My wife and I went with another couple here for sun/beach/relaxation. Our first day was anything but that as we were greeted at the hotel with a barrage of offers for tours. Even after we said we were tired from travelling all day and needed to think about it, it was like we hadn't said anything. That irritated me. I think they saw our irritations because they didn't bother us for the rest of our stay which was nice. The hotel grounds was immaculately taken care of. The hotel workers seems to work around the clock as we came in 2 or 3 in the morning and they were manicuring the grounds..etc..We had a oceanview room with double beds, which wasn't what we requested but was great. Excellent view! I've read many reviews previously about the comfort or rather the lack of comfort of the beds. Yes, they were hard, but if you're used to sleeping on a firm mattress then it was ok. We didn't have a problem with it. The only problem with the room is that when it rains hard the balcony glass doors tend to leak, but it only rained like that our first day, the rest of the time was warm and dry. The food was average for an all-inclusive. The best thing was the breakfast since you have more of a variety to chose from. The beach did sustain some damage but not much. You will still have ample amount to do whatever on it. We will not be going back to this hotel simply because there are so many other places to stay there.

Our family (2 Adults and one 16 yr. old and one 18 yr. old) stayed at the Barcelo Tucancun beach Resort from Feb 10-17 (reading week for Manitoba universities). We were very impressed with the facility.

The restaurants were great and always had a delicious variety of foods. We went to both a la carte restaurants and I think we preferred the Mexican one the best (Mexico Lindo). But saying that the seafood one (La Claraboya) was good and had the greatest baked Alaska for desert. The “Don Quijote” Spanish buffet was great and had a delicious variety. The other two buffets were really good also for all meals of the day (loved the omelettes in the morning). The deserts in all the restaurants were out of this world!

The room that we had was very nice and the maids were always there to clean up at a reasonable time in the mornings with no problems. The fridge was always stocked once a day with drinks. The showers were a little off and on though. You had to keep adjusting it to get a constant temperature. We noticed people have commented about the beds but we found them firm but comfortable.

The entertainment employees were great (Jon, Maggie, Merriam, Angel, Pokemon and of course Birdman) and put in an amazing amount of hours (they were always at the hotel). They worked very hard to ensure that all visitors had a wonderful time during their stay. They also had a deal at about 10:30 at night by the lobby bar. They would take whoever wanted to go, to a different Club in Cancun (Senor Frogs, The Basic, Coco Bongo, The City etc) by bus each night. This was great for the people in the hotel to get to meet each other. For a fee of about $35 US they would get you there with VIP entrance and ALL you can drink. Make sure you have Cab fare ($8.00 US and up) or bus fare (6.5 pesos) stashed away because you are on your own to get home. Some of the clubs are huge (they hold around 4,000 people) so stay with your group of friends! You feel very safe going home as long as you stay with your group.

One comment though, we feel the hotel really should have something more in the evenings for kids in the 14 to 18 range. We wouldn’t allow our 16 year to go to the bars at night and we were very nervous about allowing our 18 year go. After the evening show the hotel puts on, which ends after 10:00, there really isn’t anything for this age group to do. They should consider having a Disco with a DJ so young folks have a place to party. I think if they did it right they would attract all ages.

If you go check out Xel-ha it is a wonderful park with tubing and snorkelling. We took the Telum/Xel-ha tour ($115.00 US per person) and even though the ruins were fascinating we would have liked to stay longer at Xel-ha. We wanted to do so much more but since we were only there for a week we just did the one tour.

All and all it was a great trip, we would definitely stay at the Bercelo again. However, it was a worry with the kids at the clubs in Cancun.

This hotel was great! It was very clean and the service from everyone was quick and courteous. Just got back on Feb 17 stayed from Feb 10-17, 2007.

Rooms: We arrived around 1in the afternoon and were able to go right up to our room. We had a “king” bed (it seemed a little smaller than our king at home), and we didn’t find the bed too firm it was just right for us. The shower was a walk in, it had dispensers for shampoo, gel, and conditioner and it had sturdy handrails. Also in the bathroom was a nice magnifying mirror. The balcony was a little small; it had a bench, 2 chairs and a table though. There was a safe in the room, but you do have to pay for it. There are also some shelves in the closet.

