Mayan Riviera?

[Dallas_Lady]

Any DISers have experience vacationing on the eastern coast of Mexico? I would like to take the family there next summer, and I'd love some input. I can't plan a vacation without you guys!

 

[storzo]

I've been to Cancun and Playa del Carmen. Both are beautiful. I think Cancun has more of a party atmosphere, there's just a lot more going on. Playa del Carmen was better for us with DS, quieter and more laid back and the ferry to Cozumel was in walking distance of the resort which made a nice day trip. IMO.

We always stayed one of the Palace Resorts. Stay in one, play at all.

 

[weeniecat2442]

i have stayed at two of the different Iberstars in Playa del Carmen. Both were beautiful. Great pools, great beaches. All inclusive resorts which i really liked. I did parasailing and a fun ATV trip. The second stay was a brief trip for a wedding but still a lot of fun.
I will say the one night we ate off of the resort I ended up getting realllllly sick. It didnt kick in until our very last day there and I went to the hospital when we got home...I had salmonella AND e. coli. FUN!
but I would still go back.

 

[Wishing on a star]

LOVE this area!
We have stayed at CANCUN, which we loved, due to our resort and the location, etc.
(Not one of the highrises on a postage-stamp sized beachfront.)
The beach and that windex water is AMAZING and cannot be matched.
The surf here, however, is often not what would be called swimmable.

From there we took the Ferry over to Isla Mujeres.
Again, WONDERFUL!!!
Playa Norte on Isla is ALWAYS swimmable.
There were red-flags and double red flags at Cancun the day we went.
The beach at Play Norte was perfect.

Have also visited and stayed south of Cancun.
The snorkeling at Puerto Moreles is incredible.
And, one can snorkel with the sea turtles at Akumal.
The beaches south of Cancun are usually more swimmable.
But, IMHO, not as beautiful.

What types of things you want to see and do on your vacation can also make a difference.
There is everything from outdoor adventure activities, ancient ruins, to over the top clubs like Coco Bongo.

Same goes for type of resort..

Let us know what type of vacation you have in mind, and I am sure you will get a lot of great suggestions.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We are booked at the Barcelo Maya, which is about an hour south of Cancun I believe. We took a Disney cruise several years ago and loved being on Castaway and in port, but the sea days on the ship felt very confining. I'm looking for that all-inclusive feel of a cruise, but without the tiny rooms and pools. Our kids will be 7 and 9.

 

[shoney]

We are taking our 8th trip to the area next month. Love it!!!!
We prefer all-inclusives to cruises.

Some things to think about:
1. large or small resort
2. reservations for dinner or not - I really prefer no reservations
3. location
4. beach - not all beaches are created equal in that area. some really stink! also, the area has been plagued with seagrass for a year now.

We've stayed at Dreams Riviera Cancun, Iberostar tucan, Barcelo Maya Palace with our kids. (we've done adults only trips too) We are going to the Royalton next month.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Okay, the Barcelo should be a good resort!
I understand that they are not as good about food availability as some all inclusives.
And, like the above poster mentioned, if you like full service diining, and not just Buffets, you want to be aware of how many dinners at the full service restaurants you will be entitled to during your trip. And, also, if it is easy to get the reservations.

Another thing, based on the section you are staying in, you want to make sure you understand which restaurants are available to you, and whether or not they are air-conditioned.

The resort is located on more of a protected beach in like a large cove area.
Should be able to snorkel from here.
It is close to Tulum, DO go see Tulum and the beach at Tulum (which is more like the beach at CANCUN)
I understand that the Barcelo Palace is NICE!!! And might be my choice if staying at the Barcelo complex.

We came very close to considering the other large complex down in that area, for a family trip with our teen son.
Darn, the name is not coming to me... (I have a 'thing' with names...)
But, my personal taste is a bit more upscale, like the Barcelo Palace.

