Frederick Travel Advisor Visits Cancun

Iberostar Selection Pariso Lindo

An honest review of this property.

First, let me update you as to travels to Mexico.  You are no longer required to fill out any immigration or customs paperwork. Regardless of what is listed on the airline websites.  The airport has undergone a bit of an upgrade and is in a big expansion mode.  Still, we faced about a 20 minute wait in line for customs to stamp our passports. 

Travel to the resort is very quickly accomplished if you pre-book your transfers.  I use a very reliable company for our guests and I can take care of these arrangements for you when you book your travels with us.  This resort, located in Riviera Maya was about 30 minutes from the airport and I found travel this time to be very easy without much traffic on the roads.  (First week of December)

Now for the resort....  First Impressions were very nice.  Big, open front lobby with a nice greeting from the bell hops.  We were escorted into the main check in lobby that was equally huge and quickly checked into our room.  Process took about 20 minutes with passports being scanned and paperwork signed.  We received our bracelets that are color coded for each resort, and included a chip to open our doors.  More about these colors in a bit.

The rooms are very large and clean, as is the resort.  The furniture was dated and the sofa cushions were probably in use when for the last 20 years from the judge of them.  But, nice big king bed, large balcony, and very large bathroom and shower. The maid service kept our room spotless all week and was great!  This resort offers concierge services that make your reservations for dining and assist with anything needed while you are at the resort.  Shortfall, we could not make dining reservations for the first two days here as the restaurants were full, so it was buffet food for now.  (Not bad food, but a bit of a let down.)

The pool was a very short walk outside of our room block and this proved a bit of a distraction at times with all of the loud music and entertainment staff that felt it was necessary to have the volume on the speakers up to 10 all of the time!  We were traveling with a newborn (family member) and we had to search the property for a quieter area away from the constant noise.  Many areas were under construction, so we had to not only listen to the loud music and yelling into the mics all day, but jackhammers, sandblasters, tile replacements, hammering of walls, etc.  Even the beach had its moments of the entertainment staff yelling into mics about volleyball, football, contests and more.  Complaints about the noise went on deaf ears as they feel the guests like the entertainment, even though most I talked with mentioned the same concerns.

The food in the buffets was impressive and hosted a huge variety of dishes.  The service and cleanliness was top notch in the Selection upgraded area, but the regular Iberostar (step down) had just the opposite, with their buffet.  It was disgusting enough that we never went back. We had a terrible experience with the Brazilian Specialty restaurant on this side of the resort as well.  The service is so poor that it took almost an hour before they started serving the meats, and it wasn't until we decided to leave that they finally starting bringing out the signature steak selections.  And, there is nothing Brazilian about of the buffet items in this restaurant!  Being raised in Brazil, I was looking forward to some of the traditional food items such as white rice, black beans, and flan.  Don't think flan is all the same until you try the Brazilian flan.

Another issue is the constant marketing by the resort to want you to do a tour with them, time-share, spa, excursions, etc.  It was like gnats constantly approaching you all day and evening.  While tipping is not supposed to be expected, it was certainly apparent that is was expected!  There was always the little hesitation to see if a tip was coming before they would leave.  While I normally tip very generously, it was a bit uncomfortable at times if I forgot to bring some money with me.  

The last note,  The Grand is a beautiful resort, and very upscale.  This is an adult only resort and since we were traveling with family, we could not enjoy this location. I was able to walk through and take pictures which I will post on our FaceBook page:  Two by Two Travel - Cruise Planners. There was not a sense of having a loud atmosphere or sales tactics here.  Wrist bands are color coded to keep people in the right resorts and I noticed many people being told they could not be served by the staff.  Even to the point where people were kicked out of the wave pool for having the wrong resort bracelet on!  

Many of the bars were staffed properly and getting drinks was quick and easy.  The people that work here are truly helpful and eager to serve.  And they are all very friendly and thus we tipped very well.  Selection of wines were very limited unless you wanted to buy a bottle.  I feel that some of the specialty restaurants could use better quality ingredients and at times the language barrier made it tough to order.  But, every now and then a great waiter made the difference!

All in all, this is a great resort for the value.  It is very clean, and the ground staff are working all day to make the place spotless. The entertainment is high school musical at best, so don't look for a great show.  Hit the sports bar, or the lobby bar for a drink and listen to the music.  Again, too loud!  

For more info on this resort, and others we have visited, please contact me at: pat@twobytwotravel.com