Iberostar Selection Paraiso Maya Suites - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8614 reviews

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  Not for me

  I was torn between 3 and 4 stars: my daughter loved the trip, but I'm never going back so I gave it a 3. We stayed a full week and were able to visit most of the restaurants and experience what the resort has to offer. This rating is based upon the value for the price. The grounds and beach were beautiful. They manage to integrate nature and wildlife into the experience without leaving you eaten alive by bugs. The larger room at the maya was perfect for us and very comfortable. The housekeeping, landscaping, and cleanliness of the property was top notch. That is what impressed me the most, but that also ensures that the pictures come out great, which is what drives bookings, so I guess it makes sense. Their kids-zone area was great and my daughter loved it. The entertainment and activities available were varied, family friendly, and kept us and our daughter entertained. The waterslides were centrally located and we hit them a few times but they get boring quickly. Overall this met expectations. And now the reasons I won't be returning. The food and drinks were bad. As a frame of reference, I would rather go to Chili's than eat at any of the restaurants or buffet's here and the drinks there would be better too. Also as a frame of reference I don't like Chili's and won't eat there. There were a few cocktails and bites of food that exceeded that level and were enjoyable but it was 90% worse. It's chronic cost-cutting. First, the expensive ingredients are bad...low quality meat, frozen seafood. I was unable to eat any of the seafood outside the shrimp. The lobster was flavorless and tough and everything else was fishy. Second, the staff clearly didn't have food preparation experience. Training issues were also evident with the bartenders as well: few of them could make simple cocktails well (The fishtank bar in the lindo lobby was the only location I had good consistent drinks). The recipes were awful. Many of the dishes were doomed from the start even if a talented chef prepared them (tho they would have known how to fix them). This is the part that makes the least sense since you can simply google good recipes. Lastly, they seemed to have outsourced food preparation or at least prepare many things in a central location (many locations have the exact same things...such as desserts, guacamole, sauces, ice cream). Given that they aren't paying for people that can cook this makes sense, but the recipes are still awful (the exception was the pastries/cakes which were mostly good so I suspect they had a deal with a regional bakery or something). The irony of these cost cutting efforts is that they drive higher waste since the guests were having to discard under/overcooked and inedible food and try more things to figure out what was edible that night. Most of the time we couldn't eat much of what we ordered at a restaurant and had to head to the buffet. The steakhouse was the best, but it was reservation only, they would only seat like 4-5 tables leaving the restaurant 60% empty. Overall, if you drink straight liquor or something simple like rum&coke, gin&tonic and care more about quantity over quality of food you should be fine here. We are likely done with all-inclusives after this.

  Mar 15, 2025
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  Riviera Maya

  Emiliano was so fun with the kiddos!! Had the best time dancing. Definitely a fun time! We had such a fun night overall. I would recommend the Iberostar as a great resort for families for fun and activities. We enjoyed the pool and all the activities.

  Mar 14, 2025
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  Fantastic, but NOT 5-star until they....