We want to go back! With a super cheap rate, that I don't know is possible any more, we stayed at the Royal Sands at Cancun. It is all inclusive, and we loved it. They are not the kind of 'happening' party all inclusive. As they are a timeshare resort. But we loved it there, with what it did have to offer. Having a condo instead of just a room was great.

If I were planning a return trip today, I really don't know where I would book.

If you are not on Tripadvisor, then you should be. It is a GREAT resource.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We booked ocean view at the Barcelo Palace. The price was half than a cruise on the Fantasy for that same week. My kids loved the DCL kids clubs, that's the one thing I think I'll miss. But having nice pools and beach access anytime will hopefully be worth it.

 

[shoney]

Every resort has its ups and downs.
the Barcelo Maya palace is a great resort. Dinner reservations were a bit of a pain to make. Our times were all over the place and we did wind up at the buffet more times than I would have liked. The buffet was the best I'd been to with lots of cooked to order stations.
The Barcelo also doesn't have an outdoor beach/pool grill like many of the other resorts we've been to. They do not allow any food to be taken out of the restaurants, so no pool side snacks of any kind. There is a small buffet but you must stay there to eat the food.
The beach is stunning with on site snorkeling. We swam with turtles right there!
The kids club was favorite of our boys. They were really nice and had lots of activities and it was air conditioned! My kids like a break from the heat. They would also allow the kids to play games or video games if they didn't like the activity at the time. Dreams was very strict....if coloring was schedules, the kids had to color!
Funny little story, we went into the kids club to pick them up. They had just come back from the pool with the other kids. The girl running the center was wearing a thong bikini...My DH said he would pick the kids up anytime LOL

It has been a while since we've been there so my info is a bit dated! I agree with going on tripadvisor. You could also see if there are any facebook groups for that resort.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Thanks shoney, that is an EXCELLENT rundown on the Barcelo Maya Palace.

I had heard about the limited food locations and outlets.
I am glad to hear that the buffets seemed to be good! And would hope that they are still very good.

While I do wish that they had a more of an outdoor poolside/beachside grill type place, to be honest, I am NOT big on actually eating at the pools. People with their food, everywhere. I would imagine that things around the area are just more cleaner and nicer that way.

LOVE the thong story.
My son would no longer be in the teen club, but I can just imagine if one of the staff there were a young woman wearing a thong.

Can you tell me more about the vibe around the Barcelo.
Of course, we are not looking for non-stop cruise-ship, spring break, activity.. But some fun music at the pools, fun venues in the evening, etc..
Can you tell me more about that.

 

[Sweetpancake]

We've stayed at a few resorts in the area. The best so far have been Sun Palace Cancun and Secrets Maroma Beach. They're both not massive resorts, which makes them really nice. Neither are that far from Playa Del Carmen if you want to get in some shopping. The grounds at Sun Palace weren't as lush as a lot of the trees were wiped out by a hurricane several years ago. Secrets Maroma was pretty incredibly in every way. It's often insanely expensive but there just happened to be a great deal and we jumped on it.

 

[goofinoff]

I've been to The Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa Del Carmen twice and absolutely loved it! I've never been to Cancun.

 

[shoney]

Thanks shoney, that is an EXCELLENT rundown on the Barcelo Maya Palace.

I had heard about the limited food locations and outlets.
I am glad to hear that the buffets seemed to be good! And would hope that they are still very good.

While I do wish that they had a more of an outdoor poolside/beachside grill type place, to be honest, I am NOT big on actually eating at the pools. People with their food, everywhere. I would imagine that things around the area are just more cleaner and nicer that way.

LOVE the thong story.
My son would no longer be in the teen club, but I can just imagine if one of the staff there were a young woman wearing a thong.

Can you tell me more about the vibe around the Barcelo.
Of course, we are not looking for non-stop cruise-ship, spring break, activity.. But some fun music at the pools, fun venues in the evening, etc..
Can you tell me more about that.

