Beth

I believe my husband and I have narrowed our hotel choice down to two - Iberostar Paraiso or Iberostar Tucan. (We were considering the Moon Palace, but think we're going with one of the Iberostar properties.) Any recommendations on which is better? How is travel at the end of August/first of September?

Parrot Mom

That maybe hurricane season and we ran into it the end of October at the IB Paraiso.. Frankly, as I have mentioned before I honestly feel that hotels in this area and Cancun are greatly overpriced. We were thoroughly unimpressed with the IB Paraiso..the food, the entertainment, etc. For the first time in more than 20 years I couldn't wait to go home.

Kate

My husband and I stayed at the Iberostar Paraiso last December. The resort itself is very nice. Very lush with lots of peacocks roaming the grounds. We enjoyed having a drink after dinner in the sitting area adjacent to the open-air lobby watching the flamingos. It was very relaxing. <BR><BR>The room itself was nice and comfortable with bright d&eacute;cor and a great shower. We had a balcony, but the view (outward from the resort) was not very good as it faced only a few trees and some construction. <BR><BR>They do have a discotheque there if you’re interested in that, and it includes a big screen TV that was showing Monday night football while we were there. My husband was thrilled when we discovered that.<BR><BR>We were disappointed in the beach because we were expecting to be able to enjoy nice calm blue water. The whole time we were there it was windy and they had warning flags up to indicate no swimming in the ocean due to rough waters. On the bright side there seemed to be plenty of chairs out along the beach (including some shady spots) and it never seemed crowded.<BR><BR>The pool area was beautiful. Very clean and the swim up bar was a nice feature. Again there were lots of chairs available, although shady spots were harder to find once the afternoon hit. The pool seemed to be more popular than the beach.<BR><BR>We found the food to be pretty good. Breakfast was the best meal of the day in my opinion. We ate the buffet most of the time because of the way they run their reservation system. You get a certain number of reservations allotted to you depending on the amount of time you’re staying there. There’s a desk that you have to make reservations at and it’s only open certain times so try to get there early in your stay and make all your reservations because they book up quickly. I highly recommend the Japanese restaurant.<BR><BR>One other thing to consider when you’re choosing your hotel is location. The Paraiso is not in Playa Del Carmen. They do offer shuttle service to get into town but the bus ride (very nice air conditioned bus) takes about 30 minutes. The nice thing is that since it’s not in town it’s more secluded. No vendors wandering the beach, and the only people on the beach are those staying at the hotel so it doesn’t seem overrun. If you’re planning on doing a lot of excursions to either the ruins or attractions like Xcaret you’d probably be better off in Playa Del Carmen. If you want to make any trips to Cancun then the Paraiso would be closer.<BR><BR>Hope all this helps! <BR>

pat

Hi Beth, we went to the Iberostar Tucan in 2000 and are going again this October. It is a wonderful place . The people are so friendly and will go out of their way to help you , the food is delicious with plenty of choice and always very fresh and the rooms are spotlessly clean and comfotable. The reception area is absolutely beautiful and the grounds are just breathtaking. There are monkeys in the trees and all sorts of birds and various animals roaming about which they say keeps the mosquitos away and I have to say I never had One bite the whole time I was there.The drinks are very nice and yuo must try the Tequila slammers.You can even have chanpagne at the bar and most nights when you go down to you dinner they give you different cocktails to try.There is also a mini market at the grounds I think on Saturdays which is quite good. The shops are within walking distance and a short taxi ride will take you to Playa Del Carmen. The ferry to Cozumel is a short ride away also. So if you want a taste of paradise go for the Tucan. We are going for second helpings. Hope this helps.

MC

My husband and I stayed at the Iberostar Tucan it was the most beautiful place we have ever stayed. The food was great, the beach was beautiful the the entertain was out of this world. We have been there 3x now and would go back for a 4th.

Peggy

Our family chose the Paraiso because both resorts sounded good and the Paraiso was $900.00 cheaper for the week for a family of 4. We decided that we could do a few "extras" for the difference. (Parasailing, tours,swim w/ dolphins,etc.) We're going at Easter so I hope the beach is swimable.<BR>

Jason

I have been to Iberostar Tucan/Quetzal and also to RIU Palace the last two years. Without a doubt, Riu Palace was much better --- Heres why<BR>1) Iberostar was crowded<BR>2) Food at Palace was much better<BR>3) Rooms at Palace much better, cleaner, etc. <BR>4) Riu Palace had swim up bar in the pool<BR>5) Although friendly at Iberostar, staff would sit besides you at breakfast, etc. ---- Palace and the staff were more professional and it was classy, not stuffy.<BR>6) If I were going with children, stay at Iberostar --- not sure about Paraisio<BR><BR>Royal Hideaway is supposed to be incredible --- haven't been there ---- but also about double the price of Palace or Iberostar. Iberostar is nice, but my fiancee and I thought Palace was much nicer, quieter, and classy ---- for action, you really have to go into town (bars, etc)