  Travelled to this property from March 8th through the 14th (just returned today) and wanted to break my review into sections as I did a ton of research before booking so hoping this honest and unbiased review can help others looking to stay here. For context, my wife and I travelled with two toddlers, 5 and 3. This is 100% a family resort. It’s a weird mix because you do get some party crowd folks, but it’s certainly geared more towards families so if you’re looking for a bumping, loud, club style-resort, do not stay here. When you first arrive you are in awe of the grounds and buildings. The Maya lobby and entire campus was spotless, and gorgeous. Every second the staff are working to patch up walls, clean floors, cut down trees, etc. The grounds are honestly the most impeccable I’ve ever seen so A+ there from me. We stayed on the Maya side and had a 1 King Room with a twin bed and pull-out sofa bed. The room was huge with a beautiful big bathroom including double vanity sinks, a stand-up shower, and a jacuzzi tub which the kids loved. Daily housekeeping was great and the room was always clean when we got back to it. The coffee machine is awful in the room and I really wish they went the Keurig route but I won’t let that impact the score. I will say since we did stay on the ground floor, there is a considerable amount of noise from the above floors, especially when they are moving chairs but our kids noise machine drowned that out 😊. Good amount of storage, nice patio as well with a build in dry rack for your wet bathing suits. A+ for the room. We were in building 62 and thought the location was perfect. When it comes to the pools there is a crazy variety. From the waterpark, slides, and lazy river for the kids, to the wave pool and other 3 massive pools – you never feel crammed. Now, the chair situation here is a disaster. I find people to be extremely entitled and inconsiderate. People come to the pool at 12-1AM and reserve chairs, or get up at 6-630AM and do it. The issue here is they go to the beach or don’t wake up until 1-2 and come to the pool. There is security there so you can tell them and they are good about taking all the stuff the lost and found and freeing up the chairs. Honestly? I’d wake up around 715-730, go get a delicious coffee from the Maya Lobby, and go find me a chair or two. If I just saw towels sitting there, I’d bring them back to the towel hut and put my stuff there. If you’re going to be inconsiderate, go fetch your stuff 😊. That said, we had chairs every day we were there. Also, how do you NOT serve alcohol or have a beer cart or something at the waterpark? That’s the parents break time of the day while the kids play! The beach was beautiful and the bar and snack hut there were clutch. Food was always fresh (Hot Dogs, Burgers, Chicken Burgers, Ice Cream, Fruit, Nachos/Queso) throughout the day. The chair situation here is even worst than the pool so beware, but the security does patrol the beach more so let them know if chairs are just sitting and they’ll free them for you. Now, my biggest issue with this area is the coatis. I understand they are wildlife, but they are dangerous. Multiple times my daughter went to go put her food away in the garbage and a Coatis would jump up on top of the garbage or even try and take the food out of her hand. She’s 5, so you can understand how scary that is for her. For the price you pay to stay at this resort, I don’t want animals roaming the beach or property while I’m trying to relax. Sorry, that may upset some people but just my honest opinion. They should be fenced into an area by the boardwalk to the beach and fed/taken care of by trained professionals. Out of the six days, there was seaweed one of them and while it was pretty bad, it’s not just Iberostar so due to the Coatis issue, I will give the beach area a B. Go see Hugo at the beach bar – makes the best drinks! The entertainment was great and very family friendly. Check the Iberostar app for happenings all over the property. My kids loved the fire show and magic show the best and who can forget the dance parties at the Theatre. Great times! During the day, the entertainment crew does a great job at the pools and beach keeping you all entertained. A+ all day. Now for the food and service at some restaurants – definitely for me the one area where the resort fell apart a little bit. From a culinary perspective, this resort for claiming to be 5 stars has some work to do and I agree with other posts 150% that they are understaffed. Ratings here by restaurant: La Marina Buffet (Maya) – Dinner the first night was not good at all. All the food was cold, and many stations were just sitting empty with nobody refilling them. D here. Now, for breakfast, this buffet was an A+ all day. Omelette station was delicious, and they had an awesome variety. La Pagoda Buffet (Lindo) – We had breakfast and lunch here and both were good, but not great. Again, lots of cold/lukewarm food, and nobody around at peak hours to refill basics like hashbrowns, fruit, yogurt, bread, etc. I’ll go C. Lemon & Spices (Lindo) – Absolutely the worst restaurant we tried by miles during our stay. Service was awful. Asked the waiter 3 times for a beer, never brought it so I went outside to get one myself. Calamari was literally breading, not a single piece of fish – and it was stone cold. We sent it back for another and the second order was worst lol – I couldn’t believe it. We wanted to try a bit of everything and the waiter was pushing back and arguing we were ordering too much food. I did not appreciate this at all, and really kind of turned me off even more. Main course kebobs were either extremely dry, or raw. The fries were stone cold, and the only ½ decent thing was the rice. F rating here. Awful La Geisha & El Rancho (Maya) – A+. Everything we got at both La Geisha (Hibachi) and the steakhouse (El Rancho) were delicious. You need to make reservations for these two spots FYI. TIP: Get the ribeye at El-Rancho – was killer! Olivetti (Lindo) – B+. Pizza and pasta were pretty good and the calamari was on point. Service unfortunately was terrible. Waiter never came back to give more water, and trying to get a drink refill was like pulling teeth. Taki-To (mall) – C. Tacos were OK. Steak ones were very tough first day, but second time around were a lot better. I cant say I was blown away by any of the food minus La Geisha and El-Rancho. It’s clearly apparent they need more staff overall and better trained staff. For the buffets, these wait staff are just trying to get your tip and get you out of there ASAP to get the next table in and for what they make per hour I guess I can’t blame them, but it impacts the quality significantly. The buffets are a good size and have a ton of variety, but the food is not hot as it should be, nor are the key stations properly refilled in a timely manner. Also, the omelette station in the AM got as long as about 18 people. They should have both the flat tops going with 2 chefs to speed that up. Finally the room service is honestly a joke – they should just remove it off the amenities. The menu is maybe 10 items, and they don’t even do breakfast. We ordered it one night and the food was stone cold. We took the trays and just put them outside our room. Our kids couldn’t even bite into the chicken fingers they were so stale. Now the big question – would I stay again? Absolutely. It is an amazing resort; it really is and my kids had an absolute blast. Though the food was lackluster for the most part, I now know how to navigate that, and even at the buffets what times to go to get the best selection. There were several other restaurants we didn’t get a chance to try out like Under the Sea (impossible to get a reso), the smokehouse, etc. that I heard good things about. If they can nail the food and bump it up a few notches that to me would make this a true 5-star resort because as things stand now in the culinary department, it’s not a 5 star resort at all. Let me know if you have any questions!

  Mar 14, 2025
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  Alexei From Entertainment Is Fantastic

  Alexei noticed our group on the first day and has recalled our names for over 5 days. He has not only saught us out while on our vacation, but has also stayed with us for over an hour to entertain us while we waited for dinner (multiple times). He is relatable, funny, and very entertaining for your trip! My mom was sick for one day, and he noticed she was absent for dinner and referenced her by name and asked why she was gone. He showed compassion for her absence, and remained with our family to continue talking with us while she was absent. He is one of, if not, the most entertaining and relatable employee at the Iberostar resort! He convinced us to go to events we wouldn't normally attend, and kept us engaged on our vacation. My family and I are truly thankful to have met him so early on our vacation and have him push us to attend events we normally would not have attended! It truly enhanced our stay.

  Mar 13, 2025
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  Beautiful resort

  The resort is beautiful and big. The workers are extremely friendly and helpful. The rooms were clean in Maya. The pool chair reserving game is very real. By 7:15 am every chair by Maya/Lindo pool is already reserved. I know every resort is like this but crazy. Tje beach area is fabulous. A bit rougher water but probably time of year in March. The buffet food is mediocre and honestly not that good. From what I have read in past it’s been better. The temps of some of the food have been cold and they have a hard time refilling. The resort is beautiful and feels safe. I gave it four out of five for the food quality and pool chair game.

  Mar 13, 2025