Beach/ocean is fantastic complete with sea turtles! Pools are clean and food is great. Water slide area has a lifeguard too. Recommend the dolphin experience, although the dolphin pool was dirtier than I expected. Pro tip: bring plastic plates so you can take food from the buffet to go! They don’t have take out boxes.
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Barcelo Huatulco: Great Resort experience
The Barcelo Huatulco is one of the best resorts that we have stayed at. The all inclusive travel package offered by WestJet is certainly the way to go. The resort grounds are immaculate, the beach is fantastic, food and drink are readily available, and service is one of the resort's best features.
In all, a great experience.
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Jewels -
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Occidental Punta Cana: Beautiful resort
The grounds are beautiful and the rooms are large . This resort is very clean and the food is great. Unfortunately only made it to 3 a la cartes in our 10 day visit due to no availabilty. The steak house was very good and came out hot. Italian restaurant was good but my food was barely warm. The buffets were all very good.
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Blondie -
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Royal Hideaway Playacar: Beautiful resort
Wow, what an unexpected pleasure this resort was. Our room was on the second level first villa closest to the hotel. Very quiet and a garden view that was tranquil and serene. What can I say about the restaurants other than all were absolutely fabulous. Presentation, taste, wide choices and wonderful service were sure to please any palate. The beach was lovely and clean. There were always chaises available on the beach and some Bali beds as well that my partner being the early riser acqui[... read more]red for us. The grounds and landscaping were beautiful and there are several quiet pools throughout. The staff were amazing and friendly and always courteous. My only complaint for this resort is that dinner reservations had to be made for all. Your concierge is more than happy to walk you through this and make suggestions. Book early for the Asian cuisine as it is popular and was so amazing. The good presentation was gorgeous and delicious. Offsite excursions were booked with Carlos our AirTransit representative. It was the first time for all of us (two couples) at this hotel and we would definitely reconsider returning.
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Bloom -
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Occidental Cozumel: Very disappointed
Occidental changed and for the worse. The service is awful, nobody made us feel special there whatsoever. They had a clear lack of food and the resort generally felt badly taken care of (insects in the rooms, damp beds from humidity that the ACS just aren't able to keep up with) We weren't even greeted with a welcome drink, and asked a passer by if we could get.some drinks, the drinks came in plastic cups...you can tell a lot by the first drink.
The general vibe of the resort was gloomy, everyo[... read more]ne seemed depressed (staff AND tourists). We would have stayed there despite all this has we been able to book scuba trips, but even that was "fully booked and nothing they could do"
We changed to a different resort. A WestJet rep helped us, but not Kevin, it was a 3rd party rep that helped over the phone and had us transferred for an additional $200. We were satisfied with the other resort, it was a lot better and a lot more positive in general. So all in all - I learned a lesson. Not going to use West jet again...they don't even include a piece of luggage on the plane, not much is offered and they pricing is pretty high. I may as well have gone to Cuba with the experience I had. Sorry, but this is the honest opinion. Hope you improve
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Occidental Punta Cana: Great home away from home
Clean and spacious rooms. Wifi free for all. Food was good, and plenty of it. Wish they had bacon. The specialty dinners could use a little help and better organizing. Beautiful, clean beaches. Overall, great home away from home. Will definitely be back.
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Alexey -
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Barcelo Maya Riviera: Amaizing resort!
It was our second visit to this resort. It actually looks more as luxury hotel then resort. Very neat, clean and tidy! All organized well with no issues. All concerns should they occur may be addressed promptly. Service was impeccable. Food variety was plenty. Restaurant booking was easy, and food was amazing! Good quality strong drinks, decent cocktails. Definitely, will be back again.
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Occidental Punta Cana: Beautiful beach!
The beach was beautiful and you could walk for at least an hour in either direction. The grounds at Occidental were immaculate, the pools clean but very shallow, the beach chairs comfortable, the rooms comfy & clean, the wifi consistently good around the property, the buffet food tasty (if a little repetitive), the variety of a la carte restaurants was good with food that was a notch better than the buffets. Not as many day-time bars as other properties I've been to, so there were always line-[... read more]ups/waits to get drinks. Thankfully, the loud evening entertainment didn't go too late!
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Barcelo Maya Tropical: Barcelo Maya Tropical has it all figured out!!
Well this is the first time we were at this resort and we had a very memorable holiday. 10 Days (mid to end of November 2022) of beautiful weather - even though our weather forecast showed thundershowers every day - we had rain maybe for 5 minutes and then rain clouds were gone.
The grounds on the Tropical and Colonial is absolutely incredible. The grounds are so manicured and travel between all the buildings to get to the restaurants and events are very cool covered wide walk ways - perf[... read more]ect for rainy weather. The way that Barcelo is set up, everywhere you have to be (food, beach, shopping, front desk, bar, etc) is only 5 min walk from anywhere! So if you forget something in your room, it isn't a big deal to go back and get it.
