Playa Del Carmen

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brett_reeves

< 25 Posts
I'm about to go on vacation to Playa Del Carmen. I was wondering if anybody had any tips, places to go, do's, don'ts, etc.. thanks in advance.
 
do not do an all-inclusive if you're staying right in/near the sity. if you stay 20-30 minutes outside of town, all-inclusives are fine/recommended.

The NEW (3 month old) Iberostar is the ****, and El Dorado Royale is one we've loved twice. if you do an all-inclusive, beware ******, cruise quality food, which is why i recommend those two,
 
That new Iberostar looks like the bomb. I stayed at the Iberostar Tucan in Playa 2 years ago and had a great time... except for the food.
 
I stayed at Occidental Grand in Cozumel last year... it was great... It's an All Inclusive and much more convenient than taking a trip to town to buy food all the time... would definatelly do it again... Did the whole snorkling, offroading on quads, day trip to Chichen Itza... next time I'll probably add A trip to the Aquarium (forgot what it's called) to swim with the dolphins, and maybe a couple more trips around the state...
 
There is this Thai joint down there called Babes that is just off the main street (the main tourist street that runs parallel to the ocean, forgot what its called, someone help me out). It was quite possibly the best Thai food I've ever had and it was super cheap to boot. We paid ~$7 for appetizer, entree, and a beer. Good stuff!

There is this bar that sits atop the roof of a cigar shop on the main tourist street. Its outdoors, has these low to the ground beds and what I considered the most comfortable wooden chairs known to man. I don't know the name of it, but if you can find it, you'll know it. Its a real cool place to just spend a few hours at night.

Oh ya, don't go all-inclusive like everyone is saying.
 
If you want a load of information on everything Playa go toThe Link and look thru the forums link.
Hotels, restaurants. bars, clubs, tours it is all there for the look.

We go 2-4 times a year and have found this site to have the most current info.

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You will make a BIG mistake if you don't go eat a Yaxche one night. I've eaten at all the highly reccomended joints in town and this is the best food hands down. Plus, it is a cool atmosphere. Second choice would be Glass Bar or Negra Sol. Do you already have place to stay? I can't think of any don'ts other than don't stay at huge all inclusive and don't do any "tourista" ****. That's just my opinion and not my cup of tea though.
 
Absolutely, but it's double that price. Hotel Maroma is the best small boutique hotel in the Riviera Maya...Hell, all of Mexico for that matter. Have stayed there many times. It is about 15 minutes or so North of Playa. You can stay in the cheapest room there, Garden View room, and your wife will love you forever. You won't want to leave, EVER, but if you're staying for several days, it is easy to get into Playa for dinner. As far as IN Playa itself, I'd agree with Hornimal. Mosquito Blue or Beach. I've never stayed at either. Have walked through them (Mosquito Blue is connected to Glass Bar Restaraunt). I will be staying at Mosquito Beach next week for a quick trip with a friend to look at some property, so I can give a report. We have been staying at Shangri La Caribe lately on the North End of Playa. It is not a huge all inclusive, its laid back, rustic, but very nice, and it is located on the best part of the beach IN town. If you want "upscale" in the area, but not in town, Look at "Tides Riviera Maya"...used to be Ikal Del Mar...and it's expensive as **** like Maroma. Again, I'm not a big megapolis "all inclusive" hotel type, so I can't comment on any of those things.
 
I have actually booked Royal PdC, on the recommendation of many on this site. they had really big rooms like we wanted. we dont usually like doing the "mainstream thing". however, we're not going for culture. we're going to et, drink a lot and have sex.

a NICE all-inclusive is great for such a trip. we'll be in a 1331 sq. ft. suite with jacuzzi and sauna in it. we also get a reserved cabana on the beach.

i can not wait. we leave on august 19. another tip: get a limo from the airport to the hotel. it's not too much more than a shuttle, and well worht it, since you don't have to make a bunch of stops along the way to your hotel.

hornimal: did you find out if you'll make it down for one weekend while we're there? that would pwn.
 
Horny Ringman -- did you stay at Mosquito Beach? I booked it and then cancelled after the wife read too many bad reviews -- mostly about them overbooking, kicking you over to Mosquito Blue (off the beach) and then calling the cops if you didn't like it. Going back to Playa Maya because they know us there and we get outstanding service.
 
I wouldn't consider mosquito blue a step down from mosquito beach. I'd gladly accept that deal under the condition they comp me a night, or give me a generous discount. seriously, mosquito blue is in a better and more happening part of 5th ave. than mbeach anyway. and two blocks from the beach. pdc is so small that the difference is negligible.
 
