Iberostar Grand Paraiso

We have been enjoying Iberostar vacations along the Riviera Maya for over twenty years. This was our second time to the JOIA (recently renamed from the Grand). My wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary, just the two of us. I am thankful to Yaska who helped arrange for a beautiful flower arrangement to be in our room upon arrival, and she was very helpful as our concierge, too. We also appreciated the service of Rogelio and Victor as we spent every day on the beach under a palapa. My only suggestion is to bring back group tennis in some fashion with or without a tennis instructor so that solo tennis players who are staying at Iberostar can find someone to play tennis. We had a very enjoyable time during our stay with the beach, the food, and the entertainment.

It was wonderful to return to Joia Paraiso for the third time, this time for a sister getaway. The Star Friends team worked hard to include everyone in games and activities and they were all friendly and kind, even remembering us from our last visit. Shout out to Luis, Carlos, Mala, Adalid, Alma, Pedro, Viedma, Jorge and the entire team for going out of their way to make our experience a fun one. They recognized us around the resort and always stopped to say hi and chat. They were awesome at the evening shows, providing technical support and thoughtful introductions. Elizabeth, the pool concierge, was ready with a smile and towel service and offers to tie up curtains to block the sun. Leticia, Rosaura, Eunice, Luis and Humberto provided amazing bar service at the main pool and we enjoyed good conversations and lots of laughs. The Quiet Pool is a great option that most resorts don’t have and lovely Ariana served us refreshing drinks to our chairs. Groundskeepers were friendly and proudly attended to the lush and manicured landscaping. Buffet breakfast was excellent with lots of choices and attentive servers. Shout out to sweet hostess Eneida and servers Leonardo and Luis. Montserrat at the Star Cafe is a sweetheart. All restaurants were excellent and it was nice to enjoy fine dining experiences with exceptional service. We enjoyed amazing, professional attention from restaurant Maître d’s and Felix at L’Atelier is a standout, remembering us from previous visits and treating us so kindly. The food throughout the resort is delicious and the presentation outstanding. Staff at this resort is second to none and there are so many others I could mention. We enjoyed excellent entertainment in the Lobby Bar. We have never seen this much live music at any other resort. Our favourite performers are The Sweets. Jenny is a gorgeous singer and Jesus is amazing on the saxophone and they are just beautiful, warm people. Bartenders Daniel, Dario and Antonio made amazing drinks with top shelf liquor in the lobby and in Rhapsody. It was great to have Rhapsody there for gourmet cocktails and fun nightclub atmosphere and sometimes karaoke later in the evening and of course, our Star Friends were awesome. We spent most evenings meeting new people and being entertained by Daniel and Dario around the bar. The resort itself is truly beautiful with grand architecture, marble floors, wow factor everywhere. Staff keep windows and floors sparkling; everyone with an “hola” and a smile. We rarely return to a resort but look forward to our fourth visit as soon as we can!

We stayed for a week and found the property beautiful and the employees, for the most part, warm and accommodating. When we checked in, we were given a $25 discount coupon to be used if we made gift shop purchases that exceeded $100. The staff member in the gift shop told us the coupon was invalid unless one individual item totaled $100. We had bought a sweatshirt and two t-shirts. The t-shirts were advertised as buy 3, get one free. She said` we were qualified for a free t-shirt since we bought 2 t-shirts and a sweatshirt – total spent $144. This was contrary to what we were originally told. I spoke to another concierge who said the woman in the gift shop was wrong and we would get the discount when we checked out. On checking out, we were denied the discount at the desk and the staff member said we had already received a discount in the shop. Nowhere was this spelled out; Such an action was arbitrary and capricious. If employees of the resort don’t understand the policy and have conflicting ideas of how it is administered, how can guests be expected to be aware of the ramifications? What was a wonderful vacation was soured by this event and created unfortunate ill will. I would still recommend this resort but be aware that policies are not transparent and there is obfuscation in how they are expressed. It seems ridiculous on the part of the resort’s administration to create such ill will and leave guests with a sour taste in their mouths as they depart. For $25? Really? Iberostar – you should be better than this!

