This hotel and staff was incredible. There were some room issues like ceiling fans that did not work because of a short in a lamp (same circuit) that gave me a nasty shock, a most impressive electrical arc when it finally blew and the electrical outlet that came out of the wall when I tried to unplug it. I only mention it because other, more persnickety, clients might loose focus on the overall experience which was phenomenal.

The facilities and grounds were absolutely first-class. Staff from check in to, butlers, concierge, housekeeping and wait staff could not be more pleasant or attentive. To wit: Naomi on hearing our plight at check-in immediately upgraded us to water front at no cost then apologized that we would have to wait until 3pm while the room was made ready. We ran into her a couple of times during the stay. Her genuine pleasure at seeing Julie's joy for the room was heartfelt. Alfredo and Alberto (butlers) immediately saw to any room issues or any other request, listened to our desires, made excellent recommendations and shared personal experiences. Cynthia, the concierge is just about Julie's new best friend. On our second day, Julie had to go to the hospital. Cynthia made travel arrangements for us and seemed genuinely concerned for Julie. We returned after Cynthia left for the day and before she returned the next morning. When we got back to the hotel, afternoon of the third day, Cynthia ran up to Julie with a big hug and asked what happened. She thought Julie might have been admitted or sent home as she had not seen us all day and checked the room several times with no success (we were out and about). Each time after that, Same thing, big hug and asking about our day, how Julie was feeling, etc. Those are just a few examples of the fine staff there.

This is the place for someone wanting a high-touch if hands-off experience. Other guests tend to keep to themselves unless in more social areas like the bars or Star Friends events. Even at near capacity, the beach felt almost deserted, palapas were easily available, pools not crowded (except pool bar co-opted by a tour corporate group for a few days), and the buffets/restaurants with ample seating.

The hotel sent Julie a very nice note the day after her hospital adventure, wishing her well and offering further assistance. After the lamp escapade they also sent letter and a bottle of champagne to the room. Just a few small examples to give you an idea about how “grand” the place really is, I could rave on for quite some time.

Food was good, we liked the buffet the best. We did eat at Tony's which was outstanding.

Beach, is rocked in front of building 71 (that is where we were) all you have to do is walk 2 minutes to the nice beach.

All I can say is, we loved it and can't wait to go back

Julie & Jim

I just returned from another wonderful ten day vacation at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso in Riviera Maya, Mexico. This was my third visit in the past year and every time I return it just exceeds my expectations from the previous stay.

I cannot begin to tell you of the wonderful experiences you will encounter during your vacation with them. From your initial steps into the resort you feel that your in for a wonderful vacation.
The Grand is immaculate from the rooms to the grounds and beach, which are extremely well manicured. Your have five dining choices, with the meals are prepared better than a four star restaurant.

I had an oceanfront suite, with a breathtaking view of the ocean. The rooms are very large in size and all have a jacuzzi tub and large walk in shower. The service from the entire staff is beyond belief. You never have to leave your beach chair for a beverage or meal. If there is anything you need your Concierge or Butler will make sure your needs are met.

I cannot tell you what an impeccable resort the Grand is, you must visit it first hand to really understand how outstanding it is.
I have stayed at a few other resorts, but after my eleventh stay, between the Iberostar Lindo, Iberostar Maya and now the third at the Iberostar Grand no other resort could compare to an Iberostar Resort.

I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Mateo Caldentey who is the general manager of the Grand. I had the opportunity to let him know how satisfied I always am during my stays.

Another staff associate, Ms. Angelica Solis, who is executive assistant manager of the Grand always goes beyond her responsibilities and duties to make you feel like a personal friend, but always maintains her professionalism.

Mr. Mateo Caldenty and Ms. Angelica Solis both met me in the lobby on the day of my departure to say goodbye. That really made me feel great that these two people with extremely busy schedules took the time to see me off. Tells you a lot about the great people running this resort
.
Your experience at the Grand will leave you wanting to return immediately. That's why I've already booked my vacation back at the Grand in November.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Bob Theus

We honeymooned at The Grand from Sat. May 3 – 10th 2008. This was our first time to an Iberostar resort. As we arrived the other people in the Lomas van were very jealous! It was beautiful as we came in at sunset. We get to the check in and were told we got a free upgrade to the ocean view for our honeymoon. Carlos at the front desk was very helpful. And before we knew it we were walking to our room! This hotel is simply beautiful! We were amazed at all of the marble, woodwork and artwork. I loved all the beautiful paintings everywhere. It’s perfectly cleaned and kept to perfection!

