Had a very nice time at this resort but...

We had a very good time in Mexico but I'd like to point out a few things: -We were given a very nice room on the 3rd floor (but too much to walk up the stairs) on building 3 -The restaurants had average food -we mostly ate at the buffet and ate 2 nights at the a la carte Tortuga, which is a Steakhouse - loved the meat! as there are no reservations to these type of restaurants in this hotel-it tends to get crowded when you arrive there. It is not very well organized. -The beach was the best!!!!  [... read more]Playa Maroma is by far better than Playa Paraiso where the Iberostars are located (10-15 minutes walk)!!! no rocks, water less choppy and a powder sand!! note that only the Privileged are of the beach has palapas; the other area has only palm trees for shade. -Wi-Fi - available in all the resort for free, even at the beach!-sometimes can be slow -Night entertainment: this is not a resort if you want entertainment - they have some music on some days at the lobby but was very disappointed that on a Friday night they did not even have that. The theatre mainly shows kids's productions and are shown late-don't know why. Not much to do at night. -Resort is very clean and well kept -75% of the guests were European - we were the only Canadians to arrive on the 17/5 at night. -We did not go into the pool -Beds are very comfortable and you have a menu of pillows if you are on the Privileged plan.

Amazing Beach @ Catalonia Playa Maroma

This resort is set back into the Mayan jungle with luscious vegetation and well kept grounds. It is a pleasant walk from the main lobby and breakfast buffet back to the pools and the beach with lots of coati to entertain you along the way. We upgraded to VIP as soon as we checked in and were glad to receive a room closer to the restaurants and the beach. The VIP package also included loungers and sun beds in a sectioned off area on the beach. Our room was not the fanciest we have stayed in but i [... read more]t was clean and the bed was comfortable, really what more could you ask for. The beach was the main reason we booked at this resort. This resort was recommended by our Travel Agent just for this reason and we were not disappointed! The sand is white and powder soft and seemed to go on forever! I loved walking along this beach every morning. Moving on to the second most important thing on your vacation, food and drinks. The food at all of the restaurants we ate at was always very good with top notch service! Everyone working at this resort seemed genuinely happy to be there and it reflected in their service. The drinks of coarse were also always good. Top shelf rum & tequila and the bartenders were never stingy with their pour. Overall we enjoyed this resort very much and would consider a return trip.