resort is tired and needs some sprucing up...the food was good as were the restaurants...the beach was great except for the vendors...they are extremely annoying...but they leave you alone once you say no thanks...what seems odd to me is that the vendors seem to be only at the Barcelo...we walked the beach daily and they seem to be only located at the Barcelo...the ground of the resort are wonderful...many small buildings surround a central courtyard and pool area...we didn't seem to have a problem getting beach or pool chairs but I don't think the resort was full...cable car and shopping tour were good though they could get rid of the rum factory which was a bottling plant only...5 minutes and done...waste of time...and 2 jewellry stores...not really necessary...all in all we had a good time and the price was right...I guess if you expect awesome food and pristine rooms you must pay for them...please Barcelo do something about the vendors...some guests I talked with will not go back because of this

Overall, I had a decent experience at the Barcelo, but there were some areas that were so unacceptable, that I just couldn't justify giving the resort 3 stars.

PROS:
-Price is decent. We got a pretty good deal when we booked our trip, so I would say the value for what we spent was okay.
-Proximity to beach: it was nice being able to walk to the beach when we felt like it, but then still be really close to the room if we needed to go back. The beach itself is also pretty nice
-Food was pretty good. The buffet does get a little repetitive, but I didn't really mind it. Out of all the meals I ate at the buffet, breakfast was my least favourite. We went to the Brazilian, Mexican, and Oriental a la cartes- I enjoyed all of them, but I would say that the Oriental and Brazilian were my favourite. The pizza place was also pretty good and you don't need a reservation to eat there!

CONS:
-rooms were outdated and falling apart. We were fortunate enough (seriously) to have everything in our room working (TV worked, faucets were good, good water pressure in shower), but man, everything looked like it would break at any moment. The TV was very small and very old and sometimes all we would get was static- we found that hitting (yes, hitting) the TV over the top would sometimes make the static go away. The soap dispensers in the showers were broken and would ooze out shampoo on their own. I brought my own soap and shampoo so I never used the dispensers anyway, but it was gross to have dried bits of shampoo in the shower from the broken dispenser. There were also little ants and bugs infesting the bathroom sink. I assumed that they were coming in through the little window in the bathroom, which actually connected some sort of washing station for the maids to dump their old water from mopping the floors. The smell it produced was gross.
Even the sheets have a weird smell. We asked for our sheets to be changed on the 6th day of our trip (they don't encourage you to change your sheets everyday for environmental reasons), and I'm pretty sure the maid just re-used the old sheets anyway. Our balcony view was of an alley, and we fell asleep to the sounds of drunken yelling and dance music.
-Front desk not very helpful. I noticed that they did get nicer towards the end of our trip, but I noticed that a lot of the time in the beginning, they would talk amongst themselves as if I wasn't there. I didn't feel very welcomed and I felt like I was inconveniencing them by asking questions.
-Vendors on the beach. Although I understand that these men and women need to make a living and provide for their families, it does get tiring saying "no thank you" a dozen times in 20 minutes.

Overall, I would recommend this hotel ONLY if you intend on going on a lot of excursions and don't really care about where you're staying AND you get a really good deal. The pool and beach areas are nice, and the food is pretty good. BUT the rooms are very poor quality and that's where this hotel loses (many) points.

