» Iberostar Paraiso Lindo Review - 3/27/2007 - Vacation Addicts | All Inclusive Resorts

Iberostar Paraiso Lindo Review - 3/27/2007

It is a week ago tonight that we arrived back home after a wonderful week at the Lindo. We gained valuable information from this board, so we would like to “pay it forward” in the hopes that our comments assist other travelers.

Arrival: Due the time change in Canada and not in Mexico, we left Toronto at 7:15am and were in the lobby of the Lindo by 11am local time! Our flight was on time and the transfer was quite fun as we had a van full of people excited to be starting their holidays! The lobby of the Lindo is beautiful and we were checked in efficiently and quickly. As we expected, our room was not ready, but that was OK. Off to the poolside buffet we went for a quick bite and by the time we made our way back to the lobby, our room was ready. We were assigned room 5373 and a bellboy took us via golf cart to our room.

The room itself was just fine - pretty much what we expected based on the information we had read. It was in building 53 on the third floor. The only slight downfall was that it had a large cement balcony, but we were glad to be in our room early.

Grounds: The grounds of the resort are absolutely beautiful. You think you have seen everything in terms of foilage, fountains, etc. and then you happen upon something new. The pictures do not even do it justice. The first day the size of the resort can be a bit overwhelming, until you get your bearings. Once familiar with the layout, the walking became a good thing due to how much we ate and drank! martini

Restaurants: We found the food to be the best we have had at an all-inclusive. We have travelled to the DR, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, and this was some of the best food we have had. My husband and I both commented on how we did not know that people could complain about the food. There is no way you could possibly try every single item that there was to offer. We enjoyed breakfast at the Lindo Italian - amazing selection. A couple of days we were feeling lazy and had breakfast at the poolside buffet on the the Lindo side, and that was good too. For lunch, we either ate at the beach grill (great guacamole and salsa - there were also two beach parties while we were there, so two paella days), or at the commercial center. The tacos and burgers there were great. For dinner, we ate at the Steakhouse, the Gourmet, the Japanese at the Beach hotel, the Cajun and the Seafood. We enjoyed them all with the exception of the seafood. You had to watch how much you ate from the appetizer buffets so as not to spoil your main course. It was hard to turn down all of those fresh shrimps and smoked salmon.

We really enjoyed the Maya Bar and would generally head over there after dinner. We did watch one show and another night, we enjoyed the live band playing at the commercial center.

Beach and Pool: The beach was really beautiful. The first time down the walkway almost takes your breath away as you see that lovely blue and white sand in front of you. We did spend most mornings on the beach and thoroughly enjoyed it. The slope to enter the water is steep and the water was quite rough when we were there. Mainly red flags and a few yellows at the end. People often were knocked off their feet! For me it was fine just to cool off but my husband would head out deeper and “ride the waves”. The pool area was very busy. I don’t know if it was a spring break in the US (it wasn’t in Canada), and there were lots of families (not that we mind - we have children ourselves). I did find that if we went to the beach in the morning and then to the pool at lunch, it was hard to find even a single chair if you wanted shade. Since this topic comes up regularly, there is a lot of reserving going on. We would put our towels on our loungers, head up for breakfast, and then use them. If we were leaving to go to the pool or other activities, we would vacate our chairs. There were towels on loungers at the beach for several hours, one time the whoe day, and we never saw a person even show up. This to me is rude and inconsiderate of your fellow travelers. tut Yes the pools are cool but quite refreshing when it is so hot.

Service: We found the service to be very good. We were always greated with a smile and they love when you at least try to say a few words of Spanish. We did tip our room attendant and our room was spotless, with new towel art every day. We tipped $1 every few drinks at the bars and tipped the a la carte waiters. I am a firm believer in if you can afford to be there, you can afford a few extra dollars to tip. I was amazed at the way some guests treated the staff. Not so much as a please or thank you - more an empty glass shoved back and a demand for another. Common courtesy should be part of our everyday lives and vacation is no exception.

Golf: My husband golfed a few rounds at the course and his comments were that it was quite challenging. He would generally play at 2pm (twilight rate and thus why I would head up to the pool for a few hours). Since we did not have our children with us, this was fine as we booked our dinners for 8 or 8:30. This would allow for a full round of golf and then leisurely pace to shower and prepare for dinner and have a cocktail before hand. If you want more details about the golf, please let me know and I will relay. He also met a colleague who was in Cancun at the same time as us and they played at the Mayakoba (first PGA event played there this year). It was exceptional.

Spa: I indulged in a 50 relaxation massage and it was wonderful. The facility is beautiful and I said if it rained, I would go back and spend some time exploring the wet areas, etc. Lucky for us, we had about 3 minutes of rain the entire week. Fabulous weather. sun

Excursions: We did the half day tour to Tulum. We booked through the Iberoservice desk in the lobby. A half day was sufficient and we found the guide to be very informative and entertaining. The only downfall was we were the last resort to be dropped off so it seemed to take forever on the way back.

Minor Inconveniences: I think to say you travel for a week in a foreign land without so much as a minor inconvenience is highly unlikely. It is par for the course and if you take it like that, then it will not negatively affect your holiday. The stopper in our sink was blocked when we arrived. It was fixed within hours however, it repeated itself throughout the week. We eventually just pulled it out and laid it beside the sink. We also had a missed wakeup call the morning my husband was to meet up with his colleague at the Mayakoba. The buttons on the alarm clock to change the time did not work so we called for a wakeup, which we did not receive. Fortunately, for whatever reason, I woke up early that morning. When we expressed our concern to the concierge, she said we should have booked it through them, not via the operator. The night before we left, I booked our wakeup call with a different concierge, who told me to use the operator!! So which one is it?? We had to be in the lobby for our pickup at 7am and the bellman pickup did not happen as booked. Two calls to the desk later, and we were on our way. We would have just pulled our cases, but my husband had his golf clubs. Again, all minor and they certainly did not effect our overall opinion of the resort.

We loved this facility and would like to come back again with our children. We enjoyed our break from our busy lives, but we found ourselves saying over and over, “the girls would like this, they would love that”. They are still quite young and I feel we would wait a few years to bring them to the Lindo so that they are old enough to fully enjoy all of the facilities. Plus, since we are a family of 5, it involves two rooms which can be expensive. We are considering either the Iberostar Varadero or possibly Rose Hall (depending on the cost) for next year with the children and then come back to the Lindo with them in a few years.

If you are considering this hotel as an option, GO! You won’t be disappointed!