Wanderlust Traveler: Playa del Carmen, Mexico (Lodging)

The beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

We traveled to Playa del Carmen, Mexico for ten days in November 2012 for our destination wedding. We were fortunate enough to have 40 of our closest friends and family members join us on our special day. I will have a separate blog entry that will discuss our wedding and will also have another entry that will highlight all of the sights we visited and tours we participated in while in the Riviera Maya.

There are numerous types of lodging accommodations for visitors to pick from in and around Playa del Carmen. This includes dozens of all-inclusive resorts, hotels, motels, home and condo rentals, and small boutique hotels, just to name a few. While I tend to prefer to stay in vacation rentals or small hotels, since we were traveling with such a large group for our wedding we had to find a place that was big enough to accommodate everyone. Additionally, we knew many of our guests would appreciate the amenities that an all-inclusive resort would offer (all food and alcoholic beverages included, room service, pool, beach, non-motorized water sports, etc). We wanted to find the best overall value and quality that money could get for our guests in Playa del Carmen. We had a budget in our mindset of $2500-$3000 for a week long-stay per couple, hotel and airfare combined from Seattle. We ended up selecting Riu Palace Riviera Maya for a variety of reasons:

Shyawn had stayed at a Riu resort several years prior and was familiar and comfortable with the brand
The beach was incredibly gorgeous with numerous palm trees lining the beach
The pool area and grounds were beautiful
It was the nicest of all of the five Riu properties in Playa del Carmen
It had a picturesque set-up for wedding ceremonies (gazebo overlooking the beach)
It fit within our budget set above
And finally, it had very good reviews on Trip Advisor (over 2000 reviews averaging 4.5 stars)

Based on all of this information, we felt it was the best fit and best overall pick for our large group. The hotel has 400 guests rooms and is located in the Playacar neighborhood of Playa del Carmen, which is a 15-20 minute walking distance (or a five minute cab ride) to Playa del Carmen's famous Fifth Avenue. Our guests appreciated this location and nearly everyone ended up visiting Fifth Avenue since it was so close and convenient.

I will divide the rest of this review into the following sections:

Check-in process/front desk
The beach
The grounds and pool
The interior
Hotel room
Restaurants

Check-in process/front desk:

Shyawn and I were the first ones to arrive at the resort of our group. Upon arrival, I was slightly disappointed with the hotel's exterior appearance from the entrance, especially when compared to the massive and extravagant hotels and resorts we had seen along our drive from the airport in Cancun down to Playa del Carmen. However, I am pretty picky about these sort of things so I let it go in stride.

The check-in process went fairly smooth. We arrived around noon, feeling very tired after our overnight flight. Unfortunately the room wasn't ready and when we inquired about an upgrade to a nicer room (our wedding package included an upgraded room, if one was available) we were told there was none available. We hoped that we would at least have a room facing the courtyard, which was more preferred from what I had read on Trip Advisor. Once we actually got to check into our room we discovered that we did not have a room facing the courtyard. Instead, it faced a garden and another hotel which actually ended up being okay for us. Unfortunately, the room had two double beds pushed together which was disappointing. Of course, I would have preferred one king bed but I didn't want to make a fuss. Later throughout the trip, I learned that several of our friends and family members got rooms overlooking the courtyard and/or rooms with a king bed. I suppose if I had complained to the front desk they would have changed our room but I didn't want to deal with the hassle of moving all of our luggage and items, so we stayed put.

Because we got married at the resort, we dealt with the front desk staff more times than I can count over the course of our stay. Overall, I would say that they did a very good job of handling our guests. However, I was slightly disappointed when each day I would leave the out of town gift bags for our guests at the front desk, informing the staff of the name of the guests (which were written on the tag on the front of the bag) and yet only two couples actually received their bags upon check in.

