Occidental Costa Cancun

PROS:
Bed was comfortable, clean rooms and the wait staff were great.

CONS: The beach was awful!! Right next to the Marina, all I could smell was gas and diesel from the HUNDREDS of the boats that went back and forth. The beach, if you want to call it that, was so small. The area to swim was pretty much non existent, and the smell from the boats made me not even want to get in the water. The pool was freezing!!!!! We struggled to get in, and when we did it was so cold that we wanted to get out. The Food was so gross, my partner lost 15 lbs on this trip and he's a fit guy who loves to eat. I lost 5 lbs and my pregnant friend lost 5 lbs. Even the front desk agreed that it was gross, pretty awful when the locals wont even eat at the resort. This was the first time on a trip to Mexico were we had to eat off the resort multiple times because we were so hungry. The front desk could barley speak English which was struggling. We were put in a room right behind the music and stage, it was a struggle to sleep or relax between the music by the pool and the amount of boats going back and forth on the "beach" (cesspool of gas and diesel is what I would call it). The front desk gave us keys to a new room which we requested on the last day we were there so we could sleep, and they gave us keys so an already occupied room... this happened to another guest that stayed there as well, only she walked in on a threesome happening. Awkward!!!!! The a la cart restaurants (there were 2) were just more of the same discussing food. There were so many rules at this resort, it was hard to enjoy any part of this place. You were no allowed to eat anywhere by the pool or on the beach, only where the food was served. My partner wore a cut off Vans shirt to the gross buffet one night and I wore a crop tank top with short shorts, he was asked to leave to change, while I was much more exposed than he was. We planned on just hanging out around the resort while we were there, however, we ended up planning excursions just to get away from the place so we could have some enjoyment. Someone that was there the same week had their US money stollen from their safe as well. There's no room in this resort where you can have peace and quiet, any room wither it was ocean from, facing the road or the court yard, it was so loud!! You could barly speak to the person next to you sitting by the pool. I slept for days when I got home because of the lack of sleep. While the rooms might have had comfortable beds, the noise kept us awake, so ear plugs are a must if you're a light sleeper, every echos. If you get a room with a smaller balcony, you can't even sit out on it. You can only stand. I'll never return to this place or recommend it to anyone. I would rather splurge a little more and stay somewhere where I can actually enjoy myself. The trip from Hell is what this was... I've been the Mexico 5 times and have stayed at resorts 3 stars - 5 stars and never experienced anything like this one, I'd give this one a big ONE star. You may as well have been in Cuba at a 2 star resort. Just awful! [Details]

Our 24 year old son was drugged with what the dr called something “brutal. ” He was slipped something in his drink by someone unknown at this resort. He was put in a medically induced coma, on a ventilator in the ICU for 4 days. We were a family of 4 at this resort. For 4 days we did not sleep, eat or drink at this resort our time was all spent in the hospital with our son who was fighting for his life. Upon being released from the hospital we needed to make new arrangements for flying home as we had missed our flights. The resort would not let us stay even one night for free, they made us pay $400 US for the one night before we flew out the next day. We did not stay, eat or drink at their resort for 4 days, our son almost died from a “brutal drug” slip in his drink on their resort. They did nothing to help. Nothing. Do not ever go here! [Details]

The hotel is located right on the beach, with sunrise and sunset views on the beach even from the buffet restaurant. The hotel is clean and well kept by the staff who are always cleaning and painting. The staff was exceptional and friendly. The entertainment was good with many options. The food was great with options for Italian, Mexican and Seafood along with the buffet restaurant that had a different menu offerings daily. Hotel is Central with excellent local malls, shops and other entertainment about 5-10 minutes away by car or bus. Some options are in walking distance. [Details]

We stayed there for 10 days. We totally loved the resort. [Details]

The hotel was okay but the check in and check out process was horrible. One staff person most of the time. We were fourth in line and waited 1 hour to check out. We were 3rd in line and waited 1.5 hours to check in. [Details]

