While in theory I was first daunted by the overall size of the Barcelo Maya Grand Resort in the Riviera Maya (consisting of five Barcelo resorts–the Beach, Caribe, Colonial, Tropical, and the Palace with almost 1.5 miles of beachfront), I soon found that this vacation wasn’t going to be as physically arduous as I first thought.  Signage abounds, shuttle bus service was frequent, and the beach walkways/primary entrance walkways were excellent ways to get around to the various resorts if one was hesitant to cut across the middle of properties.  Both the large, red double decker and smaller white buses were available to transport guests; this service was available from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.  While I also did a fair amount of walking, I wouldn’t recommend extensive foot travel around the resort during the summer months (I went in July) unless you are prepared to jump into one of five beachfront resort pools this mega-resort has to offer.  FYI–if you’re not at the ends of the property (either the Beach or Palace resorts), be sure to tell the bus driver your destination when you get on because he may be going in the opposite direction; if that is the case, then your best bet is to wait until the next bus comes around.

Check-in at the Premium Lounge took a bit of time (20-30 min.) since there was a group of four in my party with two rooms.  While passport copies were made and the specifics of the resort were explained to me, the rest of my party had welcome tequila shots (don’t ask why I try and avoid shots).  Since we were checking into swim-up suites at the Caribe, access to the Premium Lounge’s self-serve bar was complimentary.  At check-in, I also discovered that my a la carte restaurant choices and reservations were already made by the resort.  This was a surprise since I thought I would have to make all my dinner reservations upon check-in.  I only had to make a minor change for one night, and the resort said they would take care of cancelling the old booking.  Guests receive a slip of paper for every a la carte dinner reservation booked–remember to bring the appropriate one on the night of the reservation.

Since the resort was so large, I decided to spend my time between a swim-up suite at the Caribe and a Premium pool view room at the Palace.  While booking a swim-up suite or other upgraded suite gets one full access to the Palace, I decided to experience the Palace firsthand by staying there as well.  The overall resort’s policy is “Stay at One Play at Four”–while the entire beach/ocean areas are accessible to all guests, Palace amenities are typically reserved for Palace guests (those not staying at the Palace/non-upgraded Barcelo guests must pay extra to dine at some of the Palace’s a la carte restaurants).

The swim-up suite was very comfortable for two adults with room for a separate sitting area complete with two larger sofas.  The bathroom was more open concept with double vessel sinks readily open to the rest of the room, while separate toilet and shower areas both had frosted glass doors–not exactly ideal for families with older children traveling together but fine for couples with no privacy issues.  The room was damp, however, which created difficulty in air drying clothing–use the towel rack on the terrace to dry items.  The terrace was large with two full loungers, table and chairs, a Jacuzzi tub, and a multiple step walk-in (three steps up and three steps down into the water) to the in-pool double tiled lounger and accompanying tiled tables which were perfect for holding drinks.  While a parallel walkway makes privacy a factor when using the swim-up pool, the Jacuzzi tub is more hidden since it’s located closer to the sliding glass door to enter the room, plus the terrace screen can be lowered for additional privacy when using the outdoor tub.

There were numerous amenities located at the Caribe, and it was a perfect location to get to amenities at either end of the resort.  Here is a short list of some of the most popular things to do either at or adjacent to the Caribe section:

