TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

George and Joyce were top-notch at what they do. We had a fabulous time on our first night at Barcelo. We give them 5 star reviews. The chef Miguel and concierge Sandra and Veronica were top notch. We even got to meet Jose the F&B Manager and congratulated him on his amazing staff

Run, don’t walk, away from here! They double charged me when I changed the credit card without a single word of what they were doing. My original booking in January was for 2 rooms, 3 people $4,700. When I arrived it changed to $8,600!!! The only thing I changed was my credit card number in March, not my room class. They would not refund me or honor the original rate and email booking. They gave me the number to corporate and when I call, they speak Spanish and pretend they don’t speak English. The managers agreed with me as a customer and they were able to see my original rate, but they have no ability to change anything as it’s corporate. They had clearly dealt with this before. It’s a theme and gross. Why would I ever agree to paying double of what I booked?!? Aman resort 5 star pricing for this -1 star hotel?! Also, the food is horrible, the liquor is the absolute bottom of the barrel, towels are scarce, coffee is horrendous, spray cheese on nachos, nothing but fried foods, no conditioner or lotion in the rooms, Baby shark on repeat at the Beach… I could go on and on… Do not book this place under any circumstance! Book the Hyatt next-door. You’ll end up eating all of your meals there anyhow.

My friends and I went on a besties trip, I stayed at this resort when it was the Occidental. The Resort is absolutely beautiful, the staff is friendly, the atmosphere is amazing, the beach is beautiful, and the pool is beautiful. You simply cannot go wrong. However, do not expect to sit by the pool unless you claim a chair with an item in the middle of the night. Three days in a row, I was at the pool at 7:00 am and there was not one seat by the pool, people had been placing their items on the chairs so they had one whenever they got to the pool. [By the middle of the night another guest I was talking to said she saw people at 2 and 3 am bringing things to the chairs.] Trust me, I am happy I went on this trip and happy that I stayed here, but this was something that I would have to consider if I would come back to this resort or not as someone who wants to sit by the pool rather than the beach every day.

I enjoyed the smaller size of the resort, it was not overwhelming, and getting around is super easy. The beach is great! The downside though is you will not get a pool chair. People claim them before the sun comes up, but you never see them used, just saved .This is an everyday thing. The resort knows and does nothing. You get 1 towel, only if you present your card to check it out, and the towel quality is pitiful. You are charged if you lose your towel card, or bracelet. In my opinion this resort does it wrong, you do not feel you are valued guest. The resort staff are not friendly and overall it was not welcoming. You take your own bags to your room, rooms did not have towels, room service not included and you better bring snacks as there is no where to get them at the resort. I would not recommend.

The Aruba Seafood restaurant was delicious, if you go ask for Gershwin, he was the best! They had plenty of options for the kids, which was important for our family! The entire resort was kid friendly, it was clean and staff was friendly. We had a group of of 14 and we were easily accommodated everywhere we went!