BookIt.com Verified Traveler Dusty from Duncan, Ok

"The property was beautiful! it was well kept, the working staff were all friendly, and the room was great. I don't have many complaints about the resort. However, during our whole trip we constantly had our guard up because it seemed like timeshare people, and vacation sales people were EVERYWHERE trying to sell you on their properties. They are constantly trying to rope you inton listening to their sales pitch... at the airport, at the resort, on the beach, in town, at your activities. it was just ridiculous! We would go look for activities such as touring the town, or the dolphin swim and we felt like we were at the car dealership being harassed about all the options and going to see the other resorts and getting free breakfast if we visted the other resorts for 60min. SO frustrating! not to mention, the time we broke down and went to one of the sales pitches, they wouldn't pay for our taxi back to our resort, so they left us stranded unless we paid $35 to get back to our resort.... probably because we didn't buy their $14,000 vacation package. Which left me so angry i had to start telling the people off so they would let us go. They made us feel very uneasy about the whole situation. After 3 days of being constantly houded by these people, we finally started paying them $10 bucks just to leave us alone. Oh and another incident, careful when booking activities,,,, they will set you up. We purchased the spa massage, only to find out that it wasn't at our resort, but we had to go to another resort 15min away from ours, which we had to pay $70 roundtrip taxi fair to make it to. We got burned on this deal because we didn't realize it wasn't at our resort and by the time we got to the other, we was 10min late, they were booked and couldn't get us in, and they wouldn't refund us or give us another time slot. So we paid $150 for the spa, $70 taxi just to get really mad about being screwed out of time and money, and dealing with a whole new set of timeshare people at the other resort. The resort like i said was beautiful, the pools were cold, but everything else was great. the only complaint about the food is that the buffets are the same food every day, but still good food though, we just got tired of eating the same stuff for 5 days. the specialty resaurants were not worth anything. We didn't care fo the environment, or the food.. almsot everytime we left and went straight to the buffet after. I definately wouldn't recommend this trip to any of my friends. the timeshare and sales people ruined the whole trip. No one wants to be harrassed day after day for 5 days. I will sit and listen to their spill and consider what they are trying to sell, but this vacation(timeshare) trip was ridiculous. And we aren't the only ones that felt the same,,, nearly everyone on our bus felt the same way after leaving and heading back to the airport. I know i won't ever go back!"

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"This was our first visit to Los Cabos and it was wonderful! We loved everything about the Barcelo Los Cabos. It was one of the most clean and well kept resorts we have ever stayed at. The service was wonderful and the food was really great, too."

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"Visited Barcelo in Los Cabos, San Jose with family and friends. For reference, we paid $1000 for the standard suite for 2 adults and 4 nights (got senior discount).

Pros:
- The food is phenomenal. The variety, taste, and service of the buffet exceed the best buffets in Vegas; various themes each day. The resort has 5 specialty restaurants: Italian, French, Japanese, Steakhouse, Mexican. For every 2 nights stay, you are granted 1 dinner at a specialty restaurant. We dined at the Steakhouse which is comparable to steak restaurants in Beverly Hills and the Japanese restaurant which is Teppanyaki style, similar to Benihana's, but far superior; 4 course meal, great service, great food.
- Employees are courteous and speak English well.
- There are shows every night. Very professional and enjoyable with musicians, singers, and 10 dancers.
- The landscaping is gorgeous. The infinity pool facing the beach is fantastic. There are cabanas on the beach dedicated to Barcelo so the locals don't harass.
- Overall, the value is there when considering the shows, the food, and the views.
- I would recommend it for a couple as a romantic gateway. For a family, it's pretty good; not that many children's activities though.

Cons:
- On the last day of my stay, I noticed numerous offensive signs engraved on my suite door (the interior side). It didn't really offend me much. However, I still thought it was really bad for the prestige of the resort and thought the management should be informed in order to have it taken care of so no other guests witness it. A supervisor came by and stated it looked like it was done previously and they just repainted over it, which I thought was quite unprofessional. If it were my hotel, I would immediately have the door replaced. The next morning, I called over the general manager just to make sure they were aware of it. Luckily I did because I later found out that first supervisor didn't even make a report of it.
o What shocked me was when the assistant of the manager had the nerve of actually proposing that I engraved the signs on the door and further threatened to charge us for property damage. I was speechless. I guess the manager and maintenance guy came to the conclusion that it was recent thus placing the blame on me. Not only was it disrespectful and unprofessional, it showed how stu|pid they are. First, to even put blame on a guest who informed them of the matter; second, to dismiss the possibility of the racism and damage to be by a previous guest or an employee. It might have been due to my age, my ethnicity, or appearance; regardless, they should never blame a guest of placing Na|zi signs on doors unless they are 100% certain. That just totally disgusted me.
- Whenever I called downstairs and asked for the supervisor, the person who answered the phone was automatically a supervisor. It seemed as if they were trained just to say that so the managers didn't have to handle situations.
- Finally, when I did get the front desk manager to speak regarding a restaurant reservation matter and deceiving timeshare consultant, the manager dismissed both complaints as not the hotels fault. Anything I said, he dismissed it by placing blame on an external source rather than taking responsibility for the problems and resolving them.
- For the reasons above, I would never step in that resort again. The food, ambience, shows, and employees were perfect, but the management killed it. From denying responsibilities for problems raised to blaming me for placing offensive signs on doors when I was just trying to make sure they fix it so another guest doesn't have to see that.


