Colonial review

Hotel looked clean, and well maintained. The 2 areas, to my opinion, that needs improvement is in the food and animation. Food was OK, but got bored very quick with the options we had in the buffet. Animation was absent. Big gap between the dinner and the evening show.

Fantastic resort

We loved our stay with our two children. The Beach was beautiful and we absolutely loved the snorkeling off the beach. We saw many fish and swam with sea turtles. Our room was very clean and comfortable. The grounds are so well taken care of and we didn't find anything was far to walk to. We all enjoyed the food and felt that there were enough choices for everyone. We were there over the Christmas holidays, the feast on the 24th was out of this world. The staff were very friendly. We had an exce [... read more]llent stay. The only thing was that the pool wasn't very warm however we did travel over the winter months so I guess this is to be expected.

Barcelo

Beautiful site and well kept . However huge site - especially with arthritis !! Would be nice to have staggered eating sites - not strict timing . Beach very steep and reef close by so not ocean swimming easily Personally we would prefer a site with 1-200 rooms max . Marble tiles are washed 1-2 / day - very slippery !! Also please mark off step down in central lobby ! Should mark with yellow/black tape and central railings Railings at pool entries would also supply safer entrances A [... read more]t bars it would be nice to have corn chips etc

Barcelo Maya Colonial was Wonderful

We stayed at thr Barcelo Colonial with a group of friends in December 2025. We had a great time and having access to the other resorts was a bonus. This was the first time we never left the resort to do an excursion. There were lots of free activities available in the complex. We ate at the Colonial/ Tropical and the Caribe/Maya Beach. They were slightly different but both really good. Caribe/Maya had a great pasta station and sandwich grill station. One thing they resort didn't have was  [... read more]a standalone coffee shop but they did have a specialty coffee machine available for you to make your own. The a la carte restaurants that we tried were really good too. Kyoto, santa fe and the seafood one. No problems finding a chair by the pools or the beach and lots of shady areas. There were a lot of hammocks available by the pool area too, perfect for a daytime nap. We went to the theatre a few times and the shows were as entertaining as other resorts we've gone too. A lot of singing amd dancing. It would be nice to have a fire show, a magician, or something more entertaining. We found it more lively hanging out in the mall bar by Caribe or in Maya beach lobby. Better music and a younger crowd. There wasn't a happening common space to hang out in the evening other than the piano bar which was quieter and older crowd Overall we had a great time and it was a great resort.

Meh….did not live up to the Review hype

I had a quick 3-night stay. In general, muh. I rarely post reviews but noticed that negative reviews disappeared quickly. The place is huge although laid out in such a way that is walkable. The common facilities are in good shape, and the bars and buffet run efficiently. Nothing beyond ordinary. Can only speak to the Jalisco building where I stayed: -No face clothes in room -power outlets were scare. You can plug in your laptop or you can have a lamp. Chose one! - Wifi regularly [... read more] fails completely. Not just slow - it’s gone. - No hot water - “Rain head” shower had little pressure and basically gurgled water. Doing a quick solo vacay, So I’m in / out of the buffet quickly, but there were many occasions that not a single sever made contact or offered a drink! The beach and the facilities are why you come here, Beach (sand) is 9/10 in my opinion. Lots of chairs, coverage if you want it. The water, looks beautiful but there is only one clear path out, the rest is rather rocky and treacherous, and a number of guest got banged up. On a calm day you can clearly see this, on a rough day you can’t I can’t recommend, nor would I return.

Beautiful Resort, amazing staff and great food

A little late writing this review lets just say life got a bit busy once we got back. We visited this resort for the first time on the week of Nov. 1-8 2025. All we can say is this is fantastic resort we have no complaints. We booked the upgrade to premier and it was worth it. Right from the check in to everything else that goes with it. We had our separate check in area and we did not have to book any a la carts as it was already done for us, and if there was any we wanted to change we could do [... read more] that after.Check in was quick and our room was ready for us when we got there. The room is fantastic and large and the view over the pool and the ocean was beautiful. Do bring water shoes as the ocean has rocky areas in it but where the rocks were we saw lots of different fish. The grounds are beautiful and well maintained do be prepared to walk as it is a large resort. As for the food there is no complaints, the buffet was good and had great variety each day and the a la carts were fantastic especially the Japanese one. As for staff and service they were all fantastic. We had an issue with the A/C on the second day, we called down to our concierge desk and within half hour maintenance arrived and had the issue resolved. One employee in particular really stood out and was fun to deal with his name is Jesus Puc, he made our stay a lot more fun. He was at the pool/beach bar during the day and than at the piano bar in the evening. The only bad experience was at the Strikers bar lets just say the food there was not that good as well as the service. We will definitely put this resort on our high list and will visit it again. We have been to a number of different resorts over the years and this is one in our top 3. We highly recommend you give it a try you won't regret it

