First of all, the location is terrific, the lobby area is beautiful, and there is easy access to the beach and pool area. Lots of nice lounge chairs. Service was excellent when you asked for something, but not much was offered. The room was very clean, but the bathroom was very dated with a wall dispenser of soap and shampoo (never could tell which was which, so I bought some shampoo and used the bars of soap from the sink). The bed was comfortable, but there was no blanket other than the polyester bedspread. You can get a (VERY) tiny balcony or a king sized bed, but not both. The cafe next to the pool was very good, but the buffet wasn't. A wonderful trip, but won't stay there again.

We recently came back from a wonderful vacation to the Barcelo in Ixtapa. We booked with Air Canada Vacations and had great flights in and out and the bus was waiting promptly to take us from the airport. The check in was very quick and we were served a nice cool drink while waiting in line. The rooms were excellent, very clean and the view from the ninth floor was fantastic. We always had plenty of towels and the fridge was stocked everyday along with lots of coffee too. Sometimes the hot water was a bit iffy it was either too cold or too hot but once we got the hang of it we had no problems. Loved the size of the resort it wasn't too big or too small, just right. The pools were warm and the walk to the beach was so close. Saved our chairs every morning on the beach to be sure we had some shade and had no problems with anyone removing our stuff. The front desk people are very friendly and knowledgeable and we were able to exchange our Canadian dollars at the front desk rather than running to an ATM or bank. The bathrooms in the resort were very, very clean and the food was pretty good. It does get a bit repetitive after four days but the theme nights featured some different foods and desserts so that helped. Ixtapa is walking distance and Zihuantanejo is only 15 minutes away. The shopping was excellent and the fishing at Z was great too. Was excited with my San Miguel shoe purchase in Ixtapa for only $55. I wish I had bought more than one pair. Karoake night in the La Sanca bar was a lot of fun especially with a few tequilas under your belt and the evening piano entertainment in the open buffet area was very relaxing too. Don't forget to try the soft ice cream it's delicious. Overall best holiday ever, clean rooms, good food, great staff. Loved the Barcelo! We will be back to Ixtapa and the Barcelo again!

Our sixth annual trip to the Barcelo. This is a marvelous, relaxing place. Their are always fresh fruit and vegetables at all three meals which we just do not get here in the North. The tomatoes and guacamole are especially great, as is the flan for dessert. Dinner gets tiresome so you should plan to go out for dinner half of the time. Villa de la Selva is a special place. More expensive than most, but well worth the experience. Take a cab for about 50 pesos for the five minute cab ride. It is built into the side of a cliff overlooking the ocean and you eat under the stars. Be sure to be there to see the sunset.
there is a good pizza place in Ixtapa called Tuscano's. It is toward the back of the shop area in the corner. The Blue Shrimp across the square from Tuscano's is good also.
We had a couple maintenance problems at the Barcelo such as closet door not closing properly. It was fixed the same day we advised the front desk about it. This hotel gets many repeat visitors. I bet a majority of the clientele are repeat visitors. This is a place to stay for a week or two, not just a day. The staff never seems to change from year to year, and they are all friendly. Paola, the concierge, is very helpful. Rene, a bellhop, is also very helpful.

I went to the Barcelo for a family holiday where there was six of us in three separate rooms. It was a last minute get-away and we were able to get a good deal for everyone coming from different locations. This was my third trip to Ixtapa and my second to the Barcelo.

Upon check in, there were drinks waiting for us. We requested all the rooms to be fairly close to one another and the hotel set us up as we wanted; however, one pair had to move rooms as there were several problems with it: there wasn't any towels in the bathroom and the air conditioner and tv remote were not working properly and could not be fix by the end of first night so they moved rooms on another floor. (All done without an issue.) We all had ocean view rooms and they were a decent size, clean and the bar fridge was always stocked. I'm guessing because this was my second trip to the Barcelo, my husband and I received a lovely, "Welcome back letter" and fruit tray in our room.

The food was good, but at times a bit monotonous; however, no one went away from the table hungry. We easily made reservations for the a la carte restaurants with the concierge and they were very forgiving and accommodating when we needed to rearrange time slots. We were able to get food for most times of the day. (I've been to other resorts where there is no food service for several hours throughout the day.) The buffet had typical Mexican cuisine along with other western style food.

The beach was wonderful and there were sports such as soccer and volleyball. We were able to release baby turtles into the ocean a couple of times. (For more accurate information on turtle releasing, you're better off to ask the lifeguard about it rather than asking the front desk.) We didn't have too much difficulty getting beach / pool chairs for the six of us, although someone was always out before breakfast to do so. Lots of guests 'reserved' seats by placing towels on them, but it was usually easy to rearrange free chairs to make things work out. The pool was clean and there were always good drinks to be had at the swim up bar. Also, there were servers willing to take your order in the lobby, by the pool and even sometimes down on the beach.

One aspect of traveling that I've never had to think about before has been a hotel's wheelchair accessibility. My husband had an unfortunate accident where he dropped a glass cologne bottle on the tile floor. It shattered into many pieces and he ended up with several deep cuts on the bottom of his foot. With one phone call, and within ten minutes, I had an on-site doctor in my room, taking a look at the wound, security brought up a wheelchair (which we ended up using, free of charge, for the next three days), two maids cleaning up the mess and the manager asking if there was anything more they could do for us. My husband received 10 stitches, on-site, at the hotel's medical centre, and received a prescription for antibiotics and a anti-inflammatory. (I was able to fill that prescription at a near-by pharmacy.) The doctor saw my husband the next day to check the stitches, change the dressing and wrote a medical report for our travel insurance; all for a very reasonable fee. I was extremely impressed with the hotel's professionalism and helpfulness for a bad situation. I was also thankful that there was a doctor on-site who had the office and required medical supplies to help my husband. The doctor was able to explain everything to me in English and answered all of my questions.

Getting around the hotel in a wheelchair was easy. There were many ramps but one elevator that didn't always work properly (once in a while it wouldn't move). The restaurants alway accomodated us by sitting us in a place where we could easily manuver the chair around or where we weren't in the way of other guests.

Ixtapa is a wonderful vacation spot and the hotel helped to make the very best of a bad situation. I was thankful for the services they provided; everything from the easy check-in / check-out, cleaning and wait-staff service to having an on-site medical centre. Sometimes its the extras that you don't think you'll ever have to use that really make the biggest difference in the long run.