Barceló Hotel Group

Barceló Maya Palace - All Inclusive

Barcelo Maya Palace is the all-suite family resort of the Barcelo Maya Grand complex on the Riviera Maya, for families who want space. The run of a whole resort estate comes with it. It is about 75 minutes from Cancun's airport, with three pools, a children's water park, six restaurants inside the plan and access to the facilities of several sister hotels along the same beach. Every room is a suite, which is what separates it from its neighbours in the complex. Guests praise the suite-sized rooms, the pools and the family amenities, the beach and the marine life, and the access to the other Barcelo Maya resorts. The complaints are the walking distances and the scale, a beach with rocks, seaweed and variable entry, friction over restaurant bookings and crowding at peak season. The thing people wish they had known is that the size is a real obstacle for anyone with limited mobility, and that the beach is loved and uneven in the same reviews. The plan covers the six restaurants of the Barcelo All-Inclusive programme, Wi-Fi, the mini-club for ages four to twelve and the children's water park, with dine-around at the sister resorts; the airport transfer is a paid private car. The Junior Suite sleeps five at 45 square metres and the Family Junior Suite doubles that, and the Premium Level oceanfront suites, at 127 and 180 square metres, are where the money shows. Couples after quiet should look at the adults-only Riviera hotel in the same complex.

Barceló Maya Riviera - All Inclusive Adults Only

Barcelo Maya Riviera is the adults-only section of the Barcelo Maya Grand complex, for couples who want a modern suite and a polished atmosphere. The dining of a whole resort estate comes with it. It sits at Xpu-Ha on the Riviera Maya, about 75 minutes from Cancun's airport, with 850 rooms that are all junior suites or suites with terraces and hydromassage tubs, 110 of them with a private pool. It is not a small resort; it is a quiet one inside a very large one. Guests praise the spacious modern rooms and the ocean views, the food and the restaurant variety, the clean, relaxed adults-only mood, the pools and the loungers, and the access to the wider complex. The complaints are sargassum on the beach in season, room service that costs extra outside Premium Level, reservations and dress codes at the a la carte restaurants, and the distances across the estate. The thing people wish they had known is that the adults-only calm ends at the resort's own boundary: the sister hotels are family resorts. The plan covers the on-site buffet, the four gourmet a la carte restaurants and five bars, a stocked minibar, water sports and scuba lessons, and unlimited dine-around across the complex's other restaurants; the U-Spa, room service for non-Premium guests and the airport transfer are extra, and top-shelf spirits come with Premium Level. The Junior Suite Ocean Front is the value room and a Premium Level swim-up suite the one worth paying for. Anyone who wants nightlife every night should look to the Hotel Zone.

Barceló Tenerife

Barceló Santiago - Adults Only

Barcelo Santiago is an adults-only cliff-top hotel on the west coast of Tenerife, for couples who want the view of the Los Gigantes cliffs and the sea. A beach beneath the room is not on offer. It is a four-star with 407 rooms, three pools including an infinity pool, a buffet, an a la carte Mediterranean restaurant, a gastropool bar and a theatre bar, with all-inclusive sold as a board option rather than the only rate. The nearest beach is a short walk, and the village below is quiet. Guests praise the views of the cliffs and the ocean, the adults-only calm, the pool decks and the infinity pool, and the buffet variety. The complaints are sunbed availability and towel saving, rooms that read as dated or basic in places, and charges outside the plan. The thing people wish they had known is that the setting is the reason to book, that the area is quieter than Tenerife's party resorts, and that the sand is a stroll away rather than in view of the bed. The all-inclusive board, when chosen, covers the buffet meals, snacks and selected drinks with premium alcoholic beverages included, gratuities and Wi-Fi; spa treatments and hydrotherapy and the airport transfer are extra, and a la carte access varies. Choose a sea-view category, because a garden view here wastes the reason for coming, and the Junior Suite is the only room with real space. Anyone who wants a sandy beach resort should look to the south of the island.

