Advantages: Great staff
Disadvantages: None

...Barcelo Costa Mexico, Cancun I recently visited Mexico on June 2008 and I stayed in the Barceló Costa hotel. Barceló Costa is situated on the hotel zone in Cancun. The hotel zone is built along the beach so each hotel has got their own section along the beach with a beach bar and sun loungers. The hotel is near Cancun town which has bars, nightclubs, restaurants and shopping markets and a 5 minute bus trip which costs around 30pence GBP to get to. The hotel staff are very helpful and pleasant for example if you are lying on the beach there is one or two staff serving your drinks so there is no need to get off your seat. The staff in the restaurants is also helpful and can't do enough for you. The rooms are very spacious and decorated very modern. There is a king-size bed in the double room with a large television. The bathroom is also... Read review

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Advantages: FANTASTIC LOCATION AND FRIENDLY STAFF
Disadvantages: COULD BE CLOSER TO BEACH

...HAVE BEEN TO THIS HOTEL TWICE, AND ABOUT 6 TIMES WITH OTHER BARCELO HOTELS IN THE CANARIES, CANNOT FAULT THE HOTEL GROUP. ON ONE VISIT TWINS WERE ONLY 18 MONTHS OLD, STAFF BENT OVER BACKWARDS TO HELP, EVEN WITH FEEDING! WENT BACK AGAIN WITH THIRD CHILD, SAME FRIENDLY STAFF, WILL GO BACK AGAIN IN AUTUMN, FOOD WAS OUTSTANDING, SMALL POOL WAS LOVELY AND WARM, AND SUITE WAS AMAZING. KIDS CLUB WAS VERY GOOD, EVENING ENTERTAINMENT WAS OK, BUT THE STAFF TRIED VERY HARD. AND THE KIDS ENJOYED IT. ALL-INCLUSIVE LIKE MOST HOTELS THE STAFF TEND TO SERVE YOU LAST, UNTIL YOU GIVE THEM A LARGE ENOUGH TIP THEN THEY ARE FALLING OVER THEMSELVES TO SERVE YOU. THIS SEEMS TO HAPPEN AT EVERY BARCELO HOTEL. WOULD RECOMMEND THE ROOMS OVERLOOKING THE POOL AREA BASICALLY IN THE MAIN BLOCK, SUN IS THERE ALL AFTERNOON, SO IT WAS NICE TO SUNBATHE ON WHEN... Read review

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Advantages: Beach, big swimming pool
Disadvantages: Mosquito

...My family and I stayed at the Barcelo Solymar Hotel for two weeks in June 2005. The first thing I must say about this hotel is what a great location, the beach is right on its door step and must the one of the best beaches in the world, the white sand seems to go on forever and the sea is so clear and warm it is almost like your stepping into a giant bath tub. The hotel itself is very large with one of the biggest swimming pools I have ever seen! The hotel has a huge open lobby area, it is very pretty with a nice bar, lots of different seating areas, a few shops, a bank and the reception desk. My biggest complaint about this hotel would have to be no air conditioning in the lobby, it is unbearable to stay by the bar because of the heat most nights I found myself taking drinks to my room to enjoy the air-con. Second biggest problem... Read review

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Advantages: Fantastic hotel with something for everyone
Disadvantages: Not near a sandy beach

...I have been to this hotel twice and will return this year as my family have fallen in love with it. The hotel is lovely, very clean and the rooms are very spacious, the junior suite are ideal for a family of 4, they are cleaned every day to a very high standard. We were on an all inclusive package and the food was fantastic. I think even the fussiest of eaters would not complain. The resturant is a buffet style and self service. Breakfast for instance has fruit , yoghurt, cereal, bread, cooked food, cold meats, eggs, buscuits and cakes. Lunch and dinner are similar but a bit more at dinner, there are salads, soups, different fish, different meats, potatoes, fries, lots of different pasta and sauces, rice, a cold buffett with a variety a choice of a meal like paella or lasange for eg, cheese, biscults, pate and lots of deserts... Read review

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Advantages: Beautiful beaches, relatively undeveloped, quiet
Disadvantages: windy at times, monotonous landscape