Everything is the best

I can say only good things about this resort. Higly recommend. Amazing experience in every way. Thank you staff from me and my family . We will come back. Special thanks to security team. They are so professional and know how to handle every situation.

Barcelo Maya Colonial, Riviera Maya

We enjoyed our stay at this resort. Everything was just fine! Great customer service, room was spacious and clean, food was delicious. Thanks a lot to everyone. We would be happy to visit this resort again.

Great and amazing vacation

Hotel was a little old but everything was clean and very well designed. One of the greatest thing we appreciate was to swim with the turtles. So you don’t have to pay anything because it is right there at the beach. Catamaran is also free. Restaurants and food was also excellent. Drink, I don’t drink that much so I can’t comment. Pools are huge and clean, lots of chairs but people still reserve them…

Great family resort!

This past week was our second time at the Barcelo Maya Colonial. We went last year and had the best stay so decided to do it again this year and again, we were not disappointed! The staff is very friendly and accommodating. The grounds were immaculate and there was always staff working hard cleaning up the leaves and cutting the grass to keep it that way. The resort is so big that it's almost impossible to be one bored as there is so much to do and see. We had our 8 year old daughter with us, so [... read more] the many splash pads and massive pools were a hit. Both times they gave us a room that was very close to the splash pad which made it very convenient for us. We felt very safe the entire time during our stay. The Grand food selection at the buffet was always satisfying, you'd always find something you like. And the a la carte restaurants are incredible. I believe you are allowed 3 reservations per 1 week stay but if you speak to the restaurant directly, and they have space, they will allow you to come another time so we were able to eat at 4 restaurants 4 different nights which was very nice. My favourite was the Spanish restaurant. The almond chicken was cooked to perfection and my father in law said the lamb chops he had were the best he's ever eaten in his life. We also did the xcaret excursion and had the best time! The resort is perfectly situated that you are pretty much the last pick up and first drop off. So we were able to catch the buffet quickly at breakfast just before getting on the bus. The rooms were the only thing that can possibly use a bit of an update, but they were very clean and worked just fine for us. Maybe bring an air freshener to help the slight musty smell that is inevitable from the salty sea air. That's what we did and it was fine. If you are looking for a resort that you don't have to leave to be entertained, this is the one. Pool entertainment, night time theatre entertainment, nightclub, dolphin show each morning, ping pong, floor chess, basketball and tennis courts, big gym, lots of shopping! We will definitely visit again! It has everything we wanted!

Amazing resort

Great for families with children as well as for adults only. Very clean. Great pools close to a beautiful beach. Good bars, good drinks. Huge selection of food , always fresh. Fun water parks for kids, beautiful gym for adults. Very good a la cart restaurant but difficult to book, rooms were very humid for some reason

Amazing resort except for the CAPTIVE DOLPHINS

The hotel was lovely And the beach front was fantastic! The restaurants were also very delicious with lovely staff! There are many pools to choose from and lots of activities. I was absolutely shocked to see the tiny water enclosure that the dolphins were in. WHY IS THIS EVEN HERE AT BARCELLO? I have since found out that PLATA THE DOLPHON jumped onto the concrete deck and DIED while performing in a show in February 2025. ? PLEASE TAKE AWAY THE DOLPHIN AREA?

Never disappoints

Barceló hotels are so well designed for every guests needs. Amazing service, beautiful grounds and comfortable accommodations. We love this resort for its variety of restaurants and amenities, gym spa ball courts and tons of things for kids and adults of all ages to stay busy. Nice they don’t put the small water park way back of the resort like so many other big resorts. The entire resort is on the waterfront with a beautiful view and path to walk to the other Barcelo resorts. No golf carts requ [... read more]ired as every restaurant is on a well signed path which is covered if it rains. If you like to get out on the water and experience Hobie cat sailing and no experience, friendly staff will take you out for free. Just book at 9:00 day before. Beautiful beaches, bring a mask and snorkel some water shoes and snorkel right off your own private beach. Amazing if you are an early riser to encounter Sea Turtles right at the waterfront. There are magical Cenote parks close by to explore and much more. It’s worth the extra time to get to the resort. Only an hour from Cancun but the beach and hotel is with it. 2nd time stay. Going back this December.this year.

