Iberostar Grand Paraiso

This was our first visit to JOIA Paraiso, but not to a JOIA Property. Upon arrival we were met at the entrance and were escorted into the Lobby area to wait to complete our registration. The property is huge, we were taken on a tram to our room. The buildings and grounds are well maintained. We had reserved the Penthouse Suite. The suite is large, however the space is not well used. One of our many complaints for the suite is in the spa like bathroom. The shower only has an overhead shower head, no hand held wand or side jets, something you would expect in a penthouse suite. To make matters worse the water pressure was low making taking a shower not a pleasant experience. On our second day we were approached and agreed to listen to a Sales Presentation for Membership in the hotel. We were told that we would have a “special and romantic” breakfast. After the initial meeting with the Sales Team we were escorted back to the JOIA Buffet breakfast, nothing special or romantic. After listening to the Sales Presentation when presented with the cost of the program we politely said no, we were not interested. Ultimately we had to say No three more times before they realized they were not going to win us over. This left a bad taste with us. When we said no, they should have stopped. During this presentation we told them of our concerns over this property. We travel a lot and like consistency. Our experience at the JOIA Rose Hall in Jamaica was totally different than at JOIA Paraiso. The room says it comes with a Butler, reality they are a concierge staying in the lobby of the building. We had butler service at the JOIA Rose hall, they met us each morning, checked on us when we were at the pool and took care of us. We did not get the same service here. Four of the specialty restaurants are small. If you are not there before they open to be in line, you will not get in to eat until much later in the evening. There are no reservations, except for Members [but not told/shared up front]. We sat in the French Restaurant, there was an open table the entire time we were eating, while there were couples waiting outside for a table. We had decided to leave our vacation which we planned 6 months to a year in advance early. I will say that we were surprised when approached by the Executive Assistant Manager at dinner on the night before we were leaving. She listened to our concerns and was very professional. In the end she made a bad experience somewhat less bad for us and appreciate what she did. I will finish by saying that this property is just not what we expected based on our experience at same type properties in other countries. For us, we like consistency and this was not like the type of experience we have had at other resorts in the Caribbean. Stay tuned into this I wanna go home series because we will be at updating the series every 90days because we will be traveling to their other properties. I do want to extend a thank you to IIse Kobus executive Assistant Manager. You have done your best with the time allowed. Yes we decided to leave our trip early than planned but in the short time you went above and beyond to help us navigate our thought process into understanding things will be better with someone like you heading the charge, and your guest service manager at your side, I hope to be welcomed back for a follow up visit. Thank you.

Lovely place with a good golf course but a horrible system for having people eat dinner. No reservations. You have to show up and once the restaurant is full you get on a list. They can text but not email. So come early or go to the buffet. Tried 3 restaurants tonight at 7-ish. 30 +/- min wait at each. 3-4 couples waiting it out at each place. Who knows how many waiting for texts. Just awful.

We return here for many reasons. The staff are so fabulous at this resort, you truly feel at home, but better lol. The food is great, we love their buffet restaurant, so much food! The beach is powder sand the water is warm. The beach loungers are well spaced and you can always get a spot at the beach or pool, no need to get up at dawn to get a spot. Just a great place all round.

This was our 3rd visit to Joia Paraiso October 25th through November 1st, 2025. If you read my review from Nov. 23, 2024, you will see that we had stayed in an Ocean Front room with butler service – which we loved. During that trip we enjoyed being at the quiet pool, and so we decided to try a pool view walk out suite, and we were VERY happy with the room! We would have breakfast, go to the larger pool until around 10 a.m., then move to the quiet pool for the remainder of pool time. Breakfast and lunch buffet were excellent. We were again taken care of primarily by Christian. He is the most caring and friendly person not just to guests - we witnessed how he happily and quickly helped his co-workers if they happened to need assistance. He is a shining example of what Iberostar Joia is about. When he had a day off, we certainly were taken care of by others with no complaint at all. Great group of people from greeters - to servers - to those clearing plates and setting up - to the chefs and those that attended to the food stations. We also loved the dinner buffet especially for Halloween what hard work went into that! Of the sit-down restaurants, our favorites on this trip were L’Atelier, Embers, and Haiku. We loved the food and were so glad Embers added the crab cake to the menu! We had wonderful waiters/waitresses at ALL meals, particularly Emelio in L’Atelier - there is no way you don’t smile when he waits on you, he emits such positive energy. For those concerned about no reservations (except Haiku) we never had a wait. We were taken care of at the pool by Adriana who remembered our drink preferences and was so friendly and attentive. Every one of the pool attendants made sure we had towels and they were always checking to see if we needed anything – what a group of hard-working individuals. Much appreciated. Would we come back?? Already booked a return trip. For those that are curious – we booked the pool view again. We loved the Ocean Front (nothing like it when you open your door and hear those waves and look out and see the beauty) but we really enjoyed the option of being able to walk to lobby bar, buffet, and restaurants (except Ember which is in a lovely ocean front location) without going outside. While you can’t see the ocean you can see gorgeous flowers and tropical landscapes. The most beautiful grounds!! Thank you to the landscape crew. My husband had always insisted on ocean front anywhere we would go in Jamacia or Riveria Maya since the 1990’s, but age has opened him up to other options!! That is the beauty of Joia Paraiso – they have so many room locations to meet anyone’s preferences or vacation budget. We had an enjoyable and relaxing trip!!! Thanks to all.

Day of the Dead has been celebrated in Mexico for over 3,000 years. November 1 and 2 are set aside to honor deceased family members and celebrate their lives. The Joia created a magnificent day of remembrance for guests and employees involving every department of the resort. The first decorations one might see would be in the arched marble walkway between building 72 and the atrium. The staff hung hundreds of cempasùchil (marigolds) from the chandeliers, sprinkled petals on the floor, turned off all of the sconce lighting and placed lit candles on the floor to guide your way. The Bellavista Buffet prepared Day of the Dead breads or "pan de Muerto" where dough bone shapes are baked into the small breads. The maintenance staff created an alter or "ofredas" in the atrium complete with offerings of food, beverage, cutout paper flags and candles symbolizing earth, water, wind and fire. The entire display was amazing and took on a special meaning when resort employees placed framed pictures of their family members who had passed. The show that night was Day of the Dead, a one-time performance celebrating the day. We participated in skull painting with the activity members and were able to bring our skulls home as a souvenir. But perhaps the most elaborate were the members of the activities team who were in gorgeous full costume with intricate make-up. We have been to the Grand 10 times but this was our first experience celebrating Day of the Dead. It was very special and we hope to share in its culture again in the future. If you are planning a fall trip to Joia Paraiso, you may want to arrange your days to partake in this beautiful and historic celebration.