Barcelo Maya Colonial: Barcelo Maya Colonial - Two Weeks Fantastic

Two weeks at Barcelo Maya Colonial - January 17 - 31/2017. Fantastic holiday. Air Transat: Direct Ottawa to Cancun. Five hour delay at departure due to system malfunction. Solution - bring in another plane from Toronto to move us to Cancun. Thanks to the Air Transat Captain and crew for discovering the problem while were still on the ground. Ground Transport: Direct transfer Cancun Airport to Barcelo Maya Colonial and back. Ten passenger van. Good trip both ways. Hotel: Beautiful grou [... read more]nds and gardens. Very clean room with nice balcony overlooking a beautiful garden. Buffets: Excellent food and selection. Great service. Prompt and friendly. A la Cartes: We ate at the a la cartes ten evenings during our two week stay. Wonderful service and food. Pre and post dinner drinks. Each of these dinners would have been a $200.00 bill in Ottawa. Great value. Bars: Lots of bars over the property. Very prompt service for the most part. Beach: Beautiful beach. Lots of chairs. Wonderful white sand. Snorkelling: Great snorkelling right off beach. We have been travelling to all inclusive resorts all over the Caribbean over the last ten years. We would definitely return to the Barcelo Maya Colonial. Very enjoyable holiday.

Sandos Caracol Nature Resort and Water Park: Relaxing

It was what we expected for an eco resort. You go to this place if you want the wildlife and plants. The beach was not the best if you want to swim, however a short cab ride to a sister resort where you are all inclusive as well solves that problem. There was no shortage of pools or water slides and I found them well maintained. Food was great although there seemed to be a bacon shortage going on. Check in/check out was probably the worst I've ever encountered on my travels. When arriving at [... read more] the hotel you have to wait a few hours to get your room, when leaving the hotel they kick you out of your room early. While the resort amenities are still available during this time, the "securely locked" area for your luggage remains open with non-staff walking in and out of it (or changing in it).

Grand Palladium Select White Sand: So, so.

First impression was of the kabal buffet. Not very good. Food was room temp to cold. The "lake" one had to cross from the beach or buildings to the pool or buffet/restaurants had a very high bridge to climb and cross. Had to be for the pontoon boat to go underneath it. Which did not run all week because to lake was too low. The food at ribs and more was no better than the buffet. It all tasted fine, but was not hot. The buffets over at colonial and kantenah were better. First come first serve at [... read more] the dorado, don't count on it! When we arrived we were told 20 minutes. 45 minutes and three groups that were behind us in the line we got in. Service and food, excellent! Don't remember if this was at kantenah or colonial. If you have anything with wheels, chair or stroller, don't go here. And the three story room buildings have no elevator. Ground floor has a step or two. Beach swimming is a chore. Many rocks and coral close to shore. The place is very large and a bit confusing to get around. The "travel club" people get preferred treatment. We were told they were at about 70% capacity. Buffet seating was fine, but a la cartes was a chore. Glad they were not at 90 or more! Would I go back? Only at half the price.

Allegro Cozumel: Lovely resort!

What a beautiful resort, the grounds, beach, pools, rooms, food, and especially the people. It is not a large resort so getting around was easy and you didn't feel over crowded. It looked like a great place for family vacations even though we didn't have children with us. Great kids pool area. The other pool areas were very nice. Everything very clean and landscaping beautiful. The sunsets were gorgeous every night. The food was also very good, pretty good selection to choose from. The a la cart [... read more]s were excellent and an experience. They always made it very enjoyable an extra special. The staff worked very hard for everyone to enjoy their vacation. They were always there if you needed them. Friends we were with had planned a beautiful private dinner on the beach with the group of us, he proposed to his bride to be. What an amazing meal and beautiful setting! Definitely recommend this! The waiters and the chef did an excellent job, best steak I have had! Our friends then got married on the beach later in the week, how beautiful it was! The staff did a fabulous job setting up and making sure it all worked out. They were amazing. Overall this was an amazing vacation and I would definitely return again.

