Iberostar Waves Paraiso del Mar — Hotel in Quintana Roo

I will start off by saying we have stayed the Iberostar resorts 4 times (7 Years ago, we stayed at the Iberostar Paraiso beach (which is next door to the Del Mar). Alot has changed in 7 years. |We had decided this time to stay at the Del Mar section this time. We had booked with Air Canada vacations from Toronto and booked the regular superior room close to the pool. Our transfer from the airport went smooth and quick which only took about 30min to get to the resort. Upon our arrival at the resort the staff is very welcoming and friendly. We had decided to upgrade our room category from superior to beachfront Oceanview which was well worth the upgrade for the fee we paid (about 300usd) for our week stay. (we were in building 10). Being it was my birthday I was told they would give me a bottle of tequila in my room which I did not get (quite disappointed).|Now being that our room was right at the beach it is quite a walk from there to the main lobby, but there is a shuttle that comes around every 15-20 min. The resort is quite big so be prepared to do a lot walking if that's what you like. We did enjoy our walks from time to time however it was very humid when we were there and did take advantage of the shuttle. At the lobby you will see the board with the shuttle service and which shuttle takes you around to various places (whether it be the plaza or the other Iberostar's next door).|Our room was nice and clean and maintained with a beautiful Oceanview (despite all the seaweed on the beach) The mini bar only has pop drinks, some beer and no water bottles. They now provided glass bottles for you to fill up at the bar with filtered water. This is a hassle as you need to always go and refill the bottles when empty. Not sure why they got rid of the plastic water bottles when you can still buy them at the store. Last time we were here they always had water bottles in the fridge.|The food at the resort is very good with large variety of choices to choose from. We especially enjoyed the breakfasts. We did eat the buffet a few times for dinner and was very good and plentiful. Now for the reservations regarding the al a carte dinner restaurant. In the past when we were here, we never had problems making a reservation. we were able to book the restaurants a few days in advance. Everything has changed now. You don't need to make reservations for the restaurants anymore - EXCEPT for the Brazilian and Japanese (which you can only reserve the day of when you want to go there and eat). We tried many times from the Iberostar app to make a booking and had no luck. I complained several times about this, and no one was of much help. they only way to try to get into these restaurants is if you try and go in the evening and see if there is any cancellation. This is very frustrating as also the app was not working all the time. Had sometimes a bad connection and it would log me out then I would have to log back in again. I think the resort should go back to the way they used to book the reservations with someone at the concierge, they clearly had a lot of time on their hands sitting there doing nothing when they can help the guests. Their customer service was not very helpful. |The other al a carte restaurant you don't need reservation its first come first serve, and you may need to wait a while depending on how busy it is. we did eat at the Mexican, the mediterranean, and the smoke house, which were all good. The star cafe at the lobby is no longer open (have to go to the plaza area if you want a good burger).|The wrist bands you have to wear now have a chip built into it as your room key. there are no more key cards for the room. There were a few times our wristband chip didn't work and would not open our door, so we had to go back to the front desk and have them re-program it again. Very awkward situation and quite a hassle. They need to go back and give key cards out which are more convenient than the new system they have. |The grounds are well kept and beautiful. The pool was grossly hot and disgusting as you could not even enjoy the water it was so warm. think there must have been something wrong with the pool heaters. too bad, so sad. didn't use the pool much because of this. The beach despite of all the seaweed the water was nice and enjoyable. We were told that the seaweed situation was very bad in the month of May, and even worse as you get closer to playa del carmen. we have never been in May to Mexico so it's something to think about. the best months to avoid the seaweed is from march and April. There was a guy everyday constantly on his tractor cleaning the beach of seaweed, but it didn't help much. |The other thing to mention is now the resort is 100% smoke free, which means you can't smoke on your balcony, no smoking at the pool or beach (however it's not very good enforced as I did see quite a few people smoking by the pool and beach).|The stores don't sell anymore tequila or cigars (so you will have to go into town or get it at the airport/duty free). We were able to buy a few cigars from the lobby bar.|The nightly entertainment is lacking shows like they had when we were here last time. They don't put on good shows anymore and now it's quite boring at night. The shows they had in the past were very entertaining and the theatre was always packed now the theatre was more than half empty. very disappointing.|We did enjoy some spa sessions at the beach which were very relaxing and worth the money. |Lots of activities going on daily at the beach and pool.|Being this is now our 5th time at the Iberostar resorts here we did have a relaxing week, however seeing how things have changed since we were here last, we were not impressed with a lot of things. The only good thing I can is the food is good, people are great, and our room was spectacular. To end this review, we say adios to Iberostar and in the future try a different resort when we return. Thank you for...

