Pros

  • Mostly private beachfront location with loungers
  • Mexican-inspired rooms with free minibars and coffeemakers
  • Outdoor pool with swim-up bar and children’s pool area
  • Three restaurants offer Mexican and international cuisine (all-inclusive)
  • Open-air gym and large modern gym with fitness classes
  • Spa with hydrocircuit therapy, massages, and kids’ spa
  • Sports and water sports activities, plus mini-golf
  • Access to four other resorts and water park of complex
  • Entertainment day and night include nightclubs and shows
  • Dive club and Dolphinarium with free shows
  • Kids' playground and kids’ club for different ages
  • Shopping center with modern stores and local vendors
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Cons

  • Dated room decor
  • Wi-Fi costs a fee for most guests
  • Food and drinks are reportedly mediocre
  • Complaints about long waits for check-in
  • 30-minute drive to Playa del Carmen
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Bottom Line

Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach is one of five resorts that make up the Barcelo Maya Grand Resort complex. While water sport activities, a gym, and spa are common all-inclusive features, a haunted house, mall, mini-golf, and Dolphinarium are not -- and that’s what sets this huge three-and-a-half-pearl hotel apart. The beach is basically private for guests and rarely feels overcrowded. The pools are fun and offer separate sections for adults and kids. Modern suites are renovated and all 630 rooms feature free minibars. Downsides include mediocre food, long wait times at check-in, a fee for Wi-Fi, and dated standard rooms, but families and couples are generally happy. For a resort that takes advantage of Playa del Carmen’s city life, check out Playacar Palace, a smaller but more modern resort that offers intimate service. 

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Oyster Hotel Review

Barcelo Maya Beach

Scene

All-inclusive resort with a colorful Mexican-decor and family-friendly atmosphere

Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach sits in a large complex of five resorts called the Barcelo Maya Grand Resort, and with over 2,000 rooms and too many amenities to name, it can feel a bit overwhelming. However, Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach has a spacious section of the property complete with luscious green grounds filled with palm trees, flowers, and pathways. 

Like all five resorts, Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach features an open-air lobby filled with woven furniture and colorful accents in orange and blue. It can get busy here at times, as seen by complaints concerning long waits for check-in. Mexican-inspired decor can be found throughout the property from adobe-like buildings to large Mayan statues and paintings by local artists. Though it does have a beachfront location, the resort is so large that most rooms and public spaces don’t have ocean views. With size comes broad appeal to families and couples thanks to a large selection of features.

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Location

South of Playa del Carmen, with little in the area beyond beaches and cenotes

Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach has a beachfront location about a 30-minute drive south of Playa del Carmen. There’s not much to do or see in the area besides explore the other resorts of the Barcelo Maya Grand Resort, whether by walking or taking the double decker free shuttle bus between them. Despite the lack of dining or shopping options within the immediate area (you’ll have to go to Playa del Carmen for that), there are a beautiful array of cenotes (underground river systems) across the street from the resort. A seven-minute walk takes guests to an eco-park, Kantun-chi, composed of five cenotes available for exploration via snorkeling. 

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Rooms

Dated standard rooms and modern suites with free minibars and balconies

With tiled floors and a tropical-themed color scheme filled with turquoise and green, standard rooms have a definite Mexican flair to the spaces, but the furniture and decorative elements are clearly dated. Comparatively, the suites are modern with a sleek neutral color scheme and contemporary wooden furniture. (The suites' decor is not reflected in our photographs). All 630 rooms have similar amenities like flat-screen TVs, safes, air-conditioning, Wi-Fi (only free for Premium Level guests), free minibars, and coffeemakers. Bathrooms offer shower/tub combos, toiletries in wall-mounted dispensers, and hairdryers. Patios or balconies allow for great outdoor places to relax, but they lack ocean views. 

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Features

Water activities like pools, spa, and beach fun, day and night entertainment, and all-inclusive dining options 

This resort has so many features that it might be hard to experience them all. Most guests seem content to lounge on the (mostly private) beach that spans across all five resorts, or at the outdoor pool's swim-up bar. The property also features sports activities like tennis, basketball, and mini-golf. Water activities include a dive center and a Dolphinarium with dolphin shows and experiences. Guests have access to a small open-air gym with cardio and weight equipment, as well as the resort-wide fitness center which has more modern cardio and weight equipment, along with fitness classes galore. The spa is lovely and provides massages and beauty treatments, plus a hydrocircuit therapy area with a large hydromassage pool.

The all-inclusive rates cover three restaurants -- a buffet with international cuisine, Mexican restaurant, and beach bar restaurant with a buffet, as well as room service. There are other restaurants on the property like a steakhouse, Italian restaurant, and Japanese restaurant but these come with extra fees and reservations. Buffets and drinks don’t receive high compliments and food is reportedly mediocre.

Family-friendly amenities are widespread and include kids’ clubs, playgrounds, children’s pools, and (for a fee) waterpark access. Daily and nightly entertainment includes theater shows, pool aquatics, or fun at the nightclub or bowling alley. With a large mall on-site, guests can shop in modern stores or from local vendors selling cultural Mexican crafts. Parking is free. 

