5th time to this resort still love it.

I can’t say anything bad about the Barcelo. Great place very clean great variety of food. love the beach has both sandy flat areas as well as coral which has a lot of fish. Great staff that speak English very well.

Large Resort

Very large... stay at one play at 4. Nice to have lots to do... mini golf, lots of pools, beach,good food, Dolphins and more. Unfortunate they had overbooked and we were put in a different resort .. The Beach...than we booked. There were a lot of students and noise... disappointing.

Beautiful Resort

This resort was amazing. Everything is so clean from the rooms to the pool to the restaurant's. There is every kind of food to eat, fresh and plentiful. All staff is helpful and pleasant. Entertainment was great. Beach was beautiful. Definitely would recommend this resort and plan to return.

Amazing Resort

Loved this resort. Food in all restaurants was great. Buffets had everything you could imagine, gluten free and vegan choices as well. Children's buffet tables too. The shows at night were better than I've ever seen. Rooms were large and clean, several pools to chose from. Adults only, family, entertainment and multiple splash pads for kids. Beautiful grounds with wildlife to watch. Dolphinarium on property to watch whenever you want too. Loved it!

Amazing Resort, VERY dated rooms.

This was my second time at this resort... here are my findings. 1) The Good - The resort is beautiful. The beach is amazing! The pools are fantastic and the staff is outstanding. 2) The Bad - The food is just okay. Not bad, just not great. The restaurants require ridiculous reservations and when you get there, they are half empty at 7pm. They REALLY do mean no shorts. I went with dress shorts and was turned away while guys with ripped jeans and backwards baseball caps were allowed i [... read more]n. Take advantage of the free mini golf, but know your kids (even as teens) cannot sign themselves in... for no good reason except that is the rule. WiFi is $60 CAD for TWO devices, but actually works pretty good on the resort, even on the beach. 3) The Ugly - The rooms are down right nasty. Now, the Premium rooms are nice, re-done and well kept. The standard rooms are run down, in desperate need of maintenance and we had ants all over the place. Tiny little ones. Didn't bother me, freaked out my kids. All in all, it was my second time there. We did have a good time for sure. Would I go back? Probably not... unless I got a Premium Level or stayed in the Palace / Riviera. I think next time we would just try something else for variety, not because of the resort. It really is beautiful, outside of the rooms.

Truly unforgettable

My wife and I have been going on vacation for years, and we’ve been to some really nice places in Dominican republic in Jamaica and Costa Rica but this is the Mecca of all holiday resorts!!! The couple that we traveled with had been to this resort at least nine times prior, and I would always ask him every year where he goes and he would explain to me that he would go to this resort. So finally I said I would like to go there and we booked it at the same time so that if I didn’t like it I co [... read more]uld tell this guy every day how bad the resort is. But it was way beyond my expectations there is absolutely nothing that could be improved to make my stay better. I will never go on vacation anywhere else except this location! If you’re used to five-star well then get ready for 10 star

Barcelo Maya Caribe Beach

Probably the best all-inclusive vacation we've been on. The food was excellent, the resort/rooms were very well maintained. A lot of options for restaurants and pools. The beach had an area that was mostly sandy (hardly compacted) but was a little rocky in some areas to very rocky in others. We spent more time at pools (personal preference) and one of our six preferred the beach with no complaints. (Long drive from cancun airport).

Nice resort but too big for us!!

