Occidental at Xcaret Destination

We enjoyed the trip - lots of things for kids to do. We were so close to the Xcaret park. The pools are shallow enough for the kids to play safely. They had a big foam party in one. Animals roamed the hotel grounds and the staff was very friendly. There was some mix up with our rooms but these were manageable problems. Our daughter (8) loved the kids club during the day and they put on shows at night. Our 10 year old was beyond kids club this time.

Great service at the hotel.I realy liked the service that Maura at the le buffet main buffet gave us she did a great job with making sure we were happy with the omelletes we liked and even made sure to ask here boss to provide GUITACLOCHE great meal for quesadillas we asked for it and the next day it was there. Also the chef at sea food restaurante was very nice we asked for a special seafood plate and he provided that. Great chef JAVIER. Hope to come back soon.

We stayed here for 10 nights with our 11 year old son. The hotel is beautiful and the location is stunning. Having Xcaret next door is a huge bonus and buying an unlimited pass was worth every penny. We were told the resort was about 75% full during our visit but in all honesty it felt very quiet, which I believe is due to the size of the grounds and the numerous pools. We were originally booked with Thomas Cook but since rebooked with Tui after TC's failure. Tui did a good package but left us a little on our own with no sign of a rep in the hotel and no updates during our visit. That said, the hotel staff were very helpful and answered all our questions as best as they could or found the answer for us. We stayed in block 21, the staff there were very helpful and extremely friendly at all times. We were mainly assisted by Valantina who was very friendly and polite. The accommodation was very good, although the louvered bathroom doors don't leave any room for privacy and volume from the room next door's TV was obvious. Housekeeping was excellent and really no complaints. Mini bar was well stocked but only alcohol in there was beer which my wife doesn't drink so really reduced in room drink options. The pools are nice, but would benefit from more depth as they are all 1.2m max. Loads of sunbeds and free pool towels are good. The site could do with more toilets and the only real walk up pool bar backs on to the toilets which are all under the same open roof. This I think is a big problem as I picked up a severe stomach bug on my 3rd day which has only just passed (10 days later and back in the UK) - note the aforementioned problems with the louvered toilet doors when you are in there most nights for many hours. That said there is an on site doctor you can pay $$$ to see, but be prepared to spend a few days in a local hospital on a drip should you go that way (we didn't). The food in the restaurants/buffet is all a variation of the same, it is good but perhaps not up to the quality of other Barcelo hotels we have stayed at. There is a nice sports bar, but sadly no kids allowed in there so evening options are a bit limited. Entertainment is average but as expected for these locations. The beach restaurant is beautiful and would make a perfect location for an evening meal and bedtime drinks. Sadly it shuts at night so that's not an option. The main restaurants all seem to open and shut at similar times so options are slightly limited where you can go and what you can eat at various points of the day. That said it isn't really too much of a problem. Overall a good experience (except for the stomach issues) that could have been made better with some smarter management and construction choices. The biggest problem for me was the big push for investment in their time share program, to be honest we attended but it was 2.5 hours that we would have preferred to have back. Off the back of the problems and the sales meeting (but not the staff or the potential) I have given the review and average, but with a handful small changes it would be excellent without doubt!