Preface: Barceló Maya has a very large ‘fan club’ of guests who have returned multiple times. I certainly understand why. Barceló Maya has great bones. However I do plan to point out the areas we experienced that are in need of improvement. As with all of my reviews, I will write from a comparative perspective. It is my hope that those who are loyal fans do not find this review offensive. I’m simply sharing my experience; the good, bad, and the ugly (well, the great tooJ).

The objective of this review is two fold. First, I’d like to provide a place for comparisons for those who are considering trying Barceló and would like to know how it ‘stacks up’ against the competition. Secondly, I will share this review with Barceló management in the hopes of improving the resort. After 40 trips to the Caribbean (14 all inclusive, many to the area), I’ve yet to find what I’d consider a resort utopia. In my experience, each resort shines in different areas and lacks in others. Barceló is no different. The trick to picking the best vacation is to find a resort that shines in the areas that are most important to you.

Comparisons: The trip to Barceló Maya Colonial on April 13-23, 2006 marked my 5^th trip to the Caribbean in the last 12 months (40^th overall). I mention this only because I feel that I have a reasonable amount of recent experiences to draw from as I write this comparative review. Because I tend to forget details after a year, I will only compare Barceló to my last 5 most recent trips:

Holland America (Easter Vacation, April 2005)

Sunscape the Beach Punta Cana (June 2005)

            Riu Tequila (July 2005)

            Secrets Capri (February 2006)

            Barceló Colonial (Easter Vacation, April 2006)

If you have questions about how Barceló compares to the other resorts I have visited prior to 2005, please feel free to ask. You may find several more comparative reviews on my main page at www.chris-n-cheryl.com

It is important to note that much of the problems I experienced at Barceló centered on service. Service might be drastically different in low season, but I traveled to Barceló during Easter Week and therefore the resort was at high capacity. I don’t excuse Barceló for this (as I have traveled during Easter Break no less than 10 times and never experienced the understaffing I experienced on this trip). However; just because I experienced very poor service does not mean that those traveling during a less busy time will have the same experiences. Again, these are only my opinions.

Price: We booked through www.cheapcaribbean.com and had an absolute fabulous experience. The rep (Julio) was WAY better than any apple representative I’ve ever had. We had an issue with the Fat Cat transfers showing up the tropical (not the colonial) and Julio went out of his way to call Fat Cat and try to track our transfers down even though he did not sell us the package. I was VERY pleased with the level of service we received from cheap Caribbean, Juta Transfers, and Julio. Absolutely no issues. I’d use cheapcaribbean again in a heartbeat if they had the best price.

At the time we booked, we were on a 70% off grand opening special for Barceló Colonial/Tropical. The cost per night was $98.00 (and remember this was Easter; $98.00 a night for Barceló during a non-holiday week of travel would be WAY too expensive in my opinion.) We tried to book through Shammy, but she was honest enough to come forth with the fact that she couldn’t even come close to the price that cheapcaribbean was offering.  This won’t always be the case though, because just today I see Barceló Tropical offered through apple for $849.00 pp for 7 nights including air. So, for the super saver last minute specials; apple may still beat out cheapcaribbean. It’s important to price your vacation from multiple sources.

Price Comparison: It’s nearly impossible for me to compare the price I paid for Barceló to the prices for my last vacations because other than the Holland America Cruise, none of the other vacations were during Easter Break (which is obviously a lot more costly). But, for comparison sake, if Sunscape the Beach, Riu Tequila, Secrets Capri, and Holland America were all the exact same price (which they never would be); here’s my order of preference in terms of what I believe to be value for the dollar in terms of amenities: Secrets Capri, Holland America, Sunscape the Beach, Barceló, Riu Tequila.

Let me start this review with the ugly and get that out of the way. The reception desk at Barceló falls way behind the industry norm in my opinion (and the industry norm isn’t that great to begin with). While I found overall service to be sup par, I found the reception desk outright rude, completely not accommodating, and full of BOLD FACED LIES! Not a good impression and certainly an area in need of improvement. My story with the lack of professionalism exhibited by the front desk is very long and detailed in an attempt to explain why I feel so strongly that the reception area is in need of a major change in personal. Free to skip the next two pages if you don’t want to hear my experienceJ.

