IBEROSTAR GRAND PARAISO RESTAURANTS & BARS REVIEW: 5 star Gourmet, Adults only, All-inclusive Cancun
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 22 июл 2024
- This video is for informational purposes only. We try to bring you an authentic review based on our experiences. We pay for our own trips and the resorts do NOT know that we make videos about our stay. Our opinions are our own.
We believe that the food and beverages play an integral role in choosing an all-inclusive resort. The Iberostar Grand Paraiso Resort and Spa in the Riviera Maya / Cancun area of Mexico levels up their food and beverage game when compared to the many other resorts in the area.
The bars craft some excellent cocktails made with top shelf liquors. Rhapsody Bar was our favorite bar followed closely by the El Mirador lobby bar. There is care behind the beverages at the Grand. Even the house wines which at many resorts are cheap but drinkable, they are a step above here.
The restaurants are considered to be Gourmet and you can see the effort behind the dishes at all of the restaurants.
The Grand buffet, Bella Vista, is one of the best buffets we have been to at an all-inclusive resort. It is not Vegas level of good but it is a step above most other resort buffets. There is plenty of seafood, steaks, lobster, crab etc and the culinary inspirations change daily.
There are 6 a la carte restaurants:
Toni's Surf and Turf - steaks and seafood
Venecia - Italian
L' Atelier - French
Haiku - Japanese (Sushi, a la carte, and Teppanyaki)
La Brisa - Mexican (a la carte & raw bar dinner/outdoor Cevecheria for lunch)
Overall, we really enjoyed the food and the beverages at the Iberostar Grand. There were some misses and disappointments but there were more excellent dishes and superb service so it did not detract from our vacation.
The menus in the video are current at the Grand at the time of this video. They are always subject to change. Many of the menus can be found at Iberostar.com.
Thank you for taking the time to watch our videos. We hope that they are helpful in narrowing down which resort is best for you and what you want from your vacation. We would really appreciate it if you took the time to subscribe to our channel and hit the like button so that others can find the video. Thanks!!😊
I absolutely LOVE how your team are foodies with high standards. For some reason, people think it's a bad thing for people to expect good food from resorts who claim to serve gourmet meals. I also love that you post the entire menu for a la carte restaurants. No matter how much criticism you get for being honest about the food, do not ever change because that's what sets you apart from 99% of reviewers.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
That means more than you know. ☺️
Most adults only, 5 star, resorts are very expensive so I think they should be held to a standard above the simple "food is fuel" philosophy.
If food quality isn't important there are much cheaper alternatives out there.
Thanks again for your kind words. I really appreciate your comments. 😊
Love this place.. was there in 2022 and we will be going back. Great review.
Thank you! Have a great trip 😊
Your voice is very soothing love hearing 😊😊😊
Ah! Thank you so much! 😊
Another great video. Thank you for all your efforts making this. 😊
Thank you so much! 😊
Wow what an amazing review, thank you for sharing
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. 😊
Brilliant video. Looking at returning here next year for our third visit. I totally agree about the issue with La Brisa. On our first visit this was used as the buffet every day for Lunch where had the option to order from a menu or the usual buffet. Gave amazing views of the beach and sea whilst was eating. They then decided to turn it into the Mexican Ala Carte on the evening and have it closed the rest of the day (apart from the seated area at the front) just seems such a waste because once its dark you cant see the views, so the main sea front option at the hotel they are just wasting it in my opinion. Been lots of complaints about it, but management seem to think they know what's best.
Thank you for your kind words. 😊
La Brisa could be something special, in keeping with the luxury of the resort, but it is not working as it is, in my opinion.
Wherever you decide to go next year, have a great time!! 😃
Great video once again
Thank you!! 😊
Great video. I will be at the grand in a few days for a week long trip
Have fun! Don't miss the fruit cocktail bar cart at the pool. Yum!! 😋
Thanks a lot Nancy for the great review and for youe advice to book all specialty restraunts immeiately after check-in!😊
What day is the gala dinner for the buffet?
Thank you! Making all our dinner reservations when we arrived worked well for us. Then we made some changes on the app, if the availability was open. If it wasn't, we just kept our original reservation.
