TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We have been coming to this hotel since 2011 and love it. I have taken a star because food could use some help although it has been been than previous years. If you have kids, the star club is a loving place for them to be at and they have different activities and shows daiily. PILAR , KAREN , JESSIE AND NICOLE ARE TUELY GEMS. Never felt more confortable and they have great comunication. At the restaurants, george (we ve known for years now) yahir, isaac, benito and samuel are great and are quick to help, although everyone is helpfull we always are happy to see their faces and they go above and beyond for us always. Check in and out are fast and nice . I have just one little hick up whitch is that when i book it says 2 doubles or one king and i always get to pay ti get the king when i get there, uts a little disconcerning. Rooms are clean we always stay in building 11 or 12 close to the pool. There are activities all day for all ages and families have great fun. The entertainment is amazing and has been getting better and better. We ll be back when they re open , april is my favorite time to go, sweeter fruits, not too hot or humid, it s the best time. Hopefully they will have taller slides for bigger kids im mind for the remodel

We just returned from an awesome trip at Iberostar Waves Tucan. Here are my two cents I like to see as a family: Beach- Best one I’ve been to in Mexico. Nice, soft, white sand. Ocean was clear and all kinds of blue. Beautiful. Pool- There are a few shallow areas but the pool is generally quite deep. Wasn’t an issue for us as our kids are good swimmers but this could be concerning for those who can’t. I feel the pool needs a facelift, but I hear there are renovations coming. Even so, the pool was great with ample spaces to lounge. Food- Always something good to eat. No one in our group was complaining. Grounds- Beautiful. Having the jungle right there is great. They take really good care of the grounds. Rooms- I understand these are being renovated, and they need it. That being said, they were clean and comfortable. Service- The staff were very friendly. Shout out to Isabel in the Tulum buffet. She was our server most days and was always nice. I would definitely come back. I’m really curious to see what the renovations will be like. I’m scared the Reno’s will push this resort out of my price range, but time will tell!

The hotel is a solid 4 star hotel, I think like many hotels the actual 5 star rating is down to local ratings as many hotels are also 5 star. The food has been good, yes more variety would be nice but as with any all inclusive buffet that is the case. The restaurants you can book offer good food too. The rooms are clean and comfortable. The entire hotel is clean, nice being around so much wildlife in the grounds of the hotel too. Overall it has been a good experience, The hotel is being refurbished from May 2026 and I do think it needs some improvements to the aesthetic of the hotel as it is tired and needs bringing into the modern day. Location is good and it is walkable to Playa Del Carmen.

Highlights: • Beautiful property. The pool area is fantastic and being surrounded by the jungle and animals was incredible. That was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. • Great food. Every meal we had was great. Especially loved the Italian restaurant and smoke house. • Wonderful staff. The team throughout the hotel was kind, attentive, and welcoming. • Fun activities. The on-site activities were a great addition and added a lot of fun to the stay. A small suggestion: • Music quiz: We loved the music quiz and had a great time the first night we attended. The staff hosting it were excellent and the songs were fun. Because we enjoyed it so much, we came back two nights later expecting a new set of songs, but it was the exact same playlist. If the quiz runs multiple times in the same week, it would be great if the songs rotated so guests can participate again without already knowing the answers. A couple areas that could be improved: • Arrival experience: After a long travel day and investing a lot in a stay, guests hope for a warm, relaxed welcome. When we arrived, we were invited to attend a 90-minute informational breakfast the next morning. While it’s understandable to offer this to guests, the interaction felt quite pressured when we declined. There were comments implying that not attending would hurt the concierge personally, which created a sense of guilt for saying no. I want to emphasize that the concierge herself was kind, and it seemed likely she may be under pressure from management to promote this. However, guests should be able to decline without feeling pushed or made uncomfortable. • $300 Iberostar credit: The advertising around the $300 credit was confusing and felt misleading. Initially it sounds like a $300 credit you can use at places like the spa. In reality, it works like coupons where you must spend $100 in order to receive $25 off. This means you need to keep spending money to use the credits, which is very different from what many guests might assume when they hear “$300 credit.” Greater transparency around this would make the experience feel much more straightforward and fair. Aside from those points, the resort itself is fantastic and we enjoyed our stay. However, the arrival pressure around the breakfast presentation and the way the $300 credit is advertised both left us feeling uncomfortable. As someone who works in tourism and hospitality, those aspects felt a bit at odds with the otherwise high-quality experience the resort provides. If those two things were addressed with a more transparent and relaxed approach, this would easily be a nearly perfect stay and a place I would enthusiastically recommend to others.

