Barceló Maya Palace

This was our first time at an all inclusive resort, so I don't have much to compare this to. However, the Barcelo Riviera surpassed my expectations, and we plan to return. We had the a Junior Oceanfront Suite on the 4th floor, and it was fantastic. All of the staff went out of their way to be friendly and accommodating. The a la carte restaurants were all fantastic and also with excellent service. We did find that they were more quiet a bit earlier (6-6:30), as opposed to later in the evening. The buffet was great for breakfast and we really liked the Lobby Bar for coffee and quick snacks. The beach is spectacular, and we had no problem finding chairs right on the water. The pools were also amazing and the water was warm. The chairs in those areas filled up more than the beach, but we didn't have any trouble with finding some. There were very few people actually in the pools given their size, and we were never on top of anyone. We didn't have any need to "reserve" chairs anywhere, and I was told that the resort was full. I have also seen concern about trouble with making dinner reservations, but we made reservations a few times for two days out, instead of for the whole visit, and had no trouble. The Riviera allows access to the other resorts on the Barcelo property. We did walk around a bit and explore, but found the Riviera to be much more quiet and elegant that the other areas. It's adults only, and that is what we were after. The room was spacious, with double sinks in the bathroom and a walk-in shower. The "king" bed was gigantic! The fourth floor gave an awesome view of the pools and beach, and the hot tub on the balcony was great for a late evening soak.