The beach is very nice indeed! With all the tropical palm trees on the beach, you can get as much sun or shade on where you park your butt. There are lots of lounges, but people seem to take extra lounges to put their extra crap on, so by 10 am there are none left usually. Put towels on early is a recommendation, or go to the resort beach to the south, they seemed to have more lounges on the beach.
We are beach people, but the pools are very nice and they are very well laid out for relaxing as well. Great job on how the pools in relationship to the beach!! The bars are busy during the daytime as can be expected, but getting a beverage is usually within 5 min wait at the worst. The beach where the lounges are is very nice and is actually raked every morning - very cool. The only thing is where the ocean meets the beach. The erosion of the waves has left a drop off in a few places - no biggie at all. We bought some water shoes before we left - which were a blessing. They were cool water shoes - great for walking in and out of the water, walking to room, pathways. Get some!! As you got into the ocean there was 3'-5' of rocks and then sand again, so would have been a bit of a pain (literally) without water shoes. Not really the resorts fault from mother nature. I seen some staff cleaning up some of those rocks and within 2 days there were more rocks washed up.
Food at buffet was really good we thought. Obviously there is always issues with buffets, but the resort has done an amazing job we thought for the amount of people that come and want to get fed. Yes of course you get the "not hot" on a few items but they had great variety and usually lots of food. I think they only ran out of bacon once on me, I just didn't wait 5 min for the new batch. Lol They always had the hot plate to hand make omelets, quesadilla, hamburgers, etc. Great job guys - Very tough job to make every one happy.
Room was nice and clean and bed was good. Fridge can be filled up by just asking staff. Tv was a bit lacking - few English channels, but hey, we were not there for the tv. The only complaint is the drunks coming home at 2-3 am and feeling that waking everyone up was ok. Would have been nice to be able to adjust the speed of the ceiling fan - it was either full blast or nothing.
We would highly recommend this resort to anyone and we met a few people that have been there that was their 14 and 5th time at the resort. I guess the only bad thing to complain about is the wifi. Wifi was exceptional throughout everywhere - even on the beach. Needy adult children and elderly parents back in Canada were much too accessible on your phones. :-)
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Occidental Punta Cana: Gorgeous place to stay
The grounds were extremely well maintained. A very lovely place to spend vacation. The food offerings were a bit limited but were decent overall. We did not enjoy the restaurants as much as we enjoyed the buffet. Breakfast was extremely popular and very tasty!
Everything in this resort is absolutely beautiful.......................................................................................................................................................
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Occidental Caribe: NOT FOR US...
I have been to several resorts in Cuba, DR, Mexico, Barbados etc. I anticipated the food would be mediocre and the rooms out
of date but I was going for the lovely beaches of Punta Cana. Unfortunately this was the biggest disappointment for us. The beach is beautiful but the WAVES were so rough it was not good at all for kids and parents. We could not be more that arms reach away from him the entire time he was in the water because of the strong waves and undertow. This beach actually scar[... read more]ed me twice and I was so stressed when he was in the water that we barely went to the beach. The beach is why we go, not for the pool.
The food wasnt great if you have kids. The pizza place was only open on weekends and if your not there when it opens your waiting in line. The buffet was ok. Always something but not much buffet options for the kids besides Fries.
If you speak Spanish you are going to be okay but not speaking Spanish we were challenged. Majority of staff don't speak English, the resort seems to cater more to the locals that come for weekends - this is when things go so busy there were lines everywhere.
The rooms were very outdated but that is not a problem for us. What WAS a problem was that our SAFE was broken and we spent a few hours in the room waiting to get it fixed. The AC is also barely working so it was quite warm, the fan and AC were not able to be changed to colder temps. Also our ceiling was peeling and our friends we met there had a leak in their ceiling.
The pools were nice but the adult pool was the only pool that had any activities. We couldn't go to that pool because we had our son but we would have loved to participate in the activities. The kids pool area was very cute, lots of fun but it is more geared to younger kids under 6 yrs. My son is 8 and he wanted a pool that he could swim and jump and play so we used the other pool kids were allowed in but it was very quiet with nothing going on. We later found out there were some kids activities but we missed most of them.
I would suggest if you go because of the price be prepared to get what you pay for. If you dont like to swim in the ocean and dont mind outdated rooms and Cuba like food options this is good for you. The grounds were beautiful and beach was super close to the hotel. If you enjoy the beach and swimming you might want to book on the side of Punta Cana more closer to the Caribbean Sea - like Barcelo etc.
We also did 2 excursions that were fantastic - Monkeyland and the Caribbean Pirates at Sea. We had a great time and our 8 year old loved both.
If you do go find Nelson in the dining room and Anna from the Kids club. Both were fantastic!
