Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Wonderful resort

Resort was beautifully lush, lots of palm trees and other foliage everywhere and paths throughout the forestry. Monkeys, iguanas, deer, agouti’s all over. You really feel you are one with nature. Along with this lushness also comes extra mosquitoes at dusk and some insect bites but use repellant in evening and all is good. Rooms were very nice and immaculately clean every day. Every single staff member went above and beyond to help and make sure you had a good time. Super friendly and fun. [... read more] Large resort with lots to do. Buffet restaurant was very good and 5 a la carte restaurants were also great especially El Pescador seafood restaurant. Highly recommend this resort.

Occidental Caribe: Nice resort - a little dated

The buffet was good. The Japanese restaurant was excellent. The staff were very helpful. The hotel itself is ok in many respects but the bathrooms need upgrading. We had a great room with high ceilings on the 4th floor. Room 7411.

Barcelo Solymar: wont be coming back

food no good couldn't digest nothing (im well aware of the food in cuba been there had better) , elevator wasn't working half the time, ac was barely working like almost asking me for help, patio door impossible to open unless you bench 200lbs daily, room was humid?, got a superior room and no king size bed only 2 double...great deal?, barely any chair at the beach... exchange rate at the hotel was a total rip off (usual but not by tthat much).. all and all I would go somewhere else. I was with  [... read more]friends so I had fun at least!!

Palma Real: value for money

We have visited the Palma Real 8 times since 2009. There have been minor changes over the years. Certain bars and restaurants have been operating some years and not other years. The washrooms in the main lobby have been upgraded to a first class standard. The pool deck continues to deteriorate. The lovely grounds are well maintained and seem to be even better cared for lately. We have stayed in all 4 buildings and have always had basic but clean hallways and rooms. The hot water supply has of [... read more]ten been hit and miss and safes are not available in all rooms. We have never had anything stolen. The buffet food is plentiful but does become a bit tedious after a few days. The Barbecoa is an option and now the beach bar has an attractive full service restaurant with a varied menu. The "by reservation only" a-la-carte dinners at the Piazza and the International are also a nice change. There are numerous good restaurants off site. We treat the staff with respect and courtesy and have always received the same treatment in return. Unfortunately not all the guests of the Palma are courteous, polite, or caring and this is no fault of the hotel. We love the location of the Palma Real but being in our 70's now, do not always appreciate the noise, smoke and "party central" atmosphere which can be annoying at times. However we can usually find a quiet place on the property to relax and meet new friends when we want to hang around the resort, which is not that often with a world class beach and Varadero main street a short walk away. Being avid cyclists, we always bring 2 used bicycles with us, ride them for the duration of our stay then leave them with two of the locals. For the cost of a decent used bicycle ($0 - $50), and $30 shipping, you can enjoy bike friendly Varadero and the surrounding area in a new way and really make a Cuban's day with the gift of a bicycle - all for a relative pittance by N.A. standards. We highly recommend doing this. In short, we will continue to stay at this familiar home away from home as long as we are able, and to enjoy the many amenities and friendly people of Varadero. Would we recommend this hotel to friends? . . . difficult question. Definitely yes to some, not necessarily to others.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Great relaxing holiday!

The beach at the Barcelo Maya Grand complex is HUGE! We never had a problem finding a lounge in either the sun or the shade. There are some hidden rocky areas entering/exiting the ocean so use caution and watch where you’re walking. Alcohol isn’t available in the morning so it was disappointing to miss out on mimosas and coffee with Bailey’s at breakfast. We found that the Colonial/Tropical buffet was better than Caribe buffet for breakfast. There was always something to satisfy  [... read more]for lunch at Mariachi or Captain Morgan beach/pool buffets. We ate dinner at 5 of the a la carte restaurants (Mexico Lindo, Santa Fe, La Trattoria, Kyoto, Mare Nostrum). Our favourite was Santa Fe (steakhouse/meat) – the beef tenderloin was DELICIOUS! Our least favourite was La Trattoria (Italian) – the same disappointing, paper-thin crust pizza served at the buffet. We also really enjoyed the wings, ribs, jalapeno poppers and mozzarella sticks at Strikers. Service at the restaurants was prompt. Drink service at the bars was sometimes slow when only one bartender was working. Theatre shows were OK – we only attended two (Michael Jackson & Magic/Circus) as the theme of the other shows didn’t appeal to us. Something this complex lacks is LIVE entertainment. There are two piano bars (Colonial and Beach) where a pianist played two sets at night (7:30-8:15pm and 11:15pm-midnight) – we saw posters for 3 different pianists during our one week stay. Aside from that, there was very little going on in the evening – no singers or instrumentalists in the lobbies, no mariachi band at the Mexican a la carte, etc. The “live DJ show” at the mall wasted a stage that would have better suited a full band. For being such a large resort, we found it was surprisingly compact and easily walkable from Beach to Tropical (we have no mobility issues and enjoy the exercise). I would recommend this resort.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Quality is slipping

