May 23, 2005
08-07-2005 8:28 am
May 23, 2005
color=#0000ff> Iberostar Message BoardDate of visit: May 19-23, 2005
Guests: A couple from New Jersey, mid-40s, celebrating 20th anniversary
Travel: We flew Continental non-stop out of Newark, and were delayed 90 minutes at takeoff. Somehow, we were only a few minutes late on arrival. We thought flying on a Thursday would alleviate some of the airport crowding, but several planes arrived about the same time, and the wait for both immigration and customs seemed interminable. Luckily we got the green light at customs. A short wait for our Apple transfer, and two stops before we arrived at Iberostar. Coming back, we waited 90 minutes for a delayed plane to arrive in Cancun. But both flights were smooth, and we landed on the wheels, so I guess that was a success overall.
Hotel check in: Very efficient service with very good English. It’s a sit-down operation, which was a lot nicer than standing at a counter. They brought us drinks, which were very nice and very cold although they were non-alcoholic. Bellman took our luggage immediately, and drove us to the room in a golf-cart shuttle. He carried the bags in and put them on the tables for us. There is a concierge in the central courtyard of each building, which simplified any special requests and made dinner reservations an easy task. Ours was about 40 feet from the door, and the desk was staffed most of the day. Very good English skills from every staffer we encountered.
We did speak to some other guests at the resort and found that many had been originally booked at the Lindo before being offered an upgrade to the Maya. Seems like the resort is hoping for good word-of-mouth advertising. The folks we spoke to were very happy with the upgrade, but glad they didn’t spend the Maya rate. I wish I’d been paying the Lindo rate, but we were celebrating a milestone and wanted the best.
Room: A very nice suite, with a king bed, separate sitting area one step down, a desk, pullout sofa, balcony with table and two chairs and a hammock swing. The bed was a rock. There was a television in an armoire that faces the bed, but we never turned it on. There was a Jacuzzi tub and a separate shower in the bathroom. Shower was large enough to accommodate two adults if they like each other enough. There was a towel swan and rose petals on the bed, a bottle of tequila next to the coffeemaker, and a small refrigerator with bottle water, a variety of soda and some candy. There is a programmable safe in one of the two double closets. The bathroom/dressing area was separate from the sleeping area, with a door between the two. Overall, very spacious and very elegant hotel room. I would estimate the main part of the room to be about 15 feet x 24 feet, bathroom and hallway were an additional 15 feet long. The biggest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in.
Grounds: The Maya section will need some time for the plantings to mature, but the architecture is very impressive. There are high ceilings on all the covered walkways and lots of interesting statues, lighting, sidewalk mosaics, fountains and such. The resort is fairly spread out, so it is a long walk from the beach to the lobby. It’s hard to describe the beauty of the resort. That’s best done with pictures, which you can find at http://community.webshots.com/user/markmillernj
Pool: Iberostar Maya has a very large pool, which is shared by the Iberostar Lindo. There is one pool bar, two Jacuzzis, a wave pool, a lazy river and several waterfalls. The pool water was fairly warm. There were plenty of lounge chairs around the pool. I found the walkways around the pool and loungers to be too constricted, and several times had to change course to get around clusters of people or chairs. I’m surprised the landscaping isn’t constantly trampled. The Maya also has separate smaller pools for some of the buildings (maybe all) and they were cozier and practically deserted while we were there. These pools were big enough to be a standard hotel pool in the US.
Beach: A very nice beach, although not particularly beautiful. It is pretty much a straight stretch of sand across the Iberostar properties. There are undeveloped sections both north and south if you want to take a walk. There are a lot of palapas for shade, but few trees. If you want a palapa, you need to be on the beach fairly early. The only day we got one in the first row was the morning we watched the sun rise. There are a lot of loungers, and we did not have trouble finding a place in the sun.
The beach is separated from the hotel and pool area by a grove of trees. To some this might be a pleasant interlude, to others an annoyance. It’s about 50 yards along a raised wooden walkway, which can get very hot, so wear sandals. There are open showers at the beach end of the walkway.
There is a beach bar and a snack bar, but no waiter service. The snack bar had nachos, hamburgers, hot dogs, guacamole and chicken nuggets, all of which were fresh and tasty. The bar was a complete service, with top-shelf liquors and two bartenders.
For some reason, there is an abandoned pier just off the beach. Next to the pier is a coral reef, which provides some nice snorkeling if the waves are not too strong. We saw several varieties of small fish, several types of coral, and lots of sea urchins. The coral is fairly close to the surface, so you need to be careful of clearance to avoid bumping into the reef when the tide moves you.
There were several huts on the beach for spa massages, but I didn't see many people actually get a massage. There was an extra charge, but I didn't get the price.
The animation team was very energetic, and there were volleyball and soccer games on the beach most of the day. We also saw the pool aerobics and some dancing going on. We were there for only a few days and wanted to rest, so we avoided it all.
