This was our second time at this resort. We have been travelling the Caribbean yearly (lately twice a year) for over twenty years. This has to be one of our best resorts. Front desk is extremely helpful and friendly. Restaurant wait staff is friendly, very professional and pay attention to every detail. Upon arrival, they always greet you and introduce themselves. The bartenders are courteous and friendly and even remember what you are drinking. The sports bar is unbelieveable. At night, the crowd is wall to wall. They never miss a step. Their is no backlog for drinks. They are like a well oiled machine and you would never know it is busy. Professional in every way. The food is outstanding. The buffets, the beach bar and specialty restaurants are as good if not better than any I have experienced in all my years of travelling the Caribbean. Maid service leaves nothing to be desired. Rooms are immaculate. Great beach, plenty of shade available. Good shows with live bands. The entire staff always greets you when you meet and always have a huge smile. What more can you ask for.

We have stayed at the Barcelo in the past and liked it , as well as this time. Overall a great facility with wonderful beaches, safe, a TON of kids activies and that SUN is amazing. For the hotel.. I feel like the tropical was outdated a bit, beds were ROCK HARD and the food was OK, the buffett was old after a day and the reservations resturants felt like food off the buffet except for one, the Koyko? Oriental one - very good. I will bring my kids back to this resort as we know what to expect, love the beach and facilities. As for a personal spot for just my hubby and I, probably will go elsewhere . Daily entertainment was fun but nightly entertainment is very scarce, besides the lobby bar there is nothing going on. A few shows and a disco however they are not overly busy nor exciting by any means. Coupon special is a joke, still have to spend a forturne and if i recall they were the same price (after the coupon was used) that they were on the last visit so no real bargains. The SUN, WARM weather and atmosphere was GREAT! Would reccommend if your bringing kids forsure -- if your up for a ton of night life - keep shopping.

I know we should have known better, but we thought the water was filtered and consequently, if you even just bruch your teeth with the tap water you will get sick, as each one of our group of 6 found out, independently! Drink the bottled water they bring into your room. It is included and therefore will not cost extra. Use it to rinse your toothbrush and you will be just fine! The buffet is great, lots of choices, and the service is very good. My daughter in law read this in a review and we found it very helpful to look between the mattress and the box spring on your bed for a very nice (and new) mattress cover to make your bed softer and more comfortable. Heaven only knows why they hide these under the mattresses??!! We also found that the more you tip, 20 pesos and up, the better service you get, although they tell you tipping is not required. Every little bit helps these wonderful people who take such good care of you.

We stayed here for 7 days at the end of Jan. 2013. There were 9 of us total and we had a great time. Some of the family members have never been to a resort before, and were amazed at the beauty of the place. The food for some reason was better than we remembered it to be from last year.
You will not go wrong staying here,there's plenty of space at the beach and you never feel crowded. Some of us went snorkelling right off the beach and seen many fish,turtles,and stingrays. No need to go on excursions to snorkel.
We will definitely be back!!!