Iberostar Paraiso Maya 
Playa Paraiso, Mexico
Riviera Maya
October 10-14, 2009-10-24

For part of our annual October family vacation, we stayed at the Iberostar Paraiso Maya in the Riviera Maya. The Iberostar Paraiso Maya is part of a resort complex consisting of 5 resorts. Four of the resorts (the Del Mar, the Beach, the Lindo and the Maya) are family friendly and share facilities. The fifth resort is the Grand, which is adults only and absolutely beautiful!

Our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, but we were able to store our luggage in the lobby and head off to find something to eat. We took a golf cart to the center down the road (still part of the Iberostar complex) where we found a taco place and an ice cream parlor open. We sat and enjoyed a quick snack before heading to the pool.

We were given towel cards to exchange for towels from the stand near the pool. We got settled into some chair and the kids dove in! There were open chair everywhere! The sales manager told me they were at 60% occupancy (meaning they were 60% full) but there is no way this could be accurate. Peak time and empty chairs at the pool and beach? We loved it!

Eventually our room was ready. We were impressed with the size of the room! We had a king bed and a sofa bed for the kids. The room was divided by a door that separated the bathroom/closet/bar area from the sleeping/living area. This was especially nice early in the morning when I’d get up in search of coffee. I could shut the door and not disturb the family. Our balcony looked into the trees and beyond to the Iberostar Grand. We were on the 3rd floor of building 61.

We had meals at the buffet, the Italian restaurant, the Steakhouse and the Japanese restaurant. All were very good and adequate for the kids. Our favorite was the Japanese because it was such a fun experience. We ate sushi with chopsticks (well, we tried!), watched the chef chop and dice right in front of us and enjoyed the Tepanyaki dinner.

The beach at this hotel was very nice! Very little seaweed, no “sand whales” and plenty of space. The pools were great, too. There is a wave pool that runs for about 20 minutes every hour. The kids had a blast. The pool is long and winding. We often would float up to the poolbar, order a drink and float back to the wave pool. There was always a waitress around to bring drinks as needed, too.

For those who like a large resort and lots of dining options, the Iberostar Paraiso Maya is a great choice. Being able to use the other resorts next door has it’s advantages, for sure!

After being at the Iberostar, we moved to the AZUL SENSATORI! See my next travelogue for a report on the Azul.