This was our first visit to Barcelo Maya Palance, family of four. We had read many reviews before booking here and still decided to take a chance. We were not disappointed at all, yes, some of the negative reviews are true, check-in process was lengthy for us (for us due to a beligerent Brit who supposedly spent 15K on this trip and demanded to know why he could not get a reservation at the al-carte restaurants!), but during our stay we did see a lot of long lines to check-in.
We did not bother with al-carte restaurants as we prefer dining at the buffet restaurants for the variety of food offered.
We were premium members, and didn't really use any of the benefits offered.
Our room was located in the 8100 building, 2nd floor, it was large, clean and roomy. We had no issues whatsoever with housekeeping, towels, bedhseets etc.
The grounds of this resort are beautifully maintained, the beach not so sandy as you near the ocean. There was seaweed around, but the staff work very hard every morning with trucks and machinery to remove the seaweed off the property. We took our own snorkeling gear, saw plenty of fishes, and lot's of sea turtles!
The buffet restautants had a great variety of food available for everyone's taste buds, whether you choose to go to the Mexican or International buffets, they are connected, and can get food from either! The Carib restaurant for lunch was our fav (shoutout to Darwin for being an awesome server throughout our stay!!).
The pool was the best, the largest pool we have ever been too, beautifully maintained, very clean. Unfortunate to see so many adult parents getting drunk at the swim-up bar, leaving their little spoilt bratty kids jumping off the rock waterfalls on one side of the main pool, even though it clearly states, "no jumping"! Poor lifeguards had to keep coming round to kick these nuisance kids off the rock waterfall. Adult pool was super great, it was quiet, and you can rent a cabana for $20/day. Unfortunate again to see "entitled" families bringing their kids to the pool.
Beers offered were mainly Corona (cans), and Montejo (cans); cocktails were okay.
Mall on the other side of the resort was good too, they have a great bar there, a sports entertainment bar with bowling, pool, game machines and authentic Mexican arts/ crafts for sale.
The staff, from front desk, to gardners, to servers were all amazing, very friendly and helpful. We tipped a lot, shame to see that majority of the folks there not tipping these hard working staff members.
Overall, a very enjoyable family vacation, our first visit here but certainly won't be our last!