Playacar Palace All Inclusive

Wonderful family break let down a little by some niggles Sorry, if too long don’t read! We stayed at the Playacar Palace for a much needed ten-night break. As many, many folks have said before: it’s the staff that make this hotel, so I’ll start there with a few mentions: Daniela, Marvin and Ricardo by the pool; the wonderful Israel at Café Del Mar; Miguel at Momo’s How to break it down? The Good points: The Pool service (prompt, friendly and not overly intrusive) and Café Del Mar for lunch (Mexican and US fast food but tasty and quick with great service); Momo’s for dinner – easily the best of the restaurants at the hotel, lovely food, great atmosphere and always busy – also very good with accommodating my daughter’s food allergies. Trattoria for dinner – the food was good, very smart décor, quite formal, service a let-down (see later). Sweet and Coffee was a nice, cool space for coffee, pastries and sandwiches. The main Buffet – great breakfast selection, friendly staff, okay for lunch and dinner. The pool was great – it’s a little battered, but we loved it anyway, all be it was like a hot bath by the end of the very hot days! Always a great atmosphere and if you wanted things a little quieter, you just moved further away from the pool bar. Never an issue with sunbeds, but I’m an early riser so we were always down near to 7am anyway when it is wonderfully quiet and still. Entertainment staff were fantastic – sorry can’t remember the names though! In the room the beds were very comfy, the views were beautiful (ocean view rooms), mini bar well stocked, room service (Bertha) looked after us well and the aircon was great. I would say they are a little dated and tired though. The spa was lovely – but you have to be brave to endure the deep tissue massage (not a criticism!) The less than Good points: Madremia for dinner - dismissive, unwelcoming and cold hostess; slow service by waiting staff and an air of arrogance by lead waiter. Food limited, but okay in quality, great décor and potential so a little sad. Trattoria: good food let down by poorly trained wait staff – clearing plates from table before all parties have finished and offering dessert menu at same time Lobby bar: sterile, uncomfortable corridor of a bar, no aircon and no atmosphere with horrendous oversized, heavy and uncomfortable seating. Not a place for a relaxed drink of an evening as the day nears an end – in fact the hotel lacks this completely, which is a big miss compared to the many hotels we've visited before. The Sales pitch: we agreed to suffer this on the promise of some resort credit regardless of having no intention of parting with any cash. Started off relatively pleasantly with the first lady, then we were handed off to the boss who brusqly shaved off huge chunks of the offer price – still a no, then the third guy who reduced things even further, then literally stormed off in a teenage huff when we still said no – just leaving us sat there looking at each other in disbelief. What an absolute disgrace and degradation to the Palace name. Prices in the hotel shop – extortionate, an example being $22 for a small bottle of Tylenol. Despite those “less than good points” we choose to stick with the positive and overall we had a wonderful 10 days at the Playacar Palace, the staff (for the most part) are amazing, we’ll return if visiting Playa again. We also recommend it. Thank you!

Do not book with Palace Resorts This review is for the concierge team. I recently booked my stay for Playaca palace in December. Mind you this is not my first rodeo.Today I noticed 2 $50 charge to my account stating it was a booking fee for making the reservation over the phone. I spoke to Jesus today to explain that I never verbally consented to those fees nor was I notified when booking . Jesus was super dismissive, arrogant, and not listening to my concerns. I told him it was unethical to charge someone a fee in which they have not consented to. He ignored me and kept repeating that it was my fault for not reading my terms. Never again with Palace resorts . Cancun has hundreds of hotels to choose . I advice anybody here to take you business elsewhere. They do not care about you

A vacation that won't be soon forgot! We just returned from our vacation at Playacar Palace in Playa del Carmen yesterday and all I can say is WOW! This was our first time visiting Mexico as well our first time staying at a Palace resort and we could not be happier! While the property itself was amazing, it was the staff the really made our vacation memorable. Ana, Daniel and Erik from the Entertainment Team, Juan from the Aqua Bar, Ricardo from the Pool Wait Staff, Dayana from the Excursion Booking Group and so many others that helped to make our vacation the absolute most memorable experience...thank you!! I need to give a special shout out to Ana and Daniel who went out of their way to say goodbye as we checked out. You are the greatest!! The rooms were lovely, the beds extra comfy, the food delicious (I'm a very picky eater but always had lots of options), and the resort packed with activities to keep you busy or quiet spaces that allowed you to relax and enjoy the sounds of the Caribbean Sea. We are a family of 4 that traveled with our extended family and would rate this vacation as one of our absolute favorites! We hope to be back very soon!

OK VACAY - BUT NOT UP TO "PALACE" EXPECTATIONS Sorry - not much more than average relative to other Palace properties. Food and restaurants OK - wait-staff very good - pool folks GOOD - Diamond Concierge knocked himself out working for our vacay experience. Diamond level room so-so - clean and comfy but not special. Beach horrible - not even attempts to clean it. Lobby disaster !!!! Prices at Gift Shop 3-4 times what was very easily available in town 10 minute walk - RIP OFF- RIP OFF -- SHAME ON THEM!! OVER-ALL AVERGE -- NOT A BAD STAY BUT OVERALL DISAPPOINTING.

Terrible hotel I am going to start just by praising all the servers and bartenders for working so hard around the clock! They were exceptional. However, this hotel is so old and the online pictures doesn’t do its justice. DO NOT BOOK TO THIS HOTEL. I said this to say that I learned it the hardest way. I traveled with my family to celebrate our 8 year’s anniversary and we were all sick. The room is too cold you can’t adjust the temperature, smelly and slippery. All around the hotel is slippery. And no place in the lobby is comfortable to sit and enjoy. Either it’s too freaking cold or too hot! My two year old falls down and hurts his knee no one really cares. Food is terrible. Not many options there. Drinks are awful. Beach is so dirty and stinky with a lots of seaweeds. Entertainment is a joke. Above all front desk are rude and not helpful. For how much we spent we left with disappointment.