My wife and I, along with our daughter and her husband just returned yesterday from a week long stay at Playa Maya. To begin with, the entire booking process, and personal emails from manager Stephen Ryberg, was excellent. We had a small mixup with our reservations regarding rooms, but Stephen made it right for us and all turned out well. The staff of Playa were outstanding and the rooms (we had room 301) were kept spotless. We unfortunately had our room air conditioner die the second day of our stay and the hotel had it replaced on the same day. Our included morning breakfasts were outstanding and my wife and I ate lunch 5 of the 7 days at Playa and found the meals to be a good value and very filling. As is often mentioned here, the fish tacos and coconut shrimp were excellent, but I think my favorite was their caribbean fish plate. The weather during our week was nice for the most part, with spotty rain in the evenings and a persistent wind on the beach which admittedly wore us down by weeks' end. My only complaint (almost embarrassed to admit) was that the pillows were lumpy (although with 5 on the king sized bed I found one that was acceptable). I can recommend Playa Maya and would return again.

i have not been to playa maya in playa del carmen but i have been impressed by the ratings. however, my attempts to get information from this alleged hotel have been totally disappointing and i would not encourage anyone to go there. their web page lists rates only through july. do you know anyone who wants to go to cancun in july? i called three times and asked what the room rates were for november and december. i got someone each time who did not speak english and could not answer one question. not one. my advice is go elsewhere. this is a broken down operation.

Very friendly small hotel located right on the beach. Felt like coming home! Clean, modern, safe, secure, very friendly, right in the heart of Playa, and very quiet - which was a concern of mine as i knew there are the all-night boom-boom clubs in the area. Minimal noise - i slept with the sliding door open, could hear the waves all night, and smell the coffee in the morning!
Everything from making the reservation to checking out was effortless. Great full breakfasts are included - restaurant right on the beach. I met many long-term Playa vacationers that come spend the day here at the beach renting chairs (as opposed to other hotels or a beach club) - they said it was very friendly, knew the staff, and they come for the food as the restaurant is excellent.
Hotel is located off 8th St North, nestled in with many other hotels big and small. Just 4 blocks from the ADO bus from the airport - no need for cab. Bustling 5th Ave is just up the street, with many excellent restaurants very close by. The entire area is very walkable.
I ventured out deeper into town for more local diners (better prices). On different nights of the week different clubs have a band and thats 'the place to be' for happy hour/dancing/meeting others. I went as a single (50 y.o.) and had no problem meeting people and feeling very safe. Many of these clubs were right down the beach, so close to 'home' when the night was over.
There are a lot of small hotels in town. The advantage of Playa Maya is that you're right on the beach - no need to put on shoes for most of the day, availability for great restaurant/snacks/refreshments with consistently friendly service, and are assured a beach chair and great service!
Playa in general has really developed and is getting more pricey and sophisticated, with North Americans owning homes/condos, and many europeans opening up small inns and cafes - you can find most any activity/sport/yoga/health food, etc etc.
For food, I tried to keep it local but found a great variety of choices - if you head off the tourist area, you can find great meals and get back into the ole'Mexico budget.
Restaurants - these were recommended by others and I found consistently excellent food:
Mexican - Carboncitos, just off 5th ave on 4th St - tortilla soup is a meal in itself
Fogans - more local, on calle 20 just before 30th ave - great food = lots of tourists+locals
Italian - Titi Panini - calle 10, b/w 10th and 15th ave; excellent healthy salad bar, wonderful owners.
Thai - Babe's Noodles - calle 10 b/w 5th and 10th ave; half orders available also
el Diez ("10") - Argentinian (after their Soccer player #10) - steaks, seafood, grilled veg's, great pizza - right on 5th ave and calle 26.
Thank you Playa Maya!!

My boyfriend and I stayed at Playa Maya Hotel in August of 2011. We were there for 7 nights and enjoyed the hotel very much. As said in many other reviews, the staff are so friendly and welcoming - especially Juan. When we were leaving the hotel to go home, we forgot a bag of clothes in the room, and Juan came all the way to the bus station to bring us the bag of clothes. What other hotel staff member would do that for a guest?

The beach is beautiful, and the proximity to fifth avenue is awesome.

If there were one thing I would change, it would be to have an all-inclusive option. That was the ONLY drawback for us. Please let me know if this ever changes and we'll be back!