Travel Review: Paradisus Resort in Cancun
During the last week of November, I spent five days at a resort I’ll never forget: Paradisus Resort in Cancún. I had been to Mexico four times prior to this trip, but never have I experienced a resort like this. The resort’s pictures on their website are beautiful—but even those don’t do it justice.
First Impressions
This resort is huge. Read again: HUGE. When walking into the main lobby, you see in front of you a large area of green. Green vines (real ones) draping from each of the levels, clean floors, lots of natural lighting, and crisp interior designs. Further into the middle is a restaurant called Bana—but we’ll get to that later. The lobby reminded me of a well-kept indoor rain forest; simply beautiful.
I took this trip with my family—my mom and my sister. As soon as we arrived, our bags were swept up by the porter (or bell-man), allowing us to continue into the lobby without the fuss of carrying our luggage. When we stepped into the lobby, we were immediately escorted into the Royal Service Lounge. The lounge was beautiful and decorated in dark colors with glass accents. Here, we were told to wait on the couches for our concierge to come to us (very fancy) and asked if we wanted anything to drink. No more than five minutes later, our concierge was talking to us and helping navigate us to the Royal Service Lobby.
On the way to the Royal Service Lobby, our concierge pointed out the spa, restaurants, and basic touring information. When we got to the private lobby—accessed only by Royal Service guests—we were seated in large, plush chairs and immediately handed glasses of champagne. Leticia was our main concierge now. She checked us in without any troubles and asked us how our experience was going so far. She provided us with our Royal Service wristbands—which were gorgeous and not at all like those typical tacky plastic ones other resorts give out— and talked us through everything we needed to know. You can read more about Leticia in the “Honorable Mentions” part of this article.
Basic Accommodations
With the Royal Service part of the resort, there are no children allowed. It is a private section reserved only for adults. With Royal Service, you get the assistance of your own personal Butler (ours was Hector). You also receive turn-down service, aromatic pillows of your selection, newspaper delivery, in-suite minibars and coffee machines which are restocked daily (no hidden fees either!), bathtub preparation (with roses and bubbles), and 24-hour room service (which we used literally every day). Breakfast, afternoon tea time, and a bar with hors d'oeuvres are available in the Royal Service Lobby—all of this is complimentary as well. For all you techies, you’ll be happy to know that Internet access is completely and totally free.
Room/Suite
When we got to our (upgraded) room, we were all in awe. The room was huge and included a bedroom with two queen-sized beds, two full bathrooms, two closets, a mini fridge (restocked daily), a living room, and a spacious balcony. The room was dressed in neutral, refreshing colors with accents of red and yellow.
One of my favorite things about the resort was how clean it was. The floors were polished, the sand was groomed, the vines were tended, and the windows were so clear I wasn’t sure if there was even glass there upon first glance. The weird thing was: we never saw anyone cleaning, but we knew they did, of course.
Dining
My next favorite parts of the resort were the restaurants. I tried all of the restaurants except for Tempo. Tempo isn’t all-inclusive, so you do have to pay for it, but the reason I didn’t go was because I’m not a big meat-eater. However, if you are a meat-eater, this might be something to try.
My favorite restaurant overall was Bana. Bana was the restaurant located in the main lobby. It was a Pan-Asian restaurant and served amazing sushi. The only downside was that the resort no longer takes reservations, so we had to wait about an hour. We waited at the little bar inside of Bana, called Toji, and were served amazing drinks (their mango daiquiris are heavenly) and the most amazing Edamame I’ve ever tasted. The meal was totally worth the wait.
My second favorite restaurant was Naos. This was my favorite place for breakfast—my favorite meal of the day. It was a buffet style, which was convenient for grabbing something quick before hitting the pool/beach. They had everything from omelets to smoothies (you must try the energy one!) to Nutella for your waffles.
The restaurant I wouldn’t recommend going to is Vento. Although the interior is beautiful, it is nothing special. We had extremely slow service (I say that even as a waitress myself)—I’m talking 15+ minutes to get a bowl of soup—and the food was just not good. Between my family and me, we tried all but a handful of items on the menu. For my main course I wanted the portabella mushrooms. Those were alright. However, what really got to me was when I asked my waiter (who I had told earlier that I don’t eat seafood) what the second item on my plate was and he told me vegetables, when in fact it was vegetables with fried fish on top. Luckily I didn’t eat it. This upset me because 1. I don’t eat fish, and 2. What would have happened if I was allergic to seafood?
