Iberostar Waves Tucan - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

11348 reviews

• 

  Perfect family holiday location

  Perfect family holiday location (we were here with two toddlers of 5/2). Great pool area, perfect beach, Al facilities at perfection with many bars across the entire area, great service staff, outstanding buffet restaurant choices and variety. Super entertainment team with good variety of activities (Highlight being the foam party on Tuesday). A nicely embedded jungle area with many animals provides really a tropical feeling. We will definitely come back one day, we had so much fun here. The theme restaurants (Italian, Japanese) are really average, it’s not worth deviating from the great buffet. What annoyed us a bit is the upselling. You get „300 USD credits“… what it means is that you have coupons a 25 USD which you can reimburse if you do a purchase of more than 100 USD in their shops, of course you cannot accumulate them. Then, you are „offered“ either 70 USD in cash, a snorkel course for 2 or a massage in the Spa. But only if you listen to their marketing campaign for 90min during breakfast where you are already supposed to provide your Driver license and credit card details. Don’t fall into their trap.

  Nov 27, 2025
• 

  November holiday

  We have just stayed at the Tucan side of the resort for 10 nights. Our room was in block 16 facing the restaurant - room was lovely and spacious and always very clean. Bed comfortable too. Some noise from the theatre at night but this always stopped by about 10/10:30pm. The pool and beach are beautiful, but if you want a lounger on the beach, be prepared to be up early to reserve them! Was not too much of a problem for us as we are early risers and there was the bonus of the beautiful sunrises on the beach. Really like that you can walk along the beach in both directions and also walking distance to playa del Carmen and also the small shopping complex at Playacar. We were greeted by one of the staff called Jan, on our first day, who was helpful and provided us with a map of the complex along with information about the restaurant’s. The food was great, we loved the variety at the buffets more than the a la carte restaurants. Although did find by the end of the 10 nights, both of our stomachs were dodgy! I love the jungle aspect to the hotel and this is one of the reasons I chose this hotel. It was lovely to see some of the animals free to roam and I was really happy to see the spider monkeys on a few occasions. However, some is the key word here, as there are howler monkeys caged on top of some of the buildings (I’ve read that they’ve been there since the very start of 2025 which is a long time to spend in small cages!!!) and it’s incredibly upsetting to hear and see them in the cages - it must be torture for them especially to see other monkeys roaming free. There are signs up around the jungle area about the howler monkeys saying they are being relocated, however, from what I can see in other reviews/posts on Facebook, they’ve been caged for a long time now. There’s also another cage near the flamingo pond where you can see some of the peacocks and I believe Kevin (from numerous posts on the Facebook page), also caged. I’m sure there are reasons for this, but it is upsetting to see and hear about. I also found it sad to see the giant tortoises in small enclosures (near the activity pool). For this reason alone, I would not return to this hotel. I like to see animals roaming free and I can’t imagine a reason where monkeys need to be caged for almost a whole year.

  Nov 26, 2025
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  OMG - Don’t leave any by the pool!

  We are currently in room 1743. This afternoon my wife & I stopped by the gift shop & bought a T-shirt & plastic raft to float in the ocean, which we did. Afterwards, we put them on a chaise lounge by the pool & went to the dive shop for a 1/2 hour. When re returned, they’d been stolen! If you are here, you have to keep an eye on your stuff! It is subject to being stolen

  Nov 22, 2025
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  Cozy & tropical with room for improvement

  Lovely small resort with a perfect beach, mini jungle with wildlife and waterfalls, as well as very decent food. For kids there is a small water play area and playground. The kids club staff is wonderful but the program is not as robust as at larger resorts - you have to look out for activities as opposed to drop off/pick up anytime. The food options are good, but feel limited after a week. Drinks are mediocre except for the hotel lobby bar. Nonetheless we had a beautiful week here and would come back.

  Nov 21, 2025
• 

  Great hotel, location and the open design, plus wildlife around and in the hotel are fantastic

  We stayed at the Tucan and it is one of the most interesting and relaxing hotels that I have stayed at. There are some quirky elements which add to its charm, whether that be the animals such as coatis, peacocks, capybara and monkeys which have made this place home. Also the design (whilst tired and dated in parts), still supports genuine relation and the feeling of being close to nature, which being on the edge of jungle, it really is. The pool is the best I have seen, big, clean and beautifully designed, and unique in the area in that it literally backs onto the amazing playacar beach. The two bars and outside food station were also well stocked with a good selection of drinks and snacks. The staff are also plentiful and pleasant. We had an issue with a dinner reservation and Karla (one of the hotel managers), listened to us and resolved our issue in a timely and professional manner….. I really hope that the owners of this hotel are looking after their staff, as they deserve it. Minor issues that could be improved are the pizza’s….maybe get some Italian bases as the ones served are not the best…..also the rooms, whilst charming in some ways need a refurb (I know this is on its way, which is why I have rated you 5*). We will be back and look forward to seeing the changes that are on the way and hoping that in the process of modernisation, that you keep the charm, character and relaxing ambience that this hotel offers in spade loads.

  Nov 19, 2025