Occidental Caribe: Ok resort

The resort wasn't anything special, the sink was clogged, the toilet only sometime flushed. There definitely were not enough loungers on the beach. The food was ok, nothing special. The staff were friendly. The a la carts booked very fast.

Barcelo Maya Palace: A High Five Resort

The Barcelo Maya Palace all-inclusive resort is northernmost of a 6 resort property bordering on Puerto Aventuras just south of Playa del Carmen in the Mayan Riviera, serviced by flights to Cancun. The property is huge. It features an extensive oceanfront with sandy beach at the Beach/Carib end with rocky karst at the Palace end which is excellent for snorkeling as turtles and colourful fish abound. Abundant beach loungers are provided shaded by palm trees rather than palapas. The grounds an [... read more]d Mexican colonial style buildings are meticulously well kept. The pool with its swim up bar is very large and freeform with shallow walk ins to accommodate children at the end closest to the children's water park. It's great expanse accommodates animator led activities and a quieter nook. There is a great competition to "reserve" poolside lounge chairs in the wee hours of the morning despite an official no reserve policy. Likewise the adult only pool has a limited number of loungers. There are also Bali beds for rent costing $US15 per day. People are waiting at the pool bar to reserve those before 7:00am. Check in was accomplished quickly and efficiently. The Palace uses the wrist bracelet as the room key so misplaced or de-magnetized key cards are no longer an issue. The accommodations are in 2 groups of 3 story buildings, each with a central plaza complete with fountains. No one volunteered direction as to how to find our room. I had come prepared with a printed map and asked the clerk to mark where our room was and I still got lost. Palace rooms are large junior suites with king or 2 double beds, 2 couches which can be opened to form additional bedding, ample drawer storage, 2 hanging closets with robes, ironing board and digitally operated safe, a mini fridge with juices, soda pop, beer and water, some snack items, and a coffee maker with bottled water. The bathroom entry is via 2 sliding doors. The toilet is a separate enclosure, 2 single sinks overlooked by a large mirror, a hairdryer and a magnifying make up mirror. The separate bath enclosure features a rain head shower and a separate sloped tub with shower. Ample large absorbent towels are replaced daily if required. There are electrical outlets over each night table and a pair of them complete with 2 USB charging ports over the desk under the plasma television. Palace guests have access to 3 buffets and 3 themed a la carte restaurants at the resort as well as the buffets and la carte restaurants at 4 of the other resorts. Upon check in, guests need to go immediately to guest services to make 3 reservations. Thereafter, a guest can make a reservation one per day of stay. The a la carte dining is much in demand and there is much to do about guests being unable to make dining reservations at convenient times at preferred venues especially at the Santa Fe steakhouse and the 2 Japanese teppanyaki restaurants. We were able to seat 4 persons before 8:00pm on 12 of our 14 nights. Our favourites were the Rodizio and La Brasserie at the Palace. We felt that the Palace wait staff was better trained and more personable than those at the other resort a la cartes. At the Palace, one could shoot pool, play shuffleboard, shoot hoops, toss bocce, play table tennis and engage in some water based activity. There was an excellent and challenging mini golf course free during the day located at the Strikers Sports bar which is part of a shopping mall and Mexicana crafts plaza in the central part of the resort. They need to make a better scorecard system and do away with their "hockey stick" putters. There are several extra cost activities at Strikers including bowling and an arcade. Catholic mass is celebrated Sundays at 5:00pm in the chapel located proximate to the Mexicana mall and Colonial Resort lobby. The success of every resort depends totally on the efforts and presentation of the staff. To that end we commend particular persons who contributed to making our stay exceptional. Firstly, Alejandro Pat our room steward who was cheery, thorough and most helpful. Karen Yanez of Guest Services was another cheerful, engaging and most helpful agent of the resort. She worked her magic fingers over the keyboards to arrange our a la carte dining reservations. Despite the number of persons she saw everyday, she remembered and acknowledged persons whom she recognized while away from her desk. This makes persons feel as though they matter. Raoul our server at Rodizio was jolly, carefully and patiently explained all the dishes, answered our questions, was attentive during our meal and made a fabulous Mayan coffee. Jorge and Bryan were bartenders at the adult only pool. I tended to go there for my beverages because they were not rushed off their feet as at the main pool bar. They were always cheerful, eager to please and carefully prepared by drinks. Notes for travelers. There are no face cloths provided. If you require them, bring your own. One must ask for peanut butter at the buffets and ketchup is hard to find. Bring sufficient sunscreen as it is prohibitively expensive to buy at the resort as are snack foods. Improvements that would make the resort approach perfection include an escort to locate your room, night lighting on the beach, some other method of moving guests around other than or in addition to the 2 double decker busses now used. Other free activities such as archery and target shooting with good quality equipment such as at Iberostar. A lazy river such as at Sirenis,