Wonderful time at Barcelo Maya

We stayed at this resort for two wonderful weeks and had an amazing time here. Everything went smoothly from check in to check out. All the staff we dealt here were very helpful, friendly and professionally. We ate at the buffets with plenty of options to choose from and food was always hot and tasty. We also ate at all the a la carte restaurants and enjoyed everyone of our meals. Our room was very nicely decorated in traditional Mexican charm. It was always kept clean by housekeeping, and had n [... read more]o issues asking and getting an extra towel or facecloths. Our mini fridge was always restocked. We enjoyed our time at the beach and the pools with just enough fun activities happening there. We found the loungers to be the most comfortable and plenty of pool towels. We would recommend this resort to our family and friends.

Feb 2025 Wonderful!

Great location, excellent food, superb service, beautiful pools, nice beach… really nice! Ocean was warm and perfect temperature for swimming and snorkeling. Easy to get to Tulum and to Playa del Carmen.

Beautiful resort

We loved the beautiful beaches, and there were always enough lounge chairs to go around. Stunning weather (end of Jan, beginning of Feb), and the resort is so spacious, so it was fun to walk around. There were plenty of activities (we did a yoga class), and the staff go out of their way to make you comfortable and happy. The food was also plentiful with enough variety not to get bored. They did overbook and move us to another hotel at the resort, which was really noisy, so we moved back to the o [... read more]riginal hotel the next day - they were accommodating about that. Amazing trip!

Amazing Resort

My husband and I had a marvellous time at the Barceló Colonial. The staff were very friendly and accommodating. The nightly entertainment at the theatre was very good. We would certainly recommend it to our friends. We would certainly revisit.

