Iberostar Tucan or Barcelo Maya Colonial
 

Hi Everyone

I need some advice. We are booked for the last week in July at the Barcelo Maya Colonial but there have been so many negative reviews lately I'm reconsidering. My travel agent suggested the Iberostar Tucan and said families love it.

To give you some insight into our family, we are a family of four which includes our 2 teenage boys (15 & 13). We love the beach (most important) with clear water. Additionally, we are not looking for a party resort but a good family resort with activities but will be in bed by 10 or 11pm in the evening. Our 13 year old tends to get overheated so that is why we chose the colonial because of the air conditioning in the buffets.

I'm so confused. We love club med and sort of wish we'd booked that but it is a lot more money to switch. Any advice is appreciated.

A Canadian couple were brutally murdered at the Barcelo in Feb 2006. I would not stay there no matter what. It appears as though a security guard may be a suspect, but he has yet to be found and the police don't seem to care about finding him or solving this case. It's disgusting really.

Having said that, we stayed at the Tucan 3 years ago and really enjoyed it. The rooms are ok, the food was good and the beach is fantastic. I would go back to the Tucan.

Oh please. I live outside Philadelphia. The murder rate in the city is the highest it's ever been. That certainly does NOT mean I will not go and enjoy the many pleasures of Philadelphia. Crime happens everywhere!

Hi, we just returned from the Barcelo & loved it!!! I also had read the bad reviews from prior weeks & was very concerned. It appears these reviews happened during spring breaks only & not other times. We have 3 children & couldn't have been happier. The resort was absolutely beautiful...the beach was perfect & pools were awesome!! I think your kids would love it. My daughter especially needed a break from heat & sun & there were plenty of shady places. We were up early each day & were in bed by 10pm most nights. The shows were just too late for us. I felt VERY safe at the resort. The employees of the resort were absolutely wonderful & are a huge reason why we would return in the future. I am actually hoping that the word doesn't get out at how wonderful the place is!!!

I think either resort would be fine for your family. Both have nice beaches. Barcelo is bigger, much more spread out, and does have some decent snorkelling off a pier on the property. On the other hand, Iberostar is a maybe a $3 or 4 can ride into town (Playa Del Carmen). The nearest town to Barcelo is Puerto Aventuras (yet still further away than Iberostar to PDC) which is more of a town built primarily for tourism, as opposed to an actual Mexican town. It's also much small than PDC. PDC is a much better town to stroll around, if you want to take a break from the resort.

Barcelo is also fairly isolated, whereas Iberostar has other resorts on either side. A few years ago we stayed at the Barcelo. My son (I think 11ish at the time) really enjoyed all the facilities and activities 9tennis, basketball, minigulf, etc). Years before that we stayed at a resort next to the Iberostar but my kids were much younger than.

I just also wanted to add that at the Barcelo, we never had a problem finding a lounge chair or hammock at the pool or beach, in a shaded area. I know at some resorts the chairs get 'taken' at the crack of dawn, and shady areas are hard to come by. I don't know what it's like at the Iberostar.