Barcelo Maya Palace: Wonderful resort

We would rate most things in this resort, a 10….including our room, the staff, all services, the fantastic pools, the visits to the many restaurants and buffets and all bar services. We would rate the beach about a 7, as it is rocky in some places. Entertainment was maybe a 6/7 for us. We are in our 70's so maybe the younger folks might enjoy it more than us. We loved exploring and enjoying all the many amenities of this large resort, but be prepared to do lots of walking .You can visit a [... read more]ll the same via the resort two tier bus. We rode this often in the evening just to enjoy the ride. Overall….this is a fantastic resort for couples or families and we would highly recommend it.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Disappointed with resort since Opening

Didn’t have a double room as booked - took until next day around 5:00 pm to get double room - given accessibility room with no closet doors, large seat blocking shower, no toilet privacy door and large handicap rails in bathroom. Nowhere to hang large towels, no smaller towels supplied, had to ask housekeeping each time. Buffet area on many days did not have lettuce for salad, and many other items not available. Food stations, most food lukewarm and mostly Mexican food, not too much variation [... read more] in others. Housekeeping didn’t show up on three days, sometimes around 5:00 pm. Specialty restaurants very good except for the Toco bar, absolutely no personality and food not good. Ended up sick…We were at the Riviera Mya Adult when it first opened Dec.2019-2020 and it was much better all around. Even the Guest services and some of the front Desk personnel were miserable. We were not able to book specialty restaurants for our second week except for times for 5:00 pm or after 10:00 pm. I would not give them a 5 star rating this time, probably a 2 star. Will try to book somewhere else next time..Very Disappointing.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: We LOVED it!

We have been to the Barcelo numerous times and this was our second time at the Adult Only section. Before we even left home, we spoke with Emilio Gomez, social media manager, who took amazing care of us before we even arrived and made sure our stay was incredible and memorial. Thank you Emilio. Check in and check out with Maru Navarro at the Premium level was so smooth. She went above and beyond for us. She was so helpful booking our restaurants, and always had a big smile for us. We ate at all  [... read more]four AO restaurants, the Japanese in the Mall, and all three restaurants at the Palace. They were all amazing and the Taco bar at the AO was so much fun. A huge shout out and thanks to Jesus Lopez who made us amazing Mayan coffee at the Rodizio. He and Gilberto Gonzalez took great care of us. Jesus Gonzalez at the Caribe was amazing and attentive. At the breakfast and lunch buffet at the AO, Jose Miranda was everywhere, taking care of everyone! He never stopped moving or helping! Reyi Campos and Marcos at the Brasserie were great, too. I was absolutely THRILLED to have Jazmine serving us again in the evenings at the AO outdoor lounge at night. She looked at me and remembered me from the last time we were there. She is the BEST! So was Miriam Cordova. They were both hard workers and great servers and always had a smile. Gorgeous rooms, beaches, pools, food and amazing staff. We would go back in a heartbeat.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Beautiful Resort

Everything at Barcelo Maya Riviera was beautiful! The service was amazing and the food was delicious. The pools were amazing and the beach was beautiful….lots of palm trees….no bugs or birds except for pelicans and other ocean birds flying over the ocean

Royal Hideaway Playacar: Nice resort

Nice resort overall. It is the perfect size and is generally quiet. Does not cater to a party type of crowd. That being said, the evening entertainment is almost non-existent. Main buildings, restaurants and grounds are kept very well - clean and inviting. Food was very good. Service was very good. All employees were helpful, warm and friendly. Beach was very good. The villas and rooms are showing their age and are in need of renovation. They are adequate at the moment but are in a st [... read more]ate of decline. Purchased the Resort view room (1 upgrade from basic level). Did not see the difference between this level and the basic level. I believe I paid extra for no value.

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Great Resort!

Our experience was amazing! We had no complaints other than the building itself being a little run down. The staff was great and the food was decent for Cuba. If you like rum, meat and potatoes then I would highly recommend this resort.

Barcelo Maya Tropical: Disappointing Experience

1. Staff was not friendly 2. They were not accommodative 3. Same food for all meals and days 4. Drinks were very poor and service was below average 5. distinguished service between white and non-white race

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Very nice place

Great place for a relaxing vacation. Very clean, both rooms and property. Nice pool. Beach is very good to walk on, but there was always seaweed washed up on shore. Not a deal-breaker. Plenty of dining options, but you had to reserve well in advance or miss out. Staff was generally excellent. It would be nice if they understood more English as that was an issue a few times. Special shout out to Maria who works mornings and lunch at the buffet. She brought a smile to our faces every day.

