Barcelo Maya Colonial & Tropical - All-Inclusive

One of our reservations agents would be able to price this resort for you as a hotel only reservation. If you call our reservation center at 1-800-915-2322, we can price this resort and definitely give you some suggestions for other resorts in the area.

The Barcelo resort consists of 3 subsets of hotels. The Tropical and Colonial are the mid-grade. Try the Beach and Caribe. It is the least deluxe of the 3 subsets and are on the same property with shuttles available or simply walk. You will not regret the Barcelo.

I recommend going anywhere else but there!

Yes, there are quite a few. NOTE- the pool umbrellas are NOT opaque. I burned under one the first day because I was too oblivious to notice. (I'd say they are half effective??)

no umbrellas, you have to ask for someone to bring a lounge down to the beach no palm trees for shade

This is not a beach resort. It has a pool on the second floor that looks out on the ocean where the cruise ships dock. The closest beach is a $30/one-way cab ride. At the beach, they will charge you ~$10 for admission and $7 for a lawn chair. The beach has some palm trees and huts for shade as do the beaches, and some of the beaches have cabana's that are for rent.

There are "grass umbrellas" for shade. They look like canopies or half huts that you can lounge under and put your drinks on. There are plenty of them on the beach always found a spot to lay under.

just palm trees, but lots of them. We saw plenty of open seating not taken yet in the shade of palm trees. Also- around the pools there are some nice semi-covered areas (some were still open, some had already filled up) that are great to get out of the sun.

I didn't see any umbrellas available. If you want one, I'd bring it. There was a lot of shade available on the beach and near the pools, though.

I worried about that also, but the trees really offer plenty of protection. I don't think the umbrella would work since the sand is over coral and an umbrella might not anchor very well. Also, I don't think it would be easy to attach an umbrella to the chairs

No, only shade from palm trees. If you want an umbrella you should take your own (I do not think the lend or rent them at the hotel).

No unbrellas

The pictures are accurate! Palm trees only! There are some canopies that offer semi-shade by the pool. The beach was not busy when we were there in July 2011 so we easily found a palm tree for shade.

There are hammocks and chairs under lovely loosely canopied areas. There was plenty of chairs and always one or two under a palm tree or shaded area. You are going to LOVE this place!

NIce shirt and jeans worked for us. I would wear at least tennis shoes. Girls can pretty much wear whatever and it was ok. Don't wear shorts or they won't seat you

Men have to wear pants

we saw anything from casual slacks and sun-dresses to some women very dressed up- night-clubish- you can tell some really look forward to looking nice for the evening, others just want to be casually but still not messy. all of the above will fit in perfectly.

Men need to wear pants (jeans are fine, but they need to be long pants) and women can pretty much wear whatever. I'd avoid shorts. We saw people be denied entry to restaurants if they weren't appropriately dressed (this only applied to men who came in shorts).

Men have to wear slacks and polo type shirt with close toed shoes. Women a sundress or nice pants and a top. They just don't want you wearing beach attire.

I think this is for man only. Long pants and closed shoes. I wore tennis shoes and it was OK.

We wore causal clothing. The main thing they don't want is shorts, bathing suits, flip flops etc.

In general, women wore knee-length dresses, anything from cocktail dresses to sundresses, with dressy sandals or heels. Men wore long khakis and other "business-casual" pants with polo shirts or button-down cotton shirts. In general, think of what you might wear to dinner at the country club...nothing fancy, just something that looks decent and breathes well in the heat.

GREAT QUESTION! Our teens were upset that we made them pack dress shirts, shoes and pants. They were even more displeased when they got there and saw Harley t-shirts, jeans and sandals. We saw SEVERAL guests wearing shorts and sandals--men and women-and were not denied access to the restaurants. I say wear whatever the heck you want and ignore the curt reservation lady who tells you how "extremely" important it is that you abide by the dress code!!!

It means long pants and closed toe shoes for men, and business casual to semi formal dresses for women. The restaurants are terrific and even though the food is great, the ambiance is about the culture represents and not how your are dressed. Kyoto's sushi is wonderful, by the way! Enjoy!

no shorts or flipflops for men. It should read 'men in trousers and shirt(not tee shirt), Ladies in dress or dressy pant suit

yes free wifi

There is an internet room in the main lobby, which costs 20 pesos, or $2 for 15 minutes of use. We were unable to gain internet access in any other area of the hotel.

yes. Free Wi Fi

Yes, it does have Wifi.

I think they do around the lobby...but they have an internet area and you can use the computers (for a fee)

wiFi is $12 a day!

Yes but they charge you $12 a day or $3 for 15 minutes or 5 for 30 minutes.

Bring your pc and wireless toys! Wifi surrounds the rooms and the complex!! Sit by the pool and check your email or walk a few more feet to the private beach and work on your pc! (the water is so beautiful I couldn't imagine doing work on the beach!!)

Yes! for a fee! One quote was $12 per day and another quote was $15/day. I had trouble accessing my voicemail down there so I recommend checking on this prior to your departure.

Yes, at a cost of just over 12 dollars a day.

we upgraded our room to club level and had free WIFI in the room, the lobby and the business center - best of all -- it worked!!!!

It was sandy, with few rocks. Hardly any shells or sharp objects. The sectioned off area for swimming was raked of shells, so its pure soft sand underneath. It is darkish/brown sand though, not white sand.

The beach is all broken corals and shells so bring water shoes but its great snorkeling not recomended for swimming. Rent a car and drive the 10 min to laquillo beach its 5dollars and is perfectly sandy with coconut palms.

yes to both- there are large sections you can easily walk out in very nice white sand. But there are side areas, and little dips here and there, that can stub a toe or more. You can easily not use water shoes if you're careful, or use fiip flops/water shoes if you know you'll be exploring a bit more- on the sides of the beaches there are whole areas of rock/coral. In the section further to the north, there are some spots that the rock comes right up to the beach, but is sort of hidden by the sandy waves- just be aware and observant and you should be fine.

Sandy. There is seaweed but if that bothers you, step over it. Water shoes are unnecessary.

It is both. There were parts where we were very comfortable walking barefoot, and parts where we were more careful because there are some rockier areas. Not large rocks, just not soft sand.

The Caribe has a sandy beach, not too deep...with some coral further out. I wore my water shoes and it was a good idea

The beach is huge. Close to the Barcelo Palace the beach is rocky with lots of corals. Perfect for snorkelling (lots of sea turtles and a nice variety of fish). Close to the Barcelo Caribbean the beach is perfect sand. In between you have a bit of both. I do not think you need water shoes.

White sand. I do recommend water shoe because there is a lot of coral in the surf. There are rocks in the surf area but not the beach.

There are areas that are sandy but I would advise you to bring and use water shoes...some of the rocky areas you can see but some you cannot

The beach is a combination of rocks and sand on the tropical and colonial sides. However, if you walk on the opposite side of the kayak storage, the beach is sandy and the water is clear. I was all over the beach and never wore shoes the whole time, even on the worst sides.

Radisson Lucaya in Freeport, Grand Bahamas has soft sand that is free of rocks!! I walked the beach every day during my stay and never got surprised by crunchy stuff. Bring your water shoes and you can walk as long as you want around the beach and through the beautiful Radisson property!

Both are true. The Barcelo is a huge hotel that spreads across a huge beach, so some parts are rocky and some are sandy. We found the rocky parts in front of the Beach Hotel and more sandy parts in front of the Tropical Hotel, but it doesn't matter where you stay since everything is interconnected and you can walk to a better section of beach if you prefer. On the whole, the beach and ocean were fabulous and we never wore water shoes. The rocky parts make for great snorkeling since all the fish gather there. Watch out in the sandy shallow parts, giant stingrays like to hang out there.

for us, absolutely yes. book their own shuttle from the airport, and from start to finish you're taken care of. no sense of safety issues. All the stuff you hear about is in other parts of the country. Yea, some of the side streets you see on the highway are a sad sight to see, of the living conditions, but no dangers involved from what we've experienced on our 5 trips to the area. And lots of kids at sections of this resort-

I have traveled many places and curaçao is by far the safest place I have ever been!!

Yes. Resort had kids activities. Sand for kids to play, need water shoes for ocean. Snorkeling great. 2 pools if you don't like salt water.

Yes, absolutely! there were a TON of kids there and I felt safe in teh resort and in the van going to/from Cancun airport during the transfer

As long as you dont leave the accommodations, yes.

Definitely. We were just there at the end of May, 2011 and it is completely safe. Lots of families.

Yes..no one comes on the property to sell things on the beach, did not see any unusual people on the premises..it's a little out of the mainstream, not much else around..I think a family would love it

It is very safe. I went twice to this resort. First time as a couple, second with our 9 month son. Very safe and comfortable. You can book excursions at the hotel (lots of agencies on site) and maybe go to nearby cities by taxi (you can also ask about the hotel transfer to Playa del Carmen). You can also stay a whole week in the hotel and never get bored.