Hi Trip Advisor community! Just got back yesterday from the JOIA Paraiso by Iberostar. Our first visit to this property. Couldn't wait to get my review on here. As always, I'll try to give you the most important information you will need that will help you decide if this property is for you or not. I think reviews should give more info than just shout outs to staff because they make great daquiris (which is an important thing too, don't get me wrong!) But reviews need to have details and insights about other things, too. I hope this review helps you. Sit back, grab a drink and get reading! First thing - this resort used to be called the Iberostar Grand Paraiso. It is now JOIA Paraiso by Iberostar. But it's the same property so when you see previous reviews about the Grand, that's this spot. LOCATION: It's about 25 minutes (give or take traffic) from Cancun airport to JOIA. It's in a gated community alongside four other Iberostars. NOTE #1: About those four other resorts: the four other Iberostars are family friendly, but don't worry about this. You can use all their facilities but they are not permitted to come over to the JOIA side. Best of both worlds. It's a large complex but you can hitch a ride on a golf cart to take you around if you feel like checking out the other properties. This also gives you a wider range of dining options. So it's a good thing. ARRIVAL: We were greeted warmly with a cold towel and a lovely drink that, to this day, I have no idea what it was. Guess I could have asked! But it was good. Check in was speedy. NOTE #2: I'd emailed the resort about two weeks prior with a couple of special room requests. Got them. Thank you to the staff who paid attention to my email! Greatly appreciated. Upon check in, you have to pay a resort fee. It's a very small fee similar to hotel tax (well, I guess that's what it is, a hotel tax!) It's about 14 U.S. for the week. So be prepared for that. They'll attach a lovely little bracelet to your arm. This is your room key. Beats shuffling around in your beach bag to find a card key. Bellmen (sorry, never quite sure what to call them) will escort you and your bags to your room. RESORT VIBE: The look and feel of this magnificent resort can only be described as "over the top gorgeous." Seriously, even the bathrooms off the lobby are over the top. The resort was built in 2007 but you wouldn't know it. It looks brand new. It sparkles. Everything is clean and shiny. It's well maintained. Clearly, a great deal of attention to detail happens here. The architecture reminds me of an Italian resort rather than a Mexican one. I'll attach photos and you'll see. Be prepared to be really impressed with the indoor atrium just off the lobby. That's a big "wow" moment. I'll definitely attach a photo of that. ROOM: We booked a gardenview/jungleview suite, and it was lovely. The king bed was comfortable, air conditioning worked perfectly (but we hardly heard it) and the balcony had a wood floor, swinging chair as well as a long bench with pillows on it. You also get a Nespresso machine, tea, and a bar containing the usual suspects - pop, water, beer, juice, etc. Oh, and a white wine! Thank you JOIA, for recognizing that not all of us like beer! Little touches matter, don't they? PROPERTY: This property is gorgeous, well maintained and clean as a whistle. Manicured gardens surrounded by tropical rainforest, a spotless main pool with Jacuzzis and lots of loungers. NOTE #3: No chair game here. Another bonus! You don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to get a decent lounge chair by the pool. Big shout out to all the other considerate guests that were there the same week as us! They play music at the main pool, but nothing obnoxious. Nice easy listening music with occasional live musicians. There is a quiet pool as well, and this is pure heaven. It's quiet and has a lot of Bali beds for you to rest and relax. There is also towel service there of course. BEACH: Might as well get the bad news over with now ... NOTE #4: Yes, it was seaweed city for most of our week. Funny thing - first two days, hardly any. Then on day three we woke up to a massive pile of it, so it obviously came in with the tide overnight. They work hard to clean it, but it's a hard thing to stay on top of. Tractors go back and forth all day doing their best. Please - don't blame the resort and don't blame your travel agent. Blame Mother Nature. But ... the good news is this: the beach is wide and long and you can walk it. The sand is white, powdery soft and beautiful. Most of the days were red flag days, meaning the water was quite rough with large waves. Beautiful to look at, but honestly, don't go in too far! The lifeguards are not tyrants! They keep a close watch, but will blow the whistle if you venture out too far. During our week, we witnessed the lifeguards pulling a couple of people back to safety because they'd swam out too far. A bit of a tense moment. You can go in, but stay close to shore. A big shout out to the lifeguards who work that beach and keep everyone safe. RESTAURANTS: As with all my reviews, I'm not going to get into the "this restaurant was our favourite!!" or "we didn't like that!" because food is subjective. What I like, you may not like. I will say is this, though: there is enough variety to keep everyone happy, and if you have a dish you don't particularly care for, order something else! It's not rocket science, so please don't write a horrible review because you may have gotten an overcooked steak one night, or a salad that didn't have enough cucumbers in it for your liking the next night. You get my drift here. The people in these restaurants work so hard to give you a great dining experience. There is so much to choose from, including the beautiful breakfast & lunch buffets. Room service is also included in your stay. We didn't try it so I can't comment on it. I guess I should have at least looked at the menu ... sorry. Honourable Mentions: -- NY Steak and guacamole at the Mexican restaurant -- Passionfruit daquiris -- Beef carpaccio and spicy rigatoni a la vodka in the Italian No reservations for any a la carte dinners, which is also a bonus. Go wherever you feel like going (after thinking about it over a cocktail at the lobby bar, naturally!) EXTRAS! YES, YOU READ THAT RIGHT: This resort offers things for guests that many others do not: -- Bali beds are included. You don't have to pay extra or reserve one. First come, first served. -- Red and white wine included in the room, as well as a bottle of Mezcal. -- The hydrotherapy spa pool is included. -- Lots of toiletries, including a loofah and bath salts. Nice! -- A pair of sandals. *** A COUPLE OF FINAL IMPORTANT ITEMS *** -- If you like loud, rowdy foam parties in the pool or "drink till you drop" tequila competitions, DO NOT COME HERE. This resort is not for you. -- If you're planning a big thing like a bachelor party or looking to meet singles and do some loud partying, DO NOT COME HERE. This resort is not for you. There are other resort options that are more suited for those kinds of gathering. -- If you like upscale, quiet elegance, COME HERE. This resort is for you. -- PLEASE be kind and tip the staff. They work hard, and they deserve it. A big thank you to all the staff at JOIA who went above and beyond and were so great to deal with. You are great ambassadors for this resort. I think that about covers it, except the final question: WILL WE GO BACK? Absolutely. We're planning the next visit to JOIA right now as we speak (er, type!) This is a new favourite. So, if you're sitting on the fence about booking, it's time to get off the fence and book this resort. If you've already chosen it, bravo! Get ready to have a wonderful week in Riviera Maya. You've made a very good choice. I hope you have found this review and my photos helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to drop me a line any time. I wish you all great travels, no matter where your passport takes you! Sue

