Palma Real: Never again!

Terrible hotel, very bad food and the pool bar was closed for the entire duration of our trip. The resort was pretty dead and didn’t have many snack options (only tuna sandwich at night) I fell sick during the latter half of the trip from the food

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Barcelo Maya Colonial

Some a la carte restaurants were excellent, others were mediocre. Buffets were OK. Snorkeling was better than I expected. Service all around was excellent. Well staffed. HUGE resort. Stay at 1 and play at 4 although each of the other 3 are virtually identical to the one you are at. haha. Good value for the money. Entertainment was not to my liking. Extremely loud and would have preferred more latin american music. I would go back again.

Allegro Playacar: Nice little resort with a few drawbacks

Hotel is well taken care of, grounds are nice. It is a manageable size, the walk from lobby to beach is only a few minutes. Staff was, for the most part, friendly and helpful. Drink service by the pool was excellent. Now the negatives: main bar does not start serving alcohol until 11am and pool bar not until NOON. I have traveled extensively, 10 times to Mexico and have never heard of such a thing. I love my vodka/orange juice in the morning so this was a big let down and the Transat website i [... read more]s incorrect in stating that service begins at 10am. This will be a big deterrent for people, so I can't see it staying in place long. The other big drawback, is the noise. If you are a light sleeper and get stuck near the disco, basketball courts or a rude neighbour, good luck getting any sleep. Someone felt the need to play basketball every morning at 730am, and it sounded like they were dribbling in our room. I was constantly checking if the windows were open because the noise was crazy. If someone walked by, you could hear every word of their conversation even if they were speaking quietly. We were in the 27 block of rooms, and it was a good location as far as getting everywhere, but being by the court was not worth it. Rooms were nice, small beds. They called it a queen but there is no way. Beach is gorgeous, beautiful water and sand. Food was good, only complaint is they only had bacon 1 morning! There is a pizza shack by the pools, it was nice to just grab a quick slice. Have some fries with the nacho cheese sauce and one of the pulled meats on top, delicious! We got this resort on a selloff for quite cheap so we were happy with our trip. They need to change the bar hours though! We were thirsty!

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Not the best but not the worst

The resort itself was in a good location and the beach is always so beautiful in Cuba. The rooms were okay, the bathroom in particular could of used a little ‘facelift’ but we didn’t spend much time in our room anyways. We were a little disappointed with the food. I’ve been to Cuba a few times before so I know what the food is typically like. we also had access to the resort next door and it was just odd that the food over there was x10 better than at the occidental. I just didn’t unde [... read more]rstand why they couldn’t have just as good of a spread? So my family ended up walking over to the Barcelo Solymar for all our meals. The pool also could of used some work as more than a few tiles were missing off the bottom. I also didn’t like the fact that there was no bar right on the beach, walking back and forth for drinks got kind of annoying. Overall the resort was decent.

Palma Real: Great place!

This hotel has a great location, downtown, great beach and is clean. Great place for a great Price! Food is ok, we liked to walk and also eat at different.places downtown, great clubs to.listen and dance!!!

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Arenas blancas

Everything on the resort was rundown there was no water slide as stated on website or pool bar the food was bad ate out all the time there was no fruit there should be a refund for I’ve been to Cuba many times and never seen so many unhappy guests

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Terrible

Our stay with occidental arenas Blancas was terrible our rooms didn’t look anything like pictured, nor did the resort. Our room was filled with ants, they were in our baby food and they were all over our beds and crawled all over and bit our babies and us while we slept. We will never stay there again and we’re so disappointed we spent all that money and had a horrible stay. Very poor selection of food as well

Palma Real: Bang for the buck!

The staff is outstanding. If you treat them well, they'll treat you well. The food is sub par, but you're so close to downtown, just go out and get some chicken at Calle 62, or La Gretta etc. It's all about location location location for this place. Alot of Russians are rude and lack class with the staff.

Barcelo Maya Palace: The best vacation!!

The hotel was very clean, the food was delicious and such a wide variety. The service was excellent. You have to go to the Brazillian restaurant. The BEST steak I've had in my life. Bring your snorkel because there's great snorkeling at the resort beach...including sea turtles!!

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Don’t expect too much

The hotel is quite large. There are two parts, the beach and the palace. If you stay at the beach (adults only) you are allowed to use the amenities on the Palace side. We stayed the whole time on the Palace side (pool) as it has a swim up bar. Didnt really notice a lot of kids when we were there. The Beach on the adults only side is better. Unfortunately, my husband got sick off their food and we wasted a day inside the room - when we confronted the hotel all they said was its impossible t [... read more]hat my husband got food poisoning because there isn't other people who complained. The lobster that was served to him had a foul smell, its unbearable. This ruined our honeymoon. After the food poisoning everything went downhill from there, from the service and cleanliness of the room that we were so happy to get to the airport and finally eat some real food and get back to Canada. some staff are rude, especially when you don't speak Spanish. Had a really bad service at Santa Fe Steakhouse and Coral Seafood. If you visit La Brisa, make sure to ask for Esther! She’s the best! At the Palace swim up bar Odalio and Norberto are the best bartenders there! Always smiling even if you havent given them a tip!