Barceló Maya Tropical - All Inclusive

Barcelo Maya Tropical is a family all-inclusive on the Riviera Maya, for families who want the run of four resorts on one wristband. It is about 75 minutes from Cancun's airport, with 478 rooms of its own and access to the whole Barcelo Maya Grand complex: eleven pools between the four hotels, a water park, and four restaurants and four bars on this side. The beach, and the snorkelling straight off it, is better than most resorts this size manage. Guests praise the pool and beach complex, the family amenities and children's activities, and the snorkelling in the shallow water. The complaints are the friction of specialty restaurant reservations and length-of-stay vouchers, confusion over which of the four hotels a booking lands in, and competition for chairs at peak periods. The thing people wish they had known is that booking Tropical is not the run of every Barcelo Maya property, because the Palace and the Riviera keep rules of their own. The plan is the stay-at-one, enjoy-four programme across the Beach, Caribe, Colonial and Tropical hotels, with a minibar restocked daily, Wi-Fi and the Barcy Kids Club for ages four to twelve; the U-Spa, the airport transfer and the motorised water sports are extra, and room service and the specialty restaurant vouchers depend on Premium Level or on the length of the stay. The Superior Room is the value category for a family living at the pools and the Family Room sleeps five, while the 55-square-metre Junior Suite Ocean Front Premium Level is the room that buys position and service. Anyone who wants a compact resort should look further down the coast.

Barceló Bávaro Palace

Barcelo Bavaro Palace is a very large family all-inclusive on Bavaro Beach, for families who want wide sand, four pools and a water park. It is about 20 minutes from Punta Cana's airport, with 1,402 rooms, eleven restaurants, fourteen bars, a golf course and a casino, and more than a thousand of those rooms carry a terrace jacuzzi. The beach rates higher with guests than the food or the service does, and by a clear margin. Guests praise the Bavaro Beach setting, the pools and the grounds, the family facilities and the water parks, the large rooms and the sheer variety. The complaints are service inconsistency, food quality, crowding and the logistics of a resort this size, and maintenance in rooms and public areas. The thing people wish they had known is that room location and internal transport shape the stay, and that the better placements and services are often tied to Premium Level. The plan covers eight a la carte restaurants and three buffets, the bars on domestic brands with a selection of international ones, a stocked minibar, Wi-Fi, the Barcy miniclub and teen club, the Barcy water park and the non-motorised water sports; La Comedie carries a surcharge unless you hold Premium Level, room service and top-shelf pours come with that tier, and the Pirates Island water park, the spa and the airport transfer are extra. Book the a la carte tables on arrival day. A Premium Level seafront junior suite answers several of the common complaints at once. Anyone who wants a small resort should book almost anywhere else in Punta Cana.

Barceló Bávaro Beach - All Inclusive Adults Only

Barceló Palmeraie Oasis Resort

Barceló Fuerteventura Royal Level

Barceló Maya Colonial - All Inclusive

Barcelo Maya Colonial is a family all-inclusive inside the Barcelo Maya Grand complex on the Riviera Maya, for families who want a big, busy resort. The run of its neighbours comes with it. It is about an hour from Cancun's airport, with six pools, a children's water park, two specialty restaurants, a buffet and a snack grill, and access to the pools, beaches and restaurants of the sister hotels along the same shore. The scale is the product and the walking is the price. Guests praise the family activities and the water park, the pools, the run of the whole complex and the snorkelling when the sea cooperates. The complaints are food that arrives lukewarm and varies day to day, service consistency, a beach with rocky sections and seasonal seaweed, and the distances between one thing and the next. The thing people wish they had known is that room service costs extra, and that water shoes make the rockier stretches of beach usable. The plan covers the buffet, the snack grill and the two specialty restaurants with reservations, the kids' club and Wi-Fi, and it extends across the complex's other hotels; room service is charged, and the airport transfer is a paid private car. The Superior room sleeps four at 38 square metres and the Family Room sleeps five at 68, which is the size jump that matters with children. Couples after quiet should look at the adults-only Riviera hotel in the same complex.

Barceló Maya Grand Resort

This is the big one, five interconnected resorts sharing one stretch of Riviera Maya beach, which means 25+ restaurants and bars, a water park, and pools with swim-up bars without ever leaving the property. Made for groups and families who want options and energy. Come November through April for the dry-season sun.

