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Reviewed 31 July 2012

My partner and I stayed at the Barcelo Maya Caribe in July for 2 weeks and I thought I'd give a fairly detailed review. The weather was fantastic, 35 degree heat blue skies and cloudless days, then we even saw a cyclone off shore which was amazing.

Barcelo is actually a resort comprising of 5 hotels - the Beach, the Caribe, the Colonial, the Tropical and the Palace Deluxe. We stayed in the Caribe. Each has its own buffet restaurants, pools and al-la-carte restaurants as well as different classes of rooms. The resort has a private beach running the entire length and a jetty to top it off. Each pool has a swim-up bar which is excellent. When we were there it was about 90% Spanish/Mexican, 8% American and 2% everyone else split. We booked via First Choice and were limited to the Caribe - it looks like certain tour operators can only book to certain hotels in the resort.

One word of warning - this is a massive resort, if you're looking for a discreet couples holiday - this isn't the place for you. I'd go for a El Dorado Seaside suites or something like that.

The hotels and pools (when we were there) seemed to be split as follows:
Beach - Spanish speaking, no english speaking, the pool was noisy and busy, there was even a guy shouting over a microphone for most of day and being aggressive towards non spanish speakers!
Caribe - UK people and some Americans, quiet pool
Colonian - Mostly American couples, average pool fairly noisy
Tropical - Mostly American families, noisy
Palace - Wedding couples (quite empty)

Because of the length of our stay - a few pointers I picked up on:

- Pay for the Barcelo Club premium upgrade (about 20 dollars per person per night). Without it Beach and Caribe residents cant use the buffets from the Colonial or the Tropical which are both air conditioned (the beach and caribe are not). We got our room upgraded as well and it overlooked the pools which was much better - they call this the sea view but its not really a sea view! You get premium drinks (Absolute Vodka, Johnny Walker Black Label etc) instead of the house varieties. You can unlimited al-la-carte bookings so you can eat in one every night if you wish. You also get unlimited Wifi in room and at the bar.

- Dont bother to speak Spanish unless youre really fluent - the staff prefer to talk (and learn) english - they'll chat for hours instead of just serving you. I had quite a few staying and chatting to me which was great fun - they are amazing people.

- You can't eat or use the pools of the Palace Deluxe unless you are staying there regardless of Club upgrade. The reverse doesn't apply.

- Take some time out of the resort and visit the sights - Tulum, Coba, Xplore etc. Also take advantage of the ATV tour and the Parasailing - they're excellent. Also go see the Mayan villages if you can. I would have gone stir crazy if we hadnt taken day trips as the days do blur into one!

- Food isnt great, its average - better than you'd expect from an all-inclusive but if great food is your thing - I would go for a smaller hotel and spend the spare money eating out.

- Its in the middle of nowhere! The strip where the Barcelo is is just a long road with all of the resorts dotted down it. It takes about 25 mins in a taxi to Playa Del Carmen (which isnt great - we got hassled to buy drugs and prostitutes when we went there for an evening out). 45 mins to Tulum by Taxi and Coba is a day trip.

- Dont bother with a suite. Even as a romantic break for us, we spent most of the time on the beach so the extra cost wouldnt have been worth it. If you want to stay all day in the room - save flight costs and book a suite in a hotel close to your house!

- Unless you love hearing some idiot shouting over a microphone all day stay away from the Maya Beach pool!

- Staff are very friendly and we didn't have any problems with security. Money was left on the side but we did take care to use the rooms safe for the iPad, cameras etc

- Rooms are similar between the 4 hotels (cant speak for the Palace) but I heard a few people recommending the rooms within the Colonian

- Its unlikely youll get an al-la-carte booking between 6 and 9 - they were maxed out for our entire stay. We didnt mind eating late and the service was excellent. You HAVE to wear trousers and smart tops for the al-la-cartes - they won't let you in otherwise.

- Take a walk along the beach in the evening - its quiet and very romantic.

- Cleanliness was ok - I accidently dropped a contact lens on the floor in the toilet on the first day we were there and it was still there when we left 14 days later! They do, however give you clean sheets, refill the mini bar and mop so not too bad.

- You dont need mosquito spray unless you leave the resort as they have a van that drives around early evening spraying Citronella.

- Reception areas don't speak English well so if you can find someone to translate in the event you need help it would be advised - I lost an envelope from the doctor and it took ages to get them to understand what we were looking for.

- I got an ear infection from the swimming pool (confirmed by on site doctor). Definitely get good travel insurance and go see the onsite doctor, he's excellent and unlike the NHS got me fixed up in less than 24 hours. Consultation is about 100 US dollars + drugs for me came to 250 USD.

