Need HELP Choosing AI!

Saltydog · 08-11-2004

Hi everyone! Would love your opinions on which AI to pick. I am going at the end of Nov with my 13 year old daughter, so we don't really need anything fancy, but we want a nice holiday. We narrowed down our main "must haves" to: great beach and snorkeling. Everything else takes a back seat - so that being said, my two choices ended up being the Akumal Beach Resort and Barcelo. My TA threw in the option of Bahia Principe Akumal as they have a "deal" for single adult with child under 13. So, that's the three.
I am drawn to ABR simply because its smaller and seems to be great value for $$. Hanging out with Italians would also be a blast for us. And yet the Barcelo sounds sooooo nice! Don't know much about Bahia. To give you an idea of how we travel, we backpacked through Europe last summer and stayed in youth hostels - so clearly 5 star is not a must!! Just want somewhere to swim, snorkel - relax and have fun. HELP!!!!

Beachnutt · 08-12-2004

Going to Gran Porto Real on 8/21. Will let you know how it is on return.

geraldh · 08-12-2004

Check out the unofficial Barcelo site:

http://http://www.unofficial-barcelo...sion/index.php

ripcurl · 08-12-2004

We stayed at the ABR last February, and had a great time. We usually stay at 3-4 star resorts and this was one of the best. Only negative was the ala-carte restaurants. Atmosphere was great but service and quality was not good. The buffet was as good or better than most, but I really look forward to the ala-carte restaurants. On the plus side the ABR has a GREAT beach, diverse clientele, rooms are close to everything, including oceanfront, friendly staff, and great snorkeling right outside your door. Since you dont seem to be the type that is set on a 5-6 star I think you will be quite happy here. The money you save going to the ABR can be used to go to many of the good local restaurants for dinner. I'm also looking into the Barcelo for our next trip.

Arcaneind · 08-12-2004

Did you mean this?

http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/

We are kind of split between Barcelo and Palladium...

08-11-2004	#1 (permalink)
Saltydog sandflea Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 6	Need HELP Choosing AI! Hi everyone! Would love your opinions on which AI to pick. I am going at the end of Nov with my 13 year old daughter, so we don't really need anything fancy, but we want a nice holiday. We narrowed down our main "must haves" to: great beach and snorkeling. Everything else takes a back seat - so that being said, my two choices ended up being the Akumal Beach Resort and Barcelo. My TA threw in the option of Bahia Principe Akumal as they have a "deal" for single adult with child under 13. So, that's the three. I am drawn to ABR simply because its smaller and seems to be great value for $$. Hanging out with Italians would also be a blast for us. And yet the Barcelo sounds sooooo nice! Don't know much about Bahia. To give you an idea of how we travel, we backpacked through Europe last summer and stayed in youth hostels - so clearly 5 star is not a must!! Just want somewhere to swim, snorkel - relax and have fun. HELP!!!!

08-12-2004	#5 (permalink)
Arcaneind way into it Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Orangeville, Ontario Posts: 100	Did you mean this? http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/ We are kind of split between Barcelo and Palladium... Last edited by Arcaneind; 08-12-2004 at 08:56 PM..

08-12-2004	#2 (permalink)
Beachnutt añejo Join Date: May 2004 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 4,092	Going to Gran Porto Real on 8/21. Will let you know how it is on return.

08-12-2004	#3 (permalink)
geraldh way into it Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 190	Check out the unofficial Barcelo site: http://http://www.unofficial-barcelo...sion/index.php

08-12-2004	#4 (permalink)
ripcurl lost on fifth Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 10	We stayed at the ABR last February, and had a great time. We usually stay at 3-4 star resorts and this was one of the best. Only negative was the ala-carte restaurants. Atmosphere was great but service and quality was not good. The buffet was as good or better than most, but I really look forward to the ala-carte restaurants. On the plus side the ABR has a GREAT beach, diverse clientele, rooms are close to everything, including oceanfront, friendly staff, and great snorkeling right outside your door. Since you dont seem to be the type that is set on a 5-6 star I think you will be quite happy here. The money you save going to the ABR can be used to go to many of the good local restaurants for dinner. I'm also looking into the Barcelo for our next trip.

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