When we were there I believe the Gala night was Wednesday.
Have a great time 😄
@@newtravelescapes Thanks a lot Nancy! I am so glad I found your channel! So much useful information 🤩😍
@@marinafromtoronto3837 Thanks Marina! 😊
Excellent review. I was just there for 12 nights (Sept 2023). I found the food to be very good but was underwhelmed. It was my first visit to the Grand and from all the internet hype I was expecting over the top luxurious cuisine. Well it did not happen. I was a published food writer for over 20 years I would give the Grand a B at best. Some dishes were a solid F and some were A+++
I guess it depends on your experience. In the world of all-inclusive resorts, having been to over 30 of them myself, the Grand is on a higher level than many others.
However, in the world of restaurants, I agree that it can be underwhelming if you're used to Michelin Star or Bib Gourmand cuisine.
As a food writer I can see you being underwhelmed. In the world of all-inclusive resorts their offerings are on a higher level than many others. The food at Le Blanc is better but it is more per night to stay there.
@@newtravelescapes The week after I left the Gourmet was massively overhauled. Venecia got a new menu. Toni's and La Brisa menu updates are soon to come.
@@NighthawkCarbine good to know. 👍
Venezia needed an overhaul, imo.
Looking forward to some changes. 😊
Any word on updates to The beachfront Mexican restaurant? That one could be great but was a big miss during our stay.
@@newtravelescapesMiss during mine also. They need to bring back the breakfast buffet and the lunch buffet in La Brisa.
@@NighthawkCarbine I agree! 😊
I had a slightly different experience with the French restaurant. It was an awful experience for us. It was so bad we just walked out and went to a buffet at maya. I have a feeling it was an off night so we will try it again on the next trip.
Oh my! That is too bad.🫤 Our dinner was so good we cancelled our reservation for the Italian and returned for two nights in a row.
Hopefully, it was just an off night.
Ive heard... the Villas are priced similar to the standard room, is that true? - has anyone ever upgraded their room category after they arrived at Iberostar - is there a tip to do it on the cheap ?
Hi! They are not similar to the standard rooms. If the standard room is about $3000 the villa is about $4700 for a week. They go up by about $300 per week each category jump for different oceanfront locations to villas. We have a video scheduled to come out in Oct explaining the different categories and pricing for all of it and which rooms might suit which type of traveller.
We have had good luck checking google for our dates and seeing who is pricing it out at the best price or with the best perks. It is always changing and it also depends on the dates you are looking at. 😊
We have not upgraded this on upon arrival.
Hi Nancy, wondering if you can make reservations on the app as well, or just modify them once they are made in person? It would be nice to check in and relax in the room while thinking about where to go for the week but not sure if that is the case here. I have only stayed at Secrets so this is new to me. Cheers.
Hi Samuel! We made all our reservations when we checked in but we also cancelled a couple and then made others to replace them from the App so I can't see an issue with your plan. You won't be able to have two reservations in one night so to modify you need to cancel the existing one and then make a different one. If you find yourself having trouble ask the concierge or butler for some help. I found getting reservations was easy unless we left it until the day of, then many were booked up.
Secrets resorts are much more free-flowing in terms of dining but we found the service to be a bit above at the Grand. Probably because they don't let their servers get overwhelmed. 😊
Enjoy your trip!!
Head to the Rhapsody bar before dinner while they are quiet. The mixologists there are really skilled and will create something special when they are not too busy. My favourite was Mexican Root. 🥂
@newtravelescapes Thanks! Really appreciate the response and video. I understand I will have access to all the other restaurants in the complex. Aside from the coffee shop you mentioned in the video, are others different or worth visiting? I was looking at the BBQ, Mexican, and Metlditreann ones in particular but happy to hear any feedback on others too.
@@samuelferrey7752 You're welcome. I'm happy to help.
We enjoyed a morning walk to the Maya coffee shop. 😊
Late night tacos in the Central Plaza area were a fun treat.
