We had a great stay at El Taj in December 2011. The resort is BEAUTIFUL! Our condo was large, on the ground floor, by the pool and the beach. The room was kept immaculate by the housekeeping staff. We loved having more room than a standard resort room at one of the all- inclusives. Daily Breakfast on the beach was a great way to start our day. Sitting in our clean and private poolside jacuzzi at sunset was awesome. I will never stay at a Playa all-inclusive again - this place has bigger rooms, better location to 5th Avenue and why get trapped eating mass- produced food at the all-inclusives when you can get a great meal for cheap on 5th Ave (for examble: Carboncitos!!!). We have been coming to Playa for 20 years, staying at a different place each time, but have settled on El Taj as the perfect combination of luxury, location, and staff.
Special call-out to Juan Carlos down by the pool/beach club. He is a great guy who took care of our every need, sometimes before we even knew we needed it. We found the front desk to not be too responsive during our stay but Juan helped us every time we needed anything.

Pros:
Location on the beach but still close to the best part of 5th Ave. the north end of 5th is getting better and better.
Resort is beautiful with plenty of condo elbow room - at night it's gorgeous but be careful on the stairs if you have had too many cervesas on 5th Ave!
Resort cleanliness - great.
Breakfast on the beach.
Juan Carlos as mentioned.
Beach walks, especially north.
Included Health Club/ Gym is a real club with tons of equipment, free weights and classes - not some sweaty little room in a resort with a couple of lame treadmills.
Two bathrooms.

Cons
Noise as others have mentioned on a couple nights - North side rooms are probably a little better - use your AC for white noise and the new windows that are being installed will surely help.
The beach had been recently hit by a storm when we were there but I've heard it has been fixed/ leveled since then.

I would recommend El Taj to anybody who wants to step up from the all-inclusive scene while still staying on the beach in a great place. We can hardly wait to go back!