Our request for rooms was completely ignored (it’s a busy week, I can understand that). Firstly, Caroline claimed that they never had a request from us. It wasn’t until I showed her the confirmation email that she miraculously found the request in the system. However; Caroline then claimed that her manager told her to ignore all email requests for Easter week (I can see being busy, but deliberately ignoring didn’t sit right.) At this point, I didn’t really care; I just wanted acknowledgement that the request was made and I found it strange that Caroline specifically stated that her manager told her to ignore all requests. What kind of customer service is that (Easter Week or not?). I pointed out that the email said they would ‘attempt’ to accommodate us.  Eventually, she assigned me room 6544 and told me to come back in the morning and they will see if they have a new room available.

We were given our first room. 6544. The Guantanimo Building. View of the theatre. Believe me, we could see and hear the shows perfectly from our balcony so if you want a quiet room this isn’t the place. Room was certainly fine, but the location wasn’t anything special. We woke up early the next day and decided to investigate other rooms. We ended up on the 3^rd floor of the Jalasico Building and realized that those rooms had a pretty decent view of the ocean, and low and behold…… there were multiple people checking out of their rooms with luggage in the hallway. We think GREAT! So, we jot down a whole row of room numbers that we would be happy with and take it to the front desk. The gentleman there tells us to come back later (which we did). At this time, Amaria began to help us. Here’s where the story takes a nasty turn.

Of course, Amaria keeps telling me that we can not switch rooms because they are too busy (mind you, it’s 8:00 in the morning and we’re watching guests check out of rooms we’d love). If she said “That is Impossible” once, she said it 100 times! I just kept smiling and saying that nothing was impossible and that I was sure we could work together. She ‘pretended’ to look in the system (again, I’ve been here before) and kept coming back saying that ANY change is impossible. I again pointed to the list of rooms we would really appreciate, and here’s where the first lie came into play. She punches numbers in the computer and comes back with “none of these rooms are available”. What? We just watched people check out of the rooms (in fact we followed one family with their porter down to the front desk). Then I get the “My manager told me no room changes were allowed” line again. And finally, and this is good…. “Other guests have requested these rooms”. WTF? Again, I showed her where we had requested the rooms too. Why would other guests’ room requests be granted over ours especially given that Caroline had stated no room requests could be granted? We weren’t asking for a junior suite. We just wanted a different standard room with a little bit of a view. We go back and forth for 10 more minutes with the now comical “That is impossible/Nothing is Impossible” routine.  I just kept smiling (believe me, I was very nice through the whole episode, and to be very fair, so were of the people at the front desk; they just weren’t accommodating. They were friendly lol). We just both kept smiling. And saying, you guessed it… “That is impossible”. “Nothing is impossible” J We had asked to speak with a manager understanding that Amaria may have seriously been given the order not to change any rooms. At first she told us that the manager wasn’t available, but after 20 minutes of the routine, she realized that I wasn’t going to quit smiling, nor was I going to fall for the line she was handing me. Low and behold, she got the ‘pretend’ manager Oneaka to come and help us (she had been there the whole time, so much for not available lol). I say pretend because we ended up getting Andrea later on, who was; without a doubt; the front desk manager.

Ok, round two. Oneaka takes a look at our numbered list for the third time and has an epiphany. A room is available! Sweet! That only took 30 minutes, not bad. She gives us the new room keys and tells us that the room is dirty but we would need to take our luggage and move into it anyway. No big deal. We are certainly capable of moving our own luggage into a dirty room and waiting for it to be cleaned. So, off we go. To our new room 6324. Yippee.

Now, here is where I totally screwed up. I never cross checked the list of rooms that we gave  with the new room number. I assumed that the new room was one of the rooms we requested. When we got to the room (with our luggage in tote) we found out that the new room was across the hall from the room list we requested and had a view of the courtyard. Grrrr. But, here was a room directly across the hall with a porter loading luggage. We asked the gentleman if he was checking out, he confirmed. We peaked in the room and decided that this room would be excellent (it was one of the blocks of rooms we requested). So, we leave our luggage in 6324 and head back to the front desk to turn in our 6544 keys and ask to be switched across the hall to 6314.