Rooms, grounds, general upkeep, pool areas, impeccable! Room fridge restocking was hit and miss, checked in Sunday, fridge not done until Tuesday. Then missed on Friday and Saturday. After checking in, went to guest services to book a la carte meals. The first booking we could get before 9:30 was Thursday, then Friday. As this was our second visit we were not interested in any of the a la cartes at the other resorts. So, we were relegated to eating all other meals at the buffet.  [... read more] Hot food should be hot, cold food cold. The only hot food was if you got it directly off the grill. Most was room temperature. The staff everywhere were excellent. Well, the front desk staff had their moments. Ask a question and you could get as many answers as was behind the counter. Beach is hard. Snorkeling is fair, silt gets stirred up. Many people drift up from other resorts, and take up space at the Palace. Lots of walking! Used the coffee the first day. Never replaced! Had to drink it black. No sugar or (ick) whitener.

Allegro Cozumel: Great Family Vacation!

We had a great time at Allegro! We were a group of 3 couples. 6 adults and 4 kids ranging 5 months to 7 years old. Everyone enjoyed the pool, beach, drinks and food. We all thought they put a lot of effort into the food and enjoyed it. We spent a day driving around Cozumel felt completely safe and loved the different sights. Overall great trip and we would return for sure.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Great place (some issues)

So we were returning for our second visit and were absolutely floored that the resort group (Barcelo) does not recognize returning guests as loyal unless booked via their own system. Shameful way to operate. More or less threatened to not lose our towel cards or get “fined”$25 USD but the funny thing is they don’t use the cards and the staff collect towels right off loungers starting at 2:30 pm daily. Told we couldn’t have a king bed unless we wanted to “be out by the road” due to re [... read more]novations, when in fact there were no renovations underway as proven to us by an on-site customer service person stationed in the hallways of the room blocks. Buffet food in trays was usually cold. My brother an experienced chef showed me why. They place dry food in trays on hot bricks with no overhead heat and upon questioning they are allowed to leave food on the buffet for two hours before changing. The staff beyond the front desk are amazing, the beach is great, the bars are superior. We arrived Sunday and at 1 pm we attempted to make a la carte reservations and could only get seats for 3 on Thursday and Friday unless we wanted to eat at 9pm or later. Being two diabetics we need to eat at regular hours so we were not pleased with this. Given the fact the resort was very lightly booked it should not have been an issue. However we learned that the AO (Riviera) folks seem to get priority bookings at the Palace. The fridge (minor) was not stocked at all upon check in and took two days and 50 pesos to get that taken care of. Turn down service happened once in 6 nights so maybe we weren’t supposed to get it at all. Oh well I know how to turn down a comforter. Cleaning was spot on, rooms was always very clean. TV if required is limited but again that’s not why we go south. Sunwing rep chastised us heavily for not taking in the speech, and threatened us with not getting a ride to the airport because we checked in Tuesday versus Monday, then she wasn’t even there on Saturday when she told us to come back and confirm our private transfer. Her replacement got angry because we did not have our booking number and told us to go get it because they can’t “simply look you up” in their system. Great system Sunwing has, if in fact that was true. Then he told us what time and we called ourselves to confirm and got a later time so we believe he did it intentionally. To summarize, I would return to the Palace but expect Barcelo group to treat returning customers better.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Staff so friendly

We thought the food and ambiance was amazing in the restaurants and staff kept everything so clean. Loved the king size bed and jacuzzi tub on balcony. Would definitely consider going again. It was environmentally friendly where one switch would turn off all the lights to save energy

Allegro Cozumel: Beautiful resort

The grounds are beautiful and they work very hard everyday to make them that way. The people who work there are very kind. The room are extremely clean. The beach is beautiful white sand and the clean it every day also it goes for miles. We had a great time at Allegro Cozumel.

