colin

Hi just looking to see if anyone has stayed at any of the iberostar hotels around the playa del carmen/playacar area. Hoping to go there soon and just can't decide which one to stay at.

Nancy

Hi,<BR>Stayed at the Iberostar Tucan March/2002. Loved it, very beautiful. Feel free to ask away!

Sandy

Hi Colin,<BR><BR>My family and I stayed at the Iberostar Tucan in December 2000. We are staying at the Iberostar Paraiso in July 2002. We are a family of four, with daughter (14) and son (12). We loved the Tucan. It's a beautiful setting, very neat jungle in the center of the resort. It's centrally located to PDC, and a quick cab ride into town. We did walk along the beach into town one afternoon, and that was fun as well - took 20-30 minutes. When we were there, the beach was a tad eroded - they had sandbags creating a "two-tiered" effect on the beach. It didn't bother us at all, though. As a matter of fact, my husband liked the separation from the water when he wanted to just lie in the sun! The beach is gorgeous anyway - and the water is an incredible shade of turquoise. There's a sandbar out about 75-100 yards from shore that you get to by the use of a rope. It's fun to go out there and frolic in the waves.<BR><BR>When we decided to go back to Mexico, we were torn about going back to the Tucan. We really loved it there, but we like to try new things and not re-live our previous vacations, so we decided to try the Paraiso. The pool is supposed to be awesome there. Additionally, because there aren't as many resorts built up in that area, the beach, while it has a few rocky spots, is flatter and much larger, allowing for more privacy. They also have a few more restaurants there as well than the Tucan. We can hardly wait!<BR><BR>I really don't think that you can go wrong with either choice. Iberostar is a reputable chain, and they seem to go out of their way to make sure you are having a good time.<BR><BR>If you have any questions, please feel free to post them here, and I'll get back to you.<BR><BR>Sandy

Christi in Houston

Note to Nancy,<BR><BR>Our family (myself, hubby and twin 11 year old boys) are booked to stay at the Quetzal June 11 - 18th. Have read sooo many great things about the resort. Not many negatives at all. Hope it is great as hubby wanted to rough it out in Alaska but "mom" wanted R&R. So I won... but will never hear the end of it if it is not "wonderful". If you have time, please email me or post a report on your stay: lodging, restaurants, drinks, activities both at the resort and away, etc, etc, etc. Thanks, Christi

Nancy

Hi Christi,<BR>I really can't think of anything negative to say unless I start to get really picky. The staff is great. They are very friendly,helpful and despite what you hear, tipping is not necessary nor did I really see any of it. We did tip our maid,not sure why,just a mom thing I think. All I could think of was that she was working so hard and raising kids on a low wage. Totally sexist of me but I just couldn't help it. I also left her some nice candles I had brought for the room as they can be a bit musty smelling. One more thing about the staff...I am a customer service instructor and I was definatley impressed with the level of service from ALL the staff,they are fantastic. <BR>The rooms were nice,nothing special but nice and clean with fresh towels and a nice towel sculpture every day. There was plenty of water,beer and pop in the fridge. Of course you may have heard that the beds are hard and they are but hey,it is vacation so I didn't mind.<BR>The beach is out of this world. Words do not even begin to describe it. The water was warm as a bath I think! It was absolutely wonderful. There is a little drink and ice cream bar right beside the beach if you don't feel like walking 20 extra steps to the bar/restaurant for a drink. There are servers that bring big trays of drinks around the pool and beach all day too. The food was good,it is mass produced of course as there are so many gueast at the hotel. There are extensive choices,you will never go hungry. There are 3 specialty restaurants. We tried the Caribbean which is new. It was nice,food was good and of course so was the service. We also tried the steakhouse which we enjoyed too. There is plenty to choose from with great service as well. Once word of caution and this is my only negative comment. At lunch one day they had a turkey that a server was carving as people wanted it. It was not cooked,you could certainly tell as it was still very pink inside and the pinky juices were running out. I was a little alarmed by this as of course people were eating it and also, my son could very well have taken some without realizing it was not cooked. Thank goodness none of us ate it and I hope no one was ill. The man in front of me did tell them it was not cooked. I did not notice whether it was removed or not. There are a lot of exta touches by the hotel and staff that surely do make it very pleasant and beautiful. The decorations in the dining room every night are very nice. The entertainment was very good,I was quite surprised.<BR>Your boys will love it and so will you.<BR>I hope this helps. If you have any other questions I would love to answer them. <BR>Nancy<BR>

