Management was very poor Food was very poor quality

Expected a better view in the “Ocean View” room.

The staff at Barcelo were absolutely amazing! The building is a little dated but it’s sup and clean and everyone is so friendly as well as accommodating!

Very nice resort.

Property is showing wear and tear. 5 floor windows by elevator leaking walls were soggy

The staff were not very accommodating or polite. We asked for ocean views and got a view of the air conditioner and a sliver of the ocean. This was our honeymoon and we were very disappointed in Barcelo. The food was not good, we ate out most days and nights. I do not recommend this resort.

Last year we had a good experience, but this year we didn’t have the best experience. At the front desk we had an attendant that was not very personable. She didn’t activate our key cards to get in our room and we had to go back to the front desk. The food was cold from the buffet, we play cards at night on the patio off our room and the outside light didn’t work we had to call maintenance twice. They asked us at pre checkin if we had any requests, we said a pool view, but we ended up having a view of a roof .

The food is just so very very terrible. Did I say how terrible the food is. Kond of appalling actually. Shameful. It’s cheaper and more pleasant to just skip this place and opt out of all inclusive at ANY restaurant in the area. Kind of ridiculous to say that. Having stayed at all hotels on the beach in Palm Beach, I can teatify this is the very worsy one of them. Rooms are not much, beach is not much. Atmosphere is “supervised.” Did I say the food is just awful? So bad.

The experience in Aruba was wonderful. The beach and pool areas were a challenge to access without an early wake up or a $20 contribution. Dining was plentiful but creativity could improve.Orientation via employee or booklet would benefit clearer the on site activities morning , noon and evening events. Very enjoyable / staff was awesome

Not enough chairs at pool. People would put towels on chairs and not be there for hours. No one to monitor this issue. Chairs were taken at 6:00 a.m. Food was okay but not great. Nightly entertainment was terrible.

We stayed at the royal level and loved the view from the room, the access to beach, safe walkable path outside, free flowing drinks and food. We specifically loved the Japanese place for dinner - Kyoto

Older inside, could use some updates. Cleaning and grounds staff super friendly. Evening dinner venues are excellent

Horrible Experience at Barcelo Aruba – Avoid at All Costs! I don’t even know where to begin with how awful my experience at Barcelo Aruba was. From the moment I arrived, the check-in process was a disaster. The front desk staff was unbelievably rude, and to make matters worse, the manager, Isabella, had a terrible attitude. She was dismissive and unhelpful, making it clear that guest satisfaction was not a priority. When I finally got to my room—at 6 PM, mind you—there were no towels. How does a resort not have towels ready for guests? Completely unacceptable. As for the food, the buffet was disgusting, comparable to cafeteria food you'd find in a low-budget school. I was expecting fresh, flavorful options, but everything was bland, overcooked, and clearly not made with quality in mind. The drinks were another major disappointment. Nearly everything served around the property was completely watered down, making it feel like a waste of time to even bother ordering. The only exception was the bar in the casino, which had the best drinks and actually seemed to care about making them properly. To top it all off, the staff was extremely colorist, especially at the front desk, where they made it clear that they treated some guests better than others. This was beyond frustrating and honestly ruined any chance of me ever returning. Barcelo Aruba was a complete letdown, and I would never recommend this resort to anyone. Save your money and go somewhere else

Buffet was OK not excellent. My room had a slider going out to the balcony that could barely open needed. A lot of maintenance. Restaurants were great. Staff was great.

The food was good at the restaurants, but the buffet was mediocre. Pool and hot tub close at 8 PM. A little early

Rooms & halls were always nice & clean. Buffet had lots of selections & service was excellent. Beach was clean with lots of lounge options. Drinks ordered and served right on the beach. Car rental office and tour office in the lobby. Easy restaurant reservation @ guest services. Ready to do it all over again !

We have stayed at the Barcelo the last 4 years and will be coming back again next year! Friendly staff and great location!

Everything was adequate. Nothing special. Food was basic for an all inclusive and property It was was ok. If you’re looking for a “WOW FACTOR” look elsewhere.

The food needs improvement

Great place

Due to the recent hotels nearby, we notice a shortage of staff. Barcelo needs to maintain staff in order to remain a 5 star hotel

No coffee shop on property, just machines...recommend to walk down the path to dunkin donuts. Even though your on a beach, they have dress code for buffett.. no front row palapas... bring your own umbrella or rent one daily or weekly...no outdoor bar area besides pool bar that closes at 7pm, no outside night time enjoyment..spent majority of our time off resort even though we were all inclusive.. alot of shopping and dining just across the street from resort which was a huge plus.

