01/07/2023
Barcelo Maya Tropical - Riviera Maya
Our family of six stayed for eight days/seven nights over Christmas. We were in a superior king suite with adjoining double suit.
Things we LOVED:
*The cleanliness of the resort! Nothing ever seemed out of place or cluttered, there was no trash on the beach or in/near the pools with the exception of the occasional lime wedge.
*The variety of things to do on the resort. We encountered some rainy days which we didn’t expect. We were able to walk to the mall, look around at the shops and go to both escape rooms(additional cost). There is also a bowling alley, HUGE mega screen for video game playing (addition cost) and other things we didn’t even get to do.
*The beach! Some parts of the beach are rocky (suggest bringing water shoes). We loved having the rocky shore because there are so many living creatures to take pictures of and explore. Hermit crabs(even little itty bitty baby ones) fish, birds, even eels if you are lucky. Snorkeling closest to the grand resort was the best part of our stay. We saw and got to swim with a family of sea turtles! Two larger ones and a baby!!!
*The Dock- you can swim off the the dock and I highly recommend it! There are sooooo many fish! Wish we would have saved our money on the snorkeling excursion and just stayed at the resort. It’s much better, you’re not rushed and the water is not rough.
*The exceptional friendly staff! Delmar our waiter at the buffet multiple times and Wilbert Martin at the front desk! I had the pleasure of speaking with Wilbert before we arrived and he answered every single one of my questions and then when we arrived, the exceptional service continued in person!
*The bed!!!!!! This is the best sleep I’ve had in my life!!!!
Things that NEED IMPROVEMENT:
*The drinks!!! We arrived on a Tuesday and it seemed that the frozen drinks during the week are different than the weekend. They had a kind of medicinal/ amoxicillin / artificial sweetener kind of taste. It was not pleasant at all. We switched to drinks on the rocks and then tried again on Friday and they were better. We had premium access so it wasn’t the alcohol.
*The food, it was just ok. Nothing special, nothing that I can say “ oh I can’t wait to come back here and have the ###xx again.
* Keys & Towel cards- in this day and age it would be nice for your bracelet to open your room. Having to keep track of room keys and towel cards is an inconvenience.
*Room supplies, we are a family of six remember, not having enough washcloths on two occasions and running out of toilet paper on one occasion was not fun. I wouldn’t even be mentioning this if when we asked for them to be
replenished, it didn’t take forever. When we called to ask, we were told that they would have to check to see if there were anymore they could give us. We would have been happy to reuse the ones we hung up (so they wouldn’t take them and so we can be more environmentally conscious) but alas they were gone.
Over all it was a great trip! I would consider going back because of the beach, the bed and friendly staff.