A First Timer's Trip/Iberostar Tucan Report

Pency87 · 07-10-2006

First, many many thanks to all the good folks who post on this board, Your insights and advice were so helpful in planning our trip.

Here is a recap of the week my wife and I stayed at the Iberostar Tucan. I hope it entertains and informs!

A bit about us (for context): we are from Washington DC, mid-30s, no children and fairly easy to please when it comes to travel/accommodations. (We’re not exactly the most uptight duo.) We had never been to Playa del Carmen before; we went on the recommendation of our agent at Liberty Travel.

In a nutshell, I honestly could not have asked for anything more out of this trip. The Tucan is fantastic. Just a gorgeous resort in such a unique setting (jungle! monkeys! wild birds! brown furry things of unknown origin!)

Check-in was a breeze. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Our third floor room was lovely—just the right size with a large bathroom and great balcony. (We were visited by a monkey while having pre-dinner cocktails one evening. Sadly, he declined our invite to join us.) By the way, yes the beds are a bit on the hard side but by no means are they uncomfortable.

The Tucan is a big resort but it never felt huge. It takes only a few minutes to walk everywhere you want to be. The pool is delightful—the pool bar is fine but does get crowded. The highlight is the beach. Just breathtakingly gorgeous. Clean sand and crystal clear water. We absolutely lived at the beach. We usually hit the sand by 10:30 AM or so and never had a problem getting a chair or an umbrella. The chairs by the pool did fill up quickly but that largely seemed due to families with many children.

Some other quick thoughts:

- The food at the restaurants was fine. We did the Asian, the Steakhouse and the Mediterranean. Nothing bowled us over but nothing was horrible, either. The regular buffet did just fine. And truth be told, the only food I was concerned with that week was the fruit placed on the rim of my drink.

- In the evening, the bar near the entrance of the resort was a great place to relax and meet people (hello to the lovely couple from Liverpool & all our other British friends!)

- Believe what everyone says and ignore the weather forecasts. It rained once on our second day there for about two hours. Rain was forecast for the rest of the week and not another drop fell.

- The tipping question. Full disclosure—we tend to be over-tippers. I tipped our housekeeping between 3-5 pesos every day and our bartenders a couple of pesos or two on every other round. The tips always seemed appreciated.

We absolutely would stay there again and have been recommending it to anyone who asks. I have attached a link to my blog (I hope this is OK to do!) should any readers wish to see photos of the resort (and, well…of us. Kindly forgive the pasty city-dweller look.)

http://wegotbeets.blogspot.com/

Again, many thanks to the good people here at Playa.Info. This is by far the best forum of its kind on the Net. We couldn’t have done it without you!

PSH

babs31 · 07-10-2006

Nice pictures!, and you never can go wrong with Iberostars!

Nerak936 · 07-10-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pency87

The tipping question. Full disclosure—we tend to be over-tippers. I tipped our housekeeping between 3-5 pesos every day and our bartenders a couple of pesos or two on every other round. The tips always seemed appreciated.

I'm guessing you probably meant to say "30-50 pesos" ($3-$5 USD), etc. on this, as "3-5 pesos" is 30-50 cents USD.

Soooooo glad to hear you enjoyed the resort. We've been there 3 times (Quetzal side) and loved each and every moment there!!

And the "unknown origin" creatures are agoutis.... or as I have nicknamed them, "Garden Rats". Sort of a cross between a rabbit and a squirrel, donchya think??!! They ARE adorable!!

Pency87 · 07-10-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nerak936

I'm guessing you probably meant to say "30-50 pesos"

D'oh. That is what I meant. Pretty funny to mention how 'generous' we can be with tips and then back it up by saying we leave just enough change to buy a gum ball! Ooops. (And thanks for the catch.)

Nerak936 · 07-10-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pency87

D'oh. That is what I meant. Pretty funny to mention how 'generous' we can be with tips and then back it up by saying we leave just enough change to buy a gum ball! Ooops. (And thanks for the catch.)

I figured that's what you did mean. And it's great that you did feel compelled to tip well. They really bust their backs at the Iberostar Tucan/Quetzal. It's a real class act.

Did you ever make it to Mascara (the disco??) We found it hoppin' big time some nights while other nights it was pretty dead. And then there were the nights we just didn't have the energy to go there (since it didn't really start hoppin' on any night until 11PM or later!)

