My girlfriends and I saved money for a little less than 2 years. We finally had enough money and chose to go to Cancun and chose the Barcelo because of the price and location. The hotel is beautiful, the staff was for the most part extremely helpful and friendly. The food was less than desirable and the room service was lacking in a huge way. I have been to other all inclusive and I think this may be my last. The food is used over and over again for several nights. The names of the dishes may change-but the food is always the same. Even the "restaurants" are the same. I think that may be where all the food begins. If it is not used in their restaurants-it gets used in the buffet. The quality of liquor used in the drinks is worse than horrible. The mixes they use are nasty. I would rather have more choice over what I eat, how it is fixed and what I want my drinks mixed with. If you have a garbage stomach-take advantage of an all inclusive-if not, consider something else. There is a great restaurant right across the street/mall called Le Destilleria (spelling?) and they have wonderful food. Be careful of the room service. We had to ask for towels daily and there were 4 of us in a room. We were always left with 2 or 3 towels, never 4. Toilet paper/kleenex were never replenished and nothing was ever dusted/swept up. The shower always went from hot to cold and our toilet clogged daily. They were always quick to fix it but it still was a hassle to deal with. On the last day, right when the 4 of us were done showering, the hotel had no water. Not sure if this is common, but can be frustrating. Oh yeah-be careful of the conceirge. They all will tell you what you want to hear and promise things that are not true. We did have a fantastic driver by the name of Mario who was a previous employee of the Barcelo. He drove us around and was a great help with things to do. Ask for him! Overall-great trip for 4 friends who left family back home to have a relaxing vacation! The hotel is in a great location-the grounds are stunning-the food not too good and the drinks could be much better.

My husband and I went to Barcelo Tucancun for our honeymoon. We spent $2000 for 6 days and ate and drank all we wanted. Great place for young people who want a good time and to relax. Our favorite spot was the pool bar where they have activities every day. There is a mall right in front of the hotel with lots of goodies. We took a ten minute walk to the outdoor mall which was awesome! We took a cab to see Coco Bongo's and Senior Frogs. Defintely a good time! I was so thankful to have found this hotel for such a great price! The only downfall I had was taking a shower. The water pressure was horrible and it went from hot to cold every minute. Very unpleasant, but I didn't care that much because I had the time of my life with my husband! Great location too!

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Barcelo Tucancun for a 3-day Cancun vacation in October, 2008. I booked the trip online through priceline, and chose this resort for the incredible price. I admit I was a little nervous after reading some of the questionable reviews. However, there was only one word to describe the resort: AMAZING. This was my 3rd trip to Cancun, and this was, without a doubt, my favorite of all of them.

The property is completely breathtaking. The decor, cleanliness and attention to detail were impeccable. The artwork was lovely, very colorful and pretty. They even monogrammed the sand in the ashtrays! We stayed in room 2003, which is in the South Tower (supposedly the "lesser quality" tower). Our room wasn't huge, but it was tastefully decorated and immaculately clean. The bathroom was lovely also, with an all-marble interior and enormous shower that had a complimentary shampoo and conditioner dispenser installed inside. The housekeeping during our stay was impeccable; we always had fresh towels and a spotlessly-cleaned room. We had a mini-fridge which was replenished with soft drinks, beer and bottled water daily. They even delivered a plate of fresh fruit upon our arrival. But the best part of the room was our deck. No, not a balcony--a private SUN DECK overlooking the beach, complete with lounge chairs and even a mini-sofa built into the wall of the shaded area.

The 3 pools were very clean and inviting; I never even noticed any film from sunscreen in any of the water. There is a pool and swim-up bar toward the left of the resort, which seemed to be where most of the action was..the bartenders there were great, very funny. However, my favorite pool was to the far right, where they had the CHAISE LOUNGES and side tables built right into the water, I loved lying in the pool and getting sun with a drink (or 2, or 3...). I also recommend booking any tours or excursions through the stand located on this deck (versus the one in the hotel lobby), I found the prices and value to be better there (not to mention that the departure location for the excursions through this company is MUCH easier to find, unlike the one we booked through the lobby salesman; our cab driver had trouble finding the correct port, and we nearly missed our boat).