Occidental Cozumel: Beautiful, No Crowds and Totally Relaxing

Our experience at the Occidental Cozumel, Nov 29th - December 6th was exacting what we were looking for. the staff were constantly friendly and helpful. The room was clean, large and very comfortable. Our dining experiences were all positive whether at the buffet or restaurants...the seafood being our favorite. Easy access to diving and smaller size of the resort was perfect. We'll definitely be back.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great Resort!

One of my favourite resorts! My family and I were a bit disappointed in the timeliness of service.. Otherwise no complaints! Had two great meals in the Spanish restaurant, and enjoyed our nights in the resort club and casino, depending on your room be prepared to walk!

Barcelo Huatulco: Second Visit to Barcelo Huatulco

Enjoyed our return visit to Barcelo Huatulco very much. Both times we paid a little extra for the ‘Premium Level’, which upgrades the stay to include express check-in in the air conditioned Premium lounge (otherwise its a lineup with everyone else that just got off the bus), wifi (otherwise there is a limit of 1hr/day), ability to book a la carte restaurants for dinner well in advance (otherwise there is a lineup starting at 9am to try to book for that day), preferred room locations, a quie [... read more]t beach lounge chair area (although many folks without the Premium bracelets were using this area), and access to the bartended Premium Lounge with better liquor and a limited wine selection, seating area with big-screen TV, and hot & cold food available throughout the day. The Premium Level isn’t necessary to enjoy this resort, but we appreciated these benefits. The two buffet restaurants offer plenty of choice and are open most of the day. We didn’t try the Japanese a la carte for dinner, but enjoyed the Mexican and Italian restaurants. The service in the Italian was the best and included a musician on the baby grand piano each evening. It’s a cheap 60 peso/10 minute cab ride into town if you want to go in and poke around, shop, or go for an off-resort meal. We were on the hunt for vanilla and found a wide variety of pricing and quality. Ended up paying 180 pesos for 1L of natural vanilla. We looked in the Chedraui (like a Mexican Walmart), but that wasn’t the place to buy vanilla, or booze. Last year we took a catamaran tour which was great and included snorkelling and a stop where a nice beach lunch could be bought... this tour is a pretty good excursion to do in this area. This year we did the city tour, which was OK, but a lot of time spent waiting around for the guides to herd the tour, and scripted stops to flog mescal, woven carpets and jewelry. Would definitely recommend this resort for those looking for a quiet destination. I would not recommend this resort to anyone with mobility limitations. We did see a couple of guests with wheelchairs and walkers, but the resort is not very friendly in this regard.

Barcelo Huatulco: Best beach waiters!

Although we were quite unhappy that our “free wifi” was only one hour a day, we were more than thrilled to have such great waiters deliver drinks to the beach! Even if we only wanted cups of ice and bottles of water, they never complained and brought us anything we asked for! The grounds were kept very clean and well looked after, the rooms were comfortable, clean and the A/C worked great! (Thank goodness!)

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Awesome resort

It was awesome! Only thing I would say is that internet not available only if you pay, which for a 5 star resort I feel you should give for free, I have been to other resorts also 5 stars and had internet for free throughout the entire resort, even in our room! But everything else was awesome! I would definitely recommend this hotel, and I definitely will be back!

Barcelo Huatulco: Second visit, lovely vacation!

This was our second stay at Huatulco Barcelo, and was very nice. We upgraded to the Premium level, and appreciated access to the private air condition lounge with bartender and TV, and the priority booking of restaurants. Enjoyed food in the buffet and al a cart restaurants. Room was lovely.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Beautiful & stunning resort. Also, it's massive!

