We spent one night here, just to check out the resort. The check in service was quick and easy. The bellman took us to our room in a cart, which was nice. He didn't want to leave until I gave him a tip which was a little annoying. The food at the buffet was good, with a nice selection. The reason we came to this area and this resort was the beach and snorkeling. There was an area adjacent to the roped off beach area that was a rocky bottom. It was great to snorkel. When the waves were up and the tide was down, it was a bit of a challenge since the rocks/reef were quite shallow even 30 yards off the shore. We had our own snorkel equipment which allowed us freedom to go whenever wanted. We weren't able to check out the entire resort in the short time we were there. We did walk to the shopping center were you could get ice cream, tacos and other treats. We would recommend this resort

We had a nice time at the Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar. Our room was decent. It was a nice size and had a balcony but it was a very long walk to the pool and the beach. Eventually, the rooms will need updating as they still have the big clunky televisions. The pool was huge and clean with lots of pool chairs. The beach was also nice. We went for morning walks and although you could walk quite far, there were dilapidated resorts very close by and garbage washes up on shore. The landscaping was gorgeuos and there was lots of wildlife around including an albino peacock. The food was good overall. We ate one night at the Mexican specialty restaurant which was excellent. Try the flaming tequila beef! One of the highlights was the spa. They had a special with a mud massage and reflexology which was heavenly. We also like the fact that you could get better booze in the lobby bars. The one disappointment was the evening entertainment which was totally lame. We have sworn off Michael Jackson shows forever.

long review but hopefully comprehensive (food is at the bottom)! We've stayed at MANY all inclusives so i think we can provide a pretty accurate review.

Travel dates: Jan 19-28 2012

Flight: we flew Spirit airlines...i don't recommend them! Although it was a pleasant flight, there are many things about this airline that I didn't care for. Seats do not recline, space between seats is very tight, there is no in flight entertainment (no earphone plugs, no tvs, no movies), no free beverages or snacks (not even water) and all baggage except for one personal item is charged for. Their phone customer service was horrible and some people in our group found it difficult to prepay for their baggage online which was cheaper than doing it the day of. We flew with an infant and were able to bring one "diaper bag" and a stroller for free.

Transport to hotel: we used Apple Vacations who always has been great. We were transported via a mini bus to the hotel, took 30 minutes from the airport which was nice and quick. driving and roads seemed safe!

Check in: was quick, we were greeted with mimosas! they were able to accommodate our group of 6 to all stay close to one another.

Room: we were in block 14 and 15 on the del mar side, pretty much the center of the resort by the pool which was great! About 5-10 minute walk to get to the lobby or beach, pool was 1 minutes away. Gym was a 10 minute walk. Rooms come as two doubles or one king bed. The rooms with the doubles have a tub in the bathroom, the kings seem to only have showers. Rooms were clean, mattresses were comfortable, minibars were stocked with beer, pop and bottled water (and stocked daily). The room had a safe, iron, hairdryer (not a great one but worked), tv, alarm clock (which didn't work) etc. Basic room service was included if you wanted. A crib was provided to us and it was pretty good (not rickety). Bell service was great to the rooms. We were on the second floor (of three)...there are no elevators so not the greatest for strollers, but ok. As usual you can hear people above you walking/stomping. We had friends on the main floor and they did not complain about bugs. Maid service was great, we had towel animals on our bed every night!

Pool: large, lots of chairs/palapas to sit at, although many people felt they had the right to reserve chairs in the morning with their pool towels so made it difficult some times to get a good chair. Water was a cool but refreshing and almost felt warm in the sun! Swim up bars are plentiful and the staff are fantastic! The loud pools are definitely loud, lots of fun activities, kids, drinkers etc. There are quiet areas too if you want. Aqua aerobics not well attended but occurs twice each day if you want. Pool is shared by Del Mar and Beach resorts. Towel service available and they always had fresh towels throughout the day. We asked for 3 towel cards so we had an extra for the baby and they had no problem.

