I am planning a trip with all adults to Playa De Carmen in May and looking into the Iberostar Tucan/Quezetal and the Iberostar Paraiso. Any feedback on these AI's? Also are there many lil' kiddies running around at these resorts?<BR>Thanks so much!

Went to Iberostar Paraiso Feb. 2001-Beautiful pool, lovely meals, and decent beach. A few kids, mostly adults. Rooms were gorgeous and service excellent. Night time entertainment was occasionally corny but great Mexican band! All in all a wonderful, relaxing honeymoon.<BR>

I am leaving 2/9/02 for the Iberostar Quetezal. Will provide feedback when I return.<BR>

Thanks for the imput. <BR>And I look forward to hearing your report when you come back. Have a great trip

I've been to the IB Tucan, and am going to the IB Paraiso in June. The Iberostars are great resorts, with wonderful service. I think that if I was going with adults, I'd choose the IB Tucan, as it is closer to town. The nightly entertainment is pretty lame, and I'd want to go into town instead. The IB Tucan is a $4 taxi ride, the Paraiso is $15. You will have children at either resort, but I don't think they take over the place!

I stayed at the Iberostar Tucan 2 years ago. There were a lot of kids, but they had a lot of programs and activities for them to keep them busy (and away from the adults). The food ranged from not-so-good to excellent, but there was always plenty of it. They had snacks set up by the beach during the day which was a nice touch. The drinks were premixed and not very good, though. The lobby, grounds, and pool are gorgeous. The rooms are a good size and have balconies. The beach is ok, but it was usually too windy to swim when we were there (January). The nightly entertainment was usually pretty bad. I know I have a lot of negative comments, but overall we really enjoyed our trip.<BR><BR>Whatever you decide, have a great time!<BR>

I just got back from the Iberostar Paraiso del mar yesterday! My husband and I enjoyed our stay there overall. Here are some of the pros and cons: Pros: the grounds are beautiful, and the pool is fantastic. We didn't see too many kids at all, because I believe most US kids are in school right now, no breaks. May might be the same, depending on the time of May you go. The pool is huge, never had any problem getting a chair, in fact we had the same area next to the pool bar everyday and never got there before 10 or ll am. The staff is excellent, and they have a lot of activities at the pool. If you don't want to participate, they don't hassle you. The grilled hamburgers at the pool were a nice touch. The beach is pretty nice, not huge or anything, but adequate with plenty of chairs, and another bar. The waves were fun to jump around in , and you can take out a little sailboat if you want. I tried snorkeling, but very little to see. The housekeeping staff was excellent, she did a great job everyday, and I left her a couple of dollars each day. Okay, food. I am probably a little spoiled living in the Chicago area, we have some great restaurants. The food is plentiful, with a lot to choose from. However, I think most of it was just okay. I am not a big buffet fan, so I got a little tired of it. The breakfast was pretty good, and i would recommend the omelots that they made to order. You get to choose three restaurants for a seven day stay. We ate in Brazil, Japan, and Mediterranean. The Med was excellent, Brazil was pretty good, but Japan was only so so. They do Teppanyaki grilling, and the meats were overdone. Okay, a couple of cons - This resort is huge! It takes quite a bit of walking back and forth from the main area, and I consider myself in pretty good shape. I would recommend asking for a room in the middle of the resort. The shows at night were pretty amateurish, I agree the band was good however, and the disco didn't start til 11pm. The rooms are also a little noisy at night and in the morning. The buildings are concrete type material, and the door slamming gets a little old. If you stay here and want to go to Playa, you can take the shuttle bus for free, but the last one back is at 9:30, so if you stay later, you need to take a cab. If you have any other questions about this resort, feel free to email me.

I have been to the IB quetzal/tucan twice...both times in the fall. The pool is great...the jungle is really cool. They have monkeys! The rooms are great...marble showers, etc... The food got old after a few days. It was too much the same thing over and over. I agree with the others about the night time entertainment. We did lots of trips...Xel-ha is wonderful. The town of Playa Del carmen is neat. The service at the hotel was very good. I would go back.

Lauren: Laurie and I recently stayed at the Iberostar Quetzal. We had a wonderful time. The Quetzal side is a little nicer then the Tucan side. The only major difference being the main dining rooms. At the Quetzal you have the feel of being in the jungle. On the Tucan side, the koi pools are nice but cannot hold a candle to the "other side".<BR><BR>We have stayed in PDC several times and found the Iberostar the nicest experice of the all-inclusives we have stayed at. We also immediately up-graded to a suite at Quetzal. The Quetzal suites overlook the "quieter" side of the beach and Cozumel. It is absolutelu incredible to sit on the deck and watch Cozumel light up at night.<BR><BR>The food is surprizingly good. We actually enjoyed the main restaurant over the specialty restaurants. Also, get into town for at least one dinner -- it is well worth blowing a few extra dollars. Check out Yaxche (best Pina Colada in PDC), The Blue Lobster (best lobster in town), or La Parilla (try the black pasta with shrimp -- flamed at tableside). While you are in town, get yourslf to The Blue Parrot girl -- rock music starts arround 10:00 PM. The bar has a sand floor and swings instead of stools. It is one part Jimi Hendrix and one part Ernest Hemmingway -- this is a "straight from the bottle" kind of place -- a "if I'm getting one hang over, let it come from here" kind of place. Again, Cozumel lit up at night can be seen from here. If you have any questions, Laurie or I would be happy to try an answer them.

Went to IB Paraiso Oct. 27th and hated the entire week. The food was recycled, shortage of staff with 60% occupancy and the resort is sprawled out. The entertainment for a chain of this stature was horrendous. The hotel band was great as was their singer. Treatment and display of animals should be reported to PETA..if I knew their address. We have just come back from the D.R. and thoroughly enjoyed our trip. Oh yes.. a week or so after my review of the IB Praiso somebody else also wrote a far more negative review.

I disagree completely about the night time entertainment. Yes, the shows can be corny, but it is fun & I would recommend checking out the discoteca on the resort (Mascara) at least once. The food isn't bad, there is always a lot to choose from, and I would recommend the Italian & Mexican restaurants @ the Iberostar Tucan/Quetzal. I went last year for Spring break w/ my family and we're going again in 2 weeks!