Barceló Maya Palace - All Inclusive

For reference, we were premium in an ocean view junior suite and this is our 4th all-inclusive. Needs Urgent Improvement: -the check-in process is ridiculously long. After a long day of travel, standing around for hours is unacceptable. -A la carte restaurants. Despite being premium level and supposedly getting priority, we did not get a single reservation before 9pm and we only received 2 total. Completely unrealistic for families with small children. The resort is unable to handle the number of guests that their rooms can hold. Per recommendations, we went back multiple times to attempt to get better reservations AND we also stopped into several restaurants in an attempt to hopefully be allowed in without a reservation. No luck. I definitely found it interesting that most of the restaurants keep the door behind the host/hostess closed so you are unable to see how many empty tables they have. -Room repairs--we reported a broken plug on a lamp in our room and it was never repaired. With limited lighting in the room, it was a detriment to our stay and also a safety concern. I hope it was replaced after we left as I would be very concerned about anyone sleeping in that room with that lamp plugged in. Needs improvement: -The pillows. The pillows in our room were one "wide" pillow that covers the entire top of the bed so both persons in one bed were sharing a long pillow. The problem with this is everyone likes their pillow in a different position so it's difficult to get comfortable. I'm not sure why this type of pillow is used but when we requested normal pillows we were told there were none available. -coffee. Impossible to find coffee before 7am and guests should not be required to take a 10+ minute walk to find coffee in the morning. Coffee pots should be available in rooms, especially premium rooms. -snacks. The only late-night food options is Strikers, which is a long walk for most guests. At a minimum, Palace needs a small late night/overnight option. -buffets. We tried 3 of the buffets. The buffets are great until you have to eat at them for 3 meals a day for a week because of the a la carte reservation problems. Good: - The housekeeping staff AND the staff that fills the fridge/snacks are phenomenal. We left additional tips for both each day and were very pleased with the cleanliness of our suite and the choices of drinks and snacks that were left for us. -mini golf. It's free during the day and we really enjoyed it. My boys love mini-golf. Also, the mini golf course also has a large iguana population if you're into that. -spa. We had a couples massage that I thought was reasonably priced and that we thoroughly enjoyed it. We also tried the hydrotherapy which is included for premium guests. I wouldn't do the hydrotherapy again as I didn't like it that much but it's definitely worth a try if you're looking for something else to do. -smoking. Before we went, I had read loads of reviews that complained about people smoking all over the resort. With young children, I was very concerned that this would be a problem for us but I don't recall seeing anyone smoking in any area that was problematic. -resort. This resort has a ton to offer and the grounds are very very very well-maintained. The views at the beach are amazing. This is definitely a prime spot for the best beach views. Informational/other: This is definitely not a 5 star resort. They have a fair amount of work to do to get there. If you've been to other 5 star all inclusives, you will definitely need to adjust your expectations. We encountered 2 different couples that were Barcelo club members and they both strongly implied that being members is the only way to get 5 star level service. There is an independently-run FB group that is highly informative. However, it is plainly clear that the admins of the group are paid by or given perks from the resort as any benignly negative reviews are immediately challenged and the reviewers are insulted. That is why my review is going here instead of that group. I hope this review is able to help someone in making a decision about their trip.

Our second time visiting Barcelo Maya Palace. We had another wonderful family experience. The resort is beautiful and the staff are very friendly and courteous. We love the beach with the natural palms for shade as well as the kids mini water park and gradual entry swimming area. The restaurants are well situated and the food is great. The rooms could use with some maintenance, such as repairs to the tub and sink plugs, but they are meticulously cleaned and spacious.

The best part of this hotel: ocean, reefs, turtles, tons of fishes. Checking in: Big problem. Reserved a room with two beds and sofa (as always for last 4 trips here), emailed reservations to confirm it (they responded vaguely) but upon arriving was given king size bed, not the double beds room. Manager Edwin Cordero was ignorant, did not care about the medical reasons why my elderly mom and myself need and normal bed and even implied double beds are for full families (suggesting a single women with parent and teen son is not a family). So checking in gets 1 out of 5. For the vacation I had to take sleep meds so I could sleep on the small sofa bed and pain meds because this sofa bed mattress is hard and hurts my shoulder. Food: it's got back to pre-pandemia quality (2022 had issues). Huge variety in buffets, excellent things like smoked salmon. Food mostly hot enough and fresh. I did notice once kid throwing ice cream cone back into cone box - breaking the rule "if you touch it, take it", but its parents fault. Deserts are mostly taste the same (usually no distinct flavor for the mousses expect twice), our favored one was Walnut Cake. Lots of fresh fruits, was happy to see passion fruits. Restaurants require reservations to be made with concierge. Went to Brassorie, Caribe and Rodizio - all tasty and have interesting dishes (don't expect it to be perfectly made by known recipe since some are simplified yet tasty). Get Mayan Coffee at the Rodizio - fun show and yummy! Service: besides check in manager everyone nice, friendly and caring. This year is very bad for sargassum so workers were busy cleaning up (except the worse when when piles of seaweed reached 3-4 ft). Seaweed is not hotel's fault but any means, and we are grateful they did clean up a lot. Had an idea: if for every 10 buckets or load of seaweed hotel can give like free lobster add on during dinner, or something, seaweed would be gone in a under a day. Lounge situation is out of control! Just terrible! Beach: if you not getting chair/lounge by 8.30-9am, most likely you will be out of luck. I dispise playing the "chair olympics" to get a spot but had no choice. Pool: heard all chairs taken by 7am. This resort is for very early risers. If someone wants to sleep in - they would have to figure out the activities without using lounges.

It was one of the best vacations we’ve ever had at this hotel! Everything was perfect—the staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, the rooms were spotless, and the food was always fresh and delicious.

Be prepared for a slow check in. Rooms were decent size and very clean. Broken fridge, reported, never fixed. Slow service at bars - not adequately staffed to handle spring breakers - felt bad for overworked staff. Getting reservations at alacartes was ridiculous - having to spend an hour, after waiting over an hour to check in, to get reservations was crazy! Plus barely anything available for all 5 nights! Cenote’s across hwy are super cool and worth the walk over. Enjoyed our stay but wouldn’t go back.

The accommodations and grounds were clean and vibrant. The staff were friendly and attentive. Overall a great resort. This was our second stay and we look forward to more in the future.

Had a great time with our family at this resort we enjoyed hanging out at the pool all day. We also enjoyed the spa and the jet scan in parasailing that we did.

I liked this resort for the most part, the food was above average and the drinks were good quality. The grounds and the rooms were also of very good quality. The pools are shallow but excellent, but unfortunately the beach is very rocky in places. The biggest problem here is that they don't communicate the amenities of the resort very well at all. They don't tell you what is available and where or what the requirements are. For example: The free to use snorkel gear is on the other side of the resort. The resort is VERY large. We walked halfway across the resort only to be told that they required $20 USD, each, in CASH as a deposit to be returned to you when you return the gear. A very long walk only to be turned away, the pain of which could have been slightly eased if we had taken the bus, if we had only known of it's existence before the second to last day of our stay. There was much more like this, having to discover what you didn't know even existed because they are not properly communicated by anyone or anything written down anywhere. Another very big problem with this place is the pricing of items in the shop, the most shocking of all was the price for sunscreen. I am not joking when I tell you it cost $54 for a single can of name brand spray-on sunscreen. That is not a typo, $54. I am writing this in March 2026, not in 2056 or 2126. They wanted $54 for a single can. A two pack of these costs $14 at home in Minnesota in 2026 AD. It's absolutely disgusting and shameful for them to charge that much. Speaking of prices, not related to this particular establishment and not their fault (I assume, I don't know who owns these businesses, could be the same people for all I know) but the prices at the Cancun airport are just as disgusting and shameful, if not more so. $28 for a not-at-all-gourmet cheeseburger. $18 for a single shot of whisky (or as I call it, because of my crippling flying anxiety, "Flyin' Juice!"). (Side note: If you're anything like me, and I know I am, you need a few of those before your flight (and a couple during) in order to be able to lay back quietly and listen to music during your flight instead of sweatily clutching your chair imagining your imminent, violent death for 4-1/2 hours). I will pack differently next time. But next time will not be in or anywhere near Cancun. I would sooner go to every single Disney/Universal/Sea World theme park then step another foot in this area. They are no less of a tourist trap.

I took my family of 7 and it was a blast! It was a clean beach, no street vendors bothering us. Staff was good, rooms were clean and maintained every day. I used the concierge daily for activities that she messaged me through WhatsApp and we always were taken care of with transportation to and from excursions. The kiddie pool was shallow and so older kids than 13 couldn't play there. We would love to go back.

Mauricio Gomez was my server at the buffet. He was very kind and gave my friends and I a great service.