The Iberostar JOIA Paraiso is in the Iberostar Paraiso complex. It’s located about 30 minutes south of Cancun. I have booked these hotels many times and am excited to finally check it out! I typically book two of the family sections and the adult section here. The Iberostar Paraiso Maya and Lindo are client favorites in the family section.
The Paraiso Complex
The Paraiso Complex has five hotels and a golf course. Four of the hotels are family-friendly and one is adult-only. I’m primarily going to mention the Maya and Lindo family sections and the JOIA adult section. The JOIA used to be called Iberostar Paraiso Grand but was just renamed.
This trip was just me and my adult daughter. The JOIA section was great for us, we wanted an adults-only property. I would say this hotel is good for relaxing vacations, but not for a client looking for a bit of entertainment or a party atmosphere. They have lots of repeat guests here and I can see the appeal, but in my opinion, it’s for a crowd older than 20-somethings.
Iberostar JOIA Paraiso
JOIA is the adult section, it was formerly called Paraiso Grand. You have to be 18 or older to stay in this section. You do get full access to all the other sections of the complex, including all restaurants, bars, the water park, and other amenities.
The lobby is beautiful!
Several of the restaurants, bars, and the “club” are in the lobby area. There are a few more in the main building overlooking the pool and one more by the beach.
The Food
The JOIA section has five a la carte restaurants plus a buffet. The buffet was open for breakfast and lunch as well as certain themed nights for dinner. They do not require any dinner reservations except for the Hibachi table. You will make this reservation on arrival at the hotel.
One of the restaurants was closed during our stay, it was being renovated. We had plenty of options though. We tried the Italian, Mexican, and the Hibachi table. All were great and no complaints about food or service. Our favorite was the lasagna!
Some nights there was a wait for dinner. Just have a drink in the lobby bar and they will find you. They could maybe use a pager system to make this process easier.
For lunch, there is also a restaurant by the main pool overlooking the beach. It was outdoor seating only during our stay. The indoor restaurant there was closed for renovations. The lunch menu was tacos, nachos, burgers and quesadillas. It was very good! One day we ordered lunch at the swim-up bar and ate there. That is a pretty cool amenity!
The Rooms
We had an oceanfront butler suite, it was ground floor. The view was amazing! From the ground floor, we could walk out to the beach. If you are in this room type on an upper floor you’ll have a better ocean view but no walk-out access.
If you love the ocean this is the room for you!
The buildings have butlers in them on the ground floor. They assist with questions, booking the hibachi table, and other requests. There are towels, books to borrow, and water bottles in the lobby area of the building.
Some of the other room types they offer are upper-floor suite (foliage view) and pool view. They are renovating some other ground-floor rooms near the quiet pool to be ground-floor walk-out pool rooms. They are not swim-out rooms, but very convenient to the quiet pool. The JOIA section also has villas with private pools.
The rooms are large and they have been updated some, but compared to newer hotels there are some amenities it lacks. You will want to pack a multi-outlet plug. There are not enough plugs in the room. I also think the shower is too small and a little dark, but overall, there are no major complaints about the rooms. There is plenty of closet space and the sinks are separate with under-counter storage.
There is also a door separating the bedroom from the hall to the bathroom. This is nice if you have an early riser or are sharing a room with friends and prefer some privacy. All of their rooms are king or two double beds, on request.
The Pools
JOIA has a main pool and a quiet pool. The quiet pool is very quiet and the new walk-out pool rooms are located there. There is no bar by that pool.
The main pool has a swim up bar and wait staff as well.
The Beach
The beach is really pretty. There’s a rocky area but plenty of space to get in the water!
The Spa at JOIA
The spa has an indoor pool that is open to all JOIA guests. It’s very quiet and has lounge chairs in there and the gym.
Entertainment
There is nightly entertainment at JOIA and activities in the mall area and at the Maya. We headed to the Snake Bar at the Maya one night, had a great drink, and listened to some music.
There were shows at JOIA and we went to karaoke in the bar on our last night. The Galaxy Disco is in the mall and there is a cantina and taco stand as well.
During the day it’s mostly quiet at JOIA, but the entertainment team was great! They offered trivia and set up pool volleyball games.
Water park and pools at the Maya
The Maya and Lindo sections are next to JOIA. They share restaurants, a water park, a lazy river, swimming pools, and common areas. The last two properties, the Beach and Del Mar do not have access to the amenities at the Maya or Lindo. You can buy a day pass to the water park though.
Highlights:
- No reservations are required for dinner.
- Large pool with lots of cabanas and chairs.
- Large complex with lots of amenities, including a golf course on the property.
- Adult-only section in addition to family-friendly sections.
- Great property for multi-generational groups.
- If you stay at JOIA you have full use of the entire property and all restaurants and bars.
Ready to book your all-inclusive vacation?
If you are interested in traveling to Mexico, or any other options, I’d love to earn your business. You can reach me at Lake Pointe Travel at sarah@lakepointetravel.net
This is my personal lifestyle blog but I’m a travel agent by day.
You can follow my dedicated travel Instagram page here – How My World Travels
Private Facebook group for travel-related discussions and general travel advice. You can request to join here – How My World Travels with Sarah