Great value - beautiful resort

I've been to the Barcelo Colonial 22x. Most of the time we are a family group of 8 to 27 people. This time it was just two of us. We try to book the Colonial, but we've stayed at the Tropical as well. Its the same, just the next building. We booked this time through WestJet Vacations. FLIGHT Our flight with Westjet, there had no tv screens so unless you had a tablet, it was super boring so I napped. Water, pop and coffee with 1 cookie or pretzel bag was offered for free. They did have a sma [... read more]ll menu to order items at a cost. It was a smaller plane with 3x3 seats. The staff are great and friendly. MEXICAN CUSTOMS Not efficient at all, took us over an hour to get to our luggage. We were of the first people off the plane and our line was still full while the other 4 lines emptied. An average employee would notice and shuffle people in other lines to even it out. Nope. On return the airport was a sh*tshow. Even though we checked in online and had boarding passes and used the kiosk to get the luggage tag, we waited 90min to drop off luggage! Then paid $60 CDN for 2 hamburger combos at Johnny Rocket (not worth $20 never mind $60). SHUTTLE This was provided by Nexus Tours. We downloaded their app, registered and got a QR code in the app. Once there, we found the employee in orange shirt and fedora and he guided us to small van. Ride was nice, air conditioned. Good driver. All smooth. Keep in mind its 1hr and 15-30min ride. On the return, here is where problems started. Nexus tours called our room multiple times. I picked up 3x and told them I’m not going to desk (I have no desire to waste time listening to sale pitches about tours and wasting my beach time) I’ve been to Mexico 30x I don’t need to do tours. I told the rep you have an app and I got QR code on the way here so I’ll do the same and check in online and get the QR code. No need to come to desk. Alex hung up on me. 48 hours before flight the QR code didn’t update with shuttle pickup time so I walked to desk near lobby and asked about pickup. I was threatened there may not be room on bus because I choose to ignore them and not go to desk. Why would I when its all digital? He was rude and made me worried I would have to pay for a taxi. I told them its already included in packing price and I’m getting on that bus come hell or high water. It was my birthday and I cried for an hour worried about return transport to airport. I emailed my travel agent at TripCentral (Liz Simunic) who saved the day by contacting Nexus tours to get me on the shuttle. She acted promptly and helped alleviate my anxieties. I will never book Westjet if they continue to use Nexus Tours as vendor. It was horrific experience. CHECK IN Was smooth for us as we are Premium members. Yvonne was great. Our dinner reservations were all done and off to eat at buffet quickly as it was closing at 10pm. ROOM Each named section has 2 buildings, 3 stories with an elevator in the middle. Imagine a hallway open to the sky and rooms on your left and rooms on your right. Its bright because its open and there are plants and beautify 10ft tall angel statues along the hallway. Our room this time was a disaster. We were in Guanajuato building and our bed was broken. It was 10:30pm and we were tired but I didn't want to waste the next morning dealing with it. A worker came to fix it (no english) and it was not fixed I sank off and fell to ground. The manager (Marianna) came and apologized and offered to move us. There was no other room on 2nd floor with 2 double beds facing away from loud theatre until the next day. I didn’t want to move next day as it would waste ½ day. So, by the time we go to new room in the next Jalisco building and settled it was midnight. We got to the new room and the mattress sank to the point I slid off the bed. Manager could see as she escorted us to new room. She promised to have the mattress replaced the next day. I told her also to have someone unplug sink, the toilet lever didn’t work and the wood door of the entertainment unit you needed to open to access mini fridge wouldn’t close and was loose and was ajar. I said it was a liability issue as I could walk into it, especially in the dark at night on the way to washroom. The next day there were 12 employees in our room at the same time, switching mattress, fixing plumbing and loose door. All was good after that. Keep in mind the rooms are dated. But they are clean, the AC worked great and the fan even better to circulate the air. The rooms are VERY humid so leave a spare kg in your luggage as your clothes will be damp and heavier on your return home. Don’t bother bringing anything from home and lugging heavy damp rid stuff. Not worth it. Just know your clothes will be a bit damp. The room has a king or 2 double beds, a desk with chair and mirror (use this to blow-dry hair as bathroom is HOT), a sofa, round glass table (not needed just takes up space), a large wood tv stand combo with mini fridge inside and also drawers to put your clothes. Once of us used that to put clothes in. Try to keep wood door in front of mini fridge open when you are not there to let air from back of fridge circulate. The fridge is not cold, not warm but not cold enough. The TV has only a few English channels, so we bring our Firestick to watch Netflix. The bathroom is large, big shower. I wish they had a handheld shower as the rain one from above doesn’t help get soap out of hard to reach, areas. They provide shampoo, condition and body gel. All terrible so I always bring my own. The sink and shower seem to always be a bit clogged. They have a magnifying mirror, great for makeup or picking zits lol. Its large enough for 2 people to get ready. But its HOT! There is no exhaust fan. Too hot to blow dry hair in there so I use the desk in the room. They do provide a descent blow dryer but I bring my own. Oh, no point to spend time flat ironing your hair in 5min it will be a chia pet. They also provide shower cap, sewing kit, comb, toothbrush and paste, shoe shine. Oh, I always bring an air refreshener for the bathroom and one for the room. Each morning, I leave a note in Spanish thanking housekeeping for keeping room clean, I ask for how many towels I want and leave my tip on it. Also leave a note for the person who replenishes