This was our first time to the pacific side of Mexico having gone to Playa del Carmen twice and we weren’t disappointed. We would recommend this place to anyone who’s is looking for a clean, basic well located hotel.
7 days is too short if only we could do 10 days….
Room Number:
4225
Room Block:
4
Arrival: Booked separate airfare (Sunwing) and hotel (Apple) Arrived quite late after 2:30 due to various delays. Sunwing is as good as any other charter but we upgraded to Elite which meant more leg room, extra bagge and priority boarding. Well worth the extra $.
No time share at airport! Apple provided an individual taxi which was great. From touchdown to hotel 40 minutes. Checkin was quick since we were only ones there but there was refereshments (beer, juice, water) and snacks available in lobby and bellyboy was available to take us to room.
Rooms: Were in block 4 which is a great central location close to Tropical buffet. The block has a front desk, cashier/safe deposit rental, shop, restaurant booking desk, internet terminals all in the lobby. Room was basic, very clean with a king bed, desk, tv, a couple of chairs and night stands. There is no fridge or coffee maker but coffee and tea were available in lobby before restaurants opened. A/C worked fine if a little noisy. Balcony had 2 chairs and table and a drying rack which is great for towels and swim suits. We rented the safe 210 pesos for the week. It is big enough to hold tablet or a net book but not a full sized laptop. Overlooked pool and Tropical restaurant, good location but a bit noisy since the staff is prepping and delivering food early (4ish) in morning.
Bath was basic, large shower, clean towels exchanged daily if you liked. Only soap supplied no shampoo or face cloths. Bed was ok but pillows were kind of flat.
Restaurants and Bars: Restaurants: We used the 3 buffets (block 1, 4 and 5) and snack bar (block 6) and one a la carte (Thai block 5). All of the food was basic a bit bland but kept properly hot or cold as required. Booking a la cartes can be done in lobby of 4 or outside Flamingo (block 1) buffet early in the morning day before or day of. Wine at restaurants was better than at bars. There is a bar in each block and a night time bar with proper tables and couches near front lobby. We never went to the disco. All served no-name liquors and the beer was Dos Equis on tap. Wine at bars was horrible. Too bad there wasn’t a bar where you could get premium liquor even for a fee.
Service was always good and if you frequented a specific bar or restaurant the servers remembered your orders etc. We tipped but not excessively 20 pesos seemed to be the going rate.
Beach/Pools/Grounds: Everything is very well maintained. We have been to 5 stars that weren’t as clean and neat. Flowers, trees and brightly decorated building everywhere. Many garbage cans spread around the grounds that were always emptied. There are 5 pools but we spent most time at 5 (adult) or 6 mainly due to the proximity or food, drinks and banos. All are slightly different with shallow and deeper areas. The pools were clean and maintained. Getting chairs at the pools was not too bad but the towel game happens here as at any hotel. We didn’t swim at the beach but went walking each morning. You can walk for miles in either direction. North toward Bucerias or south towards Neuvo Vallarta. There are many people walking, fishing, jogging in the mornings. The sand is not as fine as Riviera Maya but the beach is wide and clean. We saw no sea weed or garbage on the beach. To get a good chair on the beach with a palapa for shade you must be up early (b4 7) and set your towels so we never spent much time there. There is a nice ‘break’ about 30 feet from the shore if you like to play in the waves or body surf.
On the beach there are approved vendors who weren’t too pushy and a building where they also sell crafts, tee shirts etc.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: On the resort there are many activities, we went to one show at the theatre and watched a couple at pool #1 early in the evening before the theatre. There is also alot of other activites daily, yoga, pool games etc. We did a couple massage the 4th day which was great after all of the walking on the cobbles and beaches. there are daily specials so go check it out. We got 1 hour for 900 pesos instead of the over 1200 regular. On hte beach there are water sports kayaks etc and people renting jet skis. I did hte parasailing which was excellent. Get an amazing veiw of the whole are, could even see the whales spouting in the distance. The big advantage of this hotel is the proximity to Bucerias. We walked into town 3 or 4 times checking out the shops and restaurants and seeing the sights including a ball hockey game (mainly old Canadian guys) in the town square. It is about a 30 minute walk on cobbled streets but well worth it. You could walk into town via the beach as well. Again even in town everything is clean and neat no garbage. We also hired a taxi to go into PV for a bit of sight seeing and shopping. $25 or 250 pesos from the stand out front of the hotel. Did the whale watching, snorkling tour on day. Left from Neuvo Vallarta on a large catamaran, were supplied with food and drinks and entertained by the crew. Saw many whales, sea turles and dolphins and snorkeld and paddled around islands in the bay.
Went to see the drag show on Tuesday but it was sold out so we walked back to hotel stopped at Rosa’s Mexican for dinner, quaint outdoor courtyard about 5 minutes from hotel. Had great drinks and food.
Other Comments: The crowd here is mosly older Canadians from either the west or Montreal alot are returnees every year. We are late fourties and may have been in the younger half of the guests but there was much for the kiddies if you did bring them. It not really a party place but everyone seemed to be having a good time. If you need some missing toiletries or cash a walk up the road in front of the hotel to highway and there is a bank (Bankomer?) machine and pharmacy. We used brand name bank machines not the ATMs outside of bars it cost depending upon your bank between 22 and 70 pesos per transaction, the exchange rate though was better than the hotel (12.75 vs 11.5). Stopped by the sports bar outside the front gate. There if you buy a drink you can get free wi-fi which allowed us to check in back home, upload photos and basically gloat to all those back in the snow. Blocks 5 and 6 are away from the beach but the rooms are slightly newer and larger and quieter than block 4. Bring an insulated mug we had 20oz bubbas perfect size, the small plastic cups get warm quickly.
We recommend this hotel if you don’t expect anything fancy but it is very good basic clean accomodation.