Yes, yes, yes. We were treated like royality. I felt extremely safe. We took 5 excursions and there were no problems. We took our 3 kids. I did not worry about our kids running around the resort without us.

Absolutely! I saw no reason for anyone to be afraid to go here.

Yes. We recently stayed there with 4 kids and it is ideal for families.

excursion to visit ruins, snorkel trips,water park, swiim with dolphins all seemed expensive..over $100 per person for some..but i heard they were alot of fun except visiting the ruins was very hot

There is a variety of tours and excursions available at the time of booking. These tours and more will be available upon arrival. We have a discount on select tours if you book prior to arrival. Please call our office if you have more specific questions about the pricing.

My family went on the excursion to Xplor.....Zip lines, underwater rivers, ATV trail....Cost was about $130 per adult, $65 per child. This include transportation to and from resort, a great buffet at Xplor, all soft drinks, and all activites

The excursions are kind of expensive in my budget but their great they start around $99 all the way to 149 if you book on the hotel but if you go directly you will save some money for sure . good luck! have a nice trip

Chichen Itza (Mayan pyramids) is a must do. It cost my group of 7 approximately $600. It was an 11 hour trip (about 2 hours on the road each way, a lunch buffet, trip to the site and cenote swimming after). Worth it. Numerous other snorkeling and adventure park excursions are available as well. We took cabs to Playa Del Carmen one evening, browsed the shops and ate dinner (La Parilla -- very good). Recommend this trip. Taxi was $23 each way.

There is a huge book full of excursions offered by Olympus. There is a host at the hotel there to answer all your questions. The Mayan ruins excursions are $70-$120 roughly. Ziplining and snorkeling is about the same. The night trip 6-9pm to Playa del Carmen is $15 per person and only offered 3 nights/wk.

SO MANY! We went on one with ALLTOURNATIVE, booked through the agents at the hotel. Our agency, which picked us up from the airport, was Olympia (orange shirts). They were great. We went on a trip to Coba and scaled the pyramid, visited a Mayan Village, rapelled down a cenote, zip lined over a lake with a visible crocodile, and canoed in a jungle lake. The lunch was authentic Mayan and delicious. There is also a trip to Rio Secreto, which is swimming, etc. in underground cenote/caverns. So cool! Enjoy!

We did one tour which included rapelling, ziplining, a tour of the Mayan ruins, snorkeling in freshwater caves, all for a very reasonable price considering it was like 8 hours of activity. Other things, like swimming with Dolphins, sounded cool but was for the price per hour less desirable. Still, it seemed fun. There's also stuff like a drinking/clubbing package for local nightlife. Can't remember anything else off the top of my head.

The excursions are a little pricey (about $100 per person) but we felt they were worth it. We did an incredible adventure day: visiting the Mayan Ruins in Tulum and then heading to the Jungle Maya Expedition where we rapeled into an underground cave, ziplined, etc. On another day we went to Xelha, where we snorkeled with tons of beautiful fish, did more ziplineing and so much more! Both trips included our transportation, food and all of our drinks. Our teenagers loved these excursions too!

The vary from Lobster dinner, chichen itza, 4 wheeler tours, ziplines, deep sea fishing, swimming with dolphins. Prices range from 50 - 300 depending on length of tour and how many people. You can barter with them a little.

we did the Coba encounter it was $118.00 us dollars per person we rep ailed,ziplined,climbed the largest ruin,swam in a cenote and had a lunch prepared by some very nice lady's in a very remote Mayan village it was worth it!!!

When you book your trip, please discuss your needs. There were many couples honeymooning and others of us that wanted to see the ocean view too! Plan ahead and be specific with your CheapCaribbean agent.

NOT SURE IF THEY WILL GARUNTEE IT BUT WE WRE SUPOSE TO HAVE A TROPICAL VIEW BUT WHEN WE GOT THERE WE TOLD THEM IT WAS OUR HONEYMOON AND THEY CHANGED IT WITH NO PROBLEM.

We stayed in Hotel Conrad Condada, in San Juan. Booking with CheapCarribean.com gave us a free upgrade to a Ocean View room. However, since we were there over the 4th of July weekend, we had 3 rooms, one on the 2nd floor, one on the 4th and the 3rd in the tower across the hotel. BUT the staff are very accommodating and as if you require just one room, you are almost sure to get a ocean view room which was glorious, the water was so close one felt one was on a ship.

Cheap Caribbean carries the Deluxe room at the Barcelo Maya Colonial and Tropical. You can certainly make a special request for an oceanview room, however we cannot guarantee ocean view.

I found that there are no guarantees. If you are going on your honeymoon, cheap caribbean can request upgrades for the same price. If there is availability, they will upgrade you. Also, if it is your honeymoon, take a copy of your marriage certificate, you may need it. We did.

There are premium rooms (club level) available. Call ahead and ask if they are fully booked during your stay, We upgraded once we got there. There is not much of an ocean view becasue of the lush green plants- but beautiful anyhow. Get a second floor room - clear balconies will give you better views.

There are NO ocean-view rooms. We couldn't even hear the ocean from our room. Might as well have been in Iowa.

not many ocean views available cost plenty extra and C.C.com cannot guarantee anything

all the rooms are nice spend your extra money on more days at the Barcelo !!!

The sign posted said 16. However, my two 15 year old sons regularly worked out on the equipment, including the weights.

People of all ages worked out. So long as you weren't "playing" I imagine it was okay to be in the fitness area.

Not sure that there is an age limit. SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT YOU SHOULD KNOW: The weights and most machines are located outside (no AC). The cardio machines are enclosed in an adjacent windowed area ( with AC)

why would you want to be inside? jog on the beach, lift a cold one.

Probably not since your air fare is a set rate, but also ask the resort if they have any specials like pay for 5 nights and get 2 free. it never hurts to ask

you can choose as many nights as you want thru Cheap Caribbean. when you enter the extra nights, the price is recalculated. No its not double because the flight is included.

Less than double.

Nothing is set in stone Haggle Haggle Haggle I stayed 8 nights got a good deal

Normally, resorts do not offer kosher food as an option. While it can be requested we are unable to guarantee any resort would be able to honor this special request. It would be best to check directly with the resort prior to confirming a reservation to ensure they would be able to accommodate your needs.

I did not see any food identified as Kosher... but there is a wide variety of foods like fish, cheeses, fruit, smoothies, eggs, yogurt and desserts. The normal type of Vegan foods are available.

Don't know, i'm not into kosher food, sorry.

do not know details but probably yes

I dont know what this is, but yes probably...They had about everything imaginable

No, but my gf keeps kosher and she did find plenty of options at the restaurants and buffet, like fish and dairy. There is no kosher area though

I didn't see any signs indicating "kosher" food

It is great for kids! The water park with slides is awesome! It is only as high as to just to your knee in the deepest area.It is separated from the main pool but close.The main pool is 4 feet all through so keep that in mine if your child is not a swimmer for that area. Otherwise, a huge roomy pool. Plenty to eat. Refrigerators are stocked in the rooms with water and soda and beer but you can also get these at one of the 2 bars at the pool area. There are shaded cabanas so we just went out before breakfast and put our towels on the lounge chairs so we would have some close to the kid area. Just be careful because other than the pool area, everywhere else is tiled and can be slippery when wet so make sure you and your child have slip proof shoes on when going back to the room. Everyone is very helpful at the front desk if you have any problems and just ask for a closer room to the pool/beach area when you check in because this is a large resort and you will be doing some walking but it is not too bad. Enjoy!

yes-great kiddie pool and activities. Lots of kids to make friends and play with!

I felt it was a very safe resort and very family/kid friendly. You two will have a blast at this resort. The kid program seemed to be well staffed with very friendly and efficient young adults and the kids I observed were happy!!!!

This would be a great place for a single parent with a kid - because you literally do not need to leave the resort. Huge pools, beach & small "waterpark."

This resort Is very child friendly.. I was there from aug. 3- aug. 8th and there were lots of people with children. They also have a seperate water playground for the kids as well and free buffet all day and night. The kids actually can swim right up to the pool bars and order there own water/ soda/ juice as well. I would say that you def need a heavy sun screen and posibly a floating device if child is not a good swimmer.. but they have daily activities for the kids as well. It is very hot there but during that time of year should be very pleasnt and not too overwhelming! Good luck It was an amazing time!

Yes...lots to do for mom and kid!!!

Yes, there is the perfect size water park for a 6 year old. The buffets have "kids corner" with all their favorites - pizza, chicken nuggets, and more.

yes there were playgrounds, water parks, the Barcelo kid club etc,there was plenty of children on our stay (from toddlers to teenagers) and i didn't see any sad faces

We just got back from this resort. They had an excellent water park for the kids (actually, there are two kid's water parks) and an active "day program" that kids could attend. The 18 hole mini-golf course was entertaining for kids and adults alike. The youngest person in our party was 22, so I can only tell you what I observed . . .

