TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We stayed in Tropical standard room non-prefered, at the beginning of April. We were on ground floor, near waterpark, the room was nice and had everything what is needed, even robes with slippers. Not mol...dy or musty. Just fine. My husband has a mold allergy and he was fine (of cuz we keep a/c 24 h at 20 degrees). Beds were comfortable. Two types of waterpark, suitable for 4 year old, and some playgrounds with sand. Some areas need extra cleaning, we didn't use it because I didn't feel comfortable. So better to avoid the pools, playgrounds and waterpark closer to end of the day. It's no problem to use a wagon on the beach as the real sand is only near the water. We didn't like Tropical/Colonial buffet, we loved Caribe buffet. So many vegetarian options. Coffee was very good. There is a machine for decaf as well. Best ice cream is at Caribe buffet. Reception and service overall was great. Resort's layout is very convenient. Hydrotherapy was excellent. Kids club was not particularly inviting. I have it to compare to other resorts, where I could see kids club at the aquapark, at the beach, tennis court, even kids foam party, maybe I'm spoiled. The ocean is shallow, kid friendly, even if there are some waves. Lots of snorkeling opportunities, lots of fish and there are turtles. Mini golf was a hit. My son enjoyed riding a red double decker bus. Overall, beautiful resort with amazing beach and ocean, and budget friendly for all you get. Thanks to all the workers for keeping the property clean and beautiful. Considering how large the property is and the amount of tourists, they are doing amazing job.

Good snorkling possibility from the beach and cenotes near by walking distance. Lots of different activities on site some with fees.

First time in an all-inclusive and I know why I have avoided them. The location is just stunning and service is good/ friendly But how can you enjoy the beach when you can't even find a sun bed because 1...) there are not enough of them 2) Tourists set their alarms at 6am to put 'their towels' down then you never see them & hotel just ignores it! Watch the food, my daughter got food poisoning from one of the Japanese restaurants. And if you are going to advertise a contact email ... make sure it works and it is responded to.

I have just returned from a one week stay at the Barcelo Maya Tropical, a family of four with two children. Overall, it was a good experience but there are some things to mention. The Good: The resort is... large (that could also be a bad thing) and is meticulously clean. The workers are constantly gardening and cleaning up the common and pool areas; the washrooms in the lobby as well as near the pool areas are consistently checked and kept clean; rooms are cleaned and tidied very well. The food is good and there are alot of options for adults and children. The main buffet restaurant is shared between the Colonial and Tropical hotels; there is always a Mexican station along with american-style offerings, and a smaller kids station. There is also a very small selection of gluten free bread and pastry. There are two pool-side buffet grills, one on each end of the Tropical and Colonial pools where you can get salads, grilled meats, burgers, pizza and ice cream. If you venture to the Maya Caribe hotel, their buffet is also very good, arguably better than the Tropical/Colonial - worth a walk over. You won't go hungry here. On the Colonial side there is a really great splash pad and waterslide structure for the kids, lots of fun there. There is a day-time kids club - the Barcy club - that has activities going on that the kids enjoyed - ex. treasure hunt, face painting, decorating cookies (we went over the Easter holiday). Available activities also include a pool table, ping pong tables, basketball court, chess, bowling - just have to sign out the equipment from the activities desk in the hut near the pool. There are two swim up bars, as well as pool-side drink service, which is nice. We were able to get a reservation at the Capri restaurant, which was good. Pools are large and not deep, there is also a lap-pool which doubles as a water basketball pool. It's the quieter area which we liked. The Bad: The reviews posted about there not being enough loungers is 100% true. Also, the towel game is strong here. There is not enough shade around the pool to go around. There are shade structures with loungers underneath - but you best set your alarm for 6am to get down there and reserve the loungers with your beach towels or you will not get a lounger or shade for the rest of the day. You might find random loungers but you'll have to pull them onto the grass underneath the palm trees for shade. Getting up at 6am everyday is not how i pictured my vacation, but there was no choice. You will see most people up and about between 6am-630am getting their spots arranged at the pool as well as the beach. That being said, I also encountered towel thievery. One morning, after laying the towels down, i went for a walk and when i came back, one of my towels was gone, along with my suntan lotion. So, my bad leaving the lotion, but beware of the things you leave behind in the morning. A couple of days later, a family we became friends with also encountered the towel thief, losing two towels. (To the Management Team who may respond, No, I did not speak to hotel management or make a complaint). Staff friendliness is also on the bad list - not for all, the restaurant staff are pleasant and try to be friendly, but if you pass room-cleaning staff in the hallway they will not even acknowledge you or respond to your simple greeting. Not even a smile. I've said good morning with a smile and was met with zero facial expression. The beach is not great - not alot of soft white sand, in fact, you'll walk on the concrete base with a sprinkling of sand on the way down to shore. In the water, the shallow area is littered with rock. Again, reviews suggesting water shoes is 100% accurate. It was red flag for swimming the majority of the week, so could not see any fish if there were any to see. Also, although we were able to get a reservation at one restaurant, we would have liked to sample others. When we tried to book reservations the morning after our evening arrival, there was no availability except at the Capri. Reviews concerning restaurant reservations are also 100% true. The Ugly: Each night, the theatre hosts the kids' mini-disco followed by the adult show. One evening, they had kids karaoke - which I realized afterwards that it required pre-signup with choice of song. An older kid (who was too old for the kids mini-disco - looked like a teenager) selected a Notorious BIG song to rap. It appeared that the staff did not review the song for appropriateness, because the explicit lyrics were displayed on both large screens. DURING A KIDS KARAOKE. Lots of small children with their parents in the crowd. My kids, who are 10, were reading the lyrics and were appalled. We were shocked at how poorly managed this event was. More should have been done there to ensure that the song was appropriate before allowing it. There is also a gym, a disco, a spa, the dolphinarium - which we didn't use, so cannot provide any feedback there. Kids had alot of fun, which was the main thing - but probably wouldn't return to this resort.

We were at the Barcelo Maya Tropical last week April 12-19. Great weather! Resort is clean, rooms are good. Food is okay. If you want a chair by the pool or beach you have to get it around 6 am or they are... gone. Good luck booking the restaurants..we arrived at the hotel in the evening and tried booking them at 8am and could only get into 3 of them. The beach is amazing, the pool is pretty good also. If you plan on drinking just beware that the drinks are severely watered down! To the point it’s laughable. The canned beer in the room is fine but I was convinced the beer at the bars was 0 alcohol. lol. The liquor is even worse…Even the top shelf! I tried it all. Even my wife who hardly drinks had 6 gin/ tonics in a few hours and felt nothing. When you pay for drinks included you should get an actual drink. I noticed a lot of people talking about how watered down they were. We didn’t find the entertainment that great and the piano bar only had entertainment 1 night. There could be more effort in entertainment but it seems like the whole resort is in bed by 10pm. The majority of the staff was great, there were a few bartenders at the pool that weren’t that friendly. Overall we had a good time on the beach and in the water. It was our first time back to this resort in 18 years! Probably will be that long before we go back if ever.