I am planning to go to Mexico (Playa del Carmen area) in March, with my 2 young children. We want an all inclusive and can't decide between the "Barcelo Maya Beach", the "Iberostars" or the Bahia Principe. Can you help???

I was at Iberostar in November in Playa and I was with a friend who had previously stayed at the Barcelo. I am not a big fan of AIs, but she said she liked the Barcelo a little bit better than Iberostar. The Iberostar is nice, the grounds are beautiful, but as I feel is a drawback at most AIs, I found the food to be lacking and the drinks to be very poor. Whenever I am at an AI resort, I wished I liked beer! Playa is a beautiful place, you will enjoy it no matter where you stay.

Izzy -
I too am trying to decide between the Barcelo and the Bahia Principe. Barcelo's beach looks fantastic, Bahia seems a bit more spread out and not next to other AIs. We ruled out the Iberostar (this is for our honeymoon) because they seemed to cater to families, which I would think a plus for you. I have a friend who LOVES it, and the food is actually decent (keep in mind I've read all AI's aren't stellar for food, except for maybe Royal Hideaway). Would love to read what others recommend between these...

We stayed at the Iberostar Tucan two years ago with our kids and had a great time. I know lots of people who have enjoyed the Barcelo Maya Beach as well. One family did comment that it was very spread out, and they found that a nuisance (depends on that age of your kids, I suppose). One plus about the Iberostar Tucan is of course the jungle in the middle of the resort. The kids will love it. And you are definitely closer to things, if you want to escape from the resort a bit.

I have friends that stayed at the Barcelo last year and they loved it. Having said that, my husband and I stayed at the Bahia Principe Akumal last year and we loved it. The Akumal side was nicer, cleaner, newer than the Tulum side. I highly recommend the Akumal side.