Hello. Well we have been back 5 days now and I needed to let it all sink in. We were there from July 13th - 18th. We used Worry Free and they picked us up in a van and it only took about an hour to get to the resort. My husband and I have been two other times and this is the first time we have taken our two boys 11 and 8 yrs olds. I was a bit apprehensive about taking our children because of the nudity you usually get on the beach. But there is very little here. By little I mean I only saw two women topless and they were very discrete. So with that aside let’s begin my review. GREAT FOR CHILDREN!!

I can not stress this enough- Be nice to the people who work there. Smiles can go along way. I know that when you get there you will be tired- But relax. If your room isn't ready (ours was ready but I didn't want a bottom floor so we requested a higher floor at check in and had to wait a few hours and we were very happy we did) just relax and go get something to eat.

The food --was really good. We were there for 6 days and got two meal tickets to eat at two of the restaurants. Go and schedule the dinners right after check in __You do not have time to go do anything else, this only takes about 10 minutes. This goes for any resort the require reservations for dinner. We ate at the Japanese and Seafood. Both were really good. We got to order lobster at both places. If you have children they will really enjoy the show at the Japanese place. But we had talked to some other couples who really enjoyed the Steak House. The buffet does get a little tiring but all in all the food was really good. And the Coffee bar is great- Have A Latte!! BUT only if the girl makes them. The guy that does it --doesn't do such a good job.

The rooms-- We didn't get a view of the Ocean but were hardly were ever in it. Our room number was 7222. The beds are very hard but we survived. The patio door did not lock very well. AND YES they have an IRON and blow dryer in the room. I have long hair and the dryer worked fine. We were facing the Theater so some nights were a little loud but we never made it to bed before 10:30 anyway and usually by that time the shows were over. Our kids were begging to go to bed by 9:30 every night if you believe that one. They were soooo worn out. Also there has been some concern about room safety down there but we always felt completely safe. You can take the ironing board and place it against your door if you wanted. They do have dead bolts on the rooms. We had a problem with our room key, it quit working twice and the front desk said we must have had it to close to our digital camera..??..

Beach and Snorkeling-- Ok here is were we had the most fun. We packed pretty light and carried everything on the plane with us. Each of us got about two bags each so we took all our snorkel gear. Which I recommend. We also took 2 cheap $5 boogie boards we bought at Wal-Mart that fit in our son's book bags. My husband fastened a rope on the end and a clip this worked out great for me... We took life jackets but I think you can rent them for about $5 a day. We also went Kayaking. This was fun and they do have HUGE boogie boards that you can take out for about an hour at a time. Ok -- back to the Snorkeling. This was the best beach for it. If you go all the way down in front of the construction area and go snorkeling way out you will see some of the coolest fish, sea turtles, and coral ever!! I am not that 'into' snorkeling-- I didn't even really want to try it this time but I am so glad I did. We saw about six or seven sea turtles on the ocean floor here. The pier was pretty neat you don’t really even have to get into the water here to see the fish-- they are everywhere. We even saw a Barracuda. On the beach you will see a small mound of sand with rocks built up around them in a circle and a red flag stuck there. These are Sea Turtle eggs.
Also FYI this is the first beach we have been to down there that had lifeguards, even at the kiddy pools. Can you tell I really loved this beach? Please take water socks for everyone in the family. You don't need them everywhere on the beach-- but you will be so happy you took them. You may also want an underwater camera. We also bought very thin fast drying shirts clearanced out and the boys wore them the whole time. I didn't have to pull them out of the water so much to slather them down with sun block while they were squirming. This was a great idea even if I do say so myself hahaha......My husband has never wore a dew rag on his head Ever- but he bought one down there because he snorkeled so much his scalp started to burn. When we got hungry we ate at the restaurant down by the construction area. Lots of food and you can go in here wet. They have a place that serves Hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizza in front of the pier. Not as good as the place at the other end of the beach by the construction.

Pool-- Nice enough. The walls need to be scrubbed. The water park for the kids was great. Our boys play hard and they loved this so much. This is how we ended our day on the beach. They always got to go swimming for about an hour or so here in the evening. But remember they close about 6:00pm.