There was music and activities at the main pool during the day. At night, there was an airconditioned theater at the palace. They had shows in there. At the colonial/trop next door, there was an outdoor theater. In the week we were there we never made it all the way down to the other resort.
There is also a shopping center complex that had some activities as well. I remember them doing a pinata.
This was the only resort we've been to that kept the pools open 'til 10pm. The kids would go swimming after dinner.
They didn't do any night time things on the beach, like some resorts do.
The kids were young when we were there, so no late night things for us.

As for food, there is plenty of it...just not outdoors. For lunch, there is only buffet options, no sit-down a la cartes.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Any opinions on the adventure parks like Xplor, Xcaret and XelHa?

 

[mickeyboat]

We spent 5 days at Barceló Palace three years ago. We had a wonderful time, but it was just DH and I, and we spent a lot of time at the adult pool, which was heaven, BTW. We had dinner at the French restaurant twice, and it was amazing both times. We never felt the need to leave the resort, but lots of people took excursions to the adventure parks, and there is a cenote right across the street from the resort.

We were never hungry, despite the lack of poolside or beachside restaurants. We also did not stay out late, so I can't comment about the nightlife. The snorkeling was great right at their beach, which stretched forever. There were always people playing beach volleyball. We enjoyed walking down the beach and stopping at each resort's pool / bar / buffet.

There is an unofficial site with a discussion board for Barcelo similar to the DIS - http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/site/ I got a lot of really good information there.

 

[astronautmom]

Thanks for this thread! I've been searching for the same information. I was pretty settled on taking the family to Karisma Azul Sensatori on the Riveria Maya, but then came across the Barcelo Maya Palace resort. My TA told me that she has some clients that do all the Barcelo resorts- like we trust Disney, they trust Barcelo.

Thank you mickeyboat for the link to the discussion board. I didn't know how I was going to plan a vacation without the Dis!
I also found Oyster.com to be a great resource comparing real travelers pictures and lists of Pros/Cons for each resort.

 

[scrapquitler]

I'm subscribing because we are thinking of going to Mexico in the spring for a few weeks. Some friends of ours go a couple times a year and rent a house rather than stay in a hotel or an all inclusive, I think it was somewhere around Playa Del Carmen, maybe? We are thinking of doing the same thing, and I'm waiting for a chance to go to their house and learn all about it.

 

[shoney]

Thanks for this thread! I've been searching for the same information. I was pretty settled on taking the family to Karisma Azul Sensatori on the Riveria Maya, but then came across the Barcelo Maya Palace resort. My TA told me that she has some clients that do all the Barcelo resorts- like we trust Disney, they trust Barcelo.

Thank you mickeyboat for the link to the discussion board. I didn't know how I was going to plan a vacation without the Dis!
I also found Oyster.com to be a great resource comparing real travelers pictures and lists of Pros/Cons for each resort.

I have looked at the azul sensatori in the past but never booked. From what I've researched, I think you can expect better service and food at Azul, but much better beach and larger complex at the barcelo.

Barcelo's kids club starts at 4 but azul has things for little ones.

There are just so many resorts in the area. It can be very difficult to choose. All will have pluses and minuses. Just have to find one that ticks most of the right boxes for your family.

 

[astronautmom]

I have looked at the azul sensatori in the past but never booked. From what I've researched, I think you can expect better service and food at Azul, but much better beach and larger complex at the barcelo.

Barcelo's kids club starts at 4 but azul has things for little ones.

Thanks Shoney, I may have some more questions for you. I also found a public facebook group for the 5-Barcelo resort group that seems pretty active. My kids will be 11,9, 7, and I got the impression that Azul may just be a little young for them.

Is there any kind of Lazy River at Barcelo Palace or the sister resorts? That was one thing we thought we would really enjoy at Azul Sensatori.

 

[cijay]

Any opinions on the adventure parks like Xplor, Xcaret and XelHa?

Celebrated my 50th birthday in Xcaret with the stingrays. Stayed in Playa Del Carmen but I don't remember the name of the place. My mum got very sick the second day in so I pretty much did it on my own - spent my birthday in tears.

The trip to Chichen Itza was amazing! So was Xcaret but like I said I was very upset.