JOIA Paraiso by Iberostar

I am extremely disappointed with our stay at JOIA Paraíso by Iberostar Riviera Maya.

I have stayed at Iberostar resorts several times over the past 5–6 years, including this resort and another Iberostar property in the Dominican Republic. Both were true luxury resorts with excellent restaurants, beautiful accommodations, outstanding service, and exceptional cleanliness. That is why I chose to return.

This trip was especially important because we were celebrating my husband’s birthday, and I wanted to make it a very special and memorable occasion. Unfortunately, the experience has been deeply disappointing.

We arrived yesterday and were shocked by the condition of the resort. The rooms are outdated and appear not to have been renovated in many years.

We paid extra for an oceanfront corner room, yet when we arrived, there was broken glass scattered across the floor. This is completely unacceptable and a serious safety hazard.

Our dinner at the steakhouse was equally disappointing. The steak was extremely thin, dry, tough, and completely lacking in flavor. It was one of the worst meals I have ever been served at a resort that advertises itself as luxury.

It is very sad to see how much the quality has declined. These resorts were once among my favorites, but they no longer provide the luxury experience they once did. Based on my experience, I would rate this property no higher than a 2-star resort.

I hope you will take these concerns seriously, investigate these issues, and explain how you intend to address them. I also hope you will consider appropriate compensation for what has been a very disappointing stay, especially given the importance of this trip for my husband’s birthday celebration.

