I have to say we were disappointed this time around. Extra charges for restaurants that didn't make sense was our biggest complaint. Staff was great, food so so. We've been to many of the resorts in Cancun and Riviera Maya, as I am a travel agent, so we have been to the best and we have been to the worst. This resort is a good place for the money, mostly because it is on one of the most beautiful beaches in the Riviera Maya. But we won't be back for a 3rd time.

Barcelo is a hotel chain that really gets it. All food, drink, pools, beach, service, activities are planned well and clean and easy to do.

This resort had so much to do, and is located in the perfect spot between Playa del Carmen and Tulum. If you're into adventure take a collectivo from the road and you're within 20 mins each way to sonotes, zip lines, beaches, dolfins, shopping and virtually anything else you'd like to try while in Mexico.

The hotel itself has great food in all of the restaurants. The drinks were quickly served at the bars and there are enough bars through the place that you get a drink when you want one!

Bring your kids - there's a huge waterpark area with kid size slides, pools are shallow enough in parts that 4-10 year olds can have some freedom to play in the water.

Basketball, tennis, golf, quadding, and best of all the segway tours on the resort were awesome! I'd reccomend going for the segway tour at the beginning of your vacation, you get to see the entire resort (and it's HUGE) and it helps you decide what to do next.

Theatre was fun and entertaining, beach a little rocky in places, pools clean and fun to swim in.

Overall a great experience!

I was surprised to see so many great reviews. The resort is ok. Too big for my liking. Way too busy...hard to get service and too many line ups.

Here are the pluses: Lots to do, lots of restaurants although we paid for upgrade to premium and still could not get reservations as they were almost all booked up when we arrived. 3 theatres so lots of shows and they are pretty good. Grounds are well kept. Rooms are nice. People for the most part are very friendly

Minuses: So noisy, we could hear every voice, every sound the buildings echo, you can hear people walking above you, it was terrible. the toliet runs constantly, the shower drips and the water is cold, the fridge is hot...yes hot! There are a zillion families.....this is a place for kids not adults looking for a holiday. The premium upgrade is a complete farse...it really includes nothing. Also got the "sales" spiel from the resort on why we should do timeshare. Don't plan on sleeping past 7am here as the noise kicks in around that time.

A group of 12 of us (including a 3 year old & 1.5 year old) stayed here March 2-9. This is my 4th trip to Mexico.
Here's an overview of our trip!

Hotel:
Before we arrived, I facebooked them requesting rooms in the Uxmal building (middle building closest to everything). We got the rooms we requested & even a free bottle of booze for being a facebook friend. Beds were very comfy, pillows excellent, shower was warm, maids did a good job. No complaints on the room. Check-in was easy.
The hotel is VERY big. For the Maya Beach part, there are 3 buildings and a ton of walking trails/paths everywhere. Take a stroller if you have little kids.

Food:
You won't go hungry or thirsty here. Main buffet has a lot of choices, and the staff at the buffet are excellent. Tip them good at the start & they will be your best friend & have a table/drinks ready for you! Guacamole was awesome, same with the omlettes, & little wraps with ham/cheese. Lots of fruit, fresh pizzas every meal, lots of veggies & nice cuts of meat/fish too.
Snack bar wasn't my favourite, seemed to get very busy around 1pm ish, so I suggest going to the buffet for meals instead of the snack bar.
We only went to the Spanish a la carte & it was good.
Drinks! Try the Caribbean Dream... it's amazing & I have no idea what's in it :)

Beach/Pools:
Beach is gorgeous. TONS of chairs but they fill up fast! Snorkelling is good near the rope that goes out into the ocean & by the dock you can swim with a ton of fish.. (they might want to eat you though :) Ocean was warm & very calm for us, even on a windy day the waves were small. Pools - a bit on the cooler side but they felt good when it got really hot out. Water aerobics looked fun & dance lessons every day too. Pools are nice & big to go for a good swim in.

Kids Stuff:
There's a kiddie pool near the snack bar & a water park with slides & 'ground' level pool near the the neighbouring resort. The water park would be good for kids 5+ in my opinion.. as my kids were a bit too small to enjoy the big slides. But the "gradual walk in" to the water was nice.
There's also a kids club "Barcy Club" for kids 4+, a spray park (COLD though), and little playground with slides closer to Maya Beach hotel.

Overall:
This is a BIG resort... there isn't much "close" together, so if you have little kids that can't walk far take a stroller, or have some method of hauling them around, b/c they will get tired. Personal preference it was TOO big for me, I like places better that have "less" and everything closer together. But for taking 2 little kids, we got some sun, had some drinks, ate good & played so that was all we needed!