Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe Resort All-Inclusive, Solidaridad

We were looking forward to a relaxing and exciting destination wedding and thought that we would be treating ourselves by staying at the Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe. We made our room reservations and sent an email to the wedding department to begin our planning. We waited and waited and finally received a poorly written response from Victoria the wedding planner. We chalked up the grammer to the language difference and continued to hope for the best. We began selecting our wedding package and were excited to hear back with updates and finalize our wedding plans. Two weeks later Victoria finally responded, each time we would try to contact her it would take at least a week for her to respond. The communication was terrible! With only 2 weeks before we were flying out she dropped a bomb on us, the hotel wanted to charge us $100 a person for a day pass for any guests that weren't staying at the hotel. We asked what the day pass was for and she replied that the day pass would allow them on the property and use of the buffet. We asked why we needed to pay for them to eat twice as they wouldn't be arriving to the hotel until our wedding and we are already paying for their food and drinks. Victoria and the hotel were unwilling to compromise on the day pass cost, this was an additional $2,000 on top of our $7,000 wedding package and $8,000 we and our guests were spending on our accommodations. The service from Victoria and lack of communication was so upsetting that we decided to cancel our reservations with the Barcelo Maya Palace and take our business elsewhere. Thank goodness we had purchased the insurance with our travel agent. We were able to switch to another resort, the Gran Melia that was even nicer and less expensive and had a wonderful staff. We had the trip of our lives and our wedding was spectacular. I warn anyone that is planning on staying or having their wedding at the Barcelo Maya to reconsider. They are not interested in your happiness or making your special day a memorable one. They are there to simply drain as much from your wallet as they can.

I spent a week recently with my family and chose this hotel through the Internet. It turns out to be THE worst hotel I have been to, EVER, and I have been to a lot in my 61 years of age. Service is the worst, food is truly third-rate, rooms are so-so and worst of all is the fact that the hotel is a ONE-FLOOR building throughout! This means that, if you are given rooms at the far end (as was our case) you have to walk like a mile between your accommodations and the beach and restaurants! In short, I would NEVER recommend this hotel to my worst enemy! My experience with these "all-included" resorts has been bad (this was only my second and will definitely be the last). Before you book one, make sure you KNOW exactly what "all included " means. In this hotel, VERY little is really included, and what is, is really the worst quality. Go to this hotel at your OWN RISK. I can go on and on detailing ALL that is wrong with this hotel (it's a Spanish resort, so I should have known), but you get the picture! Consumer BEWARE.

My family and I came here in June 2008 for 7-nights and in June 2009 for 10 nights and everything was excellent / perfect (food buffets, staff, beach, pools, guests-everything) and brand new. We were impressed and could not wait to get back. We returned in 2010 for 12 nights to only be very disappointed / angry / stressed out / shocked when we were told at check in that they had no room and needed to put us in one of the other hotels at the property because they had overbooked a convention. We could not believe that they were trying to do this to us. I asked to talk to the Manager, and she said she was sorry but they had overbooked. I told her that we had been coming here for 3-years now and we booked this hotel 4-5 months in advance and paid for the Myan Palace and not one of the older cheaper hotels on the property (which are not as nice or big) and we do not want to stay anywhere else. She asked if we could come back to the front desk in 3-hours to see if she could find a room for us. We were shocked, but what are you to do? I held my ground & temper and said OK. We were entitled to use the ammenities while we waited for 3-hours wondering if we were going to be staying at the Palace or not but with our hearts very dissapointed and hurt after coming here for the 3rd year in a row and being told that we might not get what we paid for. After 3-hours we come to find out that they found a room and it was almost ready. The damage to our hearts was already done after the first conversation with the front desk. The property, pool, food and grounds were not as clean as in 2008 & 2009 and the staff was not as polite either. Our rating was a 5-star in 2008 & 2009, but 2010 to us was a 2-3 star considering what happened. Not sure why the Barcelo property went down in customer service because they had it dialed in perfectly in 2008/09. We were very hurt and disappointed because it is a very BEAUTIFUL piece of property with a GREAT BEACH in a perfect spot that captured our HEART"S 2-years in a row. We will probalbly not be returning to this Barcelo property and will miss what we had in 2008 & 2009, but our memories will remain of the great times in 2008 & 2009, but may try another Barcelo Resort elsewhere.

After spendinf a week with 14 family members....we dont have enough WONDERFUL things to say about the Barcelo Palace!!! Everything was PERFECT!! Where to start...the Hotel is beautiful, one of the nicest along the entire Riviera Maya, the grounds are huge and perfectly manucured, the pools are clean, crisp, enviting, and the swim-up bar just tops it off! The beach.....spectacular! Yes there are some rocky parts to the beach, but watershoes and the spectacular things you see on the reef snorkeling just 30 feet from the shore make up for a couple of rocks. As a diver, I saw more variety off the shore than I've seen on many dives....turtles, lion fish, eels...just to name a few. After a full day in the water of canoeing or on the catamara (no extra fee), the food awaits. From GREAT buffets....choices unlike many other all inclusives, to 5 star meals in their "Specialty" restaurants....the food is un matched! If it's "spirits" you're after....just ask for the top-shelf liquor...again, no extra fee! The rooms are beautiful and kept imaculate, the bedding is clean and the sheets are ironed, the bathrooms are spacious and covered in marble and although the rooms are a walk from the pool and the restaurants, after ALL the food you eat....you welcome the walk! IF you don't want to walk, they do offer a shuttle service about every 5-10 minutes that can take you to your building. As to the staff, very helpful and attentive. I can't say too much about the nightlife becasue I was so tired from having fun during the day, but we did attend some live shows at the theater and I know they have a Disco on property....didn't go, but heard it was fun! Overall, the expereince was WONDERFUL, we have plans to return to the Barcelo Maya Palace in a couple years...next time - we bring more people and stay for 2 WEEKS! WE WILL RETURN!!

