I have narrowed down to two AL resorts; Barcelo' Maya and Grand Paladium in Riviera Maya. My requirements are: shade on the beach, snorkling off the beach, ok food (great fruits), comfortable beds and not to take trams to restaurants or beach. Please help me to decide between these two hotes.
Thanks in advance for your inputs.

top

I had this same decision to make back in March. I pored over every web site I could find and read every trip report before making my decision. Finally, I decided on the Barcelo Maya Tropical/Colonial (new side) for 2 main reasons.

1.) According to all reviews they have hands down the best beach (no shade though) with the best snorkeling right there at the resort.

2.) AC in the buffets (Palladium also offers has this).

Also the Palladium sounded like much more walking was involved especially from the White Sands to the beach. I hope I made the right decision and will find out a week from Sunday (June 4), I can't wait. Check out these web sites:

http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/home.html

http://home.comcast.net/~duval2/wsb/...ome.html-.html

http://groups.msn.com/PalladiumAddic...iumtopics.msnw

They were crucial to making my decision.

Hope you have a great time.

I am struggling with the same questions. It seems that Grand Palladium has better food than Barceló. Do you know anything about that?

Sorry, I've never been to Barcelo' Maya, but we are returning to the Palladium for my third time and my husband's second. Love it!! Check out tripadvisor.com to get further details. We are crazy about the Colonial, Palladium. I understand there is new building so becareful which area of the resort you are talking about. Colonial is first rate!!

We went to the Barcelo a few years ago, before the newer construction. There was some shade on the beach (palm trees) and I don't remember ever having trouble finding a shady spot (or lounge chair for that matter). There was also decent snorkelling off a pier on one end of the beach. There were no trams that I recall, but the resort is very spread out, and depending on where your room is, there could be a decent amount of walking but we didn't mind it.

The food is decent. I have yet to go to an AI where the food is better than decent. By the 3rd or 4th day I usually get sick of it, but there are some pretty good choices for every meal. Barcelo had the usual steam table fare, but they also always were grilling something fresh and slicing a large roast of some kind. I beleive they also had some kind of a pasta bar that was very crowded in the evenings. Once I discovered the freshly cooked foods, I didn't bother with any of the steam table food. I also remember at breakfast they would freshly bake croissants. They also had some cold ones piled up in baskets, but if you check the counters where the workers are stationed, you'll see fresh ones coming right out of the oven. The buffet area is big, and it did require some careful exploration to discover the counters with the better/fresher food.

As far as the a la carte restaurant, it more or less was the same as the buffet food, but served nicer.

Wanted to see how gmoney made out at the Barcelo? Were you happy with your decision? I'm in the debating stage as well and have made it down to Barcelo vs. Palladium --- Palladium Mayan Suites just look sooo inviting! But I'm also looking for the BEST beach! Thanks. Hope you had a GREAT time!