Yes, there would be plenty for you to do together and you could take advantage of the kids club, too.

This resort is very kid friendly in my opinion. On our last visit a few weeks ago, there were many families with kids of all ages. They have a very nice pool area for the kids as well as many early shows in the theatres that are for the kids. with a reef out front, the waves from the ocean are also usually calm enough to be safe with children and there are lots of fish close to shore where they can be seen without snorkels. Hope this helps.

Upon reviewing the resort's website, the operating hours for Marenostrum, Kyoto, Capri, Santa Fé, Don Quijote and El Agave are 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm. The bar and disco are open until 2:00 am. Please keep in mind that the operating hours could be subject to change.

Some buffets stopped at 10 and some were done by midnight. The bar stayed open until either 11 or 12.

The main dining buffet stays open until 10 pm and is loaded with a variety of delicious food! You can also choose to make reservations at one of their 4 restaurants, but we still preferred the buffet. The buffet is also open for breakfast and lunch. There are also 2 poolside smaller buffets that are open every afternoon for lunch with a great variety of food options.

Wedge heel sandals are ok but they do not want flip flops.

It means no flip flops. New clean wedge sandels with nice toe nails and a big smile will get you in everyehere. enjoy!

Pertains to men only, men must wear closed toe shoes, long trousers, and a button down shirt. Actually, fairly relaxed.

No flip flops

It just means no flip flops

My experience last week was that this rule is really for the men and not the women.

It means no flip flops...girls get away w/ alot more than guys. when they say long pants for guys, they mean it. They made one of the guys in our group go back and get pants.

We just got back. I asked the same question about the shoes. The concierge told us he closed shoe requirement is for men only. For women, any shoes is fine, they don't want beach shoes (flip flops). We saw a variety from jeans to fancy dresses for dinner. Again, I think they mainly want to keep people from wearing swim attire into the restaurants.

Hurricane season is officially from June to October, though the end of the season sees the most hurricane activity. In August, the average low is 77 and average high is 90. The resort includes buffet and specialty restaurants to choose and has 2 kilometers of private beach running alongside the glassy, turquoise waters of the Caribbean.

June days last week were 90+degrees-- this was eased by a nice breeze coming in off the ocean. Colonial and Tropical side of the resort also offers air conditioned buffet and restaurant areas.

We stayed at the Tropical and loved it. The Tropical was centrally located on the Barcelo property. The Colonial was farther away from the main pools and activities. The Colonial had their own pools but if I remember correctly not as close to the beach as the Tropical. The main restaurants were located on the Tropical side.

The beaches and pools were beautiful. The weather was also very nice but, 4 out of the 8 days we spent there it did rain but, not for very long. The resort is very clean, which is a plus but the food wasn't that great. The speciality restaraunts were good but, it was very difficult to get a reservation because people book ahead of time. The food at the buffets weren't very good. I found the food to usually be cold.

This was by far one of the most prettiest resorts that I have been to. I was very impressed with the lush tropical grounds, pools and the beach. The water is crystal blue overlooking a coral reef and you can snorkel right off the beach and see beautiful fish and sea turtles! The water was very warm and calm, except for a thunder storm one day while we were there. I highly recommend the resort and will definitely return!

This hotel is two resorts in one and is strategically located in the center of the Barceló Maya Beach resort complex. Guests have the opportunity to stay at Barceló Maya Tropical & Colonial while enjoying the services and amenities at the two neighboring Barceló hotels, Maya Beach and Caribe.

Tropical is a considered a "higher/nicer" hotel. For example, the breakfast/dinner buffet area is air conditioned as opposed to the one at the colonial. Not to mention, you can go to any of the other hotels considered "below" you but you can never go up. Tropical is the 2nd highest. The Palace is the highest.

they are side by side and share most amenadies ,a minutes walk between

Nothing really, they just have 4 hotels together and you can go to either for dinner or lunch.

Let me start by saying the Barcelo property has 4 options to stay at. 1. The Palace - higher price, only palace guests can visit this area. 2. Tropical - located closest to the palace. Great location. 3. Colonial - located next to the Tropical. Further away from the main activities, theater, and main restaurants. 4. Maya Caribe - located on the other side of the Colonial. Did not visit. My recommendation the Palace or Tropical.

We stayed in colonial. I went into both and asked which was better without telling them which one I was in and both told us Colonial was better. Our reservations said Tropical but when we got there we were put in Colonial. You can eat in either one's buffet and see entertainment in either's theatre.

There is no difference, they are mirror images of each other with the main portion of the resort between them in the center. They are equally beautiful and decorated, each has its own main lobby and pools and direct access to the beach.

It would be best to purchase round trip transfer before hand so you have the service set up. Cabs can charge any amount they wish and you may need to haggle with them on price. By purchasing the transfer you have no worries about pricing when you get there or trying to find transportation.

Get the transfer. Not only will you not have to negotiate the price for a cab, but all 4 of you can ride together in the transfer shuttle, potentially limiting the stops made at other resorts and prolonging the amount of time it takes to get to your resort. Not to mention, let's face it...Mexico isn't the safest right now and it's better to be safe than sorry.

Purchase the transfer. You get to and from the resort faster and dont make stops to drop off/pick up others. worth it.

you can get private van service for up to five for $100 the barcelo is 1 hour from cancun airport

We used Olympus Tours they were great to get to the resort and to the airport. Took a cab to go into Playa, they are crazy drivers but we made it safe and sound.

We purchased our transfers when we booked the travel reservations thru cheap carribean. This worked well for us - a party of 5. Olympus was the companies name and we shared a van with 1 other couple.

Most resorts do not have a two people minimum requirement and offer single supplement rates for those traveling alone.

I don't know the answer but I do know that the resort seemed filled with families and couples, no singles really to even talk with.

Yes, unfortunately you do. This happened to a few of my guests. We traveled as group there for my 40th birthday. The ones who were not paired with others in a room had to pay the full price for double occupancy. But it is certainly worth going! It is a beautiful place!

Roundtrip transportation services are not provided by the hotel as part of their all inclusive package, however CheapCaribbean.com does contract with an outside vendor to offer these services at an additional charge. This optional addition may be purchased during the booking process, or we may be contacted for assistance at 1800-915-2322.

No, but you have have CheapCaribbean set it up for you we used Olympus Tours and they are great.

no-we bought it through Cheapcarribean.com

yes but we inquired at the hotel and it was more expensive than booking through Cheap Carribean. it would have been $200 for our fam of 4 but through cheap Carribean we pd $160

We have arranged airport transfers every time we visit through Cheap Caribbean's transport provider: Olympus travel. Very dependable and reasonable.

Nope...You need to get a taxi or a transfer.

The two resorts sit on the same come complex and share all of the same amenities, such as the pools and restaurants. The difference between the two would be that the Barcelo Maya Palace has the lusher, newer room accomodations.

The Palace and Tropical are close but not adjacent. Yes, you can walk or you can take a trolley. They are the closest two portions of the resort. From what I heard, Palace is not much better than Tropical and the beach at Tropical is better than that at Palace but Caribe and Beach sections beat Tropical on that.

Not a real easy walk but there is a bus that runs throughout the resort every 20 minutes or so. They are adjacent however.

Yes - all 5 hotels are adjacent to each other and you can easily walk - either on beach or on the paths connecting the hotels.

Right next door-no problem. there is a walkway that connects the two facilities.

There is a resort bus out front of each lobby that take you to the other resorts. They come every 10 minutes.

The Palace is within view from the Tropical, but more than comfortable walking distance. However, the hotel has a free shuttle that runs between all of the buildings. With that service it would probably be possible.

In addition to the nightly entertinment at the theater, you can also find after-hours entertainment at Jaguar's Discotheque. There is a cover charge and the club is open from 10 PM until 2 AM.

Great

Walk. Then Lousy Show. Then walk the long way back.

I heard from some of the staff that you have to go to the city of Playa Del Carmen for the best night life. This is about 15 miles from the resort. The have this thing called Coco Bongo. It's supposedly pretty popular. Otherwise at the resort there is the Discotheque. When we were there it wasn't very happening, but we didn't go on a Friday or Sat night. Who knows if it's better then. Overall there aren't too many people who go to the Disco.

Non-Existent. Go to Cancun for that.

Nightlife is good. The club is very high end and the shows were good.

Water conditions vary greatly depending on the current weather conditions, tides, etc. Unfortunately, there is no true way to predict what the water conditions will be during a given time.

Been in the area for the last 6 years at various times. Got 1 good year and it was the best in 9/2011.

