Barcelo Maya vs. Gran Porto Real

KIM02242012 · July 15, 2012

I'm finally starting to narrow down resorts and have narrowed it to Barcelo Maya or Gran Porto Real. I'm looking for a resort that have sister resorts to accomodate different budgets. I want to have a simple beach ceremony and hopefully a somewhat private reception with dancing. What do you all think? Which one has a prettier beach and clearer sands? Do you guys have any information on thse two places? Thanks!

sswed13 · July 24, 2012

We booked at the Barcelo Maya Tropical. We have done some research on our own, and a lot of the information was provided by our TA. The Barcelo complex is comprised of 5 hotels: Palace Deluxe, Tropical, Colonial, Beach and Caribe.

The Palace Deluxe is the most recent built complex, and also the most expensive. If you stay here, you have access to all 5 hotels, the restaurants, pools, etc, and I believe you also get premium liquor. "Stay at one, play at 5"

The Tropical and Colonial are sister complexes. You can use all the amenities of each and also have access to the Beach and Caribe. Stay at one, play at 4". You cannot access the Palace Deluxe without paying a day pass.

The complexes that were first established were the Beach and Caribe. Sister complexes and you can go inbetween only these two resorts. It is the cheaper of the lot, but you can only go the restaurants and pools of the Beach and Caribe if staying here. "Stay at one, play at two"

I emailed my wedding coordinator to inquire just how much the day pass is- I heard it was in the range of $100pp for the day.... and there may even be a time restriction on the "day" pass. We are planning to party well into the night, so for some of our guests not staying at the hotel, we hope they don't have to leave too early.

Hope this helps, and happy planning