Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita Riviera Maya

Just incredible! My wife and I enjoyed our honeymoon here and we were very happy! Super friendly staff cater for your every need. Excellent food, great beach and lovely pool. Friendly atmosphere and great guests. Definitely recommend and return!

We booked Zoetry Paraiso de La Bonita because we wanted a small resort close to Cancun but off hotel row that had top-notch amenities, food, rooms, and views. For the most part, Zoetry delivered. We were very happy with our stay, aside from a few small blips. The vacation started great with our private transport with Darwin. He had cool, damp towels to refresh ourselves, cold water, and champaign waiting in the vehicle. He was very nice and instantly put us in a great mood. The entrance off the highway is fairly shabby, but that didn't dissuade us. Check-in was easy and convenient in a less-than-impressive lobby. While we didn't love the decor and entry to the hotel, we didn't spend a lot of time there, so it was not really an issue. You walk right into a great view of the pool and ocean - what more can you want? We were quickly ushered to our room after check-in - we reserved a room with the private splash pool but not the outdoor shower. This room was totally worth it! The room is named Zanzibar and is easily the best room at the resort! It is RIGHT on the ocean and about half way down the length of the resort from the restaurants and pool. While it doesn't have explicit, direct beach access, it is on top of the beach, so it's great! Our sunrise views were spectacular and we loved sitting outside for breakfast (we ordered in every day), dinner (we ordered in 2 out of our 4 nights), or in the evenings after a long day relaxing at the pool. The pool is exclusive for the room but not overly private - the way the rooms are situated, you can see everyone's patio and they can see yours. We loved the bottle of tequila provided upon arrival and enjoyed sipping it when we first got to the room. The champaign provided was warm though - the ice was completely melted, so we put it in the frig. Our mini-bar stocker didn't do a great job the first couple of days, mostly adding to the stuff we weren't drinking - which didn't make a lot of sense (we had a lot of Fanta in the frig by the time we left). We would absolutely stay in this room again. Our only complaint is that the decor in the room is pretty dated and they really need to invest in some quality linens. The sheets and towels are not up to par with the price of the resort, however, the bed is comfortable and the bathroom is well-appointed. The rooms could really use a fresh coat of paint - a bit dingy. Room service was always prompt, kind, and delicious. A minor maintenance issue was dealt with immediately and easily. Laundry service was punctual and appreciated, although they did dry everything despite my instructions and shrunk a dress. The restaurants are both decent. We ate at Jaax the first night and while my husband had to send his steak back because it was so tough, my fried fish was pretty good. We were so hungry and tired from our day of travel that we didn't really care what the food was like that night. However, the decor was so ridiculous that we didn't return to this restaurant for the rest of the stay. It has a jungle theme and looks like the walls have been spray painted. Fairly unappealing and definitely not upscale for a nice resort. The other restaurant (I can't remember the name, but it has a dress code) was much better. The decor was pleasant and the food was pretty good. Neither of the restaurants really wowed us with the food though. The room service food was actually better and we were happier on our private patio than in the restaurants. For lunch every day, we ordered at the pool - it was all good and perfect for the location. Speaking of the pool, we really enjoyed it. Loved the different levels and the variety of seating options. Both Fernando and Adrian were fabulous - especially Adrian with his constant smile and eagerness to please. We spent most of our time at the pool (we were there for 5 days) and thoroughly relaxed! Drinks were good and refilled quickly. Pool was the perfect temperature. Only complaint was that it was a little slimy with algae - especially on the upper levels where the water temps were pretty warm. We enjoyed the pool and its conveniences so much that we didn't sit on the beach at all. It is a small beach but sufficient for the size of the resort. They do have a tractor, however, that goes back and forth picking up sea grass ALL DAY LONG! This seemed excessive to us and made us happy we weren't watching and smelling the tractor go by us all the time. Although children are allowed at this resort, they don't cater to them, and we did not see any, which was what we were hoping for. Monica, the Concierge, is easily the nicest person I have ever met. We loved her. She worked so hard to make sure everything was always perfect. We were vacationing for our 10-year anniversary and she arranged a romantic turn-down service that was lovely. We wanted to go to her for everything because of her amazing personality and kindness! Thanks, Monica! It rained one full day of our trip, so we did yoga in the morning with Adrianna (I think that was her name - sorry), and it was fabulous! Great view, very relaxing, and absolutely perfect with the sitar player who set the mood! We loved it and would have done it each day had we not been so enticed by the pool! Definitely book your catamaran cruise IMMEDIATELY upon arrival or you will