Barcelo Maya Caribe: Fabulous vacation

We were a group of 11. 2 families. The grounds were stunning. Food was average and the rooms were clean and spacious but you can hear everything in the room next door. The beach was spectacular, calm and warm. Fish swimming in the ocean at our feet. We were able to feed them standing in the ocean. MANY activities for all ages. I would definitely return to this resort

Occidental Punta Cana: A bit disappointing!!

Booked this hotel with friends / kids for Christmas on the beach. We've been to Punta Cana at least 15 times in last 12 years and stayed at various hotels. The transfer from airport to hotel was great. Check in was ok, our room was not ready yet but this gave us time to have lunch at the buffet. The rooms are spacious and clean. The A la carte restaurants were alright but you had to signal the server to get wine. This is the first hotel we've been to that did not have Rosé wine included!! [... read more]! The problem was at the breakfast / lunch buffet by the beach. The poor servers spent most of their time clearing tables meaning they did not have time to serve / offer beverages. My wife helped clear 4-5 tables every day to help out. The only bar near the beach did not have a lot of choices for drinks and had a lineup of sometimes 15 people and only one bartender. This, I believe, is poor management not supporting their staff or not having enough staff on hand to cover the amount of guests. Great work by Graciela at buffet who kept a smile and did as good as she could. Towels were hard to get or exchange. Lounge chairs were not too hard to find, beach or pool. Reserving restaurants was a bit complicated so do it as soon as you arrive. Site itself is nice and well kept.

Occidental Cozumel: great resort

This was our second time staying at the Occidental and it did not disappoint. Our flights to Cozumel were delayed 3 hours, but the staff stayed around until 2am to get us checked in to our rooms and settled. Beach was clean and maintained and so where the grounds. Everyone was friendly and said good morning. The one disappointment was the service at the Alcart Restaurants. The food was not much better than at the Buffets and the service was terribly slow. We actually left before the dese [... read more]rt was served because of the long wait time.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Beautiful Barcelo Maya

This was our first time to the Mayan Riviera and first time at Barcelo Maya Resort. We are a family of three, two adults and a 6 year old son. We stayed for 2 weeks in the Caribe section of the resort. Our room was set back from the beach/pools but was very conveniently located close to the Caribe buffet, the Maya Mall, the Caribe Lobby and the tennis/paddle ball courts. We were very happy with our location near the back of the Sayil building. The transfer from the airport to the resort is  [... read more]a solid hour long drive. We booked a superior/standard room and it was nice (not fancy but clean and nice). We were on the second floor of the building with a view of the Pirate Island Waterpark. There were two double beds in our room and a sofa bed. The bathroom was large and well equipped (dryer, shampoo etc). We had a nice balcony with clean furniture on it. The room itself was also very clean upon arrival. There was a mini fridge that was kept stocked with drinks (pop, beer, water and juice). There was also a large bottle of water with the coffee maker. The man who restocks the fridges will provide you with more water for the room if you ask him to. The food was delicious. Buffets were always good - not hard to find something for everyone. For breakfast, we often walked over to the Tropical buffet for a change of scenery and liked the layout better than the Caribe buffet. I asked for a buffet schedule from Guest Services and that helped us to decide which buffet to eat at in the evening. We ate at a few of the A La Cartes. They were really good. We especially enjoyed Tokyo where the chef prepared the food right in front of you. It was a great show and the food was so good! The steakhouse was excellent as was the Italian place in the Maya Mall. We always ate lunch at one of the grills near the beach. The one at the Beach section was my favourite because of the beautiful views. We did not see one evening show (they start at 9:30pm) as we were usually exhausted from the day's activities (particularly our 6 year old) and needed to rest. We usually went for a walk around the resort after dinner and enjoyed seeing the numerous weddings that were taking place. We spent many of our mornings in the ocean near the Palace snorkelling with the sea turtles. They are beautiful and quite friendly - there's no need to feed them. I was happy to see some of the lifeguards on the beach asking people not to take bananas into the water to give them (like I tell my son, turtles are not meant to eat bananas - a turtle can't climb a tree to eat a banana). We snorkelled off the pier too a few times. There are a lot of fish there (but again, people are feeding them bread etc. and shouldn't). I don't recommend being in the water if people are throwing bread out - my son was in the middle of a large school of fish that were being fed by some guy and he was not comfortable. If the ocean wasn't ideal for snorkelling, we would play paddle ball or tennis after breakfast. You must book a court ahead of time and get your equipment from the desk near the courts. They provide you with a towel and water if you want it. After lunch we would go to the pool and lounge in the shade. Between the Beach and Caribe pools there is a large shaded structure with ping pong tables and foosball tables. There is also a nice shaded basketball court and lap pool near the ocean in the Beach section. We booked a catamaran ride (free per stay), used the kayaks, the water tricycle and the stand up paddle boards. There's so much to do!! The fitness centre is really quite impressive. It sits behind the Dive Shop in the Spa building between the Caribe and Colonial sections. There are a number of fitness classes they have scheduled throughout the day but it seems that they only run if there are an adequate number of participants. You can get a towel and water there as well. The spa looked nice but was quite expensive - we didn't go. We visited Dec 2-16, 2019 and the resort was decorated beautifully for Christmas. The entire place is so clean and tidy. It is so big that it never felt busy or packed with people. It's easy to find shade by the pool or on the beach. Towels can be found in the activity buildings - no need for a towel card. The entire resort was impeccably clean and tidy during our stay. I really have nothing negative to say about the resort or the staff. We had a wonderful time! In fact, we recommended this resort to friends and they have booked for mid January.

