TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Location: Beautiful Beach with amazing snorkeling, an hour from Cancun airport. Easy transfers with Amstar. TIP: Arrange travel prior to arrival. Ignore everyone else. Others will try to scam you. Atmosphere: Lively, family friendly. We did not attend any shows but the Mariachi band was fantastic! Why they don’t have an app for classes and entertainment communication is so confusing. TIP: take pictures of schedules Rooms: Pleasant surprise! Large and well kept. A few minor blemishes just due to being a little dated. We COULD NOT get wash cloths without multiple requests every day. (Do they not have enough?) Our Premium Ocean View was amazing. TIP: Pay Extra. So worth it for ocean view. We could see sunrise from our balcony. 10/10. Even when it rained we could still look at the ocean FOOD: first off, we had excellent a la carte meals every night of our stay. But getting those reservations was so difficult and upsetting. When we first arrived we were told no a la carte available our entire stay even with premium upgrade. We were ready to leave the resort and it started our trip off on the wrong foot. I could see others getting reservations and speaking about getting them on social media even before arrival (which we tried to do to no avail). I really feel like it was purely dependent on who you were talking to. Once they magically found reservations when we were ready to leave, those were great. Would recommend French (ravioli app), Caribe (shrimp cocktail!) , Lindo, and Brazilian. Each had their merits and all good. TIP: If denied reservations, especially if premium, keep trying or speak to another person. Ours just didn’t seem to want to help us AT ALL. Very inconsistent. Service: No beach service and sporadic pool service. Understaffed? Room service was good. Lobby Bar was the best place for drinks and light evening musical entertainment. The ground were so well kept. Beautiful. TIP: Bring your own insulated cup and they will fill it for you resulting in fewer trips to bar (and waiting in lines) Spa: We enjoyed the hydrotherapy circuit and would do it again Overall thoughts: probably a 3.75 on my scale. They need an app so badly to communicate to guests where and when things are happening. Bring your own snorkel gear and floaties, water shoes. Definitely need a better a la carte reservation system. We had a good family vacation here at Barcelo Maya Palace.

I booked with no expectations and the surprised me. The best place I could spend my family vacations. Don’t think twice and take advantage of the special trip

Excellent Resort! Took a family of 11 ranging in age from 17 - 77 and all had a wonderful time. Love the size but be prepared to walk - to meals, to your room, to the beach, etc. Was thankful for a complimentary wheelchair for our mobility challenged. If you stay premium - take advantage of the benefits - free room service and hydrotherapy at the gym.

We decided to spend our new Year with friends in Barcelo resort. The idea was to relax and little work in a meantime. In general it was ok but no internet on TVs and options to see the movies at night was an issue. Kids are great and we understand the families on vacation during that time but the walls of the rooms are so thin that you can hear the screaming children all the time even in your room. The issues with lounge chairs on the beach is super annoying. People were coming in the morning to reserve the chairs and leaving for 2-3 hours so when you come after breakfast to enjoy the beach no chairs are available, even the signs said not to reserve the chairs. The grass maintenance were happening during the day and smell from lawn cutter and noice were extremely disturbing. I would not recommend definitely New Year or Christmas time to visit.

My family and I stayed at the Barcelo over NYE. Overall we had a good experience. For the price, I'm not sure we got what we paid for. We did not upgrade to the "Premium Status." A couple items of note: I really disliked the reservation process for the restaurants and the lounge chairs by the beach/pool. We stayed for 7 nights and could only get into restaurants the last three nights because they were all booked when we inquired upon arrival. That being said, I would say we most likely would return but upgrade to the Premium for the benefits.