Help! We're headed to Playa del Carmen area in Jan 03 and need to decide on a resort. I've heard good things about these two resort chains but need specifics - which one has the best rooms/views, beach, activities, etc. Which one do you prefer, and why? Any help is very much appreciated!!<BR>JJ

We were at the RIU in march and were VERY pleased. We had friends next door at the Ibero who were also happy with their hotel. We snuck around their hotel a bit and felt like ours was more luxurious, and we had the benefit of using the other RIU's as well. The disco was across the street at the RIU Tequila and it was nice to party there and come back to our more quiet setting.<BR><BR>no negatives about the RIU, we had a great room facing the middle fountains that was gorgeous, great beach - email me direct if you want more info.

Stayed at the RIU Playacar in May - very nice. Good food, great beach. Would highly recommend!!

I've only stayed at the Iberostar and really enjoyed it. Is it true that only one of the the RIU hotels is on the ocean side?<BR><BR>I recently found this great site for reviews: http://www.debbiescaribbeanresortreviews.com/mexico/mexmayan.html<BR><BR>Good Luck!

Hi - have been to both the RIU and Iberostar in this neck of the woods and rave about them both so much that I'm oft accused of actually working for the resort. You cannot go wrong with either choice. Both the RIU Yucatan and the RIU Palace are beachfront and the Tequila is across the road and they provide a little shuttle cart to get you down to the beach.<BR>Please also check this site for excellent trip reports (okay, so a couple of my trip reports are in there but what can I say....<BR><BR>http://www.mts.net/~eissner/

Thanks for all your reply. We really have our hearts set on an ocean view - would that be the Playacar? From the pamplets it looks like they're really spread out and quite a distance from the ocean?!?

All of the resorts in Playacar ARE set back from the beach...There are next to no ocean view rooms except for some at the Viva Azteca...<BR>There are ocean view rooms at the Gran Porto Real which is not in Playacar but at the north end of Playa Del Carmen...<BR><BR>We were at the Riu Palace in May and returning in November...All the Riu resorts have very good reputations...<BR><BR>Have a great time wherever you go... <BR><BR>LIZ

The Jr. Stes at Iberostar have an oceanview. I actually prefer the Jungle view. It is great looking at all the animals. I prefer Iberostar over Riu but both are great chains.

OHHHHH, now I'm REALLY confused!!!

we have stayed at both the Riu and Iberostar resorts. The Iberostar does have some ocean view rooms. We actually liked the Ib a little better than the Riu. The Riu has set dinner times with assigned tables which we don't really care for. Also the Ib has king beds while the Riu has only two doubles pushed together. Both resorts are good , you will not go wrong with either

Thank you all! From checking out the resorts online, they look like they're really spread out - why such a distance between resort and beach? In Puerto Vallarta we had a beautiful ocean-view! Looks like that's impossible here. Between RIU and Iberostar, which one has the most daytime activities (vollyball, games, etc) my hubby goes nuts if we just lay in the sun and bake all day(although that happens to be MY ideal vacation!!!)<BR>jj

ALl of the resort lots in PDC are narrow and deep, and the hotels generally put the room buildings towards the back of the lot so they have more room for the beach at the front.<BR><BR>I stayed at the Riu Playacar last fall, and we had a great time. The food was good, the resort was beautiful, and we did a lot of shopping. The resort had a lot of organized activities, such as beach volleyball, for those who wanted that sort of thing. We took a snorkeling tour one day, and went shopping in town the next day, and that was fine for us.

thanks christie, I think the RIU Playacar is the one we're leaning towards. Any suggestions on room requests?

Aside from "debbiescaribbeanresortreviews", another great site for reviews is:<BR>www.ramproductions.com/survey but if using msn search you may need to try a couple times or another engine. It's well laid out, easy to navigate & broken down into categories at start to identify what's most important to you. from there, read the "reviews"!<BR>have fun, Sue

I'm leaving for Iberostar Parasio del Mar on Sunday (9/15), first time there. I can let you know what its like. I have heard good things so farabout it.

Thanks everyone. Joe, looking forward to hearing from you. Hope you have great weather and safe travel.

Well, the decision and the down payment have been made. Looks like we're booked at the All-Inclusive RIU Playacar mid January for 7 nights, flying non-stop out of Cedar Rapids Iowa. Got Everything for $1280. Does that sound pretty reasonable?

$1280 for one or 2 persons?? That sounds excellent if it is for 2.

That sounds unheard of if it's for 2! It must be for one, and being NOT last minute, in January, I think $1280 is a fair price.

That sounds like a really unbeliveable price for 2! I got back 9/20 from Iberostar Paraiso del mar avoided the hurricane that swung nearby on Saturday and Sunday. I highly recommend Ibero paraiso. The most beautiful place I have seen. Free roaming peacocks and other birds add to the spectacular landscape of tropical flowers, bushes, cocnut palms and banana trees. Food at buffet was fair to good and a wide variety.We ate at the Japanese and Brazilian restaurants and both were good. I liked the Japanese a little better.Service was great and people very friendly.