Second visit to Iberostar Tucan Waves/ Iberostar Quetzal THE BAD: SEAWEED - wall/shelf of 2 foot high and extending 8 -10 feet into the water. From the first day arrived. Water not accessible for many days. However, a tractor did eventually come clear it. I know it is not the resort that created the problem, but, they have means to clear it fast as it is a regular occurance. RESTAURANTS: Trouble booking for groups for dinner. Email enquiry was brutal upsell. $32 US to sit us together in restaurant! Although restaurant have space for over 100 ppl. and were less than half full each time we went. No area for a group gathering...unless you pay BIG $$$ Also HUGE (similar) cost to get a platter of fruit or ANYTHING service to beach. I have never seen this before at 4+ stars LATE NIGHT BUFFET - YUCK!!! Dead fries, stale food, no variety. ROOM SERVICE: NO room service as advertised. Although i was told AFTER that they would have send a plate to me when I was sick. IF i asked for 'special consideration'. UPSELLING BASICS: EVERYTHING!!! This level of a resort should have a lot more PREMIUM services available without the guest feeling put upon To get a SEAT with a table of bar service at FIRESHOW was $270 US (apparently that got you a bottle of booze and a table to sit your drinks on. ) It was sectioned off as VIP. You could get a nice chair far away from show for free. The photos should be complimentary for a basic photo, wine by the bottle or at least a better quality wine, etc etc ALCOHOL: -CORONA-Another area was a $65 US upcharge to sit in a designated PRIVATE area in order to get CORONA and "other" PREMIUM ALCOHOL! SO, to sit with my group, I could not get Corona...excepy at supermarkets sold for the same as all the rest -WINE: at restaurants/bars (if possible) a choice of BAD wine. OR BUY a bottle. You got an ice bucket with it! LOL they did not leave a bottle at the table for the group...just the people who BOUGHT bottles. Other wise you waited for a top up. -ROOM BAR FRIDGE - NOT COLD...as per all the friends who told us as well. . "stocked" w 2 Dos equis, 2 soda, 2 coke. No ice bucket although could get ice. Large Glass bottle of refillable water (too big to bring to put in pool bag or beach). Had to wait for room cleaning to rqst more. -Phone in Room...not working. Was fixed quickly. -Non-alcoholic beer were special request at the bar near beach. WE had 3 people who were non-drinkers and they wanted non-alcoholic beer. We let them know this repeatedly. Each day...they had very limited quantities (2-4) and we had to REQUEST AGAIN. BUT, the response was positive and fast! -No wait staff/servers/bar service at beach. Staff was available for quick clearing, but, not serving. Bar was far away. LOTS OF ICE THERE THOUGH. MANY MANY TRIPS TO STAY HYDRATED. -Beach buffet restaurant. Food seemed old Esp pasta. VERY limited menu. HAD TABLES outside in sectioned off area AND APPROX 75 SEATS...BUT, COULD NOT order FOOD OUTSIDE or bring it outside. YOU COULD ORDER DRINKS AND DRINK OUTSIDE. So weird, no where to EAT outside except on your beach chair if you got tacos like fast food fries, burgers, hotdogs, ice cream etc. (my understanding) -SMOKEHOUSE (advertised as "Steakhouse" but, that changes when you go). REALLY BIZARRE ALMOST HOSTILE STAFF. Will notttt allow you to join a table once they are seated. A FLAT NO...YOU CAN NOT JOIN YOUR FRIENDS/FAMILY. If you go alone, you are almost chastised and you are aware of an incredible effort to accommodate you. Manager is called repeatedly if u ask a question. It was almost empty :( Also, my phone died while waiting for friends to join me...could not warn them. BARTENDER FLATLY REFUSED WHEN THERE WERE 6 FREE OUTLETS AND GREETER SAID I COULD NOT USE AN OUTLET ON THE WALL. Still shaking my head... -ADULT POOL - We Arrived Friday, made several attempts to go in water...SMELLED like urine, then a tonne of chlorine next day. Monday evg We spoke w staff. They responded and checked back with us. You could tell it was refreshed by Wednesday because it was COLD! Yayyy. We did not care as long as it was clean. Bathrooms were not easy or fast to access REALLY made it hard to get out, upstairs and around back for toilets. Good bartender. -SECURITY: CONSTANT ONSLAUGHT OF SELLERS OF EVERYTHING POSSIBLE ON THE BEACH. EVERY 5 MINUTES. ---- Phone cases, jewellery, shawls, hair braids, excursions, UPSELL for shows, souvenirs...etc etc Most resorts make it known to locals NOT to harass their customers. WAY more sellers than staff! Late night beach security. Lots of them. -PHOTO SALES: prices not clear. PUSHY then HARD sell -TIMESHARES: offered FREE MASSAGE or Money Credits etc if u sign up for a quick INFORMATION SESSION about the resort! It is really to sell the NEW resort. Tells you all the GOOD stuff you are missing if you owned. Told them that the resort is CLOSING IN MAY. -Karaoke lasts only 1/2 hour at Bar(S) AT 9 PM - 9:30 then everything closes down. -SPA...healing room out of order, shower out of order -Beach very dark at night. Security patrolled to keep you off beach. -Most 4-5 star resorts offer shuttles to town -NO CLUB STYLE DANCE WITH PARTNER OR FRIENDS, ONLY 'SIMON SAYS' TYPE LINE DANCING AT SHOW W SAME MUSIC EVERY NIGHT EVEN AT FIRESHOW -Big Karaoke Night. PLEASE put screen where singer does not have to turn back on to people to see it. THE GOOD: -Beach TACOS were good. -Ice cream was good -room was CLEAN -showers were good size -ANIMALS were delightful -Entire premises were clean -STAFF were excellent for entertainment. -Lots of fun for kids. Shows, Theme nights, volley ball -Coffee BARS on each side was fun! -Tea in SPA, Spa hydrotherapy, SAUNA! -Friendly/helpful STAFF -FOOD-Great variety. FRESH. Wonderful fruit. Loved Mexican Night!!! Great desserts esp at Mediterranean. Turkey, Lamb, Omelets, etc etc etc -Great BARTENDERS w good variety of drink knowledge -MASSAGE on Beach was great! -SPA was clean -Staff responded quickly to my slipped disc on day one! -Pool manager responded quickly to our concern about pool water -FOAM PARTY / Beer drinking contest was wonderful! -I was given a complimentary bottle of wine in my room for my birthday - an HB pillow was left in my room on my birthday -Place to hang wet clothes was good too -Safe in room worked. Felt good to have this -Karaoke was fantastic. Crowd pleaser! NEED SCREEN FOR SINGERS though!!! THE UGLY: SEE SEPARATE REVIEW ABOUT SEXUAL HARRASSMENT/BULLYING