Barcelo Maya Beach

We stayed at Maya Beach Resort for 4 nights. This was our first time staying at a Barceló property. Although I can see where the bad reviews are coming from when I compare it with other places we have stayed in Cancún previously. The 4 stars are not for the food but rather the amount of things they have for all ages. Every night they have some kind of entertainment for kids and adults, the casino, the free water activities like kayak, snorkeling, and more. The Maya Beach room as a premium member was roomy and clean. We had an ocean view which was nice with a jacuzzi tub in the balcony. The pools and the kid pool area were great. We were able to go to all 3 pools for other locations. Caribe did have the best kids pool if your kid is older; we didn’t go because our son is only 2. The beach area is very tropical with lots of palm trees and shade and lounge chairs that you can enjoy. All the workers were super nice and welcoming. Now the food isn’t their strongest suit at this place. They had made a reservation prior to us arriving for all 4 nights, which was nice because we didn’t have to deal with “sorry, we are full”. We tried the Italian, Spanish, and hibachi. Italian was straight NO for us. It lacked flavors, the pasta was uncooked, and the pizza was whatever. The salad bar at Italian had everything warm, and we went at 7 p.m. Don’t even get me started with their cannoli as dessert; just order ice cream. The hibachi we went to was whatever as well. I thought the fried rice and meat they cooked was salty, and you can order one item per each section (appetizer, main dish, & dessert). Spanish was not WOW but was for sure better than the other two. Salmon was cooked nicely, and my husband had lamb, and he said that was yummy. I did order lentil soup, and somehow they brought me garlic soup, which was a bowl of salt with water basically. Buffets: we did try two of their buffets - the main one by the Maya Beach reception and the bar and grill by the pool. The breakfast at the main was had good selection of everything for everyone. Of all 4 days we stayed there was one day where we felt the lunch buffet wasn’t good. We mainly didn’t like the bar and grill by the pool and felt that place just lacked a lot of food options. We did have free room service with our premium level however the menu items were not at all appetizing for us to order anything. You can’t get food ordered by the pool like other resorts so if that’s something you like this place lacks that’s. The drinks were okay nothing amazing just like any other all inclusive resort. The premium lounge did have patron and some other bit known brand alcohol for self service. What i also noticed is that they didnt have a coffee shop on site anywhere to get good cup of coffee. They have automatic coffee machines that you can get your cappuccino and latte and stuff. Overall we enjoyed our stay due to the activities and things to do and the tropical ambiance of the resort.

At the pool beach, I was served by Wendy Álvarez, Jocelyn González, and Matus Aidé; from the very first moment, they made me feel very comfortable, always with a smile and attentive. People like that make one have a very special experience; when someone enjoys what they do, it shows. They definitely deserve our recognition, and I hope to return so they can serve me again. Thank you very much for making my stay so pleasant!

Claudia at the pool bar was so cool and an awesome bar tender. 🍻