Hotel Catalonia Playa Maroma — Hotel in Quintana Roo

Perhaps our expectations were too high, and that’s why the experience fell so far short.|We went to almost all of the restaurants, and there wasn’t a single one where we didn’t have a negative experience to point out. In fact, we didn’t go to all of them because, in one of our reservations (for the Mexican restaurant), scheduled for 7:50 p.m., we arrived at 8:02 p.m. and were told that our table had already been given to other guests — even though half of the restaurant was empty. We tried the other restaurants, and in none of them was there any “availability,” despite the fact that there were numerous empty tables (which remained empty, as we took the time to check later).||The only restaurant that gave us a chance was the Italian one, where something even more absurd happened. Picture this: the restaurant was nearly empty. After hearing that we had lost our previous reservation, the staff member, in the most audacious and unreasonable way, replied: “I can give you a table if you agree to buy a bottle of wine.”|I can tell you that we only sat at that restaurant that night for two reasons: it was the only and last option available, and because the staff member received a response she clearly wasn’t expecting. Obviously, after that, the last thing we got was good service. But since it was our last night and we had already grown “used to” the treatment, it no longer surprised us.||There’s a clear lack of motivation, experience, and willingness among the staff — especially those working at dinner service in the restaurants. There’s no basic etiquette: they take your plate away while you’re still eating or before you’ve even aligned your cutlery. While dining, if one person finished before the other, they would immediately remove the plate and bring the dessert menu, even though the other person was still eating (at the Japanese restaurant, they took my plate the moment I picked up my last piece of sushi — I still had the chopsticks in my hand!).||On the night we arrived 12 minutes late and lost our reservation, there had been a heavy downpour, yet there was not the slightest consideration about that — they simply canceled our table. Speaking of the rain… that day, around 4:30 p.m., it started raining heavily, and we were forbidden from going to the beach or the pool. Dozens of guests were left “stuck” in the poolside restaurant lobby (where they make crepes and sandwiches). At exactly 5:00 p.m., they stopped making crepes, and at exactly 6:00 p.m., they closed the counter shutters. There were no more juices available either, since the juice bar had already closed at 4:30 p.m. One would expect a bit more care and attention on a day like that, especially at a resort of this size.||In every restaurant, as soon as we finished eating, the staff would already be standing nearby waiting for us to leave so they could clear the table (even on some nights when, by that time, there were no more reservations after ours).||The last day was the final straw! While at Catalonia Bávaro Beach there were proper changing facilities for guests who had already checked out to take a shower before going to the airport, here they had what they called a “courtesy room.” And what was the courtesy room? We found out on the last day: it was a single room, used every half hour by different guests — without being cleaned in between. Can you imagine what the state of that room was like when we entered?|How can a resort of such magnitude and infrastructure not have proper changing rooms?||There’s a major management failure there — especially in terms of people management. If it had only happened with a few isolated employees, we might question their individual professionalism. But it’s clearly something systemic, part of how things are run there. It seems to be a “normal regime” from the staff’s point of view.||We spent a whole week there sharing these bizarre experiences with other guests, and everyone felt the same way — equally dissatisfied.|We will certainly not make the mistake of choosing this place for our...

Perhaps our expectations were too high, and that’s why the experience fell so far short. We went to almost all of the restaurants, and there wasn’t a single one where we didn’t have a negative experience to point out. In fact, we didn’t go to all of them because, in one of our reservations (for the Mexican restaurant), scheduled for 7:50 p.m., we arrived at 8:02 p.m. and were told that our table had already been given to other guests — even though half of the restaurant was empty. We tried the other restaurants, and in none of them was there any “availability,” despite the fact that there were numerous empty tables (which remained empty, as we took the time to check later).

The only restaurant that gave us a chance was the Italian one, where something even more absurd happened. Picture this: the restaurant was nearly empty. After hearing that we had lost our previous reservation, the staff member, in the most audacious and unreasonable way, replied: “I can give you a table if you agree to buy a bottle of wine.” I can tell you that we only sat at that restaurant that night for two reasons: it was the only and last option available, and because the staff member received a response she clearly wasn’t expecting. Obviously, after that, the last thing we got was good service. But since it was our last night and we had already grown “used to” the treatment, it no longer surprised us.

