Iberostar Waves Paraiso del Mar - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8021 reviews

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  Subpar to similarly priced resorts

  1) check in is disproportionately time consuming compared with comparable resorts 2) the difficulty with obtaining restaurant reservations means customers paying the same amount might not experience the same ammenities 3) the lack of consistency between the app reservation ability and what can be procured from the concierge means that to enjoy specialty restaurants requires taking time away from the family vacation 4) having pool bars only with no stand alone bars is absurd - I should not have to get into the water to get a drink, and people are able to camp out at the bar taking up all the space 5) it’s nearly impossible to obtain cash in reasonable amounts to tip, which is particularly problematic because of the following: 6) tipping in cash is the only way. Cruise ships figured out how to make this more convenient literally decades ago - why can’t this resort? For example, I am not going to carry cash in the pool so I can tip the pool bartenders

  Jun 24, 2025
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  Big swimming pool

  The whole area is occupied by 4 Iberostar hotels, this is 1 of the 2 lowest grades. These 2 lowest grade resorts share all the facilities with a big long swimming pool in the middle. The long stretch from the inland to the beach is in the order shopping mall, gym, reception, restaurants, then rooms, rooms and rooms, then beach. There are several shuttles running along the resorts, but may not be very frequent. The swimming pool area is quite spacious when compared to the 1 besides of higher grade. But the higher grade’s pool has more features, like wave pool. The pool has a very nice member only area. I think these 2 lower grade resorts were the 1st to build so they occupy the best part of the beach. The beach is always wavy and not suitable for swimming. There are rocky areas and sea weed lies along the beach. The rooms are in 3 levels buildings stretching from the beach inwards, there is no elevator. You can arrange with the front desk to pick up and deliver the luggages. The room is simple, clean and spacious. There is a rack of clothes hanging lines in the balcony. May be because of low season, for breakfast and lunch, there is only 1 restaurant open at 1 time and it can be far away. Breakfast and lunch items are basically the same everyday. Dinner buffet has some special theme nights, but most items repeat. Food, service and atmosphere are better in the other restaurants in the resort but may be difficult to book. The staff are friendly and helpful, the front desk had ran to the neighbouring hotel to get me some US$ change, much appreciated. There are always minor maintenance problems with Iberostar hotels, this time the drinking water refill was not working, running out of hand soap refill and the toilet would not stop flushing.

  Jun 24, 2025
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  Fantastic Scuba Experience with Zalo

  2nd scuba experience. Zalo was an awesome scuba instructor—patient, knowledgeable, and highly professional. He made everything feel safe and easy—clear communication and pool preparation made for a great experience. Highly recommend!

  Jun 19, 2025
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  Membership integrity faults

  There is a hard cell “timeshare” type Scam with member upgrades and promises that are not kept. It’s a nice place with good service, but do not purchase any of the club memberships because they will lie to you. and the price of these memberships vary widely. They try to do anything for you while you’re shopping, but once you become a black member, then they would do nothing for you.

  Jun 13, 2025
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  Birthday Vacation

  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 the memories.

  Jun 10, 2025