Iberostar Grand Paraiso

My wife and I celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary at this resort. This is our first trip to Mexico and our first time staying at a Iberostar resort. Pros: First, I would like to acknowledged that this is the cleanest resort we have ever stayed at. Staff goes above and beyond to keep the resort clean and presentable. Second, the food was by far the best we have had at an all inclusive. Staff was very pleasant and I would like to specifically recognize the following staff; Dario at the Lobby Bar, Benjamin the Butler, Luis at the Buffet, Mala and Fabian from the Entertainment Staff, Monterat at the pool, and last but not least, Norberto our waiter at the Mexican restaurant. We visited the Mexican restaurant two nights in a row because of Norbertos exceptional service and recommendations. (Fish Ceviche at the Mexican restaurant is a must!) Cons: While the resort is extremely clean, the rooms are slightly dated. The drinks at the pool bar were inconsistent and sometimes hard to gain access to the pool bar due to limited seating and access. (Second pool bar would be advised). I would also like to point out that if you don't wake up every morning at 6:30 am and go reserve a cabana, you will not get one if you arrive to the pools after 7:30 am for the entire day. People put their belongings at the lounge chairs and don't come back for hours, this should be monitored. Overall we had a excellent trip and would recommend this resort to friends and family!

My wife and I visited JOIA Paraiso in late June, 2026, for our anniversary. We stayed in a Villa. The trip was just about perfect. Check-In: Our flight out experiences a 10 hour delay, and the hotel helped us change our airport pick-up and other dislodged arrangements. We arrived at night, but the hotel staff on duty checked us in quickly (including refreshing welcome drink). The bell staff drove us to the room. Once we got to the room, the butler come in to finish the check-in, help us make reservations and orient us to the hotel. We were fully checked in and relaxing in the room no more than half an hour after arrival. Butler service: The Villas came with butler service. They arranged meal reservations (not necessary, but we are part of the Club, so were able to reserve tables), massage reservations and our daily afternoon deliveries of ice. About halfway through the trip, I injured my foot and after that we were dependent on the Butlers to drive us around the resort as well. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a ride, no matter where on the full resort we were. Food: The food ranged from perfectly acceptable to downright wonderful. The breakfast buffet had a wide assortment of food. I mostly ate the local offerings - tamales, chilaquiles, chorizo and potatoes, poached eggs in poblano cream sauce. There were also everything you could order off a Denny's menu, if that was more your thing, plus a yogurt bar, sashimi, many fruit juices and so forth. We ate most lunches at the Puerta Sal chevice bar on the beach. The menu there was more extensive than we expected. The room service menu was fine. We enjoyed the burrito. The dinners had the widest range of quality, though all were perfectly acceptable. We ate at the L'Atelier (French) twice (Emilio was a great waiter) and enjoyed both those meals. The best meal we ate was the Wine and Food Prefix dinner we scheduled through the wine bar. 5 courses, with all Mexican wines (better than I expected.) The actual meal was one of the Top 100 meals of my life - Mexican fusion prepared to perfection! It costs extra, but if you enjoy being surprised and delighted by a meal, I cannot recommend it enough. Wine Tasting: In addition to the Prefix dinner, we did two additional wine tasting events at the wine bar. The first was Spanish wines, the second Mexican wines. Eric and Victor, the sommeliers, presented a great tasting experience. We took the time to let the wines open up and evolve over the hour-and-a-half tasting. It was refreshing to taste wine with a professional who wasn't trying to sell me the wine, just helping me learn about and appreciate it. Room: We stayed in one of the Romance Villas. We enjoyed the private pool - I started each day with a dip while my wife was still sleeping. The rooms are in the process of being refreshed, and the room next to our had workmen during the day. We almost never heard them or were disturbed by their presence. The Villas are about 1/8th of a mile from the pools and restaurants - an easy walk until I hurt by foot. We will absolutely pay for a Villa again the next time we return. Wildlife: There are a lot of animals on the property. None of them were aggressive or begging for food or anything. They were just existing. These included many birds (peafowl, flamingos, geese, plus many song birds), sereques (a rabbit sized animal that looks like a guinea pig with deer legs), coatis (cross a racoon with a cat, give it a nose twitches and a bouncing walk - then add the cutest babies following along in a row) and even, one night, a wild pig sitting by the path. Shows: We went to two shows - the Magic Show and the Fire Show. Both were well done. The Magic show was mostly large stage magic - make the girl disappear, saw the girl in half, switch places with the girl. Well done, with one trick in particular that ended in with an unexpected coda that I enjoyed. The Fire Show by the pool was also enjoyable. Mosquitos: One of my concerns before we went, especially having rented the Villa, was mosquitos. I'm pleased to say that we saw exactly 1 mosquito the entire time, and that was while I sitting out back in the predawn stillness of our private backyard and pool. The staff told me that the mosquitos can be bad during the rainy season, but it was dry when we were there (barring two afternoon thunderstorms), and we were pest free. Spa: We got massages at both the JOIA Spa and the larger Spa Central. Quality massages and facilities, as good as any state-side resort. Basically, we had a vacation that was everything we hoped it would be. We are looking forward to coming back.