The beach was beautiful and we were always able to find a lounge chair.The pools were sparkling clean. The grounds immaculate with mature palm trees throughout. But if you are expecting a tasty mimosa with your breakfast forget about that!! Alcohol is only served at 11 am, some bars only at noon. I’ve never experienced that on any resort!! We tried a couple of a la carte restaurants and at most they were acceptable but we’ve had better at other resorts. There was no live entertainment ot [... read more]her than the 9:30 pm shows. So in the evenings before dinner or after there wasn’t much to do. There was a DJ playing on the stage in the mall on a large TV screen which was great entertainment for the children dancing up on the stage but definitely not of interest if you are a senior looking to relax and enjoy your before or after dinner libation in a comfortable chair listening to some nice music. We found the “mall” very commercial. Who wants to walk around indoors at a mall when you can do that at home! Sports bar was OK. Bowling alley in there, but very pricey at $15 per person for one game. I felt everywhere you went it was a money grab. For families with children that wanted to use the theme parks you had better keep your credit card handy as there was a charge for mostly everything. At the newly built adults only section they closed the buffet at 4 pm. leaving people to either walk a good distance or take the shuttle bus to the other hotels in search of something to eat. I would say this resort is more geared to families with young children or young adults who enjoy going to the Sports Bar or Discotheque in the evenings. So as a whole we would not consider going back to this resort.

The best vacation...EVER

We would like to thank Bismark for referring us to this amazing resort. We were truly blown away at all of the unexpected features presented there. We loved absolutely everything about this resort....nothing bad to say except we should have stayed longer. What a treat! We’ve been on numerous holidays, but this is one we will remember for a very long time. We’re already talking about our next trip which Bismark will recommend. This was our first experience booking with Bismark, but defi [... read more]nitely not our last. Thanks once more!

Beautiful huge resort

This was an awesome resort, well maintained clean grounds. Restaurants were superb and service was excellent. We were guests for 2 weeks and enjoyed every minute. Pools were very clean and beautiful with a nice little adult pool also. The beach was kept up nicely. We enjoyed our excursion to Coba and swimming in the underground cenote and meeting a traditional Maya family.

Amazing resort

The amenities were amazing. They had a ton of activities for my very busy boys, we loved the beach. It was wavy enough to be fun, but not dangerous. They had basketball, water and beach volleyball, shuffleboard, lawn bowling, a lane pool and a small water park. Great fun. The beach volleyball court was often being used and perhaps they could add a second court for a resort of its size. Food was good with many options and we could find food any time of the day, The rooms were nice but could use  [... read more]more storage, as we only had 3 drawers for 4 people. It would have been nice to have more space to settle in. The couch was made up as a bed which was great for my son to sleep on.

Wonderful Vacation in Riviere Maya !

Booking through Tripcentral was great. Flying with Sunwing was terrible. We will try to avoid flying with them for future trips. Old jets, always late and you have to pay for everything onboard (not even a free soft drink). Resort is beautiful, well maintained, great staff and good food. Great place to take children. We didn't have children with us but many tourists told us the children's activities and amenities were wonderful. At first, we were disappointed with the beach because th [... read more]ere are rocks but we soon learned to appreciate this. There is plenty of beach to walk on nice sand as Barcelo has 6 resorts in a row. Staying at the Maya Caribe, we had access to 4 of the 6 resorts. This was nice since we were staying 2 weeks. The problem is if you want to go in the water. Waves stir up the sand making it impossible to see where you step. One step could be on sand while the next could be a rock. For this reason, WATER SHOES ARE A MUST. That being said, don't let this deter you from going. Because there are rocky areas, this brings sea life and birds making our walks fun and exciting. Furthermore, we discovered that at the Maya Palace, there are wild sea turtles that come swim with you looking for treats. They are so use to tourists that we could actually pet them. A real treat for us to see these beautiful animals up close. Never had trouble getting a lounge chair at the beach no matter what time we got there. You do have to reserve for a la carte restaurants and they get booked fast therefore you have to go on your first day to make your reservations for your entire vacation. We found this to be inconvenient. A short 10 minute walk from the lobby, cross the highway and you will find many cenotes that you can visit and swim in. We paid $10 US per person. It's worth the experience if you've never seen this. It's like swimming in an aquarium. Bring snorkeling gear if you have some. They provide life jackets if you need one. If the winds are not too strong, there is decent snorkeling near the resorts (mostly at the Palace). I did see a huge sting ray swim by me 10 feet away. There are some corals in some areas if you go out far enough. You need to get away from sandy areas if you want better visibility. Bring your snorkeling gear. Some people consider this resort to be too big. We did not feel this way. Unless you have mobility issues or small children, you can walk everywhere. They do have busses that run from one hotel to the other if you want. Walking from the room to lobby or room to beach is not an issue. Walking from the most southerly hotel to the most northerly of the 6 hotels would probably take 20 minutes for an average person. We had a great vacation.

