CANCUN – It wasn’t the Bali suite overlooking the pool and the ocean. It wasn’t the excellent coffee latte at the extensive breakfast buffet. It wasn’t the stylish, room. It wasn’t even the truly magnificent late day lagoon tour, which revealed perhaps the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen, completely with a flock of hundreds of black birds rising in the sky.
No, I think one of the things I’ll remember most about my visit to the newly refurbished, all-inclusive Paradisus Cancun is the Sunday morning when I went for a walk on the beach, and then hit the coffee shop on the ground floor of the resorts’ Reserve Wing, which is for adults only. I grabbed a terrific coffee latte and a banana to take to my room to get some notes typed up. I was on the sixth floor so I pushed the button for the elevator. It stopped on the second floor and revealed a cleaning woman dressed in the hotels’ simple beige/ecru uniform She was clearly waiting for an empty elevator so as not to disturb the guest. Since it was just me on the elevator, I waved her in. She waved back, “no, no,” clearly thinking she’d wait for the next available ride. “No, no,” I replied back, waving her in. She wheeled her cart inside and gave me a shy smile.
It was a little thing. A tiny thing. But it spoke volumes about the service here.
A swimming pool at Paradisus Cancun. Jim Byers Photo
It seemed that whenever a staff member walked past me, they nodded and said “buenos dias,” or a variation thereof, often tapping their heart at the same time.
I was equally impressed with the physical attributes of the resort, which reopened in April following a USD $55 million renovation and is designed to look like a set of Mayan pyramids.
One of the top features is the adults only Reserve section, which provides guests with a shared butler, a destination concierge, and plenty of quite places to enjoy, both indoor and out. There’s a lovely cafe on the ground floor of the plant-filled atrium (there are thousands and thousands of plants all over the interior of the resort, including palm trees) where you can get an outstanding coffee latte, pastries, yogurt, tapioca with fruit and other treats at breakfast. They also lay out small sandwiches and excellent cakes, fruit tarts and other desserts for lunch or dinner.
The cafe also doubles as a bar, and the bartender makes a very good old-fashioned cocktail. There are also protein shakes in the morning, where they hold yoga and wellness classes.
An aerial view of Paradisus Cancun
There’s a massive, wavy-shaped swimming pool outside the Reserve wing, which also is adults only. I spotted some people standing in the shallow end with drinks in their hand, but there’s no swim-up bar at the Reserve pool, which I liked. They also have spacious, comfy “Bali beds” you can rent, and a pretty good outdoor, covered cafe. I found the raw tuna to be rather plain, but they make a very good smash burger (ask for the grilled onions).
The other end of the resort (there are five buildings in all) is the family section, where you’ll find a water slide, spraying fountains, and other features. And, one of those giant buckets that fills up and dumps enormous amounts of water on the people below. The pool next to that has the swim-up bar.
The hotel has nine restaurants. I didn’t get a chance to try all of them, but the Gastro Hall has a nice breakfast buffet with everything from omelettes and salads to seafood and pastries.
I had a good picanha steak at Sal Steak Cave, very good Mexican food and short rib at Blue Agave, an excellent pasta carbonara at Cappella, and very good sushi at Kao, which is in the main lobby of the resort and consists of a series of small rooms surrounded by polished, wooden slats for a cool, Southeast Asia feel. Even better than the sushi was the coconut curry soup at Kao, which was as good or better than anything I’ve had at any Thai restaurant.
Excellent food at Blue Agave, located at the Paradisus Cancun. Jim Byers Photo
They can’t do anything about the sargassum that rolls in from the Gulf of Mexico, but the resort does a fine job of cleaning it up every morning. There were occasional storms when we visited, September and October being the rainy season in Cancun, but the waves were usually not too large and the water was warm and inviting for my daily swims.
I also loved having thatched roof umbrellas and loungers on the beach.
I didn’t try a massage, but I did get to experience a hydrotherapy session, which takes about a half hour (longer if you wisely linger in the covered, open-air relaxation area). The session starts with a dry sauna, followed by a steam room with a body scrub you apply yourself. You then step into shower with cool and water that sprays you all over. After that, there’s an optional but suggested cold plunge pool (as icy as Frobisher Bay in March, I thought), and a warm pool with jets and an overhead waterfall feature that was like a mini-massage for my neck and shoulders.
Amenities include a short, beautiful, nine-hole golf course in front of the resort, as well as courts for tennis and pickleball. I had a brief glance at the kids’ club, and it looks terrific.
The beach at Paradisus Cancun. Jim Byers Photo
The Play Sports Bar offers up a golf simulator and putting green, a baseball batting cage, video games, billiards and darts, as well as tons of TV’s to watch the big game.
The hotel treated us to a sunset tour on the lagoon across the street from the hotel, and it was probably the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever experienced. They also had live music, dancing and a brief fireworks show.
The look of the resort is elegant but relaxed. My room was done up in soft, neutral tones with a cool, woven ropes feature I quite liked, as well as a huge desk that was put to good use. I didn’t try the big-screen TV, but the Wi-Fi was strong and reliable, and the room had a good-sized bathroom with plenty of marble and a nice rain shower. Some rooms in the Reserve area of the resort have bathtubs.
My room looked west, towards the golf course and the lagoon, which made for a nice sunset view. Other rooms look over out over the beach and offer a perfect sunrise vista.
A sunset lagoon tour near the Paradisus Cancun. Jim Byers Photo
Paradisus Cancun is one of the most prestigious meeting resorts in the Cancun hotel area. Featuring 21 spacious meeting rooms equipped with state-of-the-art technology in the heart of paradise. Gran Salon del Prado can hold 1,200 people for large events.
Bonus: the resort is less than a half hour from Cancun Airport, which means more pool and beach time.
The resort wasn’t perfect. My room was lovely, and featured a fancy Nespresso coffee maker. But they had powdered Coffee Mate on offer instead of fresh milk or creme.
Overall, however, I’d give it an excellent rating, with very good food, an attractive setting, great staff, fine swimming pools and a terrific beach.