• Maya Mall–numerous shopping and entertainment opportunities along with several dining venues here as well as the “lobby bar” for the Caribe.
• Tokyo a la carte restaurant–the teppanyaki show and food here were excellent!  La Trattoria Italian a la carte restaurant is also at the Caribe.  Both were located at the Maya Mall.
• Barcy Club for kids (ages 4-12, kids under 4 must be accompanied by a parent)–you could see the building and kid’s playground/small water park area right from our swim-up terrace in the Labná building.
• Strikers sports bar is in the Maya Mall–you can go bowling in here for an extra cost ($15 p/person); there is 24-hr. access to snacks and a full bar, large screens for watching sporting events, pool tables in the back, and many arcade games also at an extra cost.
• Sign up for mini-golf inside Strikers sports bar–get your equipment from the main desk and just walk out the nearby doors to access 18 holes.  Some holes were extremely challenging–like pull out your hair challenging.  If you want to go golfing after 7 p.m. there is an extra charge of $10 due to the cost of lighting the course at night.
• Merry-go-round at the end of the Maya Mall costs $3 p/person.
• ONE Disco is the teen disco (ages 13-17) open from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.  Located at the Maya Mall near the “lobby bar”.
• There’s supposed to be a haunted house at the end of the Maya Mall but I never checked it out so I cannot comment on that amenity.
• There was a casino at the Maya Mall, but it closed Oct. 2018. (FYI:  Since then it has reopened; check to see its status when you check-in).
• Mercado shopping area (haggle for merchandise at the stalls) is right across the street from the end of the Maya Mall.
• Jaguar disco (age 18+) is part of the Mercado shopping area right next door at the Colonial.  Casual dress code; there are two levels with the upper level being VIP ($), four big screens, and a full bar (drinks are part of the all-inclusive plan with the exception of liquors guests have been paying for all along during their stay).  There is no admission charge, staff will just check your wrist band at the entrance.
• The SurfRider machine/Pirate’s Water Park was just a short walk from the back of the lobby bar at the Caribe, or by turning right outside of the Maya Mall.  It costs $15 p/person for group “lessons” at the SurfRider, and $20 p/person for water park admission (even adults have to pay this charge to watch their kids).  I didn’t have to pay to enter the area and watch my family do their SurfRider lessons, however.  Sign-ups for the lessons can be made at the desk right outside the water park entrance–be sure to sign up the day prior since time slots get filled up relatively quickly.
• The spa and gym are right next door at the Colonial–not far from the Caribe’s swim-up bar/pool area.  Upgraded Premium guests can access the hydrotherapy circuit at the spa at no extra cost–one hr. p/day p/person.  Also, there is a separate spa area just for children!
• If you enjoy tennis, basketball, or paddle ball, there are courts next door at the Colonial right across the street from Pirate’s Water Park (make advance reservations at Guest Services).  There is a stand by the tennis courts which checks out equipment and offers bottles of water.  Some courts are lit at night which is an extra charge.
• If you walk towards the beach area from the spa, guests can easily access the dolphin encounter pool (Dolphinaris).  It is close to the pier at the Colonial.  There are different dolphin encounter packages.
• Adjacent to the pier is the dive center and water sports equipment check-out–if you want to rent a WaveRunner sign up early in the morning the day you wish to use one, they go fast.
• Don’t forget to snorkel right off the end of the pier at the Colonial–you can get snorkel equipment/flotation vests at the water sports equipment check-out (best to bring your own snorkel gear since the resort only allows one hr. check-out of this type of equipment).

Naturally there are other resort amenities located around the entire property, but the Caribe is an ideal location to access most of the major things to do at this Barcelo property.

Looking for a children’s water park that doesn’t cost anything extra to use?  Each individual resort offers a small, child-friendly water fun area, but the Tropical/Colonial pool offers the largest which may appeal to slightly older kids.  Only Palace guests and upgraded property guests can use the children’s water park at the Palace resort.  Here are a few pics of the water park at the Tropical/Colonial pool area.

Adult or child, one is never far away from a water-related amenity at the Barceló Maya Grand.  In addition to the children’s water parks and the Surf Rider as previously mentioned, the resort has a total of eleven pools (five main resort pools each with its own swim-up bar), three lap pools (at the Beach, Tropical, and Palace resorts), two adults-only pools (at the Beach and Palace resorts), and a separate round pool with built-in tiled loungers at the Palace.  The adults-only pools are lovely with spouting statues, built-in tiled loungers, full bar, and Bali beds to rent ($), while the Palace pool also has a shaded area for massages.

Main resort pools also offer built-in Jacuzzi sections (non-heated) and numerous cervical/swan jets;  however, there is no dedicated “party pool” or sports pool–you have to either check the listing of sports activities (and even this can be wrong from time-to-time) or wander from one pool area to another to check out its “vibe” for the day.  Some days we thought the Tropical pool had the best atmosphere, other days we thought the Caribe had the best, it varies.  While there were no poolside shade umbrellas, there were plenty of overhead shade structures; hammocks were interspersed at the ends of these structures.  Pool floats were allowed in all main pools, while towels can be hard to find depending on the resort.  We found towels for the Beach/Caribe pools over on the Beach side, while towels for the Colonial/Tropical were at the Tropical.  Palace towels were between the pool bar and the swim-up bar.  When we were there in July 2018, some towel attendants said we needed a towel card while others didn’t–we never received any towel cards upon check-in, so be sure to check when you arrive.

With almost a mile and a half of beach area, the Barceló Maya Grand offers many water activities for all ages.  WaveRunners, kayaks, paddle boards, hobie cats, and other non-motorized watercraft are available for check-out/rental, while snorkeling is best either at the Colonial pier if you want to see fish or at the Palace if you want to see turtles (find the “Balam” Jaguar statue at the Palace and walk out into the water from there).  Best swimming can be found in the more calmer waters at the Beach resort.  FYI:  While most snorkelers want to see turtles up close, the tendency of vacationers to feed them has presented a situation of more aggressive turtle behavior (there have been some cases of bites), particularly when a swimmer is wearing/holding something yellow–try and keep a fair distance from these awesome creatures.  While there were no beach umbrellas, there were plenty of palm/coconut trees available for shade.  There were always beach loungers available no matter the time of day when we visited in July.

