We really appreciated all the information people gave on this hotel, so we feel obliged to give our own review and add whatever helpful hints we can for this hotel. We gave it an above average rating rather than excellent although it is really somewhere between the two.

Who we are: A married couple celebrating our 3 year anniversary. Both professionals in our late twenties/mid thirties. We love to travel and enjoy staying at big resorts with lots of amenities. We have traveled to Puerto Vallarta and Hawaii together as well as other destinations and stayed at a spectrum of resorts over the last 5 years.

Overview: This is an enormous resort located in a gated resort community called Playacar. To reiterate what others on this site have said, this is one giant hotel, with a jungle (complete with animals!) & giant lake size pool running down the middle. We are not sure why they have two sides (Tucan/Quetzal) when its essentially one hotel. There are 700 rooms. It was much bigger with a lot more people than we imagined. We stayed there Tues April 25-Sun April 30. We truly enjoyed our stay. The resort is very well maintained and has every thing you need right there. You really do not have to leave to have a great vacation!

Booking the room: You cannot book on the Iberostar website. You have to go through a travel agency. Funjet had the best prices. We went through our local American Express Travel office for the room and transfers. We booked our own airfare on Continental.

Getting there: We live in Houston, TX so for us its an 1:50 minute flight to Cancun. From Cancun aiport to the Iberostar is a 45 minute drive by car. You could take a taxi for around $40 (US) or book the transfer through your agent.

Cancun aiport: Modern airport. Getting through customs was simple and quick.

Check in: We took the advice that others had mentioned on here and emailed the hotel ahead of time with our room request. You can get the email address on this site's forum section. I got a speedy respsonse from the resort's guest relations person saying she would forward my request to the front desk manager. We did get a room in the building we requested, but the lady checking us in seemed to have no clue what we were talking about. She was one of the few less friendly employees we encountered. On Tues afternoon we were the only people checking in. We gave our name and then there was some discussion between the two people behind the desk as to what room we should get. We were initially given a room with 2 double beds with the excuse that there was nothing left. After polite protest and the explanation that it was our anniversary, we were given a king room (#2122).

Rooms: The rooms are clean and decorated with a Mexican flair. We really liked the huge tiled shower. Room 2122 was on the second floor in one of the buildings closest to the pool and beach on the Quetzal side. We had a balconly and a very partial ocean view. If you want to be near the beach & pool request buildings 21-23. The higher numbers are closer to the jungle and lobby (on the Quetzal side). Our room was quiet in the morning but we did hear people coming to their rooms at night, but nothing too bothersome. The TV is small but has cable with a few good channels. Every day we came into our room after it had been cleaned and had a towel creature on our bed made by the maid. Very cute. We tipped our maid a dollar or two every day and our fridge was always stocked and she even left us a giant jug of water. There is a coffee maker in the room. The air conditioner works well but did make a vibrating sound that drove me crazy, although I am hypersensitive to noise when I am trying to sleep. I thought the bed was comfortable but we did have the egg crate on it. My husband said it was very firm for him.

Beach: Beautiful! The hotel is at the end of the row of resorts so you can take a long walk on the beach. There are a few vendors that come by and try to sell stuff, but they are very polite. It was nothing like Puerto Vallarta where you a literally hounded by vendors every few minutes. The smokers think the sand is one big ash tray so there were a few cigarette butts. Topless sunbathing is permitted on the beach only. You can check out umbreallas from the same place where you get towels which precludes the need to get up at day break to get a palapa.

Food/Drinks: We liked the food for the most part. The large buffet for breakfast was fine for us. Huge variety. We never went hungry. For lunch there are two buffets near the pool that were a bit repetitive but you could always find something to eat. For the a la carte dinners we ate at the Japanese (like Beni Hana) and Tropical (one of the pool buffets converts at night).We also ate at the large buffet for dinner twice and liked it. We went into town one night and ate at a really good restaurant called Hemingway's. For lunch one day we ate in Playa right on the beach at a place called Hotel De Costa. Very good food! Drinks were good and plentiful at the Iberostar. Wine was available with dinner. Our only complaint about the resort was that there weren't any snacks around the pool after 5 PM. Some chips & guacamole with our evening cocktails would have been nice.

Excursions: We went to Tulum, Playa Del Carmen, and Xel-Ha.
-Xel- Ha (pronounced shell-ha) is a giant water/ eco park. We took a cab from the hotel that cost $38 (US) each way for the two of us and took about 40 minutes each way. We went on Thurs and got our tickets at the door. We paid $59 (US) w/ a credit card for each of us for the "All Inclusive" package. If you have never been snorkeling this might be a good place to start or if you have kids they might enjoy it, but otherwise I think you can skip it. Its a huge, excedingly crowded park and its really hot. You can get more info on their website. A better option for those that have done a bit of snorkeling might be a boat excursion specifically designated for it.

-Playa Del Carmen is s cute town about a 5 min/$5 (US) cab ride from the hotel. Ask the driver to take you to "5th Avenue." Great shops, good restaurants, & night life. Don't go at 3 in the aftternoon unless you prefer to sweat off a few pounds!

-Tulum (Mayan ruins) is about 50 mins away from the hotel. We took the "Collectivo" which is a van that takes up to 12 people up and down the main highway so there are a lot of quick stops. From the hotel, you can take a cab to the "Collectivo" station in Playa. It cost $5 (US) for two people each way. You must pay with Mexican Pesos (this was the only place we did not use US dollars) to enter Tulum. It costs 45 pesos ($4.50) per person. Tulum is well maintained and the view of the beach is beautiful.

Entertainment: The hotel has shows every night put on by the "Star Friends" or Animation Team. Obviously all the performers put a lot of effort into the shows and they are entertaining although somewhat amateurish. They are certainly worth attending, if even for a short while. Sat night was really good though, as it's put on by a large talented troupe of traditional Mexican dancers. Don't miss it.

Activies: The resort has a lot to offer, is great for families with or without children, and almost everyone with whom we spoke was really enjoying the resort and surroundings.