Nice vacation

It was the third time we went to Barcelo, Riviera Maya The rooms are clean, the AC is great, the staff is helpful and working hard. It is humid climate and the bugs are thriving . They use DTT to disinsect. DTT is toxic and not used in Canada but they use it in Mexico and Dominican Republic. This time they used a lot in our room and took a day to clear out the smell. In spite of this, there ere small bugs 🐜 in the bathroom. The smell of bathroom was coming into the room from time to time es [... read more]pecially during the night. Also, the food is not as good as used to be. There is a lot of food but the chefs are not great. Besides this, the beach is great, people are very nice and helpful. Overall, it is a good hotel. The best is the gym. One of the best I have seen. Also, the outdoor activities are great and keep you motivated. There is not a perfect resort, but is worth for money.

Great resort !

Visited the Barcelo Maya Caribe resort on December 21st to January 4, 2020. This resorts gives you access to 3 other resorts the Maya Beach, Colonial and Tropical. This resorts is huge, it has many a la carte restaurants, Japanese, Spanish, Seafood, Steak etc..The 24 hrs sports bar called Strikers is very nice, lots of large TVs and big screen and has 24 hrs snacks like hot dogs, hamburgers, fries , wings and cheese sticks. The buffet was also very good, lots of selection and drink were self se [... read more]rve like beer draft, coffee machines, mimosa. The room was basic but ok and nothing fancy. The only thing that is really bad is the check in which took 1 hour and I was the first in line. The grounds are well maintained, the pool are all great, there is even a lap pool which was nice and also a small Adults only which was very nice to get away from the kids. The beach was ok but you need water shoes there is some areas where there are less rocks. There is plenty to do like bowling, mini golf, surf rider, zip lining etc at an additional cost. You can get discount on the bowling from 10 am to 1 PM which is 2 for 1. The mini golf is free till 7 PM. There is free Wifi at the mall from 10 am to 5:30 PM. The service was ok.

Fabulous vacation

We were a group of 11. 2 families. The grounds were stunning. Food was average and the rooms were clean and spacious but you can hear everything in the room next door. The beach was spectacular, calm and warm. Fish swimming in the ocean at our feet. We were able to feed them standing in the ocean. MANY activities for all ages. I would definitely return to this resort

