Iberostar Tucan / Quetzal Reviews

We have just returned from two glorious weeks in the lovely Iberostar Tucan. Having researched the hotel before booking I took a tip from the US web-sites and contacted the hotel with a few additional requests, all of which they were able to meet, in fact during our stay there were a number of occasions where we needed extra bits and pieces, and the staff (as all the other reviews have said already), were only too happy to help!

One thing worth noting is that the two hotels (the Tucan and Quezetal) are one, we did not realise before going that they are in fact the same hotel, identical. We actually booked for the Tucan but upon checking in we ended up on the Quezetal side, we were more than happy as it meant we had a room over looking the pool and just one back from the beach, although I noticed since returning to the UK that a few brochures were marketing the Quezetal as a seperate hotel and cheaper, if you find this book it! Seriously it is one big hotel, they refer to one side as tucan and the other quezetal, but all the buildings are the same and the facilities are shared.

There were a few small, minor bad points to the holiday I will get these out of the way quickly (however these were by far outweighed by the good),
1. the pool is HOT! I know it sounds ridiculous but we couldn't even go in during the day as it was literally like swimming in bathwater, no exageration.....HOT!
2. The beach was a little small and crowded for my liking ( I may well be being fussy though), beautiful white sands, stunning turqiose water, but in our second week especially you needed to be down before 9am to get a bed, and forget about getting a spot in the shade!
3. The adults evening entertainment was awful! Think Santa Ponsa with the ping pong ball going up the mans trouser leg, whilst his wife/ girlfriend guides it along with her hands....this really did happen! (The kids entertainment was very good though)

But in fairness for each one of these negative points there were other options, i.e. we swam in the sea, only venturing into the pool after the sun had gone down (around 5pm), the beach tended to clear out around 3pm as many of the American guests tended to go for an early dinner. I am glad to say that they don't hand cuff you to the chair to watch the entertainment there are two other really nice bars in the lobby areas which were a welcome alternative!

The buffets restaurants were fine, some nights you were spoilt for choice, others were just a repetition of lunch but generally pretty good. The a la carte restaurants were excellent, our favourite being the Japanese! We managed to go to all five, and from speaking to other people if you didn't fancy the buffet if you asked at the reservation desk they were usually able to fit you in for that evening! I only wish we found out sooner!
Also on the subject of food we ate in one of the local restaurants in Playa Del Carmen, unfortunatley I really can't remember it's name, it was authentic Mexican on the corner of 5th Avenue and 8 North! Sensational and such good value, I really can't recommend it enough!

With regards to the excursions, we did our Padi Diving Certification out there which took three full days, but was really very good value (£200 including all the equipment hire and books), we saw loads of fish, sea turtles, sting rays, cray fish etc. Our rep Debbie, advised us not to use the hotel dive school as they are apparently alot more expensive! Debbie told us about Dive Adventures they were really good, picked us up and dropped us back to the hotel each day.

Apart from the diving we went along to the night in Playa Del Carmen, to the ";most popular bar"; Senjor Frogs, if you are going as part of group then great, but again not quite my scene, despite the way the reps bigged it up about it being a party bar, the reps brought us to the front door got us all a beer and then disappeared off, leaving the group to make their own fun. the evenings high lights included a rendition of the macarena and a conga dance......you get the picture, if I wanted the costas I would have gone there. I'm sure it would have been great in a group of people, but most holiday makers were couples and didn't seem particularily impressed either.

We then booked another trip it was a split day the morning spent looking at the Mayan Ruins in Tulum (boiling hot but definatley worth a look)and the other half of the day spend in Xel-Ha a natural lagoon filled with fish and dolphins etc, this was a brilliant day, I only wish we had booked the entire day there as we didn't get round half the park! If you only book one excirsion make sure it's this one, brilliant for both children and adults!

Another tip really go on your own if you get a taxi direct to Xel-Ha it will only take a half hour and then you can choose whether to pay in $22 for enterance or if you want to go all inclusive inside then it was $38, where as we paid around $110 to do both this and the Tulum together, and whats more it took 1hrs 3/4mins to get there due to picking up at all the different hotels and visiting the bus drivers buddies shop en-route (don't ask!). If you have your own snokel and mask don't bother paying the extra for the all inclusive as the food and drinks aren't expensive and you can bring things in with you.

