And Then There Were Two-IB/Quetzal-Barcelo Maya Caribe

[sharkbait]

After mucho reading of reviews and looking at pictures we have limited our decision down to two resorts for our March 1st trip. Need to make our decision tomorrow so I thought I would throw out my perceptions of what was better about each resort and see if you guys agreed.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: 1. Nicer Beach (Wider, not as crowded) 2. More activities (Snorkeling, kiddie water park) 3. More dining and bar options

IB/Quetzal: 1. Smaller resort (easier to get around) 2. Nicer grounds (more upscale) 3. Close to PDC (less drive to and from airport as well)

Would love to hear if I'm "Off Base" on this and any other pluses/minuses you may have on these two resorts. Cost is very close (IB slightly higher) and I'm assuming both resorts have room service and mini bars in the rooms.

As always thatnks for your help.

[MicheleR]

Quetzal--room service 11am--11pm, but snacks available at main buffet area till 4am. No mini bar, just 4 beers in the fridge and assorted sodas. Adult pool holds swim up bar...no kids allowed. The only drawback is that this pool is in a gorgeous shady area, but gets full of leaves during the course of the day. We didn't spend much time in the adult pool, as the folks at the bar never seemed to go relieve themselves after pounding all those shots etc... eewwweee!! But...the beach bar and bars at the lunch spots were quick with the service and had great memories of what people were drinking!!

[sharkbait]

Originally Posted by MicheleR

Quetzal--room service 11am--11pm, but snacks available at main buffet area till 4am. No mini bar, just 4 beers in the fridge and assorted sodas. Adult pool holds swim up bar...no kids allowed. The only drawback is that this pool is in a gorgeous shady area, but gets full of leaves during the course of the day. We didn't spend much time in the adult pool, as the folks at the bar never seemed to go relieve themselves after pounding all those shots etc... eewwweee!! But...the beach bar and bars at the lunch spots were quick with the service and had great memories of what people were drinking!!

Thanks Michelle. We too keep an eye on those "all dayer's" @ the swim up bars to see if that is an area we want to venture into. Not having a mini bar in the room doesn't matter to us but might with some others in the group.

[travmagic]

Good choices.
You are pretty accurate in your description. Except for one point, and this is the reason I have never gone to the Barcelo, there is a fee for room service there. Maybe someone (Shammy?)that has been there can give us more info on that. My kids use the room service at Ib. resorts all the time so I would hate to have to tell them they can't, don't need that bill when I check out.
I would imagine the mini bars are about the same at both resorts. Agaain, maybe someone that has been to both can correct me if I'm wrong.
We have been happy with all the Iberostars. The Quetzal/Tucan is our favorite.

[plumr]

I can tell you that my wife and I have stayed at the Iberostar Quetzal 4 years in a row and have never had a day that wasnt perfect. Good service, perfect beach, and good food. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[Shammy]

Si, there is a per plate charge for room service at the Barcelo (about $3.00). The pools at the Barcelo are super nice, and I mean HUGE, free form, 4 swim up bars, in pool jacuzzi's. As nice as the IB* tucan/Quetzal pools are, the Barcelo pools are just bigger and IMHO, better. I also would not say the grounds at the IB* are "more upscale", I would say they are even with the main difference being the IB* has a more jungle feel to it while the Barcelo is more open. I personally like the open feel at the Barcelo simply because the undercover jungle thing gives me a kind of dank, dark feeling. Not that ALL the IB* area is under trees mind you, but a fair portion of it is. Either way, both resorts have lovely gounds, nothing to complain about or nothing that would make someone pick one resort over the other based on grounds alone. The reason why I would say the beach at the Barcelo is better is because it's secluded and only used by Barcelo guests - no one else from other resorts strolling back and forth. The on site snorkeling is top notch, there is no on site snorkeling at the IB*.

Both are very nice resorts - with these subtle differences, you just have to decide which one better suits you.