Round three. You guessed it. Our request was met with “That is impossible”. At this time, while I was slightly annoyed, I just kept smiling and explaining that all we wanted to do was move our luggage from one dirty room to the other (directly across the hall). Here comes bold faced lie number 3 and perhaps the most absurd of the bunch: “The system can not allow two room changes in one day, you will have to come back tomorrow”. Now, that one is hilarious. We asked to speak to the manager. You guessed it, she was unavailable. We got other lines too, but the one that really stuck out to me was “It is too much work to change you again”. Now, at this point I was toying with just staying in 6324, but felt like the PRINCIPLE of customer satisfaction was important. We had been given the run around and directly and lied to! And “it is too much work to change you” should never be something coming from a resort employee. Where is it too much work to satisfy a customer?  If we weren’t staying for 10 days, I would have stayed in 6455; but the lies I was told made me want that ocean view even more. At this point it was about honesty and integrity on the part of the front desk staff. So, I kept smiling and asking for a manager. I was told a manager would be back in 30 minutes. That was fine, I had my coffee, I was still smiling (because I knew that underneath this was really quite comical) yet I also knew that I would wait this one out on utter principle. :)  

Round Four and by-far the easiest of the lot. The real manager Andrea came out to help us. We explained the inconsistencies in the front desk stories. First we were told no room requests could be granted that week, and then we were told we couldn’t have the room we wanted because another guest had requested it. We were told that no rooms were available, yet had a list of 5 rooms where guests had checked out. We were given keys and told that our room request could be granted after all, only to find out that it was across the hall from the ‘ocean view’ rooms we wanted. Finally, the kicker, “two changes in the system could not be made in one day”.

Needless to say, Andrea turned and spoke rather harshly to the other ladies at the front desk (in Spanish so I don’t know what she said, I can only hope to assume based on body language that it was a verbal reprimand for the lies and inconsistency they had exhibited toward us). We were switched into room 6314 (with a view of the ocean in the background) within 5 minutes with many apologies from Andrea

Now, admittedly that was a very long winded story. Again, I’m just trying to give very specific examples of the lack of service and professionalism that we experienced at Barceló. Certainly, we could have been given room 6314 (or any of the 20 that we had written down) within 5 minutes of our original request. On the other hand, we could have stayed in room 6544 with a view of the theatre. But, for me, it really was about being lied to and manipulated. As far as I’m concerned, the front desk created this problem. I could have been out of their hair within 5 minutes and a very happy customer; instead, 1.5 hours later I left a very happy customer with a story to tellJ.

Bottom line: The front desk staff at Barceló was perhaps the worst I’ve ever encountered. It is my opinion that they need new staff or at the very least, staff trained in customer service. This really was unacceptable for a resort claiming to be 4 stars. Rankings of professionalism at the front desk: Secrets Capri, Sunscape the Beach, Holland America, Riu Tequila, Barceló.

The bad: Now that we have the ugly out of the way, I’ll move onto what I consider the Bad about Barceló, or at the very least areas that are in need of improvement. It is very important to note that I do not believe that ANY of the workers (with the exception of the front desk) are not at least attempting to provide great service. Everyone we saw was working hard and, for the most part, had a smile on their face. I FIRMLY believe that the lack of service and attention to detail is a direct result of understaffing. I know that the cruise industry gives a ratio of the number of employees to guests for each of the lines. I’ve been searching, with no luck, for the industry standard in all inclusive resorts. My guess is that Barceló falls way behind the pack. Management, if you’re listening, I strongly urge you to hire more help at Barceló so that you may provide for guests a level of service consistent with that of a 4 star Mexican All Inclusive Property. Right now, I would struggle to give Barceló 3 stars in terms service. Here are some specific examples:

1)      Pool Bar. There are 20 seats at the colonial and tropical pool bar, yet only 2 bartendersL. For comparison sake, Secrets Capri had one bartender for every 5 seats. Sunscape the beach ratio was close to that. To make matters worse, every hour one of the bartenders also double dipped in terms of job description and became the glass collector around the pool. This meant one bartender only and very long waits for drinks. Many times in excess of 20 minutes. As an industry standard, I’d wager that the wait for drinks at Barceló was easily twice as long when compared to other resorts in the area. Again, not the fault of the pool bartenders, they were simply understaffed.

Now, in an attempt to correct this problem; the Barceló tropical (not the Colonial) has self serve beer and frozen drink machines on the top level of the pool bar. You would think this would solve the problem (I’m absolutely fine with serving myself if I have to.) However; there were rarely any glasses to be found! Again, simply not acceptable. Certainly you could bring your own glass (we learned to do so); but is it too much to ask this resort to properly staff their public areas? 

