Barcelo Maya Palace - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

18252 reviews

• 

  Come for the service!

  This is our fourth time visiting the Barcelo Maya Palace. One of the employees asked why we keep coming back. It’s was an easy answer. We are treated SO well by the people. Every breakfast Santiago Cab would remember our drink order and would already get it ready for us before we sat down. The servers go above and beyond. Antonio Aparicio and Emilio Arcos were exceptional also. They were very attentive to our needs. On our last night, Zoehemey Sanchez and Belisario Ramirez made our last night extra special. They brought out a chocolate box and chocolate dipped strawberries. In addition to the servers, the aqua aerobics was something we built our schedule around. Our favorite instructor was Johnny. He made it fun and enjoyable. Another activity we enjoyed was riding the catamaran. Leonardo was an exceptional guide. He took time to answer my questions and took an interest in us. The only reason for a lost star this year was the abundance of seaweed and I know they’re not able to do anything about it. However, it piled up on the beach and made the beach unusable. It didn’t feel like they had enough workers or equipment to get rid of all of the seaweed that would accumulate throughout the day and night Overall, we will continue to come back because we enjoy the grounds the activities and the people. The people are what makes Barcelo special.

  Jun 13, 2025
• 

  Never again

  We came with a 60 person wedding group. The check in process was awful. Our keys kept not working and of course the lobby is on the complete other side of the resort. No maps of where anything is located on the property that you’re staying at. Just a map of the entire 6 hotel resort. So be prepared to spend an entire day trying to find anything. The employees know just as much as the guest because no one ever knew where anything was when we would ask. The pool is great. Clean but pretty luke warm. Service at the pool was terrible. Actually had two servers tell us they were “too busy to serve us because they didn’t have a bartender” and we were located at the adult pool. The main pool took about an hour to get a server around to us so going to the one swim up bar was the best bet and even then we waited 10-15 minutes for drinks or sometimes to even be looked at. The towel situation at the pool is also all over the place. One person tells you to keep your towels or you will be charged while you can go to the adult pool and they just hand them out willingly. The shuttle isn’t every 20-25 minutes. More like 45. It was honestly quicker just to walk everywhere. Lots and lots of walking. Rooms are pretty damp so getting your things dry is quite the struggle. The most frustrating part was we tried to add an additional night to our stay and NO ONE at the hotel could add a night for us. We had to call some random number and pay 1.5x the price we were paying for the current room we were in. Absolutely not. Had to pack our stuff, switch rooms to the other side of the hotel, wait until 3 to check in and once e again our keys didn’t work! I had to go back up 3 times to get it to work! The amount of time I had to spend to get a freaking key to work is beyond me. Just leave your patio door unlocked on the ground floor to be safe. Not one employee checked our bands at ANY restaurant. Unless we had a reservation it didn’t matter. I don’t normally leave Mexico upset but after 5 previous visits at other resorts. This one will never be recommended. Not one family in our group was satisfied. We had amazing service off property at other beach clubs and venues to compare and we all feel the same about this property.

