June 24, 2005

Iberostar Message Board

Drove to Detroit International Airport and parked at the Barry terminal for $6 per day. We left home at midnight because the flight was supposed to take off at 6:00. Because we were early we got very close to the front of the plane, which was very nice. The parking lot was right outside the terminal, which was very convenient. The vehicle was literally 100 feet from the door. The flight was 2 hours and 15 minutes late in taking off because they were waiting for an additional pilot. Apparently then needed an additional one for the return flight. The food on the flight was tasteless; small portions and poor quality (the flight attendants even admitted that the breakfast they USED to serve was better before, but didn’t specify why changes were made). The flight was uneventful, although the flight crew was VERY friendly and upbeat. Made it through customs and immigration without an issue; got the green light for a change. We bought a couple Coronas and off we go for the half hour ride to the resort. They don’t serve Corona at the resort and it sounded so good.

Check-in took 5 minutes and the room was ready, as we hoped, given the fact that we were two hours late. The bellboy took us by golf cart to the room. We had e-mailed the resort a week before we left to request a third floor, poolside room close to the beach. They gave us everything we wanted. We were put into room 6165, which was about perfect. We highly recommend third floor. We couldn’t see much of the pool because of the trees and other vegetation surrounding the pool, but that gave us more privacy, which was great. The room was quiet and we rarely heard any noise. They said this was an upgrade to a “superior suite” whatever that means. It was wonderful. Jacuzzi for two. Shower for two. Water pressure was great. King size bed and a separate sitting area. Elevators were convenient although we chose to walk up and down most of the time. We couldn’t have asked for a better room. We even had a little friend join us for a little while one afternoon. A gecko decided to try out the air conditioning. He left on his own and we never saw him again. The courtyards of each of the Maya building were very nice and unique. One of the paths to get from the front buildings to the beach areas went through the courtyards.

The maid service was adequate, but not great. Our room cleaning was not completed until later and later in the day as the week went on. Not a big problem, however I some times enjoy taking a nap after lunch. We asked the concierge to see if it could be cleaned some time before lunch and the issue was taken care of. There were several towel arrangements that were cute, but not needed to make our stay better. One day they had a bubble bath, complete with rose petals, ready for us when we returned. As the week went on they brought in extras like tequila, nuts, and lotions and of course we had the Miami Herald newspaper everyday. We didn’t try out the room service simply because we had plenty from the restaurants and bars.

We walked the entire complex (Iberostar Beach, Del Mar, Lindo and Maya) once just to see what the other half looked like. Otherwise we stayed on the Lindo/Maya side. We decided that we liked our side better for a few reasons. Not that we wouldn’t have been happy there, but our side seemed less crowded, not that the other side was crowded, but our side simply didn’t seem to have many people at all. It also seemed to have more air conditioning. Almost everything had it. The lounge was very big and built like a Mayan pyramid. We spent most evenings in there. The lounge in the Lindo was small, air conditioned and had a very nice salt-water aquarium. Because of the small size, it felt like the other people were right on top of you and the smoke was bothersome. We simply didn’t notice it in the Maya lounge. The grounds in general throughout the complex were very impressive with nice landscaping and pools and ponds everywhere.

They are building a convention center, which looked like it was almost done and shopping mall on property. The shopping mall has a ways to go, but when finished has the possibility of being very nice. They are also almost finished with the golf course. We saw some golf bags being carried over and all the carts were outside on one day, so it may even be open. We didn’t check into it. It looks like it has a lighted driving range.

They have started on the next Iberostar resort in the Paraiso complex, which I believe is to be called the Palace. We heard it will be adults only and very up scale. I don’t see how it can be much better than the Maya.

We were surprised to see that there were no flamingos on the Lindo/Maya side of the resort. We didn’t notice any on the other side either, but we didn’t spend much time there. Other Iberostar resorts, which we have been to, had them.

There are five pools on the Lindo/Maya side, which include the wave pool and the lazy river. I felt the wave pool and the lazy river were more kid level and we didn’t do much there. We spend most of our time in the larger pools. One has a swim up bar which is well stocked with everything needed to keep you from being thirsty. The water temp must have been around 90 degrees plus. Toward the end of the week the pool was turning slightly cloudy which may have been the results of high temps and lots of people use? People also jump in after swimming in the salt water. This must be the first really warm water since the Maya has been opened. I wonder if there were issues keeping the water clean when only the Lindo was using it? The pools had waterfalls, which were kinda fun. Above the swim up bar was the ice cream bar. A couple of times we took the cappuccino drink from there and went to the swim up bar and added Kahlua - Very good I might add!

The beach was nice. There was at least 100 feet of beach that ran the entire length of the complex. It was full of palapas and lounge chairs to lie out on. We had no problems getting lounges because we were in front of the Maya. Down toward the Beach/Del Mar end, there may have been some issues, but we like a little privacy and had no problems getting an excellent location. The sand was clean and soft and barely got hot in the sun. We were able to walk the beach for quite a ways toward the south. There were other resorts heading north. I suppose those beaches are still accessible; we just didn’t try. The wave action was okay. We had a red flag one day and yellow the others. You can still swim with the red flag, but if the swimmer is not strong or is young, I might think twice. I like to body surf so I was in there with no problem. They have lifeguards in specific areas of the beach. In the water there were places where there were large rocks. They were mostly out a little ways so there was little worry of stepping on them.

