well where do i start the hotel itself was spotless and our room which was a junior suite was very large with two beds and a shower that could hold a family of four the maids and the waiters i.n this hotel are really nice but are really overworked. the entertainment on a night is only on for one hour and it is normally the same six dancers every night nothing spectacular. now to the food what can i say we ate in don quiotes once but did not like it and we never ate in the mexican. We had our lunch every day in gaviotas as you do not need to book during the day and i have to say it was always nice and a totally different menu to the one on a night but the albatross buffet was terrible apart from breakfast it was the same food atlunch and dinner for the two weeks we were there we ended up going out on a night for dinner. If you get the chance you must go to coco bongos it is amazing i have never seen anything like it but if you go try and go about ten o clock and it is not too crowded then also captain hooks night out is an absolute scream well worth the money so all in all we were not impressed with our holiday in cancun but i think the fact that the barcelo chain had just taken over our hotel had a lot to do with it this hotel in my opinion is only a three star not a five star.

Before we booked this hotel I read many of the reviews on this website so I will write a completely honest review of this hotel in order to help you decide whether you want to book it. We arrived at the hotel on 27 Dec 06 and were put in a room in the far corner of the hotel which smelt quite bad so we immediately asked to change. We were told to come back the following morning and they would see what they could do. We did move rooms the following day to one overlooking the pool which was much better but we still only had a small balcony. Not all of the rooms have the large balconies with hammocks on them which is disappointing in light of how much money the holiday costs and to say it is a 4/5* resort. The room was nice and very clean with a massive bed and big TV with lots of satellite channels. The bathroom was the best feature, with a huge walk in shower which was immaculate and always kept very clean by the maids. There are lots of staff at the hotel always running round working very hard and they are very friendly and helpful. The hotel was always kept clean and the pool was one of the cleanest I've seen. There are lots of sunbeds round the pool but you had to have your towel out by about 7am in order to get one in the sun as half of them were in the shade for most of the day. There are lots of beds on the beach though which you can normally get later in the morning. The beach was very nice but rather small and the sea was not very nice with lots of seaweed in it. The hotel is nowhere near the hotel zone and away from the main ocean beach which is disappointing as this is the most amazing beach. You have to get a taxi or bus to where the bars and shops are as it's too far to walk. The food at the hotel was very nice, there are 3 al a carte restaurants which you have to make reservations for and these need to be made early in the day otherwise there was no chance of getting a table. It was all a bit too much hassle to do this so it was easier to just eat in the buffest restaruant which served really nice food. It was pretty much the same food every night but with a different flavour to it but it was good qualty tasty food and we had no complaints about this at all. The only one big complaint we had about this hotel was about the evening entertainment. There really was nothing to do at night. There is the beach bar which shuts at 11pm and this is just really people sitting round the bar having a drink with no music, and there is the lobby bar which is exactly what it says on the tin, a bar in the lobby with lots of chairs and tables and the 2 SAME singers every single night singing the same songs, it really was quite depressing. There was no bar like area that played music where you could get drunk and have a laugh, it was very weird atmosphere at night. There is a show on most nights which lasts for 45 mins but this is not of a very high standard and not worth watching most of the time. There is also a karaoke night which was the best night really but we as we had paid all inclusive we really couldn't afford to go out at night to bars and clubs so we spent most of our evenings in the room watching films! IF you are looking for a chilled holiday and are not bothered about nightlife then this hotel is great but if you are looking for somehwere to party then don't go here. The entertainments team do orgnanise bar crawls every night which you can go on but you have to pay for them. It's normally about $40USD to cover entrance fee and all of your drinks which is cheap but not if you go every night! Overall I wouldn't go back to the hotel again due only to the location and the nightlife issue but other than that the hotel was great and of a high standard.

This review is almost a year late but here goes...

I stayed at this hotel in March of 2006 while Cancun was still undergoing repairs after getting hit by Hurricane Wilma. I specifically picked this hotel because it was on the north part of Cancun where the beach was more protected, and therefore less damaged. Overall, it was a fantastic choice.