...Desperate for some winter sun we scoured the internet and holiday brochures for a destination. We wanted it to be no more than 4/5 hours flight time, a reasonable temperature, good hotels, nice beaches and not too expensive. We usually arrange our own holidays and this would be about the 3rd package tour we had ever been on so we were hoping for some improvement on our last experiences. We were also looking for somewhere pretty last minute, which as we all know isn't easy. Eventually we found a deal that was to Fuerteventura, staying at the Hotel Barcelo in Caleta de Fuste. This hotel had just opened the previous year and was reputedly 4* standard. Now we have stayed in quite a few 4* hotels around the world so our expectaions were pretty high. The downside of the package was that we had to travel on an Airtours charter flight... Read review

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Advantages: Close to sea front
Disadvantages: German area with lap top dancer clubs very close

...The Flamingo is a clean, pleasant hotel sadly over-rated. The food was definately 4 star and ost of the hotel staff were polite and pleasant. There was no entertainment in the hotel and the bar closed at 11pm apart from Christmas Eve. The local bars closed at 6pm! The only English speaking channel on the TV was CNN. On arrival we were told we were only booked in for 6 nights (not 7 as on our itinerary) and were told by one of the managers to sort it out because they needed the room!!! I said that the travel agent would be closed for Christmas and that they should contact the local accommmodation agent. We had our 7 nights, but it was not a pleasant experience to be told we had to vacate our room. The bathroom was pleasant but to get into and out of the bath was difficult. I am not very tall the the bath side was very high. The gym... Read review

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Advantages: Some nice apartments, reasonable food, plenty of swimming pools, a village in its own right
Disadvantages: pools not heated in winter, some terrible apartments

...is acclimatised, although we established that this is not actually the case. You are however, permitted to use the facilities of the Barcelo Fuerteventura hotel next door which has a very large and warm swimming pool, although you will need to arrive early to secure your sun-beds. There is one spa bath at the hotel, although, unlike most British outlets, it was not heated and was absolutely freezing. There are also windsurfing and related activities available within the hotel complex for an extra charge. Our view from the balcony was of the ample car-park which was nearly empty for the duration of our stay, but we were literally a stones throw away from reception, the shopping centre, the breakfast restaurant and the beach, so not too bad. The complex is ideal for the disabled and has ramps alongside steps everywhere – and as the majority... Read review

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Advantages: Good value, large complex.
Disadvantages: Steep hill, remote location

...Stayed at the Barcelo Jandia Mar for two weeks in May 2008 on an All Inclusive basis. It is a very large pleasant hotel which is unfortunately at the top of a rather steep hill, about a 20 minute walk from the resort centre. This can be somewhat of a deterrent to a quick trip to the shops, and although there is a courtesy bus to and from the bottom of the hill, it goes no further and it can be difficult to time your return to coincide with this bus. There are also a number of steps and ramps within the complex although there are lifts inside each building. The whole complex climbs up the hill and consists of 9 blocks of rooms at different levels and further rooms and suites in the main building. Our room was well furnished in cream and blue with dark wood furniture. There was a large 4-door wardrobe with ample hanging and shelf space... Read review

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Advantages: Clean, friendly staff & Good location
Disadvantages: Kids pool, Jelly Fish , Boring choice of Food

...Majorca - Summer 2006 Cala d'Or Hotel - Barcelo Ponent Playa 3 * rating We decided to go to Majorca, and have a family holiday. Then decided to go with another couple (my childs God Parents) as they were due to move to Canada in the October. We thought this would be nice to have a holiday together before they moved. We went along to our local First Choice Branch and asked for a hotel which would fulfill our demands; *We wanted a hotel close to a beach, *Walking distance to local town life for nice evening meals out *Child friendly. * Short flight time. This was our first family holiday. Barceló Ponent Playa is situated on Cala Ferrera beach, in the beautiful city of Cala D'Or in south-western Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands. We felt this hotel fulfilled what we wanted and thought we should book this ASAP, as we were booking... Read review

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Advantages: Service at breakfast and breakfast itself
Disadvantages: shabby rooms, noisy doors, no sound-proofing

...and made sure to not make noise as we knew other people would be asleep. No such consideration for what seemed like every other guest who went to bed later than us. I remember looking at the TV clock every time I was woken up and it seemed to be every 15 minutes from 1am to 5am - and then you had the noise from outside the hotel. There was a bottle bank or something like that across the road - people seem to recycle at the strangest times of the day and night in Brighton as we heard bottles being thrown into the recycling unit from the early hours of the morning. Oh and I mustn't forget to mention that really irritating doors that the rooms have. The Barcelo chain or this particular branch of the hotel has obviously never heard of easy-closing hinges for doors. Every single hotel door slammed shut so much so that after I noticed it the 2nd time... Read review

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