The resort is located on the Mayan Riviera, 15 miles south of Playa del Carmen, 40 miles south of Cancun Airport and 20 miles north of the Tulum Ruins, near Xcaret and Xel-Ha. Puerto Aventuras is in the heart of the Riviera Maya and is located one hour south of Cancun. The city of Playa del Carmen is about 20 minutes and Tulum is less than half an hour.

About $13 cab fare away- 10 minutes. $10 cab fare back. Same time. I think someone at C Resort pockets the difference. Same $3 difference to Playa Del Carme and the X Paarks

It is the property next door but you cannot access it from the beach side you must go out to the main road

yes less than 15 minutes away. We swam with the dolphins here. It is a cute little town

yes, only a few kilometers

Children do stay and eat free, however they do still have to pay the per night tax at the resort which can vary depending on your dates of stay.

No, Only airline tax.

We sell the "Superior Room" This room does not have a sofa bed. Roll away beds are available but upon request. At this moment we have this room type available but this is subject to change at any time. This is the most heavily travelled week of the year.

The room is about 10' x 20' and though there is a couch, it does not fold out, but it is more like a day bed, so someone could comfotably sleep on it. I know that Christmas time is high season so the rates are higher, but you would have to check with the hotel for specific prices. Hope this helps... and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask :)

Yes, all rooms have satellite TV.

No, the TV options are not very good in the room but you really don't spend much time in the room.

There is cable TV, but only about 3 channels that are in English

Group rates generally apply to reservations with 10 rooms or more and must be booked with the hotel direclty.

It was cheaper for the 5 of us to be in two rooms than to have all 5 of us in a suite. We ended up in 2 rooms with an adjoining door that we could access our daughters room, but we kept it locked so as to give us some privacy. The phone operators with CheapCaribbean should be able to give you the exact numbers as they did for me.

The resort does not provide a free shuttle from the airport. You will be prompted to add transfers with Olympus tours in the booking process for an additional charge if you would like them. Taxis are available however they may not be metered and can lead to confusion.

No shuttle service. I contacted the RIU and they recommended getting a bus or hiring a shuttle and sent me information about the shuttle. I contacted VIAJES EL SABALO/Sightseeing tours & Airport Transfers/HOSPITALITY DESK AT HOTEL RIU via e-mail at luzmoraviajeselsabalo@hotmail.com and they set everything up for about $25 per person round trip. I would strongly recommend this company. They met us at the airport and took care of everything.

You can purchase Shuttle service from airport to resort through Cheap Caribbean. Very well organized and smooth

we used the one recommended be cheapcarribean.com (Amstar) they met us at the air port brought us to the hotel. They have a office at the hotel so you can make arrangements to go back to the air port. Plus they do tours so you can book excursions while at the resort though them also.

The shuttle service was prearranged by cheap caribbean, for a fee. But it was worth it. The dirvers were very pleasant and this part of the trip worked without flaw. We arrived just after noon to Cancun. The resort represenative arranged for our return to the airport at a time according to our flights. But we left the resort about 9AM. heading back to Cancun.

We booked the airport/resort shuttle through cheapcaribbean. It worked very smoothly.

There is a wide variety of foods to fit most appetites. The opinion of the buffet is based on each persons tastes.

The buffets provide a lot of options to choose from and the food is pretty good. The best food is in the sit down restaurants at dinner time.

The buffet has lots of options. We totally loved the breakfast buffet but lunch and dinner were okay. The breakfast buffet includes made to order omelettes, pastries and all of the foods you would expect to see at breakfast. The fresh fruit at all buffets was great! Lunch and dinner were good, but not great. Again, lots of options, but nothing impressive. The staff seats you at your table and serve you coffee, juice,water, alcoholic beverages. The tables are nice with table cloths at the two main buffets. The beach buffet uses placematts but it is still nice.

They were ok.

Buffets are good- lots of options but can get a bit crowded - especially during high season ( lines for omelet bar). We preferred open-air buffets at Caribe/ Beach resort- a bit smaller and not as many food options but still good but not as crowded as glass enclosed buffet restaurant . Specialty restaurants are great for dinner. Japanese was our favorite, Italian our least favorite, Spanish, Mexican and Seafood also good,..

Very average, but you can eat the food.

For specific questions such as this, we do suggest contacting the resort directly as they would be best to assist you. The link from the resort's website to contact them directly is https://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/facilities/formulario-contacto.aspx.

No, but have the bartender add ice and you won't miss the can.

No. At all the bars you are given beer in a cup. At the pool bar it is a plastic cup and the other bars it is a glass cup. If you give the bartender your own cup (a mug or a cup with a lid) they will fill it up for you.

No canned beer. Just Corona from a tap poured in plastic cups at pool bar, glass in regular bars.

Nope...Only draft corona and not very cold. I would go to the Premium Palace instead where you would have all that.

There are cans of beer in your fridge in your room, but at the bar the beer is served in a cup...less trash

The Barcelo Maya is located 15 miles south of Playa Del Carmen, and 40 minutes south of the Cancun Airport.

45 minute car ride

My husband said his cab ride took about 20 minutes from the resort to Playa Del Carmen.

About 20 min. by taxi.

ten minutes........

Playa del Carmen is about 25 minutes from the hotel and it is very much worth it. There is only one taxi company which makes it very consistent with price. It was about $23 dollars to 5th Ave. A must go!

This resort offers 3 pools, all of which have a bar located at the pool.

Yes, there is a very nice swim up bar in the pool.

Yes. Each side, The Tropical and The Colonial each had their own swim-up bar.

there are several.

yes. two swim up bars

Yes, there is a swim up bar.

2.

We recommend speaking with the resort directly and reiterating your dietary needs with your server. This type of request would most easily be met at the a la carte restaurants; however, if there are dining restrictions, you may not be able to reserve a table each night.

At both the buffet and the grill, they always had some kind of steak or meats that they cook on the grill right in front of you. They also had a pasta bar where you created a bowl of various vegetables, etc. which they cook in front of you to add to the pasta. Some of the more complicated dishes were probably high in sodium, but they had a good selection of fresh fruits and salad bar, as well as cooked to order meats that would fit the bill. The Japanese restaurant seemed to marinate everything so I would probably avoid that. The Santa Fe steak house cooked everything or order, so I think they could accommodate low sodium.

We booked two rooms because my daughters are young adults, and I wish them some privacy. I think the cost was the same per person. This place is huge, so it should not be a problem getting two rooms. Ours were real close to each other, but not adjoining. I bet they have them though.

Currently the only room category we are selling for this property is a superior room with no guarantee of view. However this might change by the March 2014.

Don't know the exact answer to your question, but be aware that there really aren't any rooms at this immense hotel on the beach/ocean. The rooms are all separted from the ocean by a beautiful beach with many palm trees, then a huge pool complex, and then the first set of the 3-story room units... so an ocean view room at this particular resort is a bit of a misnomer, unless of course you count being able to see the ocean from 200 yards away across a large pool and through a bunch of palm trees.

For the most up-to-date details regarding Resort Credit breakdowns, inclusions, and restrictions, please click on the following link: https://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Mexico/Riviera-Maya/hotel-barcelo-maya-palace-deluxe/resort-credit.aspx You may also copy and paste this address into your web browser: https://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Mexico/Riviera-Maya/hotel-barcelo-maya-palace-deluxe/resort- credit.aspx

didn't use it......had everything charged to the room.....easy to settle up with front desk when checking out

It is a bunch of coupons to buy things in the stores. b...

these are discounts off of services and products offered at the resort. for example, one that I thought was very well worth it was their 100.00 off an 80 minute full body massage at the Spa. Which...when I looked at the pricing just a few days ago while I was there...was approx 158.00; that means you get a nice full body massage for 58.00! There are plenty more. But...these credits are NOT free coupons for these services so you don't have to come out of pocket as it leads you to believe, unfortunately.

You get different coupons for things within the resort....$ towards a room upgrade, $ off bottles of wine that you can buy separately in the reservation restaurants, $ off towards spa visits...etc

Spa services, wine, room upgrades, I think some golf maybe. We found them useless.

These credits are actually coupons to spa treatments, computer usage, salon, etc. They were of no use to us. The services were expensive.

Because every resort is different, it is best to contact the resort directly at mayacolonial@barcelo.com Thank you.

yes they do; however, there are a few lounge bars near lobby that do not;

Yes they do. The snack bars by the pool are open air but very comfortable because there is always a breeze. The specialty restaurants are great. The food is good and air conditioned. The buffet is very large and I dont remember any problem with heat.

All of the restaurants are air conditioned

in all except the grills by the pool/beach

Yes. The only one I noticed feeling warmer is the buffet that is included. I think it is because the sliding doors opened frequently.

