ljb55

Please help me decide between Iberostar Quetzal, Gala ,or Barcelo Maya. We(2 adults) will be going in April of 2004 and bringing 2- 16 yr. old girls. Which resort has a better beach? Do any of them offer rooms that are close to the beach and pool, or will I be walking for miles. Any advice would be appreciated. <BR>

Celine

I can't help, although I've heard the Iberostar is an awesome resort....but if you want to find out from other people who have been to these resorts, check out these boards:<BR><BR>www.playadelcarmeninfo.com<BR>www.myplayaboard3.com

Celine

Sorry, that's www.mytravelboard3.com

MFNYC

We've been to the Gala and Barcelo. I don't think you'd be disappointed with any of these. We just were at the Barcelo. It is quite large, over 1,000 rooms and many of the rooms are a bit of a walk. The paths are landscaped and many are covered with awnings but it could still be a lot of walking. If I had known the lay of the land beforehand I would have requested a room in a better location (they put us in one of the furthest locations). My family didn't mind the walking but if we were at the beach and needed something it was a 10 minute round trip. This resort has a huge beach, you could walk quite a ways along an undeveloped beach. There is a pier at the far end of the main resort beach area where you can snorkel. This resort has more beach than the other 2. Also lounge chairs and shade are easy to come by.<BR><BR>We were at the Gala years ago. It is at the end of a strip of resorts in Playacar, I believe right next to the Quetzal. The beach is also very nice, but no interesting snorkelling right off the beach. Being at the end of the strip, you can take walks away from the resorts where the beach is also undeveloped. The nice things about the Gala and Quetzal is that they are both a very short cab ride away from PDC. Barcelo is about a 20 minute ride. The Gala is smaller than the Barcelo, therefore more compact. I don't remember the walking distances being as far as with the Barcelo. The Quetzal is probably similar to the Gala.

greenie

Hi, we've been to Iberostar and Barcelo. I would choose Iberostar and here are my reasons:<BR><BR>1. Smaller resort<BR>2. Much Better Food<BR>3. Closer to Playa del Carmen, Ferry to Cozumel, Xcaret, etc.<BR>4. Nicer rooms<BR>5. Shorter ride from airport<BR><BR>The Barcelo did have the snorkeling pier and that was fun. My husband did get very ill at Barcelo from the food. Also the food was very cafeteria-like in quality. We never experienced that at Iberostar.<BR><BR>Hope this helps.

snarla

I liked Iberostar. I don't know if you are a diver/snorkeler, but Iberostar has a dive shop on site. We had several people our daily trips that came from other resorts.<BR><BR>I think we stayed in one of the buildings closest to the front of the resort..it wasn't a far walk to any point on the property. They do offer the beachfront Jr. Suites.

Sandra

We stayed at Iberostar last year with our three kids; thought it was wonderful, for all the reasons listed above. Met some people there who had stayed previously at Gala Resort and liked this one more...if that's any help. In terms of location, it would definitely be better than Barcelo Maya (for trips to Playa del Carmen and possibly even Cancun, if you wanted to venture that far).