Ocean breezes right off your balcony refresh, relax and renew! This was my view from my suite and it almost made me not want to leave my room!
Planning the perfect vacation is no easy task — especially if you’re trying to decide between two enticing choices, such as a luxury spa trip or wellness travel. And even then, how do you pick just one spa? To give you a head start – narrow it down to a dream spa holiday on the Riviera Maya. Amazing wellness vacations can be found in this region.
The region offers many types of accommodations from luxury private beachfront vacation rentals to family resorts – but the ones that has taken my luxury breath away is the Iberostar Grand Paraiso right there in the REMARKable Riviera Maya!
With the Iberostar Grand Paraiso in Riviera Maya, Mexico, you don’t have to choose. You can have it all, making this all-inclusive resort an easy top contender for your next vacation. Upon arrival it will not take long to realize you have stepped into an alternate luxury world, when you are greeted with a choice of champagne or juice cocktail along with a scented towel. What a way to greet a weary traveler!
A retractable roof is one of the spa features that shows your host really cares about your experience – and yes those are men in the spa!
You don’t have to decide the details in advance. Hop on a plane and head to one of Mexico’s top luxury retreats, and when you arrive, mix and match the extensive options to curate a completely personal experience that is perfect for you. Change it as you go, and explore all that the Grand Paraiso has to offer.
As a spa expert, I was drawn to the Iberostar resort for my wellness vacation because it boasts two of Mexico’s most serious spas. But after I arrived, I discovered so much. I was blown away by the options for my spa travel vacation — well, that is, if I did not want to stay in the spa all day and leave only for lobster and champagne. Tough choices had to be made for my birthday celebration holiday. Take a look here at one of my activities – my rose petal bath fetish continues!
My bath fetish continues with my butler drawing the bath for me! Iberostar insist on your taking advantage of their amenities and features.
The resort
This sophisticated, five-star hotel is located on Playa Paraiso in the Riviera Maya, a short drive from the Cancun airport. The Iberostar offers the highest level of all-inclusive service; there’s all-inclusive, and then there’s Iberostar all-inclusive — on a completely different level.
Here, all-inclusive also includes non-motorized water sports, entertainment, various activities, beverages, food, tips and taxes. Even a 24/7 concierge and butler service to bring you in-room cocktails, make dinner reservations and offer tips on how to explore the region. Champagne flows freely here. Feeling a bit too indulgent? Head to the health bar at the spa pool and take a Spinning class. Need to refresh after class? Don’t miss the two spas on site. Feeling romantic? Reserve a secluded honeymoon suite, with its own private pool. This entire hotel feels like your very own hideaway, even when occupancy is full. You’ll find plenty of nooks and crannies that will make you feel like the prince or princess of your own palace. Try the serene opulent quiet pool for a quick book read. But it’s fun to know all you have to do is look around and you’ll find someone eager to come to your aid for anything — even another glass of bubbly!My room had so many relaxing features, but my fave was my own balcony with swinging basket chair, where I floated while wearing my Costa sunglasses and listening to the ocean waves. I tried to make this my office one day, but the relaxation took over my desire to complete any true work. I guess I can call it research.
These are the opulent doors to the fitness center which was grand. This is such a perfect location for wellness travel – spin bikes and a health bar beside the pool!
There is luxury, and then there is Iberostar luxury. This is a unique type of over-the-top (but so approachable) luxury that is seamless and authentic in a way that almost seem unthought of for the U.S. market. The Germans like to call it Smart Luxury! Other markets, such as the Germans and the Russians, discovered Iberostar spas years ago. Now it time for you to know them, too.
Almost anything you can desire or dream up is available via a call to the butler or the concierge. Sometimes, I felt like a glance or a thought was all I needed for the perfect items to show up. At times it seemed like the staff knew what I wanted even before I did. The staff here is one feature that sets this resort apart.
The Iberostar hotel offers two different on-site spas — but why choose? It’s worth visiting both. The spa itself is comfortable and stocked with top-notch products; my spa locker came equipped with Crabtree and Evelyn’s Le Source toiletries. All of the treatments at the Iberostar spas use special made-for-them products or high-level spa products, like the amazing Natura Bisse’ line.
My spa wellness travel birthday trip was a huge success! Iberstar made sure every step was grand!
The Spa
These spas attracted plenty of men, too. They also go to great lengths to cater to couples. Ask about the private cabins for couple’s treatments.
The spa at the Iberostar Grand is dreamy. Its heart is the heated Grand Pool with a retractable roof, and the spa also features a fresh juice bar and fully equipped fitness center. The moonlight diamond magnetic body treatment left me sparkling more than a “Twilight” star.
This spa would be enough for any spa gal, but in the village there is an additional spa that boasts a hydrotherapy room that almost made me feel like I was back in Baden-Baden, Germany. I was impressed to see the spa in the shopping village offered not one but two pediluvios, a pebble stream for foot bath treatments that aid in circulation. One variety featured flowing water and the other had jet sprays. I was impressed with a custom facial using the famed Natura Bisse products, which originated in Barcelona spas I received during my own spa day.
After my treatment, I went on a walk and discovered a “Temazcal” Mayan treatment area. I have vowed to return and get that treatment with my spouse.
Guests can also take advantage of Turkish and Roman baths, Jacuzzis and Thalassotherapy pools, which are health pools that use seawater as a type of therapy. Don’t miss the fresh-squeezed juices: mango, watermelon and cucumber. Find them all in both spas at the health bars.
Options galore
It can be hard to leave a spa (and even harder two) and head back into reality — so don’t. Here, you can transform your hotel room into the feeling of a private luxury spa.
Before you arrive, you can choose an aromatherapy scent for your room. I chose a relaxing one, but guests can also opt for energy, romance and more.
At Iberostar one can pick the type of pillow you lay your head on each night. The extensive pillow menu had it such a hard choice. But what a problem to have!
Refresh with a freshly scented damp towel in the lobby, which also smells exquisite. I don’t usually wear perfume, but I would at least fill my working space with this daily.
And by far the best selection is to have your butler draw you a rose petal bath.
There are also plenty of food options that go far beyond the typical all-inclusive buffets. The Iberostar hotels stand out for culinary quality and variety. Don’t miss the breakfast buffet, which is so vast that it would be hard for me to think of anything they did not have, including three kinds of caviar (yes, for breakfast). Later, if you are out at the beach or the pool, the scent of fresh-grilled lobsters will wake you to the smell of lunchtime. The enticing aroma even cleared a few seats at the swim-up bar.
For dinner, ask your personal concierge to reserve you a table at one of the a la carte restaurants: Toni’s Steakhouse, Venecia (Italian), Haiku (Asian, with teppanyaki tables and regular tables) and L’Atelier (French or gourmet).
If you want fresh-grilled lobster and champagne every day, you’ve got it. There are no boundaries to your luxurious desires here.
What ocean?
This resort is so lovely that the ocean views may take a back seat. I felt like a queen in my castle. As a travel writer, many people ask me where they should go on their next vacation. Usually I need to get a little more information from them to decide where to route them. But with Iberostar, that is not needed. At the Iberostar Grand, everyone can find their own personal bliss, whether that’s a spa vacation, a foodie trip, a fitness retreat, a romantic getaway, a golf trip or a trip with friends.
Where else can you enjoy caviar for breakfast, champagne and lobster for lunch and dinner, and unwind with a warm rose-petal bath — every single day?
The perfect vacation has been found!