This was my first stay at Iberostar Paraiso Waves Del Mar. Would not recommend. My second trip to Riviera Maya. We first stayed at El Dorado Royale. We had a great time there, besides the beach, concrete breakers in water, we wanted to try a new resort. ||I’m not sure about the other Iberostar properties at Paraiso beach, however, I want to give a shout out to Alexis from Iberostar Waves Paraiso Beach. He was by far and away the friendliest, most helpful and altogether pleasant person we met on our trip. During our stay, we learned that the employees from the other resorts, other than Waves Del Mar, all had the same thing to same about most of the staff at Del Mar. Rude. Not polite. That other people staying there have thought the same. ||Manager that was at check-in was very rude. Told me that I only booked for one guest when it was me and my wife staying in room. Why would I book a room for one person? Then when my room was ready, they told me it was 2 single bed room, when I purchased an ocean front/view room with king bed. Front desk staff told me it was based on “availability”. Expected my wife and I to celebrate our romantic anniversary trip in 2 single bed room. They switched me to a ground level room, which I didn’t want. I specifically paid for and asked for a second floor room for the ocean view. My view ended up being looking at the landscaping and hedges that were in front of the room instead of the water. Very disappointing. Bathroom was very small for two people. Shower was very large, too large taking up a lot of the bathroom space. Water temperature would go from hot to cold, every shower and varied times of the day, morning, afternoon, evening would be the same. ||Reservations would be made with concierge, only for the reservation was never placed. We had to change up 2 different times because a lack of reservation that was made and no space for us to eat at that restaurant. Mediterranean restaurant, which didn’t take reservations, we ate at, party of 8 to celebrate my wife and our anniversary, Mother’s Day, as well as a birthday in our party. We were enjoying our meal when the manager of restaurant told us we had to leave. We had just finished our dessert and were enjoying coffee, espresso, conversation, there were plenty of open tables for guests, and again, this wasn’t a restaurant that required reservations, but first come first serve. ||We were told about a free catamaran ride for hearing a 90 minute pitch on becoming a member at Iberostar. We have heard these before and weren’t interested but listened to the pitch for the free excursion. 90 minutes ended up being almost 2-1/2 hours. The 3 people that engaged with us, including our guide and time-share sales person were very pushy and rude. I can’t remember the woman’s name that pitched us, but some of the questions she asked the 6 of us were very unprofessional. Then they serve you alcohol to lower your inhibitions to sign a 30-year, $300,000 Rose Gold time share. Caught them in a few lies during presentation that I brought up and they tried to back track. ||Staff at the buffet restaurants were very friendly, same for the servers and bartenders in the resort. But the restaurant serving staff was not as friendly. My wife speaks Spanish and would try to engage staff and be friendly, and we were all tipping on the meals. ||Very few options to choose from for an “Italian” restaurant. Chicken overcooked, only spaghetti pasta served. Needs a few more “Italian” options. Sauce and meats lacking flavor. Very disappointing. ||El Alba house wine is terrible! The red was undrinkable and I love all kinds of wine. The white and rose ok at best. Plenty of other options from Mexico or Spain to choose from for your house wine at same cost that taste MUCH better. ||The beach is beautiful and definitely better than El Dorado Royale. I’ve seen and read other resorts at Riviera Maya that clean up the seaweed on beach. The tides would bring that into sea. Saw a tractor go up beach but they weren’t cleaning the seaweed out, just combing the beach. ||Front desk staff were rude and unprofessional. Bell hops were amazing! Bartenders and buffet servers were awesome! Concierge needs work. Reservations not getting booked right. W2M staff were rude and unprofessional. Most of the shuttle drivers were rude and not friendly. We stayed at El Dorado Royale and all the staff was friendly. Saying hello, or good morning, or greeted you accordingly EVERY time they walked by you. Shuttle drivers would talk with you. This staff...