My wife and I just returned from our trip back to the land of the Maya, having stayed at the Iberostar JOIA resort in an all-inclusive get-away. We desperately needed a break and reset. Not only were we celebrating her birthday, but I am a cancer patient and just completed 6 months of the most intense chemo available. You can imagine the condition I'm in and the extreme demands that my wife has had to bear. Our time at JOIA really couldn't have been better! I want to thank the Building 70 butler team for the kindness and compassion they showed us, which was really what elevated the experience beyond just going to a resort. We have stayed at another Iberostar resort previously and were impressed with the hospitality and facilities, but Iberostar JOIA's butler team Roland, Paulo, Gustavo, and Aris really created a personal experience for us that made us comfortable to ask for the attendance that we needed to be comfortable and relaxed. I also want to shout-out Lucinda and the team of chefs that worked with my wife's food allergy restrictions to make delicious and trust-able meals, which is a principal consideration for the places we choose to stay. Without the care of these two teams our stay wouldn't have resulted in our joining the Iberostar Club. But as I sat in the presentation (thanks Aris!) I asked myself if we could trust Iberostar for our future travel plans. These teams made us comfortable enough to close the deal. And lastly, I want to thank the Spa team for their incredible work that has brought me immediate and lasting relief. This experience was a blessing to me in a time when I really needed it. Muchos Gracias, until we meet again!

This was our 3rd stay here and we simply love it! The service is impeccable. We did absolutely nothing but lie at the beach which was our intention but there is plenty to do at the resort and around the area. The service is excellent, From the room to the restaurants to the beach service. Very spacious bedroom and bath area. Nice patio with chairs. Small dining area. Plenty of closet and drawer space. Quiet. Room was dark for sleeping. Umbrella provide in room if needed. Ironing board, iron, hair dryer, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel cotton pads, Q-tips all provided. They even had sunscreen and aloe available around the area. Smart tv, internet, Wi-Fi, and plenty of charging stations so don't forget your charging cords, Room also had a jacuzzi tub with bath salts provided. We had a room with butler service and each section had a concierge both of whom were very helpful and attentive to your needs. Mini bar refreshed everyday and room cleaned twice a day. Anything extra you may need they are there willing to help. Now a shout out to some employees who made a difference on this trip: In the Buena Visit Restaurant: - Abril: Super sweet. She made my eggs several mornings and a few days in, knew exactly what I wanted and how I like them cooked. Always engaging and always had a smile, even when the lights went out our last day there! Super sweet girl who was also very friendly and engaging. - Yadira: Made my eggs the morning Abril was off. Also super sweet and engaging. - Leonardo: Our waiter for breakfast and lunch. Oh my goodness. I've never seen any waiter who appears to love his job as much as he does. It didn't take us long to figure that out and requested to sit in his area. There were times the table wasn't set yet but he grabbed things and motioned us over and quickly prepared the table. Knew what we wanted to drink after a few visits. Very attentive. On the beach: - Geramaius (hope I spelled that right). Our main bar service on the beach. Again, sweet. Engaging. After a few days he knew our drink choices. Attentive. Amazing service. Activities: - Fabian. Our first encounter with him was on the beach during a guessing game. Then after dinner, we met up with him again at a blackjack table (side note. No gambling. Playing with chips, only). Oh my goodness. We had such a good time with him. His personality is perfect for this job. Talk about engaging with guests! He started talking about karaoke later that evening and he started singing right there, at which time I joined in. Fun time. Met some fun people, too. When he asked our names I told him just to call me momma. When we saw him down at the beach the next day for another guessing game, he called me momma. I'm still not sure if I ever told him my real name! Now for the final 2: - Marco and Fernando. Lifeguards. Unfortunately, I was in need of their services but not for what you are thinking. I collapsed at the table during breakfast. The staff quickly called for help. They quickly got me on the floor and elevated my feet. Bergan taking my BP which they did several times. BP and pulse were low. Then they called for medical from the infirmary. She checked me out and of course filled out the paperwork with my info, It didn't take long before I started feeling better. I refused the infirmary and wanted to try and eat, which I did and didn't have a problem the rest of our time there. It is reassuring to know they have trained staff on site to take care of your medical needs. And it's complimentary unless you'd go to the infirmary for further evaluation. Being a retired ER nurse, I knew what was going on and how to treat (rest and electrolytes, which I did) so I felt comfortable going back to our room. We have been to Cancun many, many times (also Dominican Republican and Jamaica) and have stayed at many different resorts (including Secrets and Zoetry) and this resort is the best we have stayed. This is a wonderful resort. Well worth the money.

Much of our stay was nice; the restaurants were great and the staff at all of them were delightful. The staff doing daily activities were also amazing. And the resort itself was beautiful. But I was very disappointed in the check-in staff and concierge staff. A few highlights: -Our room was not ready at check-in time, but two hours later -As we waited for our room, a staff member named Tomas approached us about attending a "presentation." While I don't mind being asked, I was a bit annoyed to have a sales pitch pushed on me before I even got into my room. -Once we were able to check-in, it was clearly hastily turned over (items missing, mini bar not stocked, etc.) -Our villa included a butler service. I messaged them about the missing items (minibar, corkscrew for wine bottle, coffee, etc.). Some items were eventually provided, but others were never provided. -This would be a recurring theme with the butler service throughout the week. Several very basic asks (example, I requested bottled water), were never addressed. -Jorge at concierge desk informed me I had a resort credit that could be used to pay for a massage. Upon checking out, I learned that I needed to present some sort of coupon in the app at the time of the massage in order to use the resort credit. Jorge never told me this, and as we were checking out, it was too late to do anything about it. And the check-out staff informed me they would not modify the charge. So my resort credit was not honored. So while the resort was beautiful and some of the service was great, much of our experience was very frustrating, especially for such an expensive upgraded room.