Pools/Beach and Grounds: There are a lot of stairs in this resort leading to the pools and the beach. Some have handrails and some don’t. So if you are looking for a place that is handicap accessible this place won’t be your choice. The pools were great! A lot of people complained about them being dirty and we never had any complaints on cleanliness and we were in the pools in the morning and in the late afternoon. The pools are open from 8 am to 10 pm, we never saw anyone in them that late though. We liked the bottom (pool with built in loungers) and the upper pool (infinity) the best. The upper pool has a great view of the sea. We were disappointed in the party pool (swim-up bar), there were a lot of people and some kids throwing volleyballs around and it is a small pool. It is also loud and more shaded (the bar area). We did watch some of the activities there and the entertainment staff seemed to be doing a great job. The beach is great, it is on a sand shelf but there are easy ways to get down to the lower part by the water, and they were building a ramp the last couple days we were there. The sea is a little rough because there is not a reef to protect it, and there is a tiny drop right when you enter. Yes, there are large sandbags out in the water near the shore line, but they are there to protect against erosion. Just think of them as rocks and forget about them and they won’t bother you. The sand is soft, never gets up, and there are shells to find. In fact some people looked like they were panning for gold trying to get the shells! As for loungers when we were there we were always at the beach by 7:45 to 8 am, but it took a long time for loungers to fill up. The rush started about 10 am. Not too many people reserved loungers early in the am. There are no umbrellas on the beach but there are at all the pools.

Food and Drinks: Favorite drinks banana daiquiri and banana monkey. The bartenders are great and we did not think that they skimped on liquor at all. The bartenders would gladly double the liquor too. Go ahead and bring big mugs with you, they fill ‘em right up for you! The first bar that opens is the Upper pool one at 9 am. As for food, overall it is okay. Standard All Inclusive food, the buffets have to make a lot of food for many different palettes. We liked La Claraboya for lunch and breakfast buffet over the Mallorca (upper buffet); we just thought it had better food and a little more variety. By the way you can’t take food out of the buffet to your lounger. The Don Quixote was okay, it was a Spanish style buffet for dinner, I had stayed at another Barcelo and the Don was a sit down restaurant that was much better so I was a little disappointed. Never ate at the Claraboya for dinner it was a sit down seafood, but the Mexico Lindo was great! We ate there twice and had fillet mignon, the chicken wings are amazing and the churros with caramel sauce are yummy too. As for eating outside the hotel, we went to Maragaritaville and Senor Frogs, but were good and fun places! IF you go to senor Frogs for supper get the fried Monterrey Jack cheese appetizer with green sauce! It makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

Other Activities: We did get a massage at The Spa at the Barcelo, and it was a very nice massage. It wasn’t too expensive and a nice break in the day. They do make you pay in cash (American or pesos), you can’t charge to your room. We only went to one show at night, and it was okay, don’t skip Senor Frogs or something else for it. We went to three malls Plaza Flamingoes, La Isla, and Plaza Kuklakan (right in front of the hotel). All were nice. Kuklakan has a huge dome and they have a little light show that is interesting to see. The city bus stops right in front of Plaza Kulkakan and is about 60 pesos, they do accept $1 American bills but they give you change in pesos. We never had a problem using the bus or feeling safe, and it is so much cheaper than a taxi. We did go to Isla Mujeres….Highly recommend it. Just take the bus to Puerto Juarez and catch the ferry over. We rented a golf cart and roamed the island; do the turtle sanctuary and Punta Sur with the ruins. Ruins aren’t much to see but the path by the sea is fantastic! Skip Hacienda Mundaca not much to see. Playa Norte is an amazing beach you can walk out in the sea about 300-400 yards or more without the water coming past your hips and the sand is so soft! The Sunset Grill on the beach has really good food and fun waiters! Also took a tour to Chichen Itza, so cool to see the ruins (hubby and I are history buffs), a lot of walking but so worth it! You can’t climb the big pyramid anymore but you can climb a little on the observatory.

I went to the Barcelo Tucancun a little worried from these boards but I wasn’t expecting the Ritz (just a couple hotels away from this one) especially with the price we paid. But it was definitely a fun resort and I will definitely consider staying at this hotel again if I go to Cancun! Go and have fun!