Iberostar Grand Paraiso

From the moment you arrive, you are welcomed by kind, helpful people and great service. They have basically eliminated single use plastic, which I LOVE. The room key is on a little arm bracelet; great, convenient idea (but not a fashion statement). Rooms: They are roomy, nicely decorated, well stocked, and have turn-down service. I would rather have a bigger shower than a jetted tub, but others might disagree. Improvement: They need to leave more than 2 bottles of water, and the shower grout has moldy areas/needs some love. The low temperature says it's set at 19C (about 65 F). It's definitely nowhere near that but not overly warm. Food: They have 5 ala carte dinner options and one buffet whose theme changes nightly. They used to require reservations at all of them, which could be difficult to get and annoying. Now, the only one that requires them is the Asian, and you can choose either ala carte or teppanyaki tables (which we didn't try). I think our favorite was the Mexican, as you can try some unique, traditional preparations. This is not the Americanized type we usually get at home. I don't generally do dinner buffets, but we tried the Gala night, which had a plentiful supply of steaks/ meats and seafood, including lobster. Some reviews bashed the food here. We are fairly picky, and we find the food here to be good to very good. Suggestions for improvement: Ember (grill ) and Haiku were almost unbearably warm. I would have liked a couple quality pizza options at the Italian restaurant. I would strongly suggest food carts at the pool or a pool food menu for people who just don't want to dry off and go to a restaurant. And while I don't expect great champagne at a resort, the sparkling wine they serve is just bad. We only used room service for coffee, but it was pretty slow. Bars: They are well stocked, and we were pleasantly surprised at some of the available selections, even at the pool. Leticia was great at the pool, and Luilli in Rhapsody did a great job.The service is always good. Improvement: They really need another evening bar option, preferably close to the beach. The lobby bar area just doesn't accommodate that many people and gets loud. Pools/beach/entertainment: the sand is soft, and they really try to keep it clean, but I think the whole area struggles with seaweed. There are plenty of beach chairs/palapas, and if you like the chairs IN the pool, you could pretty much always get one. The pool palapas are no extra charge, but they are hard to get, and a number of them need maintenance. Other chairs go fairly early as well. Caution: the artificial grass gets warm, and the tiles around the pool and in the bathroom can be a bit slippery. Towels are plentiful. The entertainment team work very hard, and they were all great. My adult kids really enjoyed the daytime activities. There is nightly entertainment, but we only did 2 of the shows. We've been to quite a few all-inclusive resorts, and this is definitely one of the better ones. It is elegant with a European/Spanish feel and lovely, hard working people. We will definitely come again.

The staff, the grounds, pools, rooms and food were all exceptional. We were constantly asked if we required anything or if any improvements could be made. Special shout out to Sacnite for ensuring we got the room we wanted. Thank you Joia, it was fantastic

We visited once again 8 nights at this fantastic resort in March 2025 where a 5 star is truly well deserved relative to many resorts we have stayed at. The restaurants excellent food and service. We enjoyed many of the night shows, but the staff are really welcoming and do their utmost to please and fulfill every and any request. our butler this time was Karolina who made sure that all our needs were taken care of - very professionally and fun to have with us on our wing. We were served by a host of servers that deserve complements yet a very special THANK YOU to Cesar at the gourmet restaurant L'Atelier - we hope to see him again and again on every visit. Thanks again to club team Iberostar JOIA

The JOIA in Riviera Maya has been the most amazing trip we have ever taken. We came for a few days this month for a friend’s wedding and upgraded to the JOIA and couldn’t be happier that we did. Transfer to JOIA was so easy and safe. Check in was a breeze. Our room was absolutely perfect, clean, cool, and stocked with everything we needed. Right on the beautiful beach!!! Our butler, Gustavo, was a highlight of our trip. He was so friendly and attentive to us. Whatever we needed, we had it. The buffet is one of the best places I have ever eaten, and Ember steakhouse was phenomenal. We also really enjoyed the hibachi restaurant. The pool was beautiful and quiet, the spa was relaxing, and the gym was great although small. The lobby bar was exceptional. Being able to go to all of the properties was so fun- Lindo pool was great, the galaxy club was so much fun, and we even got beautiful tattoos at Del Mar! The only complaint I would make is the restaurants did take a long time to get food out… I’m talking about an hour each time… - but hey, you’re on vacation so you need to be a little lenient! We will absolutely stay at the JOIA again, and cannot wait!!! I will recommend this resort to anyone!

This resort is by far our favorite of all the resorts we have stayed at on the Riviera Maya. We were there for 14 days of peace, relaxation and great food and it did not disappoint. We spent most of our time at the beach - when we were there the beach and water were crystal clear, always a chair to be had, lots of towels and good beach bar service. We also loved the use of the spa pool and facilities, Quiet Pool and the other pools of neighbouring resorts. The Food and **NOEMI** (She is a TOP NOTCH FIVE STAR EMPLOYEE) We are Vegan and we were worried but we were treated and ate like Royalty!! Noemi hands down made this vacation extra special for us(I miss her). Always there at meals to ask us if there was anything special we would like to eat, suggestions and surprises. No amount of compliments can describe how incredible the meals that she and all the chefs prepared for us over the 14 days - For this alone we will come back. If you are worried about dietary restrictions, don't, just ask and you will be taken good care of. Chef Aldahir - Pastry - Made us the best vegan caramel sauce and treats. Chef Carlos - Japanese - WOW! He made us feel so special in his restaurant and the food was always amazing! Chef Irving, Chef Federico, Chef Gammaliel, Chef Yoari, Chef angel, Chef Oscar - Servers - Carlos, Neri, Juquin and Josue were outstanding along with hostess Michel. How do they have so much talent in one place! 5 star ***** The room was always kept clean and comfy, loved the soaker tub and pillow options. The staff always greeted us warmly and with a smile no matter where we were on the resort. One of the groundkeepers stood out to us, I think his name was Darwin, so sweet and a great smile and Tomas(building 70). We loved that this resort is eco friendly. No plastic water bottles, straws, single use plastic etc. Thank you JOIA Paraiso and all the staff - We'll see you again :) *I would like to suggest more loungers at the Quiet Pool instead of day beds.