the mini fridge with the same request and tip taped inside or outside the fridge door. There are not enough plugs in the room. By the bed, by the desk and in bathroom. The mattresses and bedsheets are AMAZING! And I’m picky! There is a large closet and many hangers plus iron and ironing board, robe and slippers (you keep slippers not robe). Where the safe is there are 4-5 shelves so 2nd occupant can use that for clothes. Safe easy to use and in my 22x I’ve never had anything stolen, in safe or anywhere loose. The patio doors never seem to lock by being on upper floors we weren’t concerned. Large balcony with 2 chairs and table plus retractable clothes hanger to dry clothes. Privacy and great view of tropical bushes. There is a tall mirror by the bathroom to check yourself out before leaving the room. Lobby is the best of the 4 same level buildings. The largest and airiest just perfect to hang out or play cards. GROUNDS Immaculate, they work hard to have it perfect. Biggest, longest, cleanest pools, bridges, covered outside walkways between buildings so you never get wet and protects you from sun. Easy to navigate. Large resort and lots of walking but I have mobility issues and never felt tired. VERY, VERY, SAFE. Even walking alone, at night, I never felt unsafe. Beautiful plants and flowers everywhere, just gorgeous. Pools (not to swim in, just décor) between restaurants etc. fountains. Resort on flat land. The gym is nicer than some in Canada and the Hydrotherapy area has Hammam, sauna, cold plunge, hot plunge, many lay down loungers, men and women’s lockers with toilets and showers. There is cucumber water, chlorophyll water, towels, 4 showers with essence waters, ice machine to use to cool off your body. There is an outside pool with fountains and a jacuzzi. Gorgeous! Thy hydrotherapy is for Premium members or pay $30 USD a day for use. There are iguanas and turtles (by the Palace rooms) please do not feed them at all. They will get sick. Just outside the Colonial building is the kid’s waterpark our nieces used from 2 years old til 12 years old. And a kids club that my nieces went to from 5yrs old to hmmm 10 years old? They loved it and wouldn’t want to hang out with us. EMPLOYEES All excellent and helpful and quiet and respectful. The servers speak English, but the rest mostly no English. Please don’t mistaken them not engaging in conversation as being cold. Its mostly confidence due to language barrier. They were all amazing. Our breakfast/lunch server Oscar will hunt us down to seat us and every morning had our drinks ready for us. In Marenostrum fish restaurant, Roman and Moises took very good care of me and brought me a birthday dessert and sang to me. In Sante Fe Steakhouse, Jorge is always our server and remembers us year and after. He is amazing, went above and beyond with extra dessert and shrimps. Adela at Tokyo remembers us too and took care of us both nights we went for Teppanyaki show and had all the servers sing to me for my birthday with a special cake. BUFFETS My boyfriend prefers them. I prefer a la carte. There is SO MUCH CHOICE that anyone who complains is just wrong and picky. Its not a Michelin star restaurant, its cooking for thousands of people. The buffet is huge with pasta and omelette stations, dessert stations, fruit, breads, meat, cold cuts, salad, Mexican food, carbs – nothing missing. A LA CARTES I prefer them, feels special. Tokyo – book Teppanyaki show, you get soup or salad, an appetizer like sushi roll or tempura, them main dish of a meat or fish with friend rice and veggies and dessert. I order surf and turf. Unfortunately, both dinners our chef didn’t speak English very well thus didn’t engage us in the show and make it fun. We’ve had better times other years but the food was good. Sante Fe Steakhouse – the best. It has an antipasto bar, you can choose from menu for multiple course. The best is tenderloin (baked potato and corn side), and dessert. Very good steak! Marenostrum – quick service (too quick), I always order ceviche Marenostrum, instead of soup I ask for Shrimp cocktail (its actually a main but really? 6 shrimp a main?) and then grilled lobster tail with rice (looks big but lobster yields ½ palm of meat) and dessert. La Trattoria – my boyfriend hated the Papardelle Bolognese, the meat sauce here and at buffet is sweet and weird tasting. I had seafood pasta and it was delicious. A nice antipasto bar as well. Beach buffet – we hate it and prefer to go to buffet where breakfast is served. BEACH The last few years the seaweed got bad to the point I didn’t want to return this year and beach regressed with hardly any sand, a hard surface to walk between beach loungers and ocean. But first 3 days crystal clear water and day 4-7 very little seaweed and they filled the beach with lot of soft sand. It was beautiful! It was a windy week which meant waves but beach was full, no chairs by 9am and full all day and water filled with swimmers. Gorgeous. PUBLIC BATHROOMS The ones by outside buffet and pools was soooo hot no windows or AC. You could die in there lol. TOWELS The resort gives you a towel card per person, make sure you don’t lose it 25USD. Plus, we would exchange our towels and the guy never asked for the cards. ROOM KEY Ask for 2 extra because they demagnetise and you end up having to walk 10min back to lobby and 10min back to room every day. Keep them in folder and don’t put them near cell phone or credit cards. CONCLUSION Great value for price point. We will definitely go back, as we have the last 20 years!

Consistent

Been here 4 times now. Being the older resort out the other 5 it’s kinda showing its wear. But service and amenities are still very good. Lots of beach to walk. Buffet is pretty decent. Japanese a la carte is a must.

Enjoyment

Enjoyed our 10 day stay immensely with the caveat… this is a HUGE resort with NO transportation for people like me that do not walk distances well using a cane. Also, if you have mobility issues I would recommend asking if there is a room with a walk-in shower. Ours had a rather high sided tub making entrance and exit somewhat difficult.The only transportation is from lobby to lobby via double decker buses but nothing (as for example golf carts) to move people internally. Lovely Huge poolS, Gr [... read more]eat food, beautiful beach.