Although the grounds are immaculate and stunning, the Barcelo Bavaro Palace was one of the largest resorts I have ever been to. Having a tram/train to get from one side to the other is an indication of it's foot-print. The main pool was outstanding. I particularly liked the water spouts that gave wicked massages. We really enjoyed the underwater loungers, but not where they were situated right by the buffet. It did give a feeling like everyone is watching you while they eat. The buffet was ext [... read more]ensive and had many options and something for everyone. We got to know some of the staff and a few would go over and above to find us mango or extra passion fruit for our table... worthy of the extra tips ;-) When we arrived, we met with a manager Adiascar Corcoran who treated us extremely well. For six of us travelling together in celebration of our collective birthdays, he made sure we had the best a la carte reservations for every night. He also sent a birthday surprise to our room. Our rooms were also spectacular! I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have a private Jacuzzi tub on our balconies. I used ours everyday, sometimes twice a day. I would recommend this location for those who want a big, clean resort. People who like large pools and beautiful palm trees. The restaurants were great, specially the Mexican. If you want real Dominican culture and more of a natural real experience, this isn't quite the place. The shear size, makes for a loss in intimacy and getting to know people. The beach: Perfect for long walks, awesome pictures and sunning in the morning. We were lucky to not have to battle too much Sargasso washing up and whatever did, they took care of it early in the day. We only saw mass amounts on our last day. It's a natural phenomenon which houses many wee beautiful creatures. It is what it is. We did appreciate the efforts to keep the beach clear. However... the one thing I found frustrating was the stickiness of the ocean water. It is clear that it's polluted by massive amounts of sunscreen. We could feel it on our skin, sticky and white some days but usually we were just coated in a sticky-ick. I would like to see more efforts towards pushing for either no sunscreen use in the oceans or at least a reef friendly kind. I had a very difficult time with the animal enclosures out in the water. I'm pretty sure it's animal cruelty. We didn't quite know what we were signing up for in a snorkel tour. I assumed open water areas. We were taken by boat (who was on a 5-song-loop) to first, an area cordoned-off for snorkeling and then a ocean floor-walk with the big glass helmets. This area is far over-polluted and murky. There was only one kind of fish who have been trained to stick around as the tour guides squirt bread from bottles to attract them to the ocean floor-walkers. Also not an environmentally sound practice. The Ocean floor walk was pretty cool, if it weren't so "set up". We didn't need all the extra Insta-moments or photos stops. It was clear that the push was to get us to buy the video. I would have been happy to just pay to have a guided walk in a natural area where healthy sea-life just float on by. It just felt very dirty/touristy. We then set off to another encloser where we were told we would swim with sharks and sting rays. What we witnesses was very sad animals. terrified sting-rays who cowered from the snorkelers and crawled up on each other in a corner. Same with the sharks who looks very unwell. If these are rescued, then let them heal in peace. We were then lined up (at first we didn't know what), my camera was confiscated and i was urged to line up with everyone else. It was too late to bail when I realized I was lining up to have a poor sea-lion kiss everyone on the cheek as if we were at Sea World in the 80's. He was beautiful and there was no need to train him to do this. It broke my heart! The dolphins were next and I just couldn't watch. They were so distressed that some were fighting. I was out! I sadly took myself back to the boat to drown my sorrows in how fake & cruel this all was. I would come back if there were huge efforts towards the environment, waste, and true cultural experience. I would like to add a piece about our booking agent Angela. She continually made mistakes, left things out, emailed the wrong addresses and/or didn't respond to emails at all. It became glowingly painful to get answers.Some of us just gave up on her. She did promise all of us a gift card per room of a value of $100.00 towards an excursion (which they would NOT accept ) or massage, which they also would NOT accept. We tried calling Trip Central's complaint number & email to ask what it WAS good for and OF COURSE, got zero response. We were counting on those funds and we were never able to use it. So, if you're given a Tripcentral gift card, double/triple check WTF it's truly for. We were also promised a rebate from the airline through our agent and those also never showed up for most of us (or have yet to). Only two of the six of us received a rebate on their credit card before the trip. I wouldn't use Angela Douglas of Trip Central ever again, even if you paid me. Her correspondence skills are extremely lacking and she doesn't deliver what she promises. We have email proof of what we were promised what we did not receive. She blew it, big time. Oops, one more thing. Our arrival at the Dominican airport consisted of a 2 hour line up in the heat (thankfully inside the open air), just to go through their customs. I felt awful for anyone travelling with children. That alone would hinder me from ever coming back. 2 hours is just too long to line up like cattle. No thanks!

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great Resort!

Huge resort, but still walkable. Impeccably clean. Lovely rooms and balcony with jacuzzi tub(building 5,4th floor is a great spot). Great beach, good food, a la carts were all good except seafood restaurant had cold food and it was ok ish. Mexican was awesome and Japanese was awesome. The only thing Barcelo Palace is missing is a beach bar and a lunch place on the beach. Always had to go to buffet. Nightly shows were surprisingly really good too! Wi fi only in Casino which was a little annoying [... read more] but it’s good to be “unplugged” for a week. I would recommend it and I have travelled quite a bit.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Last Minute Getaway Nov 28 - Dec 10, 2019

PROS Location Beach A la Carte Restaurant selection Access to adjacent Bávaro properties Friendly staff Pool Trains between the properties Never had an issue finding lounge chairs Quiet atmosphere CONS Rooms outdated Bathrooms in severe need of complete overhaul No wi-fi unless purchased Only free wi-fi is at the casino in Barcelo Palace Several of the Al la Carte restaurants have a $15 per person charge OVERALL Based on the last minute booking and the price we paid, we co [... read more]uld get by with the cons. If we would have paid a higher price, the disappointment level would have been pretty high

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Fantastic Resort

This resort was even nicer than we had expected, such a nice surprise. First off, the staff were all so friendly and helpful. The resort was; clean, safe, amazing overall amenities, beach was great for swimming and great areas for snorkeling. The property is large enough to accommodate all the guests without making the pool area, restaurants, bar areas etc. feel busy. It has the benefits of being able to have stay and play options. Despite being so large, the property and amenities is all access [... read more]ible and walkable. If you didn’t want to walk from one area to another they offered a free shuttle service back and forth. Overall, this was an amazing resort and would love to go back.