Barcelo Las Perlas Reviews

Having just come back from the Barcelo Club Las Perlas, I would like to offer my thoughts on the accomodation. After reading the previous entries on this hotel i was quite dubious but then you have to realise that one persons idea of heaven could be another persons idea of hell. So only you can be the judge of what you like and what you dont like.

Having been a travel agent and holiday rep in the past I am always opened minded to all accomodations I visit. And beleive me, ive repped in some right slums in the past and this hotel certainly is not in that league!

To sum things up the hotel was very, very clean! Rooms are cleaned every day, and the fridge with drinks is re-stocked every 3 days. I must admit though the A/C in the room is a bit noisy, but whats a bit of noise when you could be sweating to death with heat exhaustion!

All the hotel staff are very friendly and polite. The reception staff speak immpeccable english and are hand 24 hrs.

Also you can get litre bottles of water from behind reception free of charge at any time.

The food was edible with a variety of different things available, remebering this is a 3* and not a 4* but i found something i liked every night and was never left hungry!

The entertainment staff never stopped during the day and worked very hard!! Special kudos to Josh and the team!!

My biggest issue I had Albeit a very small one is the lack of sunbeds on the beach! If you werent up at 7am then there was no chance of getting a sunbed! which is a big pain as the sand is very fine there and just get everywhere if you just have a towel on the sand!!! People where getting up early putting towels down and then not coming out til much later on which i hardly thought was fair.

So overall apart from the sunbeds! I had a fantastic relaxing holiday! and I certainly felt i got value you for money and would definately recommend this hotel to people looking for a basic 3* hotel without delusions of 4* hotels in Cancun.

Holiday date 31/08/05 - 14/09/05

Firstly, let me just say that this is the first time i have felt the need to write a review on any holiday we have taken. Cancun itself is a brilliant place to holiday for ALL ages. However,avoid the barcelo las perlas at all costs, unless your between 18 and 25 or a complete alcoholic. Quite how Direct holidays can say its suitable for families is unbelievable.

The pool area is a complete NO-GO area for anyone with children or any sense of well being. At daytime the pool is full of gangs of drunken youths, singing, swearing, drinking and doing just about anything they wanted without recrimination from hotel staff or reps. The music played around the pool during the day was so loud it could be heard from the other end of the beach. At night, the pool bar was used until it closed at midnight just as a starting place to get completely paralytic before moving onto a club. The atmosphere around this area often became violent i.e. on 1 occasion a table and chairs were thrown off a 3rd floor balcony onto the area around the bar after 1 argument.

There is absolutely nothing for children and they are pretty much ignored by staff as they cannot give tips. You will not get anything done at this hotel unless you are prepared to tip someone to do it. The beach however, was nice and became something of a sanctuary for 'normal' people, Although if you didnt get up to get a sunbed by 5.30am you were on the sand, which we found almost impossible as this was about the time we were eventually getting to sleep, after being kept awake by the returning yobs, who preffered to take drugs and carry out sexual acts in the walkways instead of their rooms. We spent most of our nights during the second week going into the hotel zone, where the entertainment, bars and restaraunts were excellent.
Places to go:_
COCO BONGO - childrens show on a thursday was brilliant.
RAINFOREST CAFE- superb food and service
CARLOS and CHARLIES - great fun for everyone and good food.
XCARET- is a must
Dolphin discovery - worth every penny.

PLACES TO AVOID:_
Barcelo Las Perlas - Don't waste your money. make sure you book a hotel in the hotel zone and not towards downtown Cancun.
Hope this helps anyone who has children or has any sense of decency.

We're just back and thought we'd better help those thinking about going to mexico - especially those going to Barcelo las Perlas!

On the whole we had a great holiday but could have been better.

The first warning we'd give is to keep $50 USD per person to get out the country! Everyone has to pay it. We were never told by the travel agent, only found out on the bus when we arrived. The second is the wait once your plane has landed. Try to get off the plane fast as passport control is very strict ( issuing immigration cards ). We stood in a que for nearly 2 hours!!! This was so frustrating after a 10 hour flight.

Walking to luggage reclaim, a guy hands us a trolley and rips the bag of my shoulder. 'How kind' i thought. Then he starts asking for tips. It took 2 minutes for them to start! Be prepared if someone even opens a door for you, or directs you to a shop!! They all expect tips. Take loads of $1 USD notes, it saves you paying loads or looking tight!

Anyway, away from the airport. Past a few derelict shops and the odd shanty town and we were at our hotel. Barcelo is in between downtown cancun ( local town ) and cancun centre ( tourist bit ). You'll need a bus to get anywhere but these are every 2 minutes. They drive like its a race all the time and smell of sweat but are generally good.

Cancun is great, great beaches, great shops, great restaurants, bars, clubs etc. It has everything. Just beware if it rains. We got 5 days rain in 2 weeks in late june/july! Nothing to do apart from drink all day!

The hotel had good sides and bad. The room was fine, ok for a 3* and was very clean. We had a fridge, stocked up 3 times in 2 weeks. The fridge was very loud. Woke us up during the night when it sounded like a jcb starting. Air con was fine, again quite noisy though.

Entertainment was absoultely shocking, worst i've ever seen. Same old boring dance every night.