Pictures. You can go to the Photo Shop in the shopping area and ask to make an appointment to get family pictures taken on the beach or wherever you want at the resort. This was so cool. It only cost $6 for a 5x7 and it only takes about 15 minutes. If you schedule it before dinner one night (when you are already dressed up) you can go pick out the pictures after dinner. You can even schedule it the same day you want to have them taken. Our pictures came out pretty neat. We even hung around and took some of our own...

We took the boys to Tulum one day and paid a taxi $60 round trip. We left by 9am, it took about a half hour to get there an we spent about an 1 1/2 hours there. It cost about $5 a person to get into Tulum. We could have probably spent over two hours there. The bell boy at the lobby set the taxi up for us and my husband felt safe knowing it would be the same taxi driver that would bring us back. We didn't pay him till we returned back to the hotel. The Whole trip cost about $80--opposed to the $160 they wanted for the tour. You can take the public transportation (kind of like a bus) that stops about every 10 minutes in front of the hotel for about $2 a person; the locals ride these to and from work.

Miniature Golf-- LOTS of fun. Take bug spray. We didn't need a lot of bug spray. This was about the only place I used it besides the curtains on the patio in the hotel room (to form a barrier against Mosquitoes coming in while the boys were going in and out.). I bought a tiny little can standing at the check out at Wal-Mart. This was just big enough. The mosquitoes will flock to you as you play golf if you don't have this.

Tips and things to bring
Bug Spray
Hats (for everyone)
Walkie-Talkies (for when you are seperated)
Sun Block 30 or higher
Floats for pool if you want
Water Socks
Underwater camera
Snorkel Gear (fins make swimming easier)
Lotion and Aloe (for sun burns)
Baggies-- small and large (good for putting camera's, dirty underware, and shells in on the beach)
Anti Diarrhea pills and Tums for your tummy (just in case)
Coffee Mugs- if you want them for your drinks
'Single Size' Pringle Chips- They want $4 for a small can at the resort. These worked out great for the beach, snacks before dinner, and while you wait at the airport.
BRING YOUR MANNERS and you will have a great time.
This wasn't as nice as the other two resorts we have stayed at but for our children I would definitely be back.

If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them..

Hope this helps.
PS. I don't have the underwater camera developed yet or I would submit them.
Also I carried my Trip Advisor bag that I recieved in the mail around with me at the Resort-- Maybe thats why everyone was so nice to us.. ; )
Thanks Trip Advisor!!!!!!!!!

I am not sure where to start on this review. I JUST got back from this resort on Saturday. Let me start by saying I am not a pre Madonna and I am ok with self service I actually prefer it. I don’t need a toilet in gold or anything extravagant BUT I do want to get my moneys worth & that is NOT what you get here. They treat you like dirt and if you don’t speak Spanish … your pretty much done for. If you want to have a decent time BRINGS LOTS OF MONEY FOR TIPPING or you aren’t going to get anywhere with the service.
This place has beautiful grounds that is the best and only great thing about it.
The service is horrible, the food selection & quality is poor, the people are very unfriendly.
If you are going to this resort and plan on eating just ok and drink only beer and stay at the pool all day it is for you.
If you want to eat well, be in a friendly atmosphere, need to use the bar (bartender) or want to be at the beach … go somewhere else!!!!! There are no ocean front rooms, the rooms look like a four points Sheraton, you have to make reservations for all the restaurants with a strict dress code, if you are 5 minutes late you loose the reservation, you are issued 4 dining coupons when you check in. If you are there for 4 days you get 2 dining cards and if you are there for 7 days you get 4 dining cards. The rest of the time you have to eat in the buffet for dinner which is far from good. Breakfast is lines upon lines upon lines. I love breakfast myself but I found myself not wanting to eat it just to avoid the aggravation I went through every morning. If you drink coffee FORGET IT. The waiters don’t get it for you, the coffee is horrible tasting and there is one person at the coffee station who runs out of everything & is SLOW! This resort ran out of everything literally! Cups, spoons, extra room cards, even bottled water !!!!! The beach is rough sand DO NOT believe anything you read about white sandy beaches. The water is amazing aside from the fact that my cousin got bit twice by a jelly fish and she was not out far at all. She is 11 years old. They have barracudas in the water … so as you can imagine after I saw it and stayed in the pool the rest of the time. There was one gentleman that was bit pretty bad by it. You are also only allowed ONE beach towel per person. At which time you are responsible for EVEN WHEN YOU ARE THE WATER apparently. We went to the water came back and had two towels missing. Someone stole them. Which I later found out happens a lot there. You are then obligated to pay the resort 20 dollars per towel bc when you check out you MUST give them back your towel or your towel card. I went to the front desk and explained to the girl what happened and she had a nasty attitude and it was pretty much “tough luck cough up the money” which I didn’t appreciate her attitude ESPECIALLY at 1500.00 per person!!!!! By the way she was the manager!!!! This resort shouldn’t DARE charge more then 500.00 per person with the service and attitude they provide. I was in Mexico last year same time and I paid for 2 people what I paid for one person on this trip to the Barcelo. I had a million times better experience last year at the Real Porto real … the place is amazing and the people are so nice and the service is OUTSTANDING. Also the Barcelo is FAR from the airport our travel agent said 45 minutes … not at all is is 1 hour and 15 minutes without stopping and dropping other people off. We were a party of 15 so in total we spent a lot of money as one family and were treated like crap. To take a cap to 5th Avenue where the clubs and shops are is 30 dollars round trip. The Barcelo does have a mini mall. The prices are insane and the sales people are dishonest and rude. I saw a sales man sell a FAKE Tanzanite ring to a southern woman and he told her it was REAL! She bought a fake stone with CZ in a silver setting for 230.00. He told her the CZ was white sapphire. When she left he tried to sell me on the same stone and I told him I was in the jewelry business and the stone was fake. He admitted it to me and then got nasty with me. Also what people don’t know is the barcelo colonial is cheaper then being at the tropical AND they use ALL the same facilities. This place all in all was a dishonest, rude & unpleasant resort with horrible service. If your smart you will go somewhere else and get more for your money. I recommend the Occidental chain or the Iberostar chain they are much better and really take care of their guests!!!