Note:
- According to multiple taxi drivers the nicest resorts in Los Cabos are One and Only Palmilla, Las Ventanas, and Esperanza. Might want to check those out too.
- If you do end up choosing Barcelo, make sure you call in restaurant reservations a week or two before you arrive. I went to make reservations when I arrived and 2 of the restaurants were completely booked and the reservations I did get, one was not at the ideal time; the other had to separate our group to 2 separate tables.
- Also, make sure to ask for at least a partial ocean view when reserving. It's beautiful; you can watch the view from the shower.
- If you don't mind visiting a timeshare, accept the proposal pitched at the airport. They offer free transportation, better activities, and the hotel where the timeshare is located at is beautiful. The presentation took a total of 3 hours. We went on a cruise, ATV tour for the guys, and massages for the ladies all for free. Barcelo recommended we don't accept the timeshare offer at the airport stating they are shady, a bad location, and will waste our day. A bunch of lies so they can pitch their own timeshare.
- Most importantly, keep in mind that Downtown Los Cabos (the city), all the activities (ex. jet skiing and cruises), and nightlife is in Cabo San Lucas, which is 30 minutes about from Cabo San Jose (where Barcelo is located). The resorts in Cabo San Jose are known to be more relaxing and romantic, but you will have to pay hefty taxi rates if you want to do anything else in Cabo. Taxi from San Jose to San Lucas is $30 each way for up to 4 people.
"

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"Such a disappointing trip. I read the reviews and thought it wont be bad. I WAS WRONG. Much better and friendlier resorts in Cabo. PROPERTY is beautiful. Too bad their service is horrible. So unfriendly. Felt like I owed something to them. Bartendars very nice. But front desk conceirge and some of wait staff so rude. Frustrated right off the back after checking in and talking to very unfriendly concerige. out of our 4 nights we could only eat at speciality for 2 nights. EVERYTHING WAS BOOKED. Had to take early dinner times. Couldnt eat at the places we are excited about. we were on vacation and there were so many rules! They put silly wristbands on all guests. I felt like a heard of cows all tag based on our quality. The staff would look glance at wristbands and would adjust service level based on the color. We ate at the LA HACIENDA steakhouse. Server was sooooo rude and our food was freezing cold. He snapped at us when we asked why it took 2 hours for our dinner and said WELCOME TO MEXICO with a smirk on his face. Horrible experience. The pool was beautiful but COLD. We could not even go into the big pool. Everyone would come down night before and put their towels down to reserve pool chairs. nothing was left in morning. people were fighting over chairs and umbrellas. 2nd day into our trip they picked up the lounging beds which may people with families used. THEN TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE -- we didnt sleep at all. The Dance CLUB across the street was pounding music until 3:30am!!!! I was with a family of 12 people with a baby and none of us slept. When we talked to the front desk they said they could not move us. I dont know why as they were only at 60% capacity. I WILL NOT GO BACK. Its a shame. BEAUTIFUL PROPERTY. SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!"

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"Overall we had a great time the staff we're nice courteous and very friendly my only complaint that I had was 1 - Our toiletries were not replaced when it was obvious that we required more 2 - my understanding was that it was an all inclusive resort? when we arrived and went to the buffet after finishing our meal we asked for a couple of spanish coffees which we were delivered without question on our second time going to the buffet we again asked for spanish coffes and our waiter replied he will have to check after checking he said he would and when returning with our coffee he said that we were not relly allowed one but would do so this time he also said that he had to go to the spanish restaurant to get them which was untrue as I watched the bartender in the buffet make them on our 3rd night at the buffet we had the same waiter and again asked for coffees which he said we couldn't as he was charged $5 dollars for the coffes out of his pay from the last time on our other dining experience in the buffet we saw all other patrons receiving special coffees so we asked our subsequent waiters if we could receive a special coffee which we were given with no problems and a cheerful smile from the waiters. Both my wife and I were quite disappointed in this experience as we pay alot of money to stay at your resort and this just left a bad taste in our mouths as we feel the waiter that refused us was trying to make us feel like we have to tip him for something we have already paid for as for tipping I will tip when I feel we had the service that was deserving of the tip and not before. My wife and I are planning another trip in the near future and this incident will definetly have a barring on whether we stay at this resort or not



Mike Willmott

Disappointed Customer"

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