Iberostar Tucan

Iberostar Tucan/Qetzel is an amazing resort. Upon arrival we were greeted in the open air lobby by guest relations staff and was immediately offered refreshments and a touch less streamlined check in. We did not carry any luggage From the time we arrived to the time we departed. The next stop was the concierge desk to make reservations for the many restaurants on the property during our stay. Jordan was very professional and eager to help us make the most of our stay. My sister and I were then taken to our room by golf cart. At this time we were beginning to see the stunning landscape of the resort and the many species of wildlife that roam freely around the property such as sereke, peacocks, and other rare tropical birds. As I opened the door to my suite I was struck by an ocean view I had only seen on TV or magazines, The view of the turquoise ocean was most impressive. The room was clean and I could smell sanitation spray which was reassuring because of the virus pandemic. After a long morning of travel, I spent the day relaxing at the beach and pool. No matter where I was, As I lay in the sun on my lounge chair the waitstaff made sure I was never hungry and my glass was never empty . I truly wish I could remember the names of all the service workers as all of them deserve recognition for their work and professionalism. The sun was beginning to set so we were off to Italian restaurant for dinner. The food at the restaurant was presented with culinary precision and the service was excellent. After dinner it was time to get my party on!!!! The entertainment was in the lobby bar which was great because it is both indoor and outdoor at the same time. This is when I met Fer, the entertainment director who convinced me to sing a karaoke song. She definitely brought the energy to the party singing and dancing while creating a great party environment. The bartenders Jose and Antonio were very busy pouring drinks while Micaela and Mariela made sure everyone had all of their needs attended to. This front lobby bar staff was absolutely amazing and are true professionals and are the best at what they do. What an awesome night Thank You guys and gals for helping make the most of my time with you!!! The next morning was my first appointment at smilemakeover, a dentist office 5 minutes drive from the resort, which was the very reason for my trip to riviera maya. This was my first time in playa and I had many questions about leaving the resort and what is beyond the gate. This is where Janire at the concierge desk was most helpful. She was bright and cheerful and able to answer all of my questions and point me in the right direction for my purposes.

If I could give 0 stars I absolutely would. The ratings misled my dear husband to think this would be a nice resort to spend my 40th bday. He was sadly mistaken. We stayed 4nights 5 days and were only guaranteed 1 reservation at an al a carte restaurant. We managed to get a 2nd one. And that would have been great if the food was good at either. They skimped on everything and don’t bother asking for another appetizer. They’ll just give you less than the first. Everyone I asked back home knows that a short rib is beef but apparently their steak house thinks it’s a short bone pork rib. I was floored! And when they did replace it with a “beef” short rib, which they call beef tips, It was dry And flavorless. not tender like I am used to. There were no premium drinks. All bottom shelf cheap liquor that will leave you hungover or with a headache. So I opted not to drink during the stay. The nightly entertainment was always near the lobby and because our room was near the beach meaning we’d have to go through the jungle to get there I chose to forego all nightly entertainment just to avoid the possibility of stepping in animal dung along the journey in the dark. So we stayed in our room after dinner near the beach every night. My husband paid to surprise me with a romantic dinner on the beach. It was nice setup. However, everything he selected, unknowingly, had shellfish and pork as garnishes or additions. The guacamole had shrimp with its eyes facing upwards. Some other appetizer had a lobster shell with the cooked guts/meat on top of it. And caesar salad had a line of dressing with dots of bacon bits. Needless to say I abhor pork and shellfish. I don’t do bottom feeders or swine at all. And everything contained one or the other. Had they been listed on the description when my husband selected the meal options I am certain he would have told them to exclude them. And the soup was gross. The Caesar salad had no Parmesan cheese, only romaine lettuce with a few croutons. If you can’t afford to provide top-notch food then please let potential guests know before they book and travel to find out the food is subpar. This has discouraged me from traveling until COVID restrictions lifted And companies can afford quality food and service again. I wanted to support because I know times are hard but don’t give me 1 star service and think you are fooling me. The rooms are outdated. And you will see black mold spots in the shower which makes me wonder if they are using bleach to clean and sanitize the showers. Housekeeping seemed to want to begin in our room at 9am so we’d leave out for breakfast when they came. so we thought that Saturday morning (the day before checkout) that we’d leave early and stayed gone until Almost 2pm giving them ample time to clean. Came back and the room had not been touched. We were tired after a long, hot, exhausting morning and afternoon and wanted nothing more than to shower and lay down before dinner. But no clean towels. The front desk told us they had until 5pm to clean. What?! Are you kidding me?!! Maybe for rooms where guests have checked out but not ours!!! So I went outside to ask what looked like a housekeeping manager and he sent someone to clean and restock towels right away. And of course, we had to leave and we sat in a restaurant for buffet lunch, again. And if that wasn’t enough to make you want to avoid this place, everyday at the beach was dreadful unless we spent it in the water (which is full of rocks so bring swim shoes. I wish I had of brought mine) Or unless we managed to fall asleep lying on our beach chairs because the number of random sales people is excessive. You can’t even have a conversation for a minute without at least three different ones, within that same 1 minute, asking you to buy something. And this was ongoing, non stop everyday. When my husband turned down cigars, he was then offered weed and cocaine on several different occasions. I have seen this at other beaches in Mexico it not this excessive or to this extent. I cannot say enough about why I would never risk staying at another IBEROSTAR property. We were told they offered more luxury properties but I’ll pass. Not exactly my ideal 40th Birthday Getaway

