Royal Hideaway Playacar: Good Resort. Not Great

This resort was good, not great. The beach was amazing although very little shade and canopies over the chairs were often broken so had to jury rig up a way to make it work. All pools were amazing especially the pool by the spa. Always quiet and bar service was close by although sometimes no one there to serve. Food was good. A couple of lunch choices were horrible. Don't get the pork rib burger for lunch. Really weird consistency and taste. Wings and spring rolls at lunch really good. L [... read more]imited selection of restaurants and food choices made some meals feel less than expected. Some meals also incredibly rich. Overdone with sauces but might be my personal choice. Got room service one night. Burger was ok. Keylime pie was the size of a small petrie dish and ordered a bottle of wine. He forgot the bottle of wine so had to run back for it. Although a concierge at every building sounded like a good idea, they were completely useless. That was the opinion of everyone I talked to. Most of that was unsolicited opinion and was from other buildings as well. We met with Erik the first day and he promised to get us into all restaurants starting the next day and we asked for a bottle of white wine in the mini bar everyday. All was promised, shook hands and we went on our way. We were to have reservations the next day at one of the restaurants. Looked all over for him that next day and was no where to be found. Finally went to another building concierge and they called Erik so he came running from who knows where. Guess what??? No reservations made, no bottle of wine. Next day no water in the mini fridge. I helped myself to water behind concierge desk because he wasn't there again. One final thing. One day I had to go up to the room before the maid got in there. Had left money on the bed and separate money in the fridge. Got in the room, found mini fridge full again (thankfully) , money gone from fridge and money also gone from the bed. I was disturbed by this as the maid hadn't been in the room. Looks like fridge guy took the money off the bed. So, left money in the bathroom next day so fridge guy wouldn't see it and was only gone after the maid was in there. Now maybe it's the same person so have to give them the benefit of the doubt but none the less disturbing. If they really want to make this a luxury resort, hire new concierges that do actual work. I will say that at all restaurants greeting and wait staff were amazing. Thank you to all of you for your great service. If it weren't for them, I rate this hotel much lower.Overall experience was satisfactory but not wowed like I should've been.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Stay at one, play at all!

