TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

My time here has been absolutely wonderful. From an amazing room to the most wonderful staff. In particular Rubi Hernandez at the Coco bar has been excellent. She has been very kind and outgoing with me and my family. She had made our stay perf

This resort and the pool bartenders, especially Fernando, Eduardo and Julio are all FANTASTIC!! Came on a girls trip and will absolutely be back! There is so much to do, incredibly safe and relaxing environment! The resort is huge and has good food options for all preferences.

We’ve stayed at Barcelo Maya Palace several times and had wonderful experiences, but this trip was a real letdown in several key areas, especially for our kids. We chose the Palace because of the on-site kids’ pool with slides. Unfortunately, it was closed for the first five days of our stay due to repainting. We were never informed of this ahead of time, and there was nothing on the resort’s website or maintenance schedule to indicate it would be unavailable, confirmed by our travel agent. When we asked about compensation or alternate options, we were told that pools are not guaranteed and maintenance happens, offering no real help or empathy. The only alternative was at a different Barcelo property nearby, but with three kids and all the swim gear, walking back and forth daily just wasn’t realistic. Customer service was lacking throughout our stay. One especially frustrating moment came midweek when we returned from the beach and pool to find that our room had no running water. We had dinner reservations at one of the nicer restaurants and five people to get ready. I called the front desk, hoping to push back the reservation, but they would only move it by 15 minutes and couldn’t say when the water would be back on, just “soon.” It took about 45 minutes to return, and then we only had cold water, and we had to scramble and skimp on showers to make it to our reservation. There were also several disappointing moments with the kids based on the prizes they won at Bingo. Our 8-year-old won a certificate for a dolphin swim experience and was beyond excited. When we tried to redeem it that afternoon, we were told they had run the last group for the day and to return the next morning. When we went back the following day, we found out the dolphin experience had permanently closed the day he won the prize. The hotel staff blamed the dolphin center, but it's on the Barcelo property, and they were the Barcelo staff had given the prize certificate. They were hesitant to make it right, but eventually exchanged the $130 dolphin experience for entry to the Pirate Water Park for our kids, which normally costs $20 per child. However, my husband and I still had to pay $20 each just to accompany our kids. The Pirate Water Park was very small, just one pool, four medium-sized slides, and a surf machine. We would not have normally paid for it as it wasn't worth the $$ in our opinion. For clarity, the Pirate Water Park and surf machine are not part of the all-inclusive package, they are located at the Barcelo Mall area of the resort and cost extra. The surf machine was only open for two short windows during the day (1–2 p.m. and 3–4 p.m.). When it closed at 2 p.m., there were still several kids waiting in line. Instead of allowing the remaining kids to finish their turn, the staff made them leave the line, and then two employees got on and used the surf machine themselves for the next 20-30 minutes, which was odd. Later, when the water park shut down for the day, the slides were turned off abruptly with no warning, even with kids still on them. Our son had to walk down mid-slide because it was shut off while he was on it. It felt careless and unprofessional. Earlier in the week, one of our other children won a prize at an activity for ice skating at the Barcelo mall. We made a special trip just for that, only to be told all the skates were all broken—another letdown and a waste of our time. That said, there were still some bright spots. The food was okay, beach was nice, snorkeling was excellent (we saw sea turtles!), and the room was clean and well-suited for our family. We did our best to make the most of the trip and create fun where we could. But overall, the resort seems poorly managed right now. Communication and customer service were consistently disappointing, and it’s not the reliable, high-quality experience we’ve had here in the past. Unless significant improvements are made, we won’t be returning, and we wouldn’t recommend it to other families at this time.

Been there 6 times. Will definitely go back. Was recommended by a friend. Will recommend to others. Overall enjoyed the vacation.

My husband and I stayed for 6 nights and we will likely come back to it! Comments: Although the check in process was very long because our room was not ready, eventually we got a room that was better located so we were happy. The pool always had loungers and it was not needed to get up at the crack of dawn to reserve chairs. The pool was huge and the swim up bar was fun and the bartenders were very attentive considering how busy it was. Good place for families with young kids, there's a separate really fun kid pool area, and also a quieter adult pool area to get away from some of the noise and activities. The beach was especially beautiful and the workers there worked hard each day to remove the sargassum seaweed as best as possible (it returns each day!). You could see some really beautiful fish and turtles by snorkeling right off the beach. Take a walk along the palm treed beach, or the foot paths and explore the other properties, they are all nice, but I think the Palace is the most attractive. The food was really good everywhere-the buffets and restaurants! Always fresh, lots of options, there is something for everyone! I would recommend taking a snorkeling trip on a boat via a private company located down the beach. It goes along the coast which is very scenic and the quiet cove we went to had lots of fish (like a big French Angel). Have a cerveza on the return trip! I highly recommend this property and it is really well priced too!