The only downside was that on the night we arrived the hotel next door had a VERY loud disco that went on until 3 in the morning! Not good and nothing the staff could do seemed to reduce the volume.

I agreed to go to Playa del Carmen, last December, with our son & daughter-in-law, with some trepidation, having been totally unaware of the place. However, after spending 5 nights there, I was completely captivated by all the staff, that was always ready to help in every situation. My room was always kept immaculately clean, & I was pleased & amazed, that, Eric, who took care of my room, was able to find the back to my earring, that I had dropped, & could not find. We looked forward to our breakfasts, which consisted of the usual, fresh fruit , different yogurts & cereals, & different varities of freshly cooked hot, breakfast dishes every morning. I also had a massage done by the massage therapist, who is associated with the hotel, & who was very thorough & knowlegeable in the massage she gave me. The location of the hotel was very convenient to our getting to the beach, & discovering many restaurants, which were easy to walk to. It was just a great experience all the way around, with a "lovely" work staff, who were always ready to help & who made our stay terrific. I hope I'll have a chance to return.

We are in our 60's, from the midwest USA, and have travelled 20-25 week long trips to MX. We've been to Playa maybe 10 weeks with about 5 of those at the Hacienda. We have not found a better value or more friendly, helpful staff. From the ownership group down through the housecleaners, they are all great. They really seem to care about their guests and it shows. The location, off 5th Ave and on the North end, allows us to mix with a truly international group, rather than some locations that feel more like Chicage than MX. Check out the group's other properties on the Beach andd on the Island HolBox.

We just returned from our trip to Playa/the surrounding areas, and found Hacienda Paradise Boutique to have been a great find for our first stay in Playa. Good location with respect to 5th Ave/never needed to take a taxi at all, but a bit far from the ADO stations (and we walk fast...)

Pros:

- Beach Towels were great-- thick, large, perfect!

- The minibar fridge was a lot larger than expected (college fridge sized)-- which was great for storage of breakfast/food items during the week.

- The room was clean and simple, which was perfect-- there is a lot of closet/storing things space which was nice, additionally we loved the balcony (shaded view of the garden, but nice nonetheless)

- The pool! Refreshingly cold, not busy at all.

- Staff were very helpful/friendly: esp. Karla and Eric-- special thanks

- Decor/Towel art.... returning to the hotel every night was especially fun-- the towel art was different and interesting every night (though the petals got a little tedious to keep cleaning up!)

- FREE PURIFIED WATER: we took day trips and brought our own waterbottles, so this was perfect for us-- we'd refill everyday and venture out-- saved us lots of pesos on plastic waterbottles and water!

- It was our anniversary, and the hotel went out of their way to help us celebrate, which was great (and soooo appreciated)


Cons:

- Lumpy pillows: so, our first night, all of our pillows were lumpy and hard. We went down the next morning, and they had changed two of our pillows to be sleepable, but it would have been nice to have a full set of comfy pillows.

- A/C: the hotel's A/C set up is good-- they are trying to keep eco friendly, so they make it so you pretty much can't keep the A/C on when you are out-- which was great, and fine in January. However, whoever engineered the room set-up neglected to think that placing the A/C in the little entry way would not be effective in cooling the body (e.g. living space) of the room. Basically, you'll have a really cold entry/closet area, but the room itself will not cool off too well given the placement of the A/C in relation to the rest of the room.

- Breakfast was expensive ($7USD/meal!) and we found it average, so we passed and survived off cheaper local fare

- Shower temperature: fluxed rapidly/randomly between hot/cold/lukewarm frequently-- was hard to have a completely warm shower. (not also that playa tap water smells very *strange)

- Noise: So HPB is located right next to "Reina Roja", this loud, red, hotel/cage/thingy. While it didn't particularly disturb us most nights (we were on Calle 22-- a pedestrian only street--and as far from RR as possible, which was great), if you happen to catch them on a party night: There was loud loud loud music playing on a Sunday from 10am to past when we finally fell asleep (12:30)... could just have been the BPM festival?


Misc:
- Beach club (Mamitas) was a bit far-- we got there at ~10:30/11am, and had to trek to the edge of the club to find two seats and an umbrella, but once there was fine (if you don't expect too much service). Expensive drinks...

Overall: nice place to stay, we booked far in advance so was a bit cheaper than the usual price. Great "base" for excursions to the surrounding areas (Tulum, Coba, etc.). Comfy, beautiful, and mostly quiet. Would stay again.

Jan. 2012.