Overall let me say that the trip was good. Went with a group of 18!!! Went with air transit from april 18 to the 28. Checking in was a hassel as they do it at the airport...crazy hot in there, be prepared. The hotel is amazingly gorgeous as is the scenery. The lobby is breath taking and the rooms are just wow. Best hotel room I have ever been in period. Very clean and roomy. Here is my big warning... right now the main pool with the cool slide is CLOSED looks like there doing renovations. The pool being closed was the number one problem I had with this resort, second was the beach but we knew ahead of time this was bad unlike the pool being closed which we had to find out and see for ourselves. There a couple pools but two are for people over 18 so with the main pool closed there wa less choice of pools to swim in especially since there are two kiddie pools.
The beach is okay not pretty and the water is actually clear, its just the sand is very bad. I even saw fish up close near the front which was cool. ALso, there was a banana boat ride for only $5!!!! for 15 minutes. The food was bland, especially mexican night. As you probably heard breakfast is the best. The best food was the chicken wings, (mostly always had fries and chickhen fingers for kids) and the delicious salmon and there was beef roast which was also yummy. There is a snack bar but is only open till 5 or 6 pm and there is hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos and ice cream...which was good. There was no good desserts except ice cream, the best fruit was when they had mangos which were delicious. The shows were nice but the best nights were the grammy show and the hollywood show. The disco at night was set up nice but hardly anyone was there to dance. There are two main restaurants one by the ocean front which was only a la carte and then the disco at night . The second was by the pool which was a buffet at lunch time and a la cart mexican at night. There is another place to eat which was morning,noon and night a buffet. 80% plus of this hotel was filled with locals. And by the way the shows were mostly all spanish, they did not speak english which ruined some of the show.
They have no fun activities which made this place a bit boring. In addition no music played as you lounge around, we had to request it.
If the pool had been open it would have made this trip 10x better, but even so it is a beautiful resort and great for relaxing.

March, 2008
Tripadvisor member, British & American

NO QUALITY -

Our first "all inclusive" experience, only selected because it was a direct flight from Edmonton, AB, Canada to Manzanillo and a last minute trip (we are new to Canada and did not had too much time to plan).

Lousy food and drink quality - could NOT get a cup of decent coffee luckily, a 20 minute walk towards the new Wal-Mart (complete with armed guard holding a 12 guage rifle in lieu of usual greeter) found a perfect coffee house HOWEVER, if you use cream in your coffee BRING your own - NO ONE has fresh cream...and that includes the hotel. The cocktails were prepared with cheap mixers and they did not even offer Corona.

A huge flea market on Saturday, which I was anxious to visit for silver, well it was all the same silver jewelry at every stall and sold by weight with all vendors selling at about the same price - NOT good silver (USA mall stuff).

We took the sunset boat ride which was OK - the tour guide, a young man, would not stop with silly jokes and asking for tips - this went on non-stop during the two hour trip and it was about $80 for two.

NO ONE used the beach away from the hotel grounds - not even for sunning - most guests sit around one of the pools all day.

Our room would have been perfect if the bathroom was detailed, shabby condition - mold around shower - it needed a complete detailed cleaning. Otherwise the room was good with a great ocean view.

Staff nice but very lazy and everyone is holding out their hand for a tip to just do their job - this got old very quickly - for example, we kept calling houskeeping for proper sized robes and when the manager came, I had to tip her in addition to the maid just to do what they were suppose do in the daily course of business.

This place has potential however it is never going to happen with the attitude of the locals and the clientele. We will NEVER go back.

Checked in for only two nights since we were on our way down the coast. Two adults and our four year old. We are familiar with all inclusive hotels. This property was well bellow the standards of a property like Dreams.

Rooms were nice and clean. Lobby was very nice. Staff was for the most part fine.

They advertize wireless internet but it really only works in the lobby. Do not try it in your room. If you buy the Club Premium membership, 25.00 per day per person, you can use their business office that has wired internet and is fine.

There are very few dining choices. Unlike most other properties, there are some times of day when NO FOOD IS AVAILABLE unless you want to pay a 130 pesos per person sur-charge for room service.

If you want to go to one of only two fine dining restaurants on the property you MUST go IN PERSON between 10:00 and 4:00 PM to the consierge to make a reservation. If you check in after 4:00, you are going to be eating at the Buffet your first night (after you wait till 6:30 for it to open.) You can't walk up to the fine dining restaurants. They will not seat you even if they have tables.

The pools are nice but there is the distinct and constant smell of rank effluent running along the gutters ringing two lounging areas above the beach. The liquid finally finds it's way into the small bay that serves the swimming beach.

You are given key cards that you can trade for ONE towel each. If you want to lie on one and use another to dry off, that's too bad. You must turn in the towels to reclaim the key card each time you need a new one. If you check out without all your key cards, you are charged $20.00 for each one you don't have. What a bother.

The adult beverages are "Well" labels unless you wish to pay an extra fee for better quality.

We ate at one fine dining international restaurant. The service was very good and the food was only okay. Still, it was an acceptable dinner. If you are male, they have very clearly posted warnings that you may not enter unless you are wearing slacks. Please, this is a BEACH RESORT! I walked up sporting somewhat expensive shorts. The restaurant manager began to seat us when he realized what I had on. There was a moment where our eyes locked and he decided not to say anything. That was good because I only had shorts with me and I was hungry.

There are other less important but bothersome items that I will not mention. The bottom line is that this hotel, in general, is not ready for prime time.

Manzanillo is a wonderful place for those who want a Mexican beach city that still feels authentically Mexican. But readers may want to think about renting the many and inexpensive private residences available in the area. Most of the hotels in Manzanillo cater to Mexican Nationals who do not seem to require the level of service expected by Americans and Canadians.

I can stay at a Motel 6 or a Hampton Inn just fine, but when I'm paying 580 for two nights, I expect a little more.

My husband and I just returned to California from a week at the Barcelo. What an all around top notch property. It is built into a hillside and the hotel property gently descends to the water. The beach is actually a lagoon that is shaped like a horseshoe. At the top of lagoon is a tee box. So you can sit on the beach, or by the pool and watch golfers try to hit over the water, and onto the green. Lovely!

The food was excellent and we enjoyed ourselves at the buffet and at both of the specialty restaurants. The buffet has a different theme for each night, where different types of food are featured. One night will be French, the next will be Italian, etc. Don't believe the info. posted by the Front Desk. All week long it was supposed to be Fiesta del Mar (Sea Food).

One of the bell hops, Richardo, grew up in California, and was the most proficient in English. He was especially helpful.

When you check in, you'll get an activities list. Sometimes they start on time, sometimes they don't (it's vacation silly). Just check in with the activities desk to confirm the times. The activities pool has the fun music at it. The adult pool is shallower and warmer.

Take the city tour. We took the city bus and wandered around unescorted, and I think missed a lot.

We met several Canadians. It was interesting to hear how they felt about their country.

We probably wouldn't go back. There are other lovely places in Mexico with turquoise water and white sandy beaches. The beaches in Manzanillo were a blend of black powdery sand (there is dormant volcano nearby) and coarse yellow sand (aqua socks/shoes recommended).