The Good: We are Owners at Playa Maria (now renamed Torrenza Boutique Resort) since 2004. There has been significant improvements to the property and rooms as of last year. The rooms are beautiful, classy and include flat screen tv's. The beach is very clean, private and goes on for miles. Very good swimming beach. The grounds are well maintained and beach chairs are nice and new. Staff is very nice and friendly,
The Bad We have always traveled during low season so these comments may be due to lack of guests at the hotel. I would not truly describe it as a resort, more like upscale condos as there is not much in amenities such activities and restaurant choices like you would have in a larger hotel resort. The infinity pool is nice but last time we were there (june 2009, the pool was so dirty you couldn't see the bottom, I was with my kids and they would not get in. I bugged them for three days to clean it and still nothing, finally I told the timeshare shark there that if she could get the pool cleaned in 24 hrs I would attend a presentation, I was at my wits end and guess what? finally i saw one worker attempting to clean it, by the fourth day is was fine. There are no water sports available, no entertaiment and, limited internet access (one little table and chair in a corner) Very limited food choices (one restaurant) anything you want to order poolside usually took a while to get, however the prices were very reasonable and the food was good. There is a little mini mart just two doors down for little necesities but its better to go into town for real selection.
Summary: Because my kids are now teenagers, they require more activites and entertaiment so staying at playa maria aka torrenza is no longer the best choice for us. If you are looking for quiet, lay by the pool and read type vacation with not much expectation from hotel amenities then this is the resort for you.

We are timeshare members at the Playa Maria Beach Club. We bought into the Timeshare before it was built in 2000. We have stayed each year during parts of October and November. We enjoy staying at the Playa Maria it is a nice quite place with a pretty view of the sunsets. Our problem is they keep trying to raise out Timeshare maintance fees and adding taxes that we paid in full at our closing back in 2000. We have a frozen fixed Maintainance fee. This year they are trying to do it again adding a very large amount of money to our fees plus extra taxes and other costs. Also they want to increase it every year. We do not understand how they can break our Legal contract. So buyer beware of this place. They have even changed the name of the resort to The Crown Bay during our stay last year.
This is a sad thing to happen to such a nice little resort and people on a fixed income.

We booked our trip through Interval International. First the good points, the pool and the beach are amazing. The rooms were quiet, alittle out-dated, but fine for sleeping. The resort is very quiet, peaceful, and away from the main Golden Zone. Very safe, and staff is very helpful and friendly. If you go-find the pool bartender-Martin'-he is fabulous-ask for his special drink-he makes them up--wow!
Now for the not so good! The restaurant closes at 3:30, and isn't open on Mondays, neither is the bar. The rooms are only about half full, so if you have small kids there is nothing for them to do, but swim. They must have gotten new cooks because the food is good, but we only ate breakfast there. We walked down the beach and ate lunch at nearby hotels. At night, we took the bus to the Golden Zone. Don't leave w/o going to Bar LaCosta and Panama Bakery-great prices and food. Ask Martin', the pool bartender-where to go and what to do..he is great! Tip him well and he will keep you happy-speaks English pretty well. We also had a great time at Deer Island, Stone Island, and the city tour.
We had a great time-took our parents with us and they enjoyed it too. Would have liked there to be more people so our little girl could play, but still had fun. Here is a hint-There is construction going on EVERYWHERE you go. The construction right next to the Playa is completed and it is very quiet at night. Ideal place for Family Reunion- or couples 30-90.

We have been staying at Playa Maria for several years over Christmas. Over the years they have let the place go downhill a bit, but it still a pleasant experience. The room was cleaned daily and the staff was wonderful.

We like the fact that Playa Maria is very small. This past Christmas we were the only people at the pool for 3 of 7 days. We felt like we owned the place! Sadly, the bar wasn't open the entire time we were there this year.

We did not eat at the restaurant this year. There didn't seem to be many that ate there. We took the bus each night back to the Gold Zone. Since busses only run until 10 at this time of year we would taxi home. The cost for a taxi was about $3 plus tip.

If you are looking for a small, quiet hotel, this is the place. If you are looking for lots of activity, probaly not. We have already booked for 2 weeks next December.