Prestige Class- We were promised so much at booking GOT nothing The service was horrible- Customer Service was non existent!! They made you feel stupid and very incompetent! I have travelled to many places and this has to be the worst experience ever!! Not even tipping made for a friendly enviroment! I was totally shocked.....
The grounds are not amazing but pretty to look at and fairly clean. CHECK IN-FRONT DESK PRESTIGE- Upon our arrival it felt like we were inconveniencing the two ladies responsible for checking guests in. They were rude, arrogant and just did not care we were there. No Smile, No Welcome, they were just more interested in there own conversation in Spanish then there customers checking in. BELLHOP -This person was the only staff member in the entire week to show any kind of customer service. He brought our luggage and showed us to our room. He showed us how to work the door lock. “Someone who understands customer service” , which is a very rare thing at this hotel. THE ROOM - No Water TV did not work No welcome package AND we were PRESTIGE the room was dark... not bad if you are looking for this type of atmosphere... not great if you want to see anything. Perhaps this is why they do it... so you can't see how old everything is... The two double bed were not double beds... they are smaller, The bathroom OMG The toilet at least flushed and it appeared to be clean. The shower head was so old the water trickled out of it and needed to be replaced It finally was after 3 days and numerous phone calls to the front desk!... On the up side... we never ran out of hot water. The counter top was just like the shower... old and painted over several times, you could count the layers of paint by the areas that were chipped off, there is a safe it will cost you an extra $17.00 US dollars if you wish to use. The TV also really old- Thankfully the weather was beautiful so we had no use for it. FOOD - The buffet restaurant... they greet you at the door... that is where the service ends. Go find your own table; nobody will seat you.Once you find a place to sit maybe a server will stop by to offer to get you something to drink. To say that they had the same food over and over again would be an understatement. Variety is not a word that a person would use to describe the selection here. The a la carte restaurants were OK... but honestly they are more of a relief more then anything. DRINKS- Disappointment again... if you like blender drinks when you are on a sunny vacation... don't expect them here, they have a machine kind of like a slurpy machine at all their bars, and a press botton for coffee... One is a Pina Colda and the other is something like a strawberry daiquiri. They pour some rum into a plastic cup and then add their so called solution... within 30 seconds you have a liquid mess that doesn't taste like any blender drink you might be looking forward to. Otherwise their beer is el Presidente and it was always cold... Luckily they make rum in Puerto Plata so they kind of know what they are doing here.... but no credit goes to the hotel staff... they just pour it and hand it to you; No SMILES nothing.. It is the same from the beach staff. Always short on chairs; get there early if you want one. POOLS: they are kept very clean. DINNER RESERVATIONS - There is only one place and one person to make reservations for the a la carte restaurants...They really had no use for you what so ever.... We were more of a nuisance to them, then anything else. You can only book one day in advance; 3 girls behind the desk BUT only one take reservations...line up down the hall. The one good thing was they are a only a good break from the buffet that is about it...If there is one place to try IT would have to be the Oriental...Food Was OK!!! We tried going for Pizza one night we were told we did not need reservations BUT they refused us even though all there tables were empty..... Italian.... was a joke. They turned us away because my dad had shorts on BUT TO our surprise there were others already in the restaurant with SHORTS on....No communication or people skills..Once the attention was brought to those already in the restaurant with shorts they were asked to change into long pants....If they have a rule it should apply to everyone! This resort has alot of potential BUT without communication skills and a friendly enviroment....It is just a sad place to be!!!!! Thank GOD for GREAT weather,,,and GREAT company!
Get your monies worth Go somewhere else TRUST ME!!

The beginning of that song by Mariah Carey is what comes to my mind when I think of this hotel; the days of splendor of this facility are gone. I guess during the 80s or 90s this hotel looked great; nowadays is just a museum of those years. My wife and I got a superior room with partial view to the pool, and full view to the back of the hotel which is a construction area and forest, pretty ugly. Everything was old in the room, toilet faucets, TV set, door handle, pillows, you name it. I think even the shampoo they provided smells like those commonly used in every hotel during the 80s. Of course, that doesn't mean things don't work but...
The GOOD or acceptable:
- Waiters at the restaurant and bar are really nice and you can tell they work a lot.
- Food at the restaurant is acceptable; I ended up eating more than I thought I would.
- The beach is close by, you can walk.
- Nice shopping area; it has colonial style.
- Artists and showmen doing the shows every night really try to entertain.

The BAD:
- The workers at the front desk and costumer service; very bad attitude, it is like they want to make you feel like they are doing you a favor by letting you stay at the hotel.
- Our room wasn't cleaned for two days and when we complained the maid entered our room yelling at us like we were kids, and it was our fault the room was dirty !!!!!REALLY!!!! My wife had an argument with her and i just couldn't believe what i was witnessing. That woman was something....

I give two stars because of the workers you see are doing their job well, but there are reasons enough to give this hotel one star.