not get a spot - we could only book it for one night and because it rained that day (very nice by the time the cruise was supposed to go), they canceled it. We did not book anything else through the hotel except spa services, which I'll get to. We also wanted to take the complimentary cruise to Isla Mujeres, but, unbeknownst to us, it only goes on Fridays and Wednesdays - and also books up very fast. We were pretty bummed not to get out on the water at all, but it didn't really detract from our vacation. Our only unpleasant situation stemmed from the sales-pitch that Eduardo did. Upon reaching the resort, we were given out "vouchers" for discounts at the spa, etc. (we never used any of them). When we were given these, Eduardo (who was very nice) asked if we were interested in having lunch at a sister resort - Secrets Maroma. He billed this as a great way to see another resort, have some lunch, and get $500 off at the spa. Having just arrived, we weren't interested at the time. However, once we saw the insane prices at the spa and because it rained the next day, we thought, why not? We were nervous about spending too much time away from our resort but were assured that it was a quick 20 min. drive, lunch, and we'd come right back. I might be naive, but I have never stayed a resort that was trying to do a sales-pitch for some sort of membership. Not only that, but, having done this a long time, Eduardo was very slick with his wording. I had NO idea until we showed up at Secrets Maroma (which was the complete opposite of what we were looking for in a resort - huge, impersonal, not inviting, etc.) and were ushered into a dark room without even being spoken to that we were there for anything other than lunch and to look around. We sat in the dark and no one spoke to us for over 10 minutes. We were hungry, confused, and starting to get a little upset. Finally, this sweet girl (we felt so bad for her) came over and said that she would lead us on our 90 minute!!!!! presentation, followed by lunch! We were shocked and confused. All of this too after Eduardo said he could only give us $200 instead of $500 (looking back - clearly I should have known there was something fishy about all this, but I was totally clueless at the time because it was in no way fully explained) for "lunch" because my husband works for an airline. After walking around for a while with this sweet girl while we tried to explain that we did not want a 90 min. presentation and we thought we were just getting lunch, we finally said we wanted to leave. She was confused and felt awful. We were confused, felt bad for her, and were mad at the situation. She put us back in a taxi and we went back to our resort to talk to Eduardo. He was very explicit about having mentioned some certain words, which he did, that we were supposed to understand within the situation. Never did he explain it, nor did he actually apologize for the misunderstanding and confusion. I tried to give him the $200 spa voucher back because I wanted nothing to do with the situation, but he did insist upon us keeping it. While I think the whole thing was a confusing misunderstanding on everyone's part (myself included - I won't be so naive next time), it really tainted the day and made us feel like the resort was disingenuously "tricking" people into some sort of membership thing - I still don't know what it is. Anyway, two hours later, we had lunch at the pool and tried to get our yoga vibe back. As for the spa - this is a unique place. The Thallaso center is the only place in North America with this salt-water spa opportunity and treatment. We met one woman who swears by it and has stayed at Zoetry 4 times solely for the spa. We enjoyed the salt-water pool and our massages. However, we have been to a lot of resorts, a lot of spas, and have had a lot of massages. Never have we paid so much money for such a service. Our 50-minute couples massage was just under $500. All of the services at the spa have exorbitant price tags. Once we saw them, we understood why Eduardo was offering $500 to go visit Secrets Maroma - it's the only way to get a spa service at a comparable price to any other spa ever - which made the ploy to get us to Secrets Maroma feel even more manipulative! Our massages were good but not mind-blowing, and, for $500, I want to be totally amazed! While we would have liked to further indulge in the spa's services, there was no way we were willing to spend that kind of money for mediocre experiences. FYI - there is no opportunity to tip at the spa either. We had planned on it but were unable to. Perhaps this is done on purpose because of the cost. Along these same lines, there is no ATM or way to get cash at the resort. While we understand that an all-inclusive resort does not function on tips, we like to tip for good service. We brought some cash with us but assumed we would be able to get more as needed. As such, we had to budget our tipping a little more than we wanted to. Not a huge deal, but just plan ahead. While the end of this review may not feel like we liked our stay, we certainly did. Overall, the resort was very nice and we would consider staying there again (it's hard to say for sure because sometimes it's fun to explore your options). We would recommend the resort to our friends and family and may come back again. We'll enjoy it more next time by knowing in advance some of the issues we may encounter, and we will absolutely request the same room. For a relaxing, quiet, romantic get-away, Zoetry was a great option, and we were happy to spend our anniversary there! Thanks!

