5 Things To Know About IHG’s Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach in Cancun [Review]

I’m a superfan of Iberostar’s family-friendly beach resorts all over the world.

After staying in the Iberostar Waves Quetzal in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, last summer, I decided to give a new one a try, the Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach in Cancun, Mexico. I only had 5 days and wanted to make the most of every second of sunshine (coming from Chicago in January), so I opted for this resort, which was only a 25-minute drive from the Cancun airport and had excellent reviews.

I paid $2,131.08 in total for the 5-night stay for a premium room (all-inclusive for 3 people). I earned 55,408 IHG One Rewards points for my stay, which I’ll later use for an award night at the Holiday Inn Resort Samui Bophut Beach in Thailand.

I loved my experience at the Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach, but there are some things to be aware of that may help you decide whether to choose this resort or another, as well as some things you should know to maximize your stay.

1. The Property Is Gorgeous but Massive

The Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach is part of a massive Iberostar Paraíso complex, which includes 4 additional resorts: Iberostar Paraíso del Mar, Iberostar Selection Paraíso Lindo, Iberostar Selection Paraíso Maya Suites, and JOIA Paraíso by Iberostar. It resembles some of the other Caribbean Iberostars I’ve stayed at, including the Iberostar Quetzal in Playa del Carmen and the Iberostar Selection Bávaro Suites in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Layout

The Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach and Iberostar Paraíso del Mar are similar sister resorts and next to each other. Guests can eat at all the restaurants and buffets at each resort, and they also share a pool area and a beach zone.

The Iberostar Selection Paraíso Lindo and Iberostar Selection Paraíso Maya Suites are a step up, part of the fancier Selection brand, while JOIA Paraíso by Iberostar is the adults-only resort.

All the resorts share a fitness center and the Star Camp kids club.

Vibe

My stay at the Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach felt worlds away from the chilly, dark winter of Chicago, with a balmy tropical feel. Wandering the grounds is a delight, especially if you’re a fan of tropical flora and fauna.

My daily strolls took me past ponds, mangroves, and animals living their best lives, including peacocks, tropical birds, flamingos, turtles, coatis (a raccoon-like creature), iguanas, and sereques, which resemble giant, tailless squirrels.

How To Get Around the Giant Resort

The best way to get around is on foot (I averaged 22,000 steps daily) or with the trolleys, which are large golf-cart-style trams that go from the lobby to the rooms, the pools, and the beach. There are trolley stops along the way, and it’s pretty flexible; you can hop on and hop off as you need.

Just don’t plan on getting anywhere really fast, because things are far, and the trolleys run at a leisurely pace. The beach is a 15-to-20-minute walk from the kids club and lobby, the fitness center, and the shopping center, which is home to the ice cream shop, coffee shop, and playground.

Hot Tip:

I have the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, which earned me 26x points on my Iberostar stay. The card offers IHG Platinum Elite status, which also scored me a room upgrade during my stay.

2. Like Most Iberostars, the Hotel Is Extremely Family Friendly

I know I can depend on Iberostar properties to have plenty to do for my 4 1/2-year-old, and the Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach was no different.

The newly renovated Star Camp was awesome. The outdoor area, with a small pool and playground, was still under construction (another playground was at the shopping center), but my son loved the indoor area with trampolines.

The camp had a packed schedule with all sorts of indoor and outdoor activities, including visiting the Iberostar Selection Paraíso Lindo’s water park and kiddie slides (which would have cost $30 per person daily for us to go on our own), gardening, crafts, sand castle building, and cooking programs.

Beyond Star Camp, there was a small kiddie pool next to the main pools, a lazy river, and a pool with a waterfall.

There was even a kiddie check-in area, as well as kid food corners at the buffet.

There were also little tables with toys at the buffet, and my son played after he ate, allowing my husband and me to finish our meal or have a glass of wine in peace.

The beach was also extremely kid-friendly. The waves were shallow, and there was little sargassum during our visit.

My son was also obsessed with looking at all the tropical delights, from coconuts and giant flowers to the animals that roamed the resort.

