We are a family of four with two sons ages 3 and 5. In a few weeks we will be returning to Barcelo Maya Beach for the fifth time. We went once before our kids were born when it was still quite a small resort, and have been back three more times with kids since it has grown. We have stayed at five other large reorts in the Mayan Riviera and this is by far our favourite. The beach, pools and grounds are beautiful, the buffet food is amazing (none of us has ever had any stomach trouble), the swim up bars are fabulous, the staff is friendly. We love the pools, kids' waterslides, kids' bungee trampolining, mini putt golfing, marketplace and swimming with the fish off the pier. It's also big enough that my husband and I can take turns running around the resort for exercise and they have a well equipped gym and spa. I can't say anything negative about this resort and highly recommend it. We have traveled with our kids to Australia three times, South America, South Africa, Europe and Asia and this resort in Mexico is their favorite!

We stayed at this resort in 2002. This was our first trip to Mexico and this resort is part of the reason we have fallen in love with the people and place that is Mexico. Some of the things that stand out for us were, snorkeling off the pier, Dos Equis on tap (our favourite), amazing beach, sparkling pools, excellent food at the buffets and a la carte (chicken tortilla lime soup), friendly and efficient staff. This resort has doubled in size and I am curious to return as we loved it so much.

Just returned from Barcelo Maya Beach Resort for a wedding. I was so disappointed and would probably never consider going back to Mexico, let alone Barcelo. This is my first trip to Mexico and unfortunately the experience was herrific. Let's start from the beginning - We were a group of about 35 people attending a wedding and upon our arrival we were never served a welcome drink, (we arrived at 12 noon). Our checkin at the hotel was at 3:00, and had to wait; however that was fine because we had access to the facilities. After that first day, everything went downhill from there. I don't think that there was one person in our group that did not get sick, vomiting and the runs. Even one other tourist (unfortunate for him) was vomiting in the dinning room as we were eating breakfast, and we obviously had to leave. The service in the buffet was terrible. We were with a couple of kids and sometimes had to wait 1/2 hour at the dinning room before getting a high chair and getting service. The buffet was BORING!! No matter what the theme was, it was always the same food being served and there was absolutely no variety. The service at the bars were terrible. We had to wait and wait and sometimes just never got served. I could go on and on, but for those who don't believe, go to the BARCELO MAYA BEACH RESORT and see for yourself. I would never recommend this hotel to anyone.

We were at the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort Dec. 22- 29th. This was our first experience on a Christmas vacation so we were not sure what to expect.

We found the check in a little slow, especially after a long day of travel.

We were in room 2111. We thought it was a fantastic room. It was a Junior suite. Which gave us more living space and a sofa that turned into a little bed. Which worked great for our family of 4, which included 2 teenagers. The room was clean, always. The mini-bar/fridge was stocked with a great assortment of drinks, and a few snacks everyday. Our room was a ground floor room, which looked right out at the pool. Which we thought was great. We spent a lot of time at that pool. It was a 2 minute walk to the beach buffet, and another 30 seconds to the beach.

The beach at the Maya beach end of the resort (the resort encompasses 5 resorts) was the best. Few rocks/coral. We went without swim shoes. But for snorkeling by the pier, we which we had them.

The snorkeling at this resort is best off the pier. But swim away from all the 'ugly' fish being fed. There are a lot of beautiful fish over in the coral.

We ate breakfast and dinner every day in the main buffet by the lobby. We found the service, selection and cleaniliness of the buffet great! There was always something for everyone. There were never any lines. And our glasses were always full. The only time this was different was Christmas Eve. They had a special dinner that night, and that was the biggest crowd we saw all week.

We went on the Segway tour of the resort while there. And that was a lot of fun. We saw parts of the resort we wouldn't have seen otherwise. Highly recommend this.

We didn't participate in many of the activities, not our thing, but the staff looked great!

We spent some extra money and went to the Japanese resort over at the other resort. We were not able to get the 'show table', but our meal was delicious nevertheless. Highly recommend that.

The only 'negative' comments I would have:
- check in was too slow
- there is no pool side or beach side service - I actually found this surprising for a resort of this calibre
- no towel art (not a big deal, but first time there wasn't any)

Overall, of the 5 AI resorts we have been too, this is one of our favorites. And I would go back to a Barcelo anytime.