This place is fabulous!!! I've always hated buffets with the exception of breakfast, and this one, blew all others out of the water! Every meal I had was exceptional. At other resorts, I've had the buffet and they are bland, cold, overcooked. We tried the buffet from the very first night and we were blown away by all of the meat options and vegetables. Every meal I had, had so much flavour, was cooked to perfection (all of the meats) and was healthy! This place, they had roasted pork, roast beef, chicken, turkey, all different ways every night. And every night I was able to mix up my plate with amazing options that balanced eachother so well.

Our room was great, main floor. We were halfway between the pool and the lobby and got tons of steps in. I noticed there were tons of shuttles out if we chose not to walk the resort was well-lit and gorgeous at night - it felt like a peaceful jungle you were walking through with romantic lighting. We also felt very safe walking.

The beach is beautiful, well-kept and monitored for safety. Entertainment by the pools were great! They play mainly the same songs each day, but they're songs that get you dancing! Aquafit was fun, the instructors were very entertaining (could slow down a bit since we're in water) but still great! Bartenders were very attentive, I noticed a lot of people would come from the smaller pool to the other bar as it was not as busy and the smaller pool was more of the party pool. Drinks were not overpowering, and were made very well! Housekeeping was excellent and very pleasant. Front desk was so amazing and helped immediately whenever we phoned them. The grounds were immaculate! In comparison to other resorts we saw the outside of, ours was lush, beautiful, and picturesque! Jungle everywhere and well cared for! Our group preferred the lobby bar at Paraiso beach as the seating was more comfortable.

The only bummer is they closed the buffets some nights and turned them into a la cartes instead of using the restaurants they were in. Not sure if it was a staffing shortage or kitchen issue, but it caused the two resorts to only be able to access one buffet which was often full. We did manage though, so it wasn't the end of the world.

Filtered water in the hallways of your building, ice on the 1st (2nd) floors, it was so convenient and tasted amazing! I felt safe to drink it and well-hydrated which is a plus in the sun!!! Beach towels were a nice size, bath towels too. I'm just so impressed with this resort. They've really got it all, and they do it so well! We were with a wedding party of 80 people and the wedding was beautiful! The wedding and cocktail hour was on the picturesque beach and the venue for the wedding reception and dance was in the center of the Paraiso plaza and it was BEAUTIFUL!! It was such a lovely setup. I believe they also do a beach reception if you want to have that, but our couple opted for off the beach and it was so beautiful still. Food was fantastic. I wish the party had gone until 12 instead of 11. We went to the disco after, and it just wasn't the same as it was out there dancing with our friends and family. We had hoped it may be the same dj, but I don't believe it was. At the disco, the drinks are a little stronger. It's a club, so of course it's dark and loud but it wasn't very busy. We paroused the mall and it was so nice. Great coffee bar there, crepes and gelato, tacos and apparently great hamburgers and fries as well (all inclusive). Tons of gift shops. Prices were a bit higher here for gifts than at the airport. I'm just so so so impressed with this place and their staff and grounds. We went from Jan 30-Feb 6 2025 and we lucked out on weather from the week before. There was a nice breeze but every day was gorgeous. I think we had one morning where it rained and cleared up by the time we woke up but we couldn't have asked for better weather. I highly recommend wearing sensible comfortable footwear so you can walk everywhere but again, there are shuttles that come around very often. Thank you for making our...