TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The service - this is where I want to put the emphasis on why our stay was great.  Every landscaper, concierge, bar tender, chef, waiter, bellboy, activity worker… everyone, was above and beyond pleasant. They would greet you, remember your name (or at least try) and try to bend over backwards to make your stay great. I once had a waitress (Miss Monnesart) around the pool take my order at my chair and while she was making it, I joined a water volleyball game. She found me; waved me down; and let me know she was setting my drink close to the pool where i was instead of back at my seat away from the pool. It was little things like that that really spoke to me.  And the biggest reason why I would ever want to go back. The Activity Staff. These are the individuals leading activities (which I recommend you go to as many as you can), either around the pool, on the beach, by the clubhouse or the late into the evening. They would see us around the resort and yell, “Hola, Mr Jason! Hola, Mrs Kimmi!!” And engage in conversation with us, that made us feel so welcome! I want to specifically call out the following: Chef Amayalli - she searched every restaurant on our annniversary dinner night to hand deliver us a cake with 'Happy 20th Anniversary!' written on it! My wife and I were both tearing up at just the thought that someone remembered us on our anniversary! I want to let everyone know that Chef Amayalli made our anniversary night something so special by just remembering us and making us that cake. Being treated so special on a special evening touched us more than I can say. Mr. Pedro - who was at every beach volleyball game and every night time activity we attended! I don’t know why, but I feel like I was meeting up with my best friend every time I saw him! Miss Mala - who was at the frisbee toss game, taught us Spanish and was such an impressive volleyball player! She had such a great sense of humor and we would sit and have the funniest conversations with her! Miss Alma! This was the first activity worker we interacted with! She gave us Merengues dance lessons and included us at the dancing at the Rhapsody bar! She made us feel so absolutely welcome! Miss Monnesart! As well as playing volleyball with us, she gave us Margarita lessons, Salsa dance lessons, painting lessons and also hung out with us at the lobby and bar! She was such a joy to be around! Miss Cassandra! Always a smile on her face! She led our guacamole making classes, made us feel welcome at every evening event hosted and played in every beach volleyball game they had! I cannot tell you how much we enjoyed her company! Mr. Fabian! We absolutely loved learning to paint during one of his activities, hearing him sing during karaoke, playing volleyball with him and hanging out with him during the evening activities! We could talk to him for hours! Mr. Carlos! He led our TRX, water exercise and water paddle board relaxation class! He pushed us to do our best and I appreciate so much that he incorporated Spanish speaking lessons into the workout classes! I can find you a pool, a beach, some scenery or food/drink most likely that is just as nice as JOIA’s. But I cannot find you another Chef Amayilla, Mr. Pedro, Ms. Mala, Ms. Alma, Ms. Monnesart, Ms. Cassandra, Mr. Fabian or Mr. Carlos!! They are one of a kind, and made our trip go from great to awesome! We love their staff and can’t wait to get an opportunity to go see them again!

If you want the best atmosphere, food, amenities, services, location and adults only hotel in Riviera Maya, The Joia Paraiso by Iberostar is the one for you. It’s a big family that welcome you and make you feel at home. From the bellboys to the guys that clean the beach. I love to go there every time. Gabriela, Evely, and Ancelmo from the starprestige are the most helping people ever. If you want to have fun, you have the entertainment team, with a lot of activities day and night. Mala, Casandra, Pedro, Fabian, Ariel are the best, including the boss Carlos. You are going to love them and miss them when you leave. They make your stay much more fun. In the Rhapsody bar you have the most incredible bartenders (Luigi and Jonathan) and djs (Javier and Lalo), to have a club vibe without going out from the hotel. The restaurants are also amazing. All of them are delicious, but I really love the French and Italian one. Not just for the food, for the people that work there. The experience is amazing. Also the principal buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner is really diverse in food, drinks and desserts. The gala night is really yummy. The captains and waitresses are the most happy people that you going to know. Joseph, Guadalupe, Jazmin, Cecilia, Katerine, Chef Yadhir, Chef Darío, and other ones that I forget the name. In the pool or beach Mirna, Jorge and Jose are going to help you with towels, sunscreen, aloe, books, floats, drinks, clean your sunglasses and more. In the pool bar or beach bar Jose, victor, and the others are really good with drinks. Besides the ocean pool and tranquility pool, you have the spa with the climate pool. If you want a bigger spa, in the shopping center is a big one that you have to share with the others hotels. And last but not least the rooms are really comfortable from the suite to the villa, all are amazing. Big room, big bathroom, big balcony, amenities like pillows menu, drinks, bathroom kit, room service and others. I know for sure that I’m skipping a lot of things but you have to go to experience yourself.

A huge thank you to Fatima for her accommodations, and for helping get us scheduled for a few different reservations. Gustavo, Caronlina, Benito and Tomas were also so kind and helpful. Mirna, Monserrat, and Lennin at the pool were so kind, attentive, and amazing at helping assist in meeting our food and drink needs! For activities and entertainment, Fabian and Mala/Fernanda were so fun and engaging! They were so encouraging as well. For our dining experience, Eusebio and Jesus at Venecia made our experience so wonderful. Adrian and Johnathan at Haiku made hibachi style dinner so much fun and complete. Our Legado experience was made well by Norberto and his kindness. And our last evening was at Ember. Leonardo took care of all of our needs. Chef Dario was so kind to have a conversation with us about our experience but allowed us to learn more about his culinary background and interests. All of the mentioned staff have made our experience so special and we are excited to see familiar and new faces when we plan to return. Thank you all!

Had a bad experience here with the golf pro shop that has soured my desire to return to this resort. Up to then we had vacationed there at least five times.

An honest review. This was our fifth visit. Many guests are repeat customers. This time it was six of us , my wife,myself,my daughter, her husband and the in laws. There were other large groups. Best way for me to describe this place, it is like putting on your favorite shoes. You know what you are getting. We like the facilities.(there are plenty of photos on line)The rooms are nice, even though we don't spend much time in them. The food, keep in mind that it is a mass produced food. We are foodies and we know food, my wife worked in the food industry for 30 years. For an all inclusive, i think Ibero Star does a really great job. I did missed the Ibero ham which they didn't have this year. My wife is vegetarian and Dario the Chef made sure she was taken care of. If you are the complaining type, stay home. The tacos in the Mexican restaurant were truly exceptional. We went twice. My suggestion to the management, put a variety taco sampler on the menu. We know Cancun and Riviera May well, it is our twenty fifth visit to this region. There are many great resorts in this area catering to variety of tastes. JOIA is not a rowdy or a hook up place. Most people come with companions. The crowd is a mix of young , older, Europeans, Americans and of course Mexicans. What really makes this place special are its employees. They are genuinely nice and very accommodating, you don't feel as it is fake . I made a very stupid mistake and left the safe door wide open all day, there it was, our cash, wallets , passports and my wife's jewelry for all to see. (they changed the safes and i must've pushed the wrong button) ,I know that multiples of staff entered the room. The maid , the fridge guy and NOTHING came up missing. Of course I would never tell anyone it is OK to leave valuables laying around, but somehow I wasn't surprised that nothing was taken. Many of the employees are long term employees ,and they take a great deal of pride in their work. Ibero star is very animal friendly place and some monkeys figured out how to get in . No one was stressed out over this, and they left on their own . Important rule, leave the animals alone, and they won't bother you. I'm not mentioning any names of the employees we like. The list would be too long. Lastly, the entertainment crew is really great. Somehow they figured out the balance how to keep the place tranquil while turning the cheese pool games in to fun. We are already planning our next visit . It might be even a larger group than this time,