- You can spend US dollars or Mexican Peso's anywhere - they take both. Tipping is customary and does improve service.

All in all an excellent holiday and probably one of the best we've had. I would recommend to anyone. If you have any questions feel free to send me a message.

Room tip: Get Barcelo Premium Club upgrade! Don't bother with a suite unless its a cheap/free upgrade! The Palace has nicer rooms but costs more.
Date of stay: July 2012
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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19  Thank Andy S
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DirectorBeachCaribe, Gerente at Barcelo Maya Caribe, responded to this reviewResponded 29 January 2017

Dear MrSimmo,

Thanks for your comments. We invite you to visit our webpage

Regards,

Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 30 July 2012 via mobile

Was there for 2 weeks july 2012 Were to start. First time in Mexico and this resort exceeded my expectations. After reading reviews I wasn’t too sure what to expect but staff were very friendly, all our needs were met, food was lovely and great with different themed nights so wasn’t repetitive. Went with a 2yr old and the kids pool was soo much fun for both adults and children. Did a few excursions ourselves which was cheap and very easy to do.
Will definitely recommend this place. The only downside was the humidity in the resort, very hot but some restaurants had air conditioning and the rooms as well which was well needed. Make sure to take some mosquito repellent and if you have children take the inflatable pool things for swimming, bit expensive buying at resort and a lot of people had their own.

Date of stay: July 2012
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2  Thank Britishmanctraveler
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DirectorBeachCaribe, Gerente at Barcelo Maya Caribe, responded to this reviewResponded 29 January 2017

Dear Britishmanctraveler,

Thanks for your comments. We invite you to visit our webpage

Regards,

Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 29 July 2012

The resort is beautiful with the pool and beach literally steps apart from one another. The beach is great. The water is very shallow quite far out so swimming and wading in the water is amazing on this beach! While we thought the resort was beautiful, we will absolutely not come back and not recommend this resort to anyone due to the rude staff! We were absolutely shocked by this as were other guests that we spoke to. We have stayed at other area resorts and had amazing service but at this resort the service is awful! Staff is unfriendly and usually made us feel like we were a bother to them. They do a lot of talking among themselves but do not talk to the guests. We were shocked at the lack of service! Management is around constantly and so it seems this level of service is acceptable at this resort. My husband and I love the people in Mexico and find it to be one of our favorite parts of our vacations there. We love to tip for good service! We are easy going and easy to please people and have never given a bad review before this! There are many other resorts with amazing staff so we will absolutley not come back to this one!

Date of stay: July 2012
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
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7  Thank Terri T
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DirectorBeachCaribe, Gerente at Barcelo Maya Caribe, responded to this reviewResponded 29 January 2017

Dear Terri T,

Thanks for your comments. We invite you to visit our webpage

Regards,

Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 27 July 2012

Can't believe reviews are so mixed, are you sure you were at Barcelo Maya Caribe? Our room was great, Food was very good, staff was very nice. Beach area was very clean. Would advise to make reservations asap for "speciallty restuarants" We were there July 17 - 22. We will return.

Date of stay: July 2012
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
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7  Thank JHB4311
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DirectorBeachCaribe, Gerente at Barcelo Maya Caribe, responded to this reviewResponded 29 January 2017

Dear JHB4311,

Thanks for your comments. We invite you to visit our webpage

Regards,

Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Reviewed 22 July 2012

This hotel was a DISASTER!! the food was so soaked in garlic biuuer and heavy sauces...the towels were dirty!, the staff was so very RUDE. No tip=no service! I stayed at three other resorts in the Riviera Maya area, any one was better! I wanted to leave and pay more to go elsewhere...my boyfriend wanted to give this place a chance...he was horrified at the food! He got sick, I got sick...go anywhere but here. Anyone who gives this understaffed place more that one star has not tried other hotelds in the area. No grilled fish...they ran out of food at the Beach Grill by 3pm...we starved here! only good point was beach. trust someone who loves to vacation at all inclusives...this one is so understaffed...customers have to serve themselves water and coffee...no one offered us anything to drink at the dinner table...it was unheard of...very rude staff.

Date of stay: July 2012
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Sleep Quality
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
7  Thank educated t
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DirectorBeachCaribe, Gerente at Barcelo Maya Caribe, responded to this reviewResponded 17 October 2016

Dear educated t,

Thank you for taking the time to tell us why our service failed to meet your expectations. We value your preference, and would like to address your concerns as quickly as posible and we look forward to receiving you again in the future. Regards,

Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC
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