I loved this hotel. I stayed at the Maya Palace and loved every minute of our stay. The staff was very accommodating and friendly and as far as I could tell all spoke very good english. I booked our transfer through bookit. Absolutely no problems there- they even arrange an appointment time to discuss your return flight. Our room was a little bit of a walk to the pool area, but it was'nt that bad, plus the hotel has so many pretty things to look at along the way. the rooms were spacious and clean and the bed was comfortable. No crappy linens or pillows. Between the walking and the intense humidity, both of those cancelled out the amount of food I ate at the buffett. Choice cuts of meat, super yummy drinks and desserts and the best part it was all included. I cannot say enough nice things about this hotel. The coolest thing that happened while we were there is when we got to see the birth of sea turtles. I hope you take my review into consideration, it truly was one of the most relaxing and stress-free vacations I have ever had.

We just got back after spending 5 days, 6/18-6/23/09 - started off by getting charged for a private transfer from airport to hotel - but hotel offered no such service even though I booked it directly through their reservation service - had to take another taxi for an additional charge of $120.00 cash one way - got to hotel - had to argue for over an hour to have the transfer charged deleted from our bill even though they offered no such service - next night an intruder entered our room 1am - turned on lights and my husband chased him away - security found no one and the hotel after checking the key card entry said no one came in our room, we either imagined this man (all 4 off us) or left our door "open" - we did neither. Had no way to really lock our door so we put a chair in front of the door for the next 4 nights. Service was definitely not 5 star - hotel was not informative as to events occuring around the resort - they needed a daily bulletin and this would have helped tremendously. Language barrier was really bad - if you don't speak spanish - you are at a real loss. Food was not that great either - we only liike the French and the Japanese restaurant. The last straw was being charged not in pesos but they over charged us and our credit card company spoke directly with the hotel manager to try and explain the over charge and he refused to understand so the credit card company said we would just have to dispute this once we received the bill back in the US. The beach was pretty but the ocean area had rocks so you had to be careful where you walked. Also not as many water sports as indicated on the website. WE WILL NOT BE RETURNING TO THIS RESORT EVER!!! A prior reservation does not guarantee your rate at all. Also ants in the room.

We stayed at the Barcelo Maya Palace in Playa Del Carmen. Palace guests have access to all the other resorts, and it is a little nicer than the other resorts, but the other resorts are very nice. Kids club is awesome...indoor and outdoor. Treasure hunts, arts and crafts, movies at night. All of the workers were Mexican and spoke perfect English. Our boys were 4 and 6 years old, they had a blast. Kids pool is phenominal. 10+ slides, 1.5 feet deep. The main pool is the largest pool I've ever seen and its beautiful. Swim up bar is awesome. Room was beautiful (but a little far). Staff was kind and always trying to do more. Food was very good. You can do burgers and fries or fresh fish and steak cooked to order every meal. The breakfast buffet was mind blowing with the assortment of waffles, french toast,pastries, juices and fruit. Kids basketball, bowling, ping pong and bocce between pools and beach. Beach was beautiful, albeit a little rocky, complimentary kayaks, water bikes (with the huge wheels), and snorkel equipment. But the water sports are little far from the Palace, so we only went once out of 5 days. Tons of chairs on the beach. Staff always said "hello" as they walked by. No lines @ buffet. Restaurants were great. Never pulled my wallet out once! My picky wife just relaxed and read books at the pool sipping pina coladas. Can't wait to go back.

I just came back with my husband from our week long stay.. It was my first trip to Playa Del Carmen, but I would go back in a heart beat. This a very large resort,with lots to offer. It is immaculate, and the staff kill themselves to meet your every request. The beach was huge, and schools of angel fish and needle nose fish hang out by the rocks. Staff were always wandering around trying to get people to participate in things. ( volley ball, snorkeling, soccer), yet they were not obnoxious about it. There are two theaters there, a small train to take you around the property, a disco, and a shopping center... The only thing I can say is that if you do not like to walk around then perhaps a smaller resort would be better, as it is a very large property. However, I loved it there and will return next year. P.S they have a pool with water slides for the kids and an all day activity on site program for the little ones so you can get some peace and quiet, while they are entertained

If you don't like the Barcelo Maya Palace, you don't like the ocean. This immaculate hotel sits on the best snorkeling beach in the area. The property is immaculate and well-maintained, service is great and the food is awesome. We just returned from a trip there in June, 2008, and will most definitely return. Disregard the negative review posted by the bitter person who didn't get 4 key cards for their room; if you like the ocean, you can't go wrong at the Barcelo Maya Palace.

We just came back from a 4 night stay in May 2008. This place is amazing. There is nothing- absolutely nothing- that we would have added or changed about our trip. The hotel is beautiful, the rooms are gorgeous, the pools are like lakes and the service is outstanding. It is a large resort but we felt like they did a great job in taking care of the grounds, the food and the guests. The staff was kind, friendly, and so helpful. We can't wait to go back and bring the kids next time. The kid areas are awesome!