This hotel is defiantly grand! Where can I begin. I will start off with all my PROS seeing I have way many more pros then cons. 1st pro being my biggest one, is the Kids club (BARCY CLUB)!!!!!! we only tried the "big" kids club, the one by the Caribe pool. Jazmin, Samantha, Dolce, Yoali, Andrea were the staff at this kids club and I cant not say enough great things about them. My kids ages were 6 & 8 which is an ideal age for the kids club. I originally drop my kids off for a few hours aroun [... read more]d 10am, and said Id be back by noon to pick them up. When I stopped back at noon they didn't want to leave, they begged for a few more hours. I even seen one boy being picked up by his mom crying because he didn't want to leave! All the kids were treated with so much love and respect you could tell the staff at this kids club loved there job! The kids club did so much stuff with the kids from crafts, to face painting, hair do's, to trips to the spa to get there nails done, taking them skating, to the pirates water park, the Mr.cook cook off, and so much more. Although all the kids club staff were top notch, I just want to give a special shout out to Jazmin. She created a special bond with my girls which is hard to find. we even talked to another mother who told us she was at this resort 3 years ago and her daughter remembered Jazmin and was asking her mother if she thought Jazmin would still be there. Sure enough she was, the little girl was thrilled with joy with seeing her again after 3 years, and told us Jazmin even remembered her. We also attended the mini disco a few night at 8:30pm at club ONE, where the kids would dance and play games for prizes. My kids even made up a song about how much fun they had at the kids club! I would come back to this resort just for the amazing kids club! Another pro was the Spa. We had a 50 mins couples massage on the beach by Cindy and I'm sorry but I forget the other girls name, we both left saying it was the best massage we have ever had. Then after our massage we were offered a free visit to the spas therapy room which gave you access to hot tub, cold tub, dry sauna, steam room, and an outdoor pool with jets. It was the icing on the cake! Passion Photos: we met Luis Puc around the resort and he stopped by every day he seen us to chat. he was very friendly and easy to chat to. He booked us in to get our photos done. We did book for 1 day but due to a sunburn on my daughters face I had to change the date and it was very easy and they were very accommodating to change the date. Our photographers were Melina and Bradly. I am still blown away at how amazing these two were, first they did the family photos, then Melina took the kids (because we know when parents are looking, kids get silly) and Bradly took the adults to start a video, then we switched. I wasn't expecting a video, but man oh man it was that added touch you didn't even realized you needed! now of course everyone least favorite part is going to look at the photos because you know your going to want to buy them all. they did offer a range of packages which we did settle on a mid range package that gave us some photos our video (which I'm still blown away by) and a photo book. Oh, and because my daughters face was still burnt, they edited all of the photos of her burn for me! Being Canadian the exchange kills us, so I did find the prices a bit high but that was mainly due to the poor Canadian dollar right now and the exchange rate! Now on to the food: All of the buffets are pretty much the same. Same food, different atmosphere. So just go to the one that is most convenient for you! For the ala carts we tried the two teppanyaki's, the steak house, the Mexican and the Spanish. The Mexican and the teppanyakis were amazing, the Spanish I wasn't a fan of, and the steak house the only thing I actually liked was the steak ( the white wine was warm, and the soup was cold) As for the pools: I noticed that the Caribe pool seems to be the "party" pool where all the young adults hung out, we started off at that pool but the people at that pool were there to party, so we spend most of our time at the Colonial pool which was the family pool because that is the pool that had the big waterpark for the kids. At the Caribe pool however Id like to give a shoutout to Teresa M, she was an amazing pool server. The days the kids were at the kids club we ventured up to the adults pool which is a hidden gem! The Beach: Down by the Palace there were sea turtles swimming right off the beach. There was also a lot of seaweed, but they did a good job of raking out swimming areas for people to swim Dolphins: we did swim with the dolphins, we went with the middle package that gave you a belly swim (you can negotiate). I was a bit hesitant at the beginning to do it, but glad I did. It was fun, the trainer that worked with Alex the dolphin was great. she answered all our questions and the kids had a blast finding out information on dolphins and touching there skin. Younger kids are aloud to swim with the dolphins on there parents back if they are a bit afraid. they took photos of us, but the photos were way overpriced, the photos were actually more expensive then the swim. Air Transat desk: My daughter was playing some games on my cell phone in the shuttle ride to the hotel which is about an hour, and put it in the cupholder on the side of the van. When we arrived at the resort we were so excited we hopped out the van and forget about the phone, when we realized the van was gone. Of course my first though was my phone is gone! I will not see it again. We went to the Air Transat desk and told them what had happened. They had made a few phone calls for us and sure enough in my disbelief they had found my phone and the driver would bring it back to the resort by end of day. the Air Transat desk called my room around 5:30 and told us they had my phone, they waited for us to run down at the end of his day to get it! Now for my biggest CON is a particular staff member named Jose. He worked at Strikers, the carousel, and the skating rink. For working in the kids areas where people are coming to spend there money he was absolutely horrible. I don't even really want to get in to it because I would be writing a whole book but he was the one person on the resort when I seen him I would actually walk away.

Barcelo Maya Palace: Not a 5 stars, not for couples.

We have been to many all inclusive such as DR, Mexico 4 times, Cuba, st-Lucia, Antigua, Hawaii etc... we have been to the barcelo maya caribe which is part of this barcelo palace resort. It is also part of 3 other barcelo but they cannot use the palace’s facility but if you are at the palace you can use all other resort as you wish. The good...beautiful resort and lots to do for families. Service was pretty good but not great, especially the lobby desk staff. The grounds are kept immacula [... read more]te and the a la crate restaurants are very good and this is where service shines above the rest of the resort.. The bad... kids, kids, kids. Nothing there for couples. This whole resort is catering to families. The few couples we seen there appeared a bit disappointed as you are surrounded with toddlers with temper tantrum throughout the day and night. Parents today don’t seem to understand how to raise kids. They take them to the pool at 7-8 am and by 5-6 pm, the kids are drained, tired and pissy. Then the parents want to go to a nice dinner but since they don’t Have babysitters, they take the kids to fancy dinners and then some even take them to the shows at 8:30-9:30 till 11 pm. At which point the kids are screaming, crying and you get the just. The buffet is the worst I have ever had. Mexico and can’t find any guacamole or salsa anywhere at this resort. Food was weird and mediocre at best. A la cartel are a different story. Great. The shows...what a farce. Don’t waste your time in there. Once you find a seat amongst all the strollers everywhere, you’ll be disappointed. The pools are nice and well maintained. The main one is huge. The one pool is adults only but only has 30 loungers so you gotta get there pretty early. I don’t understand how trip central and all the airlines can advertise this place as a 5 star. We’ve been to many 5 stars and not even close. The grounds are 4.5 at most and the food when you consider the buffet is not close to 5 stars. Maybe a 3-3.5. Rooms where musty and damp the whole week, they never replaced the fridge after 3 request as it did not cold anything. It takes a lot to make it to a 5 star rating and this place doesn’t have it in our opinion. If you are a family with kids, you’ll enjoy this place as there is a lot to do there but if you are a couple looking for some romantic all inclusive, this is not for you. Go somewhere else.