We have booked our next visit - of particular note for this review is that we travel extensively and have NEVER returned to a hotel, usually wanting to try something new… but this one has us coming back for seconds. The property is everything you hope for when you book a 5-star adults-only all-inclusive. It is expansive, beautiful, and offers many options. Highlights for me included the coatis, spa pool, the quiet pool, the mangrove walk to the property over where there is a lazy river. Our room (lowest category) was superb and we enjoyed the walk to get anywhere we wanted. Our favourite restaurant was the steak house - each of our two servers exceeded expectations. The floor concierge attended to our two requests. The front desk, coffee bar, and bellhops all meet 5-star expectations. The only negative thing I can say about this resort has to do with the specialty restaurants (except steak house - excellent, and Japanese - we didn’t visit.) The Italian had the WORST food; it was almost comical how bad it was. And the Mexican fajitas were sadly pure fat/grissle. The service at both however was impeccable. We didn’t complain about the food because I didn’t believe it would be any better if we did. Oh, and, a surprise at the buffet has made for some very fun storytelling at home: we arrived early for buffet lunch and they were still putting out the food, and not all the labels were out either. I foolishly took an item that wasn’t labeled. I should have realized that this chocolate & pistachio item was suspect since it wasn’t with the desserts. It turned out to be fois gras dipped in chocolate (?!?!) which I did NOT enjoy. I took a photo (attached) once the label was put out - notice two pieces are missing and my guess is that that other person also took it before the label was placed. (Joia didn’t do anything wrong, and I learned to know better what I put in my mouth.)