Overall the hotel was great! It offered fantastic service, a variety of nightly entertainment, very clean bathrooms, lots of extra seats around the pool, comfortable beds, and decent beverages. The beach was awesome! Coffee excellent! Some of the buffet food was only ok. And most of the dinners in the restaurants were only ok! All said and done this did not take away from a beautiful getaway to one happy place! Thank you! Jane

Tha location. Beach.

Food wasnt great, not enough lunch options

This hotel is in a great area, staff is fantastic and beach is nice however the food is awful and I’m not sure if the all inclusive is worth it since it is so bad. The rooms need updates I had very little hot water and air conditioning was not working properly.

Great experience

Very friendly and courteous staff. Accommodations and property were very clean. It was not overcrowded during our stay and access to shopping, nightlife and off property dining options were outstanding. Felt very safe on and off property. Onsite restaurants were good however, the buffet was just terrible. Quality and variation of food was less than stellar.

Great place to stay! Close to shopping and restaurants, friendly staff. Nice entertainment . Great views ! Did not eat at specialty restaurants , but buffet for dinners was not great .

The food was definitely not great. The restaurants were quite good but the buffet was so so. We made reservations for restaurants and 2 out of 3 were completely wrong. The pool bar tenders, some friendly but mainly not too engaging. However there was one waiter at the buffet who was wonderful-very fun and helpful. I can't remember his name but loved the carnival that was Saturday! The hotel needs to be renovated and soon. Beautiful place but needs help. Also, music at the pool needed to be turned down. You could hardly talk to your family sitting next to you.

Great place only complaint is the food in the buffets could use some revamping. Def the low point of the trip but everything else was great.

We liked everything the place was wonderful and the staff was exceptional

I’m going to review the whole resort industry as Barcelo is a typical example. Barcelo as many others is driven by the greed of its shareholders: Minimizing costs and maximizing profits. This “philosophy” is the major cause of why your vacation is getting more expensive while the service is getting worse. Those companies rob native people of all those beautiful islands and force them to “dance” in front of tourists for a couple of bucks. No tipping policy should be an official rule in every all inclusive hotel combined with decent wages for the staff because this is just disrespectful to the tourists who paid already and also unsanitary. These islands are natural resources like oil and locals should have more control over profits made on their lands. Look at how some people of oil nations in the Middle East live now for example. I think more money should stay in those islands for locals and not go overseas to feed fat rats aka shareholders. And finally the tourists themselves! Why do some people behave like pigs? Why are they destroying the rooms? Why are they littering? Why do they just not clean up after themselves a bit?

3 star resort!!

The hotel is on the older side. The grounds, the pool and beach were the best aspect of the resort. The entertainment was not great. The roulette table worker had no idea how to calculate the payouts and someone was helping her the whole time. My wife has some eating restrictions and the hotel assured us ahead of time this would not be a problem. This was not true as she had very limited options and this was very concerning noting she is 6 months pregnant. The concierge tried her best to ensure we had some meals for my wife and gave us speciality dining every night which was a little better but lunches were still very limited. Bathroom access from the beach was a decent walk. The staff and service were great, and cannot fault the food options on them. Overall, this was a very average resort, 3 star max.

GREAT PLACE AND THE STAFF IS AMAZING ROBERT MICHAEL CESAR AND THE WHOLE GANG!!!

Thisnwas my 3rd time staying at the Barcelo and I would definitely be returning!

a refresh/renovation would not hurt, it's still great overall though

The staff was great, aside for the less than friendly towel staff. The food for the most part was good.My family liked the salad bar and the chorizo. Hallways were very loud at night and the doors slamming woke us multiple times.The staff on the beach helping with the chairs were also fantastic. The biggest negatives: not enough chairs at the pool and the front desk staff at times were clueless and not very friendly. We love the island and will be coming back! Fix the chairs and remind the employees to smile and you will have perfection!

Very friendly staff.

Liked Italian Restaurant and staff in that restaurant, especially Harold, who was very attentive. Food was good in that restaurant Hotel was safe and quiet In general Staff could have been more accommodating. Kudos to Marlon, Antonia’s, Nicolas and Josef in the dining area.

