAUSE WE DID NOT KNOW AHEAD OF TIME OF THE DANGERS OF SALES PEOPLE DECEPTIONS: Immediately as we deplaned and entered the Cozumel Airport terminal and asked for a Transat rep, we were led to a booth where a man claimed to be part of the Transat team. He stressed the urgency of talking to him first, so we will know what the best and most economical way was to arrange tours, etc. Ten minutes into this presentation, we realized he had nothing to do with Transat and dashed outside to be sure we had not missed our ride to the resort. We barely made it. And by the way, everything this man told us was a lie. The first morning of our resort stay, we ventured into the lobby to ask about an upgrade, as you suggested. Since the lobby was populated by many desks and many people in uniform, we asked the first available person how much an upgrade would be. He led us to a desk and ensured us the person sitting behind it would be the best person to arrange this upgrade. This was where our nightmare began. The story is very long and extremely frustrating, but in a nutshell: we were guaranteed by 3 people who were called in as back-ups, that the upgrade would be $US 21/night, but we first needed to speak to one more person to secure this upgrade request. Before we realized it, we were sitting in a large room, being given a time-share sales pitch. We then made it clear that we were not interested in time share. After many, many more little incidents and protests, we were led back to the original “liar” to finally arrange the promised upgrade. Unfortunately, he said this upgrade is no longer $US 21, but $US 37. On and on it went, until the room was actually not available for another 4 nights, etc. etc. I finally realized the lies were getting bigger, and raised my voice to let them know that they were all lying and giving the resort a very bad name. In the end, we did have some marvellous luck that the reception manager Gabriela heard me and called us over to her desk. By way of compensation, she gave us the upgrade for free, although the room itself would only be available on Monday. She also commented that these sales people are not part of the resort, and that they lie continuously to everyone and anyone they trap for their sales pitch. As part of Gabriela’s generosity, we had free wifi in the lobby and in the upgraded Royal Club section, we had access to La Caretta, by far the best restaurant on the premises (where we ate often), we had access to the Royal Club pool. In fact, we had all the privileges of the Royal Club members. On Monday, we decided not to move rooms, as our room was fine and moving seemed at that point not worth all the effort. I felt sincere gratitude for Gabriela’s kind offer and to make up somewhat for the free upgrade, I rewarded the restaurant staff with generous tips when we ate at The Caretta. The waiters were attentive, pleasant, professional, and welcoming. Mosquitoes and other bugs: On our fight back, I noticed a few bumps on my arms and hands, but paid no attention. On Saturday morning when I woke up in my own bed, I counted 19 oversized bite marks—raised red bumps on my left arms, 7 on my right, several on my back, and the itchiness began. I am on Benadryl and confident the marks will disappear. I don’t know what caused them—mosquitoes or flies, but they are not pleasant to live with. The odd thing is that I did not feel the bites when they happened. So, all in all, although this resort has truly lovely and well maintained grounds, friendly and courteous staff, and is well priced, I would not recommend it to people who like pristine open spaced beaches, quiet pool areas, a smoke-free environment, and insect free spaces. I myself would not go back. As well, I would not go to Mexico because of the utter lack of professional work ethics of sales people. Feel free to share my outlook on Cozumel Occidental Grand with your clients. This report in no way reflects your part in this trip (Tripcentral agent), as you were flawless in your arrangements. Thank you. N.B. I would like to remain anonymous in the context of not sharing my email address with anyone other than Tripcentral staff.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Great Family Resort

Great resort. Was large but we stuck to our section. AmaZing for the kids, great water park. Beach was beautiful, shallow entry and great for the kids. Clean property, well cleaned rooms. Justa Great trip. Would go back in the future .

Allegro Cozumel: One week in paradise

We had an amazing time at the Allegro! The hotel was beautifully laid out, and the grounds were perfectly maintained. The staff was friendly, helpful, and we were always greeted with a smile. The beach was gorgeous. Our son had a blast at the kids pool. Beautiful family oriented resort. The food was delicious, with plenty of selection. BBQ everyday by the pool. We enjoyed our stay and hope to return!

Occidental Cozumel: Well kept resort

The grounds of the reset are very well bushed in. Rooms looked like they had recently been renovated. It is a Smaller resort..depending what you are looking for and mostly older residents. The food was amazing but seemed to have to wait in line for 10 min some days just to get a table, espesually for lunch. The beach was not cleaned on a daily basic but still seemed to be okay.

Occidental Cozumel: Beautiful location

Service was excellent, very friendly staff. Beach was very crowded due to a small beach area for chaise lounges. Difficulty getting chaise lounges in the pool area. The food was plentiful, although much of the same menu every day. Warning to avoid salesmen trying to sell upgrades re: taxi service from the airport.very clean rooms, good linens provided.

Allegro Cozumel: Allegro Cozumel

This is a very nice Hotel. The food and drinks were good. lots of pool and beach chairs for everyone. Entertainments during the day around the pool was good but could use more entertainments during the evenings. they have a nice pool for children. We really enjoyed our week.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Very impresses with resort

People were friendly resort was clean and beautiful We loved the food and beaches the staff were always. Top notch We have only good things to say ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,m,,,,,m,m,mm,m,m,mm,mm,mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Barcelo Aruba: Great Resort

