Sixty

Hello,
My husband and I, both late twenties, are planning a trip to the Riviera Maya in early December. I am torn between the Riu Palace and the Iberostar Lindo... I read that the Palace is smaller and has a better beach, but the Lindo has more dining options and a concierge to take care of the reservations. I would go with the Lindo, but am concerned that once the Iberostar Maya opens, it will get very crowded...Can anyone advise which is better and why? Thanks so much!!

Little_Man

They both look very nice; but if it were me, I'd rather stay closer to Playa del Carmen, and that would mean the Riu Palace. The Iberostar is more isolated.
Also, if you like good food, you'll probably want to eat away from the hotel sometimes, and PDC has lots of restaurants to choose from.
Have you considered non AI?

Kat6688

I can't speak for the Iberostar but my husband and I stayed at the Palace in April and loved it. You mentioned the beach so I'd like to comment on that. The rooms at the Palace are in a horseshoe shape (get a room overlooking the fountains) and where the rooms end the various pools begin. The beach is a bit of a walk from the room and crowded due to many resorts using the same beach. The A+ about the water and sand is that it's very clean with few if any rocks and that's always important to us. Of course, especially with the hurricanes in the month, beach erosion can occur. So what we found last April, you may not find in Dec. We enjoyed the food but we're really not the pickiest of people - you do need to make reservations even for the AI. I think they're seating times were 6:30PM and 8:30PM (that was disappointing, but you get used to it). Enjoy!

skigirl

Not sure you can go wrong here. We just got back from the Lindo and absolutely loved it. The restaurants every night are just great, as well as the concierge in each building who helps you with reservations (and other things too if you want). We have also stayed at the Iberostar Tucan, which is next door to the Riu Palace, and I do have to agree that I liked being so close to Playa del Carmen. But the Lindo has a free shuttle bus to and from Playa, that runs about every hour, although it does skip a couple hours. As far as crowds, I'm not sure what all the Maya has. The pools will definitely be more crowded, but they were not crowded at all when we were there and it was fully booked. I assume that the Maya will add some more restaurants and so that should all even out. Either way I think you will be happy.

Sixty

Thank you for all your comments. We have booked the Iberostar Lindo for our early December vacation. We're just hoping that it won't get too crowded if the Maya opens by then

ddoherty

Did you know that the Iberostar Tucan is like 5 minutes from down town Playa del Carmen? Not sure if you checked that out, but it's a great place.