Travelled with family in the beginning of December.
First time in Mexico.
1 hour drive from Cancun airport.
Had transportation via Barcelo Vacaciones (booked directly with the hotel), was quite challenging to find the representative outside the airport (the meeting spot was in front of the Welcome Bar, but there were a lot of transportation people gathered, so take your time).
It's about an hour drive from the Cancun airport to the resort.
First impressions/days:
Managed to check in and rush to get some dinner before the restaurant was closed.
Unfortunate for us, the room we were placed in, was way too humid - when entering the room you could sense that something was really off.
At first we thought that it might be because the room was on the shade side of the Yucatan building and didn't get much sunlight throughout the day.
The bedsheets were wet and we had to ask them to be changed before we could sleep the night) and the temperature in the room didn't heat up over 21C.
Next day we headed off to the reception to ask for a replacement (on the other, sunny side) as it was not something we'd feel comfortable in - they asked to come back after 3PM when there would be more rooms available and we could switch then.
We were offered a room which had a better feel, but we discovered mold spots on one mattress. Asked for a new mattress, but we were said they didn't have any - declined the room and asked for a new one.
Couple of hours later they found us another one, couple rooms over - the situation seemed better there so we moved in.. only to discover that the room temp didn't increase higher than 18C at all!
Called reception once again, they sent us a repairman to fix the AC - took about 20minutes to fix and the result was somewhat unexpected, the temperature went up to 20C now, but the room was more humid than before - all surfaces were basically wet (wasn't that bad even in the 1st room at that time).
We had dinner reservations catching up, so we left the AC on, hoping when we return, the situation would've changed for the better.
Coming back from dinner, the humidity did resolve a bit, but the temperature was still stuck on 20C, had not increased a bit while we were at dinner (~2h) - called reception again to ask for look for the AC once again..
To our surprise, opening the door we saw a bellboy announcing us another room change - this time they allegedly found us a better room, but it was in the next building (Veracruz) - packed our stuff again and headed out to our 4th room.
Upon arrival, we entered into a warm (23.6C) and dry room which finally felt good.
Later discovered that in that room, turning off the AC was not an option, they did quickly replace it on the 3rd day with no further issues.
Throughout the first two days of managing the issue, the on ground manager of Yucatan/Veracruz buildings (if I remember correctly, he was named Juan Carlos) did deal with this/these issue(s) with urgency and dedication, upon finally finding us a room that we finally felt comfortable in and personally checking in if we were satisfied with the end result.
I totally understand that scenarios like this can happen from time to time, but I'd like to emphasize here that the way they handled and solved the situation was extremely professional and positive in the end.
Suggestion would be to deal with the issues beforehand and not to let the guests discover/report those to and potentially avoid guests from forming impressions which are not always the most positive.
I understand that the climate is very humid there, but please do invest effort and resources into keeping the rooms functional and enjoyable to stay in - the hotel itself is very beautiful and pleasant to stay in.
For catching such terrible unluck with 3 of first rooms, we were upgraded to Premium level which was a nice touch and could make up for the first 2 days of running through different rooms.
Most useful perks of the Premium level were unlimited A la Carte reservations (which was really helpful) and premium brand liquor. Also free room service, but didn't have the need to use it.
PS. We did find some weird small excrements on our 4th room balcony the following days (room was on the 3rd floor) - reported it and asked if they could do something about it to prevent it from happening - they did spray something there, worked for a day or 2 but after that it kept coming back.
Asked the cleaning lady what it might've been, she figured it was a bird of some sort. Later figured ourselves that it was a bat (or several) that was visiting our balcony, but figured it's something we cannot change so accepted it as is (basically couldn't actually use the balcony throughout our stay).
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The vacation:
The Barcelo Maya Tropical is a beautiful and huge resort.. and you can use the amenities of 4 different middle located hotels while you're staying there (Colonial - right next to Tropical, Beach/Caribe - about 10-15m walking distance).
Be prepared to walk a bit more than usual.
As we stayed in one side of the 4 hotels, we did mostly use Tropical and somewhat Colonial parts of the hotel more than the Beach/Caribe ones.
Breakfast/lunch/dinner buffet restaurants are right next to each other & connected (basically the same offering).
There were 2 omelet stations at each breakfast buffet which was a nice touch - didn't have to wait for over 5 minutes ever.
A very good variety of foods to choose from. Service was rather quick usually (apart from some days when there were a lot of people in the buffet the same time - there was even a small queue around 9:20 in the morning, for breakfast!)