[K and P]

Stayed at Barcelo 5 times, walked throught the Iberostar while staying in Playa. I agree with Shammy about that dark feeling at the Iberostar. I think Barcelo being so spread out gives you a bit of everything, well manicured grounds with lovely jungle walkways. I have to say I thought Barcelo had a way better layout, and well the beach it the best around.
Iberostar was beautiful we just perfered the big private beach and large pools that Barcelo offers. I do not think we would do a resort in Playa again because its just one place after another.
As for room service we never needed it at Barcelo,we were fed really well at the resort and did not need more. If I did have to pay a little extra for it, oh well. I would also recommend the Barcelo Tropical and Colonial its newer and you get more alacarts and airconditioned buffets.
I have never stayed at an Iberostar but Barcelo is fantastic, and its cheaper so I will keep returning. Good Luck
Phil from Ottawa who is on this board has stayed at both, he has pictures of both if you need to ask him what he thinks...

[sharkbait]

Thanks everybody. I had been leaning towards the Barcelo since I started the research and you all have confirmed my feeling. Like the fact that there is excellent snorkeling right on site and that the dive boat would pick us up at the resort.

Room service has never been that important to me personally. If I'm too drunk to walk down to the restaurant than it's time to go to bed anyways.

[Mrsfuzzmo]

We stayed at the IB Quetzal in May and absolutely loved it. We are now booked at the Barcelo for next May because there seems to be a lot of comparables. The one thing that made us choose the Barcelo Beach/Caribe was the price and more importantly the on-site snorkeling. We are avid snorkelers and having snorkeling right at the resort is going to be like heaven on earth! Can't wait to get back there!

[Phil in Ottawa]

Everyone so far has given you good advice. Shammy gave a very good description of the grounds.

We enjoyed our stay at the IB* Tucan/Quetzal very much. We would return in a heartbeat given the chance.

But the Barceló has won our hearts. We find this resort gives us everything we are looking for.

You really can't go wrong with either one but my vote would be for the Barceló for all the little extras it offers.

Like K and P said, I have pictures of both resorts in my galleries at the link below.

If you have further questions about either, just ask.

Hope this helps

[sharkbait]

MrsF- Yes the snorkeling is what had me gravitating towards Barcelo as well. We will be down for Christmas Week staying in PDC so we''ll have our time then for running around town, heading to Cozumel,Akumal, Xel ha,etc. Thinking we might not even leave the resort when we head to Barcelo, especially with excellent snorkeling right there.

Phil- I checked out your pictures, good job and they were fun to look at. I'm going to highly recommend Barcelo as my choice for this trip.

You guys have all been great in helping with this decision. I really do appreciate it.

Kevin.

[leenga]

I too have been to both and OP you are right on with your assessments. I loved both and would return to either.

something i would like to add,

i felt the staff and service at the IB* was better. sometimes have long waits at the bars at the Barcelo

Nightly entertainment at the Barcelo is better, best I've been to actually

[Ionsys]

Last 100 reviews of the T/Q---93% rated it either 4 or 5 (ie at least Very Good) and a very high 75% gave it a 5 ("WOW")---For service only, it got 97%VG and 81% WOW--Those results are VERY hard to meet.
Barcelo still gives me the shudders re the Ioniero murder there (maybe by the long gone security guard). The idea of rejoicing at the 'scene' repulses me still

[Phil in Ottawa]

Originally Posted by leenga

i felt the staff and service at the IB* was better. sometimes have long waits at the bars at the Barcelo

I agree that the staff was very nice at the IB* but we have found just as nice (if not nicer) people at the Barceló.

I'm not saying everyone is perfect at either resort, but we have met some very friendly staff at both. So I would not pick one over the other based on staff friendliness.

And, "long waits at the bars" is all relative. To some, two minutes is a long wait while others are willing to go on "Mexican time" and don't mind waiting a bit longer for their drink. I can't say I ever remember waiting more than five to ten minutes for a drink (ten minutes was rare and during high season when the resort was very crowded). To me, waiting for a drink in paradise is not a big problem.

And again here, you could have longer waits at either resort based on a number of factors: time of day, number of people in the bar, number of staff on duty, the type of drink you ordered, etc. So again, I would not necessarily make my choice based on that.

Hope this helps

[Phil in Ottawa]

Originally Posted by Ionsys

Barcelo still gives me the shudders re the Ioniero murder there (maybe by the long gone security guard). The idea of rejoicing at the 'scene' repulses me still

I can't believe people are still bringing up the Ianiero story when discussing the Barceló

Yes, it happened. But I personally think it's time to move on.

My $0.02