Iberostar Tucan, Playa del Carmen

This is our second trip to the Riviera Maya. Last year, we were about 1/2 hour further South of Playa Del Carmen so this year we booked the Iberostar just outside of Playa Del Carmen and did not really know what to expect. The short version is: FANTASTIC! We were there on our honeymoon and were joined by some family members and friends that could join us and all of us loved the Iberostar Tucan (and Quetzal - same place for the most part). The place was very clean and well kept, which is probably harder than you might think considering they make a great effort to keep the place very in tune with nature including a jungle in the middle of the resort that has all kinds of local wildlife including monkeys. Service: Outstanding! On the beach, at the pool, wherever you may be, there is always a smiling face ready to bring you a fresh cold drink. At dinner, I was drinking wine and my glass never got below 1/4 empty without being refilled. Excellent Service all around. The in-house entertainment staff was also top notch. The "star friends" were great to deal with, very friendly and funny. The guy that did Michael Jackson absolutely nailed it! We watched the in-house show every night because it was so entertaining. Cleanliness: Everything was very clean and well kept including the room and the site. Location: Our goal was to be near Playa Del Carmen, which is a central hub for the Mexican Carribean. I like to explore and interact. Playa did not disappoint with excellent food and street vendors. If you do not like the idea of haggling type of shopping, it is not for you, but if you like interacting with a vibrant, bustling community, then you will love it. We never felt unsafe or insecure at all in town. Maybe a little hard to find a bathroom sometimes, but not too bad. Value: For a 5 star that truly is a 5 star place, I thought the value was great. The combination of service, location, a great beach and fantastic staff made the trip very enjoyable. My wife and I as well as the rest of our group that went would gladly return here. If you are looking for a great place to stay and also a place where you can explore off site, this is the place for you!

The hotel is beautiful. We loved the jungle walk to the beach and pool with all the birds, critters and monkeys. The staff were very friendly most of the time. What we had not expected was the many, many, many children that were there. Wow!! It was like a Chucky Cheese landed in the middle of Disney World! We were tripping over kids at the buffet lines, at the pool and on the beach. Don't get me wrong. I love kids. Just not so many. My husband and my 15 year old daughter and I had gone to Iberostar Del Mar last year and had a great time. There were kids there but since it is a bigger place it didn't seem so busy. The beach is very pretty, but the waves are very big most of the time. The food is ok and there is plenty of it but again, we thought the Iberostar Del Mar was laid out a bit better. Yes, the beds are HARD! Some days we did not get the best service at the buffet, but if you ask for anything they do their best to get it for you. The one thing that upset us everyday was people who would get up at 6:00a.m. and lay their towels on the pool chairs to save them. There are not enough pool chairs as it is, and when you have people who save them and then don't show up to claim them till 5 or 6 hours later, that's very annoying!!! My husband is a morning person and he was up by the pool at 6:00a.m. and he witnessed it everyday. They have signs saying not to do it, but it happens nevertheless. I guess the only way to fix this problem is to get alot more chairs. Most of them by the pool are broken anyway, so it would be a good idea anyway. We truly did have a nice time and again, the staff was great. I guess we'll go in the "off season" from now on. We probably won't go back to Iberostar Tucan.

We stayed at Iberostar Tucan for our honeymoon in June 2009 and loved every bit of it! We were cautious about which resort to choose, as during that time there were many cases of swine flu, as well as other food poisonings that we've heard of. Our friends and co-workers advised us to check out Iberostar Tucan, and we're glad they did! Let me start with what seems to be the most important topic in other reviews: the food. We arrived late around 8pm, and my wife & I decided to go for a walk around the properties. Then we stumbled upon the Stakehouse. There's a dress code, where men can only wear pants, no slippers, e.t.c....but we were immediately greeted by a friendly staff member and invited for a dinner. Well, this was a great steak! My wife, who is following a strict diet, opted out for a salad bar instead, and later was regretting for not going for the steak as well. There's a huge buffet that is also open throughout a day (with few breaks for changing the menu from breakfast to lunch to dinner) which was simply amazing! We're a couple from Los Angeles, so we have plenty of places to eat here :)) ....but this was comparably very good. I saw another review comparing the food to Denny's - and it's a shame that people come to Mexico to expect "The Cut". But this is no Baja Fresh either. The menu kept repeating every few days, but the food was always fresh. Especially we loved those burgers grilled in front of us on the beach...yes, even my wife eventually went for that! We also liked Italian restaurant, but Mexican restaurant's food was similar to that in the buffet. They didn't have burritos! Asian restaurant has some cool chefs who cook the food in front of you with some fancy herky-jerky moves, but the food itself was too salty. Anyways, the pool was always crowded, but it was huge. We stayed in the Tucan part, right in the middle between the entrance and the pool/beach area. So for us it was just a short walk either way. There are pool mattresses available along with pool towels, but you have to give them your card. We saw many people waking up early in the morning and going to the pool to reserve the chairs. There is plenty of alcohol available on the premises...we're talking about a bar near the entrance, pool bar, one near the ocean, as well as in the back of the entertainment area. There are nightly shows every day, and Star Friends are amazing! After a few shots of tequila, even myself & wife were on stage actively participating in games :))) This is truly a memorable time we'll never forget. If you don't want to participate, you can just enjoy, have a few drinks, and watch the shows which last until 11-12 am. There's also a club, but we never went there, as our schedule was busy with morning trips to the Mayan pyramids, snorkeling, Rio Secreto, e.t.c.... Also, Star Friends conduct games by the pool area during the day, salsa classes, so there's always something to do. This summer we're planning to go with a bunch of friends, since this is a known property now. The staff is VERY friendly, and don't expect you to tip them. I had a huge pile of $1 bills when traveling, so when tipping the bartender, he would remember my drinks and put more alcohol in :)) Also, every time we returned back to our room, we found some surprises, like a bird made out of towels on the bed, or rose petals which was really cool. Yes, the bed is hard, and no LCD TV, but we knew that before coming. Also, there are a bunch of animals on the premises. The other day we saw some monkeys on the tree, some birds, and other creatures. They don't pay attention to you, since they're used to seeing humans all the time, and just do their thing. I took my SLR camera with me at all times to take some great pictures. Forgot to mention that the beach is great! Water is very clear. I really enjoyed the pool area more, and I was surprised, since we went there for the beach. It was a truly great experience overall. You'll be pleasantly surprised!

