I just got back from the Del Mar yesterday. We had a great time. I tend to be a random person, but I'll try to organize my thoughts for this trip report.
We booked with Apple Vacations and flew their charter of USA 3000. The flight was delayed a bit at Phila. Airport, but no big deal. We arrived at Cancun about 9:30 AM. Apple bus was waiting and off we went. IB Paraiso was the first stop!! I had e-mailed requesting a third floor room in building 14 or 15. We were in building 15, room 1552. It was great. We were at the corner of the building, so no one walked by our room late at night and it was pretty quiet. We had a beautiful view of the "quiet pool" and easy access to the path to the pool. I would ask for this room again.

Housekeeping was fantastic. Our housekeeper was Leila. We would go to breakfast and come back to our room and it would be cleaned! It was like she had us on a tracking device. She left us towel animals everyday. We would leave her a note requesting "mas agua" or whatever we wanted and it was always there.

Service at this resort was FANTASTIC! If we ever needed anything, we just made a phone call and it would be there within 20 minutes or so. Service at the restaurants and bars was great as well. Then there are the wonderful "Star Friends" who do all they can to make your stay an enjoyable one.

As for food, it was OK. We really enjoyed the Japanese restaurant a LOT. The rest of the food was fine, but nothing outstanding. We ate at the Mediterranean restaurant twice and enjoyed it. Now, we dine out a lot so we may be a bit jaded as far as good food goes. Make your reservations for the ala carte restaurants AS SOON AS YOU GET THERE. Some people were having trouble getting the restaurants they wanted.

Entertainment was OK. Some of the shows were just a bit too frantic. The Star Friends are all very talented...it seemed the people who put together the shows just tried to jam too much in at times. Some of the shows were great. We liked the “Movie show” the best. The pre-show was sometimes corny, but always made us laugh and isn’t that what it’s all about! My sister and I got up and did the Iberostar dance even though we had no idea what we were doing, but once again, the Star Friends came to our rescue. We were definitely the oldest people up there, but hey, we were there to have fun!

We were there for Christmas. On Christmas day they had all sorts of games on the beach. Santa arrived via jet ski and they cooked paella on the beach. It was a fun day, but they all were !!

The grounds looked great. You only saw evidence of the hurricane if you looked up at the tops of the trees. All restaurants and the theater were open. Take time to study the map of the resort and you’ll save yourself a lot of extra walking. We walked over to the Maya/Lindo also.

We used Cancun Valet to return to Cancun airport. I'm a fanatic about getting a seat assignment on the plane. Cancun Valet showed up early and they were friendly and very professional.

All and all, this was a great vacation. We were there for seven nights and I could have stayed longer. VERY relaxing, wonderful service, beautiful grounds and beach. I would definitely return!