Pency87 · 07-11-2006

We passed through Mascara a couple off times but really just so much more enjoyed sitting at the bar toward the front of the resort. The service was great, the drinks were well made and it was cool meeting other people. Another nice thing--and I hope I'm not giving the Tucan (or myself) a shady reputation--was that it was never a problem if you wanted a couple of drinks "to go" so that the rest of the eveining could be spent on the balcony in your room. Very accomodating, even if the paranoid City Boy in me kept waiting for an authority figure to yell, "Hey, you with the cocktails...freeze!" (Instead, it just ended up being my wife saying, "Hey, you can only carry two cocktails...?")
;-)

Nerak936 · 07-11-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pency87

We passed through Mascara a couple off times but really just so much more enjoyed sitting at the bar toward the front of the resort. The service was great, the drinks were well made and it was cool meeting other people. Another nice thing--and I hope I'm not giving the Tucan (or myself) a shady reputation--was that it was never a problem if you wanted a couple of drinks "to go" so that the rest of the eveining could be spent on the balcony in your room. Very accomodating, even if the paranoid City Boy in me kept waiting for an authority figure to yell, "Hey, you with the cocktails...freeze!" (Instead, it just ended up being my wife saying, "Hey, you can only carry two cocktails...?")
;-)

Good for you!! Naaaaw.... they don't mind at all!! We always started off our stay at the resort with a couple of Mexican Flags (shooters) at the lobby bar right after we checked in (before we even saw our room) and then grabbed a couple of cocktails to take with us to the room too. And many many times, I asked for "extra vitamins" in my drinks, and the bartenders were always very happy to comply!!

I can never understand it when people comment that the drinks are too weak at a resort. If you want more alcohol in your drink, simply asking nicely for it will do the trick!

07-10-2006	#1 (permalink)
Pency87 sandflea Join Date: May 2006 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3	A First Timer's Trip/Iberostar Tucan Report First, many many thanks to all the good folks who post on this board, Your insights and advice were so helpful in planning our trip. Here is a recap of the week my wife and I stayed at the Iberostar Tucan. I hope it entertains and informs! A bit about us (for context): we are from Washington DC, mid-30s, no children and fairly easy to please when it comes to travel/accommodations. (We’re not exactly the most uptight duo.) We had never been to Playa del Carmen before; we went on the recommendation of our agent at Liberty Travel. In a nutshell, I honestly could not have asked for anything more out of this trip. The Tucan is fantastic. Just a gorgeous resort in such a unique setting (jungle! monkeys! wild birds! brown furry things of unknown origin!) Check-in was a breeze. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Our third floor room was lovely—just the right size with a large bathroom and great balcony. (We were visited by a monkey while having pre-dinner cocktails one evening. Sadly, he declined our invite to join us.) By the way, yes the beds are a bit on the hard side but by no means are they uncomfortable. The Tucan is a big resort but it never felt huge. It takes only a few minutes to walk everywhere you want to be. The pool is delightful—the pool bar is fine but does get crowded. The highlight is the beach. Just breathtakingly gorgeous. Clean sand and crystal clear water. We absolutely lived at the beach. We usually hit the sand by 10:30 AM or so and never had a problem getting a chair or an umbrella. The chairs by the pool did fill up quickly but that largely seemed due to families with many children. Some other quick thoughts: - The food at the restaurants was fine. We did the Asian, the Steakhouse and the Mediterranean. Nothing bowled us over but nothing was horrible, either. The regular buffet did just fine. And truth be told, the only food I was concerned with that week was the fruit placed on the rim of my drink. - In the evening, the bar near the entrance of the resort was a great place to relax and meet people (hello to the lovely couple from Liverpool & all our other British friends!) - Believe what everyone says and ignore the weather forecasts. It rained once on our second day there for about two hours. Rain was forecast for the rest of the week and not another drop fell. - The tipping question. Full disclosure—we tend to be over-tippers. I tipped our housekeeping between 3-5 pesos every day and our bartenders a couple of pesos or two on every other round. The tips always seemed appreciated. We absolutely would stay there again and have been recommending it to anyone who asks. I have attached a link to my blog (I hope this is OK to do!) should any readers wish to see photos of the resort (and, well…of us. Kindly forgive the pasty city-dweller look.) http://wegotbeets.blogspot.com/ Again, many thanks to the good people here at Playa.Info. This is by far the best forum of its kind on the Net. We couldn’t have done it without you! PSH

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07-10-2006	#2 (permalink)
babs31 life=playa Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: south of Green Bay Posts: 849	Nice pictures!, and you never can go wrong with Iberostars!

07-11-2006	#6 (permalink)
Pency87 sandflea Join Date: May 2006 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 3	We passed through Mascara a couple off times but really just so much more enjoyed sitting at the bar toward the front of the resort. The service was great, the drinks were well made and it was cool meeting other people. Another nice thing--and I hope I'm not giving the Tucan (or myself) a shady reputation--was that it was never a problem if you wanted a couple of drinks "to go" so that the rest of the eveining could be spent on the balcony in your room. Very accomodating, even if the paranoid City Boy in me kept waiting for an authority figure to yell, "Hey, you with the cocktails...freeze!" (Instead, it just ended up being my wife saying, "Hey, you can only carry two cocktails...?") ;-)

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