This story has to be told to every single source. PLEASE SHARE WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY!! I arrived at the Costa Cancun around 2:30pm Nov 1st 2019. I've traveled here a number of times (over 10) but it's gotten very very scary and unsafe. First off, if you decide to book at this resort after you've read this-you sure have some balls. But please be very careful here. The security guards are aggressive and abusive. I truly believe the work in cahoots with the police and are paid off. They called the police on me for breaking a lamp when I had a little too much to drink, they beat me up gave me a black eye and then took me to a Mexican prison for the night. Inside the prison I was handcuffed to the bars and slapped, kicked and punched by the guards. They handcuffed me so tight that my wrists are still bleeding 7 days later. After I finally was able to convince one of the guards to let me out, because I'm Canadian and broke a lamp and I do not belong in jail for that, they took me into a little room and sat me down with all of my stuff (wallet,phone and watch) inside a plastic bag. They opened the bag and revealed an empty wallet, which had $500 when they initially took it from me. They said if want my stuff back I have to go to the bank and take out $500 usd MORE and pay them. I said ok ok ok I will pay, please let me go. They gave me my credit card back and I ran for my life. I never trusted them to let me be free. It was the most traumatic experience I've ever had. Mexico should be black listed for canadians to travel to. YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS IN THIS COUNTRY. BE VERY VERY CAREFUL WHEN DECIDING TO VACATION HERE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE ALONE. I booked an ocean front room and emailed them approximately 1 month in advance. It took them 3 weeks to send their first reply, and my request was simply to get into a room that had unobstructed views of the ocean (this place has NO VIEWS OF TURQUOISE WATER) it's located in the bay with dirty looking lake water splashing up. Never waste your hard earned money on ocean front here. There are NO balconies, no chairs to sit out and watch the ocean. There is only a patio door that opens. They assured me that they would put notes into the system to make sure I would get my request accommodated. Upon arrival, I was put in room 207. Where you can't even see the ocean because it's blocked with 12-15 palm trees situated so close to one another, they're touching. Now I'm not exactly sure why certain people have said this is a large pool area.... they must have not travelled anywhere else. I get away quite often and I have to say, it's actually pretty small. And there's only one. The beach as basically everyone states is purely awful. Dirty murky water and saying it's tiny would be giving too much credit. There's about 500 sq ft of sand. I've been to nicer beaches in ALBERTA lmfao. The food? Omg .... i read one review and the lady said you would starve here.. i thought to myself, come on. Impossible. She really wasn't far off. It's very very bland and VERY LITTLE choice. The buffet is laughable. Its day 3 and I haven't even able to get into any restaurants. I came here alone too. So I won't bother trying anymore. The entertainment is simply awful. They do pushup contests and water volleyball during the day. The music is for 90 year olds, it's elevator, music all day and night around the bars. ALL BARS OPEN AT 11AM AND CLOSE AT 11PM. NO DRINKS ARE AVAILABLE BEFORE OR AFTER. There are no swim up bars. One beach bar. One lobby bar. [Details]

The staff was good the food was good the room was clean and I was happy [Details]

Overall experience was good [Details]

We booked a short but very enjoyable stay. The staff here took special care of myself and my daughter [Details]

Chef Miquel Salmeron will go above the call of duty to ensure you enjoy your stay [Details]

Had a wonderful stay at this hotel. Pepe Hernandez (buffet staff) was excellent throughout the entire stay as were Sylvia (buffet), Sandra (poolside)and all entertainment staff. [Details]

Great resort. Strongly recommend! [Details]

An enjoyable vacation hotel away from the downtown and club district. Selection of 3 themed restaurants and buffet. The Mexican restaurant has great food and atmosphere. Nice white sands beach. Rooms are clean & comfortable. [Details]

This is the second time my wife and I have stayed at barcelo costa resort in cancun we were very satisfied with resort staff were very helpful and a pleasure to be with we were very pleased with front desk staff they did an excellent job planing on going back in the fall of this year [Details]

Last month i went to barcelo in cancun with my boyfriend, it was very nice that place, we love the beach and we are so happy with this hotel. i recommend this hotel. [Details]

This place has it all ! i love it !, This hotel is excellent for vacations ! really nice food and drinks. i'm so happy [Details]

i really likes this hotel, i love mexican food they have !!, drinks are just the best !! recommend this hotel for everybody !! [Details]

Recommend this hotel, my first time un cancun, best vacations in years !!, they have excellent service, rooms are really nice. [Details]

This hotel have everything to have a nice vacations, the food was really good. [Details]

This hotel is really nice, they have a perfect service and real good mexican food ! [Details]

Had a wonderful time with great staff and food, Resort was just a little to small for us and the wifi was way to expensive for the bad reception [Details]

The resort was the perfect size. No walking for blocks to find what you needed. All restaurants were in close proximity as well as beach and bars. Service was excellent in every area of the hotel. The cleanliness of our room as well as the rest of the resort was superb. The poolside bathrooms were always clean which was very much appreciated. [Details]

Everything was great. The best that I have experienced yet. Have been to Mexico 10 times. This was the best for the vaulue we paid. [Details]

i've stayed in 5 stars hotel in Mexico, but this hotel was by far the best iv'e been too [Details]