Check in was slow, We didn’t receive any of our vip access perks, there was a serious leak from the air conditioner ceiling vent that damaged two pairs of shoes, service was slow at buffet meals, refills for drinks were not offered, you had to ask, and plates were not taken away until the end. Any requests called down to front desk ( extra hangers and pillows) took hours to receive . Housekeeping was efficient and friendly and did a good job cleaning the rooms. The property overall is dated and needs some maintenance. We had an delux ocean view room that looked over a parking lot with the smell of garage from the hotel next door, often quite strong when we sat on our balcony, when we called down to inquire, we were told i” if you can see the ocean from your room it is considered ocean view.” A la cart meals were good and service was much better. Pool bar staff very friendly and attentive but service on the beach very slow. Staff in general very friendly but service overall is slow. Location on beach is prime and access to amenities is central but would not recommend this property or return to this hotel compared to other stays on this island.

All Inclusive

Good drinks/ lounge area - food ok

They made my first time in Aruba both me and my friend were celebrating our birthday and we’re both surprised on our birthdays with cupcakes. Staff is very welcoming. Shout out to Nathaniel he was very nice.

They have some really great staff. They really do try. Rooms were a good size and mostly clean though there was a lot of noise from the hall or floor above. Hotel is dated decor-wise. Hot tub was actually hot which isn't always guaranteed. Buffet restaurant food was just awful, even for buffet food. You have to check in with the hostess to get a table. Beach proximity is great and a nice beach though guests "reserve" chairs first thing in the morning by placing towels or personal items in them though they may spend an hour or two all day in the pool or beach, which leads to unnecessary chair scarcity. Swim up pool bar drinks are served in tiny paper cups; bring a refillable bottle. Two dive/watersports shops are a short walk and the main shopping drag is close.

The fire alarms had gone off all hours of the night/morning for 2 nights. Staff could only tell us it was a false alarm. Many of the guests waited 45 minutes outside before any staff members updated them. We had to exit every time due to not knowing if it was a false alarm or real. We spoke with the facilities manager who was very unsympathetic (and almost rude). He supposedly requested a 2 night refund 1 week ago but has not reached out to us and has not responded to my email

We upgraded to the Royal level. Not worth it in my opinion. You basically get to check in at a private room opposed to the front desk. Everything else is same. The “premium drinks” still come in a tiny paper cup. Staff is not very friendly. The Marriott seems much nicer.

With your wrist band you are a King

I would like a laundromat on site. But other than it was perfect!!

We did not enjoy any of the food in this resort unfortunately (buffet & restaurants). We did eat outside the resort multiple times even though we paid for all inclusive. The location is great right on the beach and across from restaurants and shopping. The island is very safe and comfortable which we enjoyed. We loved the excursions we booked through de palm (UTV & snorkeling). We did not like that we could not get a seat at the pool unless you were down there by 5am. The room was OK - the soap dispenser in the shower broke the first day and the AC was dripping. The service was great, but the food really needs improvement.

Great service, staff, and property. Will be back

Property was clean and the staff was very friendly. Bed was comfortable.

casino and how close it was to excursions

This property is horrible. Food is basically inedible. I have never been so portly treated at st so called “5 star” hotel. I had to beg for hand towels and face cloths. I was in a room overlooking a parking lot when I requested ocean view. They changed my room and it smelled so bad and again…no hand towels or face cloths. I had to take the ones I begged for out of my previous room. If you want an afternoon snack after the beach, you have to go to the disgusting buffet and the nachos have been sitting in the tray for 4 hours. My friends were all staying in condos down the strip and when one came to bring my stuff up to my room…security wouldn’t let them. I am a single 55 yr old woman…what if I met a man out in Aruba?? Totally hated my experience there and stay far away from this disaster of a hotel!!

Convenient location is a big plus, but need some renovations amd repairs such as more light in sleeping room, more sealed sliding balcony doors, otherwise wind and outside noise. Bathroom: toilet flashing makes loong noise untill fills up, no toilet brush, sink has broken water stopper, faucet has no round plastic filter, noisy and water spills allover, squeaky toilet door. Buffet: Need more staff during dinner time. Entertainment is so so, tequila is horrible. Overall ok resort comperate to Barcelos that we visited numerous times in Dominican and Mexico.

There was not enoughbenyertainment at night

Hotel was clean. Food was REALLY Bad.

Need an upgrade and better service

Much worth than 13 years ago

I love Barcelo Aruba

Property was good

The experience was totally exceptional. Staff very friendly and knowledgeable. The surrounding area was easy to navigate.

Very professional

Great spot!

The air conditioning worked well & having a ceiling fan in the room was a big plus. The Italian restaurant was very good! However the room had a musty smell. The buffet was below average with limited variety and no new choices daily. There isn’t enough chairs in the pool area and the chairs are outdated & uncomfortable. Also the beach area doesn’t have enough tiki huts for shade. Some people we’re getting up at 4:30am to claim a hut, leaving none for the rest of us which is ridiculous when your on vacation.

