Riu Playacar

Just spent 12 days at the Riu Playacar and, overall, had a very good experience. Great : Food and Drink. Even during covid, the buffets are self-service after a squirt of hand-sanitizer, meaning that it feels like the old days! I loved this as I hadn't experienced self service ,buffet style dining since early 2020. Turquesa, the pool-side lunch buffet offers a wide range of salads, grilled meats and fish, desserts, a fast food selection and an ever-changing speciality corner. Palms, offers a nightly, outstanding dinner buffet, selection is vast, there are theme nights and several speciality areas, especially enjoyed the amazing grilled fish selection and the carvery station. Palms also offers a large and fantastic breakfast selection. I didn't try any of the specialty restaurants but was always amazed but the freshness, quality and variety of all the food I enjoyed. Service is wonderful too, my wine glass was always full, service was prompt and professional! Didn't get tired of any of it even after 12 days. All bars offered prompt drink service whether it was a large swim-up or Las Olas or the Lobby Bar, the bartenders are on-it and work to get you lubricated fast even if the guy in front of you is ordering for 20 friends. Very Good: Rooms. Room are fairly recently renovated, clean and airy, mostly white and very clean! Tips result in a wonderful variety of towel critters. Bathrooms are totally open to the room, have double sinks a large walk-in shower with good hot water but not so good pressure. There's an easy-to-use large safe, good AC. Only issue is walls are paper-thin, you can hear your neighbour's conversations, coughs, TVs.. very easily. On my stay I was only bothered for one evening but a super noisy couple, up until 4am. Fridge is stocked with 3, 1.5 litre water bottles every second day plus self drinks and beers. Good : The Pools. Heres's where my enthusiasm starts to fade. The design of the two rectangular pools is boring, period. They feel more like a community park pool back in Canada. A freeform design is what this hotel needs, the pools have no atmosphere and you get bored quickly. A much better option is to head south down the beach for a five minute walk to the Riu Yucatan, loved their pool, had the vibe I was craving! Drinks are also great there but food is not nearly as good as the Playacar. Pool activities at the Playacar, however, are frequent and staff our enthusiastic, don't miss Aqua Gym with Claudia, she's a riot! Not So Good : Overall the entire hotel lacks any sense of charm or atmosphere. The buildings housing the rooms look more like hospital buildings than those in a resort. There is very little foliage and the main pathway leading from the lobby to the pools is a straight-line of cinder-block pavers. If you craving a jungle vibe this is not the place for you. That said the grounds are immaculate and well maintained. Entertainment : Didn't see a single show, I preferred to head into town, a 25 min walk for 7 minutes cab ride, to experience the amazing evenings and super fun vibe Playa del Carmen offers. Highly recommend at least one evening strolling Avenida 5, the further down you head the better it gets!! Calle 38 is my fav cross street with it's array of jungle style restaurants and bars, must see! Tip, cover up your all-inclusive wrist band and you'll be harassed far-less by vendors.

When we got to the hotel we were told ocean front. We had a room on the third floor as well and told no elevators..so we hauled our luggage up all the stairs. Go to the balcony and it was far from an ocean view. We also had mounds and mounds of seaweed on the resort. So no ocean time there. The food was all buffet including the restaurants minus the steakhouse. It was always the same thing and not very good. Our door didn’t lock right so if we didn’t slam it shut you could just push it open. On the second night my significant other heard suit cases being unzipped as if someone was in our room. Turns out it was the neighbors and you could hear EVERYTHING through the walls. The staff spoke very little English. Which I get it’s Mexico, but you’d think we’d still be able to communicate a little. Our bedding was never changed just remade everyday and at one point we were changing to go to the pool and room service just walked in with no knocking or warning. The pools were smaller and to be honest unless you’re tipping very well don’t expect any kind of service at all. Overall the vacation was the worst I’ve ever been on and the most expensive. I do not at all recommend anyone staying there.

We have a lot of experience with Riu resorts all over Mexico and the Caribbean so we kind of knew what to expect, in regards to rooms, etc. This is an older resort but it was kept very clean. The buildings are only 3 floors so there are no elevators at the resort. We weren't bothered by this, but you might want to know that. The rooms are basic but the shower was really nicely done. But the room was clean and the bed comfortable, so we were fine with that. We had paid for an ocean view room and the view was INCREDIBLE from our balcony (I believe we were in room 7308). The mini bar is not being used (because of Covid protocols) but the mini fridge was still stocked with water, soda and beer. The beach this resort is located on is normally gorgeous. Unfortunately it was so filled with seaweed that by the 3rd day of swimming through it, it had gotten so thick that we decided not to do it anymore. The resort cannot control Mother Nature and so we just enjoyed the pools! But there were plenty of chairs at both the beach and pools, so it was easy to find a place. The food was good for an all inclusive (but we find that to be true at Riu resorts). Alex and Daniel at the pool bar were friendly and the drinks were good, and it seemed like a lively bar. Claudia kept us laughing with pool aerobics and aqua dance and we did it every day! We also played Bocce with Luna and Jesus. Jesus tried to say my name and we both laughed the whole game because it came out different every time he said it! A lot of fun. All in all, we liked the Riu Playacar. Decent hotel for a decent price. We spent our first week at this resort and then a week at the Riu Palace Mexico. If you are looking for something more upscale, you want to stay at one of the Palaces, but this hotel worked fine for what we were looking for. I hope that helps!

This is a fairly nice resort. The food is okay and the rooms and facilities are very clean. My kids loved the pools. However, I had a lot of trouble trying to use the all-inclusive activities. When I tried to sign up my kids for the Introductory Scuba Diving lesson, Omar (the manager of their outdoor activities center) told me unless I signed up for a paid scuba tour, the free lessons were “not worth his time.” I had to visit the hotel manager to get him to agree to do the lessons. When it came time for our appointment, Omar skipped my son to take two girls who did not even have an appointment on an extended scuba intro. He said it was because they were considering a paid scuba tour and “Of course I will take them if they might do a tour. This is a business.” In the end, my son had to wait until the next day to do his lesson. The snorkel equipment did not include snorkels (no joke). Snorkels are only for people who buy the snorkel boat tour, apparently. Omar also refused to give out kayaks for various reasons. Omar twice stopped in the middle of trying to make reservations to help young women who just walked up. I spoke to the hotel management a couple times, but was told they use an outside company and there is nothing they can do. I’m not sure why they advertise services they do not provide. Do not expect the Riu Playacar to honor its all-inclusive activities. If you want any of those be prepared to pay extra.

We have been long time fans of Riu resorts, and the Playacar is one of our favorites. The resort is smaller than most, but still offers excellent value. We got to the resort prior to official check in and were able to get into the room. The front desk was very helpful during the whole check in process. The room we got, building 7 was above the breakfast/lunch area. The view of the pool, beach and ocean are incredible. The room was cleaned daily early in the morning. The restaurants are equal to both the Playacar area Riu palaces. The meals were terrific. The buffet was open 2 nights we were there over 9 nights. Two of our favorite meals are the beef fillet at the Italian and the fajitas at the Mexican restaurant. The bar staff, especially the pool bar staff go well past all expectations! They are top notch. The beach is always incredible. A bit of sargassum started coming in our last few days. The beach crew does a great job clearing it away. For most travelers the Riu Playacar is an incredible value with wonderful staff! We will be back.