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Great vacation

This was a large resort but I never felt crowded as it has a very spacious feel and the grounds are immaculate and well designed. The beach was lots of fun jumping waves and seeing fish and there is snorkeling off the beach closer to the palace section. There were a few days with seaweed problems due to windy weather but it was no big deal. The buffets had a large variety of food and the beach grills had great lunches. The a la cartes were great especially the Italian and the Kyoto. I loved  [... read more]how large the pools were. We went to the Michael Jackson show and it was just OK. There is lots to do here or you can just relax. Very clean and beautiful resort!

Barcelo Maya Palace: Great resort

Haley from trip central was amazing, very professional and super pleasant! She was so helpful to book a great trip! She is the best!!! The hotel had Great food and service! The rooms are nice with great cleaning service. This is a very big resort so there is a lot of Walking but the grounds are impeccable. There is a lot of activities to do for all ages!

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Always happy to return to this gem!

Our 3rd visit and it keeps improving. * the grounds are beautiful and even the buffet had fantastic features ie. the back wall ceramic tilework. Worth a close look, in both buffets. * the beach is vast and beautiful. A rare resort where you don't see cigarette butts or straws in the sand. *the food selection was great and as we love mexican food we were happy. Nopales at the buffet. *the room was kept very clean. *the staff was outstanding. Always ready to help. I seriously don't know  [... read more]why there are negative reviews. The only peeve is that the last 2 times, after finding a space on the beach with nice resort music, we had to listen to other people's music as well. The same happened at the pool.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Very nice resort!

Beautiful resort located within a jungle. We saw monkeys from our balcony! The beach is beautiful. There is also a beach pool which is also nice and not super busy. The pools are well maintained and a close walk from all the buildings. The staff was excellent. They are hardworking, always smiling and will say “hola” when they walk by you. The food was ok. The buffet had a lot of options however our stomachs were a little upset after each meal so bring extra pepto/Imodium. The AC in our roo [... read more]m didn’t really worked even after they fixed it however the fan was enough to keep us cool at night.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Great Resort

The grounds were very well kept and we enjoyed a beautiful view of the ocean from our room and balcony. The beach offered lots of shade or sun depending on what you were looking for. I appreciated that it was a quieter resort (being an adult only) and if we wanted a more lively environment, we were minutes from the sister resort - Barcelo Palace which offered great evening entertainment. I loved the open air concept at the resort and enjoyed the constant breeze from the ocean, which made it [... read more] so comfortable to be outside - even though it was 29 degrees each day! The only complaint, is that the rooms were somewhat dated - they need a face-lift (particularly the bathroom shower/toilet area)

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Amazing time at the Barcelo Maya Caribe!

This is hands down one of the best resorts we've ever been to! The service we received was fantastic and the food was great! Lots of variety every day and more à la carte restaurants than you can possibly eat at in one week. The pools were gorgeous and the grounds were well maintained. The beach was a bit disappointing - it was quite rocky and difficult to walk on and a ton of algae washed up on the beach. Although hotel staff did a good job at removing as much as possible every day. The rooms  [... read more]were average, could use some updating. But we had no issues! We travelled with our 4 year old daughter and there was always a ton for her to do: mini mall in the resort with a carousel and indoor skating, several kiddy pools with slides, free dolphin shows, mini disco, kids club. The list goes on! We will definitely return to the Barcelo Maya Caribe!!

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Lovely Resort!

Second time at this resort complex, first time we stayed at the Beach section and this time the Colonial section. We definitely return in the future as they are building a sixth "Adults Only" section that will be amazing! The entire complex is so clean and garbage free! We were very impressed.