Beautiful beach, great food choices and quality, friendly service.

Walking distance.

I like the friendly staff and they great food and the near by stores and the casino and how safe it was. I did not like that we had water in our room that came in from the rain and our restroom smell like pee

I liked that the resort wasn’t too big but still had plenty of space.

We expected better service. The room is small, the balcony is very narrow, like the width of a chair. The choice of food is poor. But the most unpleasant thing is the problem on the beach - my husband had to reserve a place under an umbrella every day at 5:30 in the morning. In the dark, 20-30 people wait in the line to reserve a shelter from the sun. This is not a fun. Good- all personal very friendly and helpful. Hotel area is great .

I would not recommend this property to anyone. What could go wrong went wrong. A terrible experience

The property lacked a sufficient number of chairs especially around the pool area. The food options were very limited and to get into the specialty restaurants were almost impossible to get in. The buffet had very few choices.

Resort was Amazing. Dinners were ok , not great and only other complaint would be front desk staff not very friendly or attentive .. But enjoyed our vacation there immensely !!

Our first time at Barcelo and it was magical! The staff was very welcoming and friendly. The easy access to the beach was a plus for me!!! Aruba is truly a gem and the people always greet you with a warm smile. We are planning our next trip Danki Aruba for an amazing trip 😘

Had an amazing experience at Barcelo in Aruba for the first time Pool bar staff Victor Robert Roddy, and all the others were amazing accommodating and nothing but friendly they all worked extremely hard to make our stay that much better

I enjoyed my stay, would come again

The staff were amazing and very accommodating, especially Sheraldyn who went out of her way to help me many times always with a pleasant smile. The accommodations are clean but I had a room on the North side next to the Hyatt and could hear the loud music played outside at the Hyatt late into the night, if you party until 2am it’s not an issue.

Property itself was so-so (room needed some update). Food was okay. Surprising that food was not better at resort. Mixed as far as staff friendliness. Some were very friendly but at least 1/4 of who we dealt with not so friendly.

The place is nice - the evening shows (at 20 pm) was ok - nothing special and a bit on the late side - the food is fair to good - the rooms are good and the staff is very good and friendly - to me this was the selling point

Beautiful property, great food, nice beach and swimming

I had a hard time at the pool everyone was reserved there seats with towels at 3 am so it was impossible to sit at the pool and then when I got a chair someone came after my family saying that she was watching the seats for another guest and it must have been my first day there because I don’t know the rules. So anyways if you stay there then be prepared to fight for pool chairs.

Nice property. Good food options . Staff is friendly however we did run into two women upon check in who were not welcoming nor friendly. Also it was a hassle to get face towels the 1st couple days but eventually things started to get better and they were more consistent with the face towels . They clean the rooms VERY well and restock us with water and sodas . I dislike how they allow guest to wake up early in the morning to put their towels on pool chairs and leave for hours leaving no chairs for the people who are actually in the pool . They also charge you if you don’t return your towel , and I came across a family who took one of our towels and if I had not seen it happen I would’ve been short 30 dollars. Pool bar staff friendly and make nice drinks . I disliked having to wear this big brown thick wrist band my entire stay it was irritating . They beach is beautiful clean and lots of water activities to do . Was able to book excursions at hotel .

I love the location of the resort. It is right on the beach. They kept my room clean and spotless. Lots of food choices. My favorite was the Japanese with the show… book soon as you check in. It goes fast! All inclusive. All staff were friendly except for front desk at check in. Overall would definitely visit again.

We didn’t get the room we paid for. The first day they didn’t have any face towels. Most of the staff was friendly but there was those that were nasty. The food was excellent. I won’t go back to this hotel, needs better entertainment and little dated.

Very friendly atmosphere from timeshare regulars. Staff definitely favors regulars. Lobby bars staff was good, but pool bartenders were very uninterested in serving most time, especially the 1 women behind the bar. Very unfriendly and & took forever to come o er or acknowledge. There needs to be more chairs around pool as mentioned over and over. Also, the food quality should be significantly better for the rating and price.

Check in was terrible. No towels till 10pm. Room was freezing. Trying to find a spot on the beach was awful. You needed to get up by 4:30 AM. One day we had our towels at the pool. They were taken along with our clips because we didn’t return within one hour.

NEEDED MORE CHAIRS AT THE POOL AREA

I have Never had to wake up at 3 am to reserve a spot by the pool but here you had to wake up in order to have a poolside chair or bed . By 7 you had no chance of ever getting a chair or Bed . That was every day on the trip. Washcloths were impossible to get for your bathroom . The food was always served Luke warm never hot . Even cold. The staff was very friendly and nice place was clean. This was during off peak season.

