TLDR: four adults stayed at Barcelo Palace buildings 83**. Compared to other similar priced resorts, we found the beach and grounds to be clean and well kept. There was an above average amount of seafood in the buffet, and generally more access to food 24/7. We would not recommend this resort for those with mobility or sight difficulties due to the amount of walking and poor lighting conditions. We would also call this a family resort, with great children's activities and spaces but poor access to bars, below average nightly entertainment, and spotty WiFi coverage. Food: With the Barcelo Palace, guests have access to most restaurants and bars on the property excluding the adults only section of the resort. While there was quite a lot of seafood at the buffet including cold crab, octopus and shrimp plus seafood dishes. They also had grilled fish and crab, with many dishes rotating. The salad and fruit offerings were good, with some imported fruits, whole fruits, fresh squeezed orange juice and many other tropical juices and drinks. The vegetarian section was limited, dishes were frequently labeled incorrectly or with incorrect translations and there are no ingredients lists posted. Staff are ocassionally available to answer questions regarding allergins, but most of the a la cart restaurants were very allergen friendly. The gluten free bread and dessert box was well labeled, and enclosed at the main Palace buffet to prevent contamination. A la carte restaurants: The booking system for the a la carte restaurants was difficult and requires frequently waiting in line. You can book two restaurant reservations on your first day (highly recommended!) and then one per day after that at guest services (2-8ish) which is to the left of the main desk in the WiFi room. If the booking agent isn't there, then she is at the desk in front of the Palace residences (9-1ish). If you go in the morning, you are more likely to get reasonable reservation times. If you are interested in either Japanese, book it when you first arrive as it's really hard to get reservations. If you book two the first day, then you won't have to book for the day of, and are more likely to get your choices. You will have more options for later reservations 8-10pm, but then you'll miss the nightly entertainment. When you book, you are given a reciept that you must present to the desk (apparently) but we also saw people just walking up and asking for any cancellation spaces. The steak house was fantastic, and overall the service at the restaurants was great. Make sure you leave extra time if you are relying on the shuttle. Transportation Getting around the resort takes some planning, and sometimes some luck. If you are in the back Palace buildings, there is a bus stop in the back corner that is pretty convenient to get to. The bus runs about every 20-40 min depending, and is a double decker so it can be a pleasant ride. If you are physically able, walking the path that the bus goes will get you to Maya Mall in about 10 min from the back of the Palace hotels, compared to the 30min if you walk through the hotel pathways. Accessibility This resort is not very accessible, because of long pathways that are very poorly lit in the dark. During rain, the paths get very slippery. There are ramps in most places, but do require planning to get around. There are elevators, but zero signage to indicate where they are. The transit buses are not accessible, so you would pretty limited to a la carte restaurants. I did not see accessible pools but I also didn't go out of my way to check them. Overall, it is below average in accessibility compared to similar resorts. Pools The pools were well kept, clean and had space. The bar lines were pretty long but did move steadily. The adult pool by the Palace rooms was the best, however there is little to no WiFi service so you can't keep in contact with your friends and family. We never had difficulty getting towels, so that was highly pleasant. Drinks Seemed strong enough, but it was a real toss up if you got a strong or a weak one. No special cocktails which is disappointing, compared to other resorts. Access to alcohol after 11pm was difficult, because the only bar open was the lobby bar after the theatre closed. This was contrary to the schedule which says it's supposed to be open until midnight. This lead to 20+ min lines at the lobby bar, or having to walk 10 min to the Maya mall or sports bar. Entertainment Overall, below average for the 25-45 age group. The circus and Vegas show were the best. They even have advertisements before the show for paid activities at the resort!!! The Magic show - lots of seductive arm waving and grabbing, as well as dancing 75% with an ocassional basic magic trick 20%, and 5% some good tricks. Like this one, most shows have attractive women with small sparkly clothing. Some audio issues. Low production video screen. One show was just trivia of guests on the stage. You have access to the entertainment at every stage but there is no schedule for the other theatres unless you walk over there. Very bad planning. Even when the shows are good, children are running up and down aisles screaming and jumping so it's very distracting. Entertainment is definitely lower budget then other resorts including the Riu and Royalton. We went to the nightclub, and it was an absolute joke. Avoid unless you want to watch 18-22 year olds doing the Macerena, and then watching go go dancers on the tables. Strange visuals on the walls, very cheezy music. People smoking in the bathrooms. All pool entertainment is for children. I found myself drinking out of boredom some nights, but it was hard to find drinks! Pros Quite a bit of seafood at the buffets, more than other resorts I've visited Lots of nature, plants and animals, great if you enjoy walking. Easy to see Coti, many birds and hawks. Lots of space at pools Lots of fish to see close to the shore, bring your snorkle gear or rent it. Perputual popcorn, desserts and fruit in the lobby bar, tomato or ham sandwiches in the evening Drinks strong, but there are no specialty cocktails. No slushies. Premixed fruit flavourings include mango, strawberry, banana, coconut. But careful the "coconut" milk they use in the Pina colada and many other drinks is definitely full of dairy. You can get most places under cover to avoid the rain or sun Restaurants overlap, so there is always food between 7am to 10pm at your own resort and snacks at the sports bar until 3am. Cons Very few bars open after 8pm, leading to long lines. Bar in the theatre was supposed to be open until midnight but closed at 10:30, leaving only the lobby bar or premium bar if you paid for premium Would not recommend this resort for those with physical limitations or eyesight problems as the lighting at night is very poor! It's a 10 min walk from the 84** Palace building, and the shuttle only comes every half hour or so. Using elevators is possible but you have to backtrack sometimes Shuttle service is confusing, not sure what direction it goes or when it comes. Don't know what entertainment is at each resort without physically going there Pool activities at Palace were lacking compared to other similar resorts Some of the nightly entertainment wasn't great, the circus show was the best! WiFi is spotty, especially in hallways, near pools and sometimes in rooms. Many out of coverage areas at the adult pool makes it hard to keep in communication with friends. Ocassionally power outages caused our TV to turn on a 3am and wake everyone up Children unsupervised running screaming down hallways on scooters, climbing on bars and statues. I have seen them jumping in the pools and on the bars past 10pm with no adult supervision. I would not call this resort relaxing or intimate. Dolphin show is only a 10 min advertisment for their private pictures This resort is definitely pay to play, there are many things not included such as bowling, skating, video games, arcade, water park, golf, haunted house and escape room. Overall, I would go here again if I had children and went to be earlier in the evenings. I don't think I'll return due to the lack of entertainment and adult activities however. …
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.