Room: Our room was 7287 on the top floor centered overlooking the Infinity pool. What a view! We loved how the suite was set up with the bathroom separate from the bedroom. The bathroom is huge and we loved the ‘his and her’s’ areas! Never did get to use the tub, I’ll explain later. The shower – Note: be sure to put down a towel where the door opens because there’s nothing blocking all that water from flowing onto that beautiful slippery marble! Water was always warm and always had enough pressure! Great shower! The BED was the greatest bed we have ever slept on. I wish we would have checked to see who made it and all the bed linens! Heavenly bed!!! Our balcony was wonderful! Great view of the ocean, jungle and the Infinity pool!

Food: We actually thought the food was really good. And yes, some was hit and miss. We ate at Toni’s twice, Japanese, Italian and the Tapatilla at The Mayan. We ate dinner one night at the dinner buffet. We ordered room service quite a few times. It always came within 30min and was nice and hot! I loved the shrimp and avocado salad for lunch! Toni’s was great our first night and then Friday, our last night, we ordered the Rib eye and that wasn’t so good. But that shrimp and chicken brochette thingy was awesome!! Japanese was fun and yummy and Tapatilla was really truly wonderful home-made Mexican food. Lunch was always yummy and I seriously ate chips, guac and pico de gallo every single day! I loved the shrimp fajitas too!

Service: Now I know that some people got some hit and miss service, but for the most part we got great service! Even at breakfast we had some good service. All the restaurants had given us wonderful service and room service was great too. Bar service was wonderful even when there was only 1 waitress in the lobby bar! Our bartenders at the swimup bar were great! They always had cold Bud Light for me and plenty of Grey Goose and Cranberry for my husband. We never had a bad drink! We also took in and had the couples hot stone massage. It wasn’t a deep enough treatment for my man, but it was great for me. The girls were wonderful. A bit over priced though!!!!

Beach/Pools: We went to the beach a few times and loved it. We swam in those beautiful blue-green warm waters and even battled some rocks! But it’s all worth it when you get into that ocean! Drink service was pretty decent on the beach seein’ as how they have to run back to La Brista to get everyone drinks! The Pools, Loved the spa pool! We would go in the morning and spend at least 1 hour in there and have it all to ourselves! Be sure to push all the red buttons and try ALL the water treatments! They are great!! The Infinity Pool and spas were wonderful! We loved how relaxing it was over there and fell asleep a few times! And we absolutely loved the 2 huge spas there! The Activities Pool was fun. We would usually wonder over around 4ish and have drinks, chat with people, and swim around. Oh and take note: to all the drinkers who thinks they water-down drinks, please take into consideration that you are at sea level so if you live higher than sea level you are going to be able to drink like a fish and not feel a thing! Yeah, we are from Colorado and it took us 6 days to even get a good buzz! HA!


The One Bad Thing: So here’s my complaint and I have every right to complain about it! So Friday night, the 9th my husband and I had dinner at Toni’s at 9pm. He had called on 3 different occasions to the butler/guest services to set up a ‘romantic night’ for our honeymoon. We wanted to wait until the end of the week for it so it would still be fresh in out minds as we left on Saturday. So the 3rd time he had called, the maid couldn’t really understand him and thought he wanted turn-down service. He told them to set the room after 9pm. So we returned around 10ish so he could change and we could venture to the Lobby bar, and when we arrived . . . nothing! So we thought, well, they are busy, we are headed out, maybe when we get back they will have done the room up?! So we get back around 11:30-midnight, and well . . . . NOTHING! Not even turn-down service! I was SO mad! We didn’t ask for anything the whole time we were there, and this one and final night we ask for something special and get nothing! I got on the phone and called every number to try and get a hold of someone and NO ONE not even the front desk would answer the phones! That made me even more upset! I was on the phone for 30 min trying to get a hold of someone. Never did. So in the end, we just let it go. We didn’t need rose petals and a drawn bath to make our stay memorable. We enjoyed all week at The Grand and we couldn’t let something little like that spoil our honeymoon!