We stayed here last year at the same time and loved it soooo much we had to come back. The resort is my #1 reason for coming, however, my husband comes for the fishing. We booked private charters through Captain Rick's in Puerto Aventuras. Great prices in comparision to the States! Everything was just as we remembered. However, the resort usually has all you can eat seafood night, which includes lobster! This year there was a lobster ban so no such luck. But that is the only bad thing I can say. Barcelo is truly the best. This time we got a tip from another trip advisor review. So if you read mine, you MUST take a cab to Tulum beach, Nuddy's bar at Playa Paraiso. You need to have all that info to get you there as it is a little out of the way but the most beautiful beach in Mexico!!! Bring your snorkeling gear as the reef is just off the beach, but no rocks in the shallows. Walk to the north end of the beach and see Tulum ruins! It is a majestic view, and don't forget the camera!!! Nuddy's has foam cushions to rent for laying on the beach as well as killer drinks and food. This was the highlight of our trip, of course next to the fishing! Also, try shopping in downtown Tulum. The scenery is not as nice as Playa del Carmen, however, you will get items at half the price that you pay in Playa!!! Also, if you go at the end of the month all the vendors have to pay rent and are VERY negotiable! I bought a ton of pottery this year. Last year we also visited Xel-ha. If you have not been before it is definitely worth the cost. Another beautiful beach and plenty of snorkeling within the safety of a lagoon. We took the taxi and paid at the gate for the all inclusive package. It will save you a ton of money by taking the taxi rather than the "tour" booked through travel agencies.

One last thought. If you have the choice to pick between the Tropical and the Colonial, pick the Colonial. The rooms are EXACTLY the same, however, the Colonial is more centrally located so it is less walking....

Just got back after being at the Barcelo for 2 wks. I was impressed with the hotels over all appearance but they really need to address their staffs attitudes. I found them less than friendly. If you go, be prepared to have your room cleaned as late as 4:30 in the afternoon and have 2 other staff members knock on your door for the towels and to refill the mini-bar. Forget taking a nap in the afternoon and if you put the do not disturb sign on the door, you will receive a letter for doing so. Handy tip, bring a facecloth because you will not get one there.Over all I had a great time. The food at the specialty restaurants were very good and the buffet was overall good. The only thing on this trip I found that other travelers had no consideration for others and would cut in line at the buffet. I found this resort to be a great family resort. The pool was great, the beach was average. Loved the dock and spent every morning feeding the fish. Please beware of rocks on the beach as I bruised my foot on a unseen rock and was in pain for two days. Also note that the souvenirs are double in price because the nearest town is over 20 mins away by taxi. The hotel knows this and charges more.