The original room we were given was in the old tower and had a view out over the lagoon, mall and air conditioners out back and no balcony. Not good. We were told to return to the front desk in the morning and they'd see if they could upgrade us. We put up with that room for one night and that next morning they found us another room that was fabulous! I think the upgrade amounted to $20 US per person per night and it was worth every penny! We got a room on the top floor in the new tower with a wraparound balcony and a great view of the ocean and the pools. Amazing! We had great maid service - our room was made up early in the morning and our fridge was always refilled with snacks, water, beer and pop. They have a rack on the balcony where you can hang your wet bathing suit and towel and things dried very quickly. The shower was large and had all the shampoo, conditioner and shower gel provided for you as well as a hair dryer (good to know when you're packing for your vacation). The beds were very comfortable too. It wasn't overly hot while we were there so we never needed the ceiling fan or air conditioning. We'd leave the balcony door open at night to hear the waves - very relaxing. There weren't any bugs which was nice. They do need fans in their bathrooms though - it gets really foggy after a shower! I was really disappointed that they did not have a fitness center. I would not recommend their spa. I had a manicure and one of my friends had a pedicure. We were the only customers in there - every time we walked past the spa, the place was completely empty. My friend's toes were chipping within a few minutes and my nails were never allowed to dry completely so very soon after I left, my manicure was messed up. I even went back and they patched the mess up the best they could. The girls were all nice but if you want pedicures and manicures, I would suggest you do them at home before starting your vacation. I'm not sure what kind of set up they had for massages and other services. They had one of those massage chairs sitting out in the open between the pedicure station and the manicure station. But as I said we never saw anyone going in or coming out so don't know what quality of services were available. Also, if you want really good deck chairs, you need to go out early in the morning (around 7:00 am) and put your towels out to save chairs. It wasn't much of a problem as we made it a ritual where we'd put out the towels, walk down the beach to the beautiful Melia hotel and cut through their lobby to the La Isla Shopping Center to Starbucks for my daily latte. Then we'd sit on benches along the lagoon to drink our coffees. The La Isla Mall is the best one to shop at. It's only about a 10-minute walk from the hotel and we never felt unsafe anywhere day or night. The mall had some great stores in it - especially the Liverpool duty free shop where we found some great deals. The Forum By the Sea mall further down the road near Carlos & Charlie's has some great jewelry shops in it. The bus takes you right there for 7 pesos and the bus system is far superior to the service we get here in Calgary! We bussed it down there and walked back. You will get all kinds of promotional literature for the Lapis jewelery store and I'm just warning you now that it's a complete waste of time! The salespeople follow you around (or should I say shadow you) and you have absolutely no privacy whatsoever! I don't believe their prices are any better than anywhere else - personally if I want to buy some good jewelery I'm going to do it at home! Lastly, I have seen several reviews where people were complaining about the towel policy. When we checked in, the front desk staff made it very clear to us that we needed to bring the towel card back when we were checking out or else we would be charged $25. That's a standard policy in every hotel I've ever stayed in. The food was pretty good. The service was phenomenal in the a la carte restaurants. The food was OK. Every night the a la cartes had a featured drink of the day which was usually very good. We found that the food was better at the buffet and the service was excellent if Francisco was the host. They had a good variety of food with salads and soup with every dinner. The desserts were very good too which included all kinds of cakes, pies and pastries as well as ice cream with all sorts of toppings. The breakfasts were good - the made-to-order omelets were very good as well as the waffles. The best of all was the fresh salsa and chips that were available with every meal. Delicious! Lunch could be eaten either at the restaurant down below the pools or in the regular buffet. They had hot dogs and hamburgers as well as a good variety of other entrees and salads. It is a small hotel when compared to those big chains like RIU which was a nice change - a little more personal touch. The hotel is only a short drive from the airport and Sunwing Vacations were great to deal with. The vans were there on time to pick us up at the beginning and the end of our stay. We were supposed to be landing back in Calgary on March 7 during a huge snowstorm that shut the Calgary airport down. We were diverted to Edmonton for 11 hours and Sunwing did the best they could for us under the circumstances and I would definitely use them again. All in all it was a great holiday and I would definitely go back again! I forgot to mention the pools. There are 3 pools and they are always kept very clean. The water isn't heated though so it's very cold - the ocean is much warmer. :-)