I’m sure many of you are thinking. “I’m in paradise, what does it matter if I wait 15-20 minutes for a drink” and for the most part, I agree with you. However; Barceló does not stack up against its competition in this area. If other resorts can provide better service, what is preventing Barceló from doing the same?

Ranking of Pool Bar Service: Secrets Capri, Sunscape the Beach, Riu Tequila/Yucatan, Barceló (Holland America not applicable).

2)      Service in the Buffets. We waited for clean table anywhere in the restaurant 5 of the 10 nights we were at Barceló. Here’s a hint: Get your table before going through the buffet line. We made this mistake once. We looked for a clean table, none were to be found, so we went through the buffet line thinking we’d get a table afterward. Wrong. By the time a table was cleaned, our food was pretty much coldL. Again, simply unacceptable for a resort claiming to be 4 stars.

Also, it was nearly impossible to get a drink once seated at the Buffet. This may have worked for me because I’m willing to get my own drinks, but when I walked up to the bar in the buffet I was told I had to order from a server. Needless to say, I went drinkless that evening and learned to tip the bartender in order to get him to allow me the privilege of ‘self-service’.

Rank of Buffet Service: Secrets Capri, Sunscape the Beach, Riu Tequila, Holland America, Barceló. It’s important to note that Capri and Sunscape only offer one buffet. The vast majority of their dining is ala carte with no reservation system.

3)      Coffee. Ok, this sounds trivial, but there isn’t a place to get coffee anywhere on the resort unless you go to the main buffet area during the hours it is open. I know you’re thinking that the lobby bar has coffee all the time, but we went there very early in the morning not once, but twice, looking to fill our coffee mugs (and to get real cream, because the packaged creamer had a very strange taste) only to find the cream gone on both occasions and the coffee gone once. Now, we are early risers and would get to the pool around 6:30. At 7:00 a.m. workers come to prepare the beach buffets. However, coffee wasn’t available until 10:30 a.m. Each day we watched a steady stream of guests enter the beach buffet looking for coffee before 10:30 a.m... Each time they were told to walk all the way to the lobby bar and main restaurant. Yet, are you ready for this? The coffee was made! I watched the workers make the coffee first thing when they arrived but they kept a blanket over the coffee machine so that guests couldn’t get any.  Barceló Management, take the blanket off the coffee machine so that early risers can grab a cup of java. Again, this seems so silly to me they would deny guests coffee that was ready. Just another sign that customer satisfaction takes a second seat to the inconvenient ‘rules’ of the restaurant hours.

4)      Pool Loungers: Ok, this part should probably go in the ‘ugly’ section. Guests at Barceló have taken the towel game to an entirely new level! NEVER have I witnessed the saving of chairs that I did at Barceló.

We are early risers and do come down to the pool early. I have never had a problem getting a lounge chair at any other resort I have been too even though some of the guests at other resorts reserve chairs (not all resorts have guests who reserving chairs BTW, some have policies and PROCEDURES which discourage it). I like to actually get down to the pool around 7:00 a.m. to read with my coffee (plus it's nice and cool). 7:00 a.m. has never been too late for me to have prime pickings.

We came down to the Colonial pool at 7:00 a.m. the second day and EVERY chair in the shade ocean side was already 'reserved'. We thought 6:30 would work. NO GO! Still all the chairs under the shade were taken. At 6:00 you had about 50% available.

Believe it or not, people were actually reserving chairs on the way back from the shows in the evenings.

Problem is, this angered MANY guests and yielded some negative energy around the resort. One morning we saw two ladies arguing with management. One lady eventually got 3 managers out to the pool to look at the mess. However; all three managers just apologized and said there was nothing they could do. WHAT? They certainly could do something, but they are choosing not to (or at least they chose not to during the 10 days I was there). We witnessed many guests take personal belongings off chairs and throw them on the grass. We also witnessed one lady karate kick an entire row of chairs so that she could sneak in two additional loungers into the shade. This brings me to the next area that I’d like to at least advice future guests about, shade; or lack of it.

Ranking of available loungers: Sunscape the Beach, Secrets Capri, Holland America, Riu Tequila, Barceló. Never once had an issue getting a lounger at Sunscape the Beach or Capri. Loungers were gone at the Riu Tequila early in the morning, but not gone by 6:30 a.m. like at Barceló.

