Having just returned from our hard earned two week Easter break here are a few tips and pointers regarding the Barcelo Costa. Once you fight through the ever present touts at the airport in Cancun and find your representative and agree your transfer arrangements you are on your way and at the hotel within the half hour. As you approach the main entrance you compare it with others you have stopped off at on the way to let other guests disembark and you feel slightly let down but once inside the staff are professional and courteous checking my wife and I in quickly and efficiently. The room is a good size with A/C - which works well throughout our stay, a large double bed which could sleep three or four at a push, bathroom which has a large shower which also works well throughout our stay with more than enough supplies of shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. These are also replenished during your stay. We advise you make use of the safety deposit box and do not leave valuables and cash lying around in the room. We heard of some unfortunate/stupid couple who locked everything away but then left the safety deposit key on top of a bed side table resulting in the theft of some their belongings. You have been warned - temptation is a world wide trait! The hotel and its surrounding area are pleasant and we agree that the local buses are the cheapest way to travel. Pay in pesos for the best deal, seven pesos each to the hotel zone where you find most of the shops/malls and night clubs and restaurants. Talking of money I would advise that you take plenty of small notes either US dollars or Pesos for tips. We found that the staffs attentiveness did not alter if you tipped in the beginning, during or at the end of your stay but I think you get a feel for this and use your own descretion. Bar Staff could be persuaded to dispense international brands e.g. Smirnoff Vodka, if you tipped at the bar for this service. The beach bar staff - Felix and Ariel - were especially adept at this, one or two dollars per visit/session was more than adequate. The overall cleanliness of the complex was very good with the beach cleaned of seaweed and raked every day and we had no trouble obtaining a sunlounger at any time even over the busy Easter weekend when the hotel was full to the rafters with visiting Mexican families. We had thank fully missed the majority of the American Spring Breakers and did not suffer from an influx of large groups of beer swilling Brits either. There were a good mix of ages and nationalities but mainly French Canadians and Americans from all parts of the states - it's an easy and manageable 3 to 4 hour flight for the majority of them lucky so and so's! The food was of a good and varied standard, there are a few repeats on the menu but that’s what you get with 4 star all inclusive packages. There are six different eating options, The Albatross – buffet style morning lunch and evening meal, the Lobby for 24/7 refreshments, The Beach Bar for snacks served 1 til 5. And the three separate themed restaurants Don Quixote – Spanish, The Lindo – Mexican, The Claraboya – Seafood. The restaurants with waiter service provided some relief from the buffet and on the whole are very good. Unusually you can book tables at these eateries more than once during your stay we would recommend that you take advantage of this facility and don’t forget that you can also avail yourself of a lunch time menu at the Clarboya without making a reservation. There are various trips to look at for all budgets. I would advise you shop around as there can be savings to have. Our son and his girlfriend went on the Royal Swim with dolphins which was expensive but well worth it and viewing their souvenir DVD I would tend to agree – a once in life experience unless you are made of money or have an infinity with the intelligent mammals. The Pirate ships which are moored close by are good value and great entertainment for all ages – OOH AR! Me hearties. Coco Bongos is just out of this world and has to be on the to do list, be warned it is a long night starting at 10.30ish to gone past 4 in the morning but that’s what the beach is there for to recover on the following day/afternoon!! We wanted to see some of the historic culture and instead of paying in time and money for a trip to Chitzen Itha we opted for a much quieter, relaxing and far cheaper visit to a smaller archaeological site El Rey (30 min bus ride down the main strip towards the Hilton Hotel and Golf Complex and took some great photos of the lizards roaming around there) the whole trip cost us less than 100 pesos – a bargain. If you do take this option go early in the morning, it opens at 9 AM, to miss the heat and take liquids with you as there are no cafe facilities on site. A visit to downtown Cancun offers no real architectural splendours but does offer you the chance to try your hand at bargaining in the reasonably priced Market 28. The vendors can be very insistent and pushy but a polite stern NO should keep your money in your wallet. Other shopping areas are based in the hotel zone and consist of high end Malls and lower end flea markets. The flea Market Coral Negro is colourful but once again staffed by pushy sellers and market stall holders if you stick to the price you are willing to pay you should survive and pick up some good deals into the bargain. Cigars are very popular here but beware you get Cuban if you want Cuban as the Mexican equivalent are a poor imitation. Look around to pay about $20 USD for a pack of five large Cuban coronas. We also found the Mexican Outlet situated at Playa Fiesta in the hotel zone to be ideal as it worked on a fixed price policy so no hassle and they had good promotions on at the time of out visit. We managed to spend $100 USD and qualify for $40 USD worth of free silver jewellery. Last bit of advice is to make sure you have your exit tax in cash for the journey home. You are reminded about this but we understand the rate can change so recheck before you leave the hotel for you trip back to the airport. You are not told that the collector of this tax sits at a little table halfway down the queue where you check in so it was a scramble to get the money together when you are trying to hold your passport, travel documentation and luggage etc. If your a struggling he will accept all forms of cash, sterling, pesos and dollars or a mixture of all three although the exchange rate is in their favour of course. If you have any queries and I can answer them I’m willing to do so. If you notice previous reviews for this resort/hotel are mixed and although I agree that these reviews are subjective you will notice that nearly all the bad reviews are from our Colonial Cousins!! Enjoy we did.