Yessy at star camp was amazing with our two kids. We felt very comfortable leaving the kids (age 5 and 8) and the kids wanted to be back at star camp each day. They loved making sand castles on the beach which was done in the shade which we were grateful for. The kids loved the pool games and Bingo. Would come again :)

This was the perfect place to stay even in view of the pandemic. I felt safer and more comfortable here than anywhere since the pandemic began. For all of Cuomo's propaganda in NY state, it was only once we landed back in JFK that I began seeing workers without masks indoors. For the entire duration of our trip I have never seen a worker not following strict covid rules despite being outdoors almost 100% of the time. I had daily group lessons with Perla (pilates etc..) and it was so amazing to do so by the sea with such a great instructor. The diving center and teachers like Daniele and Marcello were wonderful. Every day we could choose from so many safe activities.. volleyball kayaking windsurfing.. just the perfect vacation spot. Of course if all you care about is eating (like some of the other reviewers) then maybe you should stay home and go to red lobster!

As some other reviews mentioned, Tucan and Quetzal are two sides of one resort. All of Tucan is completely closed except for building 10 (the ocean-front rooms). Only the Japanese restaurant and the buffet are open on the Tucan side. The Tucan lobby is completely closed so you will be dropped off on the Quetzal side (even if you had rooms reserved for Tucan). I believe the reason for this is that the hotels are operating at such a small capacity (only 10-15% full) it makes no sense for them to staff both sides. We had ocean front rooms and we stayed on the Tucan side. The Covid testing was scheduled out of the lobby. We scheduled this the second day of our stay. It was free and we booked through a tied party, Apple Vacations. We had a party of 3 families and all of us had evening appointments two days prior to departure. We arrived 30 min early, got in line outside the conference rooms on the Tucan lobby side, and were done in 20 min. Our results weren’t available until the following morning. They print you out a copy. We also had to fill out a CDC attestation form to return to the US, and asked the lobby to print a copy for each passenger. To depart Mexico you also need to do the Traveler Risk Factor Questionnaire. It’s available 12 hours prior to departure. You create an account on a website and get a QR code to present at security in Cancun. You can add passengers to one account, but we couldn’t get the QR code to load for multiple passengers, so we just made a new account for each traveler. This took some time so allow for that while on wifi at the resort (we had great wifi service throughout the resort, even on the beach). There is a star prestige reserved area on the beach with premium beach chairs and alcohol at a private bar. This costs $40 per person per day. Our experience was overall positive. We booked a walkout room but were placed on a beach view room our first night due to overbooking by the hotel. Had to move rooms on day 2, which wasn’t ideal. Overall the food and drinks were good. The buffet got repetitive but you could always find something to eat. Book the restaurants ASAP on arrival. We found they book fast and operate on minimal capacity due to Covid. We traveled with a kid and didn’t stay for the shows except the fire show, which they do on the beach. They keep the beach bar open late that day. The theater bar opens in the evening, which was nice. And the Quetzal lobby bar has live music in the evening too. The swim-up bar is closed but the pool itself is open. The kids play area and kiddy pool were completely closed. Otherwise the animals and jungle are as beautiful as ever. Howler monkeys, flamingos, coatis, you name it. The beach was amazing. Sand was clean and great snorkeling if you walk to the Sandos House of Palmaii next door (to the south). You only swim a short distance out from the beach to some man-made reefs that are filled with fish and plant life.