Just got back, bad timing for us older (late 40-50) folks as it was spring break for Canada and some east coast schools. The hotel was great, location good, food about average for an all-inclusive. As expected the alcohol is mostly mixer with a splash of alcohol. Tip more, get more, the usual routine in Mexico. The shows were great so see them. As someone else said in an earlier review "KEEP TRACK of your BLUE towels. We had left one in the room, came up missing after housekeeping cleaned the room, and had to practically have a grand jury to keep from having to pay for it. Do make sure to reserve for the resteraunts other than buffet as the food does get a little repetitive otherwise, but still fine either way. If you have security issues within the hotel the management and security staff get right on the issue and they don't put up with unruly guests. We had issues with a group of 3 young punks and after complaining about them twice ourselves and once by someone else they were removed from the hotel, so again security gets right on the problems. (Its ok, their daddy will just buy them another hotel, and send them back again next year too, after these 20 year olds graduate from junior high.) Use the local buses to get around, the price went up to 7.5 pesos but still a cheap way to see the city. We had no worries about going around after dark, so don't let the news of danger and drug cartels scare you away from cancun, I felt safe always, (But then I do work in a Prison so may have a different perspective than most) Also hit the high seas for fishing, great time and big fish.

We had a wonderful time, our teenagers loved it, and it was convenient to everything!! There's a mall directly across the road, and you have to go to La Isla shopping village which is a 1/2 mile walk. We did not go out at night but did go to Senor Frogs late afternoon one day. Senor Frogs was ok so if you miss it, you will have just as much fun spending your evenings in the lobby bar! We wanted to stay onsite when it was dark. Not that we didn't feel safe but with all we're hearing in the US lately about Mexico travel we didn't want to put ourselves in any risky situation. Pools were awesome, service wonderful, food good, if you wanted stronger drinks all you have to do is ask! No reqrets -- you will absolutely love the Barcelo Tucancan!

Hola!! I first want to mention that there is a Ritz Carlton down the street if that's what you're looking for out of a vacation (I work at a 4 diamond resort at home). The resort was lovely. Clean, staff was friendly, and it was great for the price. The food was good, nothing exciting, just your average buffet food. I would recommend making a reservation at the Mexican restaurant at the resort. Authentic Mexican cuisine, steak (filets), margarita's, sombrero hats, good time. The mall across the street was great, souvenirs, and higher end stores. There is also a nice outdoor mall towards downtown. About a 10 minute walk from the resort ,on the Lagoon side. The pool seemed nice, though we never went in. We love the ocean. And for the folks that tore the beach apart in some reviews I read! Erosion/ environmental impact from urban areas is going to happen! Hurricanes cause the beaches to erode which in turn makes them smaller. I personally thought Barcelo had one of the better beaches in that area. The water was great, very refreshing too cool off in. If you want a lounge chair on the beach or by the pool you have to wake up early to claim one, (we sleep till maybe 8 or 8:30, so earlier than that!). We were cool with just putting our towels on the sand to lay around. The only thing I thought sucked was that on the Apple Vacation website it says that snorkeling is included in the resort price. We've usually snorkeled right at our resort in the past. However, it is NOT included. It's $40dls a person. Mexico is welcoming and the staff was very friendly and helpful. I would recommend staying with Barcelo. We definitely enjoyed ourselves here. It's almost impossible not too unless you sit in your hotel room and pick the food apart! There are way more positive points to this resort over negative ones! The weather was phenomenal!! You definitely will agree if you come from an area that is snowy, grey, cold, and crappy! Enjoy it!!!!