5)      Shade: While general chair saving was a problem (there simply wasn’t enough chairs, and some guests were forced to lie on the grassy areas on their towels) chair saving in the shade was what I would consider absolutely ridiculous at the Colonial/Tropical (can't speak for the Beach/Caribe as I didn't try to get chairs there). The shaded loungers were gone by 6:30 a.m. every day from April 13-23. Chairs in full sun at the pool were gone by 8:00 a.m. too (sometimes earlier). In my opinion, this is a legitimate problem. I know that I wouldn't have been particularly happy had I been one of the families with children sitting in the grassy knoll because there were absolutely no loungers available, let alone any in the shade.

Shade is defiantly sparse. There really isn't any shade at all on the beach at the Colonial/Tropical side, so I'm not at all convinced that finding shade on the beach would be any easier during off peek travel. Sure, the beach is lined with palms trees, but right now they are very immature and offer shade to approximately 1/2 a lounger per tree. In my opinion, it will take years before they offer a decent amount of shade and even then the palm tree population on the new side is much less dense than what I have experienced elsewhere.

Believe me, I'd rather lie on a beach that offers natural shade from palm trees; but in my opinion Barceló' can't wait for those trees to mature before offering guests some shade option on the beach. It's either papalas or umbrellas; because at this time, natural shade isn't an option.

Based on everything I have read, I do believe that the problem was intensified due to a high volume of guests during Easter Week; but I have traveled during Easter Break many times and have never seen the lack of chair availability I witnessed last week. They need more loungers, period.

In my opinion, this issue should be solved by the executive team at Barceló. I personally don't care how they go about solving the problem; but I do believe that each guest should be provided the opportunity for a lounger and some choice in shade as a very basic amenity.

Ranking of available shade: Sunscape the Beach, Secrets Capri, Riu Tequila, Barceló, Holland America. If you’re looking specifically for shade, Sunscape the beach offered the most in any of my 40 trips.

6)      Ala Carte Restaurant Reservation: Barceló needs to figure out how to accommodate guests with the number of ala carte tickets promised in the brochure. Had we only been staying 7 days, we wouldn’t have been able to eat at the Japanese restaurant (the quickest we could get in was day 8). And yes, we did attempt to make reservations immediately after checking in. Also, we were not allowed to dine at any given restaurant more than once (we specifically inquired about the Italian given that the Japanese was out of question). This means that guests will be forced to walk to the Mexican/Spanish restaurants at the ‘original’ section due to unavailability on the new side.

Ranking of availability in the ala carte restaurants: Sunscape the Beach, Secrets Capri, Riu Tequila, Barceló (Holland America not applicable). Also, in all fairness; Sunscape the Beach and Secrets Capri both focus on a majority of ala carte dining with no reservation system. If you’re looking to dine ala carte, these are much better choices.

7)      Spa. The spa is old and in need of total renovation. My hot stone treatment was fine, but do not choose this resort if you’re looking to be pampered in the spa. Spa services are typically sub contracted from resorts. It may benefit Barceló to build a totally new spa and subcontract a different company. Suggestion to management: offer massages on that gorgeous beach! Rankings: Sunscape the Beach, Secrets Capri, Holland America, Barceló, Riu Tequila.

Many of you must be thinking that I had an absolutely horrible vacation at Barceló. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Some of you may think that I’m a complainer and look for the negative. Again, I don’t believe this to be true. I’ve pointed out room for improvement in every resort review I’ve ever written. Again, I’m writing to help guests have accurate expectations. In my opinion, Barceló has areas where they fall short when compared to other Caribbean resorts. I’ve pointed out the bad and the ugly in the hopes of helping Barceló improve. Now it’s time to move onto the areas where Barceló does shine.

1)      Landscape. Barceló is a beautiful property. REALLY beautiful. I visited both Secrets Capri and Sunscape the Beach within 6 months after opening, and Barceló landscape blows both out of the water. The resort is really beautiful (both the original and the new side). The landscape is very lush (much more lush than I imagined for a new resort). Ranking of landscaping: Barceló, Sunscape the Beach, Secrets Capri, Riu Tequila.

2)      Hard Scape: Again, Barceló is a beautiful property. The hard scape (fountains, walkways, decorative pools, etc….) are all done with great care and are quite stunning comparatively. I’ve said this once and I’ll probably say it again. Barceló has GREAT BONES! Rankings of hard scape: Barceló, Secrets Capri, Sunscape the Beach, Riu Tequila.

