Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita

I want to start by mentioning that my lovely wife and I own several businesses in the US, and we typically only have time to travel once a year. We found years ago that we gravitate towards all-inclusive resorts and typically like the AMR brand resorts (owned by Hyatt.) We have always wanted to experience a Zoetry resort because they are known for their relaxation, not to mention you get a private chef and butler, which in my ears you can’t go wrong with. This year (July ’23), we decided to stay near Cancun at the Zoetry Paraiso De La Bonita Riviera Maya. The resort was about fifteen minutes from the airport, which was fantastic as everyone knows the worst part of a vacation is the drive to and from the airport. We picked this Zoetry because it was an older location with the AMR. This might sound odd, but with the special amenities that Zoetry offers increase the per-night price is a little more than their other location, so we picked an older location to save a little each night we stayed. From the moment we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by someone that knew of our transportation and directed us to where to go. We have been to Mexico several times so we knew what to do, but if you have yet to visit before you will want to have private transport. It is overwhelming, to say the least, after a long plane ride to arrive at the Mexico airport. After our short drive to the resort, Jose, our bellman for most of our ten-day trip, instantly greeted us. I should mention before I get too far that my wife and I tend to get to know the resort staff like family. We find our relaxation is aided by talking with the locals and learning about them and their culture while getting to know our Spanish a little better. We soon learned that Jose was learning to be a pilot, which helped us coin his nickname “Maverick.” After Jose showed us to our room and explained the amenities the resort had to offer, we were right at home. Our room had two balconies that overlooked the ocean, one with an outdoor shower and bed and the other with a large plunge pool and two large lounge areas. These balconies, we soon found, were the key to our brains shutting off from our daily stress. You can lose track of hours just listening to the ocean and feeling the cool breeze, and when you couple that with a private pool, you can even forget what day it is! After setting up our room, we visited one of the four restaurants in the resort. This might not sound like many food options, but AMR does a great job changing the menu every few days or offering a special themed night that the resort chef will make something special for the guests. I cannot say enough great things about the food at the resort. Our private chef Eddie who we nicknamed “Clark Kent” because he worked in vastly different roles from the morning to the evening shirts, was so engaging and detailed. Eddie took the time to get to know our dietary restrictions and even made special morning meals to help us experience h

We stayed at Zoetry Paraíso de La Bonita for 3 nights and it was exactly the very relaxed vibe that we were hoping for. Upon arrival we were greeted by the congenial doorman Miguel who gave us a tour of the property and drove us (via golf cart) to our room. It's true, the property is older and not modern nor super luxe and there are a few signs of wear and tear (e.g. frayed towels, spotted a few ants in the bathroom the last night, small leak under the vessel sink, etc.). However, I enjoyed the traditional aesthetic and found the place very charming. Everything was clean and our room (ocean view with terrace and plunge pool) was spacious and lovely! We enjoyed spending evenings out on the daybed, listening to the waves. (We did spot a few mosquitos but our Thermacell kept them at bay.) It's a small property and you can really feel that, but I think it makes things feel cozy and friendly; everyone, guests and staff, greets each other when passing by. One dinner service was a little bit slow but besides that we had no other issues. If you are used to the multiple dining options at, for example, Secrets (sister properties to Zoetry), this is very different: there were only two nightly options (plus room service, though we didn't try that) but we were fine with that. It was nice that no reservations were needed and every night we were seated immediately for dinner (sometimes a short wait if you wanted to sit outside). There aren't any options like a 24-hour cafe/room service and there was one night when there was no buffet option, but we found the food to be very tasty with plenty of choices, even as a vegetarian. They also hosted a daily tea time in the Library with coffee, tea and both sweet and savory bites. The beach does have quite a bit of seaweed/sargassum and the water is not clear on this side, but the beach was very private and there's a nice long stretch that you can walk along. There are also a few docks right there with boats that you can charter. The pool area was well-maintained and always had at least a few chairs vacant throughout the day. It was odd, though, that there were no umbrellas; stands yes, umbrellas no. They said if it was too windy they would take the umbrellas down, but we never saw any up in the first place. In addition to pool seating, there were lots of nice, airy common areas to hang out in. Manuel and José took very good care of us at the pool, checking-in frequently for any food or drink orders we needed. There were a few activities on the calendar (yoga, crafts, etc.) but I didn't see a staffer gathering guests or leading the activities. Also, the internal webpage with menus/schedules didn't update very often, but we just checked the posted schedules around the resort. One of the best surprises about this property is all the wildlife! Every day we saw adorable, busy coatis, a handsome peacock, sereques and iguanas. Sofia the macaw is a beauty with a spunky personality to boot! She squawks, flaps, spins, h

We chose this hotel for our anniversary and we're so glad we did! I wish I had a better memory for names to properly thank everyone who helped make it special. Lilia [Hope I spelled that correctly!] was our maid and she was an absolute gem. She took the best care of us and we loved how she decorated the room for our anniversary. William and Viktor in the Hippo's pool bar were so helpful with questions and always made certain we had snacks and drinks we loved every afternoon. The pool bar waiters were so excellent. Never had an empty glass as long as we were at the pool. The sushi bar was a great place for a snack or lunch. Dragon was a truly memorable experience and we're so glad we chose it for our anniversary celebration dinner. The fellow who did the crepes suzette really made a wonderful production of it, which we loved, and I am so sad I didn't get his name to put in this review so he gets the recognition he deserves. The same for the lovely waitress in Kaax who wore the lovely face makeup and jewels for Día de Muertos which fell during our stay. She was so gracious and helped us out so much with our plans to visit Puerto Morelos for a few hours. Lastly, there was a giant of a man who was at the front gate quite a bit. He was so good to help us out with any questions or needs. Definitely a gem who deserves recognition and I never remembered to get his name. I hope that management reads reviews here because I definitely want to thank them for the Día de Muertos celebrations. We had such a wonderful time and will definitely be returning.