My assistant Emer was in Mexico with her husband Neal earlier this month. I’ve asked Emer to provide us with a review of her vacation.
Here is the review from Emer!
Kelley, as you know, right before you left for Mexico, Neal and I had just returned from a 5 day paradise trip at the Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso, Riviera Maya. We had previously had only one experience with an all inclusive resort on our Honeymoon – many moons ago.
We flew into Cancun airport, and it was only about a 45 minute drive to the resort by pre-arranged transportation. Once we got there, I was surprised by the size of the property – there are several different Iberstar hotels on property, some are family friendly, ours was the Adult ONLY Grand hotel. The drive around property was beautiful with lush trees and well maintained grounds.
The Lobby area of the Grand Hotel is stunning – cool, airy, tiled floors and tasteful decor.
Upon arrival we were warmly greeted with a fresh towel and a welcome cocktail. The staff is very professional and courteous.
We had arrived early so our room was not quite ready, we were invited to visit the Lunch Buffet by the pool. Our patio table looked out on the ocean.
The assortment of food was unbelievable – there was a fresh seafood buffet with Lobster tails, Jumbo Shrimp. Crab claws and many different salads and side dishes for anyone’s taste. In addition, there was a hot cooked buffet line and a full dessert bar to boot. Needless to say we went there regularly.
There are several restaurants(Italian, French, Japanese and Surf and Turf) on the property along with two different buffet style restaurants. We tried them all and each one was outstanding – no complaints here about the food or service.
Our room was an oceanfront with balcony – really beautiful and tastefully decorated.
After a few minutes our butler arrived to review the resort amenities and room features, and to insure that we were satisfied with our amenities. We had been able to pre-order our comfort requests including mini bar preferences, spa appointments, restaurant reservations and desired pillow menu online prior to arrival, and everything was perfect.
The beach was right outside our room, it was paradise with luxury lounge chairs and beds, under shaded grass umbrellas. Staff came around continously to freshen drinks and take care of any other requests you had. We were spoiled..!!! We booked a couple of Spa treatments that were out of this world !!
We got to see several beach wedding photo shoots while we were on the beach, it seemed like the perfect place to get married. We chatted to a wedding party one evening at dinner and they were having a great time, they said everything was outstanding.
We also booked a couple of excursions
off property including a Catamaran snorkeling trip and a Pro-fishing trip.
Thanks to Kelley we had booked these through one of Kelley’s reputable companies prior to leaving.
We thoroughly enjoyed both, especially for me the snorkeling. The Ocean was perfect.
One of the things I most appreciated about this resort was that it never felt crowded. Because of the size of the property and the number of amenities, everything was spread out. I loved walking through the hotel as it was cool, airy and quiet. Also, even though we don’t personally play Golf, other guests were commenting on the world class golf course on property. We had a restful vacation and would have loved some more time.
I would definitely go there again and this time, I would stay longer and also do a full day tour of the Mayan Ruins – I heard fantastic things about that trip.
Until we go back, I can dream of paradise……..
I don’t know about you, but Emer has been successful in making me want to go back again… Thanks Emer!
Safe Travels,
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