Iberostar Paraiso Maya

Very nice resort. It's close to many attractions including snorkeling and diving. Vast areas of swimming pools large enough for rafts. The staff had plenty of activity for all. We would like to thank of of the staff including Benardo who had our room spotless. Also bartenders who kept our cups full. Our food servers for professional service. All of the staff was friendly and courteous. The only bads was difficult dinner reservations to almost impossible unless you eat at 2100 and seaweed on the beach that is all Riveria Maya and not the hotels fault as they worked hard to remove.

This was our 10th stay at the Iberostar Playa complex, 2nd at Maya. I do not believe the service or food is at the level it was five years ago. Maya buffet is small with limited choices. We spent more time at the Lindo buffet. Nicer, bigger, and more options. For the money, Lindo will do you just fine for the same exact experience. We are huge Iberostar fans and have stayed a total of 16 times at Iberostars in the Caribbean. Just wasn’t impressed with the Maya experience this time. As for seaweed, it was a huge problem while we were there. This is our last day. The beach has a lot of seaweed and the blue water doesn’t exist right now, it is brown from the seaweed. I spent 90% of my time at pools because of the beach. That is weird for me because we normally spend our time mostly at the beach. We did experience a beautiful blue day by taking a Taxi and spending from 9 to 6 at Iberostar Cancun. Cancun does not have near the seaweed problem as the Riviera Maya. Iberostar Cancun has one of the best beaches I’ve been on and the water was brilliant. If you stay at Maya there is no charge to spend day at IB Cancun, same category. Taxi will costs you $48 each way. Overall it was a nice vacation. We enjoyed it. But to me, service has really slipped at Iberostar Maya.

I took my daughters (ages 12 & 14) to Mexico to climb the Mayan Pyramids as the result of a promise made 5 years ago. I knew we wanted an all-inclusive and am so happy we chose the right one. First, kudos to Gilbert at the pool bar, and also to the two male concierges at our building (61) - Dominique?? and Enrique - if I remember right! They were fantastic - Gilbert made the best margaritas - and non-alcoholic pina coladas and mudslides for my daughters...always friendly, always with a smile. The concierges went over and above numerous times - giving us the lay of land, best times and where to eat and last minute reservations one night. They kept us up on what shows were playing in the theater, beach reports, and special pool events. plus Dominique arranged bellboy service for our departure - even suggesting I covered incidentals the day before so I could checkout with him that morning and avoid lines in the lobby. Most endearing, he one escorted us to the pool buffet to talk to the chef and request he make my daughter a Ceasar salad for lunch - the only thing she was confident of keeping down after a light 12hr caset of flu. Beach: we got lucky...first day a LOT of seaweed, a carpet actually -not really swimmable to us - but typical and hit-or-miss along the Riviera. But after that, it was fine every day. It saved us a $40 round trip ferry ride to Cozumel to let the girls swim in the ocean! Waves were great - 3-4' at times! Watch the undertow, and the shore floor is tricky...lots of gullies where the waves have sucked out the sand, ... there seems to be a rocky ridge about 15' out...but get past that to about 4' of water and your golden. It seemed worse toward Del Mar, better toward Grand (we were at Maya, but all the beaches connected). Beach food - not bad! I liked the burgers, my 12-year-old loved the self-serve ice cream (daily!!). We never had an issue getting a beach chair or a long wait at the bar. Pools: again, no beach chair issues, and we never got out there before 10am. Warm...warm water in the pools - but that's the Mexican sun! Some fun activities - definitely do the foam party (was a Tuesday, 3:30 thing for us). I wish the volleyball was always available (one pool has a net to span it) but we were told only specific times they play - and we never could figure out when. Lazy river - relaxing; wave pool, a fun option. Bars - go see Gilbert closer to the beach/buffet! Food: not overly impressed but good. The Japanese restaurant La' Giesha was delicious and entertaining. The tenderloin at the Steakhouse was excellent. In general, I expected spicy, or at least very flavorful dishes but then suspect they keep everything mild to appeal to a wider pallet. Room service (free) - my daughter got a great chicken Ceasar the night she was sick (hence why we requested it the next day), and it came quickly. It prompted us to stay in one night, exhausted after our excursion, get room service and rent a movie. Food took a long time - over an hour. But bottom line, I can be a foodie, but not really why I went to Mexico! Room: top notch! We took advice from here and requested building 61 or 62 (Maya). We got a backside room - jungle view off the balcony, close to beach and pool. Elegant furnishings, large with a nice sitting area, free safe for valuables/passports, fridge with pop and beer restocked daily (incl), coffee pot, bottled water provided, lots of closet space, jet tub Tips: ~not a lot of electrical outlets - bring a multi plug extension cord ~ avoid the no-straw/paper straw issue by bringing your own reusable cup with a plastic straw - we took aluminum insulated ones - kept our frozen drinks frozen and the bartenders happily filled them ~bathroom lighting is dim, no windows, might bring an additional lightsource ~get lots of $1 bills and 20-peso bills (2019 equivalent to about $1) for tipping -- I took $100-worth for one week - it was enough and we tipped frequently (every beverage at pool/beach, golf cart drivers, a couple $ at every meal, in the coffee shop, bellboy, concierge whenever they went out of their way) ~be patient. Checking in seemed a long, ongoing process - we arrived at about 1:30 and began registering, passport check, then were sent to a buffet for lunch (they watched our bags) while they finished getting our room ready...we finally got to the room around 4:30pm. Everything runs on a slower pace for sure ~Star Cafe - 4-stars! Great Frappuccinos (slushy iced coffee), mochas, sandwiches, wraps and fresh donuts - free all day every day ~use the other resorts you have access to - the theater is at Lindo, we caught a great pool game at Beach/Del Mar - it expands your vacation! ~ plan your buffet eating - we did buffets for lunch daily and 3 times for dinner...instead of trying a little of everything every time, one meal have mexican, the next do just some italian fare, the next maybe a steak dinner...that way you don't feel like your eating the same food all week! ~sunscreen!! we did a 35spf spray and a 50spf for faces every morning and reapplied a couple times during the day...of course everyone is different, but none of us burned (don't forget your feet!) and still got tan. I also took an organic bug spray (off) that we never used/needed ~walk the beach at night - its magical ~don't forget to use bottled water for coffee, to brush your teeth, to rinse out cups (might be what got my daughter). Filtered water is used for ice and for drinking at bars and restaurants - no worries there Thank you Iberostar Paraiso Maya for life long memories! Side-note -My one big complaint: my 12-year-old is a gymnast. She and I went to the fitness center the first day - intended to go every morning so she could continue her training...I would accompany her and do minor stuff. They would not allow it - saying she had to be 14. This is not a kid wanting to play on the equipment, mind you, she seriously wants to work out and is more qualified than probably anyone in the place. They suggested they would make an exception with a letter from her coach and videos (proving she was a gymnast). We were sent to the lobby to make arrangements through management to submit these things. We sat there for over an hour waiting for the person who was to help us. I requested a "permission" email from dd's home gym - and we complied with the video request - but we were on excursion the next day so decided to let it go another day, giving them additional time to approve her. The 3rd day we waited another hour for them to go find the email, review it, review the videos (consider we had gotten up at 7:30am to work out) Finally at almost 9am, we are told their decision is that she can use free weights and floor, but no machines (treadmill/elliptical/etc which seemed ridiculous), she needed to be accompanied by an adult (me - no problem), I would need to sign a waiver (no problem) AND she couldn't go before 10am. That last one was very insulting to her and didn't fit into our plans at all....by 10am we were starting our day, off and running. So we didn't go back to the fitness center - very disappointing because that was a reason we chose this resort - a nice workout facility with good hours. I did not let this hinder my review though very disappointing - but its doubtful to be an issue for others.