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Barceló Maya Grand

The hotel was very nice. Sometimes a bit too big but that is a personal preference I guess. The rooms were clean although every day we had towel shortage a (take 4 to clean leave 3) again not major just annoying. The one part that was simply terrible were their nightly shows with some so bade they simply should not have been on stage.

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Stanning hotel

We stayed 10 nights and overall is impressed with ocean view room , food, service , beech and pools. Outstanding buffet food and staff service very friendly. French , Japanese Restaurants are very good. What we don't like - loud hard rock music in lobby. it so loud you can not talk. Adult resort means different ages of people and not everyone loves this kind of music. The premium lounge had excellent front desk service provided by Valeria Caliz. We'll comeback soon as we like this paradis [... read more]e.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Great experience

Good location, the resort has many things to do, good beach for both sun bath and snorkeling. Good selections of food and a la carte restaurants and bars. Friendly staffs and of course a little tip can makes differences. This varies on people and the situations. The beach does not have all white sands like Cancun strip but some rocks and coral related marine life. Doesn't stop from getting the sun on a chair of course. Check out the pictures if not sure. *Highly recommended to have diving  [... read more]shoes or some kind of water footware when going into the water as the bottom can be very Rocky or coraly unexpectedly. Seen many people with foot/leg injuries. This varies on which area of the beach you enter. Follow the crowd if not sure. Snorkeling was awesome that tons of marine life from the shore to little further. Lots of fish, manta rays, and TURTLES were encountered not too far from the shore. Swimming with the turtles was amazing experience. Without feeding anything they may come and swim with you or around you if they find you interesting. Just stay away from the big crowd of people. Big enough of a resort so going for walks was easy. Getting to PDC or Tulum was pretty good since the resort was right in the middle. If you have been and know where things are this resort will be great. If this is your first time, this is not too bad of a location but may increase your travel time if you are planning frequent trips to Cancun or PDC or excursions. Or just stay in the resort for the chilled vacation.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Awesome resort!

This was our 2nd visit to the Barcelo Maya Grand Resort, the last time being 11 years ago. We loved this resort just as much this time as the last. Check-in and Check-out was quick and easy and we found everyone working on the resort very friendly and helpful. The restaurants were really good and we were able to reserve at 5 during our stay. The buffet was really good, and lots of variety. We were there over Christmas and besides being beautifully decorated for the season, they went above and be [... read more]yond to make Christmas special. We loved the beach and pool and never had trouble finding lounge chairs. We enjoyed swimming in front of the Tropical with the tropical fish. We had a great holiday!