  Jun 12, 2025
• 

  Be Ready to Walk a Lot at this Resort

  We returned today from staying at the Barcelo Maya Palace this past week. NOTE: We used WestJet vacations to book this resort and I would advise against doing this. We’ve experienced better customer service (wrong information provided by one of their representatives resulted in an higher price for our packages) and pricing through other vacation package providers. Check in We had a smooth check-in experience as we arrived in the evening midweek. Our check out was also smooth. The Grounds The Mayan Palace grounds are very well taken care off. The palm trees, grass and flowers look beautiful and there’s always workers taking care of the green spaces. You will see iguanas 🦎 and many birds on the property. There’s also a small deer 🦌 that likes to hang around the Adults Only pool area. In comparison to the neighbouring Barcelo resorts (excluding Maya Riviera - Adults Only), the Maya Palace shines for its manicured properties. Getting around the Resort Be prepared to walk at this resort! We walked between 8 to almost 15 kilometres daily since the rooms we were assigned were originally in the 8700 area. Since we travelled with elderly parents, this was not convenient for them. The resort provides a shuttle that takes you from the Maya Palace to the other resorts ( Caribe, Tropical, Colonial, Beach & Riviera) every 15 minutes or so. Yet, you could be at your destination by the time you wait for the bus and the lower level seats are quickly taken. If someone in your family has mobility issues the space to get to the second level of the bus is really narrow. We did not see any golf carts while we were there but the property does have ramps for those travelling with wheelchairs 🦽. The Rooms These comments apply to rooms 8769 & 8765 - the humidity in these rooms creates a particular smell and the air was stifling to breath. If you or a family member has breathing issues, it’s best to avoid these rooms. We asked for other rooms and we were switched to 8433 & 8417. There’s condensation buildup in room 8433 that creates a puddle of water I front of the bathroom entrance. We had to use towels to avoid tripping on the water. We reported this issue and nobody came to take a look. If one looks at the ceiling a previous attempt at fixing it can be seen; yet the tripping hazard remains. Other minor issues is that the TV in that room has a limited number of channels vs other rooms. Issue was reported and nobody came to have a look. If you’re staying in room 8417, please be aware that the telephone does not work. The mini fridge in the room does not work. Since all the mini fridges are encased or located within a closet, the fridge’s motor heats the whole area and the drinks never get cold. What’s in the mini fridge? You get 4 Corona beers, an assortment of pop/soda, bottled water, 2 bags of peanuts and 2 snack size bags of Lays potato chips. All items are restocked daily. Cleanliness The resort is very clean and the workers are very polite and friendly. We did have a forgetful staff member clean our room since we had to ask for bathrobes (each room has bathrobes), for our trash in the bathroom to be picked up, ohh and she did not stock TP 🧻 or Kleenex one day so I had to follow another cleaner to ask for these items. The common area bathrooms are kept well stocked and very clean. The cleanest bathrooms are the ones located in the gym since there’s few visitors to the gym area. The buffets and restaurants are very clean as well. We only saw one fly in one of the buffets on one day. All spills in common areas are quickly cleaned up. The Beach This is one of the main reasons we will not be returning to this resort. There’s was so much seaweed - and yes we went in June - that the beach is covered in it. Even with the machines and human attempt to collect it and haul it a way daily, there’s still sealed in the water. So, if your main reason to go away is to be at the beach and get into the ocean 🌊- don’t go to this resort in the months where it’s full of seaweed. If your main reason west to just look at the ocean, there’s plenty of beach beds to enjoy the view. Food and Drink The food was very good and there’s enough to satisfy various tastes. It was nice to see a little plastic cabinet offering gluten free sliced bread and an option of 2-3 desserts. The main one offered is purchased and not made in-house. There’s options for vegetarians and there’s a section for kids too. The best restaurants are: Radizzio, Brassiere and Caribe. We went to Mexico Lindo and it was not good at all. The best service was at the Radizzio. NOTE: For such a large resort and being a 5 ⭐️, it was disappointing that one cannot get a cup of coffee until a buffet opens. So, if you’re an early bird there’s nowhere that you can get a decent cup of coffee. I can already imagine the response from management on this point …”Barcelo offers coffee in each of its rooms as it provides ground coffee packets and coffee mugs..”. Yet, the reality is that most of us are very leary of using these coffee machines …😬. If you are ordering coffees in the buffets, the coffee regularly served is weak. If you like a darker roast, ask for the an Americano from the machine instead. Drinks are good and the bartenders and servers know their drinks and will offer good options when asked. The quality of alcohol is very good at this resort. Pools There’s a good selection of pools at this resort but be aware that to use a cabana in the Adults Only pool area, you will be charged 300 Mexican pesos. We ended up paying about $90.00 CAD for booking two cabanas for 2 consecutive days since the covered pool beds are in high demand. Smoking Even though, smoking is not allowed 🚫 in the pool areas, staff is reluctant to ask tourist to smoke in the designated areas. So, that’s it. I hope this review will help you decide to book this place or not.

  Jun 12, 2025
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  Bad vacation experience

  We had a real horrible experience with multiple things. 1. Upon arrival at the Barcelo Palace resort we spent 1.5 HOURS checking in. This is UNACCEPTABLE and we had never seen something like that having travelled to multiple all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean at least 15 times before. After having waited in line for an HOUR we asked for a manager who wasn't available. Instead some resort worker came from the back claiming he was a supervisor. He was very rude and completely unhelpful. Also, while waiting in the line marked as "Check-In" someone came and swapped the check-in/check-out signs around forming new check-in line and the front desk started taking people from that newly formed line even though we had already been standing and waiting for an HOUR before even these people arrived. Only 2 people were working at the front desk and we had 3 people in front of us. And that process took 1.5 HOURS. By the time we finally checked in after a very long wait and arguing not to take people from the new line, they had 5 people working the front desk. 2. When making these reservations many months ago we asked for at least one room close to the restaurants, beach and the pool since we had a family member with physical disability and also our elderly mother who cannot walk far. Instead we were given the FURTHEST building with the very LAST room all the way at the end on the 2nd floor. Resort front desk told us that there was no request on their side to accommodate and refused to do anything about it. After speaking with the manager the same evening these 2 family members were moved the next day after 3PM to a closer building. The 1st 2 days were completely ruined and caused our whole family a lot of pain and aggravation!!! 3. On the 3rd day there was a large group of teenagers that checked in (about 50-70 of them) and they occupied all pool bars all day long non-stop. It was very difficult to get a drink being at the pool and the beach. We raised our concern to someone who was supposedly in charge at the pool bar, but nothing was done about it. 4. One of the rooms where my brother stayed had a broken sliding door in the bathroom and couldn't be closed. He called for service 4 times. They came over once and said they would come back in 15 minutes to replace the broken part. No one showed up. The door was finally fixed 1 day before our departure.

  Jun 11, 2025
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  Our 15 year anniversary getaway

  The Trip was amazing! We can't wait to go again! We will telling our friends and family about this place. It was very peaceful and I needed the rest.

  Jun 09, 2025