There were bars, barbeques, massage beds, pottery painting booths and sports activities on the beach. They also had the Hobie Cats and kayaks available. On the far side of the complex beach was Dressel Dive Center. They will arrange dives and have snorkel equipment for use. It would have been nice to have that more centrally located. They have no night dives and only arrange one dive at a time. Most shops the divers go out for two dives at a time. We did not use them because they were more expensive than the dive shops in town; however, the dive shops in town require the diver to be there by 9:00 am. The resort shuttle doesn’t start until 9:00 so we ended up taking a taxi on those mornings at $18 plus tip, one way. Oh-well, the dive shops in town utilize a larger variety of dive locations and Dressel only goes to locations, which are a short boat ride away from the resort. I used a Hobie Cat sailboat one day. The wind was just enough to get the boat up on one hull.

My biggest disappointment of the trip was that there was no lobster at the buffet on any night. We had read that Thursday nights they had all you could eat, but no such luck. The buffet did however have plenty of good food to make it worthwhile. The only lobster we found was at La Marina (Mediterranean) restaurant. It was in the seafood platter for two, which also had shrimp, muscles, grouper, tuna, and calamari and was very good. The Steakhouse had fantastic tenderloin which had to have been one of the most tender I have ever had. The Japanese restaurant was great as was the Oriental restaurant and the TexMex restaurant. We went to the buffets the other nights. Overall I felt the desserts were a little disappointing. I wonder if it’s an all inclusive thing because we found that each of the Iberostar Resorts we’ve been to in the past resorts as well as the other resorts we’ve been to in the past had nothing better. I managed to gain 7 pounds so I did not suffer too much.

The resort offers a free shuttle service to Playa Del Carmen which we took advantage of. It starts at 9:00 am and leaves the resorts on the hour and leaves Playa for the return on the half hour. Playa is a nice little town that has inexpensive shopping. It has been cleaned up and improved upon since our last visit a few years ago and is now very pleasant to walk around and explore in. If you want to buy stuff, I recommend a trip to Playa and not buy it at the resort. We found the prices to be significantly cheaper. We were able to purchase two 1-liter bottles of Kahlua for $16.60 ($8.30 each). They sell for about $15 each in the resort and about $20 per fifth in the US. Go and spend the day walking around the shops and immerse yourself in the Mexican tourist culture. It’s very interesting. We ended up having lunch at Senior Frogs which is next to the Cozumel Ferry Docks and right on the water. We had chicken fajitas and a few cervasas. What could be better? The disadvantage to going to Playa is the aggressive sales people, especially the “time share” people. If you feel comfortable saying “no thank you” and just walking away, you won’t have any problems. It was interesting that I was not hounded to death when I went to Playa by myself. Perhaps they mostly go after the women?

The Cozumel ferry cost $18 round trip per person and was lots of fun. We sat on the upper deck and took in the nice breeze. There was one woman who was getting very seasick on the trip over. We suggested she sit by the window and take in the fresh air and to watch the horizon. That seemed to help. We also suggested that she get some Dramamine as soon as possible and to take it long before heading back. The ride took about 45 minutes. Town is about the same as Playa del Carmen, which is saying something, because we didn’t like Playa last time we were there. We went to Cozumel to dive and we had a great time. We used Studio Blue and made arrangements through their shop in Playa. Everything was ready when we arrived. After the dive we did a little shopping and then ended up at Senor Frogs in San Miguel (Cozumel’s only city). I know that’s boring, but hey, we like the place…..

We also dove out of Playa on Tortugas Reef. We must have seen two dozen turtles and a large school of 5 to 6 foot tarpon fish. Very nice diving. The next day we dove Dos Ojos cenote. A cenote is an under ground river. There are no above ground rivers on the Yucatan peninsula. The water is absolutely crystal clear cool fresh water. Can’t say enough about cenote diving. If you ever get a chance...

I had a discussion one evening with a guy I had never met and he started to tell me what he liked about the Iberostar. He mainly focused on the staff and went into some depth about how friendly and attentive they are to the needs of guests. He said he would never go to any other resort. We have felt the same way. The staff seems to try harder. If you show any interest they will help you with Spanish words and phrases. They always are smiling and say hola (hi) and try hard even if they’re not exactly sure what you are trying to say. One morning I asked for grape juice. The waiter came back with grapefruit juice. When I explained what the English word was for this he came back with the grape juice and clarified the English words for the two drinks. We wonder if the Iberostar resort teaches them to do these things or do they simply get rid of those who do not perform as expected? Either way, the staff stands out as people who care for the guests and makes visiting a pleasure. If you’ve only been to one resort you may not notice the difference, but once you’ve been to an Iberostar resort and experienced the attitude and then visit another non-Iberostar resort you will notice the difference.

Overall the resort was fantastic and we will go back. We really enjoy the Iberostar resorts and can recommend them to everyone.

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