This was me and my boyfriend’s first trip so we were advised to go to Cancun because it's very modern and very easy to navigate around for inexperienced travelers.

We originally decided on the Palms Oasis Beach Resort in Cancun but due to an error on our travel agents behalf we were not able to stay there because of our age. Apparently a lot of the hotels and resorts in Cancun have a new very strict policy about students on spring break. My boyfriend and I aren't students however we're 22 years old and the rules are "No students or youths between the ages of 18 and 24". There was no getting around this even when the travel agent told them we were married! Since we had booked with Sunquest Vacations there was no way we could get a refund and look for another vacation package. We were then given the choice between what looked like a retirement home in the Maya Riviera or the Barceló Tucancun Beach in Cancun so we chose the Barceló.

The Barceló Tucancun Beach was very clean and the open concept of the lobby was very inviting. Our room was very nice with a balcony overlooking the giant mall in front of us even though they called it a lagoon view. We were also suppose to have a king sized bed but instead had two doubles.

The staff at the Barceló worked around the clock and we're very friendly. The service was very good at the buffet and at all the bars. The food was ok, nothing spectacular at the Buffet.

The Barceló also had three A La Carte resturants... Spanish food, Mexican and seafood. We tried making reservations but the time slots went fast and had to be in before 2pm so if you don't want to wait until 9pm to eat dinner then you should book days in advance! We didn't eat at any of the restaurants due to this and also because of my allergy to shrimp and because of health issues...

My boyfriend ended up with food poisoning our last night there. We weren't exactly sure what it was from but he was very sick!
He'd also had a tooth ache and was in a lot of pain the last few nights. Our last night there we'd gone through our 2 bottles of water they provide us in the mini fridge because my boyfriend was sick. When I asked for more water they told me to go down to the front desk. When I got down there the guy gave me one bottle and when I asked him for a second one he looked at me like I had three heads and proceeded to ask me what we did with the two we were given. I tried to explain that my boyfriend was really sick and he gave me a lecture about how only two bottles come with our package. I was so outraged and furious that I shouted and said that's fine and stormed off! I couldn't believe a bottle of water there was made of gold apparently! So my very sick boyfriend and I had to ration off of one bottle of water the rest of the night and next morning and when you're told not to drink the tap water in Mexico that becomes a little difficult. Water is only the number one basic necessity of human life!

On top of this incident, we were also skipped for house keeping a couple days and had to call down for clean towels and toilet paper. You were also not allowed to bring any food up to your hotel room from the buffet if you didn't feel up to dinning in, and there was almost always a long line up to get in for dinner.

We were told that The Barceló Tucancun Beach was a four star resort from both our travel agent and by Sunquest but even though we are by no means seasoned travelers we knew there was no way it was more than 3 stars. I say that because my mom and sister were in Cancun for two weeks just before we arrived and they even got room service free of extra charge at their four start resort. At the Barceló it was 40 pesos just for the service and the prices of food weren't listed. We ended up having pizza delivered to our hotel.

Our stay wasn't all bad; the pools even though they weren't heated were still very clean and well maintained. The pool side bars were excellent and the two shows that we went to were fairly entertaining. However it wasn’t enough to make us want to stay there again.

Because we got such a good deal, I honestly left with minimal expectations; however I was pleasantly surprised with many of the negative reviews that some other people have posted.

In theory, this hotel is no way close to a 4.5 star or to a 5 star resort...If you think you are going to book a cheap vacation, and find a 5 star resort..this isnt possible in Mexico. If you are crazy enough to rate this hotel a 3 star or 3.5, I think you are seriously delusional.

To the review...As it says in my header, take it from someone who has travelled to most caribeean resorts and has experienced the best...and the worst...Barcelo Tucancun ranks as one of my favorite vacations (despite the cold weather and rain...which is not the hotel's fault)

Beach: If you are a beach bum, who spends 8 hours a day solely on the beach...you may be somewhat dissapointed due to the 6 foot waves and the 8 feet of sand before the seawall. Beachlovers...look elsewhere...

Pools: Pools are great, all are well located and you can be at the pool with a drink in your hand within 2 minutes...depending on where your room is. From what I noticed, you can walk accross the entire resort in 3 minutes. Pools were clean and Chilly, my one complaint was that the pools werent heated despite their size

Rooms: Clean, great, shower was fine..read a lot of negative comments regarding pressure and temperature....everything was fine on my end. Got a great room in the villas, with an ocean view (and we paid for garden view)

Service: Fantastic...the mexicans are great, especially when you greet them like a civilized human being, smile and say hello. If you have already booked your trip, this is the most important piece of advice I can give you....

BE NICE, BE PATIENT, SMILE AND TIP..AND SAY THANK YOU OR GRACIAS...The service we had at the bars, restaurants, and with the waitresses were phenomenal and I honestly think it was because of our attitude towards them.

So many times, I saw so many ignorant and rude people yelling at the staff and bartenders. They approach the bars with their 1 pint thermos and they yell "Cerveza!!"..no please no thank you. If I were the bartenders I would have spat in their drink

Food: Good..not a huge amount of variety, but I rarely ate something I didnt like. If you like Mexican or spanish food..then you will have a good week. If you don't like Mexican food at all....move on, book elsewhere. The food did become a little repetitive, but I really thinkg it depends on your personal taste.

Location: Couldn't be better located...smack in the middle strip, 8 USD away from the clubs and you are facing a massive mall...which could suck, depending on where your room is.

