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.