Hi How far from the Lindo is the town of Playa de Carmen? Am I even getting that right? ALso
the Lindo or the Maya if you have 14 and 18 yr old teens with you........

The Lindo is about 20 minutes by taxi to Playa del Carmen.
The Lindo and Maya are two parts of the same resort. The Maya usually costs more, but the Lindo gives you the most bang for your buck.
They share a
ALL the pools, beach, bars, and most restaurants. The guests of the Maya have the use of two restaurants that Lindo guests can't use---the Gourmet and the Japanese. However, the Lindo has it's own gourmet and you can use the Japanese at the Beach resort (another psrt of the IB complex). \
The rooms at the Maya are a bit bigger. Both your children will be considered adults and charged the adult rate, so you might want to (or have to) consider getting two rooms. It will cost you the same amount of money and you will have double the space and bathrooms!!
For great infomation on this resort, go to this site and scroll down to the sections on the Lindo/Maya.
http://www.iberostar-board.com/boards/index.php

is the Lindo "newer" than the Maya? Yes, we had planned on getting 2 rooms for sure My kids are just too old now to share our room- Our son is 18 and this is a graduation celebration
SO you would choose the Lindo because it offers more....... beach? Amenities? or is the exact same but slightly cheaper? the rooms do look a bit nicer at the Maya

The Maya is a bit newer than the Lindo and the rooms at the Maya are a little bigger. The Lindo doesn't offer more, but I don't know that the small difference I mentioned at the Maya are worth the difference in price.
If the price is not much more, than go with the Maya. I just like the layout of the Lindo better.
The bech is the same for both resorts, as are the pools and all bars.
Don't forget to visit the Commercial Center which has some shops, the spa, and several other eating places that are included.
Here is a link to a map of the entire Iberostar Paraiso complex.You will have to click to enlarge it to see anything:
http://image57.webshots.com/757/3/5/...8XUYAua_fs.jpg

Thanks ! We are leaning towards the maya -- the rooms just seem a bit more appealing to us is there a better view or access to beach in any particular building?

However, the link you posted doesnt work do you have something else? THANKS

Try this link. It doesn't include the Commercial Center or the IB Grand, but it does show the rest of the IB Paraiso property. You can see the room layouts on this.
http://www.iberostar-board.com/IB_Maya_Lindo.jpg