Do not choose the ground floor, the room we got at first was dark and smelled of mildew. The room we switched to on the third floor, however, was very nice! Check the air conditioning so it works. The food at the restaurants was delicious. Breakfast was fantastic! The pools were large and clean. There were plenty of sun loungers and hammocks to all guests, both at the pool and beach. The beach below the hotel was very nice. The activities at the hotel was good, both at day and at evening.

As part of the company trip (the some one as of the previous reviewer) I stayed for 4 nights in this hotel. This is my first experience in an all-inclusive hotel and it was amazing. however you do not feel the real Mexico while staying there.
A big let down is expected to those how would think all-inclusive includes Wi-Fi services, it is a big ripoff and makes the value of the hotel only Average. (for me personally and the whole company it was free)

The hotel is huge, it is actually an area with 5 hotels (Maya beach, Maya Caribe, Colonial, another-one-that-I-forgot and Palace) when you can use the facilities of all the hotels no matter where you stay. it is great fun to get lost in the many paths around. what amazed me the most was the quietness of the place, even though it is basically an hotel with thousand of rooms you can still find your quiet private corner everywhere.

the shoreline is 1.6 km (if I remember correctly) however some parts of it are rocky, one girl of our group was bruised from a rock that did a little cut in her feet. you should use the southern beach which is better (I cannot remember it's name right now). yet the beach is wonderful, blue like in postcards with white sands.

The pools are excellent, they are great fun. had my the best day in the pool with some friends

The room itself is big, clean with a good-sleep bed. there was no extraordinary view but it was in a quiet place. it was good but not amazing

I was left ambiguous with my opinion of the food. I am amazed by the verity and cleanness of the many buffets and snack-bars, on the other hand the food did not tasted Mexican to me it was good american food made with a small Mexican twist, only after leaving the hotel and visiting a more authentic place did I realized the gastronomic wonders of Mexico.

Overall a great place to rest and forget about the world (including the country you are in)

We had a company event hosted at this resort. We stayed there for 4 nights.
I must say this is my first time at a resort as such. I am generally not a big fan of passive holidays, I like do do alot of things (walking, sightseeing). During this holiday I was generally lying by the pool or at the beach enjoying the great views.
The service at the hotel is excellent. We really enjoyed the food at the all you can eat dining rooms as opposed to the restraunts which we really hated. We ate at the spanish and at the brazilian restraunts and didn't like it one bit, in fact, we were sorry we missed the buffe.
The room service was very good, rooms were very clean and spacious. Air conditioning, ceiling fan, very nice shower/bathroom. The tv was abit of a disappointment, most of the channels were in spanish, and the picture quality was below avarage.
Additionally, the ventilation in the bathroom wasn't good, it took a while for certain smells to go away :p.
The alcohol at the bar is not the best, but there is plenty of it.
Overall, a very nice resort, they have a very well equipped gym and many places to do sports.

My family and I recently stayed is this resort. Great place to stay! All inclusive really meant all inclusive. Definitely recommend up-grading to the premium so it covers premium liquors and room service. The concierge at our building, Jazmine, was outstanding and got us into 4 of the restaurants that were booked solid during our stay. We ate at a Seafood restaurant, a Spanish restaurant a mariachi restaurant and a Japanese Restaurant called Kyoto. Kyoto was by far the best.
Buffet food was just that, buffet food. If you are staying here for a gourmet dining experience than you will be disappointed. If you are staying for all of the recreation and the beautiful beach; you will be pleasantly surprised! The next time we will stay at the Barcelo Palace. My understanding is it the nicest of the 4 properties @ Barcelo.
We also went on a day tour with Mayan Adventures and it was a BLAST! Zip-line, repelling, snorkeling in the cenotes and touring the Tulum Ruins. Great experience and fantastic price. We also went on a day tour of Cozumel. Neat town, a bit pricy for the tour. Finally we went snorkeling with the turtles in an inlet called Akumal. Great, great, great experience for $40/person. By far the best deal price wise. This was offered by a diving company on the beach at Barcelo Resort.
Overall, an absolutely great trip.