I’ll start with I should’ve done more research before booking this trip. We stayed at Barcelo in Punta Cana and it was amazing and I had a friend who had been to this facility and said it was wonderful so I booked it. We booked Royal level so we checked in on the 9th floor. The ceiling in the office looked like it was falling down from a water leak. After we got to our room, we unpacked everything and wanted to go eat. We found that the safe didn’t work. We knew they couldn’t exchange it and we didn’t want to pack everything back up and move so we let it go. We went down to the buffet to eat and the food options were not great and what was there was not good. We ate at the buffet a couple times and the royal level restaurant a couple times and the food was always lack luster. Almost every time we sat down I had to ask for clean forks because they were dirty. The staff would act offended each time I asked. There were a few very friendly people there but none of them were our servers. They didn’t keep our water glasses filled and never offered refills on things like juice. The pool was very small and stayed packed so we never stepped foot near it. People were up at 4 am and earlier grabbing up the few palapas they have available. We left 2 days early because we were so disappointed in the facility, food, and lack of activities.

Chairs at pool and beach need to be replaced

We booked through a third party vendor for a 5-day/4-night stay, Deluxe Ocean View accommodation. We paid the additional fee with the understanding that we would have an actual view of the ocean, however our view as limited to the parking lot, shipping containers, and the roof of a retail store. We immediately complained to guest services at the front desk, thinking there was a mistake made, and was told we had to wait until Monday to speak with a reservations manager (even though we check out on Tuesday), and the hotel was at full capacity, so they could not move us. I went down to speak with a reservations manager this morning (Monday) only for her to say that the Deluxe Ocean view is just a partial view of the ocean. This is not what was advertised when payment was obtained, nor does the current view from the patio, offer any "ocean scene" at all! This trip was for husband and cousin's birthday, and my cousin and his wife were supposed to have a seaside view and they did not get that either. Not only were the accommodations falsely advertised, the entire stay was below par for this to be considered a 5-star resort. The resort itself is small, but seemed to have plenty of staff, so we did not understand why the service was slow at the bar, in the restaurants, wait service at the buffets, and little to no service at all was provided while we lounged on the beach. And then there was the food and drinks... neither were good.

Not enough chairs at the pool, it’s ridiculous to have to get up at 5am to get a chair at the pool

Better lunch options

I loved how clean the property was and how attentive all the employees were. It had many dinning options and there is lots to do in and around the hotel.

So I have to tell him every day to put new towels back and to refill coffee. Safe wasn’t working phone wasn’t working. Every day line for the breakfast it’s 20 minutes and there is 10 empty tables. The buffet it’s really small basically we ate same food every day chicken chicken, and chicken. And we ask one more hour for checkout and they want to charge us $75. Not going back for sure

Loved it ALL!!!

The staff was great. There's stores and food nearby.beach was beautiful.

Staff were great, they were friendly and eager to help! The food on the other hand was terrible at the buffet's. Very disappointed I spent $5500 on this trip and we were both very disappointed! The breakfast portions were cold, couple days the eggs looked like they were from the morning before. Only thing you can rely on was the omelets because the wonderful woman made them fresh. The room we stayed in the shower drain I had to take it apart so it wouldn't fill the shower with water. The AC unit drain clogged and leaked into the room. Got one of our travel bags wet, couple pair of shoes as well. We had to use all but 1 towel to mop up the floor. The deck slider opened so hard my wife wasn't able to do so. That's not good in the event of an egress emergency! The bars were under staffed there was only 1 that we could use at the pool. Then in the afternoon they would shut that down early and on have 1 bar on the whole property! The pool edge is falling apart and had some really poor repair attempts. The entertainment was as bland as the food the same performers all week. The only superb restaurant on the property was the Japanese stake house! I'm very disappointed with the money spent on that trip, we will never stay at the Barcelo again...

Barceló Aruba was my first all-inclusive experience and I had a wonder experience. The staff and the views were my favorite parts of my stay. The staff are so friendly and hospitable. The property itself was comfortable and clean. The views were beautiful. My only complaint is that construction was going on nearby and it was noisy. Fortunately, I could only hear it from my room when I stepped onto the balcony. It could not be heard anywhere else on the property. I am looking forward to coming back!

The property did not have enough beach chairs nor chairs near the pool. never received wash clothes asked every day and food at buffet cold every day only one pool small beach area overcrowded the specialty restaurant were good. Would not recommend