Our move over to the Palace for the last half of our stay was relatively smooth–we took a resort bus while our suitcases were moved by staff carts.  Check-in did not take as long as at the Caribe once it was our turn; however, there was a problem in locating all our luggage and it took quite a bit of time to get that straightened out–maybe the resort is not used to guests switching properties in the middle of their stay?  Once that problem was resolved we went on to have a great time.  Since we checked into the Premium Lounge here as well, we discovered the complimentary food and drink offerings were more extensive than the Caribe’s (not surprising since the Palace is considered to be a five star property).

The Palace pool was HUGE with several features not present at the other properties including the following:

• more seating opportunities at the swim-up bar
• two zero entry sections (those with disabilities/toddlers and young children don’t have to worry about steps to get into/out of the pool)
• built-in tiled loungers with palapa roofs
• more extensive jets
• larger in-pool Jacuzzi (non-heated)–jets turn off at 6 p.m. though
• jump off platform from a rock formation into the pool–more for children/adolescents

Ocean entry at the Palace was rockier than some others at this Barcelo property; I would bring water shoes.  If you see lots of people in the water here with snorkeling equipment, that’s where the turtles are.

Our Jr. Suite with pool view at the Palace was roomy enough for two adults–a king bed with adjoining sitting room including two sofas and a coffee table, extra roomy and more private bathroom area, and a balcony with a view of the main pool.  I enjoyed the bathroom here more than at the Caribe’s swim-up suite because it had a separate sliding door for the toilet area as well as sliding doors to close it off from the rest of the room–perfect for families traveling together or for couples who like more privacy.  I didn’t use the balcony much, however, since the view sitting down was limited due to the solid cement half wall.  Rooms at the Palace didn’t seem to be as humid, I could actually lay clothing out in the room to dry.  Included in the room was a small bottle of tequila and a bottle of sparkling wine, perfect for late afternoon/evening libations while getting ready for dinner or just relaxing.

The children’s water park at the Palace seemed to be a big hit, particularly in the afternoons.  Here are a few pictures to illustrate the types of slides/water features.

Here are a few helpful tips which may save some steps or time while staying at the Palace:

• The easiest way to find the a la carte restaurants at the Palace is to take the exterior walkway which goes along the outside of the Coral Grill and both Palace buffets.  The a la cartes are inside at the end of this walkway.
• There is a separate shuttle bus waiting station at the Oaxaca building (near the main road leading up to the Palace).  If you are staying in this part of the resort you don’t always have to walk all the way to the lobby to catch the shuttle.  I’ve made a video which, if interested, may help you initially find it.
• For upgraded guests, allow some extra time checking out at the Premium Lounge.  It would be unwise to be in a rush.
• Check out the menus of the Palace’s two buffets–each serves a different theme every night.  We loved Mexican night–multiple cooking stations and wonderful food variety.  The buffets themselves are relatively small (in comparison to the resort’s other buffets) with enough space so you can easily find your chair.

My family absolutely loved the Barcelo Maya Grand mega-resort.  It is a great choice for singles, couples, and families who would like the option to keep very busy while at a beachfront resort.  Ironically, this property’s best feature (multiple activities/amenities so that you never have to be bored or leave the resort) can also be it’s worst–there are many extra charges here.  While the charges can add up, Barcelo at times offers a discount promo which allows some of these extra fees to be reduced.  For example, when we were there in July 2018 the Caribe allowed over $100 for certain amenities to be discounted (spa treatments, bottles of wine at dinner, etc.) which did help to a certain extent.  Would I return?  I plan on returning when the new adults-only section is completed in late 2019.  Watch my blog for updates.

Please take some time to enjoy the photo gallery below–just click on any of the thumbnails to get a larger view of the picture.  This photo gallery is quite extensive since pictures of all the individual resorts are included.  At a later date I plan on separating pictures into separate blog posts for each of the Barcelo resorts; until then, they can all be seen below.  First posted are the resorts I stayed at (the Caribe and the Palace), followed by the Beach, Colonial, and Tropical resort pictures.

(The comments in this review are those of the author/reviewer.  This trip was paid for in its entirety by the author; at no time were any monies or services exchanged for this review).

Location:  55 min. south of the Cancun airport.

Telephone:  011-52-984-875-1500, Fax 011-52-984-1501

Email:  hotels@barcelomaya.com.  For the Beach resort, email mayabeach@barcelo.com; for the Caribe resort email mayacaribe@barcelo.com; for the Colonial email mayacolonial@barcelo.com; for the Tropical email mayatropical@barcelo.com; and for the Palace email mayapalace@barcelo.com