3)      Entertainment: We REALLY enjoyed nearly every show. This isn’t the case at most all inclusive resorts (typically it’s cheesy). The singers were extremely talented and Mr. Barceló/Miss Barceló was very funny. The new theatre is also stunning! Rankings of entertainment: Holland America, Barceló, Sunscape the Beach, Secrets Capri, Riu Tequila.

4)      Rooms: Our room was very good. Nothing to complain about. The shower head was great. Mini Fridge worked ok. Coffee maker was fine. Beds were comfortable. We had robes and slippers in the room. Room amenities were basic (no Jacuzzi like Capri, plastic chairs on the balcony, etc…) but the room was pleasantly decorated, comfy, and clean. Ranking of room: Capri, Holland America, Barceló, Sunscape the Beach, Riu Tequila.

Note about the room location: The following standard rooms have an ‘ocean view’. Of course, the ocean is in the background, but you can see it from the balcony and hear it early in the morning and at night. If you’re looking for a view, I would highly recommend the following blocks: 6333-6338 (these are in the middle of the Guantanamo building and have the least obstructions). Also 6312-6318 will provide a view (see my photo tour). 6233-6238 and 6212-6218 would be second floor and should provide a similar view (although 3^rd floor is optimal).

5)      Room Service: Barceló provides this amenity, but the charge per plate and very limited menu clearly do not make it a priority. However, room service was available if you wanted it, which was nice. Ranking of room service: Holland America, Capri, Sunscape the Beach, Barceló, Riu Tequila (not even offered here).

6)      Mini-Fridge: I really like the fact that the mini fridge had snacks also. We had little bags of chips, nuts, and candy. They only missed refilling our fridge twice in 10 days which is pretty good comparatively. Our mini fridge person also only put diet coke and water in the fridge per our request (and remembered this request for the entire stay). Rank of mini-fridge service: Barceló, Secrets, Sunscape, Riu Tequila, Holland America.

7)      Maid Service: No towel art (I personally could care a less). Our room was cleaned every day by the time we returned from the pool. We had turn down service about 50% of the time (again, not bad compared to the industry). Absolutely no complaints here. Rankings: Secrets Capri, Holland America, Barceló, Sunscape the Beach, Riu Tequila.

8)      Pools: The pools at Barceló are beautiful. Nice water features. We saw people checking the chemicals regularly. The pool wasn’t drop dead fantastic, but it certainly was big, beautiful, and much more than adequate. Ranking of pool area: Sunscape the Beach, Barceló, Riu Tequila, Secrets Capri, Holland America.

9)      Buffet Food: I must say that I was pleasantly surprised in the quality of food at the buffet. The lay out of the buffet in the new side is also very nice. The different food stations make getting around the buffet easy (not the case on the original side which was a little more cafeteria feeling). Lobster on Mondays and Fridays was Fantastic! Without a doubt the best lobster I’ve ever had in the Caribbean. All in all, I prefer ala carte dining, but there is no reason anyone should go hungry at Barceló. Buffet dining: Holland America (when we ate buffet), Barceló, Sunscape the Beach (when we ate buffet), Riu Tequila. (I never ate buffet at Capri).

10)  Ala Carte Restaurants: Assuming you get reservations, the ala carte restaurants were very good. The Japanese was our favorite, followed by the steakhouse. It’s not fair I compare the ala cartes at Sunscape, Capri, or Holland America because they really are in an entirely different league. But, the ala carte restaurants at Barceló blew away the ala carte restaurant at Riu Tequila (and several other 4 star resorts I’ve visited).

11)  Activities: Barceló really does offer quite a few activities for entertainment. I absolutely loved the putt putt course (be sure to just walk around it even if you don’t play). The pitch and putt was a nice amenity if you feel like hitting a ball around. The daily activities at the Tropical Pool were highly attended and fun (water aerobics, various competitions, etc…) They had a separate pool for lap swimming and volleyball which was very nice. Also had giant chess, pool tables, foose-ball table, lawn bowling, ping pong, and shuffle board. There was an area to paint a ceramic piece. Also daily competitions were provided should you choose (archery, darts, etc..) Volleyball on the beach every day. All in all, I do believe that Barceló offers more variety and higher participation in resort activities than perhaps any resort I have visited. This really is a great place to go if you’re looking to be involved! Rankings: Barceló, Holland America, Sunscape the Beach, Riu Tequila, Secrets Capri.