The Beach:

Hands down, the beach is the shining star of this resort. The beach is wide and expansive, with the softest white sand and most beautiful turquoise colored water. Each time our friends and family arrived at the resort, we would take them down to the beach and everyone was mesmerized and blown away by its beauty. Nearly all of us hailed from the Pacific Northwest where white soft sand just doesn't exist. The resort has hundreds of loungers placed all along their portion of the beach and there are servers that will come to wherever you are on the beach to take drink orders. Additionally, the resort offers free rentals of non-motorized water sports (i.e. kayaks) that a few of our guests took advantage of. The waves here are minor, at least compared to the waves we are used to in the PNW which made swimming very easy and manageable. If the beach is the most important part of your vacation, then I would highly recommend the Riu Palace Riviera Maya simply for that reason alone.

Be forewarned: I took hundreds of photos of the beach and had a difficult time narrowing it down to the many you will see below.

The beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Shyawn walking along the beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Shyawn and his friend Todd boogie boarding at the beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Shyawn boogie boarding at the beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Our friends Todd and Kiley boogie boarding at the beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Sunrise at the beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Waiting for the sunrise at the beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Sunrise at the beach at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The grounds and pool:

Aside from the amazing beach, the second best part of Riu Palace Riviera Maya was, in my opinion, the grounds of the hotel and the pool. The design of the hotel felt very old-school European, which reflected in the architecture and style of the building. The grounds were immaculate and well-cared for with not even a blade of grass out of place. There were two large pools that were connected at the back end of the property near the beach. Disappointingly, there was only one small hot tub on the property that was located inside the spa which I found a little odd. However, that negative aside, the pool area was beautiful and featured a swim-up bar, a favorite feature of many of our guests.

Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

The area used for wedding ceremonies at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

A wedding taking place at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The interior:

The interior of the hotel was very "Old European" feeling, with large columns, stained glass, marble, and fancy moldings. While I appreciated the design scheme, having been to Europe so many times, I found a lot of it to look quite dated and tired. Apparently most of the hotels within the Riu brand have similar design schemes but their newer hotels are being designed without the European design element, instead completely modern.

The only downside I'd like to mention about the interior space is how it smelled very musty. Playa del Carmen is very hot and humid so naturally without proper air circulation interior spaces of any building will become damp and musty. Apparently this was the case at the Riu Palace Riveria Maya as it was very musty. I am not sure if this is common at other properties in the area but many of our guests complained of this during their stay.

Interior of Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Hotel room:
Like the interior of the hotel, the hotel rooms feel slightly outdated and tired. Our room had two double beds pushed together to make one large king bed, which was disappointing and irritating to deal with at night. Like all the other rooms, ours featured a sitting area with a television and a sliding door that led to a balcony. The bathroom was a decent size, but a little oddly designed. The bathtub/shower was nearly completely encased and therefore felt like a small cave, especially since there was no light within the bathtub space which made it very dark. Additionally, there was no fan or air circulation in the room or bathroom. As a result, as our week progressed the musty smell in the room became increasingly worse, especially if we didn't keep the balcony door open. Considering how humid it is there, I am quite confused as to why there aren't at least fans installed in the bathrooms. By the time we got home after being there for ten days, our clothes reeked of must.

Hotel room at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Restaurants:

As the resort is all-inclusive (all food and beverages are included with the cost of your hotel room) it offers its guests several different restaurants to eat at as well as the buffet. Overall, I was not impressed with the food at the hotel. However, I sort of expected that going into the trip. We weren't going to the resort for the food; we were going for our destination wedding. I think that the average person would be satisfied with the number of restaurants, variety, and quality of food but I, unfortunately, was not.

The speciality restaurants are only open for dinner and require a reservation since there is limited seating. Unfortunately, reservations can only be made during set times (I believe from 12-3 PM each afternoon) in the upstairs lobby. However, guests are able to make reservations for dinner for that night as well as the two following nights, so plan accordingly if you've got tours going on during part of your stay that might prevent you from making reservations during the afternoon.

