December 10, 2004
08-07-2005 8:02 am
December 10, 2004
color=#0000ff> Iberostar Message BoardMe and my mother were booked for the Lindo from Dec. 2nd - 8th. When we arrived we went to the Lindo lobby for check-in. My mother already had her Lindo bracelet on when I inquired about the Maya, which only opened on the 1st of Dec., they offered us an upgrade and we went to the Maya. The Maya is all suites which was great. The room was beautiful- the only complaint was we had a small ant problem in the sitting area. We called and they sent someone with a can of raid but then on the last day we noticed another infestation- So keep your eyes out. Our balcony was over the brush so maybe this is why?? We were in building 61 which is one up from the beach (after 60). This was a prime location for us. We were right by the pool bar, the buffets, and a 2 min. walk from the beach. The lobby was a short walk but not too bad. It took a few days to get used to layout- somehow when walking to the Maya lobby we kept ending up at the Lindo! But there always seemed to be an employee around to point us in the right direction.
The only pool I saw that was situated like it was for just the Maya was near bldg. 60 near the beach and I didn't see many people there. It wasn't very big compared to the other pools and it seemed like it was mostly shaded from the sun. There seemed to be enough space at the Lindo pools for everyone and these pools are beautiful. Although- the Maya was definitly not at full capacity- I don't even know if it was half full- there seemed to be a lot of empty rooms- I think they are easing into it- which is probably a good idea.
The beach was nice but not great- red flags every day which meant very big waves- be careful when you first walk in there are some huge rocks but as soon as you get past them there are no more. The waves were fun but everyone was gathered in the small allowed swimming area which was a little crowded for me.
The restaurants- Their are 4 a la carte restaurants at the Maya, the seafood, steakhouse, japanese, and gourmet. We went to the seafood and the japanese at the Maya- They were both great. We also heard the gourmet at the Maya was fabulous but we went to the gourmet at the Lindo and that was terrific so we weren't too disappointed. At the gourmet I had the grouper and my mom had the veal- both were very good. We also ate at the cajun, italian and tex-mex at the Lindo. The cajun was great (great cocunut shrimp). The italian was suprisingly really good- I heard some negative things so my expectations weren't very high but i had the gnocchi and they were very good. The tex-mex was the only restaurant we didn't care too much for. But 5 out of 6 good meals seems pretty great to me! There are no buffets at the Maya- yet anyway. As for breakfast and lunch- both are quite a bit better at the lobby restaurant - (which turns into the italian at night) The buffets at the pool had considerably less choices then the lobby restaurant. - Definitly worth the walk! Another thing is the desserts were all fantastic! I will be dieting for months after all the good food at the Maya and Lindo!!!
Now to the workers. The employees at this resort are fantastic! I really can't say enough about them- they are so friendly and hard working it is hard to believe. They must go through a rigorous training process. We did tip a lot. We brought about 90 dollars in tips and by the 5th day we had to try and cash another twenty dollar bill in for more tips. (if you need to do this- it is best to ask a bartender or a bell boy, since they usually have a lot of ones)
We went to the Star Friends show a few times. They were pretty funny, a little corny, but cute. We really enjoyed hanging out at the theater bar and the Maya lobby bar (the huge snake above the lobby bar in the Maya is awesome!) (and the plants going up the pyramid from the inside are actually real! Its amazing!) The Lindo lobby bar had a kind of funky smell to it- it may be from the great fish tank- but it gave us a little headache so we usually sat down on the chairs outside in front which was a great alternative. I went to the disco at the Del Mar twice. It wasn't fabulous but it was fun. When the Star Friends show up after the show- they really put on another show with their awesome dancing abilities!
The only excursion we did was the Snorkling Adventure which was great. We went out to 2 sites on a boat and saw many fish. Each time was 45 min. in the water and then had lunch on the beach and then went back out and snorkled again for 45 min. This isn't a big party, drinking excursion but it was great to do a lot of good snorkeling which was what we wanted.
Also definitly bring mosquito repellant- At first they were only getting my mother- but by the end of the trip I had about 8 to 10 bites also! Also bring your sunblock- I saw many people burned- it was hot hot hot! especially at the pool (the beach had a nice breeze) Every day was 90s but get up early if you like the sun- it seemed to be the hottest early and the sun goes down around 6 so its worth to be out at 9 am.
Finally this resort is beautiful. It is huge and very well kept. We walked over on the Beach and Del mar sides also. They were very nice as well. Although we liked the Lindo and Maya a little better because we had the freedom to go to all of the complex. We had a great time and would go to another Iberostar or back to the Maya in a second. I miss it already!!
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