This is our 3rd resort in the Riviera Maya area and again, we were very satisfied with this new choice, the Barcelo Maya Beach resort. The best features are the beach area and the size of the resort which includes 3 lobby/resort areas: Maya Beach-Maya Caribe, Maya Tropical-Maya Colonial and Maya Palace Deluxe. Lots to see, lots of room to walk and move around with access to many activities, pools, restaurants, bars & show theatres. We wish that we had access to all "à la carte" restaurants with our all-inclusive pkg, but we paid to access two in Maya Palace:French -Excellent and worth the $20 US/each extra & Bresilian-Good. The Spanish-Don Quijote and seafood-Captain Morgan were very good. Clean-tidy resort & rooms - always best to leave tips in room (a few $/day). 1 suggested improvement: make better quality food available to arriving visitors late in evening - not much available at reception bar :o(

This is our third time at the Barcelo Maya Beach and we enjoyed our stay again.
If I could rate this hotel 4.5 out of 5 I would.
Here's my take...
Hotel:
This is a HUGE resort. Plain and simple. With that being said they take care of their grounds and there are many things a person can do. i.e. run/walk(I ran/walked 8 kms a day along the beach and main roadway between resorts), there are water sports, again snorkeling, there's a weight-room, tennis court, discotheque, shops, etc, etc...
In the evening it's nice hanging out at the 24hr lounge with other guests drinking tequila (or whatever you crave) and eating fresh popcorn from their popcorn machine.
Beach:
The beach is beautiful with its white sand, blue water and palm streets. Ensure you go out to the dock to do some snorkeling... it's well worth it as most of the fish hide-out there.
You'll get a couple of cards to borrow towels... we kept the same towels for our entire stay and let them dry on the balcony clothes rack. Just cut out the fuss of bringing them back and getting new ones each day.
If you want a good spot on the beach I suggest you get out early and claim a beach-chair with your towel as the good spots go fast.
Pools are nice... never spent time at them as I spend money to see beaches. lol I can hang-out at a pool any time in Edmonton Alberta.
Room:
Room was clean, bed was comfortable and little fridge was well stocked each day. (i.e. cans of beer, bottles of water, pop if you like pop)
******There's a plug-in in your room you can use for your laptop... you do not need a converter.(canada /usa 3 prong)
Also, they have a safe in the room.
Food:
We ate at the buffet each day and found the food good. We had many different varieties of food to choose from. All fresh. (***Remember that all staff work for tips so ensure you tip them accordingly for their service. I ensured I did and received excellent service.)
Internet:
Internet is pricy. Urrrgg. A 5 day wifi pass cost me 48 bucks. :( Warning, the signal is weak. I didn't use internet until the evening so all cool. Still, bites that it cost so much. (this is a weakness)
Overall a good experience and would recommend this hotel to others... I would come back.
Hope my review helps. :)

This was a great place to stay. The people were friendly, the food was good, the room was very good with a beautiful garden view. The beach was okay, a bit rocky. We took a tour of the ruins which was excellent. The pools were many and nicely kept. The whole experience was a pleasure.

S. Boykach

I was very displeased with the lack of ability to make phone calls and such from this resort or Mexico in general. Various Cell companies have no agreement with Mexico so those don't work. My personal phone card would not work.
Made one phone short phone call and it cost me a fortune.
What is sad is you pay for an all inclusive but there are apparently LEVELS of inclusiveness.
You can't get a reservation in the nice restaurants unless you KNOW someone. It's ridiculous to the point that there were empty tables when we were in one of the nicer ones and others were getting turned away. You were only allowed ONE ticket to use for a nicer eatery otherwise it was the buffets. Don't get me wrong the buffets were wonderful but still.