All in all I would recommend this hotel highly if you are going away with your single friends or with your spouse. It is fun, clean, friendly and a great value. I wouldnt spend over 1100 USD for a week...however if you get a deal..BOOK Immediately!

We stayed at the Barcelo Tucancun during the 1st week of February.

We were 2 couples, late 20s/early 30s. I've stayed in all-inclusives in Varadero (twice), Camaguey, Puerto Plata, and Cancun (twice).

The Barcelo Tucancun overall is a great value hotel, but the biggest flaw is the lack of beach surface. After the hurricanes, almost all the hotels in Cancun have very little beach left, but the Barcelo in particular is lacking. (see 'Beach' for more details)

*ROOMS*:
Unless you pay for an upgrade (starting at $15 USD), a standard room is always facing the back of the mall. The worst standard rooms are the ones that are next to elevators....ours shared the same wall as the elevator, so we could distinctly hear the elevators sliding up and down, and the constant 'ping' of the bell. Also, the corner rooms don't have a balcony or even windows that open fully.

Our king bed was comfortable, but our friends' double beds were terribly misshapen..there were 'craters' in them.

There is a free minibar in every room, with beer/water/soft drinks/snacks that are replenished every day.

There is a safe in the room, but you have to pay extra if you want to use it.

There are free amenities in the room, like a coffee machine, liquid soap, shampoo, and conditioner.

*BEACH*:
There is very little beach left at the Barcelo. At high tide, the water washes right up to the retaining wall. At low tide, you can put a chair against the wall, but you must watch your bag because sometimes the water reaches your chair anyway.

If you sit on the beach there are no parasols, beach huts, or trees for shade. The beach in Cancun is almost always red flag (very windy, large waves).

If you're a pool person, the view is breathtaking. But if you're a beach person, you might be disappointed.

Due to the erosion, the Cancun beach isn't great for walking/running along the beach. It is very long, but the sand is at a steep, awkward angle.

*FOOD*:
The food at the buffet and at the beach grill were quite good every night. There was a good variety of fresh food every day. Food was hot enough (usually a problem at buffets), and there was a microwave available in case you wanted it.

Service in the restaurants was great, REGARDLESS OF TIPS! Of course they always appreciate it if you tip, but the service did not change if you didn't tip. I've never been to a hotel where that was the case, and it was nice not to feel pressured.

There are some great outdoor terraces where you can eat facing the ocean. It's often too windy to eat outside, but it's a great place to sit and have a drink.

What's nice about the Barcelo is that there is a late night snack bar that opens after the buffet closes. It's a great feature if you go out, because it's open until 4am.


*BARS*:
Again, the service was great whether or not you tipped. You will probably have to wait in line at the pool bars, but the bartenders are quick.

The lobby bar has a TV playing sports. Once it gets dark it is the place to be, but the fact that people are allowed to smoke there is a big deterrent.

Drinks were a bit weak, but they were actual blended, slushy drinks (as opposed to just alcohol + mixer). The mixes were not horribly artificial ones, they actually tasted great.


*SHOWS*:
The shows were almost all dance shows. The dancers are good, but by the 3rd night it was pretty boring since the choreography is similar in every show, they just have different costumes on.

The female dancers often wore thongs and sometimes had bare breasts with tassles on! Not the best if you have kids at the show.

*POOLS*:
For entertainment, there are activities like water aerobics and water volleyball at pool 3. That is the only pool that has music and a swim up bar, so it's the 'party' pool.

The other pools are nice and clean, and there is a great pool with beds in the water.

There wasn't enough beach chairs available at the pool, probably because very few people sat on the beach.

*THE MALL*:
It's great to have the mall literally across the street in case you need anything, and for those rainy days. There is a bowling alley and a casino in addition to the shops. The prices are slightly high American standard prices, so don't expect cheap Mexican prices.

*TOURIST DISTRIBUTION*:
During the week that we were there, there were approximately:

30% Canadians
30% French-Canadians
30% Americans
10% European and Other

It was a fairly young hotel, with the average age around 20-40s.

*OTHER*:
The hotel goes overboard with air conditioning. We were often freezing in the restaurants and theater, to the point where we would have to go outside to warm up, or not finish the show because of the cold.


CONCLUSION:
All in all, the Barcelo Tucancun is a great value hotel. It's well located and it a short bus ride from the Cancun nightlife. I would say that it's a 4-star hotel.

*SPECIAL NOTE*:
The hotel was overbooked, so they offered a free upgrade to the 5-star Barcelo Maya in Riviera Maya. We were wary that there might be a catch, but in the end, there was no catch, no meetings, no sales efforts, etc. Transfers and airport transfer was taken care of for us.

Upon our arrival at this hotel our first thoughts were Wow, this place is beautiful! Within in ten minutes we had our first problem at the front desk. They did not have our third person in our room, this was quickly fixed by the front desk agent. Service the first night in the buffet restaurant was good but after that you pretty much had to stand on your table to get them to bring you a glass of water. The food at the buffet is tasty but everynight seemed to be the same thing. BORING!! Although, the a la carte restaurants had excellent food and service. We asked for a cot in one of our rooms three times and still did not get it. This room also had black mold and holes on the ceiling and the air conditioner was leaking. The musty smell in the room was terrible, this room also had toilet problems, but both times this was looked after quickly. I would not recommend this hotel to any of my friends or family just on the plain fact that the service is terrible. It just looks good on the outside.