Pricing is based on travel dates, availability, etc. and is subject to change. For any pricing inquires, we do ask that you please call #1-800-915-2322 and speak with an agent in our New Reservations Department for further assistance. Our office is open daily from 5am-3am EST and there is no additional charge for agent assistance via telephone.

Yes, they cost the same as adults. At least that was my experience with my 13 year old. The over all experience was amazing though.

Yes

Please contact one of our knowledgeable Beach Experts at 1-800-915-2322 and we'll be happy to look into this further for you.

Dining ticket is per person per day as part of the all inclusive package. this include all you can drink from the bar, appetizer, entree, and dessert.

The dining tickets are based on how long you stay...if you upgrade to the premier you get to make reservations for every night that you are there.

each ticket is for all the people housed in a particular room

They gave me two tickets. My boyfriend and I went and we went to two reservation dinners. They were good, but the included buffet is sufficient.

The dining tickets are per room and are good for all the people in that room. For a 7 night stay we got 4 tickets. There is no additional charge when you use these tickets unless you select to buy a bottle of wine or something (you can get the house wine or other drinks for free). Also you can select to leave a tip - we always did.

Yes you need a passport to travel anywhere outside of the United States. To travel to Mexico, it is required to have a passport.

Yes. The Riveria Maya is in Mexico. All travel outside of the United States requires a passport.

All travelers outside of Mexico were required passports.

Yeah, it's in Mexico.

Yes

Yes, and they will want to see it at the resort at check in.

The resort credits can differ depending on when you are traveling. They are dependant upon certain room categories and lenth of stays. You can call to book with an agent who can help you determine if you would qualify for those resort credits. You can reach them at 800-915-2322. Thank you.

The credits can be used for services like a massage, or an upgrade to the higher end rooms

They give you a coupon book that has a bunch of different services such as X amount off for spa, salon, private beach dinner, laundry service, etc. we only used the couples massage because it was $100 off which came out to a reasonable price. The massage was okay, not the best. Also, we used the two tickets for specialty dinner reservations. They were delicious, but I could still be happy with the buffet that was included.

Nothing that you want. it's just coupons for things at the resort. If you buy $200 worth of T-shirts you might get a discount.

Everyone seems to ask that....the resort credits were useless to us.

The resort credits were coupons for services such as computer usage, spa treatments etc. They were of no use to me. All the services are very expensive.

The resort offers activities for children aged 4-12 at the Barcy Club, providing a fun activity program and qualified staff to look after them. The Barcy Club is open daily, 8:30am-5pm. Babysitting available for a fee.

I don't think so. Only during the day, somewhere between 9-5

All-inclusive would mean all of your meals, beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), resort activities, non-motorized watersports as well as all taxes and fees are included with your package price.

It means that once you arrive at the property you do not have to spend any additional money on food, beverages or activities at the resort. If you want to go on excursions, shopping, etc. you pay for those. It's nice to make your reservations and you're done paying.

Your food, your drinks (including the items in your mini-fridge in your room), your activities (shows, games, sports, equipment, etc.... but not motorized equipment like jet-skis) your chairs, towels, and your tips are all included in your price. Once there you don't need to carry any money unless you want to buy some souveneir at one of the shops.

that all your food and drinks are included in the price that you pay. along with airfare and travel back and forth from the airport.

Food and drinks are included. Drinks are limited to the house red and white wine, corona beer, and select specialty drinks like we ordered piña colada and daiquiris.

It means you drink and eat for free. Pluss there are shows at night you can watch if you want. and there is a lot of activitys that you can do during the day for free.

Yes, there are hairdryers in the room.

I stayed the colonial hotel . It was superior room. We had hair dryers.

Yes, one in the bathroom

yes and coffee pots.

Yes there are.

Yes

The following conditions apply for the resort credit: 1) Valid for reservations made between June 28, 2013 and December 21, 2014. 2) Valid for travel between June 28, 2013 and December 21, 2014. 3) Resort Credit will be issued based on length of stay as follows: 1-4 night minimum stay required to receive a $1200 Resort Credit per room 5-11 night minimum stay required to receive a $2000 Resort Credit per room 12 nights or more minimum stay required to receive a $3000 Resort Credit per room THESE CREDITS CANNOT BE COMBINED. YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE (1) RESORT CREDIT of $1,200, $2,000 or $3,000 BASED ON LENGTH OF STAY. 4) Hotel portion of the travel voucher must contain the following Rate Code: RESORT CREDIT. No other rate code verbiage will result in a Resort Credit. 5) Resort Credits have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for other goods or services. Unused credits are not redeemable for cash and cannot be used towards a future stay or transferred to another room. 6) Limit on Resort Credits for select products or services applies. 7) Resort Credits are discount coupons that can only be applied toward the purchase of different services and products within the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort Complex, which are described in www.barcelo.com and on each of the Resort Credit coupons that are given to the guests during their stay. 8) In case of loss or theft, the coupons will not be replaced. 9) Not combinable with any other credits or discounts and additional restrictions may apply. RESORT CREDIT MAY BE USED TOWARD THE FOLLOWING: Various services at the Spa, room upgrades, room service, dining & beverages, additional resort activities and excursions, Barcelo Club and various shopping boutiques on the resort. Note: Reservations for tours, services and amenities must be requested at the resort upon arrival and are subject to availability. Restrictions apply. Inclusions and restrictions vary by hotel. For the most up-to-date details regarding Resort Credit breakdowns,inclusions and restrictions please click on the following link: $1,200-$3,000 Resort Credit Details, Terms & Conditions You may also type this address into your web browser: https://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Mexico/Riviera-Maya/hotel-barcelo-maya-palace-deluxe/resort- credit.aspx This is an informational voucher only. If all conditions are not met, this promotion is not guaranteed. The Resort reserves the right to change or withdraw this offer at any time without prior notification.

$1200.00 resort credits are a coupon booklet given at check in. They could be used for spa, massage etc. money off. we stayed 4nights three days and received 2 specialty dinner coupons. No cost for any meals or drinks. Specialty restaurants are very nice with less menu choices than buffets but much better quality food.

The resort credits are a coupon book for discounted services (spa, internet café, liquor at the liquor store, etc.). I know it is not explained well on the website but it makes more sense when you receive them at the hotel. The dinner coupon refers to one guaranteed reservation at one of the specialty restaurants. You can have the other meals at the buffet. No cost at any of them. Hope this helps!

The resort credit is just a bunch of coupons that you can use towards purchases at the spa, gift shop, room upgrades, etc... And no you do not have to pay for dinner the other nights there is a buffet that you can go to with TONS of food options.

coupons are good for credit on wine {overprice} spa , gift shop and others, yes they are discount coupons and dinner at the many restaurants are included, The Japanese Kyoto is the best with steak and lobster....overall a good resort

Discounts on services only...we were bummed about the credits but used one to get a couples massage for two for $133us...this was with the $100 credit. dinner coupon is for their restaurants..but you won't be disappointed or go hungry with the all day buffets and snack bars...we left 20 pounds heavier..lol Food was great!

As specific brands of liquor are based on availability, we do suggest contacting the resort directly as they would be best to assist you. The toll free telephone number from Barcelo's website to contact them directly is #800-227-2356 and their email address is sac5@barcelo.com.

only if you pay for it

Don't know the brands but I believe you got top shelf booze if you were at the premium resort or if you had a premium room at another resort. We found tipping the bartenders was very helpful. Go to the same ones and bring lots of $1's and you will start to get whatever grade of alcohol you want.

Alcohol and liquor selections are subject to change, so we would recommend contacting the resort directly for an up to date list of the brands they offer.

If you purchase the club premium package it does include top shelf liquor but it is available to purchase if you are not club premium

big no!!!! yes it is avail for purchase

We drank sky vodka, hornitos tequila and appletin rum..The don"t consider these top shelf but we are not picky either

No top shelf is not part but they have a huge selection.

It does not include top shelf liquor such as absolute or stoi but it is available for purchase. You can get all the smirinoff you want.

You receive 4 tickets for the specialty restaurants for a 6 night stay however restrictions may apply, please contact the resort for more information.

we stayed for 7 nights and got the same deal and did not have to pay xtra for meals. We made reservations at restaurants the following day after our arrival and got in to every restaurant with ease. Ate twice at Kyota the hibachi restaurant and got lobster and steak both times

We were upgraded to the palace some how and we did not pay for any thing and we ate at the fancy restaurants every night not just four nights. It may have had something to do with the resort being 60% full the week we were there. the week before we were there it was a 100% full and as we left it seemed like it was getting full again, we must have hit it just right. P.S. the only restaurant that I thought was less desirable than the others was the Japanize restaurant.

We had no problem getting reservations for the restaurants, and there were no extra charges, unless you wanted to order a bottle of special wine, which we did not.

I stayed for 5 nights with 2 free nights at the ala carte restaurants. We were not charged anything for the restaurants and could order extra desserts which were excellent. Some people tipped and some people did not. We both had the lobster at no extra charge.

