Barcelo Maya Colonial - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

11551 reviews

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  First time at an AI, beautiful resort!

  TL;DR: First time at an AI and we loved it. Food was acceptable, AC was strong, and the service was excellent. Very few issues and so much fun. 😎🏩🌊 — My wife, myself, and 2 of our kids (13, 17) stayed at the Colonial June 6-11 (we’re headed out super early tomorrow). We had a great time! 🛏️ Grounds & Room: The resort is MASSIVE, beautiful, and clean. Service was fantastic. Most staff spoke English which was helpful since my high school Spanish is rough. We were in a 2nd floor premium junior suite. We requested a ground floor room in advance (for disability reasons) but none were available. The room was really clean and comfy. Double bed suites were all taken so the staff set up a cot for one of the kids. Which was better because my wife and I prefer a king anyway! The sleeping spaces were all comfy (bed, cot, and couch). The AC was STRONG - thank god lol. 🥘 Food: The buffets were buffet-y. 🤷🏻‍♀️ They were fine. We did a la cartes every night. Four were prebooked for us (premium perk). We swapped one booked restaurant for another and also made a fifth reservation at check-in. 1. Kyoto (hibachi) - fun show, good food! 17y/o and my favorite. 2. Santa Fe - ribeye and salmon were both yummy, but not exceptional. Still good! 3. Capri - honestly just ok (think Olive Garden if that), 13 y/o did love the pizza. 4. Mexico Lindo - The crème brûlée was so good!! 5. La Fuerte - yum!! My wife’s favorite for the grilled salmon. we do NOT recommend room service, especially if you’re not premium and have to pay extra for it. pizza and burgers were both really bad. 🌊 Water: The pool at the Colonial was amazing! Swim-up bar was typically busy, but efficient, and made good drinks (I drank mostly mango mojitos). We didn’t spend much time at the beach since it was pretty windy. We did try snorkeling by the Palace but it was choppy and sadly didn’t spot turtles 😩 🧳 Packing: Glad we brought: aloe, decent shoes, 2-3 swimsuits each, waterproof phone pouches, cash for tips. Wish we brought: extra snacks for the room, a nail file lol. Brought but didn’t use: Damp Rid, insulated tumblers, travel clothesline, multiple floaties. 📝 Tips: WEAR SUNSCREEN. Like, way more than you think you should. I burned day one (with sunscreen on)…ow!! Check your kids’ drinks - my 13 y/o was served a very non-virgin pina colada (actually a damn strong one 🤪). If you have mobility limitations - rent a scooter through PlayaMobility! You will not regret giving yourself some extra help on the massive campus. The ATM charges a stupid high fee so make sure to bring cash for tips. We brought $100 USD, $1s and $5s, but next time I’d bring $150.

  Jun 10, 2025
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  Excellent

  My partner and me really enjoyed our stay. We enjoyed the activities there’s so much we kept ourselves busy

  Jun 05, 2025
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  Terrible waste of a cherished family trip!

  Absolutely lousy stay!! I would not recommend this place to anyone. It’s too big and there is no care about your stay. Check in started out bad, they did not have my reservation so they held $500 per room, I had 2 rooms. I booked this stay at least 2 weeks prior…you would think in 2 weeks they could have handled whatever needed to be handled; they sure had no trouble charging my credit card! So we waited hrs in the humid heat with little children!! Next the rooms were not good! Moldy shower head, front door not closing properly, dead bat outside the door…oh and no room service without an extra charge! Food, take everyone word for it, TERRIBLE! No water sports, you have to pay extra for everything, smh!!! They said we had access to the other resort, the palace but we received so much trouble going there because our kids had different bracelets!! BEWARE OF THIS RESORT! I am so ready to leave since day 1 and they are refusing to refund me…nothing is going right here. I hate this place, which is sad because we were excited about coming back to Mexico. This places a bad taste in my mouth about ever coming back…and we are a family that travels!!! At this point I want money back and I want to leave but I am getting the run around constantly! Might I add drilling from the roof awakening!

  Jun 04, 2025
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  Beautiful resort with numerous activities

  We appreciated the beautiful grounds and architecture of this resort. It is difficult to find a resort with tennis courts and the courts at Barcelo are well maintained. The resort has numerous activities as well as large, beautiful pools near the ocean. We saw a variety of fish and very friendly turtles while snorkeling. The resort has a large variety of restaurants, and we enjoyed all of our meals. All staff members were very friendly and helpful.

  Jun 02, 2025
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  Beautiful property if you don’t mind meh food

  Pros: the pools are giant with swim up bars and all sorts of water features. The beaches are right next to pool making it easy to switch between them and the palm trees provide a lot of shade. Not too much seaweed in may, meaning we were able to swim. The promenade by beach is also beautiful and easy to get to to each of the resorts you can use (although it’s a bit of a walk). The hammocks and chairs at pool offer plenty of shade. The facility overall is stunning and immersed in nature. Mixed: the rooms are a bit outdated, although comfortable. The biggest issue is they don’t guarantee how many beds you’ll get, so we had to fight for a room with 2 beds after one of us slept on the couch the first night. However, once settled in our new room, it was perfectly fine for the week. Cons: the food is fine if you aren’t picky, but if you want good food or are a foodie, this isn’t the place for you. Also the place could use an app so you don’t wait online booking reservations or walk resort to resort looking to see which lobbies have live music or what the entertainment schedule is (not that the shows were very good anyway).

  May 31, 2025