Beautiful Barcelo Maya

This was our first time to the Mayan Riviera and first time at Barcelo Maya Resort. We are a family of three, two adults and a 6 year old son. We stayed for 2 weeks in the Caribe section of the resort. Our room was set back from the beach/pools but was very conveniently located close to the Caribe buffet, the Maya Mall, the Caribe Lobby and the tennis/paddle ball courts. We were very happy with our location near the back of the Sayil building. The transfer from the airport to the resort is  [... read more]a solid hour long drive. We booked a superior/standard room and it was nice (not fancy but clean and nice). We were on the second floor of the building with a view of the Pirate Island Waterpark. There were two double beds in our room and a sofa bed. The bathroom was large and well equipped (dryer, shampoo etc). We had a nice balcony with clean furniture on it. The room itself was also very clean upon arrival. There was a mini fridge that was kept stocked with drinks (pop, beer, water and juice). There was also a large bottle of water with the coffee maker. The man who restocks the fridges will provide you with more water for the room if you ask him to. The food was delicious. Buffets were always good - not hard to find something for everyone. For breakfast, we often walked over to the Tropical buffet for a change of scenery and liked the layout better than the Caribe buffet. I asked for a buffet schedule from Guest Services and that helped us to decide which buffet to eat at in the evening. We ate at a few of the A La Cartes. They were really good. We especially enjoyed Tokyo where the chef prepared the food right in front of you. It was a great show and the food was so good! The steakhouse was excellent as was the Italian place in the Maya Mall. We always ate lunch at one of the grills near the beach. The one at the Beach section was my favourite because of the beautiful views. We did not see one evening show (they start at 9:30pm) as we were usually exhausted from the day's activities (particularly our 6 year old) and needed to rest. We usually went for a walk around the resort after dinner and enjoyed seeing the numerous weddings that were taking place. We spent many of our mornings in the ocean near the Palace snorkelling with the sea turtles. They are beautiful and quite friendly - there's no need to feed them. I was happy to see some of the lifeguards on the beach asking people not to take bananas into the water to give them (like I tell my son, turtles are not meant to eat bananas - a turtle can't climb a tree to eat a banana). We snorkelled off the pier too a few times. There are a lot of fish there (but again, people are feeding them bread etc. and shouldn't). I don't recommend being in the water if people are throwing bread out - my son was in the middle of a large school of fish that were being fed by some guy and he was not comfortable. If the ocean wasn't ideal for snorkelling, we would play paddle ball or tennis after breakfast. You must book a court ahead of time and get your equipment from the desk near the courts. They provide you with a towel and water if you want it. After lunch we would go to the pool and lounge in the shade. Between the Beach and Caribe pools there is a large shaded structure with ping pong tables and foosball tables. There is also a nice shaded basketball court and lap pool near the ocean in the Beach section. We booked a catamaran ride (free per stay), used the kayaks, the water tricycle and the stand up paddle boards. There's so much to do!! The fitness centre is really quite impressive. It sits behind the Dive Shop in the Spa building between the Caribe and Colonial sections. There are a number of fitness classes they have scheduled throughout the day but it seems that they only run if there are an adequate number of participants. You can get a towel and water there as well. The spa looked nice but was quite expensive - we didn't go. We visited Dec 2-16, 2019 and the resort was decorated beautifully for Christmas. The entire place is so clean and tidy. It is so big that it never felt busy or packed with people. It's easy to find shade by the pool or on the beach. Towels can be found in the activity buildings - no need for a towel card. The entire resort was impeccably clean and tidy during our stay. I really have nothing negative to say about the resort or the staff. We had a wonderful time! In fact, we recommended this resort to friends and they have booked for mid January.

Great experience

Good location, the resort has many things to do, good beach for both sun bath and snorkeling. Good selections of food and a la carte restaurants and bars. Friendly staffs and of course a little tip can makes differences. This varies on people and the situations. The beach does not have all white sands like Cancun strip but some rocks and coral related marine life. Doesn't stop from getting the sun on a chair of course. Check out the pictures if not sure. *Highly recommended to have diving  [... read more]shoes or some kind of water footware when going into the water as the bottom can be very Rocky or coraly unexpectedly. Seen many people with foot/leg injuries. This varies on which area of the beach you enter. Follow the crowd if not sure. Snorkeling was awesome that tons of marine life from the shore to little further. Lots of fish, manta rays, and TURTLES were encountered not too far from the shore. Swimming with the turtles was amazing experience. Without feeding anything they may come and swim with you or around you if they find you interesting. Just stay away from the big crowd of people. Big enough of a resort so going for walks was easy. Getting to PDC or Tulum was pretty good since the resort was right in the middle. If you have been and know where things are this resort will be great. If this is your first time, this is not too bad of a location but may increase your travel time if you are planning frequent trips to Cancun or PDC or excursions. Or just stay in the resort for the chilled vacation.

Nothing Special

I love beach and unfortunate the beach on this resort is not good. You need to wear water shoes all the time because of the rocks. The grounds are beautiful and well kept. The food is O.K Pools are good but beaches are not along all Barcelo resorts. I would not recommend this hotel for a beach lover like me.

Great resort

The resort was amazing. I had a lot of fun. It is super spacious and the beaches are really close to the rooms. The staff are really friendly and always greet you with a smile. The food is also really good.

Beautiful vacation resort

From the first steps into the lobby you feel like you’re important. The staff makes an immediate impression that you mean something to them. The incredible food, awesome pools clean rooms and great beach made my family vacation very special!