Then there is the food. I cant describe it. It is an embarrassment to first choice holidays. I'm not fussy in the slightest and i wouldn't have served most of it to the stray cat we found incase i poisoned the poor thing. Warm, night before rubbish crawling with flies is the only way to put it.

To be fair though, the wee guy did good omlettes in the mornings.

Watch out for the mosquitoes at night. The only place i saw them was at the bar. I never got one but my girlfriend got 30 in one night! keep your balcony closed at night.

Overall, cancun great, but stay away from this hotel or it'll make a great holiday an ok one.

We had read the negative reports on this hotel, so we set off not really knowing what to find on arrival. Before we comment on the hotel, a couple of points about the journey. We flew on an Airbus A330, a very large plane with personal TV screens, etc, the food and crew were very good, so the 10 hour flight wasn't too bad. The 'fun' begins at Cancun airport! It took over two hours to claim our cases and get through customs, in sweltering heat, so ensure you take bottled water. Also ignore the staff offering to assist with luggage, they just want your money to hand you a trolley!

On arrival we checked in and were allocated our room, which was on the third floor, overlooking the reception area and the very busy and noisy main dual carraigeway. The room was horrible to say the least. It was so dark that you needed the light on all of the time just to see where everything was! There was a sink by the bed, the shower was accessed by climbing over a low wall, and the balcony was so small, only one person could stand on it at a time!

We didn't unpack and went back to reception, we were offered a ground floor room which we accepted. The room was very clean, but 'tatty', the TV, fridge and toilet were all faulty, but were fixed within 10 minutes of being reported.

The room was cleaned every day, by a maid who was almost obsessed with cleaning, sheets and towels were replaced everyday, and even windows were polished daily. She was an artist at making animal models out of towels and loo rolls!

The minibar/fridge was restocked almost daily with 'pop', water and beer. Yes it's an old fridge, but it does the job! also you get a free paper delivered daily to your room.

AC was very noisy, but you don't hear it after a while, and we slept with it on ok. There was a certain amount of noise from outside caused by visiting delivery trucks and bin wagons, working late into the night, but this also blended into the background after a while.

It soon becomes obvious that this hotel is 'cheap and cheerful' and will never be anything elso in its present state.

Food was simple, but plenty of it, you could have choices each day, or eat chips and burgers if you wanted. Also each evening there was a theme, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, etc. You soon realise that if you slip the waiters(especially Larry) a few dollars they go out of their way to look after you all week, bringing drinks to your meal table, etc. Flys were somewhat of a problem in the dining area, we didn't see them on the food, but they are a problem when you are dining.

Entertainment during the day was dire! but evenings were ok, but there is a serious lack of seating.

Beach is amazing, right on the doorstep, white sand, crystal clear, warm water, little man cleans seaweed off it everyday, free towels everyday, also free hire of snorkels, canoes, etc. Watch the idiot who hires Jetski's, he is a class one idiot who spends half his day showing off riding side saddle and doing turns, etc, we saw him hit a canoe with a father and small child in it!! You can swim with rays, and amazing fish, one swimmer saw an octopus. But beware the sunbeds get reserved really early, we suspect people put towels on them late at night! Not much shade and it can get really unbearable in temperatures into the high nineties.

Also beware of the stories the rep. tells you about 'phone cards, Airtours sell cards for $10 for 15 minutes, telling you the hotel shop cards are a 'rip off', in fact you get a better time from the hotel cards! 'Welcome' meeting is just an excuse to sell you trips, never got info. on doctors, chemists, ATM locations, etc. Local buses are amazing, bus every minute, no lie! go anywhere for a few Peso's, but be prepared to fight to get on and off! Cancun is a wild place at night, with numerous clubs, talking to younger couples they said the nightlife was amazing.

We booked two trips, one to Chinchin Itza, and one to Xcaret. Both good value, especially the Xcaret, with an evening show, again stock up on bottled water.

On a negative side, the hotel had a lot of young Americans who were very loud, and we heard a story about guests being robbed by hotel security staff, but we cannot confirm this.

In conclusion, it is value for money, we had a really good two weeks, don't be put off by negative feedback, if you go there expecting a 5 star hotel then you will be disapointed. Staff go out of their way to be polite and open doors for you, a simple 'hola' gets a really good response from them. If you decide you are going to have a bad time there then you will!

Our first impressions of this Hotel were very good - the beach is fabulous although the beaches further down the resort (about a 10 minute bus ride away)were fantastic, although there is very little shelter from the sun as all the sunbeds and umbrellas are owned by the hotels. The choice of food is ok and the rooms are clean but the fridges are very old and noisy. The evening entertainment was ok although it was a little repetitive. The First Choice Rep caused us quite a few problems for example he forgot to book us on a day trip! We found some of the Reception staff to be very rude and unhelpful although the other staff were fine.

The buses down to the centre of the Hotel Zone are very cheap and reliable, although can be packed with locals! However there is a second slightly more expensive bus that you can catch that is quiter and air-conditioned.

A must-do trip is the Dolphin Trainer for the day - you have your own personal guide and you are one to one with the dolphins for about 7-8 hours. You must go to Coco-Bongo nightclub for a night never to be forgotton! A good tip for you is to tip the waiter when he brings you your first round of drinks and then every so often - he will be your own personal waiter all night including free shots!