Barcelo Solymar: Great location, terrible food

I have stayed twice here because it is the spot to be if your looking for the party resort in Varedero. The first time I was in the main building and the room was nice, balcony overlooked the pool. But, no power. We called several times to get maintenance and even went down to ask for help and they would send us back up to wait for maintenance who never came. They never did get the power going and for some reason it was only our room, I could not even sleep in the room it was soo hot, I pulled t [... read more]he couch out onto the balcony just to sleep with some air circulation. Finally 7am came and I went down to the desk for the third time, demanding they change my room. I did not get into a new room until after noon. After we switched to a room in the villas the rest of the trip was good. Second time was worse, way worse. We were put in a room in the smaller buildings right away, at my request (they are not as nice as the main building but you also don't have to deal with elevators and noisy people in the hallways). Something, quite literally, had died somewhere in the ventilation to my girlfriends room. It smelled like absolute death. She spent the better part of a day trying to get them to come and look at her room and do something and they kept sending her back to wait. Hours later, no one had come and finally we got them to just switch the room. They ended up in a two floor bungalow which was amazing! The next day we seen maintenance taking items, including the mattress out of her old room and then later that day new people had moved in. Those people also vacated that room the next day. Power went out again the last day so we were rushing to pack with the light we had, finally at one point someone did come to check it in the middle of the night while I was sleeping I woke up to someone standing in my room in the dark. No one at the front desk or management seemed to think there was anything wrong with this at all! I was not clothed and not happy. Also, food is disgusting. Do yourself a favor and take advantage of the great location of this resort should you choose to stay there. So many great and inexpensive restaurants within walking distance! Beaches are amazing

Occidental Caribe: B e a u t i f u l

Amazing stay! Perfect location beautiful beach, great food breakfast is the best! Waves are massive but beautiful beach i suggest to do the carribean festival excursion! Amazing! Overall would recommend

Sunscape Puerto Plata: As expected

First impression..... Beautiful grounds. Layout of hotel was decent, easy too be around. Beautiful beach, but many vendors interrupting your day. Food was amazing with the best staff I have seen in a long time. Pool and daily entertainment was ok, get up early and layout your towel if you want a chair to lounge in. Nightly entertainment.... Great the first night but found the theme changed but the routine was the same night after night. Rooms were amazing. I say rooms because we asked to move af [... read more]ter the first night. Due to the fact we had a room facing the town and a local bar who played musoc till 4am local time. Guest services was below par, found that if you were not a premium guest your chances of booking tours through them was slim to none. Thank god for an amazing and wonderful travel agent who booked all our excursions for us. Overall it was an above average trip with your normal ups and downs. I would recommend this hotel, and I will return there next year.

Barcelo Solymar: Great resort

Nice resort. Grounds neat and clean. Stayed in the Bungalows. Nice and out of the way from the crowd. The Solymar is the party side, the Arenas was the quiteer side and more family orientated. Food was fair. Not great but you went away from the buffet full if you want to. Staff friendly. Was happy this resort was close enough to walk into Varadero.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Good Time!

The resort was very clean. Grounds well kept. The rooms and beds comfortable. Really nice pool area. The beach was beautiful. A lot of local vendors trying to sell souvenirs but they were very friendly. Food Was good with lots of variety. The main complaint we had was that the staff were not very happy. They rarely smiled which made us wonder how the Barcelo treats their staff. There was also not much to do in the evenings. We had a good time but we made our own fun. Not a great resort if you ar [... read more]e looking to be entertained!

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Good time

The check in was slow because we had to go around to the back of reception, waited almost half an hour to be checked in. But they did bring us drinks while we waited. The room was really nice, had the vaulted ceilings on the third floor. Good size bathroom, everything worked except the safe, but a call to the front desk fixed that. We we quite a walk from the buffet ( closer to the bridge that leads to the beach), but no big deal. The grounds were nicely manicured and the main pool was huge. The [... read more] other small pool was nice if you wanted to get away from the crowds. The buffet was small and very hot, until the locals came and they opened up another section. Then it seemed to be more open. Not a great selection in food, but we always managed to find something to eat. The beach bar grill could have had more selection as well. The beach area was nice, the water always warm.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Barcelo Maya Colonial Beach

While this is a huge resort they manage to keep the entire grounds pristine at all times. The staff here are top notch and willing to go above and beyond to ensure their guests enjoy a memorable vacation. Snorkelling here is better than anywhere else in the Mayan Riviera.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Great resort

The Barcelo Colonial is great resort the service is excellent the rooms are getting up there in age but are still good the food is great very wide assortment the pools and the grounds are very attractive and we would go back in a heartbeat!

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Just what we need after a long harsh winter

It's been a long harsh winter in Toronto when we went to Riviera Maya in early May. I was a bit apprehensive selecting this resort and did a lot of research before making up my mind. And boy, was I glad I selected Barcelo Maya Caribe. From the pickup at the airport to the hotel till the end of the trip, it was great service almost all the way. The food was good and the two restaurants for evening dining was fabulous. The entire resort was well kept and the staff pleasant. There are 5 different h [... read more]otels within the same resort so the grounds were fairly extensive. I had said in the beginning that it was great service ALMOST all the way. The reason is the check in/check out process. The lineup to check in was not too long but because it takes so long to process each guest the wait was long. We queue up to check in but since we were early and the room was not ready, we were asked to pick up the keys after 3 pm. To pick up the keys we had to queue up all over again in the same line up as people checking in. If we are just picking up keys, why not have an express lane. Same with checking out - too much waiting in line and the same line as people checking in. Again, why not an express line for checking out. Same as booking restaurants for the evening - line up just to speak with the concierge to reserve a restaurant. There is really no need to have to line up to speak with the concierge. Why not a simple online self service and it's done. Final conclusion though, is I had a great time and would visit again the next time I need to get a break from winter.

