Occidental Arenas Blancas: Resort is Ok but definitely not a 4 star rating by "world" standards

Beautiful beaches, wonderful people, majority were very congenial, one exception at the front, check in perhaps it was an "off" day for him. Food, considering the difficulties as expressed by the locals, it's difficult to be objective about the food but you do not get good value at the buffets or a la carte! Excelent fresh bread! Hard to get beach towels and bottled water in the room was very scarce! Wine is not available (looked like a few guests had taken their own) frequently run out of b [... read more]eer even ron (rum) seemed to be in short supply! At one of the a la carte restaurants, the head waiter was very clear there was no wine or beer but he would gladly provide us with the beer glasses for us to go get beer at the bar by the pool (he was not allowed to do it), definititly not getting what we thought we paid for! The day trip to Habana was paid separate, the airline rep. re-iterared lunch and drinks were included, at lunch we were allowed one small glass of beer each and paid for drinks at the stop on way there and mid afternoon downtown Habana! Please keep going to Cuba, these amazing people need our support and you will enjoy the beaches...

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Excellent family vacation place

This resort had everything for our family, ages 6 - 70. It is large but not too big. It was full during our stay but not crowded. The a la carte restaurants were the best we have ever eaten at. The resort went all out to celebrate New Year's Eve. We don't smoke but the smoking areas are very tastefully done. On the cool, cloudy days, there was still lots to do with Strikers, mini golf, the fitness centre and the mall. Our only negatives are: The wifi wasn't consist around the resort and the ro [... read more]om temperature was not easy to control. Transportation form the airport in Cancun took many hours but the return trip was smooth.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Mexican Paradise!

Mexican Paradise with some suggestions for improvement Check-in- we arrived around 2 am. There was one person working. There was no one else around. The check-in was smooth. We weren’t asked if we wanted a bell-person to bring our luggage but that was fine with us. I didn’t like that I couldn’t pay the hotel tax with Mexican pesos. I believe that local currency should always be accepted. Chairs- I woke before 7 am each day to reserve a chair at the pool or at the beach. The first day,  [... read more]I saw that all the chairs were taken by 9 am! We were at the resort during New Year’s so this might not always be the case. The Reservation System for the La Carte Restaurants could be improved. The second day, I was unable to book an a la carte. I was told to reserve for that week and return on Saturday to book for the following week. I woke up early and arrived 15 minutes after the 7 am opening. I was told that there was no availability for the Italian restaurant because people had booked the night before. That’s ridiculous! The staff need to tell people the correct information. Also, we asked about the New Year’s Eve Gala. We were told to just show up. Then, my husband said why not check again after being misinformed about sign up times. I went and asked at Guest Services. They signed me up for New Years. When I asked why they said it wasn’t necessary previously, they said they just learned that themselves (2 days prior to the big event). I’ve been to other all-inclusives where reservations weren’t necessary or ones where you can book on-line or through an app. Restaurants: The Buffet has an excellent selection of food. Salt and pepper shakers were almost non-existent at this resort. I did appreciate that the Buffet didn’t close between breakfast and lunch. It did close in the late afternoon until 7 pm. There are no snack bars. The less expensive Barcelo property had beach grills. We went to four a la carte restaurants. We liked the service at the Brazilian Restaurant at the Palace the best. We weren’t impressed with the food or the service at the Agave (Mexican). We both had the Snapper and it was dry and overcooked. We enjoyed the show and the food at the Japanese restaurant and the service was okay. I have seen better Hibachi shows at other resorts but I’m sure it depends on the chef. I loved my grilled salmon at “La Comedie” the french restaurant. The service declined as the restaurant got busier. For example, the service became slower and my husband had to ask a couple of times for his dessert when it wasn’t brought out with mine. Rooms: We had a quiet ocean room view. The room was clean and spacious. The bed was huge. I took advantage of the balcony hot tub. Pool: Beautiful, expansive, infinity pool. Beach: Lots of shade. Chairs reserved early. The communication could be improved. On the other properties, there were signs with schedules and maps. Some guests didn’t even know that they could go to the other properties for the nightly entertainment. At the AO, there were digital displays with schedules that flashed up and QR codes. I opened the QR code and made a screenshot of the schedule. I feel the front desk should give you a map not a QR code where you could look up a map. I would have appreciated being able to access the menus for the various restaurants ahead of time. At other resorts that I’ve been to, the reception and guest services display the schedules and menus. There could also be print copies of weekly schedules for guests who wanted them. This is a beautiful resort. I appreciated being able to visit it.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Not the best resort but descent

Resort and sleep quality was amazing, rooms were great! Food was bit repetitive and the restaurants need some different flavours while cooking! Also booking the ala carts should not need reservations now a days, it’s 2024 we need to be able to book online or on an app it was a pain to meet with guest services I’m on vacation and don’t want to work to book my dinners. I’ve been to several 5 stars and this one was a bit behind the eight ball on a few things.

