Iberostar Waves Quetzal - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9322 reviews

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  Super Family Holiday

  We spent 2 weeks end of July at Quetzal family of 5 (3 children 15,12,10) Only negative with a slight plus- attending a club membership breakfast then meeting To be honest it would have suited us and we would have saved alot of money on future holidays with this membership but who the hell has £4000 spare sitting on a credit card for a deposit!! They reduce it down to a minimum of £1800 but still would then have to pay a few hundred per month for 4 years afterwards - I think the very first questions should be 1 - do you own a credit card 2- do you have £4000 spare! Cos it would certainly save a fair few hours of peoples holidays, their sales blag and the hotel $150 they give you for attending! RESORT - jungle atmosphere with all sorts of wildlife roaming free around the resort lovely to see ROOMS- spacious we had interconnecting rooms with king, 2 queens and 2 sofa/single beds - rooms were kept immaculate by our maid usual towel art etc rooms had coffee maker and freebie toiletries - the milk shower cream left skin silky soft. FOOD - There was plenty of choice, however not as much as other resorts we have stayed at. as with all AI it does get repetitive, 5 speciality restaurants the Steak house, Italian and Japanese were superb - cannot comment on others as not to our liking. Hubby rates the paella on the beach. POOLS - absolutely huge main with shallow parts for children ,separate small adult pool with bar and a smaller activity pool - being UK we hate the cold but unfortunately will also gripe as pools were very very warm - not refreshing, and at times were hotter than hydrotherapy pools! - I believe they are heated. BEACH - one word 'stunning' white powder sand and amazing turquoise clear waters we had 4 days out of 2 weeks with some seaweed but you cannot moan about something that is 1 - mother nature 2- no fault of the hotel - some guests reacted as though the hotel was s**t spreading on the beach - get over yourselves! Although the sea( another annoyance it is a sea NOT an ocean read a dictionary people) was generally calm,we did have a few moderate wavy days to the joy of us all. Saving the best till last the 'star friends' made our holiday their tireless efforts to keep us entertained big shout out to 'Adriana, Roberto, Antonio, Ivan(choccolato),Alex, and Jesus' we had a blast Thank you.

  Nov 05, 2026
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  Good fun for the whole family

  The location of the resort is just a few minutes south of Playa del Carmen and about an hour south of the airport, so plan accordingly. The hotel is divided in two, with each half of it having its own style and décor. The pools are big and clean, the restaurants are plentiful and the food delicious. The rooms are clean and quiet, the staff is helpful and friendly. We had a blast with the activities, the pools, the food/drinks and beach. Will definitely come back

  Sep 08, 2026
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  Just as expected - good hotel for price

  Good location in Playacar. Excellent beach: very long and large. Hotel is generally quite nice and just as we expected for a 3.5-style hotel in the area. Mostly we ate at the buffet and were satisfied although most nights it was pretty average food. Breakfasts were the best for hot and fresh as well as a wide variety. Really appreciated having Mexican food available at all the buffet meals. We were not very impressed with the amount of flies that sometimes came to the food set out on the buffet. Luckily this was only sometimes and we avoided those food choices. Dark walkways through interior of hotel grounds during day with very uneven limestone and cobblestones. These walkways are extremely dark at night time despite some sporadic lighting. Can be quite a hazard for tripping. The walkway on the outside of the hotel is actually the service road, facing the neighbouring hotel. This is the best place to walk to and from the lobby-beach. This is also where the carts come and pick you up and drive your around the hotel. This is an excellent service. Just call 0 and ask for pick up or ask a staff member near pool. Loved the size of the pool. Pretty darn deep in the centre. We cannot figure out why this was done this way. Same as the stairs to enter the big pool. Rarely had railings for safety and WOW did they ever have a huge, 2 foot+ drop off on the last step as you entered. WOW! Not safe. Not smart. Hopefully the renovations will attend to these two things. Staff were always friendly and always very helpful, right from check in to check out. We always tip and left tips for housekeeping and all wait staff; cart drivers. This was clearly appreciated. Had a room in building 21 facing service road. We felt very lucky we got a room that was bright and got some sunshine! Our room was comfortable, had been updated but not fully renovated we're told. Clean. Quiet. Convenient to pool and beach. Second building inland from the beach, actually. Most of this hotel, especially on the ground floor has dark and then very dark rooms. We are including some photos of the room blocks for you. Like us, many people ask which rooms are where. Hope this helps. Coffee availability. This was a problem for us. We love our morning coffee. Although there was a coffee machine in our room (which we used), there was no cream or even a coffee mate-type product available. I asked and was told 'no, not available at all'. Ugh. Honestly there should be somewhere right nearby at the ice cream stand, or the beach bar that could put the coffee on for at least 7 am! Please!!!!! This is bad! It was a very long way back up the hill to the buffet and we were not inclined to go there just for a coffee. Many of us like a coffee while we are getting ready for the day .... prior to going to breakfast. Please. Really loved the animals we saw. This was one of the reasons we went to this hotel. We appreciate this hotel cares about and that they are considerate and thoughtful about the animals on their property. Lots of opportunities for pictures of flora and fauna. Also pleased that the guests all seemed to respect the animals, too. We did need to see the House Doctor (but this had nothing to do with the hotel whatsoever: it was personal). The Dr. was available in the office by the lobby. He was professional, helpful, reassuring and gave excellent advice & recommended a treatment.

  May 21, 2026
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  Great hotel

  I agree the rooms are a bit dated, but it did not impact the experience in any way.they were still clean and comfortable. All staff was nice and supportive. Jungle surroundings, beach, facilities, all helped to create really good memories.

  May 05, 2026
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  The Hotel

  The hotel is good when it comes to the rooms – they were always very clean and well maintained. The area around the hotel is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. A big plus for cleaning the seaweed on the beach every day. Unfortunately, the service is very inconsistent. Some staff members are friendly and helpful, but others are quite unpleasant – even tipping doesn’t always make a difference. I also noticed that the quality of drinks depends on tips – when you tip, better alcohol is used, but without tips they use the cheapest options, making the drinks almost undrinkable. The lady at the beach snack bar was particularly unfriendly and didn’t follow proper hygiene standards (handling food with bare hands), which completely put us off eating there. Another downside is the pushy reception staff, who try very hard to sell the loyalty program. Even though we clearly indicated during online check-in that we were not interested, the topic kept coming back. What’s worse, staff entered our room under the pretense of “program benefits,” leaving things like champagne, bathrobes, slippers, and hats – despite us not agreeing to join. On the positive side, the food was excellent – the Italian cuisine was delicious, and the Japanese restaurant was a very enjoyable experience.

  Apr 21, 2026