「The food, experiences, and views were incredible, though the service was just okay. Be sure to book experiences well in advance—we missed out on the cenotes dinner despite reserving a month ahead. This dinner was our main reason for choosing the hotel, yet staff informed us it wasn't available. To make matters worse, another experience was canceled without notification, causing us to wake up unnecessarily early and ruining our day.」
「Standout was the unique rooms which are extremely private, spacious and beautifully designed along the lagoon. Personally I didn’t quite understand the ‘Butler’ concept and found some of the comms style a bit frustrating.
The other standout was the ‘Day of the dead’ celebrations. The property was decorated beautifully and very well organised. The opportunity to also participate was great as we felt emerged in the festivities. It would have been nice if the dinner package also included the face painting.
More broadly the property is set within mayakoba so you can explore the grounds including the other hotels and it was fun to explore on the bikes.
The only other thing to be aware off is also this is the more premium / exclusive hotel in mayakoba it’s still geared towards families or at least there where quite a few kids around. Finally don’t have high expectations of the beach it’s tiny and there isn’t much space.
If you want high end luxury visit Maroma.」
「Excellent hotel resort and parks! It's all inclusive. Everyone is very nice, the hotel has many restaurants with different kinds of food, international, local and fusion cuisines. Many activities all day and night. It's one of the best hotels in the world with many awards. Recreational themes parks all included! Best vacation ever. Looking forward to coming back.」
ゲゲストOur stay was beautiful, I will not deny that. However it was not without a few letdowns. I am a woman who is all about a pool and was so excited to swim in the absolutely gorgeous pool I saw in all the photos online. I visited the week of Jan 1- Jan 7th and the weather was quite warm about 75 degrees every day. HOWEVER, the pool was absolutely FREEZING to the point where I was shivering being in it. Felt like an ICE BATH :( It was not enjoyable and with this being a secluded/ all inclusive hotel there weren't very much other forms of entertainment during the day except for the pool and the beach (the water was warm at the beach). It was so disappointing. I called the front desk to ask if anything could be done but they stated was no pool heater/temperature adjuster. We paid about 4 grand total for this trip and to be completely honest were only able to enjoy the pool once. My next complaint comes to the beach. We went to the beach which gets pretty bus. There was a day where every single chair was full and two of the hotel cabanas were being taken over by random street vendors - taking away two spots for the guests from the 100% packed beach area. These guys were NOT a part of the hotel and are the vendors who go around trying to sell cigars, etc. I watched the staff pass by them multiple times and say nothing while ACTUAL GUESTS had nowhere to lounge by the beach. That was very disappointing as these guys were laughing loudly, staring at guests, and did not move as people walked by looking for chairs. Other than that I will admit that the food was great, the staff was super nice, the hotel grounds were IMPECCABLE, the rooms were nice, everything else was quite lovely. But for the reasons listed I will not be staying at this all inclusive again, although you can still make the most of it and have a lovely experience overall. I'd recommend a stay if you're not going for the main reason of enjoying the pool and the beach.
ゲゲストGreat Stay at Riu Playacar
We enjoyed our stay at this clean, well-organized resort with spacious, quiet rooms (ours had no balcony, but it was fine). The minibar was a nice touch, and the bathroom was spotless.
Highlights:
✔ Food variety – Multiple à-la-carte restaurants (dinner reservations not needed) and buffets with good lunch/breakfast options.
✔beach – Plenty of sunbeds but no umberalla so bring your sunscreen, though pools get crowded les sunbeds.
✔ Access to sister hotels – Party lovers can visit Riu Tequila’s club nearby.
✔ Convenient location – Mini-market across the street, and Playa del Carmen (5th Ave) is just a 150-peso taxi ride away.
✔ Easy airport transfer – ADO bus (250 pesos/person, 45-min ride + 5-min taxi 150 pesos next to ado turism station).
Minor drawbacks:
✖ No elevators – Tough for guests with mobility issues.
✖ Entertainment hiccups – The host sometimes forgot to switch back to English after Spanish announcements.
Perfect for: Travelers who want good value, variety, and proximity to Playa’s nightlife.