Awesome resort. Just got back on June 23, 2008. Went with 12 other people. The Highlights of the trip: Service is awesome. Chouey at the swim up bar, Oscar at Don Quixote restaurant. The swim up bar is really fun. Food was great - buffet style. The dinner show/Mexican Fiesta Night was incredible. Best one. Plenty to do. We swam with dolphins, went ATVing (a must), golfed at La Palma Golf Course - beautiful course, sunset cruise on the Dancer in Z town; massages on the beach are $20 for 45 minutes to the left of the hotel on the beach. Ask for Lupita she's really good. Went X 2 while we were there. The maids at Barcelo turned our bed down every night with a chocolate on the blanket. Floral arrangements each day by the maids on the bed or in bathroom. Ocean views of the beach and listening to the waves each night made us sleep really well. Do not miss dinner at Don Quixote's - really good food. You can eat healthy if you are dieting or watching what you eat. Lots of fresh fish, vegees, fruit is really good. Take lots of $1 bills and DO NOT convert to pesos. You don't lose that much $$ by NOT converting. Otherwise you have to spend all your pesos before you leave. The mercado across the street has tons of stuff to buy at really reasonable prices. don't pay full price. Offer 1/2 price always.
Lots to see and do at the resort and around town. You can get the same stuff in Ixtapa as you can in Zihuantenajo. Barcelo is awesome, great service, very professional. Bring plenty of sunscreen. It was really warm while we were there. The ocean has powerful riptides right in front of hotel but fun to swim in ocean. To eat anywhere you must bring a coverup (women) or shirt and shorts and shoes...very picky about this. You have to dress nice casual for dinner there at certain restaurants. Really fun will go back again. If you go ATV's bring some old clothes..you will get really dusty dirty but they give you goggles helmuts...REALLY REALLY FUN.

We are newly married professionals in our 50s from Kansas with extensive travel experiences. My wife had been here before and wanted to return but I was hesistant based on previous reviews posted here. I was expecting a hotel overrun by kids, inconsistent service, hot and poorly maintained rooms, with below average food and drink.

All I can say after staying there for a week is those reviewers either stayed at a different resort or have issues that prevents them from simply enjoying vacations without complaining about something.

We arrived early afternoon which gave us the chance to get settled, tour the property, have a drink (or two), enjoy a swim and reserve a tennis court for the next morning. From that point on, our itinerary consisted of playing tennis early each morning before it got too hot, eating breakfast, slipping into our bathing suits and relaxing by the pool or on the beach everyday.

Yes, the tennis courts are slippery than were accustomed to and one is slightly slanted, but we modified our game to fit the conditions and had a wonderful time playing. The daily exercise helped offset the food and drink that followed each day. The pro was gracious and always let us pick the court on a first come, first serve basis. Bring your own cans of balls, though.

We had a sixth floor room at the end of the hall. Those rooms do not have a balcony, but are larger, have king beds, and the most privacy. We literally did not hear anyone once we were in the room, except for when we opened the window to listen to the waves. The bed was very comfortable and the AC worked perfectly. We never turned on the TV so I have no idea what was available.

We found the buffet food to be more than acceptable, especially the breakfast offerings. I also concur on the excellent hamburgers served by the pool. Don Quixote was excellent, especially the lamb. Be sure to ask for the flaming coffee dessert! The waiter puts on quite a show during the preparation.

We did not take in the nightly entertainment, except for the live music and dancing in the bar later at night. We walked to Carlos n Charlies and Senor Frogs a couple of nights and recommend both.

I've done extensive diving so I was not interested in the Ixtapa Island snorkeling trip. However, we did enjoy the sunset cruise, jet ski rentals and the marvelous massages from the ladies under the beach tents just south of the hotel. My wife didn't let a beach vendor go by without wanting to buy something, but they were not pushy and appreciated our desire to be left alone.

Anglos were definitely in the minority with only a few Canadians and Americans. I found the Mexican families to be friendly, courteous and attentive to their children. At no time was I annoyed by the children. Most importantly, I found them to be very honest when I lost my Gucci necklace worth over $1,000 in the pool. The lifeguard, who did not speak English, saw me scouring the pool and I explained through sign language what occurred. He asked several family members in the area and they asked their kids and, sure enough, one of them found it and gave it to me. They could have easily kept it.

We would go back in a heartbeat.

I have just returned from one week at the Barcelo, June 14 to 21 and had a great time.Booked my trip on Air Canada Vacations and had a very nice ocean view room. The hotel is very clean and the staff is very professional and go out of their way to make you feel welcome.The food is good and there is plenty of it with fresh fish and good meat.
The hotel was about 50% full ,as June is considered the low season so it felt like we had the whole hotel to ourselves.
I would strongly recommend that you try the El Faro restaurant which is located on the cliff facing the bay.The food is terrific and the view is to die for.Went on a few tours to see the area and was not disappointed, the countryside is quite beautiful.I would recommend the combo tour as it includes a visit to a coconut plantation and a tile factory both were quite interesting and gave you a feeling of how people live and work in this part of Mexico.
The weather was and is quite hot so bring some 30 strength sunscreen as temperatures quickly rise into mid 30's C. I would definitely recommend this hotel and the area as a great get away .

If you like to play tenis in your vacation, don't go to the barcelo.
There are only two courts but one is almost useless because the paint is so slipery and (whether you belive it or not) it has a decline. so it leaves only one "good" court. the problem is that the hotel tenis pro reserves this court for paying lessons (he claims that the hotel does not pay him) and visiting friends (most of the times, not hotel guests) so, even if he didn't have a confirmed student, he didn´t give us court 1. i think that may be the management of the hotel is not aware if this situation (we didn´t want any trouble, so we accepted his conditions), but something has to be done abuot this.
Otherwise, the hotel is almost great (the room ac is not strong enough).