Sunscape Dominican Beach: nice resort for the price

The resort and beach are very beautiful. The grounds are always kept up nice. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. The only downfall is the food - a lot of it was undercooked I.e. eggs/omelettes, meat and seafood on theme night.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Wonderful Holiday

We so needed a holiday and we were not disappointed. Fabulous resort, great food and service was unbelievable! The beach was great, we even had a sea turtle swimming back and forth at the edge of the reef directly off shore from the resort. We would go back again in a flash!

Barcelo Ixtapa: Very Relaxing and clean resort. Excelent service

Excellent service from the staff. Very informative about any attractions. Great food. Really enjoyed the choice of additional restaurants other than the Buffet. There was always a restaurant open on the grounds when ever you needed to eat.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Good solid 4*

Grounds very well kept. Clean resort. Nice size so you are able to find your way around. Food was your basic buffet food. Good, no one in our party got sick. Buffet is not set up very good. Gets a little conjested especially on the week-end when the locals come.Brazalian and Italian a la carte were excellent. Mexican was okay. Didn't try the other ones. Rooms were very spacious. Outdated but very clean. Always had hot water. Air conditioning worked great. Mini bar refilled every day. Beach was b [... read more]eautiful. Nice wide beach with shade if you like. Pools were nice.

Occidental Caribe: Excellent!!!!!

Love this place. This was second trip here and I plan to come back. The beach is amazing! Good selection of food. The French restaurant is the best!!!! The staff are so friendly and the rooms are well kept. Going back again next year.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: wonderful resort

The check in was smooth and very quick. The rooms were very large and spacious. When we were there it was windy the beach was great on the days it was to windy but the pool was awesome and the entertainment staff were wonderful. Would definitely go back.

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Lovely holiday!

I just came back from the Barcelo, I travelled July 16-23 2013. I was a bit nervous having read all the reviews and honestly, there is a bit of truth in ALL of them but you just have to figure out what you are willing to tolerate. We went in the low season and I encourage travelling then...any resort or place in general that is really crowded is always uncomfortable. I had no issues finding a lounger by the pool or beach in fact several were unoccupied and unreserved. That was great. It was easi [... read more]er to get a reservation in the restaurant you wanted, the buffet wasn't crowded either. We did go Club Premium just based on the reviews...having experienced it, I'm not sure its worth the added cost. Our shower and safe were hard to figure out, our room was big but the lighting was quite poor. (Again, lighting not an issue since I only used my room to sleep in.) A premium upgrade in north america vs dominican doesn't equate to what you think so reconsider that. The resort in general is lovely- the perfect size, very clean, 2 larger pools. The beach was actually really nice...I used it quite a bit.The buffet was actually really good...it does vary every night so ppl who say it doesn't are mistaken. The alcoholic drinks were great, they really don't hold back or dilute them which is nice. Ask for a bahama mama if you're in premium..so good! I travelled with my sister but wound up forming a group of 7 in total and I really think the group of ppl made the trip the gem it was. The resort was good but the company you have outweighs where you are....that goes for life in general I guess. I did 2 excursions- Paradise Island and the Freestyle Catamaran. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND both esp Paradise Island. It was the most GORGEOUS place I have ever been and it was so inexpensive. The island is just this white sandbar with some huts on it and they have unlimited rum and fresh fruit and snorkelling for free. The snorkelling is actually really great, they have some beautiful coral and fish around there. The water is crystal clear and the sand pure white silk. It was phenomenal. You feel like you're in the Maldives! The catamaran was really relaxing, you're on a boat for a few hours and you stop at 2 different points to swim and snorkel. Pack that sunblock, you will burn on that trip. For both excursions, I found the infamous Felix on the beach...as he likes to joke that is his office. He is a man of his word and all the reviews about him are right...book with him, we did 2 and he gave us a deal. Its quite cheaper vs through the hotel. Both were great and we had no issues. Find Felix. My only major complaint with this resort is that on weekends, they open it up to locals for a cheaper price so the resort is flooded with all these locals and now you are fighting for a lounger or a drink at the swim up bar. Due to the huge influx of ppl, the resort is dirtier (the pool especially) and it was cramped and uncomfortable. They are fairly rude and I got knocked into a few times in the pool without any apologizes. Doesn't cost anything for manners. That is truly my only complaint with this resort. Everyone was friendly, met some great friends, had lots to eat and drink and got a nice tan. For the price of this resort, I'd do it but because of the locals on weekends rule...I would probably opt for a more exclusive resort next time around. Enjoy your trip if you go...the resort itself is great and you can't go wrong but like I said, there are little truths in all the reviews and if you're nervous..pay the extra $300 and go to Punta Cana to put your mind at ease. ENJOY! And go to Paradise Island!! :)

Barcelo Maya Palace: Amazing Place

Best service, the waiters are very nice, everything is clean, rooms are big, Food is perfect and you must go to all the A la carte restaurants, especial the French one. If I have the chance, I will definitely go again..

Sunscape Puerto Plata: Won't be going back

First of all, we enjoyed our trip. Just not the resort. The people were approachable and generally grateful for tips and gifts. The biggest sore point for us, was the peddlers bugging you on the beach and other off resort areas. I know they are trying to make a living, but I'm on vacation and I don't want to be harassed to buy something I said I don't want or need.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Wonderful vacation

Had a super time...only wish we had a few more days to enjoy the catamaran trip that was cancelled on us and would have loved to have gone on the excursion to Chichen Itza. Would love to return next year.

Barcelo Solymar: Party Tine!!

It's a good place. Lots of college kids. We were older, with young teens, but had no problems. Food, service and rooms were all pretty good. Nothing super exceptional, but nothing super disappointing. Would go again

Occidental Caribe: First family vacation

We stayed at the Barcelo Punta Cana in May 2014. This was our first family vacation ever so please keep this in mind when you read my review. When we arrived we were checked in quickly went to our room. The staff at the front desk were friendly and helpful with any questions we had. Our room (3314) was clean and modern. The grounds were clean and well maintained. There were always staff out cleaning and they were always friendly with us. The wait staff and bar staff were also very friendly. Th [... read more]e Entertainment crew kept us laughing especially mini me. We went to both pools but mostly stuck to the family /quiet pool with the kids. The beach was amazing loved. There were plenty of shady areas to sit under and they were never full. Overall we loved the resort as it wasn't to big was family friendly and clean. The only thing we didn't like was the vendors that are there a few times a week they were very pushy and didn't want to take no for an anwser. Good quality for the price.

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!