Horny Ringman just got back last night. My reviews on Mosquito Beach are mixed. I like the modern/minimalist rooms alot. Rooms aren't that big, but cool. The whole atmosphere and feel of the place is really cool and contemporary for Mexico, with the pool and beds on the island in the pool. The location is great with just walking half a block down 8th off of 5th avenue. And you're really close to the best restaurants, etc on 5th.

The Bad. Construction!!!!! Not at Mosquito Beach, but they are renovation the El Faro Hotel next door and turning it into Condos. Every morning at 7am on the dot, they start hammering and chiseling, and pounding, and drilliing and pile driving...you get my point. I got past that problem, because I don't sleep late anyway. But, just sitting on the beach, you can't relax and enjoy the beach atmosphere because of the loud construction all throughout the day.

As for the beach itself, I'm just not a fan. Mosquito Beach has a nice layout of beds, chairs, etc as well as beach bar and restaurant. But like any in that stretch of town, it's a fairly narrow section and there is constant traffic coming up and down the beach. As for the water, for some reason the water was real brown right in front of the hotel for about the first 40 yards out. It was this way from about Blue Parrott beach club, on down. I think it may have something to do with the fresh water coming up outta the ground up close to the point to the north. I don't know, but it's not the most appealing atmosphere.

Would I stay there again? Yes, maybe for a night or two if I just wanted a place to take in the Playa restaurants, 5th avenue, etc. Definitely not for a few months to wait out the construction. But, I have been enough to know that the best beach is just around that point to the North on Coco Beach. I’ll continue to stay at Shangri La Caribe. It is not near as new and modern. It is much more laid back and peaceful with the beach bungalows. Not to mention the pristine beach and really wide stretches of sand. From Shangri La, you walk 10 minutes down the neatest stretch of 5th Avenue (little Italy area) and you are right in the Heart of town. It’s a no brainer. I will continue to watch and see if another modern place comes on line any time soon.

On a side note, I looked at a ton of properties and condos in the three days. I am now a Playa Condo expert if anyone needs advice. Stay alert when “Pueblito Escondido” The Link (website doesn't have actual pix yet) comes online it is going to be a really cool/small hotel/condo property that is right beside and behind Shangri La. Penthouse looks like it will go for $425 (two bedroom) a night. Has a private pool on rooftop, plus and “adults only” infinity pool and bar overlooking edge of hotel and beach. You won’t have a “private” beach club, but you’d use the same beach as Shangri La. I’d never leave the pool. Pic below is artists rendition, but it's 99.5% complete. All pools already have water in them. I think some of the rooms already had folks staying in them.

The sad thing is, as much as I love Playa, it is changing. Growth is everywhere. There will be more and more construction. I there last in the fall and there are condos or hotels now going up where there were trees and mangroves last time I was there. It is not the same laid back little place it was 10 years ago. Go now and enjoy it while you can.
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like one of the posters above, wife and I wanted to just go and chill and be waited on for anniversary--all inclusive was what we were after. Went to Secrets Resorts based on Trip Advisor research and it was PHENOMENAL. I haven't done the all inclusive thing much, but I'd recommend it to anyone. Not cheap, but no way the level of service and accommodations they have could be cheap.

I know the whole idea is sacrilege to many of the Playa folks here, but can't knock it. Next time we go to Playa Del Carmen will take more of the city in. Then again, that all-inclusive thing...
 
i leave in 13 days for playa. i've been so busy, i haven't even been thinking or looking forward to it. the upshot of that is that it's making the time go by much faster.
 
when were you there?

any tips? i don't want to waste a mediocre meal somewhere, which can happen at AI hotels.
 
Hey scotts, my brother just got back from the Royal for his honeymoon and had a fantastic time. He recommended the sushi bar. They tried all of the restaurants and he said none of them were disappointing.

Also, there's game-room with a pool table in the hotel with 24-hour access to booze and food, be sure to check "around the corner" when you walk in or you might miss the good stuff.
 
My god, Mexico is expensive. Wtf is up with that?

Back in May, we found Playa already overdeveloped, crowded, noisy, and slightly noxious by day. Sure, plenty of fun. But not a tranquil atmosphere, for sure. Mosquito Blue did not meet Mistress's standards.

Stayed up at Puerto Morelos. Very, very quiet. The hotel was very expensive. I don't get it.

Where are the great resorts for reasonable prices, besides SE Asia?
 
They sure as hell aren't in Mexico. That country is only for rich Americans & Euros.

Look into Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Domincan Republic, Cuba (
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) did I just write that? (I'm kidding GW.)
 
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