Beach: beautiful! white sand, soft, not too hot, lots of chairs and palapas to sit at (again people liked to reserve these early). Water was beautiful!! Some areas had rocks which were not great to swim in but this beach is large enough that there were plenty of large areas to swim in with no rocks. Some seaweed in the water but was not a deterrent. During our week it was red flagged but could still swim. Lots of fun waves to play in! Beach bar was great, but no premium alcohol on the beach unless you were part of Lindo or Maya or Grand (silver or gold wrist bands). Beach volly was available as were horseshoes and mechanical bull riding on certain days! Lots of boardwalk to walk on with your stroller/wheelchair until you get to your desired location on the beach.

Activities: lots to do if you want! Sailboats. kayaks, parasail ($), diving ($), snorkle ($), beach games, pool games, aerobics, gym, airgun shooting, archery, bocce, horseshoes, etc

Nightlife: not much of one..pretty much shuts down after the night show. Show starts at 9:45 pm (kids show at 8:00 pm). The games/sports room was usually empty, as was the nightclub. The lobby at nighttime was pretty dead too. Some people go off property to coco bongo and such if you want more nightlife.

Bars: several on the property...my favorite was the lobby bars as you could get premium alcohol there (baileys, absolute, beefeater etc), they also had the fancy coffee machines! Other bars were the many pool bars, and the beach bar.

Wildlife: peakcocks, birds, lemurs? (so many of these!), flamingos, swans, cats all wondered around the property! fun to watch!

Foliage: can't beat this place for foliage!! so much greenery and so well maintained! Some places on the property were almost jungle like!

Logistics of the property: we stayed at the del mar which gives you access to the beach resort as well...these two are pretty much the same with some paint differences. they share the same pool and same area of the beach. they have separate lobby's which just have different decor but are virtually the same. The resort is large, but straight forward...lobby at one end, beach at the other, pool down the middle. 10-15 minute walk from one end to the other, trolly is also available. People at the Del Mar had a blue band, and the beach resort had yellow. Next to the beach resort is Lindo, they had grey bands. you could walk their property but not use their bars or restaurants (they will stop you). The Maya and Lindo share a pool and beach. Their pool i'll admit was quite a bit nicer, more waterfalls, just nicer ambiance. They have a wave pool that works almost every hour, but its quite small meant more for smaller kids...the beach had better waves to play in! The Grand is adults only and quite separate we did not go there...maybe one year without kids we will go as it looked great although very quiet.

Ok now for food...also as an FYI, you get 3 al la cartes for up to 9 nights, 4 for more...but if you want to do more a la carts you can ask to be put on a wait list and you'll usually get in and get more of them!

Buffet: same pretty much every day, not my favorite but you won't go hungry. Salads and fruit always available. pastas, rice and meat always available but i wasn't a fan of the buffet meat and the fish was disappointing. If you eat hamburgers get the cooks to reheat/cook them for you as many were pink inside. no line ups at the buffet and service is great. Easy to get omelets in the am, fresh pancakes and french toast, lots of bread, bacon, yogurt, cereal etc. Lots of fried stuff or too much sauce. But again you won't go hungry. Food is fresh and replaced quickly. Drinks are brought to your table.
- there are lobby buffets (the main ones) and you can eat at either, and there are two pool side buffets as well, which we liked for lunch and breakfast

Beach grill: pub style food, wings, burgers, hotdogs, fruit, guacamole, ice cream. ok food, very greasy.

Japanese: we really liked this place. sushi not the greatest but the meal was good. miso soup, fried vegetables, then the show, choice of octopus, chicken, shrimp and beef, all this food was excellent and served with rice. Buffet desert. Surprisingly the chocolate was delicious!

Italian: pleasantly surprised...was expecting buffet style pasta, but it was much better. Had risotto, veal, lamb, pastas, pizza, nice antipasto bar (loved the mozarella and tomatoes), and it was al fresco (with a roof over our heads)

Mediterranean: was excited to eat fish here but it was not so good. I'd recommend the surf and turf instead. Overall an ok meal but not my favorite.

Mexican: also pleasantly surprised. They made tacos (soft shell) with tasty meats and sauces (some were extremely hot sauces so be careful!). Had a wonderful appetizer buffet and deserts. Not so much a fancy meal but very tasty!

