We just returned from a two week stay at the Barcelo Beach resort. Spent the first week in the Tropical due to overbooked Beach so up grade was nice surprise. Second week we returned to Beach due to hard mattress in Tropical.Excellent service and great staff. Very clean. Kitchen tour was very interesting.Will be returning next year with family

Barcelo has 5 complexes in Puerto Aventuras. I booked through cheaptickets.com. got a good deal for the time of year. Fly into Cancun airport. I recommend you book transport to and from the hotel when you call to confirm your reservation. You will save half the cost of other transports. The hotel is about an hour from the airport. We stayed at Maya Beach complex, the low end part of the complex with the Palace being the most expensive. We did not feel let down though. You get access to the entire bay. You just cannot wander into the more expensive hotel areas and restaurants. The bay is beautiful, calm and clean. The staff was wonderful and if you show the slightest sign of trying to speak Espanol you will be rewarded with smiles and great service. It is an all inclusive resort so you will wear the plastic bracelets for duration, but what I loved about this place was that tipping was included in the price. One bar is 24/7 and we enjoyed virgin piña coladas whenever we wanted. Many times we asked for drinks to go (they are put in plastic glasses for safety) take our drinks and sit at the beach in lounge chairs in the evening. Hardly anyone on the beach then. Food is plentiful and often, there is almost always some buffet open until 10pm. I highly recommend the pork dishes. They know how to cook pork! The souvenir shops are sparse in goods, but you can take the highway shuttle for about 20 pesos into Playa del Carmen(one way 23 miles away). and do all the shopping for souvenirs you want. High end shops are there too. You can get the ferry to go to Cozumel for 7 bucks one way from there. Tulum and Xcaret are only a few miles away (10 and 4 miles approx) and the highway shuttle can take you there too. We had booked this place as an afterthought when we had booked a one week cruise and wanted another week in the Caribbean. We were not disappointed to stay here. We enjoyed this more than the cruise. There is a nice spot to snorkel to the left of the pier where the first jetty of rocks is. The best snorkel trip is through the charter in the hut by the watercraft area. You can book a charter that will take you over to beautiful Punta Sur marine preserve at Cozumel. Highly recommend doing this if you are a snorkeler or diver. Make sure you take plenty of snacks. Food is not too good at the hotel they offer lunch in Cozumel. Also get a wetsuit at this hotel. No charge to use it. You'll be in the water a while and get cold. You can always take it off. We had long Lycra suits on but we still got cold. We went in December 2012. Many people come from all over the world to stay here. Very cosmopolitan! My only diss, the beds could be softer!

this is a very nice resort beach is great lots of beach chairs food was pretty good
one problem they need more bar tenders at the pool bars you go to get a cool refreshing beverage only to find one bartender and lots of thirsty people waiting
other than that would stay there again

Loved this resort!! The beach is amazing and very calm water. You can walk out in the water forever and swim with the fish! Rooms were very nice, comfortable beds and very nice bathrooms! The only complaint I would have is the lack of outdoor areas to sit and have a cocktail or two in the evening. Would definitely go back to Barcelo Maya Beach!!!