There’s a clear lack of motivation, experience, and willingness among the staff — especially those working at dinner service in the restaurants. There’s no basic etiquette: they take your plate away while you’re still eating or before you’ve even aligned your cutlery. While dining, if one person finished before the other, they would immediately remove the plate and bring the dessert menu, even though the other person was still eating (at the Japanese restaurant, they took my plate the moment I picked up my last piece of sushi — I still had the chopsticks in my hand!).

On the night we arrived 12 minutes late and lost our reservation, there had been a heavy downpour, yet there was not the slightest consideration about that — they simply canceled our table. Speaking of the rain… that day, around 4:30 p.m., it started raining heavily, and we were forbidden from going to the beach or the pool. Dozens of guests were left “stuck” in the poolside restaurant lobby (where they make crepes and sandwiches). At exactly 5:00 p.m., they stopped making crepes, and at exactly 6:00 p.m., they closed the counter shutters. There were no more juices available either, since the juice bar had already closed at 4:30 p.m. One would expect a bit more care and attention on a day like that, especially at a resort of this size.

In every restaurant, as soon as we finished eating, the staff would already be standing nearby waiting for us to leave so they could clear the table (even on some nights when, by that time, there were no more reservations after ours).

The last day was the final straw! While at Catalonia Bávaro Beach there were proper changing facilities for guests who had already checked out to take a shower before going to the airport, here they had what they called a “courtesy room.” And what was the courtesy room? We found out on the last day: it was a single room, used every half hour by different guests — without being cleaned in between. Can you imagine what the state of that room was like when we entered? How can a resort of such magnitude and infrastructure not have proper changing rooms?

There’s a major management failure there — especially in terms of people management. If it had only happened with a few isolated employees, we might question their individual professionalism. But it’s clearly something systemic, part of how things are run there. It seems to be a “normal regime” from the staff’s point of view.

We spent a whole week there sharing these bizarre experiences with other guests, and everyone felt the same way — equally dissatisfied. We will certainly not make the mistake of choosing this place for our...

The hotel should be ashamed of themselves. I have never been treated with such blatant disrespect, incompetence, and cruel disregard for guests’ wellbeing as I was at Catalonia Playa Maroma. This resort was a complete disaster from start to finish — and I am shocked that it’s allowed to operate under the guise of a holiday destination.

Let’s start with the utterly disgraceful staff. From reception to restaurants, there was a clear culture of indifference, rudeness, and laziness. When we arrived, we stood at reception for several minutes while multiple staff members deliberately ignored us, despite us clearly trying to get their attention. When we finally got someone to acknowledge us, it was only to casually dismiss a serious hygiene issue — we informed them that someone had vomited in the bathroom, and my mother had stepped in it. Their response? Nothing. No apology. No concern. No cleanup. Just blank stares. It was as if we were an inconvenience.

The dining situation in the a la carte restaurants was equally appalling. The air conditioning was completely broken in all the restaurants, and the heat was unbearable — 29°C inside. We were seated right next to the hot kitchen, as if we were being punished. When we asked, politely, if we could at least have dessert outside to cool off, the manager responded with hostility, telling us that we could only sit outside if we ordered special items like lobster. This is pure discrimination based on how much money you’re spending, and it’s disgusting. The restaurant felt more like a sweat lodge than a place to eat.

The staff at the juice bar were beyond unprofessional — they laughed at me to my face, made snide comments, and acted as if doing their job was a burden. I asked for a juice that wasn’t mango, and they scoffed and said, “We only do mango,” then served me mango anyway with a smirk. More disturbingly, they mocked my medical condition — pointing at my Dexcom diabetes sensor and asking if it was a nicotine patch. When I explained what it was, they burst out laughing, saying my “sugars are coco loco!” This isn’t just inappropriate — it’s cruel, humiliating, and discriminatory.

The bellboys were no better — when we asked for help with luggage, one sneered, “You gonna take your luggage or what?” Excuse me? Isn’t that your job? Their attitude was insulting, lazy, and again, made it abundantly clear that guests are seen as a nuisance rather than valued customers.

This wasn’t an isolated incident — this was the overall tone of the entire stay. The resort is run by people who do not care about guests, do not take hygiene seriously, and who should not be working in hospitality at all. The fact that they charge money for this experience is, frankly, a scam.

I would never return to Catalonia Playa Maroma, and I strongly urge anyone considering it to stay far, far away. If you value being treated like a human being, this is not the place for you. What we experienced here was not just poor service — it was hostility, neglect, and humiliation.

Catalonia Playa Maroma owes its guests — and basic human decency — a...