Barceló Montelimar

“This resort is worth the low priced room. But still a meh experience.”

Underwhelming resort. With amazing service. I say that because the people who work there aren’t to blame for the owners or management. Our time there was short for 3 nights and the same menu because the other restaurants being closed is not the fault of employees. Clean important to me an... more

Underwhelming resort. With amazing service. I say that because the people who work there aren’t to blame for the owners or management. Our time there was short for 3 nights and the same menu because the other restaurants being closed is not the fault of employees. Clean important to me and at least it was clean. Some may say otherwise, however our experience was clean. I’ve stayed at other Barceló resorts and those were amazing. This unfortunately is meh and below average on food selection.

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“Comfortable but Chaotic resort”

I stayed at this resort 8 years ago and noticed many improvements to the infrastructure, including better room accommodations, nicer bathrooms and good food, although served in a chaotic buffet line. My friend commented that the ONLY thing they didn’t like was the way meals were served. With on... more

I stayed at this resort 8 years ago and noticed many improvements to the infrastructure, including better room accommodations, nicer bathrooms and good food, although served in a chaotic buffet line. My friend commented that the ONLY thing they didn’t like was the way meals were served. With only ONE restaurant this all-inclusive resort serves hundreds of people at one time in what must be called a feeding frenzy. Guests must line up, wait then wait some more before overfilling their plates so the food is spilling over the side of their mini mountains of food. This chaotic arrangement has sometimes been referred to as a “cattle call” and brings to mind one of those places where busloads of people empty their buses and eat too much, thinking that the food is “free” so why not overindulge? Other all-inclusive resorts that I have visited in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines have more than one dining option which reduces the undesirable and chaotic effects produced by hundreds of people lining up for every meal then waiting for that feeding trough to open up! The most unpleasant and chaotic aspect for me, however was the lack of any “Quiet Hours” so that when I booked our ostensibly quiet oceanfront bungalow it was really a small casita for two separate customers or groups of people. On the oceanfront side the two of us had to deal with 4 men on the opposite side who woke us at 2:30 in the morning with loud, bass-pounding music as their alcohol-fueled frenzy continued for another hour with NO intervention by security personnel who mostly just walk along the edge of the beach area or sit on benches while texting their cell phones. When I brought this matter to the attention of the manager, Stephanie, the next morning she refused to offer us any kind of a discount or other compensation for our restless night, disrupted by those loud, drunken guys on the other side of our small bungalow. She said that I needed to call “security” which may have been a call to the front desk. I thought about calling the front desk but I knew that my basic Spanish would not be adequate to explain our problem with the other guests. Additionally there are only one or two front desk personnel who speak English at this resort and I’m pretty confident that someone manning the desk after midnight is not going to speak English. This resort could be much improved with more dining options and proactive measures for dealing with chaotic situations, starting with posted “Quiet Hours” on signs and IN the detailed welcome brochures given to each guest upon checkin. I’m sure that the Nicaraguan people will continue to flock to this resort, oblivious to my concerns, but international guests should be wary of the chaotic feeding frenzy, particularly at lunch and the absence of any commonsense rules governing guest behavior.

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