Though guests at Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach can access many of the amenities at the different sister resorts, there are some limits to this, unless you’re a Premium level guest. Wi-Fi also costs a fee for those who are not Premium level guests. 

See More Features

Oyster Hotel Review

Barcelo Maya Beach

Scene

All-inclusive resort with a colorful Mexican-decor and family-friendly atmosphere

Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach sits in a large complex of five resorts called the Barcelo Maya Grand Resort, and with over 2,000 rooms and too many amenities to name, it can feel a bit overwhelming. However, Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach has a spacious section of the property complete with luscious green grounds filled with palm trees, flowers, and pathways. 

Like all five resorts, Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach features an open-air lobby filled with woven furniture and colorful accents in orange and blue. It can get busy here at times, as seen by complaints concerning long waits for check-in. Mexican-inspired decor can be found throughout the property from adobe-like buildings to large Mayan statues and paintings by local artists. Though it does have a beachfront location, the resort is so large that most rooms and public spaces don’t have ocean views. With size comes broad appeal to families and couples thanks to a large selection of features.

See More Scene

Location

South of Playa del Carmen, with little in the area beyond beaches and cenotes

Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach has a beachfront location about a 30-minute drive south of Playa del Carmen. There’s not much to do or see in the area besides explore the other resorts of the Barcelo Maya Grand Resort, whether by walking or taking the double decker free shuttle bus between them. Despite the lack of dining or shopping options within the immediate area (you’ll have to go to Playa del Carmen for that), there are a beautiful array of cenotes (underground river systems) across the street from the resort. A seven-minute walk takes guests to an eco-park, Kantun-chi, composed of five cenotes available for exploration via snorkeling. 

See More Location

Rooms

Dated standard rooms and modern suites with free minibars and balconies

With tiled floors and a tropical-themed color scheme filled with turquoise and green, standard rooms have a definite Mexican flair to the spaces, but the furniture and decorative elements are clearly dated. Comparatively, the suites are modern with a sleek neutral color scheme and contemporary wooden furniture. (The suites' decor is not reflected in our photographs). All 630 rooms have similar amenities like flat-screen TVs, safes, air-conditioning, Wi-Fi (only free for Premium Level guests), free minibars, and coffeemakers. Bathrooms offer shower/tub combos, toiletries in wall-mounted dispensers, and hairdryers. Patios or balconies allow for great outdoor places to relax, but they lack ocean views. 

See More Rooms

Features

Water activities like pools, spa, and beach fun, day and night entertainment, and all-inclusive dining options 

This resort has so many features that it might be hard to experience them all. Most guests seem content to lounge on the (mostly private) beach that spans across all five resorts, or at the outdoor pool's swim-up bar. The property also features sports activities like tennis, basketball, and mini-golf. Water activities include a dive center and a Dolphinarium with dolphin shows and experiences. Guests have access to a small open-air gym with cardio and weight equipment, as well as the resort-wide fitness center which has more modern cardio and weight equipment, along with fitness classes galore. The spa is lovely and provides massages and beauty treatments, plus a hydrocircuit therapy area with a large hydromassage pool.

The all-inclusive rates cover three restaurants -- a buffet with international cuisine, Mexican restaurant, and beach bar restaurant with a buffet, as well as room service. There are other restaurants on the property like a steakhouse, Italian restaurant, and Japanese restaurant but these come with extra fees and reservations. Buffets and drinks don’t receive high compliments and food is reportedly mediocre.

Family-friendly amenities are widespread and include kids’ clubs, playgrounds, children’s pools, and (for a fee) waterpark access. Daily and nightly entertainment includes theater shows, pool aquatics, or fun at the nightclub or bowling alley. With a large mall on-site, guests can shop in modern stores or from local vendors selling cultural Mexican crafts. Parking is free. 

Though guests at Hotel Barcelo Maya Beach can access many of the amenities at the different sister resorts, there are some limits to this, unless you’re a Premium level guest. Wi-Fi also costs a fee for those who are not Premium level guests. 

See More Features

Best Rates

Amenities

  • Air Conditioner

  • Airport Transportation

  • Babysitting Services

  • Balcony / Terrace / Patio

  • Basic Television

  • Beach

  • Beauty / Hair Salon

  • Business Center

  • Cabanas

  • Cable

  • Casino

  • Children's Pool

  • Concierge

  • Cribs

  • Dry Cleaning

  • Fitness Center

  • Free Breakfast

  • Golf Course

  • Internet

  • Jacuzzi

  • Kids Allowed

  • Kids Club

  • Laundry

  • Meeting / Conference Rooms

  • Mini Bar (with liquor)

  • Pool

  • Poolside Drink Service

  • Rental Car Service Desk Onsite

  • Room Service

  • Separate Bedroom / Living Room Space

  • Smoking Rooms Available

  • Spa

  • Supervised Kids Activities

  • Swim-Up Bar

  • Tennis Court

Disclaimer: This content was accurate at the time the hotel was reviewed. Please check our partner sites when booking to verify that details are still correct.