TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

My family (kids 2.5 and 5) stayed at Iberostar Maya Suites early May 2026. Overall, I’d rate our stay a 3/5. This place definitely did not feel like a five star resort. I’ve only been to an all inclusive adults only five star resort, so maybe there’s a difference, but even with slightly lower expectations for being family friendly, it still fell short. Facility/Room- 3/5 We had a 2 room family suite. Overall the rooms were ok. Loved the space they offered! However, both bathtubs had mold in the jets. Made for a long week of a mad toddler and preschooler who couldn’t take a bath and were forced to shower. The hammock swings on both balconies had huge holes, so that was a bummer. Our building ice machine was broken. Asked if we could get some kind of dish soap for washing toddlers milk cup- was told they didn’t have any. So FYI for toddler/baby parents- bring dish soap. Overall, the room was fine, but the mold in the tubs was a huge red flag for us. The lobby and other main facilities like restaurants were clean and beautiful. Food- 3/5 Overall, the food was just OK. There was no wow factor or nothing that we had that was GREAT. American night at the buffet was absolutely terrible. The best thing we had was the hibachi style Japanese restaurant. The kid section of the buffet was hit or miss. My picky five-year-old would eat six or seven nuggets one night and say the fries were so good and then the next meal, tell me they were disgusting. I have to say I did try them, and often times they were overcooked and dry, so it felt very hit or miss. There was a huge selection of fruits, which was super nice, but of course my five-year-old’s favorite is strawberries, and I couldn’t figure out why he kept telling me they weren’t really good…until I had them. I immediately knew they had been previously frozen. A lot of the other picky eater foods like the pizza or mac & cheese left a lot to be desired. There was also a huge lack of snacks (thank god I brought half a suitcase of snacks from home because my kids went through 95% of them!). It would be so nice to have the options even in the café to grab a bag of pretzels or some chips, popcorn, goldfish, etc for the kids between meals. Also, both of my kids are obsessed with applesauce and that was definitely nonexistent and felt like a big miss for picky eating kids. As adults, we never were wow-ed by anything, but overall didn’t go hungry with a lot of choices. Unfortunately, we did waste quite a bit of food as well trying things that we just didn’t like, but usually you could end up finding something that you would eat. The biggest highlight in the food category- the ice cream! The only hard thing about the ice cream was my kids fell in love with two certain flavors and then we never found them again after that one time. It would be nice if at least in the main ice cream shop by the mall they had all the flavors available. The buffet at Maya for breakfast was pretty good, we went to Lindo’s breakfast one time, and it did not stand up to Maya’s. Again, though simple things like the pancakes were often overcooked, darker, brown, and crunchy a bit so my kids weren’t feeling it. The cafe was a savior for someone who thrives on coffee (the one at Maya was always WAY better then the same order at the other cafes though ???????) Alcoholic drinks left a lot to be desired- I’m not a heavy drinker so usually 1-2 drinks and I’m feeling a bit buzzed. I could have 3-4 drinks an in evening and not feel the least bit buzzed. Hubby felt the same way and so did my parents who were also on the trip with us. Services 4/5 The employees are generally happy, nice, and helpful. Only had one employee that really wasn’t kind and it was at the Spa actually. There’s a lack of service here through for what I was anticipating at a 5 star resort. Often at buffets, we got drinks within 10-15 minutes of being seated but unless we flagged someone down that was that, we weren’t getting refills. There are bars around the pools, but no staff serving drinks or snacks. I saw a few staff go through and clean up abandoned glasses, but there was no offer of service. Cleaning was just OK in the room- didn’t always get fully restocked on towels or all the sand swept day to day. Plus for service- the golf carts. Especially with little kids and at night, that was great and they felt pretty easy to come by. Pools/Beach- 4/5- they had great pools. We only stayed by the Maya/Lindo pools. Some days we’re a little harder to get loungers in the shade but overall it wasn’t so bad. The pools were mostly clean, although I did feel like no one spent any time cleaning the splash pad, and there was often all sorts of things floating in the water there. I also thought it was a huge mess that there’s only one place to get towels (including for the beach). We were in building 66 and if my kids wanted to play in the splash pad, I had to spend over 10 minutes walking halfway down the main pool to get towels and all the way back before they could ever play when the perk was supposed to be that the splash pad was right at our building. There is also no bar at the kids splash pad area, making it tough on a long day. There was water there, so I’ll give them that much, but it would’ve been nice to even be able to get a Diet Coke while sitting over there for hours. The beach was overall great, no complaints. The sargassum wasn’t bothersome to us and was cleaned up relatively quickly. Other notables- 1. Kids Club- we were told at check in we could accompany our kids anytime during their open hours. We finally made it there day 3 and were turned away because it wasn’t family time? Explained they told us at check in that any time was OK to bring them to play with us. The lady told us no to come back between 6:30- 8:30 in the evening. Once I found out that they call it family time, I noticed on the app that it said it was from 12-2 in the afternoon which left me even more confused. Went over there one day around 1 PM and was able to let the kids play. I did ask at that point about the 6:30- 8:30 PM thing and she said it’s a second time of day that they let families in. We never went back to try, so I’m unsure, but it felt a bit confusing being told three different things. My kids had a great time there though, and really liked having a nice place to play to take a break from the heat outside in the middle of the day. 2. The app doesn’t give a lot of details about what’s happening so it could be confusing sometimes knowing what’s actually available for activities. They do have a lot of activities though. 3. Forget about any resort credits you may have from booking- they’re useless. $25 off one $100 item. We were told when we checked in that it was $25 off at $100 purchase but then we’re told in the shops that I had to be one single item for $100. Avoid shopping at the resort if you can- $$$! My five-year-old was dying for a Coati plush that cost $78. ?? 4. The wildlife around is really cool and my kids really enjoyed that. 5. The hydrotherapy included while staying at Maya was nice. The spa staff weren’t super friendly though. It was a shock to see a dead bird floating in the outside hydrotherapy water rock area that you were supposed to be able to walk through, but it was more of a shock when the other lady out there with us brought it up to the worker and she seemed to shrug it off and say OK but while we were there over the next hour visible to that area, no one ever went to clean up the dead bird. 6. The shopping mall playground and carousel were thoroughly enjoyed by my children. We are relatively easy-going and really just enjoyed having a vacation in the sun and being together so we had a great time and made the most of it, but we would not return to this resort. For the price we paid, I definitely expected a higher end feel and service.