Barceló Puerto Vallarta

Barcelo Puerto Vallarta is a suite-sized all-inclusive in the Mismaloya cove, for families who want jungle and mountains behind the beach. It has 316 rooms, four pools with a swim-up bar and four restaurants, in a cove south of the city where the bay dampens the Pacific swell and the coral sits close enough to snorkel from shore. Every room is suite-sized at 68 square metres or more. Guests praise the Mismaloya setting with its ocean and mountain views, the size of the rooms, the pools and the swim-up bar, and the Premium Level lounge and room-service perks. The complaints are food variety and quality, front-desk and service inconsistency, air conditioning and maintenance, and the distance from central Puerto Vallarta. The thing people wish they had known is that Premium Level ties the unlimited specialty restaurants and the room service to itself, so the tier changes the stay more than the room does. The plan covers the restaurants and bars, Wi-Fi, a minibar and the children's programme, with the unlimited specialty dining and the room service belonging to Premium Level; the spa is extra, and the airport transfer is a shuttle on request at about 75 US dollars a vehicle return. Compare a base Suite Deluxe against the Premium Level version before booking, because the footprint is the same 68 square metres and the inclusions are not. The Family category splits two bedrooms with their own bathrooms. Anyone who wants to walk into town should stay closer to the Malecon.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination

Occidental at Xcaret Destination is a large family all-inclusive on a protected cove, for families who want Xcaret Park next door at a lower price. It is about 55 minutes from Cancun's airport, with 765 rooms, eleven restaurants, eleven bars and seven pools, in grounds full enough of wildlife that guests talk about the animals as much as the beach. That cove is the differentiator: sheltered, scenic and far less exposed to sargassum than the open Riviera Maya. Guests praise the cove, the jungle-like grounds and their wildlife, the walk to Xcaret Park, and the pools and the family layout. The complaints are a dinner reservation process people find genuinely frustrating, food that varies by venue and room category, rooms that feel dated, and check-in and service that are not consistent. The thing people wish they had known is that this is not Hotel Xcaret Mexico, so park access depends on the Unlimited Xcaret Xperience package or separate tickets. The plan covers the two buffets, the specialty restaurants and the snack venues, the national drinks, taxes and tips, a minibar refilled every second day, Wi-Fi, the kids' club for ages four to twelve and the non-motorised water sports; the spa is charged, room service is limited, park access beyond the package is extra, and the free airport transfer applies only to a promotional offer of five nights or more. Royal Level is where the food and the service improve. The 47-square-metre Junior Suite separates the living room from the bedroom. Anyone who wants polish should compare the Riviera Maya's newer resorts.

Occidental Cozumel

Allegro Cozumel - All Inclusive

Barceló Aruba - All Inclusive

Barcelo Aruba is a location-first all-inclusive on Palm Beach, for couples and families who want Aruba's calmest sand and a walkable strip. A new room is not what it offers. It is about 20 minutes from the airport, on the high-rise beach with restaurants, shops, casinos and nightlife within a stroll, with 373 rooms, seven restaurants, three bars and one pool. The beach is the star and the resort is the base for it. Guests praise the Palm Beach position and the calm, swimmable water, the friendliness of the staff, the walkability and the Royal Level service. The complaints are dated rooms and older furnishings, buffet repetition and difficulty booking the specialty restaurants, competition for pool chairs, and a gap between the marketing and a five-star expectation. The thing people wish they had known is that Aruba's restaurants are close enough that many guests eat out anyway, so the plan is a convenience rather than the point. The plan covers the buffet and the specialty a la carte restaurants, house drinks, a stocked minifridge, the kids' club for ages four to twelve and the snorkelling gear; premium pours, room service and the gourmet restaurant belong to Royal Level only, and spa treatments are extra. Royal Level, on the top four floors of the North Tower, solves several of the common complaints at once and is worth pricing. Anyone whose priority is a modern room should compare the newer hotels along the same beach.

Occidental Tucancún