Barcelo Karmina All Inclusive

Run don't walk to this gem of a place!! I want to give 5 stars to everything, but the only reason I can't is 1. The furniture is very nice, but dated. 2. The wifi is not reliable anywhere on the resort. Cuts out all the time. 3. The beach is tiny. Those are literally the only faults with this resort. The rooms, grounds and entire hotel are impeccably clean. Terrific service everywhere. Drinks are great, wide selection of cocktails, all tasty and delicious. The food! This is the best food I've ever had at any all-inclusive. Some people might complain, but those people just don't like authentic traditional Mexican food. Buffet was different every day, with some items available every day, like refried beans, rice, chilaquiles for breakfast. There were very tasty choices every meal, from whole roasted pig, stews of chorizo and beans, simmered lentils with vegetables, cactus salad, ceviche...etc. Seriously great food. A la carte restaurants were great too. The view alone at Agave (Mexican restaurant) is worth it, but also, try their passion fruit margarita! I cannot say enough about this resort! Even though the beach is small, it's always safe to swim in it, which is not the case for other beaches on this coast. There's nice snorkeling to be done in this bay too. Saw some Moorish idols, flag tails surgeonfish, and even a small shy Cortez stingray one day. I must also mention the show. The Micheal Jackson show is definitely the best. This group of dancers works so hard, I saw them rehearsing for hours every day. Barcelo Karmina is pretty darn near perfection, I can't wait to come back, and I'm not even gone yet!!

Flight crew staying over a long weekend. Staff were awesome and bar service was excellent. The food did leave a lot to be desired, not for lack of effort on the chefs part, they were just working with sub prime cuts of meat. (Think lots of chicken thighs) The snack bar with burgers and hot dogs definitely hit the spot and were reminiscent of a school lunch :) The do not disturb signs are comically invisible to hotel staff. Perhaps the most annoying feature of the stay was the towel situation. You needed to exchange a card to get a towel (1) and you say took your towel back to your room you could not get another one unless you had another tower to exchange or a card. Lost towel card? No problem you have to file a “security report” with time date and last known location of your card. If you did not present your towel card on checkout you would be charged $500 pesos unless you walk all the way back to the room to get your dirty wet towel. The ridiculous towel situation kinda ruined the stay. I would like to reiterate how great the staff was. From the dancers to the poolside activities folks everyone was supper attentive and kind. I think I’ll try another place next time I’m in the area.

I had such a bad experience at this hotel. I only gave it a one star because there was no option for a 0. Front desk manager was absolutely rude and had no consideration for the guest. Her attitude and sarcasm was the worst I ever experienced. I travel a lot and I have never received poor service as I did at Barcelo karmina. They should train the front desk to be more courteous. It ruined my whole vacation stay. I made reservations for Italian restaurant 4 days in advance to only find out that restaurant was closed on day of reservation. Was not notified nor did anyone apologize for their mistake. I upgraded to premier and was unable to make reservations to any of the premier restaurants due to being booked. So do not upgrade !!! Do not book with this hotel, you will be very disappointed. My sister paid for ocean view 3 months in advance and did not get ocean view. They give you the run around. It’s not worth the price you pay.