Steak house: was overall pretty good! had filet mignon and vegetables. Typical steak house. Some people felt a little ill after their meal perhaps they got their steak done too rare as they are used to. I'd recommend getting your steak cooked a little more done than usual.

Gourmet: we did not go to this.

Kids: great resort for kids, easy to get around with a stroller, lots of kids on property. we did not use the kids club but they looked like they were having a lot of fun!

I think i've reviewed everything i can think of! I would recommend this place, but i would likely stay at Lindo or Maya next time (just liked the atmosphere more) and the little perks here and there. A beautiful property, great pool and beach, lots of activities, great staff/service, pretty good food.

This was our 4th trip to this resort and all the previous times we loved it which is why we kept going back. In the past, the staff was friendly and always smiling, the food was good, and we never wanted to leave at the end of our vacation. This time, the 7 nights couldn't go quickly enough so we can come home. We vacationed from Jan 18 - 25.

Our flight, through Apple, was a breeze. We arrived in Cancun about an hour ahead of time. Went through customs, found our bus, and headed to the resort. We were at our resort by 11am. We knew the rooms wouldn't be ready so that wasn't a big deal. We got a drink and started our vacation. Our 3rd time there, we had some minor issues so the resort wanted us to keep coming back so they offered us a free upgrade to a junior suite. We had been dealing with one of the head guys down there, through email, and he assured us they would do everything to get us that room and give us a welcome back gift basket. The Suites are in building 11 which is close to the beach and pool. We were in building 15 which didn't ruin my vacation. The guy was nice enough to get us into a room first because we had our 7 month old and 2 year old. I was happy we were at least on the 1st floor with 2 kids and a stroller. We were also assured ahead of time that our 3 dinner reservations were booked. None of that was done either. It took more time out of my vacation to get that straightened out.

Now to the buffet. We don't expect anything lavish because it is an all inclusive. The food never changed. I am somewhat picky of an eater and I ate pasta, fries, and bread all week along with hotdogs. My husband, who will try anything couldn't find anything that was good to eat. He left dinner, most nights, hungry. The only buffet night, where things changed, was Oriental which was fabulous. Trying to get my 2 year old to eat anything was impossible and she will eat everything or at least try everything. Thankfully, we brought snacks with us. We booked 2 Italian and 1 steakhouse for the reservations. In years past the food was fantastic. This time, my husband got a very minimal amount on his plate for lamb chops, some nasty stuff that was on the appetizer buffet, and some other stuff that he didn't know what it was. We left there and headed to the buffet and never made our 2nd reservation. The Steakhouse was very good though and we enjoyed our meal and desert.

The pool is nice like always with plenty of shade. Lots of stuff floating because we never saw anyone clean it. That was a disappointment, especially in the morning.

While we were there, I got a massage which was fabulous. I had it down at the Ocean and it was 90 USD. 2 nights before we were to leave, I wanted to settle my room bill which would have been 15 USD for getting a picture with a Monkey and 90 for my massage. The guy at the front desk was trying to charge $122 USD. Even breaking it down from the number of pesos into American was $104 and some odd cents. He told me everything was an estimate and I signed etc. Either way, it was black and white. He took the calculator away from me because I knew the conversion. The next day, having to take more time from our vacation, we spoke to a supervisor that came up with the same total we had. I am assuming he would have pocketed the money.

The staff isn't nearly as friendly and many don't give the friendly hola like years past. The star friends come and go and aren't out mingling with the guests like the past. They do two things at the activity pool and that is all you saw them there each day. The grounds are still well manicured like the past and it is fun walking through the jungle every day. Its lots of walking which we don't mind.

Trying to get a drink at the bars would be a long process. Normally, you wait on who arrived there first to get a drink. They would go to whomever they wanted even if they just arrived. i am a patient person but enough is enough especially when I stand there for 20 or so minutes.

We had great maid service every day. She always left us extra water since we used bottle water for everything. We had turn down service all but 1 night. My daughter made a mess on the comforter, she was sure to get us another one. She was fantastic all week long and she got tips to show our gratitude.

We met many people, whom had never been there, and they said they would never return. Biggest reason is because the food is terrible. We met a great group from here which entertained us on vacation.

We vacation someplace twice a year, and we are ready to find a new chain where they treat their guests well.