All in all, yes, we would return to The Grand and even look into staying at other Iberostar resorts. And I would recommend it to everyone! I really want to say HI to the Star Friends we had so much fun with them! Victoria and Christian and everyone else, you guys rock!!! Those guys work their !@#$ off, over 14hr days to please everyone so please take the time to thank them!! We truly had a wonderful honeymoon and enjoyed every waking moment at The Grand!

------original review-------

Subject: Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso
Location: Playa Paraiso, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
Title: don't understand the rave reviews here
ID#: 15881546

Just came back from Iberostar Grand. Stayed for 6 days. The hotel is absolutely gorgeous. The grounds, the pool area. The bathrooms thruout the resort have the most beautiful sinks. The rooms were beautiful and the beds were the most comfortable i ever had at any resort or hotel. Unfortunately we had horrible experiences with the food. The first night we ate at the surf and turf restaurant. The lobster was the size of a shrimp and the steak was a flat as a pancake, though the food was edible as compared to the 2nd night when we went to the italian restaurant. Not one thing was even edible there. The salad consisted of tiny mozzerella balls and hard tomatoe balls and i have no clue what kind of dressing was on it that they called balsamic vinegrette. Next course we had the ravioli. Horrible taste and I don't know what kind of sauce was on that either. I asked the waiter which fish was better swordfish or red snapper, he said definitely red snapper. Well that turn out to be absolutely disgusting. I don't know what kind of crust was around it but even after picking the crust off, the fish was the poorist quality. My husband ordered I think it was veal, hard to tell from the taste. Bad meat. We walked out without eating. Tried to go back to the surf and turf, at least that was edible, but they wouldn't let us in without a reservation, though the place was not full. Then we tried to go to the japanese place and they let us in without a reservation. We were ignored for 20 minutes and finally we were asked if we wanted a drink. After waiting 10 more minutes we walked out and went to the buffet. Everything there look so unappetizing we went back to our room and had potato chips. When we got there we found a beautiful display of Belvedere vodka and Baileys. I forgot to mention when we arrived at the resort we were assigned a butler who explains everything to you and asked us what we liked to drink and lets you know hes there for anything you need. We told him we'd like to have Belvedere, Baileys, Seltzer & Diet Coke in our room. Unfortunately we only found this in our room the first night. We never saw our butler again for 6 days. (and we did tip him the first day) we did ask the guy who fills up the refrigerator for diet coke and seltzer everyday he he made sure we had it. Back to the food. The 3rd night we went to the gourmet restaurant. Gourmet it is not. My husband and I didn't find one thing on the menu that appealed to us so we went to the front desk to complain about the food and tell them our experience so far. The manager there made a reservation for us at the seafood restaurant at one of the other reciprical Iberostar hotels. We got there a few minutes early and stopped at the bar for a drink. Started talking to another couple staying there and they told us the food at that restaurant was not very good and we should try the French restaurant there. We went to the French restaurant and told without a reservation we couldn't eat there, they were booked. We looked inside and the place was not full. We were told they were booked and the 8:30 reservations would be coming shortly. We said we would wait and see if it filled up at 8:30. Of course it didn't. A nice man with a chef hat came out and said he would accomodate us there and find a table. The food there was not great, but acceptable & edible. The 4th night we went to the Japanese restaurant, this time with a reservation. This turned out to be the best meal there (even though I don't care of Japanese food) and the service was great that night. I guess after our complaining, they made sure to take care of us there. Our last 2 nights we decided to eat off the premises and pay for our meals. Had an incredible dinner on the water at the Crab House in Cancun and another good dinner at Blue Lobster in Playa del Carmen. The lunches and breakfasts at the buffets were ok. Food was 100x better at Excellence where we stayed last year. 2 of the shows here were pretty good. 2 of them we walked out of. David from Olympus Tours was working on trying to move us to Excellence and told us it would be no problem and sent us to the pool and said he would call us on our cell phone as soon as arrangements were made. At 1:00 we went to look for him as we haven't heard from him since the morning. He was no where to be found. So we left the premises for the day and went to Playa del Carmen. All day no phone call. When we got back at 5:00 and found him, he said he couldn't call us because he couldn't make any more calls on his cell phone and said "bummer huh". Then he proceded to tell us it would cost us $800 to move to another hotel. We weren't doing that. We made the best of our vacation despite the horrible food and not so great service. I wouldn't recommend staying here at all. Coming from NY and all the wonderful restaurants here and used to eating the finest food, this place had horrible food and don't know where the people are from who recommend the food. We won't be back to this resort.