Las Brisas Huatulco: The feeling of classic Mexico

We had a relaxing stay. The beaches are beautiful and well maintained. The staff are genuine and always helpful. The rooms are built into a hillside giving you a beautiful view, but this requires a lot of walking. If you don't want to walk there is always a cart and driver available. The rooms have white linens and are clean. The walkways do not appear as posh as some foreign owned resorts. They have some older concrete and if you are looking for the fanciest place you've been, this resort ma [... read more]y not be for you. The only other negative I can think of is that when we snorkelled the water was murky, however we were told by other guests that this condition didn't exist the previous week. Off resort, the Huatulco towns felt genuine and safe. The merchants are not pushy, giving an overall pleasant experience. The Huatulco landscape is not completely green during the dry season and some trees actually lose their leaves like northern trees do. If you get this vacation for a reasonable price, you should be able to enjoy a relaxing classic Mexican experience. Tripcentral.ca was very helpful as they customized our package for us.

Occidental Costa Cancun: great resort!

The resort was smaller than we normally go to but ended up being a plus. There was no waiting for drinks, no holding lounge chairs, no line ups for omelets or fajitas. It was clean, friendly staff, fun entertainment, no language barriers. Very pleasantly surprised and would go again tomorrow.

Bahia Principe Explore Akumal: Value is terrific

A great resort and reasonably priced. The family especially enjoyed the availability of all the facilities, cleanliness, and very good buffet. The infinity pool, and adult only section are really nice.

Fiesta Americana Puerto Vallarta: Excellent resort

Excellent food, clean rooms, very friendly staff especially beach servers. Negative is not enough pool and beach chairs to accommodate all the guests. Not ideal to be on holiday and have to get up and be at beach or pool very early in morning in order to "reserve" chair. Beach lounges are old and uncomfortable.

Gran Festivall: Seen better days... suggest a 2 star rating

I was at this resort several years ago when it was under the Club Maeva name. I was hoping that what had been a great resort had been preserved and even built upon. What we encountered was a facility in decline, with many cosmetic and functional problems (no air conditioning, dirty rooms, taps that did not work, burned out lights, rust and general shabbiness. We were required to change rooms towards the end of our trip as they claimed they were doing some maintenance. We ended up quite far from  [... read more]all amenities in a very small room with equally shabby features. Although this may sound a bit petty, two of the things that made this trip particularly difficult for us were biting insects in the room ( we were covered with bites) and perhaps the worst bed I have ever encountered, anywhere, ever. It was one notch above concrete. We had to purchase an egg crate foam from a local Walmart to make the bed remotely comfortable. On the plus side,, the pools are excellent, the grounds are well maintained and the food was fairly good. The demographics of the clientele has changed considerably: On weekends, the place is packed (1600 people) but when we were there, only 16 of us were non Mexican. This is of course not a big issue, however English is not as commonly used in organized activities, or on the part of activity announcers. Mid-week when numbers decline considerably, , dining and bar facilities are confined to only one outlet, so lines could get long. For those not familiar with the resort, the beach is a bit of a walk, and lies across the highway. There is a great path and bridge to get there, but it is not a "beachfront" resort. We Canadians tended to hang together and there was a most disturbing incident where there was an attempted sexual assault on one of the Canadian women on the beach in broad daylight. This is a terrible occurrence and I do believe it to be non-typical, but it did occur and this thoroughly tainted the trip for us. This occurred just adjacent to the resort beach area (within 100 feet) and did NOT involve Gran Festival staff, but a waiter at an adjacent restaurant. If you are a young family on a budget in need of a resort with lots of family-oriented facilities, then this place is fine, but if you are looking for a comfortable get-away, I would look a star or two higher.

Occidental Nuevo Vallarta: A great resort to relax

Very well kept grounds,pool areas and beach. Alot of changes since my last visit.Some not so good in my eyes.Staff cannot do enough for you.Especially Eric in the dining room.Always a big smile to go along with great service.A quiet resort.

Melia Puerto Vallarta: Dated but still good.

This property is in need of a renovation. The being said, the food and drinks were good, and the service was exceptional. We enjoyed some of the best evening entertainment I've ever seen in Mexico. Good central location with awesome sunsets. Viva Mexico!

Marina Fiesta Resort and Spa: Most amazing location!