Below I rated the BEACH/POOL low because of the beach but the pool was nice just lots of cups at the bottom of it - my son recovered most of them each morning.
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Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Family Vacation
This is a nice resort. There was no entertainment for my kids to participate in. I was waiting for an entertainment group to take my both sons and give the best vacation for them. My room was not cleaned just 1 day and had to call in. The beach was not good, very dirty and smells. If you are not paying attention to where you are walking when inside the water on the beach there are big bumps. The staff were friendly, the restaurants were nice. I would go back if they can clean up the beach. The b[... read more]ar service was not good, i was standing for like 5 minutes and some dudes come and get serviced before me. I have 2 children and a wife to get drinks for and this happening to me turned me off. The weather was good but no proper music to have while sipping a drink while laying down on the chairs at the pool.
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Occidental Papagayo: Very nice resort
Very clean resort! Lacks the “wow†factor but was comfortable. Staff very pleasant and accommodating. Food at buffet could be improved as far as variety.
Beach chairs need improvement and lights at night on beach are greatly needed.
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Marie and John -
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Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Spectacular resort
My husband and I just arrived back from a holiday at the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort . It was a wonderful experience from start to finish. The resort grounds were pristine with staff working continually to make it perfect. All the pools are amazing with different designs in each. Lounge chairs are plentiful making it easy to sit and relax anywhere. The food is excellent in the restaurants and the buffets are good with many different dishes. The staff were all very friendly and front staff helpful[... read more]. Highly recommend.
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Occidental Caribe: Did not disappoint!!
We stayed at this resort a few years ago and we’re eager to return!! Well, the service has not changed and is great all around.. the food was great and there was always a variety so there is no way someone could go hungry!! The grounds are beautiful and the beach is absolutely incredible. There is always a breeze and sufficient shade if one needs it.. the only disappointment that we experienced along with other is that the rooms are in need of some upgrading.. they are old and rundown but the[... read more] cleaning services help make them look welcoming!! Would not hesitate to return!! But if you are miss “fancy pantsâ€,I wouldn’t recommend it as you would be sure to find fault in everything!! Lol.
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Lili -
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Barcelo Solymar: Terrible
everyone in the hotel knew about my allergy to shellfish and a week ago in this hotel at the italian restaurant (snack bar) I had an allergy and ended up in the hospital because they did cross contamination, the hotel food was horrible, you can't eat any food outside from the snack bar and you have to be dry and eat your food sitting in the restaurant you can't take the food out they only have chicken sandwich most of the time they often put chlorine in the pool at 10am when people are in the po[... read more]ol , at night the hotel is very dark it has very little light , the rooms have ants , the hot water takes time to arrive , my safe did not work , I do not recommend this hotel and less to people with allergies
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KNVB1 -
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Barcelo Maya Riviera: For the $$ can't be beat!
If clean is your thing than this is the one for you!
Beach is very nice with a gorgeous view however you'll need water shoes as there is coral here and there...pools are fabulous & both swim up bars. One with music the other without & nicely spaced between the two.
Service everywhere was excellent except at the front desk. Each time we called or stopped by and inquired information etc. about something it was as if we were a bother and NEVER a smile. I found this odd considering every othe[... read more]r employee throughout the complex was always in good spirits and friendly.
Food...what can I say other than fabulous. Everything was incredible and cooked to your liking. Favs were steakhouse, Mexican & Japanese but all were as said AAA even the buffet!
Rooms...spacious, clean with all amenities, stocked bar daily, we loved the tub on the patio & plenty of hot water 24/7.
Value...I've personally paid twice if not more at Bahia, Secrets adults only etc. to get similar if not less than what was offered here.
Location...I only give this a 4 star as the location is over an hour away from the airport and 30 min to Play Del Carmen.
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JJ/WJ -
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Barcelo Maya Colonial: Fall Get Away
We had good time at Barcelo Colonial, our second visit, and we would go back again, we had opportunity to tour all (6) resorts and in our thoughts for next visit we are going to stay at Palace resort, beach area not as nice as Colonial but the pool area is more to our liking, the Palace has more stairs but we are OK with that. All things said we had good time, the cost was fair, resort clean, staff friendly,food was good, rooms were good for us and we will go back. Thank you
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Barcelo Maya Riviera: Great 2nd Stay!
We traveled with a group of seven and our stay was fantastic. Check-in was smooth and we were able to get our rooms close together. The majority of our time was spent around the massive pool and we preferred the "Pool Bar" area rather than the "Music Bar" area. Staff throughout the resort were very friendly. Language can sometimes be a barrier, but the staff worked together to get what you need. We felt that Roger Avila and the staff at the Pool Bar made us feel welcome and did a great job!
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The resort is very large, but that also means there is plenty of room when they are fully booked. Beach area is very spacious and the ability to travel to the neighboring resorts within the Barcelo family was a bonus.