Barcelo Maya Palace Resort, Darrell and Brenda, Halifax, NS

My husband and I have just returned from our vacation at the Barcelo Maya Beach Palace Nov 4-11/09. What a beautiful spot. Would we go back to the Barcelo? Yes we would. This was our fifth trip to Mexico; we have also been to Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

We flew out of Halifax to Toronto via Air Canada Vacations, we had about an hour wait and then on to Cancun. On return, we took the same route but had a three-hour wait in Toronto. The departure tax was included in our AI package. We had originally booked the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort. A week or so after we booked my TA called to inform us that the “Beach” section was closed due to renovation and we were being upgraded to the Tropical section, no complaints from me. We could have taken a full refund also. Two days before we left for vacation my TA called me again to tell me that we had been bumped again, to the “Palace.” Wow, I wasn’t expecting that. There are five resorts at the Barcelo complex. The Beach, Caribe, Colonial, Tropical and Palace. When you stay at the Palace you have access to all the sections. When we were there the Beach and Caribe were closed for renovations.

We cleared the Cancun airport without any problems. They passed out a short list of questions on the plane regarding your health status, we passed this on to a couple of people collecting them just before the luggage area. Don’t forget to walk past the people on the inside of the airport that try to be very helpful (Time-Share Sharks) and send you in the wrong direction. Keep walking out the door and your tour reps will be waiting for you. They usually mention this on the plane but people still get tricked. We were a little delayed leaving the airport because some people chose to take alternate transfer but neglected to inform the bus, so we waited around for nothing! The Barcelo is approximately 90 minutes from the airport.

The resort is huge it has five sections all with their own lobby. There is a shuttle to help you get around if you have mobility issues or are just plain tired from all the walking. The shuttle runs every ten to fifteen minutes from 8 am to 2 am with beach service until 8 pm. The shuttle stops in every lobby and three or four stops near the beach. We had a stop right outside our building. If you prefer to walk, this resort has a beautiful long beach, perfect for long walks. I never walked all the way to the end, but I would guess you could walk to the right for over an hour in one direction. There was also a walkway along the front of the resort that followed the beach. In the Palace, Tropical and Colonial sections there were covered walkways from the lobbies to the room buildings and also to the restaurants and buffets. I’m not sure if they have those at the Beach and Caribe sections, but would guess that they probably do.

Check in was quick and we found the front desk staff to be very friendly and professional. We were greeted with a welcome drink. Our room was not ready when we arrived so we went for a bite to eat. When we came back to reception we were able to pick up our room entrance card. We were given room 8915, ground floor (I had emailed a request for a 3rd floor room, none available at that time) Our room location, we couldn’t get any further away from the beach! Oh well, what can you do. We had a garden view, it was actually quite nice. The room was beautiful, large and well kept. We had a king-sized bed (the mattress was firm, just the way I like it), two sofas and a coffee table. There was a mattress pad and we both slept very comfortably. The room was clean, no mold, no bugs, no bad smells, no worries, plenty of hot water and the shower pressure was perfect. Our room actually had two showers, one in the tub and a rain shower beside the tub. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash dispensers by each shower. Two sinks in the vanity, shavers mirror and lots of amenities in case you forgot anything.

There is an in room safe (electronic, included in price), two double closets, hairdryer, ironing board and iron, terry robes and slippers, bathroom scale (I never took it out of the closet), mini bar (restocked daily with - water, juice, beer, soda, peanuts and chips) phone, coffee maker, clock radio, wall mounted flat TV, writing desk, long bench with three large drawers underneath and bedside tables. I have never been in a resort with more room to put your things away, it was great. The furniture was very nice and all was in good shape. The air conditioning worked perfectly. There are several English TV channels, including movies. Beach towels were supplied, if you loose your towel it will cost you $$, they are really nice and large. The patio had a table and two chairs. It also had a clothes drying rack attached to the wall.