Allegro Cozumel: Great holiday

Nice small resort. Shout out to Fernando at the pool bar and Sandra and the other young maitre d. Thank you for your big smiles every single day and for accommodating our big group of 12! The oriental a La carte is fantastic! Unfortunately they only guarantee you one a la carte during your visit. This was disappointing as we noticed they were never full. Front desk staff were ok. The manager should help out when he can though. Overall nice resort.

Allegro Cozumel: Beautiful resort!

We loved this resort and thought the size was perfect for our group of 13. The rooms are comfortable and clean and the hammocks are a nice touch! The food is very good, the only problem is getting into the specialty restaurants. We could only get reservations at 1 of them the week we were there. The pools and beach area are beautiful and it’s never a problem getting lounge chairs. The drinks are great and bartenders are friendly, especially Fernando. The grounds are kept immaculate and check in  [... read more]and check out were fast and easy. I would visit this resort again!

Occidental Arenas Blancas: I'd Never ever go again. In fact Occidental I think it turned me off Cuba for good.

The Good - the beach, the pool, some (just a few) of the staff. The Bad - No coffee in the room. I brought my own but the coffee pot won't work and several trips to the desk with no results. The stage is right at the pool and right in front of the rooms, way to loud all the time so you can't relax at the bar or the pool. Yes it's Cuba a Spanish Colony but 90% of the games, entertainment and announcements in Spanish so no-one has a clue what they are saying. The Hotel is old. The rooms are [... read more] OK and Lobby areas OK but our 3rd floor hallways were VERY much in need of repair. 2 Elevators at our end of the building out of order 2 weeks we were there. 1 of the 2 main Elevators in the center core also down for 2 weeks. Most of the coffee I got was Luke warm and usually full of coffee grounds in the cup. No Coke for 10 out of 14 days. Butter only 2 out of 14. Ran out of many things. No orange juice or pop at any meals. TV remote broken and no results from attempts to get one. No face cloths or shower mat and same 2 towels for 2 weeks. You do tramp sand and dirt into the rooms but never cleaned the floors for 2 weeks. Food, not too bad but we both lost weight after 2 weeks of Buffets so go figure. Actually there were 2 or 3 days of pretty good food. Entertainment started at 10 and after a day in the sun we wanted to sit on our balcony and rest but way to loud to relax. They offer free Hobie Cat sail boats yes, but can't take them out yourself without a Captain who wants $$$ to go. They use flimsy plastic cups for beer and drinks and garbage 1000,s a day. Should switch to washable hard plastic glasses. Yes more washing to do but very bad for the environment with what they have. The Sister resort, Barcelo Solymar, that we could use was much better and the 3rd resort we could use was shut down. No spoons at counters or tables! If you get soup or Ice Cream etc. good luck getting one. We got a couple and kept them and washed them and used for most of the trip. You could wave down a waiter and they go find one for you. Why not have spoons where the soup is?

Occidental Papagayo: Don’t go there

Extremely hilly and shuttle only comes if you call it from room lobby or bar. No benches to sit on while awaiting shuttle. Not great as 75% of people were over 60. so basically you had to walk a lot of hills. I changed rooms 3 times. Every time the next room was worse. No hot water patio doors wouldn’t lock Safe not working Bar fridge not working. Always a long lineup of people complaining about the same thing. Sand crabs and bugs galore in room. Gross and large bugs. Raccoon got into my room o [... read more]ne night because patio door would not lock. Do I need to say anymore

Barcelo Maya Tropical: Good Resort

Everything is fantastic except for the beach,if the resort improve also on the beach for swimming the resort have a goldstar.They should put aside some rocks for people go for a swim when you go for swimming becareful you might hit a rock or sting by jellyfish that's what happen to me.

