December 21, 2004
08-01-2005 9:45 pm
December 21, 2004
color=#0000ff> Iberostar Message BoardMy husband, 21-month old daugher, and parents all stayed at the Lindo Dec 11-18. What a wonderful time! The grounds are just magnificent! The landscaping staff really work hard each day to make sure that everything is perfect. Its very open, with lots of water all around you. It'll take your breath away the minute you step off the shuttle.
FOOD: The breakfast buffet, as many will agree, is the best. Its extremely extensive: omelets freshly made, scrambled eggs with ham or mushrooms, oatmeal, dry cereals, pancakes, waffles, potatoes, salmon, cheeses, fruits, etc. It is the same everyday, so beware of that. But if you don't eat the same thing every single day, you'll enjoy the selection. The lunch buffet is okay. Again, there is a wide selection - but a lot of exotic dishes that you are not so sure what they are or if you want them in your mouth. We ate at the outdoor lunch buffet and snacked down at the beach snack bar. If you've eaten breakfast that morning, you're most likely not real hungry for a huge lunch. Now as far as restaurants go, we ate at one almost every night. You do need to make reservations, and its best you do that on your day of arrival. There are concierge desks at every building, which is quite convenient. The restaurants we ate at are as follows: STEAKHOUSE (Maya) - okay, but not Outback style; the bloomin onion they bring you is tasty, but the buffet portion has some interesting items. JAPANESE (Maya) - delicious; they cook it right in front of you, so you know its fresh; I would definitely recommend the tempura veggies for an appetizer instead of soup and the banana tempura for a dessert. Delicious! ITALIAN (Lindo) - okay, but they don't even have lasagna on the menu! the pizza was good, but not our first choice of restaurants; CAJUN (Lindo) - wonderful (if you like seafood)! the coconut shrimp on the appetizer buffet are the BEST - a meal in itself! the chicken I had was also very tasty; MEXICAN (Lindo) - pretty good, but more Spanish than Mexican in my opinion; the beef kebob tacos were great, and so was the pineapple coconut bars on the dessert tray; BRAZILEAN (Del Mar) - very tasy! LOTS of meat, so be prepared! I enjoyed the chicken, and the men enjoyed the pork; definitely for the meat lovers!
ROOMING: The rooms are magnificent! Extremely well decorated with bright colors and tiled flooring. The bathrooms are also very top of the line with removeable shower heads and tiled flooring. The housekeepers work very hard to keep your room tidy and well stocked with drinks in the mini fridge. They also make decoration out of the towels each day - birds, animals, people. I would recommend leaving a little something for them everyday(. They work really hard and probably don't get the wages they deserve.
POOLS: When we went, the water was freezing! On a sunny, hot day, the water is still very cold. Imagine it on a cloudy day! Whew! I do think the hotel should look into heating the pool areas - especially for little children. The lazy river was very nice, and lazy. You can also visit the other pools at the Maya and Del Mar, which are also very beautiful.
BEACH: This could use a little work. I have to say the beaches were not as clean as I had hoped. My daughter found a lot of cigarette butts (you know how curious children are) in the sand. My mother found some broken glass and some sharp plastic in the area we were. I think the hotel could pay some attention to this and maybe hire a staff to rake the beaches everyday and collect the "garbage" that doesn't belong in the sand. The water was a little chilly and the waves were strong, but that is expected for Mexico. If you're all-inclusive, you can take advantage of the rentals they offer. The five of us, including my daughter, went out on a sailboat one day - which was awesome, to say the least. So take the opportunity to do that!
ENTERTAINMENT: The hotel puts on quite a show each night! The staff work really hard to keep you entertained. First off, if you have children, each night around 8, the staff of Lucy's Mini Club put on activities for children. They're allowed to go up on stage and perform. My daughter couldn't wait to go up on stage and join the other children. After the children are finished, they put on a show for the adults, which the children can enjoy too. They do a lot of audience participation, and then usually have a specific theme to which they perform. There were a couple nights where the "usual" performers weren't there, so it was like watching a dance recital ... but if the "usuals" perform - you're amazed at their talent. I do have to say the two singers that perform each night do get a little boring, but if you can suffer through them for the 30 minutes they're on stage, you'll be glad you did. We all noticed that those who perform during the shows put in LONG hours. We'd see them in the mornings sitting with various guests of the hotel, in the afternoons doing activities with the guests (pool games, beach games, etc.), and then in the evenings performing on stage. They certainly put in some long hours and keep their positive attidues, which was quite commendable. One bad thing about the nightly entertainment is the waitresses. They do have a HUGE area to cover... so don't be surprised if you order a drink and never receive it! Just walk up to the bar and get it yourself if its packed.
We did take the shuttle to Playa Del Carmen, which is HUGE. They had tons of shops where you can "finagle" with the salesmen (if you like that sort of thing). I did find that the shops at the Del Mar, Maya, and Lindo were all pretty comparable to the prices in Playa. So if you are looking for souvenirs and don't want to go all the way to Playa, you're probably not spending too much more at the hotel. But if you are in the mood to shop, take the shuttle - its free!
I have to say I was impressed with the Iberostar resorts. The pictures online do them absolutely NO justice! I was a little skeptical at first because of the not-so-good reviews I read about it... but when the trip was over, I was extremely happy I had chosen the Lindo for our vacation. You feel like royalty when you're there. The staff is always there to help in any way, and they're so friendly. It was truly paradise. We really had a nice stay there, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting the Playa Del Carmen area. Please feel free to email me with any questions!
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