The best restaurants are at the Grand, for sure. I wouldn't give up any of them to eat elsewhere. BUT the rib eye (table side) at El rancho was great. And I was a fan of the mussels and fries as well as the lobster at the Marina seafood restaurant. Food at Maya is very good. Less good by the time you get to Del Mar or Beach. They don't have the food quality that the other resorts have. Understandable for their lower price of course. 😊
@@newtravelescapes amazing responses, thanks!
Just got back from the resort and wanted to add my review since @newtravelescapes and this video were very helpful leading up to the trip.
We ordered room service for dinner once, went to the buffet for dinner once, and went to each of the Venetian, Toni's, and Haiku, as well as El Puerto (smokehouse at the Beach/Del Mar) and El Rancho (steakhouse at the Maya). With the app, you can make all your reservations, but it wasn't working for a few days, which the staff told us was weather related (?) So we initially booked with the concierge. To book anything at the other resorts, you must also use the concierge, and it's quite manual for them (they had to call over to the other resort to find spots... feels like the reservation system could be centralized to make this easier. The fact that Grand customers have the ability to eat at the other resorts seemed like an afterthought that they are not expecting many guests to take advantage of, despite being heavily advertised). We did not have problems getting into the restaurants we wanted, but had to compromise on times and often ate at 9 PM. This was usually fine but means you miss out on some of the entertainment, and can feel rushed as you will be some of the last customers.
Room service was just OK - club sandwiches are huge and the pizza is oddly sweet. Not all desserts were available. Room service took about 40 minutes to arrive after I called in the order. You can also order using the app but I am not sure if it would work as it seemed glitchy at times. (You should also be able to place drink orders on the app for the beach, but I tried that and the drinks never actually came. Ended up ordering directly from the beach server).
Venetian was good, however, found the portions very small. I could have eaten two entrees and I am not a big person.
Toni's was good. Lots of options for sides.
Haiku was the teppanyaki show, which was generally fine, but again found the portions fairly small. Chatting with others at our "table", this seemed to be the consensus. Service was also slower by necessity, with one cook serving 12 people. Feels like this could be streamlined with more staff and larger portions since two grills were being used by one cook. The food was very good.
El Puerto was interesting. Though it is listed as a la carte, in reality there is no ordering - the waiter brings you a selection of meats and sides (beans, brisket, fried chicken, pulled pork, etc.) and some sauces and you serve yourself "family style". For what it was, I still really enjoyed this for a change of pace.
El Rancho was my favourite. The ribeye was outstanding, and it had good side options and desserts. Would definitely recommend as it's only a short walk.
For lunch we went three times to La Brisa. Generally stuck to tacos and found them really good if you just want a light lunch and don't want to go to the buffet. The weather was cooler and windy so we ate inside. Service was very good, which I mention as things may have improved since this video.
The buffet was excellent, really. We went at least once for breakfast, lunch and dinner and found the variety and quality impressive. You could probably eat here every meal for a few days and have something different every time.
We had some early excursions that left before the buffet was open and for that visited the Star Cafe at the Maya. Sandwiches, etc. are basic but enough to get you going. The sweeter stuff (muffins, desserts) were better. I agree with the video in that a cafe at the Grand (with food) would be nice. All the other resorts in the complex had a Star Cafe except for the Grand. Some of them had different things as well, and different hours. Fun to walk around the other resorts to explore. Also enjoyed the ice cream places at the Lindo and Maya for a snack, and if you were just at the beach and didn't want to go inside for lunch, the beach bar at the Lindo was a grab-and-go place for a quick burger - nothing special here but liked the option to stay at the beach.
Overall impressed with the quality and service. I am pretty basic when it comes to food though but didn't have a bad meal here.
Thanks so much for sharing!! 😊
What is a Gala Night ? Outdoor buffet and show when the regular buffet closes for dinner ? Kudos for your videos, people should learn from how you edit your content and put in music. Its first rate !!!!
Thank you so much for your kind words 😊
Yes, you're exactly right. Their Gala night is an outdoor buffet event night. It was well done.
I respectfully disagree with your review of Las Brisas buffet breakfast and Lunch.
I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it. The week we stayed it was under staffed, under utilized, and the food was not at the level of the rest of the resort's restaurants. It has such a fantastic location and I thought, at the time, it could be a real gem. Maybe they have improved things?