Occidental Papagayo: Old Resort, Poorly Run

The grounds of this resort are beautiful. There is wildlife on the grounds plenty of birds, Howler Monkeys, etc. The major problem with this resort is that it truly is poorly run. Management is non existed and if you have a problem it is never dealt with throughout the week. They blamed Trip central for our booking mistakes and would never address the problem. When we checked in there was no one in the lobby it took over an hour for us to get into our rooms. The resort is big in area and [... read more] they had placed my elderly parents far away from us which was a huge concerns. They kept blaming TripCentral for this mistake. The food was always the same and the booze is all no name if that means anything to a traveler. I speak Spanish and spoke to one of the bartenders he told me the staff changes all the time looking to get to better resorts. The staff looks tired, you see during the week all the issues they have to deal with. The sad thing is the manager Raul (From Spain) will not deal with anyone, he sends out his lower staff to deal with angry customers which during our week was consistent. Sad this resort has a lot to offer just not run well and you see it from the top down as the staff (many of them) do not care.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Amazing landscape, OK food - outdated rooms

Hello, We staid in standard level of the Maya Beach and our rooms (2) were clean but out dated ( humidity smell in one and water flies in the other one!). We were told that Beach romes were renovated, but I think this applied only the Premium level ones! The Landscape around the building is beautiful, and we always feel safe. the beach is nice and clean, but lots the beach is suffering from erosion and lost of rocks, but still beautiful and enjoyable. Great snorkeling right from the  [... read more]beach! Great vacations, good location is you don't want to leave the resort.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Excellent Choice!!

We were very happy with our decision to stay at the Barcelo Maya Riviera. The hotel was great, very clean, great food and food options. The staff were very good and our requests were meet in a timely and courteous manner. Room was comfortable and clean. Very modern hotel with lots to offer. We will plan a return visit in the future. The beach was fantastic and the pools were awesome. There was lots to take part in from volleyball to pool aerobics or there was always a quiet spot to be found for  [... read more]an afternoon siesta!! The overall complex had lots to offer including the open double decker bus to get you around if walking is not your plan.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Lovely grounds

The Barcelo grounds are lovely...food could be improved in the buffet as the warming trays don't keep anything hot. Very difficult to get reservations in the a la carte..lucky to get a 9pm reservation. Check in took over 3 hours...needs improvement. The wait staff are nice but reception needs to work on their people skills and communication. I've been here 6 times but it will be my last sadly unless things change.

Occidental Caribe: Occidental Caribe Punta Cana

The hotel facilities and location was amazing, beautiful and clean. There was not enough reclining seats on the beach area to enjoy being on the beach. The staff of the hotel were not friendly or welcoming to us at all. They made no attempt to even acknowledge our presence when talking to us or even make eye contact with us. One really friendly and polite person was Felix De Jesus the bell boy who greeted us when we arrived. He was always pleasant and very helpful. The service in the dining area [... read more] was very bad. We would order drinks but they never came. Line ups for food were too long and staff seemed annoyed when you asked them for something.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Brilliant Experience

A truly amazing and memorable vacation. Beach, pool, staff, amenities, services and an unlimited supply of amazing food, from start to finish this resort is a 5 out of 5. Families or couples looking to get away, would highly recommend this resort.

Occidental Caribe: Outdated resort

Way too old and outdated. On the stairs the ramps are rusty and one part of it fell down. In our room, the bathtub with the shower glass is not properly isolated so there was puddle on the floor after each shower. And absolutely no pressure in the shower and we got one day without hot water. The curtains are so far from the window and there is no shutters so first sunlight you're up! There was heavy rain one night and there was lots of water on the floor leaking from the walls. The amenities [... read more] are good, the kids slides are so fun the pools are nice too and the Kid club is ok but outdated too especially the toys but Ana who runs it is sooooo sweettttt. As per the food not too bad but lot of pork in most dishes. The waiters are very very slow and lot of people because only one buffet restaurant so line up all the time and food is going away really fast but not refilled fast enough.. There is another small beach restaurant but choices are very limited to junk food. As per the two bars which serve coffee they only open at 10am and they are using a machine not coffee maker which is also very slow... Waiting time approximately 20min... horrible... The shows in the evening are very nice. Not the best resort I have been too especially for the price and the brand. Last thing wifi is terrible wasn't able to work from here at all

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Basic basic basic – no frills