We ate at all of the resort's restaurants which I will provide a brief review of below:

Don Manolo Buffet

The buffet is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and does not require reservations. The restaurant features both indoor and outdoor seating (although lunch can only be eaten inside). We ate here for every breakfast, and for a few of our lunches and dinners. The buffet has several theme nights for dinner including seafood and international cuisine as well as a wide range of options in which everyone should be able to find at least a few things they want to eat. I personally enjoyed all of the Mexican food they had, as well as the limitless supply of guacamole! Additionally, I loved all of the fresh fruit they offered. The pineapple in particular was truly amazing. However, I wasn't very impressed with the rest of the options. Granted, I am a foodie so I figured that I wouldn't necessarily enjoy the food but I think most people would be satisfied.

Don Manolo Buffet at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Outdoor seating area at Don Manolo Buffet at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

A plate of breakfast food from Don Manolo Buffet at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Don Manolo Buffet at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

A plate of lunch food at Don Manolo Buffet at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Part of our group enjoying breakfast at Manolo Buffet at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Chili's:
This open-air restaurant, located directly next to the beach and pool, is open for lunch in a buffet format (no reservations required) as well as for dinner as a steakhouse (reservations required). We ate there several times for lunch as well as once for dinner. There aren't as many food options here as there is at the other buffet but if you are at the beach or pool its location is much more convenient than the buffet is. Additionally, each day for lunch the restaurant served some sort of speciality food, such as tacos, made fresh to order.

Tacos at Chili's restaurant at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Chili's restaurant at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Pork taco at Chili's restaurant at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Taco at Chili's restaurant at Riu Palace Riviera Maya.

Krystal:
Of the restaurants that require reservations, this one is by far the nicest and serves the best quality food at the resort. We liked the food so much when we ate there the first time that we actually made a second reservation for another night during our stay. The restaurant is advertised as serving "fusion" fare, a mix of French and Italian food. While I enjoyed the food here much more so than any other place in the resort, it still wasn't amazing in comparison to food that would be served at a similar-type restaurant in the United States. I will warn you that my photos of the food from Krystal aren't of the best quality as the lighting inside was absolutely terrible.

Krystal Restaurant at Riu Palace Rivera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Yashima:
This Japanese restaurant serves sushi and other Japanese food. We were both rather unimpressed with the food here. They tried hard, especially with the presentation, to do well but just didn't quite impress us. Overall, the food seemed very bland and without much seasoning nor flavor. As with Krystal, the lighting inside Yashima was very poor so my photos aren't reflective of my best work.

Yashima Restaurant at Riu Palace Rivera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Brazilian Rodizio:
This Brazilian steakhouse was another one of our favorites. Like any other Brazilian steakhouse, the restaurant serves a variety of meats so you get to try a little bit of everything. They also make amazing caipirinha drinks here which I recommend. Unfortunately the lighting inside this restaurant was terrible so I only have one photo to show.

Brazilian Rodizio Restaurant at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Agave Mexican Restaurant:
I was actually excited to eat at this restaurant since Mexican cuisine is one of my favorites, and we were in Mexico, so I figured the food would be quite good. Unfortunately, it was just bleh to me. None of the items I ate were memorable, nor did any stand out. However, a lot of our guests seemed to really like the food here.

Agave Mexican Restaurant at Riu Palace Riviera Maya in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Overall, I was satisfied with our stay at Riu Palace Riviera Maya as it fulfilled the majority of the needs and requirements we were looking for our large group. However, we both agree that we wouldn't stay here again together as a couple. I think all-inclusive resorts work great for groups of people traveling together and for those that aren't super picky about quality of food. One of my most favorite parts of traveling is trying new foods and eating at different restaurants which one doesn't truly get to do at an all-inclusive resort. However, those negatives aside, the beach here is a HUGE plus as are the grounds. I think it's a great mid-level and affordable resort for those looking for a easy getaway in the sun. Additionally, its location along the Rivera Maya makes it a great base for those looking to incorporate tours and activities into their vacation.

2 comments:

Ruby's InnSeptember 2, 2013 at 12:50 AM
A great location in good proximity from everything downtown. All in all, a great place to stay!

Bryce Canyon Lodging
mareazulAugust 5, 2014 at 11:14 PM
This blog really contains very useful information. Really appreciate it. apartamentos playa del carmen

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Playa del Carmen, Mexico (Lodging)

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