Barcelo Maya Riviera - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

7147 reviews

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  Not worth the price

  Barcelo staff: No need to respond with your typical “sorry we didn’t meet your unrealistic expectations” nonsense. This review is not for you. Potential guests: Read this if you have common sense. Somehow, Barcelo got enough good hype for us to choose to stay there. But in reality, it turned out to be the most expensive and the worst stay we’ve ever had—especially in Mexico. This was our 6th trip to Mexico, and we usually try different resorts each time because we like exploring new places. This time, we stayed at the adults-only Riviera. At first, we thought Covid had ruined all Mexican resorts, but we’ve stayed at three other resorts post-Covid and they were great. So no, the pandemic is not the problem. Poor management is. Pros: • They give you a free robe and slippers. Con: They only fit a medium–large size woman. • There are paper napkins in the buffet. • There are straws at the bars, but you have to ask for them. • We were able to get dinner reservations for all 7 nights, and most restaurants on the Riviera property were decent, with food quality better than the buffet. • The bed was nice, with two body pillows per person. • Bathrooms have refillable shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Cons: All of them are diluted (just like the buffet juice), and there’s no body lotion. Cons: 1. The entire place is soaked with black mold. All Riviera rooms have a strong mold smell the moment you walk in. Black mold surrounds all bathroom faucets, and no one even bothers to clean it. (See attached photos.) We saw four rooms and switched one due to severe mold contamination. All had the exact same issue. I’m allergic to mold, so the entire week I was coughing, sneezing, and congested, which worsened as soon as I entered the room. 2. Huge, useless territory Lots of walking with no internal transportation. Golf carts aren’t for guests. Shuttle buses run every 30 minutes or so, but not all go where you need. It can take up to an hour to get to the right bus. 3. Unpleasant and unprofessional staff Most employees don’t smile, act like you owe them something, and many don’t speak enough English to work at an international resort. This is very atypical for Mexican hospitality. 4. Strict, unfriendly rules Staff are always quick to tell you what you can’t do—don’t walk here, don’t walk there, you’re not dressed appropriately—but they’re nowhere to be found when you actually need help. This is definitely not a customer-oriented place. 5. Very limited food and bar options There’s only one buffet and one indoor bar in Riviera. There are two more pool bars, but it’s a hike to get there and the hours are inconvenient. The buffet closes at 6 p.m. If you don’t have a restaurant reservation, good luck finding edible food. Buffets at the other Barcelo properties are bland, limited, and far away. 6. Food quality is shockingly bad All buffet food tastes extremely bland—so bland it tastes bad. We’re not picky eaters, but this is unacceptable for what we paid. Several random guests we talked to also complained, especially those who had visited in previous years. 7. Alcohol is low quality All alcoholic drinks across the entire complex tasted much worse than expected and much worse than what we’ve had at other Caribbean or Mexican resorts. We stopped craving any alcohol after the first day. 8. Coffee is terrible They use extremely bitter, burned beans that no amount of milk or sugar can fix. I literally couldn’t drink it. My body completely rejected it, so we had to buy Red Bull in the gift shops instead. 9. Pushy gift shop vendors Salespeople hover around like mosquitoes the moment you approach their booths. Very unusual for Mexico and very annoying. 10. Safety issues I nearly lost my fingertip. The heavy sliding door separating the bathroom area has no knobs or door stops. On day 2, as I was closing the door using the shallow groove on the edge, my finger got caught between the groove and the wall, leaving a deep wound that is so slow to heal! I couldn’t swim in the pool or ocean due to infection risk. 11. No real activities There is no schedule online or anywhere around the resort. The activity schedule seems to exist only in the resort system for show. Even guest services couldn’t give us a complete list. Screens in the lobby listed incomplete schedules missing critical info like locations. After visiting multiple front desks, we finally learned about three dance classes, a cocktail class, and a tequila tasting. When we arrived—none of them happened. They were “canceled” for no reason. The only activities we actually saw were one Zumba class in the heat and one bingo game. Good luck exercising outdoors in 90-degree weather. 12. The beach is rocky You will need swim shoes. I wish I had seen reviews about this before packing. There is one small swimmable area near the Palace complex, but that’s about it. 13. Tipping doesn’t make a difference For the first four days we tipped everywhere we went. Even then, we didn’t get basic things like toilet paper refilled. So we stopped tipping. Conclusion This was a boring, disappointing, stressful experience. By the end of the week, we were all counting down the hours until we could go home. Everyone’s mood improved instantly when we got on the plane. Needless to say, we will never return. P.S. I don’t have much experience specifically with adults-only resorts, but this one felt empty, with nothing going on—no parties, no entertainment (besides a band in the evenings). Most guests seemed to be in their 60s, so there was no one to socialize or make friends with if you’re in your 20s–40s.

  Dec 06, 2025
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  A little paradise

  It is a little paradise. Although considering its size, it is rather a big one 😄 So much green, fountains and a lovely ocean.

  Dec 06, 2025
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  We love this resort

  We’ve been coming to this resort since 2007. We love the people, the service and the atmosphere. Darwin Guillen at the lobby bar is our favorite bartender.

  Dec 06, 2025
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  1st time

  Arrived, requested help with luggage in spanish, I was looked at and employee walked off. We carried our own bags to our room. Nobody helped, while our stay, we would ask personnel questions (shows,events or average questions) nobody could answer or had knowledge about things. Night events were less than average. Food, excellent! could not disagree on this. We have stayed at less expensive hotels before and treatment from the day to day staff was less than average, kitchen and/or restaraunt staff was above average and spa was excellent. The beach side for adults only is great, less entertaining, but nice since we don't want too much going on. I would not stay again due to overall experience. I rather stay at less expensive resort ( we have stayed) better customer service and less of excellent on food for the price. If I didn't have other choices or knew Quintana Roo that well, I would come back.

  Dec 05, 2025
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  Thanksgiving with Family

  Great facility and adults only is exceptional for those without children. This is a very modern, well managed and maintained facility and the staff excels in making sure your stay is 5 Star.

  Dec 05, 2025