Barcelo Karmina: Excellent Resort

The grounds at Barcelo Karmina are very well kept and beautiful. We also enjoyed the many iguanas that were often in the trees or having a "swim" in the pool. It was nice to see the water in the pools was checked as well as leaves removed daily. Our favorite was the Adult Pool. We must mention our pool waiter Daniel Hermandez, as his friendliness, and service was excellent.He definitely made our stay enjoyable. The dining was good. Our favorite was the Capri Grill. The staff there were excepti [... read more]onal. We ate breakfast and lunch there.Omelets and eggs cooked to perfection by the very charming cook. The staff were all so friendly and helpful. The Christmas Eve outdoor buffet and celebration was beautifully done. Such a great selection of food . The rooms are excellent. Lovely view of the grounds as well as the ocean. Sure nice to have two bathroom sinks. Plenty of closet and drawer space. Would be nice if the staff in general spoke more English. Many try hard, but some speak or understand little.We booked mentioning it was a 70 th Birthday. Some recognition of this would have been nice. This was our second vacation at Barcelo Karmina. Hope to return.

Occidental Costa Cancun: Great Spot / Excellent Service / Thumbs Up!

We just returned from family vacation to Occidental Costa Cancun. No complaints! Excellent service during the week...we loved our week away at this resort. It is our third trip to Barcelo brand in Mexico...alway been great...we trust it. We all feel we got our monies and suns worth during our stay. Rooms are a bit dated but super clean and beds were great. Our kids 19/16 had their own room but was a bit away so asking to put us side by side...accommodated without issue...again awesome! Th [... read more]e lobby bar and seating great spot to relax before dinner or going for shower. The shows at night were fun to watch even my teens enjoyed dancing with Aladdin. Brandon and the entertainment crew around the pool made it tones of fun, water volley, bingo and even a visit from the grinch! He is a mean one at times. Louis at the buffet greeting us with a smile...buffet with themes each day, great food...even the micro buffet opens around 5am if you have a day trip. The beach is smallish and limited sun (before noon) vs pool all day. Shallow and would great for little kids. We preferred the pool area with chess and ping pong and the teens in pools all day Small downer I suppose is...pay for wifi...is that really it? I guess so but put those devices in safe and soak the sun and family time. These days go by fast!!!

Barcelo Tambor: Too much travel time/not all inclusive

I have to say that the views and the country were spectacular! Our family enjoyed the scuba diving and beach lunch. However since we were not provided an itinerary we had no idea how long the travel would actually be, it was long! The way there not so bad as we stayed in SAN Jose the first night. But the way back was terrible! We timed it and it took 20 hours from the time we left the hotel until we arrived home! We had to wait in the San Jose airport for iver 5 hours because we were paired with [... read more] a group from Montreal who’s flight left earlier, if we would have known this we would have never done this! Not to mention, this is not a 7 day all in trip, because we had to pay for our food on the first day, which was fine we had expected this, but the last day also, we stopped at a cafe that we had to pay for then we had no choice but to sit in an airport all day and eat there. In future if you are to offer this trip, there needs to be a better explanation of what will transpire! We were not the only family who felt this way! We spoke to 2 other families who felt the same and I am hopeful they will also provide their feedback. We had used air transit in the past and plan on doing more travelling in the future but We may look at other travel agencies as we were quit disappointed. Also we had to change rooms since the first room we were in had a broken door, no lock and no working phone. We asked for an extra blanket and towel and it took them 4 hours and 3 times asking before they finally provided it to us.