I just want to put this out there to everyone.. We are here in building 60.. I wanna give a shout out to 2 of our concierge.... Fernanda and marlene. These two workers were amazing at their job.. Great attitude personality kind and helped us with every problem. Big and small........ I can't say enough about them... And for all they did for my fiance's birthday... I really hope someone in management gets to see this..... I am going to try to write something on the official website... ono

Veronica Gomes was incredibly helpful and friendly. From the very first day, she made us feel welcome and assisted us throughout the resort.

We chose this resort based on positive reviews and the Iberostar reputation. In many respects it delivers, but our stay was unfortunately very different from what we had hoped for. ACCOMMODATION We booked a two-bedroom family junior suite with a connecting door, set up to sleep five people. On arrival we found one king size bed and two doubles — with no provision for our five year old. We raised this with guest relations on the first evening but experienced little urgency in response, being told that rooms are sold on bed configuration rather than occupancy. A single bed was eventually provided the following day, though we were advised this could not be guaranteed. Not the welcome a family expects at a five-star resort. The rooms themselves are comfortable but somewhat dated. Beds were good and housekeeping attended daily. However, several days after our daughter had been ill, we found remnants of vomit under one of the beds, which raised concerns about the thoroughness of cleaning. In addition, shower doors in both rooms did not close properly, causing water to flood onto the bathroom floor. This was reported but not resolved. FOOD AND DRINK The restaurant offering is genuinely strong. Etoile (French), Tepanyaki and El Rancho were all of a good standard and worth booking. The food leans toward traditional American-style dining — steaks, lobster and similar — which reflects the largely North American guest base. The breakfast buffet was well stocked, though queues at the egg station were often long and hot items were slow to be replenished. Table service was inconsistent, with waits of five to ten minutes on occasion before being able to order drinks. For those who prioritise drinks, the resort performs very well, with a wide range of premium spirits available. POOL AND ENTERTAINMENT The waterslides are excellent and a real highlight for children. The entertainment team around the main pool are energetic and engaging — lively rather than relaxed, though quieter areas are available elsewhere. Poolside service was inconsistent; across a ten-night stay we were approached by waiting staff only a handful of times. One standout positive for families is the wildlife. Coatis, macaws, peacocks and iguanas roam freely around the resort and can be seen up close — something our children loved. ILLNESS AND COMPLAINT HANDLING Unfortunately, our stay was seriously impacted by illness. All five members of our family — including three children aged 5, 10 and 12 — were affected over a four-day period. We effectively lost a substantial portion of our ten-night holiday. The handling of this by the hotel was deeply disappointing. Despite raising the issue in writing, no formal complaint was initiated for several days. We were passed between multiple staff members, received conflicting information, and experienced repeated broken commitments with no clear ownership of the situation. Medical assistance was available at the resort, but only at our own expense. We were subsequently informed that because we had not sought medical treatment on site, the hotel would not consider any liability. For families travelling with children, I would strongly recommend seeking medical attention immediately and retaining all receipts — regardless of cost — as this may affect how any complaint is handled. The only remedies offered were use of a poolside cabana on our final day and repeated offers of late checkout, which were not practical given our early morning departure. Having stayed in comparable resorts previously, the handling of this situation fell well below the standard we would expect, particularly given the impact on a family with young children. We have submitted a formal complaint to both the hotel and our UK booking provider. I share this review not out of bitterness, but to ensure other families — particularly those travelling with young children — are fully informed.

Went to the snake bar and was treated exceptionally well by Romeo and Rodolfo. Would highly recommend.