Barcelo Maya Tropical: Not as expected

Kind of disappointed with the service. No sea view room offered as given in the email. Service not as expected. Room keys not working very often. Bar servers not friendly. Would not recommend others friends.

Barcelo Maya Tropical: Excellent resort for all age groups

This is a fantastic resort !! The grounds were beautiful and well kept, the pools were gorgeous and there were so many that you never had a sense them being crowed, lots of water areas for both kids and adults. There are so many things to do at this resort that you can’t possibly be bored and in our case may want to add a second week to your vacation in order to do everything. Our room was nice, comfortable bed and all necessary amenities were available. The A la cart restaurants were f [... read more]abulous!! We had delicious meals at the five that we went to and I’m guessing the ones we didn’t try were equally good. We tried 5 different buffets and the all had lots of choices and a nice variety of food. Any staff that we interacted with were friendly and accommodating. I would highly recommend this resort and we intend on returning next year.

Barcelo Solymar: Disappointed

Varadero Cuba is my favourite place in the whole world. This resort was made up of 3 different hotels and I paid extra for a Suite Bungalow at Barcelo Solymar. We had no A/C for the first 4 nights when we were finally moved to a new unit. Supplies were hit and miss, and the staff did little to keep us informed. I will not stay there again.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Trip to Mexico

It was a great trip no problems weather was hot, no problems at the airport or the hotel, staff were helpful food was good, great beach and pools took some day trips never any problems always felt safe

Occidental Caribe: Meh...

Before leaving for our trip, I read the reviews and wondered what we got ourselves into. I thought that everyone has a different opinion so I'll come with an open mind. Issues started when we got there. Tried 7 different swipe cards and none worked so we couldn't leave our room until it got serviced. Had to sit in our room until 2:30 pm the first day until maintenance came ( we called 4 times before someone came). Batteries replaced. Both patio doors could not lock and we were an end unit and [... read more] anyone could have gone through the windows in the hallway and jump right onto our balcony). What everyone said about towels is correct. One towel for 2 of us for showering and NO FACECLOTH'S !! I'm sorry but I wash my face every night but they do not have any. Sheets were not changed for the 8 days that we were there. Used coffee maker in room for coffee in morning and were not given sufficient bottled water to make it. Only 2 bottles of pop put in the fridge and they froze alongside with everything in your fridge. Yes, rooms are very dated (orange couch and wing chairs ??) and both the couch and chairs were very uncomfortable to sit in. I have had past issues with back pain and this furniture did not help the cause. Majority of the staff do not speak English and a lot of them are rude (you say Ola to them and they just walk right by you). Seriously, you need to get up at 6 am to grab a chair at either the beach or the pool. By 7:30 am; all chairs had towels on them and you could not get one. Minimum 2 hour wait to reserve at the a la carte restaurants. A lot of people complained about this. We were fortunate and with being premium, we could go to the premium lounge and book. Buffet is not really edible. 4 slice toasters, only one side worked (could only do 2 slices at a time) so you had to wait. This was for both toasters available. Not enough tables available. If you want a real Mojito or Pina Colada, good luck. These come out of a slushie machine like 7-11. No water sports equipment available. We like kayaking and would of loved to do this on the days that the water was calm. Pros :The beach was beautiful as you could walk for miles and it was just sand. Pools were clean too. Every year we go away and just accept any situations that may arise however, with this place, it seemed like it was one thing after another. Very frustrating when you are on vacation and you are having to deal with issues on a daily basis.

Barcelo Huatulco: Great Resort

Clean, lots to do, wonderful place to vacation! Staff fantastic. Excellent views of the ocean. Wished there were more food choices. Food was fair. Looking forward to returning to this resort as we had a wonderful time.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Great experience!

The Barcelo Maya is a superb all-inclusive resort experience. The buildings and grounds are lovely; food is top-notch and the employees work hard to keep their guests happy. The resort itself is massive but well designed to maintain walkability from one end to the other. There are SO many activities and places to check out, for adults and kids alike - everything a resort vacation should be but often is not. No disappointments here!

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Can't beat the swiming

Loved the bay! Swimming/ snorkeling every day not mater the conditions on the sea. Great pleasant staff. Lovely grounds and wildlife. Restaurants were top notch and buffets had a large selection. Lots of activities to do.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Surprisingly poor

We had high hopes for the Barcelo Maya Palace. It boasts very high reviews, particularly regarding the quality of food. It was dissapointing across the board. We've visited Mexico eight times. This trip was the most expensive and the lowest quality.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Wonderful Resort

The hotel is very large but very easy to get around. Clean as can be everywhere. Easy to get your a la carte reservations and the restaurants were excellent. Enjoyed laying by the beach or around the various pool areas. Excellent resort!!