This was our 5th visit to Aruba and this "all inclusive" resort. It was previously the Occidental Grand and just recently changed to a Barceló resort. We have always booked the "Royal Club/Level" which allows access to the Royal Level lounge where breakfast, lunch and dinner can be ordered a la carte. It also includes priority check in on the 9th floor, name brand liquor for drinks and priority reservations at the four specialty restaurants and a concierge service to assist you during your s [... read more]tay. Meals can still be had at all the buffets if desired. The hotel has been going through some upgrades and the bar area was enlarged and now has a lot of seating and a large dance floor area where there is live music nightly. The casino was removed from the hotel but they are setting up a small area with some slot machines in the bar area. There are casinos available at all the other hotels on the strip. The rooms have always been very clean and seem to be getting some upgrades. The shower heads were upgraded to rain shower heads with an added shower head for the front of your body. The only downside might be that rooms that have the shower in the bathtub might be difficult for older guests to climb into as the side seems very high. As with other resorts there is always a first come first served system for lounges around the pool and at the beach. The first come seem to go out very early in the morning to reserve their lounges. If you don't mind paying for a lounge (with an umbrella or palapas for shade) there are vendors on the beach by the hotel who allow you to reserve lounges each day. We have done this each year as you really need the shade as the sun is very hot! The hotel is situated in an area which is very nice for walking out at night. There are lots of restaurants and touristy type shopping. The casinos in the other hotels are all easy walking distance and at the back of the hotels on the beach side there is a walkway that is lit up and you can walk along the back of the hotels at night. Oranjestad is a short bus ride from the high rise hotel area. All in all we have been very happy at this resort and plan to return again next year.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Barcelo Maya Colonial - Two Weeks Fantastic

Two weeks at Barcelo Maya Colonial - January 17 - 31/2017. Fantastic holiday. Air Transat: Direct Ottawa to Cancun. Five hour delay at departure due to system malfunction. Solution - bring in another plane from Toronto to move us to Cancun. Thanks to the Air Transat Captain and crew for discovering the problem while were still on the ground. Ground Transport: Direct transfer Cancun Airport to Barcelo Maya Colonial and back. Ten passenger van. Good trip both ways. Hotel: Beautiful grou [... read more]nds and gardens. Very clean room with nice balcony overlooking a beautiful garden. Buffets: Excellent food and selection. Great service. Prompt and friendly. A la Cartes: We ate at the a la cartes ten evenings during our two week stay. Wonderful service and food. Pre and post dinner drinks. Each of these dinners would have been a $200.00 bill in Ottawa. Great value. Bars: Lots of bars over the property. Very prompt service for the most part. Beach: Beautiful beach. Lots of chairs. Wonderful white sand. Snorkelling: Great snorkelling right off beach. We have been travelling to all inclusive resorts all over the Caribbean over the last ten years. We would definitely return to the Barcelo Maya Colonial. Very enjoyable holiday.

Allegro Cozumel: Lovely resort!

What a beautiful resort, the grounds, beach, pools, rooms, food, and especially the people. It is not a large resort so getting around was easy and you didn't feel over crowded. It looked like a great place for family vacations even though we didn't have children with us. Great kids pool area. The other pool areas were very nice. Everything very clean and landscaping beautiful. The sunsets were gorgeous every night. The food was also very good, pretty good selection to choose from. The a la cart [... read more]s were excellent and an experience. They always made it very enjoyable an extra special. The staff worked very hard for everyone to enjoy their vacation. They were always there if you needed them. Friends we were with had planned a beautiful private dinner on the beach with the group of us, he proposed to his bride to be. What an amazing meal and beautiful setting! Definitely recommend this! The waiters and the chef did an excellent job, best steak I have had! Our friends then got married on the beach later in the week, how beautiful it was! The staff did a fabulous job setting up and making sure it all worked out. They were amazing. Overall this was an amazing vacation and I would definitely return again.

Occidental Costa Cancun: great resort!

The resort was smaller than we normally go to but ended up being a plus. There was no waiting for drinks, no holding lounge chairs, no line ups for omelets or fajitas. It was clean, friendly staff, fun entertainment, no language barriers. Very pleasantly surprised and would go again tomorrow.

Occidental Nuevo Vallarta: A great resort to relax

Very well kept grounds,pool areas and beach. Alot of changes since my last visit.Some not so good in my eyes.Staff cannot do enough for you.Especially Eric in the dining room.Always a big smile to go along with great service.A quiet resort.

Barcelo Karmina: great hotel, wonderful staff.

Room was very large and clean, resort was amazing, except the pools were chilly. The staff were great. We had heard about the desk being slow, but having occasion to go to the desk numerous times, we had no waits and very good service.

Occidental Tamarindo: Fantastic resort

The resort is fantastic! It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for somebody who is looking for an great destination that is unlike other resorts, this is the place to go. The staff are fantastic, the food is great, the beach is wonderful.

Occidental Cozumel: The hotel was beautiful and amazing

The hotel was beautiful and amazing in the staff at the concierge area were wonderful probably the best service ever including the service at the beach was great as well would highly recommend going to being the beach is beautiful

Occidental Punta Cana: Great resort

Very clean, but the service could be a little faster and people should not be ignored, I felt like sometimes the servers did not want to serve us because we did not tip all the time. The rooms were very clean resort was clean did have an issue at check in but it was resolved quickly

Royal Hideaway Playacar: A great mid-sized resort with all the amenities!

We stayed at RH from Jan 21-28, 2017. The accommodations, food and service were all exceptional! Fabulous beach for morning walks. Great drink and snack service on the beach. The evening entertainment at the Allegro Bar was wonderful. We were not disappointed!

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Fabulous Holiday!!!

We just returned from a week of sun and fun at the fabulous Barceló colonial. The al la cartes were super with the exception of the Santé Fe steak house. What a disappointment . The steaks were so tough we couldn't get thru them. The service was top notch at all of the restaurants!. the resort is clean and well kept. There was so much to do, and our only regret was that we had only booked one week. We look forward to returning to this wonderful holiday resort. Gracia