We had no additional charges. I would cover this with your travel agent to insure no surprises.

The minibar is restocked daily- please see room description for more details. Room service is available, but it is not included in the all-inclusive plan. There is a fee.

we were there the 09-29-2013 - 10-09-2013 they stocked every other day we did not use the room service but the in room menu stated it was free i think the hours were 1100 AM to 1100PM wraps, Pizza, salads, fruit plates etc.

yes, stocked with soda's(7up, coke, diet soda) apple juice, orange juice, corona beers, water room service not included unless you purchase an upgrade added. trust me you will want to save the money as everything is so close to your rooms.

mini fridge is stocked daily, room service is NOT included in the price. Wonderful resort though.

Yes it is! They have boxed juice and soda and a few beers

The mini freg is stocked more than daily it seems as if every time you come back to the room some one has come in and tied things up and restocked the freg. The freg. is not very cold though so if your used to cool beverages you may need some ice, which is just down the hall.

This resort offers family rooms with a maximum occupancy of 5. Please contact the resort for more information at barcelo.com

We wanted attached rooms but got two rooms next to each other. The rooms are nice and the security is outstanding so it was O.K. for us not to have a door between the rooms.

They have adjoining rooms but when we requested them we did not get them. (We know that they have adjoining rooms because a room in our party had a door to the adjacent room - which no one in our party had.)

No attached rooms. You are lucky if you get two rooms close together

Resort credits are subject to availability, and they vary by resort, and time of offer. Please contact resort directly for more information at Barcelo.com.

I got nothing with the resort credit. You have to buy something to get a discount. The resort credit is a coupon book for things that people don't really want. I'm sure is would be nice for some one but are family didn't use any thing. The only time we could have used it the guy just gave us the item for the same price. Very nice people here.

Wifi was $15 per day. The meals are all included. The resort credits were basically coupons for the Spa, excursion, and bottles of wine. I would not let the $1200 resort credit influence your decision. They might help if you are planning on spending a lot of extra money on top of anything that is not all inclusive.

WIFI is free. you can use them for spa wines that are not part of the all inclusive package like top shelf wine.

There are different credits for different activities. We got a double massage with a 100. credit and paid 133. for both of us total for a 50 minute massage which was very good. The hotel was having wifi problems while we were there so we were told we could use it for free until the problem was fixed. We used it all week and were never charged.

I didn't see a wifi coupon. Your meals are already included. There was some spa coupons, some for wine, room upgrades...maybe some golf...I don't remember exactly. We found them useless. They do offer spa services on the beach....and the spa folks come around offering deals....bargain with them.

It is always good to use bottled water when drinking and/or brushing your teeth.

Yes

The water at the restaurants, bars and the buffet is safe to drink. They give you bottled water so why would you drink the tap water.

No. They provide bottled water in the mini fridge.

Never drank the tap water, so not sure if it is safe. There is no real need to drink the tap water. The room has water bottles in the mini bar (included) and every restaurant/bar/snack place has bottled water.

Yes the water is safe, we had no ill effects from drinks, ice, coffee or tea. There is bottled water available at the bars, I think for no extra charge.

The check-in is 3pm and check-out is 12pm.

The check in time and check out time was about ten minutes, it was quick and easy. At the palace the dragon is behind the counter at the lobby, if you look close when your there you can see the word barcelo in the tiles. The lobby is huge along with the rest of the resort.

Check in is 3 pm. Check out is noon.

check in time is 3:00PM and check out is 12:pm. My room was not ready until after 4:00PM. We were able to have a late checkout though at around 2:00PM

Not sure...it is probably posted on the website...we got there in the middle of the afternoon and our rooms were ready. We checked out early to catch a flight.

Check in was 300 p.m. and out at noon. However as soon as you arrive you have access to everything but your room. Also, when you checkout you can still use the facilities til you leave later in the day.

For further information regarding the resort credits, please visit the resort's website directly at https://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Mexico/Riviera-Maya/hotel-barcelo-maya-colonial/resort-credit.aspx.

They are coupons for spa, etc. I found the services to be overpriced. The coupons make them somewhat normal priced.

We received $1200 in resort credits. If you plan to spend money once you get to the resort they may come in helpful. We went to an all inclusive resort so we would not have to spend money. For example, $20 towards an $80 (or more) bottle of wine. Or $100 off a couples massage (Which we did use, but by the time we used the coupon the price was probably about what I would normally pay). Hope this helps some.

It's like coupons you use them for Spa discount, Bottle of wine things like that.

Resort credits were a joke and not of value. We received $2,000 in credit and didn't use a single one. Think bogus coupon book that takes a $200 massage down to $150 for an hour.

They were for room upgrades and spa services and wines, etc. We didn't find any one to be of use to us.

We did not snorkel from the beach, we took a short trip to the reef. It was great. cost $49.

Snorkeling is available at this resort. For more information contact the resort directly at www.barcelo.com.

Snorkeling is very good from the beach. Large schools of fish near the rocks.

It was outstanding. We swam with sea turtles.

If you walk to the Palace side of the group of resorts the snorkeling is okay - you see reasonable coral and fish. If you follow the swim buoys toward the Tropical section of the group of resorts you will swim over sandy areas where we saw sting rays (per advice from other travelers). We didn't see sea turtles but other travelers did. Others in our party snorkeled by the piers near the Caribe/Colonial portion of the resort and they saw lots of fish but the coral there isn't as nice. Definitely worth snorkeling in the area but because of how shallow everything is (and the easy access to lots of people) the coral is damaged. (Also the per day limit is 1 hour/day otherwise they charge $6/hr extra) I've snorkeled and scuba dove in many areas in the Caribbean - this isn't the best, but it is so easy with enough to see that it is definitely worth doing.

We didn't hear of any good snorkeling. There is an area by the dock to snorkel but there are just some clusters of the same fish. My husband snorkeled a little one day and saw nothing. On our last day I did see some people snorkeling in a little area by some rocks so perhaps there was something over there. Overall, I would say there is no snorkeling at the resort.

Just returned from a 9 day trip. The snorkeling is great. There is a reef just inside the bouys that extends from the Palace to the Tropical. We saw many colorful fish, at least 5 stingrays, fan coral, brain coral, any other colorful things. We brought our own mask and snorkel for all day free snorkeling. It was beautiful. The sand is soft, so no need for shoes. There are some rock areas, but plenty of sandy areas to walk or swim around.

Golf is not included in the all-inclusive package. For more information on cost please contact the resort directly at www.barcelo.com.

Golf course fees and transportation (There are no courses at the resort) are not included.

Fee not included. I saw one driving in but I am not sure how far away it was. It would be super simple to set up through the cheapcarribean agent though. Transportation is cheap.

While staying at this resort you will have access to the sister hotels Barcelo Maya Beach and Barcelo Maya Caribe Beach.

No, unfortunately this resort does not have sharing priviledges. For more information, please contact our Beach Experts @800-915-2322.

Definitely not for the Paradise section of the hotel. Online it says that you can go to the Caribe section but while there they said we could not make reservations at the menu/reservation based restaurants except at the Colonial/Tropical. Make reservations the day you arrive - they book quickly. We didn't need/want to walk over to the Caribe for the buffet meals.

You can use any facility at any resort except the premium one. We stayed at the Tropical and really never found any reason to leave it. The pools area is big and there are bars and restaurants everywhere. We did go to the Colonial a few times to a bar or restaurant. The nightclub is by the Colonial and there is a little Mexican shopping area by the Colonial. The complex is huge....gorgeous...you can walk all through it....the pools are great...there is a kids water slide facility...lots to do.

You may use the services at all hotels except the Palace Hotel.

You can use the pools and restaurants at any of the resorts other than the Palace. You can use the Palace restaurants by making a reservation with the concierge and paying $25 per person for dinner. We received three coupons for dinner at the various white tablecloth restaurants, for which you DO need reservations, and you should probably book them as soon as you arrive as the Weekend nights fill quickly. You can choose to pay $25 per person for additional dinners anywhere in the resort, or you can eat at the buffets as part of the "all- inclusive."

Please contact the resort directly at 800 227 2356 for a complete list of which buildings are air conditioned.

yes

The buffet, and menu reservation dining areas are all indoors with A/C. There are pool-side (near the beach) open air "grills" that do not have A/C but do have fans. Note - all restaurants require shoes, shirt and to be dry (ie not dripping from swimming). The ones with A/C are definitely less casual than the grills (where people wore bathing suit bottoms with a T-shirt or wraps over a bathing suit)..

The buffet seemed to be a comfortable temperature. I found the specialty dining rooms to be quite warm. Too warm for my dining comfort.

