Iberostar Quetzal

[scooterpie]

Originally Posted by snappysammy

the real fact is most mexicans do not want dollars
they get rid of them as fast as you give them out
and they get a crappy exchange rate

most of them would much rather have 10 peso coins or 20 peso notes
if case you wonder how i know this, i live here with mexicans, i get great exchange rates when i buy their dollars, which they can't get rid of fast enough
so all you misguided people who think that dollar bill will really thrill them, fugeddaboudit

Good info to have, I have been tipping in dollar bills in past trips, but use pesos to buy things. Thanks Snappy, did not know that about the dollars.

[BeerLover44]

I like the idea of hitting an ATM and getting pesos.
Now I need to start getting my head around pesos vs. Canuck cash.
1CAN$=12PESOS right now.

[BeerLover44]

Another question about this hotel. The a la catre restaurants.
How many are there on site, and how many do we actually get with a 7 days stay? Are they picky about this like some resorts?
Do you have to make these reservations within 10 seconds of arriving to guarantee a spot ? Any advice here would be great.

[Uno]

Originally Posted by BeerLover44

Another question about this hotel. The a la catre restaurants.
How many are there on site, and how many do we actually get with a 7 days stay? Are they picky about this like some resorts?
Do you have to make these reservations within 10 seconds of arriving to guarantee a spot ? Any advice here would be great.

4 restaurants. Mexican (good) Japanese (Benihana grill style) Italian (never eaten there) Steak house (I don't care for it) . Seems like I'm missing something here. The buffets are good with lots of variety as well. I believe you get 2 restaurant tickets per couple? That's plenty though. With the breakfast and dinner buffets (lobby area) beach side buffets during the day, you won't go hungry. You absolutely have to leave the resort for some good food in town though. El Fogon is always my first choice.

The Quetzal and Tucan are just mirror images of each other with a common area in the middle consisting of The show palapa, a jungle area, and pool. The jungle paths are great to walk around on with your camera. Various wildlife is everywhere. Listening to howler monkeys in the trees is a real treat. (Except at 5:00 am)

Use the search function here and look up Quetzal or Tucan. You will find many trip reports and get some some first pics and adventures.

We've been there 3 times and will go back.

[BeerLover44]

I checked out our reservation and we get 3 alacarte's for the week.
Do they have to be booked right away like most places?

[scooterpie]

Originally Posted by BeerLover44

I checked out our reservation and we get 3 alacarte's for the week.
Do they have to be booked right away like most places?

We made our reservations the day after we arrived and had no problem getting all 3. We only used 2 of them Japanese and Mexican.

[Uno]

Originally Posted by BeerLover44

I checked out our reservation and we get 3 alacarte's for the week.
Do they have to be booked right away like most places?

No but availability can be an issue. The Mexican is quite good except there are so many appetizers it's easy to be full when dinner comes. The Japanese is a good show too. I did not like the steak house either time I've tried it and I have heard good things about the Italian.

Dinner and the nightly show is great fun a couple times but then you tend to want to expand your horizons and go to town. It's a short $5.00 cab ride. Walking distance even. A long walk but doable.

[Uno]

Oh and they will want you to sit down and sign up for every excursion possible the very first morning. Don't do it. You're on vacation. You don't need a schedule. Do what sounds good, when it sounds good.

[BeerLover44]

Good advice on the time shares. I do not plan on listening to any of them.
Are they right in the hotel bugging you? That seems weird.

[scooterpie]

Originally Posted by BeerLover44

Good advice on the time shares. I do not plan on listening to any of them.
Are they right in the hotel bugging you? That seems weird.

They are not trying to sell you timeshares, they are trying to sell exscursions such as Xel-ha water park, snorkleing, catamaran rides, or golf. You should only have to talk to them if you booked through Funjet, Apple, or Delta vacations, that is where you set up your shuttle ride back to the airport when you leave. Do it the following morning after you check in. Just tell them your not interested in the excursions (unless you are) and like Uno said you're on vacation, relax and enjoy! Restaraunt reservations are made at the Guest services desk located in a booth in the middle of the lobby by the gift shops. You can do that the same morning. It is a nice resort, you will love it!

[LFugi]

Regarding the al a carte restaurants, in addition to the three reservations you can make in advance, they will accept "day of" reservations after 4pm at the customer service stand in the lobby. That is how we handled it, as we found the dinner buffet to be awesome and felt tied down by a set reservation in advance. We did the Japanese (good but super-salty!) and the Mexican (Loved it!) and the rest of the nights did the buffet. There are tons of amazing restaurants in Playa too. The beach sidembuffet is good for an early dinner too.

We tipped in dollars the entire time we were there, and the people were happy to receive them. Next time we'll do pesos,

[BeerLover44]

Other than a visit to Playa, are there any tours or expeditions that are highly recommended?

Seems a shame to goto the Mayan, and not actually visit some ruins.
Are there any close by that are worth the expense?
Thanks.

[BeerLover44]

Couple questions.
- Where is the best place to use a phone to call home when we are there?
- Where can we use the internet?

Approx. how much are both?

Not often, but to touch base with the kids.
Thanks

[Shammy]

Your cell phone is the best way to call home. Do not use the phones in the room. There is a payphone at the hotel, and you can bring a calling card - but many calling cards not bought at these hotel don't work so you may have to buy one there. But that will be more of a hassle and probably won't save you much over using your cell phone for a quick call.

They have a business center, I'm not sure how much it is to use their computers though. I brought my laptop but it's $10/day and wifi is only available in the lobby, nothing in your room. I walked down to Starbucks, bought an iced coffee and used their free internet.

[BeerLover44]

Thanks for the info.
I have a Blackberry on the Rogers network here in Canada.
I wonder if using the lobby wifi to do the odd email to the kids would result in a huge charge for me or not.
Not to use for a phone call, but to send an email or 2.
Any idea?