Barcelo Solymar: Not very good

Many bartenders were disrespectful and ignore us when they were not doing anything. When I tipped bartenders it did not matter I didn’t get any better treatment. Servers at late night buffet would wave me away when we wanted to order.

Palma Real: Home away from home

Party resort for sure from morning to morning. It never ends. Not a family resort. Stop bringing kids. Specially in the swim up bar. Im still gonna smoke, swear and drink and be as wild as i want. Sucks for your kids to see but get the OUT of the ADULT pool. 🙃 Their is a kids pool for a reason. we had a lot of cubans staying same time of us which was pretty annoying cause they get all the attention. The staff are amazing and make you feel just at home. They always remember me. The drinks ar [... read more]e strong and tasty but repetitive. The beach is only 5 min walk and is perfect. All white sand and clear blue water. Was quite a few chairs when i was there mid april. Beach is huge, you always get your own spot. Food sucks completely but thats not what i go for. Except the fruits are good. I brought a bag out sauces like ketchup, peanut butter, honey garlic. It all helps a lot. Walking distance to everything cause you're right in town. This was my 6th trip to this resort and im only 20, i go for a good time and big party. My only complaint was all the kids and food. Definitely recommend to come here for a cheap good party.

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Disappointed

When we arrived the lobby was full with tons of people checking out. It took us over an hour to be helped at the lobby counter. The staff was very unfriendly, not very knowledgeable about the resort and rude. After being told multiple times to wait 2 hours for our rooms to be ready and 6 hours later still no room and laughed in my face. I’ve never been treated so badly in my life. The first day on my vacation I was in tears. That being said on the second day I chose to take control of my vacat [... read more]ion and contacted my tour provider and switched hotels.

Palma Real: The good and bad

The grounds were well kept the beach was amazing. The entertainment crew were fun the maids in building 2 were great. The children should NOT be in the pool with the swim up bar. I do not enjoy drinking with children. There are 3 other pools they can have fun and splash in who wants to party with their babies? It should have an age limit.

Palma Real: Going down hill....

Stayed at this resort 5 times. Grounds are beautiful. Beach is incredibly beautiful. Food is awful, same thing served all week. Dishes are filthy dirty. Staff is so so The swim up bar should be adult only !!!! Kids using seats for diving boards while splashing pool water in your drinks.... PARENTS TAKE YOUR KIDS TO THE KIDS POOL !!!!!!!! A lot of locals stay there.. Staff cater to them first... Pay the extra and stay somewheres else ..

Barcelo Maya Grand Resort: Fabulous time !!

Had a great time! Food was delicious, resort grounds were well maintained and very clean, spectacular scenery, and friendly staff. I would highly recommend this resort. We loved that there was so much to do or you could just chill. Can't wait to return.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Amazing resort with great staff

This resort was breathtaking with computer wallpaper views everywhere you looked. Everything was very clean and and the staff were mostly very nice. Just remember that if you treat people with respect they respect you back. Barcelo Bavaro Place is a top notch resort with a amazing beach

Palma Real: My 2nd home

We just spent the week of 13-20 at the palama, we absolutely love it here. The staff acknowledged us and know who we are, our rooms in building 2 fantastic! Entertainment team, swim up bar team even security amazing. The food wasnt good at all ate off resort alot which we didnt like. The swimup bar needs to be kid free it serves alchohol and too many kids splashing and shouldnt be in that pool. We didnt like that the Cubans staying on the resort butted infront of us or we would all be standing w [... read more]aiting for the pork/beef to cook and one would walk up the cook gave them the entire plate full leaving us to wait in line longer. There was barely plates clean or food even my friend was helping clean tables a few times. The staff always made us feel welcome and brought us flowers and even had a table ready for us everyday! We will be back we love the palama just need some Canadian choices please. Love the Canada squad xoxo

Palma Real: good resort

rooms where ok clean front lobby bar was good service, the food at the main buffet was ok not great but could find something to eat .tried the Italian restaurant enjoyed that .the pools appear to be clean .would go back again if the price was 700.00 or less

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Amazing resort!!

Occidental at Xcaret was amazing! Very well kept pools and outdoor space. Happy staff, great service and awesome buffet. The steak house was to die for. The rooms were clean, and the bed was very comfortable.