My husband and I stayed at Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita in June for our fifth wedding anniversary. We honeymooned here and absolutely fell in love with the resort. We vowed to return for our fifth wedding anniversary and are so glad we did! We really do not have any negatives from our recent stay, so I will elaborate on all of the positives! Airport Transfer: We were elated to be greeted by Lazaro once we made it through the Cancun airport! He was just as excited as we were and very helpful. He grabbed both of our bags, loaded us into the van, and popped some champagne! The cool towels were refreshing after a long day of traveling and the wifi that was provided in the van was also great! Check-In: We arrived at the resort shortly after lunch. Our room was not immediately ready, so we had to wait. We decided to grab some lunch at the grill and hang out by the pool. After a couple of hours went by, I decided I should go check and see what was going on. Our room was indeed ready, but no one had come to get us yet. This was the only semi-negative about our trip, but was really not a problem at all because we were still able to enjoy the resort while we waited! Room: Our suite was a second-floor room, San Martin. I noted on our first review of this resort about the long walk from our room and was very relieved this time to find out that we were in the closest group of rooms to the main resort area! Our room had a lovely view of the beach and marina area! We also had a great view of the large bird house, which was fine with us, but others might say the sounds of the birds could be annoying! Room service was also great and the mini-bar stayed stocked the entire time we were there. Dining: Every restaurant is exceptional! Ka’ax is our favorite. The harp player in the morning during breakfast and the musicians who play at night during dinner add to the peaceful atmosphere of the resort. La Canoa was exceptionally wonderful and El Chiringuito was nice, also. We chose not to eat at the grill much because it was pretty hot and humid during our stay. The bars were also both wonderful. Room-service was also exceptional! Every meal and drink we ordered were prepared to our liking and were all delicious! As compared to the food five years ago, there was definitely a better variety in choices and it was better overall this time. No reservations are needed for any of the restaurants and we did not have to wait at all. Beach & Pool: I must start with Antonio. I simply cannot speak highly enough of him. He took such great care of us on our honeymoon and we were absolutely overjoyed to see that he was still there when we arrived! He remembered us by name and, as before, provided impeccable service! We chose to stay by the beach each day because we loved his service so much! Miguel and Andre were just as helpful, but we did not spend as much time with them as we did Antonio. The beach itself is much narrower than it used to be. There are plenty of beds and umbrellas at both the beach and pool each day. Finding a place to relax was never a problem! The employees strive to keep the beach and pool clean. There is a tractor that goes back and forth all day cleaning up seaweed and raking the sand. Marina: I chose to snorkel once during our stay and was very pleased with the service I receieved. Luis and Hugo were absolutely wonderful! The snorkel trip was perfect and service was great. We also did the sunset catamaran cruise and had a wonderful time! The men from Marina la Bonita were great, also! I cannot remember their names, but one, I believe Francisco, was over-the-top! He made sure none of our glasses were ever empty and he took the best pictures of everyone with our cameras! We did not do the catamaran cruise while on our honeymoon, so I’m glad we did it this time. Definitely book this cruise when you first arrive at the resort because it will fill up quickly. Spa: I received a 50-minute massage during our stay from Magda (I believe that was her name.). My time at the spa was wonderful, so very peaceful,l and relaxing. Exceptional service! Overall Resort: People have asked me why I enjoy this resort so much and it is kind of hard to put into words… it’s something you just have to experience for yourself! The atmosphere here is just purely blissful – the calming ocean waves, the gentle splashing of the frog fountains at the pool, the chirping and calls of the birds, the live music (both harp and two gentleman who play each night), the scent of Bvlgari amenities… I could go on for days! If you are looking for a relaxing, rejuvenating vacation where you are pampered and waited on hand and foot, Zoetry is for you! Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita is a true gem and absolutely heavenly!

A smaller quieter boutique style all inclusive hotel with pools, spa and ocean. Beautiful and relaxing with larger type rooms which all face the ocean. Fresh, healthy food made to your request or diet and many selection/choices. The food is outstanding and the hotel/service staff is excellent.

Everything we hoped for once we arrived was more than met and exceeded from our arrival to the room. The suite was amazing with exceptional bathroom with tons of space. The bed and couch were a little uncomfortable but everything else was very special. Dining was a great time and we enjoyed dressing up most evenings for such a pleasant dining experience. The staff is very friendly, especially at the bar and pools. Would love to return again.