We had our wedding at Barcelo Maya Palace on February 11, 2012.  Barcelo gave us a perfect wedding - we could not have asked for more!

Wedding Coordinator:  A+++

Lillian Vargas is awesome!  I cannot say enough good things about her.  She was quick to respond to my emails and answered all of my questions.  If she did not know the answer, she sought it out and provided me with the answer very quickly.  When we met with her before the wedding, she had everything lined up, reviewed everything (which was correct) with us and made sure that nothing was overlooked.  She even made the reservation for us for our welcome dinner the night before our wedding.  There was nothing that Lillian overlooked.  She works long hours and does a fantastic job.  Anyone who is lucky enough to have Lillian as their WC should count their lucky stars!

Resort:  A+

My fiance and I arrived on February 7th and most of our guests arrived on the 8th.  The rooms were beautiful - the rain shower in the bathroom was awesome!  The rooms were nice sized and very clean.  Our mini bar was filled each day and we ordered maid service more often than we typically do on vacation as we needed to maintain our room since we would be having pictures there on our wedding day.  We were upgraded to premium with our wedding package and everything we needed was arranged without issue.  The only issue we had was that there was often only one person working the premium club and it would take a while to get assistance as many guests were scheduling restaurant reservations for every night of their stay.  The buffets had a nice selection of food and the French and Caribbean restaurants were our favorites.  The service throughout the hotel was fantastic.  Our guests raved about the resort and we will definitely go back!

Spa:  A+++

Karla did my hair and makeup for my wedding.  When I saw the results, I almost cried but did not want to ruin her hard work.  For the first time, I felt and looked like a bride.  I had a hair trial with my stylist in MN and showed Karla the pictures.  She did an even better job than my stylist.  For my makeup, I said that I wanted browns and she decided to go with plums and pinks.  That woman knew better than me because it was perfect.  My makeup was flawless.  Seriously.  You can hire Adrian for $600+ dollars but I would take Karla anyday over anyone else!

Coral did my mani/pedi and did a nice job with both.  I wasn't able to get a mani/pedi before I left for Mexico so she had her work cut out for her but they both turned out great. 

We had our couple's massage on the beach and I actually had a massage prior to our wedding as well - my neck and shoulders were killing me from lugging my dress and my husband's suit around the airports!  Both were fantastic and an hour went by much too quickly!  They are wonderful and very attentive to any needs!

Restaurants:  A-

My husband and I usually avoid all inclusives but decided our guests would want the ease of that.  We were quite surprised at how good the food was at the buffets and the restaurants.  We actually found spicy Mexican food that we liked and there was American food for those not quite so adventurous.  The French restaurant Brasserie and the Caribbean restaurant Caribe were both quite good.  We were not impressed with the Brazilian restaurant as much of the meat was tough and overcooked.  The omelets are breakfast at Mirador and La Hacienda were fantastic and the fresh fruit was delicious!

Pools:  A++

Seriously.  If you cannot find a pool you like here, then you need to stay home.  They have kids pools. volleyball pools, swim up bars, adults only pool, etc...The pools are huge, plenty of room for everyone and well-maintained.

Beach:  A

The beach at the Palace is a little rocky in some places but the beach goes on forever so you can head down to Playa Azul if you want a more sandy beach.  There were chairs in the shade and out of the shade available at all times of the day.  There was very little smoking at the Palace end, however, there were many Europeans staying at the lower end hotels and a great deal of smoking in the section according to some of our guests who ventured down that way.  The Palace beach was clean and no litter to be found anywhere. 

Staff:  B+

The staff were quite friendly and always helpful.  The premium club occasionally had only one staff person working so the wait could take a bit long at times.  We did have a couple of guests staying in Playa del Carmen and when they arrived for our welcome dinner on Friday, they were held up at the gate and not allowed entrance for about 15-20 minutes.  We were not aware of the problem but we had given their names to the staff who were supposed to inform the staff at the gate.  They told the front gate staff that they were going to purchase a day pass and the staff told them that they could not do this.  After another staff member arrived, then our guests finally were allowed entry but it was a bit frustrating to have them held up like that. 

Photographer:  A+++++

Erick Rodriguez kicks butt!  He is seriously awesome and I cannot say enough wonderful things about him.  My husband and I do not like having our pictures taken but we loved every minute with Erick.  He made it fun and relaxing.  We even wound up doing a trash the dress and had no interest in that until we met Erick.  He is fantastic!  We cannot wait to see our photos!