Finally, I loved that, even though we had 2 beds in the room, the staff made up the sofa, giving us many options for comfortable sleeping.

3. Beach for Winter, Pool for Summer

Like the rest of the hotel, the pool area was gigantic, with a pool for everyone. There were pools for families, for activities, pools with music and a swim-up bar, quiet infinity pools with in-water loungers, and more. There was a lazy river and pools with basketball hoops and volleyball nets. Unfortunately, the pools were actually too cold for me or even for my son to enjoy spending much time in during our January trip.

The pool areas had plenty of seating and lots of shade, thanks to palapas and plenty of tropical foliage, and it would have been amazing during the hotter summer months, when Cancun’s beaches are often full of seaweed and the sun is scorching.

Meanwhile, the beach was heaven in the winter. The sand was soft and inviting, the water was delightfully warm, and there was little seaweed and few waves. It wasn’t too hot in the sun, and it was pleasant in the shade.

It’s clear that the beach is the place to be in the winter, but the pool area would be much better for a summer trip when it’s hot and you need the more refreshing pool water. Between seasons, it’s probably up to personal preference.

4. Stay a Week and Never Eat the Same Thing Twice

The food at the Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach was varied and tasty. Having stayed at several all-inclusive resorts, I’ve found that Iberostars tend to offer high-quality food overall, which is another reason I consistently choose the brand. Between the Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach and Iberostar Paraíso del Mar, I could eat at 12 restaurants and drink at 6 bars.

The dinner buffets had theme nights, and there were lunch buffets and beach food during the day. The restaurants that required reservations were the Smokehouse, the Brazilian restaurant, the Italian restaurant, and the Japanese restaurant.

Since we only stayed 5 nights (and the first night I arrived too late to get a reservation, which you need to do daily on the app), we were able to eat dinner at the buffet, the Brazilian restaurant, the Smokehouse, the Italian restaurant, and the Mediterranean restaurant, all of which were great.

I found the best food at the buffet was Mexican, which was no surprise considering my location. The tacos were perfect, and all the fillings — carnitas, cochinita pibil, and pollo in mole — were packed with flavor. The house wine was even fairly decent. I also loved the coffee shop at the shopping center for a daily afternoon pick-me-up.

The only negatives I would say about the dining were that the breakfast buffets were often crowded, and the staff was slow to restock food. My son waited nearly an hour for a hard-boiled egg one day, and on a few mornings, only 1 or 2 of the 4 coffee machines had beans.

5. The App Is Key to a Successful Stay

The Iberostar app has greatly improved since I started staying at many of these resorts a couple of years ago. These are some of the ways I was able to maximize my stay using the app:

• Seeing the trams in real time: I could see exactly where each tram was to get to the stop at just the right time, without missing it or waiting too long. If I saw the tram was far away, I could walk.
• Housekeeping: I got a notification in the app when my room was cleaned each day.
• Making restaurant reservations: I didn’t have to waste time dealing with the concierge. Each day when I woke up, I checked the reservations and booked dinner for that day. In this case, early risers got the worm — or the best times.
• Requesting a tram transfer for checkout: I requested a golf cart to come help with our luggage and bring us to the lobby for checkout within 24 hours of checkout time, which was much easier than calling.
• Viewing activities: Because the resort is so massive, I would have never known about certain activities if it hadn’t been for the app. I was able to find out when beach yoga started, when the foam party was, and which fitness classes were going on at the fitness center.

One positive about the app was that all adult guests in the room could log in and get access. However, a downside was that I had to log in again occasionally because I was kicked out every 24 to 48 hours.

Final Thoughts

I’m a huge fan of Iberostar’s all-inclusive resorts, and I’ve never had a bad stay at any of its resorts in the Caribbean, Spain, or Montenegro. Is each stay mind-blowingly unique? No. And when my kid is much older or when I begin traveling with just my partner again, I may rethink this brand and change things up.

But right now, with a busy professional life and a small child, what I need on vacation is a beautiful place with yummy food where each member of our family can find something to do. Iberostar resorts — specifically the Iberostar Waves Paraíso Beach, in this case — fill that need perfectly, and I’d stay here again in a heartbeat.