#10 1ST Class airport transfers
#9 Large, uniquely decorated suites
#8 In-room espresso machine
#7 Complimentary laundry & dry cleaning
#6 Unlimited overseas phone calls
#5 Creative, masterful chef
#4 Superb pool staff
#3 Mayan massage
#2 Relaxing pool and NO swim-up bar

And the #1 reason WE LOVE ZOETRY

You can walk the beach to Desire ;)

We've just returned from honeymooning at Zoetry and I have to say that it was the best holiday I've ever been on. Anyone who has written any bad reviews about this place is nit picking and probably has nothing better to do!

You cannot fault anything there. The food was amazing plenty to choose from and not a buffet table in sight, the suites were so clean and luxurious and the staff were excellent - so friendly and bent over backwards for you (whether you tipped or not!).

Everything was so organised from the pick up at the airport to the day when there was a small hurricane, the staff have it down to a T.

We spent half our trip relaxing on the beach and the other half around the pool with intermittent trips to the amazing salt water pool and massages. I would highly recommend a couples massage and a mud wrap.

With it being a boutique resort the vibes were calm and relaxed. Very different from any of the bigger resorts we've visited, the staff knew our names, what we liked to drink/eat – everything felt so much more relaxed and personable because of the size of Zoetry. No pretension and stuffiness at all just really really good service.

Things to look out for: ask for a tequila in the library and you'll get it in a mini champagne flute which is a far cry from doing tequila shots in a manky london bar, suffice to say tequila is now my drink of choice! And the crocodile in the ponds leading up to the suites!

Extra special thanks to Carlos who made everyday as relaxing as possible around the pool, Alessandro who served us amazing drinks at the bar and Eric who has us hooked on the creamy tequila liqueur!

We would definitely go back, but next time we might actually take advantages of some of the water sports and other activities like yoga on the pier - although its hard to steal yourself away from relaxing around the pool so maybe not!

We honeymooned at Zoetry Paraiso De La Bonita from July 30 - August 6th. I was nervous that my expectations would not be met after reading so many scarily bad reviews for Zoetry. All I can say, is that people who were not satisfied with Zoetry, probably will not be satisfied with anything. I am a fairly avid traveler and a foodie, and I had extremely high expectations for our honeymoon at Zoetry. All of my expectations were BLOWN AWAY, and I hope that my review will help to calm the nerves of future Zoetry travelers who may also be nervous.
THE TRAVEL
We were both exhausted and stressed after an early morning of traveling (a 6am flight followed by hideously long waits in the Cancun airport to get luggage and get through customs). We were greeted with a cool bottle of champagne and fresh strawberries dusted with powdered sugar with chocolate fondue. All of my worries about potentially not being happy with the trip vanished, my blood pressure started going down, and I was immediately relaxed. The van ride was private, relaxing, air conditioned, friendly, and quick - only 20 minutes.

THE ARRIVAL
We were greeted with an iced tea by Jorge and Ada and the rest of the front desk staff. We were given a quick tour of the resort grounds (my jaw had dropped and I was in awe through most of the tour), and ushered to our suite in a golf cart. We were in Jodhpur. UMMMM WOW. It was beautiful, decorated with a beautiful flower arrangement, freshly cleaned, air conditioned, with a full mini bar and a stunning view of the ocean. We had a plunge pool that was perfectly warm and clean.

THE FOOD
EVERY. SINGLE. MEAL. was fabulous.

The room service: it's delicious, tasty, and quick. Most meals will be delivered to you within 20 minutes or so. Some of the items are similar to those on the Kaax menu, others are unique to room service. The room service meals were not always as fresh as the restaurant meals (as the workers must drive the meals to you on their golf carts and it sometimes takes a few minutes) - but they were always tasty. Room service lunch/dinner favorites included the breaded stuffed chicken, the capresse salad skewers, the tortilla soup, and the quesedillas.
Our morning tradition was to call for a basket of sweet rolls (chocolate croissaints and cinnamon rolls were our favorite inclusions) and cappucinos and/or a pot of coffee. This was a great way for us to start our day before our daily yoga classes.

Kaax: Wonderful beach side restaurant. Delicious breakfast (standouts include Mexican houraches, yogurt with nuts/seeds/granolas, fresh mango juice, and coconut french toast) accompanied by a harp player. Delicious and fresh lunches - try the chicken skewers!! and fun theme nights for dinner - DO NOT MISS THE MAYAN NIGHT, yummmmmmmmm! and the prime rib night was tasty too.

Sikil: the pool-side sushi and raw fish bar next to Kaax. We LOVED the jalapeno rolls and the sikil rolls. Great for a light lunch or for a late afternoon snack, Sikil is open daily from 12-4.