Iberostar is based in Europe, and much of the clientele at this resort was European. Many of the women were sunbathing topless, perhaps as many as 20 percent. All body types were represented. Most put on a top to walk the beach or play in the surf, but there were plenty who did not. A gaggle of seven topless ladies playing Frisbee in the surf attracted a cadre of male observers, some with cameras. Topless sunbathing at the pool was more discreet. Bikinis and tankinis were the swimsuits of choice, although there were some one-piece suits. And the men were walking around in all sorts of swimwear as well, including Speedos and assorted other “marble bags.”
Food: There are many specialty restaurants in the Iberostar complex, and we didn’t get to visit many. We did eat at the buffets and found the food to be very, very good. We ate one night at the Tex-Mex and the food was excellent. The tortilla soup was remarkable. We also ate at the Steakhouse and the steaks were very good and cooked perfectly. Lunch was a large variety of things at the main buffet if you were not at the beach. Breakfast buffet had most of the items you’d expect, but not much in the way of pastries. There is an ice cream bar over the pool bar, and the ice cream was very good. We gorged on the coconut. Overall, the food was superb.
Bars: The liquor is all top-shelf, and the drinks were very good. We never had a problem getting good service, although the wait at the beach bar might be a few minutes long at the peak of the afternoon. The swim up bar was not too crowded, although we did not try to get a drink there. The “lobby” bar is in the large pyramid just off the lobby, and the architecture there is impressive. The big snake coiling down over the bar was very interesting, and there are massive statues and interesting murals. There is a nightclub just off the lobby, but we did not get there.
Shops: There are a few shops around the lobby bar, but nothing too spectacular. There’s a shop of local crafts, a shop of souvenirs and sundries, and a shop of branded Iberostar apparel and accessories. There was a tequila shop and a jewelry shop as well. I heard there was a camera shop, although I did not see it. There are also shops off the Lindo lobby if you want to walk over there, but I found the merchandise to be much the same.
Local artists/salesmen set up tables in the evening with jewelry and other items if you want to pick up a few things without going into town. There was one artist doing spraypaint art, which was incredible, and another that painted on tile with his fingernails.
If you do want to go into town, Iberostar provides shuttle transportation on a large air-conditioned bus which stops at the end of 5th Avenue south of the new mall, near the aviary. And the road paving project is complete, thank goodness.
Water sports: There were plenty of sailboats and kayaks available. There were JetSkis for rent, and parasailing and banana boats available. There was a free scuba experience available in the pool designed to get you to pay for a scuba course.
Snorkeling: I mentioned there was very nice snorkeling off the beach. We also did a snorkeling tour, which was very entertaining and unforgettable. We booked the Mayan Adventure tour through Apple, and definitely recommend it. It cost $69 US per person. They picked us up in the morning and took us to Cenote Cristalino, which is a very clear, open-air freshwater cenote, or natural sinkhole. We stayed there about an hour. From there we went to a cavern cenote (I didn’t get a name) and snorkeled around the cave formations for about an hour. Both of these were very interesting and quite different than the typical saltwater snorkeling. After that we had lunch served by a Mayan family that lives at the site. Very good food and lots of it. (And cold cerveza.)
Our last stop was Yal-Ku Lagoon near Akumal. This is a protected lagoon where fresh water rises up to meet the ocean, and it was full of fish and coral. Much like Xel-Ha, but not nearly as commercially developed. It was also much less crowded (unless you wanted to count the parrotfish). While we were there we swam alongside a wandering sea turtle, and later, a stingray. Unlike Xel-Ha, these creatures are truly wild and free to swim out to sea at any time, so we know they were just relaxing in their natural habitat. Beautiful scenery every inch of the lagoon, and the tour guides swam along with us to make sure we saw the best parts. After we were finished they returned us to the hotel around 4 p.m. A trip worth every penny.
Entertainment: There is a live theater on the Lindo side with the standard resort entertainment. Nothing remarkable. If you’ve seen one resort’s show, you’ve seen something similar.
Apple Vacations: We had no problems with the transfer, but I think Apple Vacations can do a much better job at the hotel. The Apple rep was late for the briefing they insisted we attend. We had to badger them to get info on the return transfer, and did not actually get any information until about 40 minutes until we were supposed to leave. The Apple desk was only staffed three hours a day, 10 a.m.-noon and 6-7 p.m.
Travel Agent: We used Lone Palm Travel again, and I need to shout out to Shammy, who once again suggested just the right location, and found us a great deal. You are the best!
Comparison: Last year we stayed at the Barcelo Maya, so I’ll offer a quick side-by-side.
Iberostar had the nicer room by far, better liquor and much better food. The grounds are beautiful at both, but the Iberostar is more impressive. Shops seemed better at the Barcelo, and we preferred the public pools at the Barcelo. The Iberostar wave pool and lazy river were not very interesting. The Barcelo beach was much, much, much nicer. It is not a long walk from the Barcelo beach to the buffet or the bar, although it was nice to have a beach bar at the Iberostar. Overall, I would choose Iberostar for a romantic visit, while I would choose the Barcelo for a family visit. My wife said she would choose to return to the Barcelo, based on the beauty of the beach alone.
Photos: You can find pictures from both resorts, and various excursions and such from the two trips, on our webshots page. http://community.webshots.com/user/markmillernj
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