We also spoke to people who went to Chihen Itza, they also said it was very impressive, but they couldn't really enjoy it due to the heat, it really does get hot....and it's not just the sun it's the humidity, it's smoothering!

We also used the hotel spa towards the end of our holiday and had an all over body massage, they also offer the massage service by the pool, but we both agreed the candle light and relaxing music in the Spa helped us to relax, althoug be warned they are rather heavy handed!

Weather wise our first week was boiling hot, I actually had to hid away under the umbrella which was very out of character for me. I can honestly say I have never seen so many people with sun burn and heat rash in one place before! As for the second week it was mainly over cast, clouding over around 11am/12pm, but the sun still got through and it was still very hot!

All in all we had a great holiday, and whilst it isn't exactly the authentic Mexican experience you may be looking for, although there is plenty to keep you occupied with the hotel and resort. The jungle grounds are amazing, with excellent attention to detail and quality of service from all the staff!

HOTEL - PROS
Brilliant location,on beautiful beach, lovely big pool, great day activities, wonderful evening shows and a special thanks to STAR FRIENDS !! Lovely jungle walk to room.

HOTEL - CONS
Needed to put your towel out at 7am (!!) if you wanted a poolside bed, loads of food but didn't rate the quality. Balconies in shade overlooking Jungle except beach view rooms.

TRIPS
CHICHEN ITZA - excellent day, hot but there is shade. Didn't do the tour just climbed main pyramid - you can see all the site from the top.

XCARET - spend whole day here. Swam with Dolphins for an hour then snorkelled down the river. Lunch at the wonderful Peninsula Restaurant with a sea view, then just watched the shows. Main show in the evening - excellent first half. Second half way too long. Wonderful day.

MOZZIES
Few mozzies at this time of year - probably more during/after rainy season.

CURRENCY
They trade in USD and Pesos. Keep hold of your 1USD bills cos tipping widely expected.

Would go back if only the flight time was shorter (10.5 hrs out / 9 hrs back)

Just arrived back 9.02.05,only one word to describe this resort FANTASTIC!

We just couldn't believe how anyone could complain about anything.Our room was spotless chocolates,flowers and different towel art everyday.
Tried 3 a la carte restaurants-mexican,italian and steakhouse all were 1st class,other nights we ate at buffet which was also superb.

Evening entertainment was really excellent,so unless your expecting vegas style shows you won't be disappointed.
WE are not 1st timers to the caribean so we had plenty to compair this hotel with one being Moon Palace ,and i'm glad to say this was equally as good.

We will definately return to this hotel.

hotel was lovely, and rooms spacious. walking to the pool you had to walk down a path which had monkeys in the trees and peacocks and other birds just walking round which is fantastic. pool area is very clean (has a lovely mexican man who works very hard everyday cleaning it) and there are always plenty of beds, but for the best bed you need to be down early. the entertainment of a day was great there was always things to do such as water polo, beach volley ball, aqua aerobics and more, the entertainers worked hard to get people to join in.

the beach is nice and the water is perfectly clear. main buffet restaurant and poolside bar food is not great, we found that it is very repetative and was never hot, which made us weary of what we where eating, out of all the ala carte restaurants the japenese was the best as it has show cooking and everything is cooked in front of you. one bad thing was that we all got a stomach bug some lasting for one day and otheres upto 4 days, and we did hear of other people having it also. of an evening the only entertainment was the show, so if you didn't want to see that there is only the bar to sit in, there is also a hotel on site which is open 10.30-3am which is good

There's just one word for this hotel - Wow -
This was the best ever. Did not want to come home (and normally I do before the end of a holiday). Everything about this hotel was impressive from the reception/lobby with marble floors, koi carp ponds and fountains to the walk through the grounds which are still part jungle and have monkeys, iguanas, flamingoes all sorts of wildlife, to the air-con rooms where the cleaners make animals from the towels and leave chocolates on the bed.
I can only re-iterate what all the other reviews have said.
Please tip the staff (even if only a few pesos) they don't earn a lot and they work 16/17 hours a day and do their utmost to please you. They are so deserving.
Iberostar - you are the best.