As for the food...I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was true, as I read on some of the reviews, that a lot of items on the breakfast buffet in the lobby were leftovers from items on the dinner buffets the night before. But they refashioned them in ways that I found very appealing. There were always also plenty of options on the buffet--eggs, breakfast meats, french toast, fresh fruit, cereal, I never left hungry. The lunch buffet down by the pool deck was pretty basic fare...chicken wings, spaghetti, hamburgers, pizza, french fries, nachos (I was a HUGE fan of the nachos there!). Dinner buffet was similar, usually a couple of beef and chicken dishes, some vegetable and starch choices, fresh bread. Unfortunately, I didn't get to try out the Spanish buffet in the Don Quixote restaurant, as it wasn't open the nights that I stayed there. I did get to check out both of the a la carte restaurants, La Claraboya (seafood) and Mexico Lindo (Mexican). I enjoyed them both...I really felt that I was in a formal restaurant and spending a lot of money, rather than dining all-inclusive. The soups that I had in both restaurants (the clam chowder and the tortilla soup) were a little disappointing, they were different from what I was used to. But, after all, this is a different country and things aren't going to be exactly like back home. They also served late-night fare in the lobby bar, mostly finger foods like nachos and wings and hot dogs and mini sandwiches, I was usually rather drunk by that point so greasy food was exactly what I needed.

The entertainment there was also great; there was live entertainment every night, they had a different show for every day of the week. They did offer the "party-hopper" tour, where they take you on a guided tour of the downtown nightclubs; however, being almost 30 and having done this several times, I was content to enjoy the booze and shows at the hotels. Cabs were very easily obtainable, the doormen were always on hand to call them and they arrived within 5 minutes every time.

As for the drinks...it is true, the mixed drinks here are very sweet and not very strong. This is one problem, however, that can easily be solved. I recommend ordering additional shots of rum or tequila on the side and adding them to your drinks (unless you prefer to do them straight, which works every time). Beer is, of course, another trusty option (Dos Equis is an EXCELLENT local beer and is served on draft). Tipping the servers and bartenders will also favorably impact the speed and quality of your drinks. While tipping is not required, it will definitely guarantee you incredible service and better drinks. A few dollars here and there go a long way!

Overall, my stay at the Barcelo Tucancun Beach was HEAVENLY. For the great price that we had gotten, it exceeded my wildest expectations. We normally try out a different hotel every time we visit Cancun--however, I was so impressed by the resort that I will definitely be back a.s.a.p.! I highly recommend this place to anyone and everyone!

Had an amazing time at the Barcelo...Staff were wonderful, in particular the entertainment staff. They work such long hours and really make it a fun time. Room was nice and clean, but had a terrible view of the shopping center accross the road. Although did not mind.
There are 3 pools, family pool-kids-noise.ect, chill out pool, very quiet and manily adults and then activites pool. Which included yoga, games, bingo, in pool volleyball which is very competetive between British and Americans, also the only one with a swim up bar. We switched between pools depending on moods.
Food is ok, the mexican a la carte is terrible. Really awful. the spanish is nice, the buffet is too. Lunch by the kids pool is lovely they grill the burger to your preference. Food in there is really nice. You can pretty much get food anytime of day.
The only annoying thing is the shop in the hotel, rarely opened. Which is annoying is you want to buy cigarrettes, magazines, newspaper. ect.
Nightlife is good, if you ask the entertainement team they know what club is best and on what night to go, COCO Bongo's is a must. They run a bar crawl on a sun and wed. Avoid the waterpark total waste of money, no decent rides and water filthy. The jungle tour was amazing in your very own speed boat and you follow the leader out to a bay where you can snorkel. Also Bubba Gumps restaurants is amazing if you like prawns, and they had the best ribs. Definatley recommend this hotel.