We had a wonderful time at the Playacar Resort. Everyone from the wait staff to the resort manager was friendly, personable and eager to make our stay as enjoyable as possible. We had a private dinner out on the beach one night and Max the head chef for the hotel came out and was a delight. Rene the resort manager was very friendly and helpful.

The resort is a 3 minute walk from the shopping and ferry to take you to Cozumel if you wanted. Beaches were very nice and stretched about as far as you would care to walk. If you want to sky dive, they land right in front of the resort on the beach. The water is crystal clear and relatively calm, 1 foot waves.

Even though the resort was sold out, it never seemed so. Drinks were easy to get and after a day or two the staff called you by name. Very short waits if any at the restaurants.

The ages ranged for 21 to 55 and we all had a great time. We are already planning our return trip.

The only negative is they could use more Presidential suites. They only have two at the entire resort and they were booked. However, the rooms were certainly large enough for a couple.

My sister and I spent a week at Playacar Palace and we had a fabulous time. I would recommend it to everyone. All the staff, from the gardeners to VIP's greeted us with a genuine smile and an "ola" whenever we crossed paths. The service is exceptional.We truly enjoyed all the food and the buffet offered a different theme every evening. The resort was absolutely spotless everywhere. The servers, particularly Luis and Artemio and Pedro, were wonderful and catered to us like we were royalty. Make sure you try the Pineapple flambe, and the tomato basil soup from the Italian restaurant. The $1500. credit was an added bonus - we took in a tour to Tulum ( very informative) and the hot stone massage was to die for. Our room was cleaned morning and night. The pool area was great - lots of chairs and the servers were always around asking us if we needed anything. The staff work very hard and non stop and get paid very little so tipping is very much appreciated. 5th Avenue is steps away from the resort. The resort is small compared to many others which made it much more personal. Our room was on the 1st floor which was on the same level as the pool and buffet restaurant and I loved that because it was easy to go back to our room for anything we might have forgotten. I would definitely return to this resort in a minute.

My husband and I spent a wonderful week at Playacar Palace January 25-February 1. We had a great time and would recommend it to our friends for its location and service. The $1500 was nice, too. This was our first trip away from our one-year-old, so having the ability to call home from my room was very helpful.

This was our 7th all-inclusive vacation and this hotel had the best service we have experienced. The staff were all friendly, professional and prompt most of the time. We never had an issue booking spa treatments or getting whatever we needed. On our last night we had an issue in our room. Some water leaked in through the ceiling (this kind of stuff happens in Mexico) and soaked our room, including some of my luggage. Guest services called several times before I could return their call. There wasn't anything they could do for me, but it was nice to know they cared. The resort was very clean, but there were some scratched walls and musty areas. This doesn't bother me at all, but it might bug some.

The food at the resort was better-than-average for an all-inclusive. The Asian restaurant was fine. The food was fresh and tasted fine, but didn't taste like anything I'd had before. The buffet was pretty good. Their soups and fajitas were really good. The Italian restaurant was exceptional. We ordered many different items there over several nights and thoroughly enjoyed everything. The only things I'd change about dining here are: make service a little more efficient (meals took a little too long), have self serve coffee in the morning or more options ( I hated waiting for my coffee, which often took a while), and provide an outdoor dining option other than the buffet (we come to Mexico to enjoy the weather).

We were in room 414, which was a Governor Suite. We had a fantastic view and were able to get that room using $1000 of our room credit. We'd already done most of the tours on previous visits to the Riviera Maya, so we didn't know how else to use it. The room was cleaned twice each day and was very comfortable.

The beach was the best we've seen in Mexico. Sometimes the waves were rough, which made the water a little murky, but in the mornings the water was calm and clear. I really recommend getting up early in the morning to watch the sunrise over the ocean. It took us eight years of traveling to Mexico and the Caribbean to do it and we're glad we did. Chairs were abundant by the pool and ocean. Drink service was great, too, as long as you didn't need a new drink every 10 minutes. The music at the pool was inconsistent and not good. I really like resorts that play local music at the pool. I speak little spanish, but don't mind if I can't understand the words. I am annoyed by C&C Music Factory and unedited versions of Cee-Lo at the pool.

There was little to no nightlife at the resort. The Luna Lounge was mostly empty every night, except one night when a group of rowdy 20 somethings took over. The Lobby Bar was fine, but often empty, too. Some live music or something would have been nice. We spent most evenings at the pool bar watching the cruise ships leaving Cozumel. Later on we'd head to 5th Ave. We mostly drink beer, with a few sipping tequilas in between, so I can't comment on drinks

The best thing about Playacar Palace was its proximity to 5th Ave. A short walk down the beach (2 mins) took us to the Ferry Terminal. Another couple of minutes took us to 5th Avenue where we found a couple of fun bars and lots of great restaurants. Our favorites were Ajua Maya and Yaxche. Both had fantastic ceviches. We liked this end of 5th better than the other end.

I had two massages on the terrace at the hotel. I think that it's the area they use for weddings, but they offered massages there during our stay, so I never made it to the spa. Both massages were wonderful.

Our favorite day trip from the hotel was getting a cab (easy to do in front of the hotel) and going to Playa Akumal. It's about a 30 minute drive. We did this twice and snorkeled with the sea turtles. I recommend going early (before 8am) to beat the crowds. We hired a local tour guide for about $20/per person for 90 minutes both times. This included all the gear we needed and a boat ride to the reef. IAfterward you can play on the beach, which is really wonderful. t was the best thing we've done in Mexico.

I would definitely return to this hotel. Being a mom, I'm always looking for places to take my little one. This hotel seemed to be well-prepared for kids. The kids club was empty most of the time, but they had plenty of clean high chairs in the restaurants and changing stations in the bathrooms.

We stayed here for a week in early February. It was great! This was our first AI experience, so we were a bit hesitant about what we would get. It was a wonderful choice. Food was good. The buffet was better than we expected. You can't beat chorizo and eggs for breakfast and that was available in some shape or form every morning. The Italian restaurant is good too. None of the food is great, but for all you can eat and more, it's nothing to complain about. Above all else, the service is truly exceptional. It makes the experience. Whether at the beach, the pool, the lounge - you couldn't go a minute with any empty drink in front of you without someone asking if you needed something else. I've stayed at some fancy pants places, and the service here was better than any place I've stayed before. Even on cloudy days, the weather was warm, water clear, and beach was beautiful.

My only complaint is that our room didn't get cleaned one day. However, the other days in which it was cleaned, it was sparkling.

The palace credits were pretty easy to use. We used it for golf, the spa and the ruins. The golf course is tough, but beautiful. The spa is really nice, and the palace service quality again does not disappoint. We also paid for the Xel-Ha excursion (non-palace dollars) and it was a great excursion. I highly recommend it. The palace vacation planners were able to book it for us too.

Overall, great choice. If we ever do an AI again, we would definitely return to a Palace Resort.