Barcelo Solymar: Pretty disappointing

Came to this resort 10 years ago and it was amazing! Everyone was happy and it was a lot of fun! Maybe I’ve grown up a little however the people were not happy at all! Every bar was always busy and the drinks were not good! All the bartenders were mad if you asked for anything besides a beer! The gift shop charges 25$ just to use VISA so for some Pringle’s and a couple red bull it was almost $50 American, so like 65 Canadian! The food was not as bad as everyone was saying, however there was [... read more] frequent trips to the washroom after every meal! Would not recommend this resort to any avid travelers! First timers maybe! However the hotel location is great only a two beer walk into town to checkout all the little shops and the Beatles bar which was fun! All and all not horrible but not even close to being a great hotel! Shout out to the bartender JORGE!!! He made the trip worth while

Palma Real: Absolutely terrible!!!

I have been to this hotel in the past appx 2 years ago, at that time, the hotel was an okay resort being a 3 star..Well OMG this resort is absolutely gone down to s**t!!!..Completely absolutely disgusting!..Mold everywhere, every ceiling was full of it and you could smell the musty smell all throughout, the pool was all broken tiles on the sides where if you tried to get out of it that way you would certainly cut yourself and soo very dirty!!!...sooo many times the keys would never work and you  [... read more]had to walk a mile or more to get new keys for them not to work..The pot holes in the cement were so very dangerous when walking around..there was NEVER EVER ANY toilet paper like NEVER!!!..it was soo incredibly expensive now as the hotel no matter what day it is will always charge you 65 cents to 1 Cdn dolla, where the bank around the corner would be appx 73 cents..careful as bank also ripped us off each for 5.00 in their 1.00 coins!..yes the bank as well and then you can see the security outside the bank exchanging money with no paperwork!!!..yes I did witness all of this, as I said this is not my first time there and I know what's is what!..The food was absolutely disgusting!!..not even Franks Red Hot Sauce I brought with me could help!..There is no bottled water there at all even to buy at the hotel. .they give u 1 bottle that u have to ask for and days later finally get and then when u get it u have to refill at the bar every time where they go into a back room to refill..The Havana Club that is attached to this hotel used to be included is now a 10.00 cover charge plus the drinks are now 3.00 each..remember we already lost 30.00 on the 100.00 so every dollar you spend add another 30 cents..we went out for french fries as the hotel never had any burgers or hotdogs etc and they wanted $5.50 C.U.C!!..for the equivalent of a Wendys medium fries!..the Cuban airport on way back is a total rip off!!..Careful as they will not take C.u.c money, only USD n Cdn and they charge 10 % tax on USD and tax on CDN dollars!!!..Duty Free tried to charge me for 1 bottle of rum @ 9.90 along with a $5.00 tax!!!!..yes they wanted $14.90 for 1 bottle! ..I was shocked!..if u have Cuban $ left you might as well throw in Garbage cause it is useless once you pass security!..Cuba has now turned into a serious joke when it comes down to the money now!!..Don't waste it here and go to a much better resort where they have a disco and entertainment because this place has neither!!..nothing to do when it rains except sit in lobby or your stinky room, the entertainment was none existent, they had their shows which was extremely crappy and did not make sense at all!..The lobby bar that is supposed to be opened 24 gouts had now been closing at 11pm and they tell you to go yo the snack bar which is supposed to be opened at 11 pm..well that did not happened until at least midnight when they had a lineup or ppl stated to fet upset and then they yelled at you to hang on as they were preparing food..there was NO FOOD!!..they had cheese on a bun or ghilled cheese which was 1 piece of ham with a little piece of cheese!..it was absolutely terrible!!!..the beach is across the street which is not at all a far walk and the beach is absolutely breathtaking with white sand but they r doing construction there to build a new 1000 room resort, so the noise is unreal along with the dust and such so its a very dangerous path now to get to the beach part..their is little beach bar that is pretty plain but never any music or activities at all!.. the little shops they have also charge you wayyy more for their trinkets now as they have basically triple their prices and that is even when u bardered..the excursions are way overpriced and you don't even get to do what you paid for!..we were supposed to go snorkeling well that did not happen because they wanted to drop us off to this private beach so they could go do their own stuff..we paid 80.00 Cdn to ride an hour on a bus to go on a boat for 2 hours to sit on a beach for another 2 hours and eat the same shitty food and then to do that all over again on way back!..we saw absolutely nothing new at all!!!..The Beatles Bar was ok with their music but like I said they were charging 3.50 Cuban money for a beer!..same as here in Canada -$5.00!..like I said I have been there before so I do know what Cuba and this hotel and the food used to be like and it is now garbage!!!..Go someplace that will be worth the extra 100.00..I will never return to this place again!..Cuba yes but never to this shitty disgusting hotel!

