Make sure you stay on any floor but the first!!!!! You want to be able to enjoy the view. They wanted to give us a first floor room but after we visited it we asked immediately to put us upstairs.

The shows were good, the Albatrz restaurant was the best. The waiters/waitresses were excellent. They made us feel welcome all the time. Great food. You can eat anything without worrying about getting sick. It's very clean and you can use the water to drink if want.

Me and husband booked this holiday in September 2008 and after reading some of the reviews on this site i was extremely worried about our forthcoming trip. When we arrived at the hotel we were pleasantly surpised as it looked a very nice hotel. Our room was very clean and had everything you needed in it. There were lots of bad reviews about the safety in the hotel and that guests had had thing stolen. I left 2 pairs of GHD straighteners out for the duration of the stay and they were not stolen. I also left my watch and phone out in the room. We used the safe in the room to store tickets, passports and money which was free. We had a mini bar in the room that was stocked daily and the cleaner came in daily and tidied up. The food at hotel was exceptional and the best buffet food ive ever had. No matter how fussy you are there was always something to eat for everyone even if it was just chips. If you want egg and chips then you might as well go to Benidorm and not the caribbean. We ate at the a la carte restaurants most evenings, you have to book these during the day but we had no problem getting in one of them. The hotel is 24 hour all inclusive and once the bar and restaurants close you can help yourself to soft and acoholic drinks and also food whenever you want. There is pizza, hot dogs, salads, etc. The staff were polite and friendly and were constantly asking if you wanted a drink when you were by the pool or on the beach. The beach was very nice, there is a lot of seaweed, however, the staff do their best to rake it up morning and night, there is nothing more they can do. The entertainment is fine if you dont want to spend any money, however, it is extremely safe to go out and there are numerous bars and clubs in cancun for you visit. I would recommend Senor Frogs, Corona Bar, Hooters. Dady O's, Pat O'Briens. All in all this hotel is excellent value for money and I would have no doubts about returning in the future.

On arrival things seemed dim - we had requested rooms beside each other (or at least in the same building), after a long flight and the thought of the many bad reviews on the website along with rooms in different blocks things did not seem to bode well for the holiday. However after a lengthy conversation/disagreement with the front office staff rooms were re-allocated to include a junior suite; things improved. Rooms are a little dated (maybe rustic!!!) need a face lift but were clean and functional. The junior suite had a nice corner balcony with views over the pool and the beach. The beach is small but is clean and has sea, sand and a bar - what more do you need? There was plenty of space around the pool and the entertainment, regularly commented on in other reviews, was loud but finished at the latest 11pm every night. Unless your room is over the stage I cannot imagine it would be considered very loud ,but then again we stayed in late January/ early February - maybe this makes a difference on the quality/volume of the entertainment. The buffet we felt was of a very high standard with a good selection of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It of course can be repetitive if you stay for longer than two weeks there seems to be a seven day cycle eg Saturday = Mexican, Sunday = European, etc. There are a number of restaurants which offer an alternative to the buffet. All in all this holiday was very good and I would definitely consider returning. There are quite a number of shops, and a few cafe/restaurants and two pirate ships which are not part of the complex. Handy for someplace different to visit, if cabin fever starts to kick in.
The best advice I could give the hotel is examine the allocation of rooms (in particular requests from those travelling with elderly travellers). A revamp of the bedrooms (which in fairness were clean but a little dated) . Everything is in the resort - sun, pleasant staff, and good food . For those into entertainment you might or might not like circus shows, etc. Other then that I would highly recommend this hotel. Enjoy!

me, my partner and our young son aswell as my father in law and mother in law all throughly enjoyed our stay at the barcelo the staff are so helpful friendly , the rooms are spacious and very clean ,the food was a good variety something for everyone the beach bar snacks are very good ! i have also read on previous reviews roomservice was free , not anymore small charge of 40pesos , the pool was lovely freeform and very clean , trips are very good but shop around out of the hotel you can get them much cheaper we did the pirate ships good fun for all excellent value , also the catamaran to isla mujeres which we booked on family day (wed) but i found this to be a gloryfied booze cruise and not child friendly at all this wasnt booked through the hotel , we also swam with the dolphins at the aquarium in liverpool shopping complex which was cheaper than other places and an amazing experience !!!! if you do the dolphins here or any activity you get to watch the dolphin show for free at 6oclock which is a must , i will deffinately be returning to the barcelo costa cancun its an all round great place !!! say hi to pepe in the albatros for us x