If going to Playa del Carmen, I would stay here over any of the overly-expensive all-inclusive resorts. Get a great room right near the beach and you can then enjoy other parts of the town/area without feeling guilty b/c you think you should stay at your resort the whole trip.

I stayed at this hotel for 10 nights in December over Christmas. It was a similar experience to staying in a Villa with many positive and unfortunately negative aspects. I don't know that any of the negatives were really big enough to not come back (and it certainly didn't hamper our vacation) but they are worth noting. First the good:

Room: we were in PH 305, a 2 bdrm, 2 ba duplex with the private pool. This apt was spacious, clean and comfortable for an adult family of 5. The private pool we didn't use as the roof top infinity pool was so beautiful, we opted to use that. The kitchen was fully equipped except for a dishwasher. Free wireless in the room, huge plus. After a week I was stuck in Playa due to a blizzard in NYC so my family left and I stayed a few extra days and switched to room 107- ground floor 1 bdrm that was HUGE, actually bigger living area than the PH.

Food: Breakfast was included daily in the restaurant. Service was slow but this was because everything was made fresh to order. It was good food, lots of fresh juices.

Location: can't be beat. Steps to the beach and 5th Ave, everything we needed was walking distance.

Negatives: major hot water problem in the hotel. We complained the first day. By day 2 when I took a cold shower I was somewhat enraged. They apologized and said it was a boiler issue and they were working on it. By day 3 they shut off the water without warning and it wasn't on again until 6 pm (toilets were not working during this time). Zero water pressure throughout the stay. There were never enough towels in the room. When we asked for more they told us they had to charge us. Um, I don't think so. Some firm albeit polite words had numerous towels in our room 10 min later. Staff was friendly and accommodating so we couldn't fault them on anything, but management is definitely poor. There was no memo, nothing to let us know about the water situation. Once I switched to room 107, the phone was not working. They sent several people to look at it but could never fix it. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue but I had to contact the airline to book a new flight and had to keep going to a pay phone. Some people commented that the staff doesn’t speak English well- they don’t. But you know what? We are in THEIR country and they don't need to speak our language. Practice your Spanish.

Beach access: as mentioned, the beach was steps to the hotel. However, please note this hotel doesn't have an immediate area where one can sit with beach loungers/umbrellas. That being said, you have the option of a few beach bars. We had to take a stroll down the beach (turn left on beach and walk down about 5 min) to Canibal Royal- a restaurant/beach club where we could use the chairs etc without a cost. The place was amazing- good DJ and vibe, yummy food (best cerviche and fish tacos). Young/hip staff and everyone was so nice. On Sat it was similar to Nikki Beach- house DJ, def a vibe. Other days it was chill music or they played salsa/meringue, lots of locals. One day we ventured to Mamitas and wow, what a difference. The place was huge, crowded and lacking personal service. However if you sit near the area where they have the beds, it’s also a good crowd and the DJ was pretty great.

Overall, we had the feel of a villa with hotel amenities. Unlike staying in a villa where you are self sufficient, you had the room cleaned each day which was nice. On the flip side, there is nothing extra in the apt- cooler for beach, smaller beach chairs, umbrella etc. Also the kitchen didn't have anything if you plan to cook- no salt, pepper, napkins etc. You need to provide everything.

Tips: we used Balam Transportation for round trip airport transport and also when we did a day trip. After they picked us up at the airport, we asked to stop by a grocery store where we stocked up on food/water. We did Tulum and Akmal Beach which I would highly recommend. Our driver was professional, on time and wonderful to spend the day with.

Overall: this hotel is great if you don't encounter any problems during your trip and its well worth the value. I booked in August and got 30% off the rate so we had a deal. However, its not service oriented and while the staff is very friendly, they are somewhat clueless (we had to call 2x for them to bring a roll away bed and when they finally came, house keeping showed up with a pillow and a sheet, no bed.. Ha ha). The water issue was beyond annoying but what can you do? If I were to get another good rate, I would book again.

We have been to this hotel twice in the last three years. Ever since our first visit we fell in loved with the area and this hotel. This is not a typical hotel. This is more of an condo building that rents out units as part of the hotel service. As such, there is not fancy lobby, bar, restaurant, which is fine when you are looking for a good place to relax. There are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance. An the beach is only steps from the hotel. The apartments are outstanding. Fully furnished with modern, high quality and clean furniture. The top floor with the infinity pool and bar are awesome. I definitely recommend it to couples or families.

WOW .. what can i say more ... Stayed in a 2 bdrm penthouse condo with our own private pool and lanaii. We saw only one more couple the 4 days we stayed at that resort. Verrry verry quiet place. They advertise as being one block from the beach but it is not true. When you exit the hotel via the stairs nest to the adult pool , the beach is 20 steps away ! great view of beach/ocean from infinity pool. We were so comfy that we didnt leave that paradise during our entire stay. went grocery shopping at walmart and at local grocery store next to walmart and didnt go out at all. We cooked our meal every day, even if we were suppose to go out at diner for dinner. We watch movie on a nice flat screen, had meal outside or inside, simply amazing vacation.
Pool bar was only open 1 day during our stay. We didnt mind, we had bought what we needed at walmart (liquor,wine,beer)
No restaurant on site. they have room service but i think it is coming from a near by restaurant.
We paid $250/ngts. Best internet service ever and it was included in price.