As for weather, we had a couple of days with a few tropical showers. Nothing that stopped us from having a great time. The rest of the week was sunny with the odd clouds passing by. We got suntans. Beach – The beach is one of the best I have seen, ever. It goes on forever. There are spots where you can enter the water pretty easily. Watch for a couple of rocks. We took water shoes but didn’t need them in the water. The snorkeling is amazing immediately in front of the resort. I saw rays, Turtles, sergeant majors, trumpet fish, a hugh grouper, little fish, big fish, silver fish, all kinds of fish. We even saw a sea snake, yikes! I really have to get myself a fish book! Even the corals are still in pretty good shape. No palapas on the beach, but there are lots of palm trees for shade. We never had a problem finding chairs. There are more pools in this complex than I can remember. The pool at the Palace is like a small lake, hugh!! The pool at the Tropical meanders over to the Colonial section. Lots of little bridges. There was shade around the pools. The pools were very clean and in good repair. Most of the pools that I saw had a swim up bar. The adult pool in the Palace section did not have a swim up bar but it did have a bar. I think the pools were open until 8 pm (or maybe even later). Bar service closed at 7 p.m. They had sun beds that were pretty well and taken by 6:30 am. Most of the pools had fountains and other water features to keep the water circulating. There are children’s water parks at the Palace and the Colonial sections.

Lots of activities if you choose to join in.

Nightly entertainment – I can’t comment on this because I never made it that late. We are up early and usually back in our room by 8:30 – 9:00 pm.

My husband had a few problems getting a decent drink at the Palace lobby bar. One night he asked for a white rum and sprite, we don’t know what he got, but it wasn’t what he ordered. No problems at the Tropical lobby or pool bars. The drinks I tried were all good. They have blender drinks as well as drinks on ice. Food-OMG they had anything you could even possibly think of. No complaints in this department. We ate at the Palace buffet and grill and the Tropical buffet and grill. We did go to one restaurant, the Italian. The food was delicious and service was exceptional. We were staying in the Palace section, but we found the Tropical Buffet closer so we ate our breakfast there. At lunch we usually ate at the Tropical beach grill. One day we ate lunch at the Tropical buffet and then walked over to the Palace buffet to see if the menu was the same, nope. They had crab legs, big ones. OMG yummy. For supper we alternated between the Tropical and Palace buffets. They do have theme nights in the buffets, I didn’t find the theme nights to be much different from the regular nights except for the decorations. Still, no complaints in the food department. Out of all the resorts we have been to, this one takes First Place. If you are staying at the Palace and you like sushi you are in luck. They had a sushi station every time I ate at their buffet.

We had no problem finding food. Breakfast was great, lots to choose from. Bacon, sausages, egg station, pastries, fruit, yogurt, cereal, etc etc. Lunch was good also. There was always something in chicken, pork and fish, vegetables, rice, salads, fruit, deserts, breads and rolls. They were making fajitas and other Mexican food at the grill station. Supper – Fish, Chicken, Pork, beef, vegetables, rice, pasta, salads, fruit, etc. Great deserts. Lots of selection, we never got tired of it. If you did not want to eat at the buffet, you had other choices. Room service was available for a fee, we did not use it. You booked your restaurants in the lobby at the concierge desk or in your room building at the concierge desk. You could book all your restaurants at one time if you wanted to. The desk had the menus for the restaurants that were on their section of the resort. No free WiFi, they do have an internet cafe for a fee, I didn’t bother. I went to Playa one day and happened by an Internet Café so I took advantage of it while I was in town.

Lots of water sports but we didn’t bother to use it, my main water sport is snorkeling, I take my own equipment and go when I want.

We did an excursion to Chichen Itza. It was a whole day excursion but not as bad as it sounds. They picked us up in a big coach bus. We got a Continental breakfast (breakfast pastries and fruit) and drinks. We stopped about 40 minutes before Chichen so we could use the facilities and buy some souvenirs. I would wait to buy anything until you get to Chichen. There were vendors everywhere and the prices were cheaper than the roadside place. Maybe it was just the time of year, I don’t know. After our tour at Chichen Itza we went to a hotel for a buffet lunch. It was really good. Then we went to a Cenote. WOW, this one had the vines hanging down, pretty impressive. Then we headed back to the resort. We were picked up at 8:30 am or so and returned to the resort around 6:30 pm. It was $100 US each, we enjoyed our day. Every time we got back on the bus we were offered drinks. Beer, water or pop.

We also went Yal ku lagoon one afternoon with a couple we met at our resort. This was the first time I went to the lagoon but had head about it. What a neat place, very cool. It cost $9 US and you could rent gear and lockers. They had bathrooms and a place to buy drinks and snacks. We took a taxi and it cost us $20 each way. I loved it and would go back there again for sure. We also spent an afternoon at Akumal Bay. We took the Collectivo, $2 each one way.

We didn’t have any problems with bugs. I think I only got two bites the whole week. Overall, we had a great vacation. The Barcelo is a great place and we have no complaints about the resort. I just hope I can get another great deal sometime.

Pictures can be seen at http://community.webshots.com/album/575676102QvcfoS

Brenda Nicholson