Yes. The dining rooms are air conditioned and very comfortable.

yes

Jaguar's Discotheque Drinks and dancing. Cover charge. Daily, 11pm-2am. For information on pricing, please contact the resort directly @mayacolonialbeach.com.

I don't believe there was a cover charge. I didn't go in but others in our group did and they just wandered in.

there is no cover charge, free!

There is none with the all inclusive package.

There was no cover charge with our all inclusive package.

For specific information on pricing, please call our Beach Experts @800-915-2322.

Our 7 mo old stayed for free, so I believe your one year old will as well. I am not sure, however, about your 12 year old. I hope this answers half of your question.

The $2000 resort credit gives you the equivalent of coupons to use on items during your trip. So instead of lets say $150 for a spa service you would only pay $120. Go to this site: https://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Mexico/Riviera-Maya/hotel-barcelo-maya-beach/resort-credit.aspx And then click on the link for whatever resort credit you are getting. Only one voucher was used in our party of three rooms - a voucher for $10 off a $40 or more bottle of wine.

Please be advised that not all reservations qualify for this offer. However, the information regarding the resort credit inclusions can be found directly on Barcelo's website at https://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Mexico/Riviera-Maya/hotel- barcelo-maya-palace-deluxe/resort-credit.aspx.

We received a bunch of coupons when we checked in. I am not aware of anyone in our group finding any one of the coupons useful.

They will give you a book of coupons when you check in. Each coupon has a value and can be used towards a service at the hotel. We received the same $2,000 coupon booklet and found it pretty much worthless as the services at the hotel are very expensive.

I didn't completely understand the credits either, but they are for discounts on items that are not included like a rental car, spa, dinner on the beach and bottles of wine from the wine list.

Good question, I was there a week and wondered the same thing and I still don't know. Never came up in my stay, we got 4 coupons for the specialty resteraunts and ate an drank all day everyday for free without seeing or hearing of a "credit" anywhere.

You can use it for additional activities or in shops. e.g. - spar, massage - wine - gifts - etc.

This resort does not offer complimentary shuttle service to and from Cancun International, however, if booking through CheapCaribbean we would be more than happy to help you pre arrange transportation for you for a price of $42.50pp round trip.

We had to pay extra for it....handled through cheapcaribbean. It was easy to get the shuttle at the airport and back again.

No, we paid $42 per person round trip plus a tip for the driver. The drive from the airport is about an hour and 20 minutes. You can book the transportation when you book your trip on cheapcarribean and they will make the arrangements.

Yes so long as you choose the round trip transportation in your travel package.

We had to pay $42/each extra for round trip transportation to and from the airport. We did talk to a couple that booked direct with Barceló, the hotel does have shuttle buses that they own and we were told that it was free if you book direct with the hotel. We went through Cheap Caribbean so we had to pay extra. The bus ride was about an hour.

No. It cost $42.50 per person for round trip bus ride.

Resort credits can be put towards a trip to the spa or for something like upgrading your meal at one of the resort restaurants.

When you check in they will give you a coupon booklet. You may use 1 coupon per person, per day, per service. For example, if you wish to have a massage, you have a $20 coupon to use towards the purchase price, which is around $100. We received $2,000 in coupons but didn't use any as the services at the hotel were very pricey.

The resort is an all inclusive resort. The resort credits are basically multiple coupons that you will get that you can use towards specific purchases throughout the resort. For example you can use $100 towards massage services at the spa or a specific amount in the gift shops if you spend a specific amount, Make sense? I hope so :-)

You can use it towards excursions and massages...things that aren't included in all inclusive. All inclusive normally refers to food and drinks

The all inclusive is for your meals and drinks. The coupons were for spa treatments, computer usage etc. There were none that were useful to us. The extras are so expensive that the coupons didn't even make them affordable.

Spa or salon services, a private romantic dinner on the beach, bottles of wine

Resort Credits can be used towards wine in the restaurants, spa services, laundry, and various other services provided by the resort.

Various services at the Spa, room upgrades, room service, dining & beverages, additional resort activities and excursions, Barcelo Club and various shopping boutiques on the resort. Note: Reservations for tours, services and amenities must be requested at the resort upon arrival and are subject to availability. Restrictions apply. Inclusions and restrictions vary by hotel.

Only towards what they have on the card. So you will get a $$$ credit towards a massage or a $$$ credit towards a room upgrade etc.

the resort credits are useless..

There are many different ones. From computer usage, spa treatments, and beauty salon. Their prices however were higher than what I can pay for them at home so with the coupons it is still more expensive than what I usually pay. It sounded like a great deal before we went but once there, the coupons were no use to us.

Nothing! They are coupons given to you to use towards things at the resort. A lot of the coupons are good towards the Spa. Unfortunately, we were not able to use any of our resort credits.

CheapCaribbean.com does not offer Ocean View rooms however you can inquire about upgrading (depending on availability) upon check in.

The hotels are set back pretty far from the beach, most do not have a view. The ones facing the ocean did not seem like they would have a very good view anyways, I wouldn't think it would be worth the extra money.

No! Honestly, I wouldn't pay for an ocean view because it still isn't going to be that good. The rooms are not located right on the beach. I had a garden view and LOVED it. It was quiet and you are so close to the beach it didn't matter.

As far as I could tell there are no ocean view rooms.

No, rooms are far away from ocean. You may get a pool view but very unlikely

Only if you upgrade your room. We did not. We had a beautiful garden view and were very close to the ocean. We met a family that did upgrade. The view of the ocean is not that great, just based on the hotel design. Beautiful resort, though. We were 100% pleased with our room.

They are only used if you actually spend money and buy something in addition to what is provided at the resort. I think they are a waste. You already pay enough to go you don't want to pay more money and then get a $10 coupon on something!

They are all coupons for things that cost money in and around the resort. Nothing too special, good deals off massages is the best part.

The resort credits are added values which come directly from the resort. These added values do contain stipulations as not all reservations qualify to receive the resort credits.

It doesn't work how it should exactly. What they do is give you a booklet filled with discounts coupons off certain things. You can pretty much expect to pay plenty out of pocket if you decide to try to upgrade or anything. For example, I used $30.00 off the spa, (which was amazing by the way) and I still payed $100.00 extra out of pocket. So, be prepared for spending if you want the good stuff. hope this helps.

It is for excursions and the things you can do such as photography that we did. You can have 100 dollars of spa, 30 dollars of photography, and etc. I didn't find it very useful to be honest.

We had the credits as well! You are given a wallet of them and they go towards random things. Such as $40 towards a massage...$$$ for a room upgrade etc. We honestly didn't use any of the credits.

Yes you are able to have drinks on the beach, there are a couple pool side bars about 20 feet from the beach!

Yes and yes.

Oh my. Yes. Yes. Yes. Or Si Si Si. You can drink anywhere, anytime, day and night. They will even come around and pick up your empties and ask if you'd like a refill!

You can have all drinks at the beach, and the bar is literally behind you at the pool areas, or you can wait for waitress to bring it to you and you just tip her.

Yes, you can have drinks at the beach and pools. There are bars and buffets nearby. Here is the trick: if you don't mind to tip, give the servant $5-$7 with your first drink and he will bring drinks to you all day long.

Yes. There is a bar in the pool near the entrance to the Beach. Actually, there are bars everywhere...just none directly on the beach.

We have several excursion options in Mexico! Please contact our Existing Reservations department, and we can assist in adding these onto your reservation.

Believe the good reviews! I just returned from a 6 day stay. The only bad thing about this place is how big it is. There is soooo much to do. We seen plenty of babies so i don't see an issue there. The kids area is very cool. As for excursions. i would recommend the Mayan Adventure with Sea Turtles. It is amazing, It's nice and smooth. We did the ATV's (not sure if that's for babies) And I didn't see any plantain excursions for your husband, but right on the resort there is A LOT of places that sell what he's looking for. Hope this helps!

Guests may enjoy dinner at the specialty restaurants using tickets, based on the length of their stay: 3 nights, 2 tickets 4-5 nights, 3 tickets 6 nights, 4 tickets 9 nights, 6 tickets 10 nights, 7 tickets 11 or 12 nights, 8 tickets 13 nights, 9 tickets 14 nights, 10 tickets

This hotel includes unlimited food and drinks, but some dining restrictions may apply. Please check with the front desk for details.

You can stay there from open till close if you like and engorge yourself with hundreds of different foods to try! They usually open 3 times a day for several hours and in between, the 24 hour bar serves pizza, sandwiches, popcorn, and fruit. Can't lose!

If you mean the buffets, you can eat as many times and as much as you want. The specialty restaurants are limited to 2 or 3 times depending on the length of your stay.

You can eat as often as you want

There are 4 a la carte restaurants included in your stay. You can eat at each of them only once during your stay. The Japanese steakhouse was the best, although all were good. They are serious about the long pants for men requirement.