Overall, the restaurants were fantastic, as was room service. The food was fresh and prepared carefully. One of the parts I liked best about the food was the portions. It seemed to be like everything was very portion-controlled, which I adored because I’m very into health and I don’t eat very much in general.
All of the bars pretty much have the same thing. This was comforting because you knew that you could get your drink of choice at any of the bars or restaurants. Some of my favorite drinks were the champagne, piña colada with Absolut Mango instead of rum, the rainbow shot (it was red on the bottom, orange in the middle, and blue on top—they will also make this into a drink for you if you ask), mango daiquiri, and the chocolate martini.
Outdoors
For the most part, I spent majority of my outdoor time in the Royal Service swimming pool and beach. Our Butler reserved a Bali bed for us each day, as well as lounge chairs. The pool area was clean, quiet, and convenient. Soothing spa music was played and made me feel like I was in paradise. Our pool concierge was Francisco. He was so amazing that we requested him for each day we were there—read more about him in the “Honorable Mentions” section at the end of the article.
The Royal Service pool area also included free sunscreen, towels, and La Palapa—a restaurant only available to Royal Service guests. One thing I would’ve liked to see at the pool is a hot tub, though I understand that it is generally warm in Cancún and there isn’t much of a demand for one.
The beach was also fantastic. The sand was soft and clean. The water was spotless and crystal clear. It was paradise. The beach also included lounge chairs and wait staff.
Honorable Mentions
Leticia
Leticia, who works at the concierge for the Royal Service Suites was the first woman we met at the resort upon arrival. She sat us down at her desk in three plush chairs while we received champagne. Leticia was very patient and informative. She walked us through everything from activities to restaurants to locating the spa. Her sense of humor and smiling attitude was genuine and welcoming.
For the duration of our stay, whenever Leticia would see us, she would greet us by name and make sure everything was going well. Her positive attitude was something that made our experience atParadisus radiant.
Natalia
Natalia works as a head concierge for the Royal Service Suites. She was a very nice, respectable woman. She paid very close attention to us and ensures that each of our requests were filled. Natalia upgraded us to a better suite than the one we were originally supposed to have. Her caring and attentive ways make guests feel comfortable and important—something that isn’t always easy to achieve.
Our suite was initially on the fifth floor of the royal suites, but Natalia upgraded us to a larger, more convenient suite located on the third floor.
Hector
Hector was our Butler for the entire vacation. Anything we needed, he got for us without any questions or mistakes. He was very attentive and respectful. Somehow he always knew where to find us and would check on us regularly to see if we needed anything. Even on his day off, he took our calls and made sure whatever we needed was taken care of. You can see a full list of responsibilities of a Butler here.
We had to leave our hotel at 4:30am for our 7am flight. Hector made sure breakfast (we requested omelets, tea, fruit, and coffee) was delivered at 3:30am to our room, as well as arranging the bellman to pick up our bags at 4.
Francisco
Francisco works at the Royal Service Suite’s private pool area. He was outstanding. He was funny, observant, and thorough. He attended to us so well the first morning we spent at the pool, that we requested his area of Bali beds for the rest of the vacation. Francisco gave the best customer service that I’ve ever experienced. When he took our drink orders, we only had to say our drinks one time and the rest of the day, we had another drink in our hands as soon as we took the last sip of our current one.
Francisco remembered our names and joked around with us. We really bonded with Francisco and even felt sad when we gave him hugs goodbye. If you’re spending a day by the pool, Francisco is definitely someone you should request.
Overall Impression
This resort is fantastic. There is always something to do and things to see. The staff was unbelievably accommodating and respectful. It is the best all-inclusive resort I have stayed at in Cancún. This resort is hard to beat. Usually at the end of a vacation or trip, I’m ready to go back home, but that wasn’t the case here. Leaving the resort was something I never wanted to do; I wanted to stay forever. I would definitely return to Paradisus if I had the opportunity.