This was the first time to a Barcelo property and will probably not return. This complex is often compared to the Iberostar but there are distinct differences. The Iberostar is made up of 5 different categories of amenities. The Barcelo main 4 properties are all the same amenities, but diffenent vibes. I will focus on the Colonial as that was the one we were at. 1st, we had multiple issues that needed attention but at no time were we compensated or even received an apology. We arrive [... read more]d late in the evening. There was no welcome cocktail. Bad map and the buildings not well marked ended with us lost in the dark. Our travel mates had an issue with the safe when they arrived and front desk staff said they would send someone at 9 am. The next morning we headed to the buffet and as we were returning to the rooms, I commented how it was 8:40 and they would be in time for the security to fix the safe. However, no one arrived and for the next 2 hours, they called the front desk every 15 minutes to no avail. So by 11:30 they left the room to enjoy the beach. The next day, I approached the desk (as our travel mates were too upset) and after what I would describe as an “apathetic attitude” from Alexander, the supervisor, I was able to get him to call the security to meet me in the room. Which they did. The next evening we had a huge downpour and our room was flooded (6343). So back to the front desk to speak with “Alexander” again (with the same attitude) and after they sent someone, we needed to change rooms, but we could not even move rooms until 3:00 pm. I wanted to be near our travel mates and suggested that they upgrade or compensate us for the inconvenience. NOPE. We were moved 4 blocks of rooms further away from the beach and travel mates, when we were promised we would be closer. This resort is BASIC, no frills resort. There is little attention to details, like rooms missing remotes, no coffee, coffee pot broken, no creamer, no toilet paper. We only saw people serving drinks around the pool or beach 3 times. The bars and restaurants are understaffed. There is no entertainment team going around inviting you to partake in activities. The Colonial side is very quiet…I mean really quiet. The Tropical at least had some music playing. The Beach side was much more active with music and activities. The food in the buffet was basic buffet food, some staff members would go out of their way, but most would not. There was a theme, but most items repeated. There is no coffee shop or Ice cream bar or any of the little extras we are used to. As for the A La Carte, we had absolutely no problem booking 4 dinners at 6 pm. However, on the Colonial side…men need to wear long pants and closed toe shoes. They sent our 80 year old friend away with formal shorts and closed toe shoes. On  the Tropical side, formal shorts are allowed and one of them is a “steak house” which we highly recommend as the Lamb and Beef Tenderloin was delicious. The Management on the Colonial needs to take the stick out of their ***. We ate at the Colonial side: Kyoto (where they sent an 80 year old away). We ate from the menu not the teppanyaki, The food was ok. The Tempura vegetables were way over cooked. The meal was fine. The deserts were lacking. Marenostrum  - sea food – it was again, only ok. Two meals of salmon, mine included, was actually cold. Desert we had the apple pie, it was ok. We ate at the Tropical side: Capri – Italian – I am Italian so I did not order pasta, however, ordering steak was a mistake. It was tough. Santa Fe – Steak house – The best meal we had. We all LOVED it. From the antipasto bar to the steak to the desert and outstanding service. We were not offered any meals at the Beach or Caribe side, but it would have been nice. The Mall is EXPENSIVE and only accepts Credit Cards, stick to the small markets, you can bargain with them. The Go Carts – only accepts credit cards also, this is a “Hotel” policy that is extremely annoying. The Beach was absolutely beautiful. The pools are nice but nothing fancy. The drinks are plentiful and if you ask, you can get “some” better brands of alcohol. I could not get the Beefeater Gin.  Don’t ask for lemonade, you will get bottled water. WEIRD. We got a good price on the trip and for that I am thankful as you get what you pay for. We only went here because we had already booked this hotel (beach side) through Air Transcrap and they cancelled our holiday one month before. We did not want to fly out of Toronto, so this was our only choice.

Barcelo Gran Faro Los Cabos: Friendly resort, excellent location

Spacious, comfortable resort on a beautiful beach. 30 min walk to lovely town of San Jose. Friendly staff - great, relaxing atmosphere. Rooms are fine. Food is not excellent, but is reasonable. Would recommend for all ages.

Occidental Papagayo: Amazing resort!

Super clean, the food was great except for The Grill, (the meat was way over cooked for everyone at the table). Service was fantastic and friendly. The room was clean and well cleaned on a daily basis but a litle on the old side with some broken tile. The bed and pillows super comfortable. The excursions were all well organized and interesting however, a little bit on the expensive side and all in American Dollars. We are Canadian. The resort outside was incredibly beautiful and  [... read more]lush. The monkeys and other wildlife were really great to see. The pools were also fantastic with great service. My husband and I like to keep fit so the walking up and down and through the resort was a good thing for us. We are planning on going back this year hopefully around the same time.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great for the family!

The beach and meals were fantastic, easy to access everything. The location from the airport was very convenient and the restaurants at night were very, very good. If anyone stays here, please book the restaurants early and access them all.