This was our first holiday to Cancun. I've travelled to several different areas of Mexico, and would probably not go back to Cancun anytime in near future. Although the goal of our trip was really some RnR for 2 of us, we left our husbands and children at home, and wanted to get away from the every day hustle. We wanted a 10 day get away, and this one was the only one in our budget and time constraints. The hotel staff were very friendly, and spoke good english. The rooms were nice, the beds were a little hard, but has an avid traveller beds are a luxury, the food was great and the location of the hotel to other amenities were great. However, the beach is not very big or very clean. If you enjoy walking the beaches for miles, this isn't the place for you. The ocean is also constantly flooded with boats driving by the from sunrise till sunset. The smell of diesel is a predominant smell around the hotel. The Captain Cook and Jolly Ranger boats also dock just next to the resort, so you get the daily traffic and noise that comes from their events. Because the amenities are so close within the resort, you hear everything that is happening, pool activities to evening stage events. Everything does quiet down by 10 pm, but if you have kids who nap or people who are there for quiet get away, this might not be the place for you either. The weather is not something anybody can control, however because of the size and minimal amenities at the hotel, during the rainy days it can get long and cramped. But there's tons of other things to do in Cancun, and the bus system runs great and everything is on one strip. So you can't really get lost. The cleanliness and the friendly staff make up for most of it, and we overall had a god time. Would we go back, probably not, would I recommend the resort to others? Depending on the goal of your trip, this could be the right place for you, but if you're looking for a relaxing get away, with a quiet environment, I would recommend going further towards Playa or down to Tulum, or head to the Pacific coast. This was my second time at a Barcelo property, and my first experience was amazing, in Los Cabos San Jose, it was FABULOUS! [Details]

It was very beautiful and really enjoyed myself. I would go back again to this hotel and will tell others about it. [Details]

We had a great time at the hotel. It was very clean and we liked the fact that it was a small hotel, you didn't have to walk miles to get any where. The food was very good and they did a great job with their theme nights. The nightly entertainment was also great they went all out with the different shows they had. The staff were amazing very friendly and helpful always smiling and truly looked like they enjoyed their jobs. The beach was beautiful and clean there was always someone there cleaning up glasses, racking the beach and picking up garbage. We would go back in a minute. [Details]

I've travelled quite a bit but it was my first time to Cancun. We booked this thinking it would be a big party but most of the time it was mostly dead around the pool with no music after 4pm. We often went to the Pirate bar next door for entertainment. I never expect the food to be great at all inclusives since it's all the same but this food was below what I expected. Always the same things but not a lot of taste. We lived on chicken wings (which were awesome) and fries all week. They didnt even have bacon for breakfast which is pretty basic but you could have bacon wrapped shrimp at a la carte restaurants. We went to the Spanish one and was so delicious! The rooms are a good size with a huge bathroom. Like most reviews the beds and pillows are a bit hard and wouldve been nice to have a balcony that you can sit on.
The grounds were very clean and so was the beach. We didn't spend much time there since it was very windy and the only chairs available were in the trees so we stayed at the pool most of the week. The entertainment staff was great and made sure we were taken care of when we went to the clubs with them. Def buy your passes from them. Cost a bit more but its all you can drink, some places you get bottle service and you cut the lines, totally worth it.
All in all, was an ok trip. Not a 4 star resort and I probably won't return but for the price we paid, it was a good week away from the snow. [Details]

staff was friendly, food was good, rooms were great would go back again [Details]

The food was pretty good, the beach is nice and you can always find chairs in the sun or the shade. Also it is easy to get a reservation in the restaurants as well. When you first get to the hotel, the front lobby is very basic and not very nice. It gets better once you view the pool and central area and beach. It is close to the shuttle boat which takes you to the island for $17, go there for a day and rent a golf cart to drive the island for the day. Well worth it. They totally rip you off for internet, this should be included but they charge you for it.. Save your money and go to the pirate bar which is right beside the resort on the beach and they will give you free internet if you buy a beer for $2. Biggest complaint, THE POOL IS TURNING EVERYTHING GREEN... I read a few complaints on it from months ago and it is true... White bathing suits, turning GREEN.. Your hair, turns green... There was an 11 year old and she had long blonde hair and her parents even took her to the salon to have them try to recolor and fix her hair with no luck. I even talked to the pool guy in the morning and told him and his response was spray it with cleaner.. I am sorry, but BARCELO FIRE THE POOL GUY and get it right... Your pool is a major necessity to be able to swim in without going green, so drain the water and put fresh in and have someone maintain it properly. Rooms were okay, the beds were very hard, washrooms was decent. It was the cheapest 4 star we would find so you get what you paid for but I should of paid more and went somewhere else. There is no night life, no dance bar, no swim up bar and the entertainment at 9:00 is very bad. The only night that was good is when they had a band playing for casino night. The weather was perfect, so we enjoyed the weather and the beach and nice sand. We also enjoyed the spa and had a couple massages which we recommend to do. [Details]