The hotel over all was very clean and the landscaping crew did a great job keeping everything neat. Because the beach of the sister property, Gran Caribe Real, was washed out and the pool there is small (and it was spring break), there were lots of people from the Gran Caribe using our beach. Even though it's not an expansive beach, it was never over crowded or dirty. The waitstaff from the beach bar was always there to keep a drink in your hand. The rooms are of pretty decent size, even the standard "deluxe" category. The huge shower with big glass doors was pretty cool, as was the nice basket of toiletries in the bathroom. The marble floors really give it an elegant feel. Our mini-fridge was re-stocked every day with water, pop and beer. And by the looks of it, most rooms have a terrace or balcony which was GREAT. Didn't have any issues with uncomfortable beds or pillows.

As for the food... AWESOME! I have stayed at quite a few all-inclusives and this one definately had good food. The lunch buffet at Albatros was always good with such a huge variety of things to pick from. The mahi mahi was excellent. I would also recommend trying the chicken fettuccini alfredo at Gaviotas and the Flaming Coffee at Maria's. Maria's didn't have a huge menu but the food was good. Some people don't know this, but with the all-inclusive you can get room service one time per day. That was GREAT for those mornings after a late night out! The beach bar is definately the place to be at night. Jonathan the bartender was amazing! After a few drinks, you can slip off your bar stool onto the sand and turn around and play drunken-nighttime-volleyball or take a few steps and go sit on a lounger by the ocean and watch the ships go by. Some people didn't like that some kind of pirate ship dinner cruise thing docked right by the hotel but I didn't have a problem with it. It wasn't loud and the people didn't linger.

One of my favorite things about this hotel was that it shared (I use that in the past tense because it no longer does) properties with the Gran Caribe in Cancun and the Gran Porto in Playa del Carmen. That was great to be able to take the bus down to Playa for the day and go have a delicious lunch at the Gran Porto for free. Fifth Avenue in Playa was amazing. Lots of good shopping and dining with a true authentic Mexican feel.

I had mixed feelings about the location of the Gran Costa because you have to take the city bus to get to the hotel zone where the shopping, dining and nightlife are. But since the Gran Costa is away from the action, it's pretty quiet at night. After all, the bus only costs about $0.70 each time you get on. And when all was said and done, I was glad to have had the experience of riding that city bus, which was almost always occupied mainly by locals. Turns out the location of the Gran Costa was perfect as we also visited the Gran Caribe and like I said the beach was completely washed out. Waves were crashing against the side of the hotel. As was the case with nearly every other hotel in that area. I heard it was good as new just a few weeks after we left though.

But back to the Gran Costa... Which it is not anymore, so much of what I have said is probably no longer relevant. I understand that the hotel is now owned by Barcelo. Hopefully they will be able to keep up the great levels of service, cleanliness, comfort and good food!

My boyfriend and i stayed at the Barcelo costa cancun from 17th-31st December, and loved it, we cant understand the bad reviews, we cannot dault the hotel or the staff!

I'll keep it short and sweet and straight to the point

FOOD: Excellent, something for everyone , book into the mexican it is out of this world!!!!

STAFF: The most friendliest, hardworking,polite people you will ever meet, they cant do enough for you, and constantly work to keep the hotel in 5star condition.

ROOMS: We stayed in room 402 and it was small but really nice and it was spotless, mini bar filled up every day without fail, really nice sea view, air con was a godsend!

BEACH: Yes it is small but very clean, and yes seaweed does wash up on shore over night, but first thing in the morning it is cleaned up straight away! The sea is clear and clean, enough sun loungers for all.

DO'S AND DONT'S

DOgo on the lobster dinner cruise if your a couple, my fiance proposed to me that night and they made it really special!

Personally I didnt think much of COCOBONGOS, i was looking forward to going because everyone had said it was amazing, i found it to small, cramped and overcrowded, it took at good 20-30 mins to get a drink from the bar!

Do go to Xal-Ha, the snorkelling is brill!

All in all, If your looking for a nice clean, friendly hotel where the food is second to none this is the place for you. DONT LISTEN TO THE BAD REVIEWS, THIS HOTEL IS BRILLIANT, I PROMISE!

Kim- UK