We stayed as a party of 8, so 4 rooms. My wife is a platinum or elite or whatever fancy word IHG uses for their status tier. In the end it got us a triple upgrade. Four walkout pool suites. This was pretty sweet, huge patio, marble and teak wood walkway to 3 small stairs that put you at ground level and a 50 ft walk to one of the pools. The patio deck was huge, immaculate, killer view, private and quiet and super easy access to the pool and back and forth. It was easy for us to get back to the room for a quick work call or just take a break from the sun. The sun is no joke.... Joia provides 30 SPF sun protection or 50 SPF or aloe gel. There are several spots to get the lotion and or towels. No towel cards no hassle with room numbers no hassle with how many did you take last time that's how many we need back.... super luxe super easy. The towels are plush, huge and plentiful. The furniture whether by the quiet pool or by the activities pool is top tier. I didn't find any that appeared to be broken, tattered, overused or cheap, all top tier stuff. This was our first time at Joia. We've stayed at the Maya suites part of the Iberostar resort and right next door to Joia, five or six times. I expected Joia to be one or two steps above Maya suites. It's more like 10 levels above.... the difference is marked. Let me be clear, we loved Maya and have no complaints..... Joia is definitely many levels past Maya suites. We had no interest in going to the other resorts after getting Joia figured out after a day or so. Everyone wanted to go back to the Maya buffet the one night Joia's buffet was closed so we did. I was just going along for the ride and didn't really care one way or the other, this wasn't the hill to die on with my mother in law or my sons. I was as quiet as a church mouse and they started in right away..... it's too crowded, there's too many people in here, look at all these crazy kids running around..... They never surfaced another request to go to any restaurants outside Joia. The buffet at Joia is exceptional for a buffet, comparable to elite status, The Wynn buffet in Vegas. That being said, the sit down restaurants are even better. Since the buffet was an easy option for everyone we only went to 2 sit down places. We did Ember, the steakhouse, 8.5/10, comparable to a Flemings, or Perry's or similar. It was great and a very enjoyable meal. The other stand alone we hit was the Mexican restaurant, Legado. This place was boss of bosses level 100/10.... the filet I ordered here was an elite steak. It might have been the best steak I've ever had, Mastros, Cap Grill, Gibsons in Chicago, Bavettes in Vegas.... this filet from Legato beat them all. It was excellent, a red Chile rub, with a goat cheese sauce to top it with or dip a bite in. The side were tremendous, the prawns and the table side guacamole were also top shelf. The house made chicharone (pork rinds) was sublime. This was the best meal we ate at Joia, all loved it and wondered why we only figured this place out the last night of our stay. You won't find crunch wrap supremes, hard shell tacos or combo plates with chimichangas and stuffed sopapillas drenched in chile and yellow cheese, so if that's your jam you might be disappointed. The food, the service, the pool furniture along with the suite and the immaculate grounds were not just one level above Maya but many levels. The shows were great and also several levels above anything at the other Iberostar shows at the resorts in the complex. I did eat lunch from the beach restaurant a couple of times, every thing was very good, steak nachos, smash burger tacos, hot dogs.... you can either sit on a deck on the beach and order there with table service or order from your pool side seating via one of the staff servers. That's super easy and super cool but expect a 45 min plus wait if you do that. We meant to get a massage and never did so can't comment on that. Our sons played golf 3 times. They said the course was one of the nicest they have ever played. It was well maintained and groomed to a pristine level. They really enjoyed it.... some nice perks with the golf, Joia guests receive a much better rate, 130 vs 170 I think and the green fee includes clubhouse food and drink for up to 6 hours after your tee time. Make sure and use your coupons they give you on the app or at check-in. You can't use it on the green fee since it's already discounted but you can on a golf shirt or any merchandise at the pro shop. The USD conversion seems like prices were coming out to 150 to 175 USD for a golf polo. The bars are all great with top shelf liquor choices.... you can go full tilt with Clase Azul or Johnny Walker Blue but you will get an upcharge. No qualms with anything here, some minor things they ironed out quickly but nothing major. Pros - food, liquor, service, amenities, grounds, cleanliness, staff friendly and helpful, updated rooms and decor along with all other resort facilities, bathrooms and amenities, all of it. Our family loved it and all can't wait to go back.... these people are hard to please. Cons - can't really think of any... the beach maybe. It was rocky and there was some seaweed. This isn't their fault, the rocky ocean entrance was created over the eons by the ocean and the seaweed surfaces every summer. They work very hard to keep it at bay and do a good job. The only other con is slight.... the decor in the resort common areas, like the lobby and hall ways is a tiny bit garish or ostentatious. It's more Sopranos than quiet luxe like The Four Seasons.... but not a big deal. They care for it with a very high level of passion. This place is next level quiet and chill even the activities pool is more laid back and chill than any of the other pools in the neighboring Iberostar resorts. If you're looking for foam parties or lazy rivers go next door (a 10 min walk) the Joia is not that. I was suitably impressed and thought the Joia was the closest to my best in class The Four Seasons at Papagallo in Costa Rica, which Forbes says is one of the five best resorts in the world. We will definitely return to Joia in the future. I have to mention standout personnel we worked with - Jorge / pool concierge, he took some great family photos of us and went out of his way to invite us to a cocktail party on the top level by Legato. This was awesome with some great apps and a private bar. It looked to be invite only. Guadalupe Caumal, who took awesome care of us at the buffet. She left an impression on my mom and my wife... and called us by name the whole week we were there... very good team member for Iberostar. Elizabeth, one of the activities pool concierges who also took very good care of us, calling us by name and bringing my typical rocks con tahine Don Julio Blanco marg or ice water. She was great, very friendly and helpful looking out for us from afar and knowing exactly what we wanted. She looked out for our boys and we got to know each other pretty well for a one week stay. Sacnite at the lobby check in was tremendous along with Regina at the lobby front desk. Kudos also to Ricardo one of the bell team who helped immensely with securing a cab to the airport for a very fair rate for one of our boys who had to leave a few days early. The overall theme from all of them.... they treat you like family and all the kindness is sincere and heartfelt. Quick short story, one of our son's spent a couple of days working on his computer at the snake bar calling clients and such. The first day he shows up and one of the bartender remembers him by name from a year ago at the other resort, the Maya suites. It was amazing..... these guys are good! Pro tip - get the app on your phone and use it. You can order room service, order different pillows from pillow menu, chat about issues with bot or personnel it's all quite easy. I also used it to check the hours on restaurants. Some open at different times and each has at least one night they close. The app is on top of it.

Great archery class with Valentin and Ulises