The pool entertainment is lacking. Other resorts provide lively entertainment by the pool and play a variety of games. There was no schedule of activities provided to us. We were there for a week. The pool is incredibly dirty. There was yellow algae around the pool that dirtied our swim suits. They need to have staff cleaning the pool regularly and use a pool vacuum bc the floor was filthy. There is an indoor pool too with 2 jacuzzi’s which was nice. However, the jacuzzi’s were cold. It was colder than the pool. The one thing I must rave about is the FOOD. The food was beyond delicious. I appreciated the waiters providing recommendations and each restaurant had a fun welcome drink to start off the experience. Tip: We checked in and were told to reserve the one restaurant for hibachi. We did this and when we showed up to our reservation, the waiter said that we were not having hibachi and that we only reserved the restaurant. So please make it very clear and confirm that your reservation is for hibachi. Also, stay away from the sales pitch that they do. They say it’s 1.5 hours but it is way longer than that. They pressure you and try knocking down the price multiple times to $25,000- $20,000- $15,000. Stay away please. Do not spend a dime on their spa. That was a joke! The front desk is chaotic and they don’t acknowledge you for 10 minutes. Then when you are taken to the back, there are 3-5 other ladies at a desk and they are not friendly or helpful. One lady shows you the lockers and when I asked if she could show me the facilities available. She pointed and said: “over there are facilities if you’d like to use.” The lockers did not work. I had a massage and the massage was ok. However, the masseuse was so rude. I used the sauna before and had asked for water multiple times. When it was time for my massage, she was not friendly at all while she walked me upstairs- no conversation. She seemed annoyed. I kindly asked for water and she said: “No, you can wait until the end of your massage.” There is no coffee house where there are desserts and ice-cream like all other resorts. The nightly shows were held outside in plastic chairs. It’s where you pull up to the resort. That was very disappointing. No theater room. This resort has potential bc of the food. I will not be retuning.

We decided to take a last-minute five-day trip for the Memorial Day weekend. After scouring through reviews, we decided on Iberostar Grand Paraiso (IGP) in Playa del Carmen. Upon arrival we were greeted in a welcoming fashion! We were treated like royalty! A colorful glass trimmed in Tajin (our new favorite rimmed glass condiment) filled with passion fruit and pineapple juice, awaited us which was delicious!! The hospitality is five-star at IGP!
Our flight was early so we left home before 3:00am. This same flight was a bit turbulent, and we were hungry at this point and very looking forward to checking in to our room, just to paint a picture of our mood and state of mind. We went through an introduction with Sac, she was very nice! Then we were told were to find tacos and that Isis would be waiting for us at 6pm back at the front lobby entrance for “important information about the resort.” We were given a ride via golf-cart to where the tacos were. Our first meal was at the mall. We chose el pastor tacos and queso nachos. It was very good. We only had time to eat and then we had to be at the front desk for the “important information”

We ate in a hurry and headed back to meet Isis. This was a sales pitch to buy exclusive future trips only with Iberostar. As polite as possible, we said we were very tired and booked the trip to relax and NOT think too much or make decisions. We were ready to check in to our suite. She continued with offers of free massages for the two of us. She continued to present her sales pitch. At this point we had not seen the room, our attention was not the best we could have offered her, and there was no way we could make an assessment to only choose IGP for all future all-inclusive stays UPON ARRIVAL.
Needless to say, she received our “No Thank You” response. We were really very tired from the night before. The flight caused a lot of anxiety, and this was definitely NOT the time for a presentation to get us to agree to a membership exclusive only with Iberostar. We'd just arrived and there was no way, we could make an informed decision, as we had experienced very little at this point and were extremely tired. Our exhaustion was mentioned at the "presentation sales pitch" and it was very much ignored. No one should make a decision under pressure. We were really caught off guard and told this was just information on how to move throughout the resort. Isis continued with her offers of 50-minute massages for both me and my husband and this and that, but she really lost my attention because we were so very tired. Then I decided in my mind, no matter or how great a deal this was a NO DEAL especially since we had not seen the room and just walked in the resort, LITERALLY. This was NOT an ideal time. She only cared about a sale not about how us and this was inconsiderate at best. We had already spent enough to RELAX!
NOW to SAVE THE BEST details for last, but definitely not least I want to tell you about the BEST part of Iberostar Grand Paraiso. The steakhouse food was delicious, actually all of the restaurants were very good. To ViviBomba my sweet girl, and Guadalupe [our by the beach waitress] who went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable after sunburn. I really want to thank ViVi-Bomba for a great experience during the night life party, Antonio at the Bar for the beautiful drink details and Guadalupe again from the Mexican Grill on the Beach from the bottom of our heart for her care and concern that was beyond caring and concern. I appreciate Guadalupe, Gonzalos and Jesus our Breakfast waiter for making our stay extra special. Thank You ALL for being the BEST part of IGP!!
Overall IGP was a very nice stay but please be aware of the iguanas while walking the resort!

Let me be very clear, the staff and ground crews are the stars of this resort. The service is incredible and the grounds are beautiful. It saddens me that their leadership does not share their commitment to service. The resort was closing for remodeling in August but they started shutting down earlier. During our stay they went from three restaurants open to one with a limited menu. They also closed the buffet the last three days. Reminder, we paid full price but received less than 33% service. I also had a serious slip and fall that ended up being very serious and no one from management even cared to follow up with me. The manager does not even have the decency to talk to you face to face. They send out staff to hear your concerns. I had high expectations based on reviews but received an average experience.