Chiringuito: the beachside grill open for lunch every day, and for occasional dinners. Delicious cheeseburgers, salsa/guacamole plates, tasty pizzas, and filling calzones. One of our favorite meals of the whole trip was molcajete night, mmmmmmmmm.

La Canoa: The gourmet restaurant. We had a few dishes we weren't particularly fond of, but as others have said, the cuisine is interesting, unique, tasty, well-presented, and one of a kind. Do not miss trying the soups, the gnocchi, the veal osso bucco, or the lamb. Oh my gosh the LAMB was so amazing, and served with a rich chocolate sauce.

THE ACTIVITIES
the activities and extras are what makes Zoetry so special.

Gaby, the yoga teacher, became a true friend to my husband and I. We took her yoga classes every day. We are both avid yogis, and had been concerned that Zoetry might not offer "real" yoga classes. Her classes were challenging yet relaxing, and she offers fabulous adjustments throughout class. Class sizes are typically quite small, and she is wonderful about giving personal attention to you and corrects poses throughout the class. If you are at Zoetry, do not even think about missing a yoga class.

Gaby even did a private Yoga Nidra class for my husband and I. It was amazing and relaxing and so unique - ask her about it!

Alex is friendly and awesome and will run around arranging activities and getting people to join in. Wine tastings, tequila tastings, craft classes, catamaran sails, salsa lessons, board games, you name it, Alex does it.

THE STAFF
Obviously, one of the best parts about Zoetry is the people. We were called by name and given personalized attention. I wish I could remember more names, but the people who stood out the most to us were:
Gaby: the yoga teacher. She was friendly and awesome and perfect.
Francisco: our all-time favorite waiter. He makes the tea at tea time every day (YUM). He was our server multiple times at various restaurants, and he was in charge of taking care of us for our private romantic dinner in the wine celler. We will never forget him and his awesome service and his kindness to us!
Alex: activities directly. He's funny and friendly and always busy!
Carlos, Pepe, Miguel: We loved chatting with the guys at the pool. We spent more time in our private pool than at the main pool, but were always given a friendly smile and a chat near the pool!
Manuel: One of my favorite Kaax and Chiringuito servers. He was attentive and funny and would always take lots of photos for us!
Jorge: would ALWAYS call us by name and be super friendly!
Douglass and the Marina La Bonita Staff, including the captain: They were amazing for all three of our boating excursions. Helpful, fun, and perfect are the words that come to mind!

THERE ARE MANY OTHERS whose names I can't recall but thank you to each and every one of you!!!

As others have said, you need to schedule your own activities. Zoetry will not hold your hand and schedule, say, your catamaran cruise for you. Once you check in, go see concierge, and get all of your activities scheduled. DO NOT MISS The temazcal ritual, the catamaran cruise, the shopping excursion, or your spa activities. They are all amazing - especially the mayan steam room ritual!

To address some negatives that others have complained about:
There IS seaweed on the beach. The beach is pretty, with dark-greenish turqoise water, but it isn't like some Caribbean islands. get over it! It's still gorgeous, and Zoetry is cconstantly trying to clean up the seaweed and other debris that gets on the beach. It is swimmable, warm, pretty, and totally fine!

There ARE mosquitos at night. You are near a beach and lots of tropical plants - what do you expect? The staff will pass out bug repellant at night, but I would recommend spraying before you go out if you are planning to eat outside.

Our maid service was absolutely impeccable. We DID receive service 3x/day, along with multiple minibar refills each day. I can't imagine the maid service not meeting anyone's expectations.

Yes, the bed is firm - but it is incredibly comfortable and easy to sleep on! We found the firmness to be perfect and kept us from tossing and turning all night.

we priced out LOTS of trips around the Caribbean and in Mexico. For the level of quality and service, and the amazingness of our room with the big bathtub and the private terrace with our own plunge pool, Zoetry won. by miles. seriously. Other resorts may be cheaper, but you won't get anywhere near the amount of extras or of service that you receive at Zoetry. And compared to other Caribbean islands....well, there really isn't any comparison at all. Zoetry wins.

The one thing we did not love was the amount of children who were at the resort. Like I said, this was one of the reasons why we spent more time in our private plunge pool - which was so lovely, it was totally fine. We just missed out on some of the pool service with snacks/drinks since we were in our room. I was surprised by how many families chose to vacation at Zoetry, when really, the activities and the food and the spa treatments are not really targeted to children. But, to each their own! We just got annoyed with some of the screaming and roughhousing children who were loud and a little obnoxious in the pool. The good thing is - you can get away from the kids whenever you need to, and we didn't let them bother us - we just found other places to go and other things to do!

All in all, we had an absolutely magical trip. Thanks to everyone at Zoetry for making our stay special. We can't wait to come back and see everyone again!