And now for the Great. One word: BEACH!!! And great is an understatement. Fantastic! Breathtaking! Gorgeous! Stunning! And all this WITH fabulous snorkeling. For comparisons sake, I’ve personally been to every single one of Fodor’s Top 10 Caribbean Beaches, and not one of them are significantly better than the Beach at Barceló’ in my opinion.

In order the best beaches are listed as:

1) Shoal Bay (Anguilla)

            2) Palm Beach (Aruba)

            3) The Gold Coast (Barbados)

            4) Cane Garden Bay (Tortola, British Virgin Islands)

            5) Seven Mile Beach (Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands)

            6) Bavaro Beach (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic)

            7) Grand Anse Beach (Grenada)

            8) Seven Mile Beach (Negril, Jamaica)

            9) Diamond Beach (Martinique)

            10) Luquillo Public Beach (Puerto Rico)

I’m here to tell you, each one of those beaches is beautiful. Can’t find fault in any of them (other than Luquillo which was too crowded). The beaches are all a little different. Some are the powdery white sand (Palm Beach, Seven Mile Beach Grand Cayman, Seven Mile beach Negril, Bavaro Beach). Others have a little more coral (Martinique, Barbados, Tortola). BUT. Barceló beach has areas of powdery sand AND fabulous snorkelling right from shore.

We found the snorkelling best on the far northern point of the resort (you can see Puerto Adventurous if you walk out to the very point). Here is where you will find manta ray, barracuda, sea turtles, and a large variety of corals and fish. Snorkelling near the peer was decent, but to get to the really cool stuff we found deep water (20 feet) on the northern end the best. You may need some water shoes because Barceló Beach has coral, which means it will have rocky areas on shore). But, Barceló beach also has areas where you can enter the beach on hard packed sand.

Without a doubt, I do not hesitate to recommend Barceló if your number one priority in a beach resort is snorkelling from shore!  You’ll have to overlook some of the resort shortcomings (service, consistency, etc…) but if you’re willing to do that, Barceló would be a fabulous choice in my opinion. Rankings of the best beach: Barceló, Riu Tequila, Sunscape the Beach, Secrets Capri. And please make no mistake; Barceló beach is right up there among the most beautiful beaches I have EVER had the blessing of visiting.

Tours: I did the Fat Cat tour. Booked it here from http://www.playa.info/playa-del-carmen-info-fat-cat-catamaran.html By reserving online, you get a free t-shirt. Also, be sure to bring cash for the final payment. We accidentally thought we could put the remaining balance of our excursion on the credit card and were wrong. It's lucky we could come up with $115.00!! lol. The boat leaves from Puerto Adventurous which is only 5 minutes from Barceló..

We really liked the trip, but to be honest, the snorkeling was better right off the Barceló shoreline so we were spoiled in that aspect. The catamaran is VERY nice and brand new. It was a great trip except 7 people ended up throwing up in the back. The problem with that was that you could 'hear' them which made my stomach a little queasy. Strongly recommend Dramamine or bonine.

Puerto Adventurous is a great little community. That's where they have the dolphin excursions. When you walk off the fat cat catamaran, the dolphins/otter/sea lion are right there for you to watch, no charge to view the shows. It's pretty cool. There are also some shops and places to eat. It was worth it to us, because Barceló is 5 minutes from Puerto Adventurous, so the cab fare was only $7.00 back to the hotel.

Comparing the old side to the new side: I'm hesitant to call it the old side because it really isn't old at all and certainly isn't showing any wear and tear that I could see. Both resorts are beautiful. I'll opt to use the term "original' side. I think there are pros and cons to each. Here is my opinion of the differences:

A) Pools: Slight edge to the new side in terms of ascetics (but a huge edge if you have children who will be using the water park). However, there were MANY more pool loungers available on the original side. Otherwise, I didn't see much difference in pools physically.

B) Beach: If you want to swim and use the water sports, the original side is more convenient. It provides a larger area for swimming without coral; the trees are more mature and offer a wee bit of shade. The water sports center is located at the south end of the original side, so if you're planning on using the sailboats, kayaks, snorkeling gear, etc... It’s a pretty long walk to the water sports center from the new side. I did find that the snorkeling was the best on the most northern point (new side). There is where we swam with manta ray, barracuda, and a colony of sea turtles. However; snorkeling near the original side wasn't too shabby either. It would be difficult to rent snorkeling gear (you're limited to one hour) and walk to the most northern point of the resort because the walk alone is 15 minutes. That wouldn't leave much time to snorkel. However, if you bring your own gear you can go whenever you want for as much time as you want. I do highly recommend this at Barceló'.

C) Landscape: More lush on the original side, but still very beautiful on the new side. In fact, this was the third resort in the last year that I visited which was under 6 months old and I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised with how far along the new side is in terms of landscaping. Much lusher for a brand new resort than others I have experienced.

D) Rooms: Well, the new side is NEW. They are also appear a little larger from what I saw. Not sure if the original side has all the same amenities (robes, slippers, individual climate control, etc...) but I would have to give a slight edge to the rooms on the new side just because they still sparkle.

E) Food Taste: All the same. However, you do get more ala carte options on the new side if that matters to you. Buffet: I much preferred the layout of the buffets on the new side. The food station concept as opposed to one long line of food made for shorter lines. The original side had a more cafeteria feel to it. The ceiling was much lower which made it louder. We also had better service in the buffet on the new side and I will say that it was much more difficult to find a table on the original side the one evening we were there (but in all fairness, we only ate at the original side once and might have hit a bad night). I typically prefer to eat in an open air atmosphere, but the original side was very hot (even in April) because it's located at the back of the resort with little ocean breeze. During the summer months, I'd seriously consider the new side, if only for the option of air-conditioned buffets.

F) Theater: The new side has a few more bells and whistles, but the theater on the original side is nothing to sneeze at.

Summary of the differences between the new and original side: All in all, the original side is an equally beautiful resort in my opinion. With the exception of summer travel when it is extremely hot, I wouldn't hesitate to book the original side over the new side; especially if it saved me a few pennies. If cost were the same, I'd pick the new side just for the newer room and air conditioned buffets.

Conclusion: Due to the lack of consistency and poor service, I can only give Barceló 3 stars. Perhaps 4 Mexican/Caribbean Stars, but a weak 4. Quite frankly, I’ve never visited a resort that did a poorer job in terms of service and customer satisfaction (again, just my experiences). While we stayed during Easter Break and the resort was at full occupancy, I can not excuse the lack of service we were provided (again, been many places during Easter, and never had service that bad). The front desk is downright unhelpful, and the resort is grossly understaffed. Lounge chairs and shade are also an issue that simply must be addressed.  In my opinion, the food is on par with other Caribbean All Inclusive (although admittedly, I much prefer all ala carte dining at AMResorts). The rooms are nothing luxurious, but they are clean and function well. Barceló does exceed most other All Inclusive in the area of entertainment and activities; and the beach……. well, It’s to die for!!

Parting Advice: Barcelo is a moderately priced resort and should be chosen by those with moderate expectations. You can’t go here expecting a five star experience, because……. you’re not paying anywhere near 5 star prices! The resort has great bones, but remains unpolished in many areas. If you’re looking to be pampered in luxurious surroundings, Barceló is clearly not your best choice. Dollar for dollar, there are better choices in terms of resort amenities. This is a below average resort in terms of service, a mid-average resort in terms of accommodations, but it is a resort with a vastly SUPERIOR beach and snorkeling from shore. At under $100.00 per night (for Easter Break) we felt we received a decent value for our travel dollar. If I were to go during off peak travel times, I’d expect to pay much less. Bottom line, If you’re looking for a resort with many activities, a fabulous beach, and fantastic snorkeling from shore Barceló may very well be one of the best choices available in the Caribbean and certainly worthy of serious consideration!

Unofficial Barcelo Forum: Karen Maraj has the best exclusive forum if you seek more information about Barcelo Maya; and Shammy is both a travel agent and moderator on that board. Shammy is simply the best agent available if you’re looking for advice on the Playa Del Carmen Area, and I highly recommend her. One of the rules of the unofficial barcelo board is that no comparisons can be made to other resorts. Since my review is chalk full of comparisons I have only linked my review and not posted it on that forum. Out of respect for Karen and Shammy and the unofficial board rules, if you are visiting this trip report from the unofficial barcelo web page, I ask that you contact me via the link I have provided or e-mail me with any comments/questions that relate specifically to the comparisons I have made.  Otherwise, feel free to fire away. J