My husband and I travel to Mexico about 3 times a year. He's a scuba diver but I'm not. The dive boat picked him up right at the shore ( No dock). I loved this resort. The grounds are very clean. The "jungle" was most relaxing to walk through. The beach is very nice. The rooms are average and the beds are hard, but I like hard beds so for me it was perfect!! The food is good, but the same thing is offered all week long. It's just a short walk to shopping or a short cab ride to Playa Del Carmen shopping. I would stay here again, and will stay at Iberostar Cozumel in Feb. 2010.

I stayed here for the first time with three girlfriends in April of this year. I can only compare it to Barcelo Tropical, where I have been twice before. The Iberostar was very enjoyable, and a smaller resort, so easier to get around. The rooms are almost identical at both resorts, but Iberostar was cheaper. My only complaint is their location on the ocean. The beach was fine, but my friends and I love to snorkel and were spoiled by the reefs and sea life at Barcelo. At Iberostar, our only option was to pay to take a tour boat out. We also had to be very careful in the water... if you get anywhere near the "sand whales" the current around them pulls you out to deeper water. Not really the fault of the resort mind you - they've done a great job with restoring the beach after the last hurricane.

We got married in November 2008 at the Iberostar Tucan and would do it again in a heartbeat! We had approximately 30 guests (adults and children) join us for the week and everyone had a fabulous time. We ALL look forward to going back for the “reunion tour” in another year or two. Mayra, the wedding coordinator, was fabulous. She took care of all the details and left nothing for us to worry about. The setting, flowers, cake, and pictures were amazing….we still have fond memories of the whole experience. Service at the Tucan was great! The staff is super friendly and the resort is spotless. The wildlife and jungle atmosphere really added to it all. Food and drinks are readily available all the time. The buffets have a wide spectrum of food to choose from so there is something for everyone, even the diet conscious person. Overall the food is pretty good, plenty to choose from so if you don’t like one item then move onto the next. Our favorite resort restaurant is the Italian place, the steakhouse was our least favorite. We had such a fabulous time that we are looking at spending our 1st anniversary there this year. We would recommend a vacation at the Iberostar Tucan/Queztal in a heartbeat!!!

First off, this is a resort I would go back to in a heartbeat. That should say it all, but to elaborate, the resort is clean and the staff is great. For the food, please understand that it is OK, not gourmet. The selection is more than adequate, but it is just OK.

The service was incredible. We were impressed by the clenliness and the frendliness of the staff. The restaurants are very good especially the Japonese one, but for lunch the buffett was filled with hot dogs, hamburgers that tasted different and fries. There were other choices but no salad bar. Breakfast was good just because of the bacon but lunch was tough all 6 days with the same choices. We went into Playa del Carmen one day and had a lunch that blew us away and it was tough because we could have been eating like that the whole time. Also very important buildings in the middle of the resort (and for Quetzal as well) can hear the very loud late night show which goes until 11:30. We were on vacation but we had some early plan one night and it was frustrating. The beds are hard but we didn't mind because our bed at home is very firm. We were a gay couple and we didn't experience any negative reactions from staff or other vacationers. The drinks are very watered down and one tip is to bring a big insulated cup, which they will fill up but also ask for an orange juice and Smirnoff and not just a vodka. We had a great time but probably won't do the all inclusive again just because of the quality of the food.

cannot say enough about this place, service, food, atmosphere, everything wonderful. Going again on saturday sept 6th

I will start off by saying that I have extensively traveled through out the caribean and miexico, so this review will be candid about my experience here compared to the hundrerds of other locations in the world. First if you have kids, this place will be good for you. If you are a couple or not looking for the disney world expereice you will hate this vacation. The food is mediochore AT BEST-anyone who says its great probably things the same for a Dennys restaruant back home. It reminded my fiance and I of college dorm food. The supposed free toys on the water were never really able to be used except for 1 day out of 5 due to "wind". It was interesting to see resorts next door and other hobie cats out in the ocean durring this "wind"-my opinion the staff didnt want to deal with the equipment going out. The place is way too big and doesnt even have internet in the rooms-it takes about a 15 minute walk to go to breakfast, dinner, or the beach. The honeymoon suite (the best room) was horrible-over priced and under furnished. Supposedly this place was a 5 apple rating from apple vacations-dont beleive it-it is howarfd johnons on the water that is way too big and over pricsed. In fairness if you upgrade and stay at the most expesnive part of iberostar that part of this resort has good food (we ate dinner one night) and the rooms were nice-and you cant bring kids there.. word to the wise-DONT GO