For lunch we usually visited the beach restaurant for Tropical - was really close to beach/pool and didn't waste any precious day time for us during the day - service was fast and there was great variety to choose from (the selection didn't alternate much, but didn't feel like an issue).
For dinner, most of the nights we did manage to book different A la Carte's - really enjoyed the Asian restaurant - Kyoto (Tropical/Colonial) and Italian - La Trattoria (in mall).
Had the chance to sit in 3 different Teppanyaki tables/all different chefs so completely 3 different experiences.
Somehow, the drinks served in Kyoto were far better than elsewhere in any other restaurants.
We did go to main buffets couple of times for dinner and did not encounter any issues either.
There are many bars throughout the hotel and they are always very attentive and quick with your orders.
Most pleasant and positive experience would probably be the Tequila lobby bar in Tropical which did suit us the best.
There are different activities throughout the day taking place - by the pool, by the beach etc. Accurate timetables of activities are posted in several places + they announce them as well, hard to miss.
For kids, the Barcy Club also hosts different activities starting from 10 AM, just show up to register slightly before the scheduled start (a predefined timetable also available so you'd know in advance what's happening and when).
The evening activities in were hosted in large theaters, there were 2 of them, 1 dedicated for 2 hotels - different shows to choose from (and the shows were well-prepared and enjoyable)!
The gym in the hotel was something else - never ever had I encountered such a large and well-equipped gym in a resort hotel. It did serve 4-5 hotels at once, but it was huge!
Located in the Spa near the beach (right in the middle of the 4 hotels for easy access from all hotels).
There was a huge mall on site (mostly near and/or attached to the Caribe hotel) - a lot of different restaurants, bars, shops and activities to choose from. You could not get bored in this hotel!
There were several busses running through the hotel for easier access to all hotels throughout the day.
The pool/beach areas are beautiful and kept clean at all times (there's a whole cleaning/raking squad that goes over the whole beach around 7 AM).
In the beginning of December when we were there, there wasn't many people in the hotel so we didn't have any issues getting chairs either by the pool or by the beach.
If you made it to the pool/beach around 10AM, then you probably had some issues or limited availability of the chairs.
There was a pier (right in the center of the beach area in terms of the hotels) where you could go and see several fish while snorkeling if you didn't feel like going from the shore.
The beach shore was rather rocky so it'd be safe to wear beach shoes when going in not to hurt yourself.
Before going there we read reviews about stingrays in the shallow water - we did watch out and were precautious, but didn't encounter any ourselves.
You could also do different kinds of water sports at the beach.
Non-motorized (e.g. Catamaran ride) and renting life vests was free of charge.
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Outside the hotel:
We did go out of the hotel once, to Puerto Aventuras (about 3km away from the hotel) with local transport (Collectivo) which cost 2$ each person per drive.
There was a big convenient store called Chedraui which had a large selection of everything (incl. souvenirs) and was reasonably priced.
Getting back was also quite easy, they had a stop nearby (near BBVA bank close to the store) on the side of the road facing the hotel direction.
These Collectivos run both ways, from Tulum to Playa Del Carmen and cost a couple of $USD per person per direction, didn't have to wait longer than 10min for another one (good substitute for taxi, just let them know where you're headed).
Personal insights:
We like this hotel a lot. We've had quite different experience travelling (in Europe, Egypt, Turkey and Dominican Republic) and can say that the experience we had in Mexico and Barcelo Maya was extraordinary.
The hotel is big (well, hotels even), but the level of service and the variety of foods and activities etc are kept up to a certain standard which makes the vacation enjoyable.
When compared to Dominican Republic (Occidental Punta Cana), the aspects we did miss were:
* a dedicated beach area for higher level guests
* an A la Carte breakfast restaurant
* a separate beach bar (in Barcelo Maya there were only pool bars) and
* smooth and fine beach (with no rocks at all)
But hey, that's something what's peculiar to each destination so you have to make choices based on your vacation preference what you're looking for because Barcelo Maya did offer different pros instead:
* a direct opportunity to snorkel and explore the wildlife right off the beach (and many animals like iguanas living within hotel premises)
* many different bars and restaurants to choose from (with excellent quality and service)
* another level of hospitality - not a single negative encounter with any of the hotel employees throughout out stay
* the vast variety of options available in terms of activities within the hotel
Would I visit again?
I would, as it was an enjoyable vacation in Barcelo Maya Tropical.