Christi in Houston

To Nancy,<BR><BR>Thanks for the info. Sounds pretty terrific. I understand about the undercooked poultry. Been to London and just try getting through a breakfast with properly (i.e. not raw)prepared bacon.... yikes. Few more questions... do the boys have to wear pants too at the specialty restaurants? Getting them into long pants will be a chore as they practically live in short. Did you venture out of IBQ for activities and/or dinner in PDC? What can you recommend? If so, did you see any families with kids dining in PDC or is it mostly partying singles who pretty much hate having families around? Thanks again for taking the time for a reply.

Jason

My financee and I have stayed at both the RIU Palace and Iberostar Quetzal/Tucan --- the past two years. We preferred RIU Palace --- others we have talked to prefer Iberostar...<BR><BR>If you have teens or children, I would recommend Iberostar; but if you want a more upscale, quiet, laid back resort, with better food, clearner amenities, I would stay at RIU Palace. <BR><BR>This may have changed, but if you stay at RIU Palace, you can also use the other RIU properties that have a club for teens/adults, etc. etc. but those staying at the other RIU resorts cannot use the Palace --- so you have the best of both worlds.<BR><BR>The Palace is great (more like a hotel) and Iberostar has animals everywhere, larger pool, more activities -- we found it to be more crowded that Riu, but maybe PDC is just getting more crowded.<BR><BR>For ultimate luxury, I have heard that Royal Hideaway is amazing, but you pay about 2X as much or more -- Hope this helped.<BR>Jason

Candy

Sandy, What kind of room situation did you have with your kids. We have a 14 year old daughter and 13 year old son. Most of these all inclusives dont give a break on price for this age so we were wondering if you could get an adjoining room or one close by. Why all be in one room when everyone is paying full price?

Sandy

Hi Candy,<BR><BR>When we went, the Iberostar Tucan was running some sort of special through Apple Vacations that gave a special reduced rate for kids under 18 if they stayed in our room. So, to save money, we all stayed together in a standard room with 2 double beds. <BR><BR>They had a sofa that you could use as a bed, and our 14-year-old daughter slept on that. She's 5'6", and was perfectly comfortable. As I understand it, this sofa/daybed is standard in all Iberostar Tucan and Quetzal rooms.<BR><BR>Our 12-year-old son had the double bed all to himself, and my husband and I made do on the other double. We're used to a king, but we were in Mexico, so it didn't matter!<BR><BR>I can see your logic about getting two rooms since you're paying full price. I would do it if I could. It does make a lot of sense, especially when everyone is trying to get ready for dinner and trying to take showers at the same time. Additionally, while the rooms are, as Nancy said, nice but not fancy or luxurious, they are a little short on shelf space. Having two rooms would give your family more "elbow room". I'm not sure about whether they actually have adjoining rooms or not.<BR><BR>The Iberostar Paraiso is currently running a special through Apple Vacations where kids 12 and under eat and stay free if the trip is taken before the end of August (I don't have the brochure with me, so I'm not sure of the exact dates on this). We decided to take one more opportunity to go before we had to pay full price for everyone. I know that this doesn't apply to you, but you might talk with a travel agent or go check out http://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/vacation/cancun.cgi and inquire there on the chat forum. Many of the resorts in Mexico do offer price breaks to children under 18. The people on the forum there are very helpful with that sort of information. <BR><BR>Whatever you do, I know you'll have a great time. Drop me a line if you have any other questions.<BR><BR>Sandy