Iberostar Tucan and Quetzal

Just returned from seven days at the Tucan with our extended family (two adult couples, four teens) and couldn't be happier with our choice. The grounds and buildings are exquisitely maintained, the staff is very friendly and take great pride in their work. The location can't be beat--just a couple of minutes from the heart of Playa, but set apart by the jungle-like grounds and animals. We awoke each morning to the sounds of birds and monkeys, went to the beach and set up our chairs/umbrellas (it's annoying that everyone "saves" chairs, but it's the system so you have to follow it or expect to sit on sand), headed to breakfast, and then hit the beach. Beach drink service was wonderful and frequent. The water is gorgeous, but if you want a more secluded beach, just walk South a few minutes and you'll have the water to yourself. The buffets were plentiful and varied in choices, but the food quality was ordinary at best. However, you're definitely not going to starve! The girls in our group all got massages in the palapa hut on the beach--so relaxing. Our last night was Christmas Eve and the staff worked very hard to put on a much nicer dinner with lobster, shrimp, tenderloin, etc., but like all the meals served buffet style, it was just fair. The decorations and ice sculptures were lovely. We really, really liked this resort and recommend it highly for families with tweens or teens. The trade off on flavor was well worth the convenience of not having to hunt and gather food for eight people three times a day (or more!). It was our first time at an Iberostar (we usually stay at Starwoods) and we enjoyed it very much!

Let me start off by admitting that I was part of a group that brought some high school seniors down for Spring Break. Our kids were in a spirited competition with another school to see who could outparty the other, so things were somewhat on the edge. That being said....
The Good Overall the accomodations were very good - large, comfortable rooms in a great setting. Both the pool and the beach area offered tons of lounging options with great sun/shade options. Everything was kept in pristine condition. The staff (not the management) was great - always with a Hola and a smile.
The Bad The food was definitely a disappointment, although I don't really know what I expected. Breakfast was OK, but it is hard to mess that up too bad. Otherwise, the only decent food to be found was down on the beach where they grilled burgers, chicken and fajitas. The buffets and the theme restaurants were uniformly disappointing. Regarding the theme restaurants, one night we were denied a seat because we didn't have the reservation receipt printed by the concierge (even though our name was printed on a list).
Now to the management. Yes these were high school seniors and I will be the first to admit they pushed limits, but the hotel accepted the reservations and I doubt this was the only time they had spring breakers. Managements response was everything was the kids fault. Yet, they had no problems with hookers in the disco and somehow security managed to let a group of kids get mugged while on the hotel tram.
Spring break issues aside, I would probably stay away.