March 2, 2005

Iberostar Message Board

We spent a week at the Maya (2/10-2/17) and had a really great time. We were travelling with a 6 month old baby so we went there with a bit of anxiety about how that was going to work out. I can start this review out by saying things could not have turned out better.

First, if you're travelling with a baby, this hotel was great. The staff had a genuine enthusiasm for the baby and were alway there to help if we needed a hand with something related to him. For example, the Maya is set up with a concierge stationed in each of the buildings. Our concierge was great with everything but in particular found us a baby sitter every night so we could go out and have dinner. Our first baby sitter turned out to be the same person we asked for every night. She was wonderful.

The pool at the hotel is seemingly endless. It's huge. It was also really cold and we were amused that it was actually colder than the ocean. The ocean was much more comfortable to swim in than the pool and the beach was clean and the rocks weren't bad at all. Despite the fact the pool was so cold, it was still enjoyable and wasn't too bad after you got in and became a little aclimated. We never had trouble finding a couple of chairs and a cabana. The service at the pool was good although there were a few times we had to make a trip to the bar on our own. The ladies that serve drinks around the pool work extremely hard and considering how many people they have to take care of, I wasn't put off by this. Careful around the pool, the surface can be slippery and we saw a couple of people bite the dust. I'm surprised they didn't make a more slip resistant surface.

The food at the Maya (complex) was good. Certainly not great, but it was good. The quantity and variety of food is truly unbelievable and it seemed like at any point of the day there was someplace to sit down and eat. We went to a different restaurant every night and ended up in the Japanese restaurant twice only because that's how the reservations worked out. Our favorite was the French L'Etoile, but all of the restaurants were fun. The decor in the restaurants was great and that was half the fun of walking into them for the first time. For example, Etoile had a "balcony" with "people" in it, the seafood restaurant had amazing light fixtures... they were all interesting in their own way.

The overall quality of the Maya was great. The hotel was extremely clean, the rooms were nice and I always enjoyed the long path that leads to the restaurants at night. The staff was courteous and helpful and as I mentioned before the concierge was great. The rooms were always nice to come back to after a day out at the pool since the maids would make little animals out of the towels and sprinkle flower petals or make big "bow" out of the curtains.

The beach was fantastic and seemingly endless. Depending on which building your room would be in, it could be a decent walk from the room to the beach. Because we had the baby with us we didn't have a chance to spend much time on the beach. It looked like they had plenty of chairs set up and it seems like most people enjoyed it out there. Beware of the guys selling fake Cuban cigars. :)

I was concerned about picking up a stomach bug when we were there and put a message out in the forum which drew a huge amount of discussion. The majority of responses said there was nothing to worry about and that it was a point where Mexico was getting a bad rap. That's mostly true. I'm glad to say I didn't get sick. However, I wasn't so happy that my wife picked up something. We also ran into at least a dozen other people that picked something up too. Now, I'm sure that seeing this might raise some discussion but I think it's important to let people know it's smart to play it safe. I find it amusing that everyone says there's no problem but every room has a refrigerator full of water and two, two gallon jugs in the fridge area. Seems like a funny thing to have in such abundant supply if there's "nothing" to worry about. Now, having said this, I'll be glad to go back and won't worry at all about the water. If you're considering a vacation I would definitely NOT make the water a factor. Just be smart about it.

If you have children it has a tremendous set up for kids. There's a whole play area, kids shows at the theater in the evening, childrens fountain/pool and the lazy river is great. This resort is an excellent destination for people traveling as a family or with children! The entire day is setup with activities from water aerobics to ping pong. I think they have something going all day long on the half hour. The kids will love the mini ice-cream parlor set up above the pools swim up bar.

Overall, this was a fantastic week and I'm extremely happy and satisfied with the experience we had at the Maya. It's a top notch place. I've traveled all over the world and have always felt that with so many places to travel why visit the same place twice. I'd love to make this a destination again sometime in the future. This hotel/resort definitely earns it's "Excellent" rating.

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This review is the subjective opinion of a Iberostar-Reviews.com user and not of Iberostar-Reviews.com.