My wife and I just got back from our 4 Night stay at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya, and it was wonderful experience. Iberostar resorts honestly have it all figured out. Everything from check in to check out, is very seamless and well thought out. This was our primary reason for choosing to stay a second time at this resort. We were not disappointed one bit and will likely return again. The hotel staff are amazing, very polite and helpful and communication was effortless as their English is very good. The hotel and grounds is beautifully decorated and clean, and meticulously maintained with lots of wildlife around the resort. The restaurants within the Maya, as well as the Lindo, the Beach and the Del Mar resorts are also beautifully themed and maintained. We immediately made our dinner reservations upon check in with the concierge upon check in. This is something that I would suggest everyone do because getting reservations to the al la carte restaurants can be difficult during busy periods. We ate at the La Geisha Japanese restaurant , Fogon Italiano restaurant, El Rodizio restaurant and our favorite the El Rancho steakhouse. Staying in the Maya resort allowed us access to everything in the Lindo, Del Mar and Beach resorts also witch is something we really like, as it makes the entertainment, dining, pool and shopping options endless. The beaches very well maintained with plenty of covered spaces to sit and lay down, activities to do and daily sea weed clean up. The bars throughout the resorts make very good drinks, friendly staff and little wait time. Our room was also very nice, and clean. Daily turndown service and maid service was without complaint. The only thing that we felt could use some attention was our bathroom. It was beginning to look a bit dated and in need of remodel. Any time we took showers, water would leak under the door all over the bathroom floor and make for a pretty slippery situation. But other than that, everything was awesome. If you’re looking to book a trip with the family or even just your significant other than take a look at the Iberostar Maya, you’ll be glad that you did.