We I vacationed July 5th for 5 nights.
The PROPERTY has 90 suites and none less than 1100 Sq Ft in size and all oceanfront. The grounds are beautiful groomed to a “Tee” with a landscaped with a wide variety of fauna. WILDLIFE. A mammal we saw three times is called a white-nosed coati (Nasua narica), per wiki. The iguanas are free to roam and are abundant. The cockatiels are caged while the parrots and macaw parrot are taken out of night cages to roam the walks and climb to their day perch. They have their own addenda.
The ROOM we had, Marbella, (with plunge pool) was impeccable. Housekeeping service was 3 times a day. The housekeepers wear beautiful white uniforms with pink trim and never missed a beat for needs or wants. The beds are firm but a pad is available upon request. Linens were pressed and soft as ever in the French made coverlets.
The POOL seems to be main activity area and is more than ample in size segregated into three areas with a separate fourth whirlpool area. The temperature was near say 84F degrees. I am not sure if it heated in the winter months. Perhaps this posting may get a reply from guest services as to pool heating in the winter months. Lounges and umbrellas were our favorite respite. We did not venture to the salt water pool, albeit inviting to the eye.

The GUEST: What struck the most pleasant chord was being able to approach other guest and visit and converse. The small size of the property and low room count and low head count put us a first name basis with other guest and we were pleased to see them daily and saddened to see then depart. This has not happened to us at other large resorts we have stayed at in the past Perhaps the patrons are seeking quite time, as we were, and we had plenty of that. No piped in music, no D.J, pool side and no obnoxious behavior. This, take note, is not a “party palace”. Thanks for that.

The FOOD: Culinara I like to eat. I like to eat three times a day. The AAA FOUR STAR restaurant La Conoa is wonderful. My compliments to the kitchen chefs and staff. You have my accolades. My personal best is towards the all important sous-chef saucier. The menu is a good balance of choices and your server will explain each item, in detail, upon query. Did I say I like to eat? The WINE CELLAR: Our tour of the wine cellar was eye popping. Oenophile’s come on down!

The STAFF: I have stayed in a fair share of high end resorts and hotels and dined at some notable restaurants. Before the compliments I can only assume Mr Gosselin, from his life experiences and travels realized to have the best guest experience is to have the best staff in service. I was always spoken to by name or greeting. Each encounter was a akin to step back in time when “in service” was (and still is) an honorable trade. My take is that this staff was hard to get, selected, well trained and aptly supported by the supervisors. From the muscle of morning pool set-up to the end of the day shut down the men at the pool are a nonstop blur. The wait staff at Canola never faulted. Dressed in black slacks and tailored white service coats their walking gate, table hand work is a simple elegance. Staff was not only gracious to the guest but also to each other. Never a raised voice, never a whine. The STAFF made our stay such a wonderful memory.

NAME GAME: I am unable to recall all the staff names but to name a few: Alejendro, master of mixoligy at the Hippo Bar, makes great mudslides, chocolate martini’s and more. Be sure ask about his new baby girl, now say 3 months olds. Miguel, number one to me for pool service. Very pleasant, nice to speak with and attentive to details. Edwardo, )the big Kauna) at La Conoa is sure to make your dinner a memorable one. His guidance and experience with the gust and staff is clearly a value to the “experience”. Jorge at Knaxx was as well as attentive to detail and very pleasant and informative. Concierge service by Perla was fun. She laughed when I wrote “dull” for our interest on the service card. ….and I shall say it again: The STAFF made our stay such a wonderful memory. (remember the M&M candy)
PRICE: There is an old saying: “you get what you pay for”. I have, for many years now, had a tendency to
splurge on occasion. This so called splurge perhaps has ruined me as the standard have now been set to a new level. We all have shopped online for cars, homes, spouses and just about everything else including vacations. A wealthy man I am not. I priced five night trips, at other resorts, to the Riviera Maya substantially less expensive. For me it is not about saving money per se. The price paid, I figure, was not to be disappointed. My parents, back in their day, always returned from the Greenbrier longing to return.

AWARDS: Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita Riviera Maya has earned the prestigious 2011 AAA Five Diamond Award. The recognition marks the seventh consecutive year the property has received the Five Diamond rating, the longest streak in Mexico’s Riviera Maya region. There are many, many more laurels and the awards that are posted all bottom of the main page on-line website.

OVERALL: One few occasions I take the time to praise or complain in an open forum. Life is what gives and goes. In this case I have taken a few weeks to collect my thoughts, missing our time at Zoëtry Paraiso de la Bonita. My conclusion is, that on day three of my five day stay, is that, perhaps the best compliment this writer can give is that the STAFF and the RESORT had EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS.