Iberostar Selection Paraiso Maya Suites reviews
8644 TripAdvisor reviews
Wonderful
Monroetravels (Monroe) on May 26, 2025
Don't believe the negative reviews!! We had an awesome time. We were a group of 7. 3 rooms, 5 adults and 2 toddlers, 1 toddler with severe food allergies. Resort: Super clean, the staff works tirelessly ...to keep everything super clean. Once we got the hang of the layout we rarely used the golf carts. Everything is connected. The individual buildings are connected by beautiful walkways. Room: Very clean. This is the first Caribbean/Mexican resort where the room does not smell musky. The room is chilled to a perfect 22C/72F. There is a door between the entry way and the main room, which keeps outside noise out at night. We had neighbors, but never heard them. The minibar is fully stocked with drinks and will actually keep everything cold. Water: You are provided with 2 glass bottes to fill from the water station. They are all over the resort and on each floor of each building. We used it every day, all day. The water tasted great, no different than my reverse osmosis filter at home. Pools: We didn't have to play the towel game, there were plenty loungers available, including in the shade. We didn't need first row seats at the main pool. We usually sat by the lazy river and wave pool. We use a "LocTote" to secure our phones and valuables while we were in the pools. There are plenty bars, refreshing hydration stations and food options nearby. We brought inexpensive floats for the lazy river and used them every day. We left some behind for the next group, easier than trying to fit them in the suitcase. We all loved the pools. Fun activities scattered through out the day. Critters: The resort is surrounded by lush jungle and is home to many animals. Koatis, agouti, iguanas, peacocks and cats roam the property. They leave you alone as long as you don't feed them. We saw a group feed the koatis and then get upset when they were literally trying to steal food from their plate at the pool. Enjoy them, don't feed them. The property is home to a spider monkey family. The mom carries a baby, super cute. The staff is very protective of them. Restaurants: We loved the breakfast buffet, really good spanish cava every morning is lovely. The breakfast was amazing every day. Dinner buffet was really good too. Did we love everything, no, but I always found something very delicious. They have to cater to so many different tastes that they do the best they can. We loved the steak house and italian the most. The hibachi was ok, the chef did a good job. We are food snobs, so I wouldn't recommend it to someone who loves Asian food. Shoutout: Our granddaughter has severe dairy allergies. Manuel was helping out at the italian restaurant and went above and beyond to make sure that she had something to eat. He was amazing. In addition, he speaks fluent german, he is a keeper. Chef Itza checked on us several times to make sure we had dairy free options. If there were no dairy free desert options she would bring strawberry sorbet to the table so she wouldn't miss out. That made for one happy girl. Timeshare: We did the breakfast presentation. Our son was not ready to buy, maybe in a few years. We received a catamaran trip as compensation, which was awesome. Beach: Too much sargassum, they couldn't keep up. Not their fault. We will definitely be back. We have been to many different AI resorts and this has been the best so far.
Great Service and Inclusive Practices That You Can Feel Good About
WilliamPB93 (Lansing, Michigan) on May 19, 2025
Great experience with a ton of options. I visited the Maya when it first opened 20 years ago as a kid, and have always thought of it fondly, so when my husband wanted to do an all inclusive in the Rivera M...aya I jumped at the chance to return. After we booked however (through Funjet, with which we had a great experience as well), I was worried after reading reviews that complained about the solicitation for joining “the club”. As for our experience, as long as you are firm in saying you are not interested up front it is fine- I completely understand how others who are not familiar with the culture of RM resorts might find it unusual or unappealing, but I think it’s really par for the course with Riviera Maya and many all inclusive resorts in general. At the end of the day, the concierges want you to be happy and they were still happy to help us with reservations regardless of if we went to the presentation or not. Upon arrival, we were promptly helped with bags by the bellhops and checked in with Oliver who was excellent. As a gay couple I wasn’t sure how we would be acknowledged, but Oliver was extremely professional and inclusive when he confirmed that we wanted a King bed room instead of two queens. Right after check in, we were assisted by the concierge (I completely forgot her name, but she was also lovely) who promptly acknowledged us as a married couple and was assisted us with reservations for La Geisha and helped us with a property map and showed us the App (as Oliver had as well). We were offered food and drink throughout check in and could definitely tell from the professionalism of the staff we were in for a good week. Upon arriving to the room we were pleased to find it spacious, cool, clean, and with plenty of room for us to unpack. We stayed in 6667 and had a great private garden view from which we could see Monkeys in the palm trees every morning over coffee- my husband especially loved the hammock chair! Throughout our stay housekeeping was prompt and efficient and did a spectacular job! Do not forget to explore the entire complex, as it’s easy to pigeon hole yourself in just what is around your building but there is a ton going on! The grounds of this resort complex are a game changer and will be a huge part of what keeps us dreaming about returning! We’ve had friends and family stay elsewhere and I think what really sets this place apart is that it feels like Mexico instead of just a standard luxury resort on a nice beach. I loved that it integrated the Mayan motifs and there were always local cuisine options. I wish we would see more resorts really embracing the beauty of the Maya culture in the area- that along with the green commitment that Iberostar has made mean that you can rest assured that you are making a choice that you can feel good about. I applaud the water filtration system and commitment to eliminating single use plastic. We had no trouble with the app, and it helped make things easy. We made great use of the Map, room service ordering, and ability to make room requests. In terms of service for food and drink, Alejandro at the beach bar and Pablo at the pool bar were particularly excellent, as was our Sommelier Francisca at the Italian restaurant- she made excellent recommendations! The entire staff was lovely and accommodating and we never had an interaction or passed a staff member who didn’t smile and say hello. It was also lovely to see how they interacted with each other, clearly there is a great little community within the resort and you can tell! That being said, visitors from outside the Americas should plan to bring money for tips, as this is common practice in these resorts throughout the Americas and is just a polite way to show your appreciation for the staff and excellent service. I understand that this is a cultural frustration for some people, but it is just the way things are done here, and staff never expect a tip, but are clearly very touched when you make an effort to show your appreciation. While this is a family resort, we had no issue as just a couple finding peace and quiet when we needed it, and we felt very welcome as a LGBTQ couple, staff were friendly and accommodating and always made a point to ask if we were married with great care as to not cause offense. I would recommend this resort to LGBTQ couples and families without any hesitation. You are in good hands with Iberostar, and we never felt judged or even remotely awkward, which is an unfortunate reality in some other resorts. We never minded the children, and in many cases it was a pleasure to see the Star Camp groups coming through and playing games. I know it’s not for everyone, but we really enjoyed the joy of being somewhere with lots of couples and adults only groups alongside big families and inter generational groups. That being said, it was never hard for us to find great seats at the pool or beach for just the two of us, but if you have a large group you may need to be flexible. We also made a point of stopping into the shopping center and found it a nice break if you need to get away from the pool, of course it has all the standard resort shopping stuff, but there was also some great artisanal products from the area and a lovely selection of Catrinas for you to bring home as a momento of your time at Iberostar! If you are looking for a good location with lots of options, I can’t recommend Iberostar Maya enough- we stayed for 6 days and stuck mostly to the pools and beach, but you could easily stay for a month and still have not tried everything! After 24 hours we started talking about planning our next trip to an Iberostar!
Great experience!
Miriam C on May 17, 2025
My husband and I celebrated our 50th anniversary at the Maya. The room was so clean and the beds comfortable. There were several restaurants on site with lots of food options. Two nights in a row, the hote...l provided chocolate covered strawberries and champagne in honor of our anniversary. The best part of the experience was the people that worked there. Not only do they work hard at long days, they were unfailingly polite and kind. I especially loved Paola. She recommended restaurants to try, seated us in good seats and was a joy to interact with! We are so glad we chose the IHG Maya!
Good, not great.
C C on May 08, 2025
We just came back with our family yesterday, and I must say the experience was good, not spectacular. We are a family of 5 (5 year old, 4 year old, and 1 year old). Pros: * The resort is spectacular - cle...an and beautiful. Plenty of photo ops everywhere * Unlike others have mentioned, the towel game was not an issue. Our family would eat breakfast around 9 and then went to the pool by 11AM. There was always seating available at every pool we went to, including the lazy river, beach waves, big pool, and kiddie pool spaces. Might have been the time of the year we went or days? (Sun - Wed) * Golf carts & drivers available quickly to get around the resort, making it easier for families with little kids; otherwise, it's a lot of walking from the hotel to restaurants/main areas. The golf carts even took you directly to your hotel building with was a MAJOR PLUS * The shows were thoughtfully put together and a great experience for the family (we went to the dance lessons, fire show, circus, and kid's performance shows where kids were able to get on stage) * Check-in was fast & the resort did not feel overcrowded at any point (we heard from drivers that the tourism is overall down). We didn't feel as though they were short staffed anywhere we went Cons: * Food was extremely mediocre. We went to most restaurants. Buffets had many choices, but most lacked flavor and taste. * Hibachi was not a great experience & food was the worst of all the places. Some other tables had better chefs as we heard laughter and claps, but ours was just there. He didn't do tricks or anything above & beyond like some others. Also super hard to get a reservation. I was denied a reservation initially. My husband (who speaks Spanish) went down to ask again two hours later and was able to get a reservation right away * Lots of seaweed on the beach. * No straws - not even paper ones available * If you don't sign up for Iberostar Club, the mood just totally changes with Concierge (as if they don't want to answer any more questions) * No room service for breakfast * Lack of options for the mini-bar in room (only a few drinks) * They are extremely stingy on towels - we are a family of 5 and asked for an additional 5 towels for the next day (they said they could only give us 3 more). Also, there's a lack of towel shacks at the resort. You must return your towels to the same shack Other items: * They have on-site photographer that we highly recommend over getting someone outside (fee to come in for a guest is $110/day). No fees for the session, just pay $15 per image (also packages available for bundling). You get edited photos back the same day and they are gorgeous * Star Camp for kids (ages 4+). Drop off kids any time between 9AM - 9PM. The facility is indoor/outdoor and lots for kids to do We will probably not come back, but enjoyed our time. If food was better, we would probably be at 5 stars, but with food being such a major part of the all inclusive experience, there was much left to be desired.
Great Family Resort
belaaiii (Branson, Missouri) on May 05, 2025
Staying at the Iberostar Selection Paraiso Maya Suites these past 8 days was an awesome experience with my family. It was a great time to relax with and unwind with the family. There were 3 of us on this ...trip. The last time we stayed there was in 2024. The food keeps getting better and better at the ala-carte and the buffet. The grounds are well maintained and beautiful. The wildlife is fun to watch and entertaining. I would like to give a special shout out to The following staff members who assisted us on our trip and if you should ever need help and get their assistance, you are in GREAT HANDS, they know what they are doing and will make sure you are taken care of: Angela Ubaldo, Montserrat Spezzia, Emma Matos, Scarlette Vertti, and Pepe Gallardo. Along with these staff members, all the other friendly staff members treat you like family. As one can see this is not your typical resort, this resort treats you like family.