This resort does not provide airport transfers. However we do sell airport transfers at an additional charge. For more information or pricing please call us at 1-800-915-2322.

Amstar is the company Cheap Caribbean included in our package with an additional $100 per person. Well worth it. Believe me,

CheapCaribbean.com has round trip transportation for like 42 bucks. it's way worth it. They will tell you exactly how to use it and where to be at what times. no problemo!

book through the website for shared transportation, its really hard to speak with them and find transportation once you're already there.

Transportation is not provided by the hotel. We booked it through CheapCaribbean as part of our package and the service was provided by Amstar who did a good job from the airport to the hotel and a great job from the hotel to the airport.

In my case, I order transportation at the time of booking. It cost me $85 round trip. Also, you can call taxi or make reservation for shuttle.

All gratuities are included, however tipping is always appreciated.

We brought $50 in ones and $50 in fives. That was it. I'm in the restaurant business, so I'm generous by nature. We tipped around $2 every meal and about $2 every round of drinks. Drivers were tipped approximately $3 each way. The staff definitely deserves it. Keep in mind $1 equates to $12 pesos.

Appropriate is a loose term for this. I did bring one's and I tipped usually one to two dollars for my first drink. Then I went through 3 or four more before giving them another dollar. Depending on how much you plan to drink, just keep in mind 5 dollars for a couple hours of drinking isn't bad for them. 5 or 6 Us dollars in Peso's is much more. Hope this helps.

I brought 100 in dollar bills. I tipped two dollars minimum for all workers such as for breakfast, lunch, dinner, two dollars, baggage two, bartenders 2 from time to time since I was there often I tipped once or twice a day. The staff was very appreciative of the tips and they deserved it

We tipped when the Service was great and roughly based it on what we would have paid for the meal.

I gave a buck every now and then to the bartenders. Never tipped at the restaurants but that would be a nice gesture. I also became friends with one of the bartenders for keeping my drinks full all the time and at the end of our vacation, I slipped him $40. NO TIPS are required, it's all up to you.

No, there is no additional charge for the items in the mini bar. These are included in the all inclusive package.

no

Absolutely not and they restock them daily.

No we used everything there was and they restock it every day

No, they are included and restocked daily.

No. It's all inclusive. Whatever you take out of the fridge will be restocked the next day.

We do not have any reports on file from any other CheapCaribbean.com customers regarding illness while at this resort.

The water there is the SAFEST there is. At this Resort they have it set up for a hurricane disaster sight where they have all filtered water. We were worried about it also until we found that out.

This is a good question. I believe we are all going to respond to things differently, however, I ate all the fruits and salads they had to offer for 6 days. I drank the hotel water. I had NO problems in any way. I think the people that usually see issues, have fairly week stomachs or immune systems. And you can not beat the freshness of their produce!! Hope this helps.

The water is purified and quite safe. Drank the water, and ate lots of vegetables and fruits for an entire week with no issues.

My husband and I ate plenty of salads and fruits during our stay and had no issues whatsoever. They also serve water that is bottled in all of the restaurants and buffets.

Well, I'm just wondering if you ask the same question every time you going out to eat at your local food places?

The salads and fruits are one of the best parts of the buffet in my opinion.

Yes. The hotel uses purified water. We ate the fruits and salads and even ate the ice in our drinks.

The $200.00 is a security deposit that all resorts charge until you check out. This is not a charge to your credit card, but a hold in case there are issues with the condition of the room when you check out.

Who's asking for this money?...Can't cheapcarribean answer this?

They did not ask us to pay this at check it. We were ready to, but it never came up.

I went with my girlfriend and we have different last names and didnt pay anything at check-in.

I didnt like it either, but you do get it back. The hotel shops, other than the Mexican plaza, charge everything to your room. There is a number on your wristband that they use. You will sign the receipt and put your room number and wristband number at the bottom. When you check out, they will tell you the total and use the card. The Mexican plaza is like a mini shopping mall on the Colonial side. You can pay cash and barter with them. It actually works out well and is convenient.

We didnt pay any money other han the package all inclussive to cheap caribbean

Dont Know this is very strange be carful

They vary based on what is available. We suggest contacting the resort directly prior to arrival or speaking to one of our agents at 1.800.915.2322.

The beer was a Corona Negra and Corona Light. We never asked for a specific liquor but was never turned down with any of the concoctions we came up with.

The only beer included in the all-inclusive was corona. They had a variety of liquors and made pretty much any drink you asked for. As for soda they had orange fanta, coke, diet coke, and sprite.

EVERYTHING is included. Really. They offer every drink you can think of and some they create themselves. Several bars, one open 24 hours. I've been places where you could have this and pay for that. Not here!! When they say all inclusive, they mean it.

If you choose the all-inclusive package, there is the usual: beer, vine, and all mix drinks.

When you book through CC it is part of the add ons. If my memory is correct it was about $20-25 pp. round trip tranfers.

We can add transfers to your reservation upon booking! Simply call us at 1.800.915.2322.

Yes

Yes. We purchased the shared roundtrip transfer through cheap Caribbean. Everything was flawless. We didn't have to worry about how to get to the hotel and back to the airport. They will be waiting for you when you arrive and pick you up at your hotel lobby for the return.

Yes, there is an option when you setup your trip for private company bus or private transportation to and from the resort. Have used both, the bus just takes a little longer because it stops at a couple of other resorts.

yes you should arrange before you leave on your trip.

We can request with the resort any special honeymoon amenities on your behalf. To do so, you must call us at 1.800.915.2322.

Don't know about pricing but we saw at least one or two weddings per day. Very nice. The staff is really great with special events. Try Barcelo web site for packages and prices

The Bellhop will hold your luggage until the room is ready and then take it there. They have a large Changing Room next to the front desk so you can change into a bathing suit so pack a change that you can easily get to. Hit the Buffet then the pool or beach and your stuff will be in your room when your ready!

Yep! We had to change our rooms and they held our luggage safely in a special room near reception.

Yes, they will keep your luggage until your room is ready. Pack your swimsuits in your carry on while you wait for your room or you can check out the resort while you wait. We booked our dinners for the week and planned our excursions for the week while we waited.

Pack pool attire in an easy to reach place. They will take your luggage and secure it until your room is ready and then deliver it to you. Hit the pool or beach or restaurants right away, they take care of everything for you.

YES, THEY OFFER LOCKERS

Yes. The staff will greet you and hold your luggage in the lobby. You need to go to the counter and check in. They will give you tags for your luggage with your room number on it. Then you take it to the bell boys to tag your luggage. When you check in, you get your wristband. You can explore the hotel and begin to enjoy the festivities. Then at 3 pm, go back to the lobby to get your room key. The bell boys will bring your luggage to your room. If you are uncomfortable leaving your luggage, there is a bar in the lobby with snacks and drinks. You can wait there and take your own luggage, if you choose to do that instead.

Domestic beverages are local beverages from the country that the resort is located in.

Top shelf is extra! Only domestic beers. Corona, corona, and corona

I AM AWARE OF DAIQUIRIS, PINA COLADAS AND CORONAS....I AM NOT MUCH OF A DRINKER SO THESE WERE ALL I HAD

I'm not sure about domestic beverages. The beer they served was Corona and a lot of lower end alcohol but you could ask for Bacardi or whatever.

All bottom shelf liquor, a red and white wine, and corona.

My husband, the beer drinker, was able to drink corona and modelo. Corona was on tap at all of the bars and canned corona was stocked in the fridge. I am the fruity rum drinker and ordered anything I wanted. They have a special drink of the day. That was always fun to try. Sometimes it was rum, vodka, tequila, and other liqueurs. We did not get the upgrade for premium drinks, but I really didn't notice the difference. I'm glad we didn't pay the extra money. They also have coke, diet coke, and juice in the fridge. Bottled water is available in your room and at every bar. The entire hotel uses purified water, so you can even eat the ice.

Each guest gets tickets according to their stay for example a guest that is staying for 3 nights will get 2 tickets. The restaurants that reguare tickets are the speciality restaurants that require reservations these are: Mare Nostrum, Kyoto, Steak House Santa Fe, El Coral Restaurant, and Ristorante Capri.

One ticket per person. For example: We stayed for 7 nights and we received 4 dining tickets per person and was able to eat at 4 different restaurants. Steakhouse, Italian, Seafood, and Japanese restaurants require tickets. Hint: Book your meals the minute you check in because reservations fill up quickly, especially the Japanese one. You are able to eat at the restuarants in the Palace Deluxe for an extra fee per person.

THE TICKETS ARE BY ROOM, I GOT 2 TICKETS BECUASE I SPENT 5 DAYS (I THINK YOU GET 3 TIKCETS FOR LONGER STAY) YOU THEN MAKE THE RESERVATION FOR THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE,,,,ALL 4 SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS REQUIRE RESERVATIONS USING THE TICKETS