Occidental Papagayo: Beautiful Resort. Be prepared to walk a LOT

Beautiful resort, great food considering it is an all inclusive buffet. Too many steps. Not really handi-capable. You have to be willing to walk a lot to get anywhere. Beach is public so a lot of locals and many children. We specifically booked this resort to vacation away from children. We simply wanted adult time and weren’t aware the beach was public and screaming children everywhere.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Great resort

This is an excellent resort. The adults only portion of the complex is also a very nice feature. There is lots of walking is required but there is a shuttle available if needed. Nightly entertainment is also very good. Punta Cana beaches are always well maintained.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Super séjour au Barcelo Palace

Nous y étions du 11 au 18 janvier dernier, moi, mon conjoint et notre garçon de 3 ans. Notre séjour fut plus qu'agréable: tout est propre, excellente nourriture au Buffet, l'aménagement paysager impeccable, beaucoup d'espace sur la plage, même si il faut faire attention aux roches à l'entrée de l'eau. Je recommanderais sans hésiter cet établissement. Les employés sont tous très aimables. Toutefois, le seul bémol est que nous n'avons pas eu la chambre que nous avions demandée lor [... read more]s de la réservation. Ceci est mon 10 ieme voyage dans les Caraïbes et c'est la première fois qu''un hôtel ne peut respecter notre demande ( nous voulions une chambre avec lit King et avons eu deux lits doubles) Je crois que cela est dû au fait que l’hôtel était en forte demande et très achalandé lors de notre séjour. Pour cette raison, je vais certainement considérer aller sur au autre site de Barcelo, soit le Barcelo Colonial ou Tropical,aussi beaux et merveilleux mais qui semblait plus tranquille.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Great week in Mexico

First off, I usually never would visit the same resort twice. But this place made me want to go back again next year. Rooms were clean, Food was really good, but could be served at a warmer temperature. Would be my only complaint on food. The wait staff were top notch. Resort grounds were beautiful, Beach was always kept super clean. One of the best trips we have had.

Occidental Caribe: Awsome Resort!!!

This is the 2nd time my husband and I have been to this resort, the first time was 14yrs ago when it was Breezes and both times we really enjoyed it there. This time we were a group of 9 people ranging in age from 18 to 74 & all of us really enjoyed the resort, the food was good, the resort was clean & the staff were amazing. We would differently go back!!!

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Resort was good

Hotel was good,service was good! Did not like the half naked girls that looked underage dancing in the casino I feel of this is a family resort then this should. Or be allowed. I also didn’t like that people left their trash and plastic cups on the beach that ended up in the ocean. I think they should charge $1 for plastic cups and they get a refund when it’s brought back.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Awesome Vacation

The Occidental at Xcaret Destination is an excellent vacation getaway - we spent 7 glorious days here and enjoyed our time immensely - restaurants were great, grounds were great including the wildlife on this property. Most of all, the staff were so amazing - they could not do enough for us.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Amazing employees

My sister and I were in building 22 ( top floor. Back of building). We had monkeys on our balcony every morning. Wonderful experience. At one point our keys didn’t work any longer so I went next door to Royal level. Thankfully they fix the problem with the keys. If you don’t feel like taking the trolley ask for shortcut to lobby. I wouldn’t recommend this resort for people that have problems walking a lot. Everything else was great. Bon voyage

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Really Beautiful beach and resort!

Had an amazing time. Rooms very nice. Food selection excellent. People at Resort friendly. People we talked to come back to this resort. One couple there 15th time. Many are golfers. Which they said was terrific. We are not but went over for lunch once. Exceptional service and good food. I would highly recommend this resort and look forward to returning!😊 Also, 12 minutes from airport which was wonderful.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Better than expected

This resort is much better than i expected. The staff were amazing, friendly and very eager to help. The advertisement pictures dont do it justice. Also much bigger than expected. The food was absolutely delicious. I cant think of anything negative to say about our experience. Such a beautiful and magnificent place to stay. Just dont forget your water shoes, not a place to run some into the water full steam.