Barcelo Huatulco: Exactly what we were looking for.

The Barcelo was your average all-inclusive but the weather and the people are what you come for. The hotel is showing its age but if you want something newer book a club room as they have upgraded bathrooms. The food was good, lots of selection, and had no problems booking the al la cartes. The animation team wasn't as "active" as you see in most resorts but still a lot of fun. I would not recommend the show (tried 2) and just enjoyed playing cards and listening to the small band in the hotel ba [... read more]r. If you are looking for a party hotel, this is not for you. If you are looking for a laid back, quiet but fun place to enjoy the sun -- the Barcelo is for you.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Amazing resort...for price

Overall everything was amazing.....however...night life....not that great....great place for the price.....pool was good...roooms..very clean and new.....service...ok....food...good....night life....none...

Barcelo Solymar: Not bad at all

I went to the Barcelo Solymar June 1-8 2014. The staff were incredibly helpful, bar tenders made your drink how you like them and it was always easy to find asstisance. Our room was okay, bathroom didn't really seem like it got cleaned but the rest of our room was tidy. Food was basically not eatable in the buffet. Wasn't expecting much from Cuba but I was shocked at how bad it was. The Italian restaurant was better and we didn't go to any a la cartes. Most of the time I had hot dogs and French  [... read more]fries or went into town to eat (Don Alex is really great and is super close) lots of stuff to do around and in the resort like clubs ( international was not as great as people make it seem cave club was amazing and had ac and didn't get to go to Havana but I heard it was the best) I loved going off the resort and never once felt unsafe in Cuba!! This IS NOT a resort for family OR couples. The age group is very young and it's a total part all day everyday. I loved it as I went with my brother and cousin but I notice a lot of families were unhappy. The beach is absolutely beautiful

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Staff & beach amazing, extras are lacking

The staff were amazing (housekeeping incredible, buffet staff awesome) but huge negative of this resort is that it now has dolphins in a tiny swimming pool and that's just cruel. I've been to barcelo 4x's and because of the captive dolphins we will not go back. Also the "extras" of barcelo are no longer offered - nighttime kids activites are basically nonexistent, and you can only eat in resteraunts (no snacks allowed up to room) and no severs by the pool or beach. Bonus was that we saw wild mon [... read more]keys outside our room :) Overall we will not be going back but this is not because of the staff or beach/pools, but cause morally seeing captive animals on your holiday is not for us.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Amazing all inclusive

Surroundings and resort itself were all beautiful and very well maintained. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Food was excellent, both at the buffets and the a la cartes, waiting staff was excellent. Room was clean and very nicely decorated. My only complaint was that the mattress was hard and not very comfortable which I have read in other reviews. We spent most of our time at the beach and the adult pool, both were great. Beach chairs were plentiful any time of the day, however to get a sp [... read more]ot at the adult pool you had to get there fairly early. We visited at the end of March which was spring break, we found that there were a lot of teenagers who were sometimes very loud and obnoxious, hence the reason we enjoyed the adult pool so much. We traveled without our kids but I would definitely take my kids to this resort.

Barcelo Solymar: Party Resort

If you're in your early twenties and looking to party this is the spot in veradero to stay. Our room was dirty, a lot of bugs (no bed bugs) and the AC was intermittent. Food was very bad as per usual in Cuban resorts. If you are planning on a family vacation I would look elsewhere. Service is most definitely subpar. The pros: beautiful beach, great weather and inexpensive.

Barcelo Huatulco: Good value for price

Rooms are dated but clean and comfortable. Grounds are well kept. Food is good. Staff friendly. Beach is clean & nice but watch the undertow with small kids or non-swimmers. Close to fantastic small town for safe real Mexican experience. Book boat tours on beach for whale watching, fishing, turtle spotting, snorkelling all in one.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Couldn't have picked a better spot!

Everything was above expectations. The service is spectacular. No bugs to worry about at all. Just fun in the sun. The food was great and plenty of it. Will definitely be returning to this resort someday.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Great time

The food was beyond expectation, it was an all guys trip, friendly staff, would go back in a heartbeat, beats Mexico and Cuba for sure! Very clean resort, beach was nice with lots of entertainment throughout the day! Have fun

Sunscape Puerto Plata: amazing resort

This is a very nice resort rooms are spacious and very clean the staff is very helpful it is a smaller resort but is very nice food is great many different restaurants to pick from the beach is great other than the locals on the beach coming up to you every two minutes trying to sell you something overall this resort is great

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Amazing Resort

Excellent dining experience, good shows, excellent beach, beautiful rooms and excellent service. Friendly environment, we will go back any time. Actually it was recommended by family members that have stayed there before and are very satisfied with it.