July 29, 2005
08-19-2005 8:00 pm
July 29, 2005
color=#0000ff> Iberostar Message BoardMy wife and I (age33,34) stayed at the Del Mar from 06/30/05 through 07/07/05 we stayed there last year and at the Tucan in 2001. In our opinion Iberostar is an outstanding company providing the perfect vacation. We booked all of these trips through Apple vacations and do not have a single complaint about the service they provide. I would recommend them to anyone. We had a 7:00am departure from Pittsburgh and we were in the pool by noon Playa time. During our stay we had one full day of rain the other days were beautiful sunny and in the mid 90s. As mentioned in just about every post the place is just beautiful from the marble lobby, smooth jungle like pathways, an enormous crystal blue pool, and a very large beach front. The staff’s attitude was always friendly to above average at all times. Some went out of their way to make you feel like you were old friends. We enjoyed all the food at the buffets, and specialty restaurants. This seems to be the most debated issue on these posts. If you are expecting gourmet level dining you might be disappointed. We on the other hand are into fitness and eat a fairly strict diet so having a week to eat any and everything we want is a special treat for us. Regardless of that unless you are very picky you won’t go hungry. The breakfast buffet has everything you can imagine eating for breakfast and then some. We ate a few lunches at the smaller buffet by the pool but found the beach grill fantastic for lunch. Great burgers, grilled chicken, kabobs, nachos and some awesome guacamole. To me ther is no better way to eat lunch then sitting at the beach. We only made it to 2 of the specialty restaurants during our stay the Mexican and the Steakhouse we found both to be very good and did enjoy the sit down service. We did have a reservation for the Tropical but it was raining that evening so we ordered room service which was good and prompt. You must be flexible with your dinner reservations we prefer late seating because we stay at the pool to at least 7:00 make your reservations as soon as you get there. The rest of the nights we ate at the main buffet. We found there to be enough variety to satisfy our tastes. I don’t go on vacation worrying about food I could be happy with grilled cheese when I’m sitting in paradise. We thought the drinks were good and believe me you don’t have to try that hard to get a nice buzz going. If you think the drinks are weak just ask for more alcohol the bartenders sure don’t care. All the liquor at the beach and pool bars is bottom shelf at the lobby bar they have some mid level selections like Absolute and Jack Daniels. As for beer just Dos Equies on tap which I don’t mind, do I wish they had bottles yes but trust me you can get by. I think that sums up the eating and drinking aspect of our trip. Our room was nice and always made up by noon we stayed in building 10 with the ocean front room we asked at check in and received a free upgrade I figured it doesn’t hurt to ask. I will tell you I will most likely book an ocean front room next year. When we stayed there last year we hardly used the balcony because it was pretty hot and humid in the evenings. Having the ocean front provided you with a constant breeze coming off the ocean which made it very comfortable. Plus waking up and seeing palm trees, white sands and the blue/green of the Caribbean was very nice. Every morning we were up right before 6:00 and were able to watch the sunrise while we got ready for another day in paradise. We did leave a couple dollars for the maid and did tip the bartenders and food staff here and there. As it’s been said before I don’t think the service would be any different one way or the other it just felt right to show some appreciation. We only left the resort once this time on previous trips we did Xel Ha, snorkeling tours, swim with dolphins which were all fun but I feel like been there done that. However we did take advantage of the free shuttle to Playa Del Carmen and had a blast. They drop you off and your on your own we aren’t big on souvenirs but we did do a little shopping then made it down to the beach area. That’s where we did our first annual Playa Del Carmen beach bar crawl. We started up by the pier where the ferry to Cozumel docks at this cool little round bar and proceeded down the beach having a drink or 2 in many different places as we went. In each place we visited the service was excellent and friendly. We had lunch at one of the hotel restaurants which was excellent. Sorry we were pretty far into the crawl so the name escapes me. You pretty much walked right off the beach and ordered a drink a very nice change of pace and very fun. The only other thing we did was parasailing which we did right from the resort it was $60.00 per person and all I can say is I’m glad I did it but most likely won’t do it again. I was expecting some crazy exhilarating feeling but honestly it was very calm and peaceful. Just something to know they take you out to the boat by jet ski and then when we got to the boat there was 10 people on it meaning we were going to have to ride around on the boat to wait our turn. You’re up ther for about 10 min so that meant we were on the boat for 50 min before it was our turn. During that time my wife got a touch of motion sickness and wasn’t able to truly enjoy the experience. We took a camera up with us and did get some really cool pictures. Parasailing is now on my been there list. The rest of our vacation was spent relaxing poolside or at the beach. We ate and drank whatever we wanted all day with no stomach problems. We did however need Rolaids on a daily basis. I do like spicy food but did experience some heartburn throughout our stay. Nothing the Rolaids couldn’t handle. We did use bottled water even to rinse our toothbrushes and never drank any water in the room. We always carried bottled water with us and filled them up every time we went to the buffet. The water/ice cubes they have in the restaurants and bars are purified. We didn’t have any problems with mosquitoes or for that matter I never saw any bugs. We only caught one show we’ve seen them on our other visits they can be entertaining but not really great. Again we spend almost 12 hours a day in the sun and water so by the time we are done with dinner there are no seats left open at the theater. Usually we hung out a little in the lobby for a couple of drinks and then headed back to our room to spend some time in the A/C. We did take a portable DVD player and some of our favorite movies which was nice at the end of the day to lay in the cool room and watch a movie. The room has a clock radio but I couldn’t get any radio stations so we used the DVD player to plat CDs too. I’m glad we took it. There are a lot of stations on TV but the American speaking ones are usually playing re-runs of sitcoms of B movies. We brought rafts from home and they offered to blow them up for us at the towel hut by the pool. They had a Sharpie there to put your names on them. We did get massages on the beach for $38.00 ½ hour and they were great. As it’s been said the place can get pretty slick even a seasoned Iberostar vet took a dive while looking for ice in our buildings hallway. I was also impressed that from last year to this year everything is exactly the same no signs of wear and tear the place is constantly being kept up to a high standard. If you’ve made it this far reading this review I think you know I’m a big fan of this place for my money it’s the best vacation for us I wouldn’t change anything.
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