Barcelo Maya Palace: Barcelo Maya Palace - Fabulous Resort!

My husband and 2 boys (in their 20's) stayed at Barcelo Maya Palace last week. Although it rained every day we had an amazing stay due to the resort being outstanding. Restaurants both buffet and a la carte were very very good. Beach was beautiful and very much enjoyed swimming with turtles and other marine life. Our rooms were very very large with fabulous bathrooms. They were clean and well serviced. Would not hesitate to recommend and revisit this property. Thank you David and Tri [... read more]p Central for booking our latest vacation.

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Hotel o.k.

This hotel is not a luxurious hotel, but it's o.k. Near downtown Varadero, at few minutes by walk. Room, restaurant, pool and gardens were clean. Service at restaurant and bars was ok as well. The buffet, ok as well. Beach and sea. Wow ! It's Varadero. I had a problem of leaking water from the top of the bathroom in the middle of the night. And I had a really good service by changing of room on the spot. More, the day after, in the new room, I had ants problem in the bathr [... read more]oom. And again, they change for a much better room again without the need of arguing. I really appreciated. In conclusion, I recommend, but with keeping in mind to not have big expectations. It's a low cost hotel, and it's o.k..

Barcelo Maya Palace: Barcelo is fine!

Food is excellent and resort offers something for everyone. Lane swimming and gym so you can maintain your routine lots of beach space. Comfortable rooms and nice shower. Would like to suggest that WIFI be included as standard instead of paying as an additional cost

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Amazing scuba diving!

The hotel was great but The scuba diving the hotel offers from the beach was amazing. Ended up booking an excursion then upgraded to get my scuba certification. The staff was absolutely phenomenal and the water was perfect. The beach was picture perfect and the water was super clear. Snorkelling near the edge you saw sea turtles and sting rays. Overall the best experience I could’ve asked for.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Great Resort

This was our second time at the Barcelo Bavaro Beach Resort and we intend to return again. The hotel is clean and well maintained. The food is fabulous at all the restaurants especially the specialized ones like the Japanese, Italian, and the Chez. Staff are friendly and very accomadating, especially the "Premier" staff. Love that we can enjoy the adults only section and visit the family section for other activities. Room was located directly on beach with an exceptional view and close to the p [... read more]ool. It was perfect for us and what we requested. It was an amazing location. Rooms are clean and comfortable. We will return.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Unique environment at Xcaret hotel

Spectacular jungle environment exquisitely maintained. Excellent food and service. Friendly staff. Need reservations for tennis courts and specialized restaurants. The hard surface tennis court needs to be resurfaced and a tennis pro should be available during peak periods. We enjoy the Xcaret park and all the activities.

Occidental Punta Cana: Second time!

After loving our stay last year at the Occidental Punta Cana we decided to return again this year. The rooms are large, renovated and clean. Towels and mini fridge are replaced and restocked daily. The grounds are beautiful and very well maintained. We were there Dec. 11- 21 and never had an issue finding chairs on the beach or around the pool. The food was delightful with a great variety. One of the highlights was walking through the grounds at night with the breathtaking Christmas lights w [... read more]rapped around all the trees. The staff was pleasant and took the time to remember us and our drinks preferences. We could walk forever on the beach that was cleared of seaweed every morning. We would be happy to return again next year!