Hotel was right in the marina with so much to see and do! Loved the dine out all inclusive program, was great and everything delicious- especially loved JACK'S, steak right off the BBQ and so delicious! Staff was friendly and amazing the entire week (with exception of front desk who were not as welcoming or friendly compared to other resorts we've stayed). Our favourite was Cristo who served by the pool (and twice breakfast), Margarhetto bartender in the lobby bar was amazing and Pedro the  [... read more]bellboy very friendly and informative, everyone always ready to help with anything you may need! Fun nightlife in a safe 5 minute walk. Would absolutely return here!

Barcelo Karmina: great hotel, wonderful staff.

Room was very large and clean, resort was amazing, except the pools were chilly. The staff were great. We had heard about the desk being slow, but having occasion to go to the desk numerous times, we had no waits and very good service.

Ocean Riviera Paradise: Lovely resort with growing pains, some communication problems and some irritants

We did enjoy our week at this resort. Loved the food and walked the expansive beach-- but there were some issues which were very irritating. For example, on our arrival there was only one door key available for us -- considering that occupancy was low, how is that possible? We had to return the next day. We were also shocked at the towel card which advised us that a lost card would cost us $100. That is a ridiculous cash grab when many resorts are not even using towel cards any longer -- and  [... read more]I could buy many towels in Mexico for $100. After an early start and spending the day travelling, we had to run the gauntlet through sales people --one after the other. The following day we were approached 6 times just going to breakfast and then going through the lobby to get our second door key. It continued throughout our stay. We needed to get smaller bills (pesos) in order to tip. The front desk seldom had change and when they did, they would only change 100/200 pesos at a time. They even sent us to the bellboys and bars, but no luck. Very frustrating and irritating that they did not clue in to a need and rectify it. The staff did not always know which restaurants were open. On one occasion staff at one restaurant told our friends that they were closing yet in the information, they were supposed to be just opening. On another occasion, we were told one specialty restaurant would be open--only to find out (after walking a ways to get there) that it was closed. Entertainment starts way too late in the evening (after 8 p.m.) for families with children. Because the resort has such a wonderful water park for children I am assuming they want families. Most children were heading to bed around 8. The same complaint applies for the opening times of the specialty restaurants.

Catalonia Yucatan: Nice resort

Buildings were maintained, grounds nicely manicured. Friendly staff, good service overall. My 3rd time back and would probably do it again, good value for the money. Especially nice because the shops, canteens and dive shops are only a few minute walk, lots of live entertainment in the evenings

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Not what we expected

Based on the reviews of this hotel we were looking forward to a comfortable stay. We had brown water come from all of our taps. Our roof top pool was also full of bugs and not cleaned properly. In fairness to the staff they did move us to another room but little things kept going wrong. Definitely not a 5 star.

Park Royal Beach Huatulco: all round exllent hotel for the price!

we travelled with four adults all of us were over all very impressed how well hotel was run. We felt safe comfortable and lots of things to do in the area around the hotel. The shuttle that takes you from your room to lobby or beach works well.

Grand Sirenis Mayan Beach-Casa Lucia: Wonderful Resort!

The layout of the buildings and grounds was most impressive as was the cleanliness. I was very pleased with my room with an ocean view and liked to sit on my balcony at night listening to the waves and marvelling at the night sky. The staff was friendly and helpful. I got immediate service for anything I needed. The food was plentiful, beautifully presented and tasty with a large variety of choices. Visitors could eat at the buffet tables set up every day in the restaurant or go to the gourmet [... read more] restaurants for special dining. There was a vast variety of things to do and I would have loved to stay for a couple of weeks more to enjoy all that was on offer: theatre every night, the casino, disco, excursions to cultural sights, swimming, going out snorkelling and swimming with the dolphins, and more. I loved my time at this resort and will rate it at four and half stars. I have recommended it to my son and his wife for their next winter vacation.

Occidental Cozumel: The hotel was beautiful and amazing

The hotel was beautiful and amazing in the staff at the concierge area were wonderful probably the best service ever including the service at the beach was great as well would highly recommend going to being the beach is beautiful

Ocean Maya Royale: Good resort

Very nice resort beautiful grounds and staff is very nice and helpful . The buffet was very good lots of choices . The Italian restaurant was excellent . The Japanese restaurant always had a lineup but I understand the food was just OK . The room was small and the bed was hard and the pillows were terrible . The beach was small but good swimming and the two pools were very nice . Overall it is a good resort but because of the bed we would not stay there again .