Playacar Palace All Inclusive

Excellent service by the pool from Perla. She looked after us well making sure we were always happy and comfortable and recommending the best drinks...even making a special one to surprise us with. She made our time even better. Thank you Perla.❤️ from the Leicester's

Let me begin by saying I love Moon Palace and this hotel is very different in both size and location. If you are looking for a Moon Palace feel, that is not this hotel. If you are looking for a smaller location walking distance to a variety of things and that same awesome Palace service, this is your spot.

Also, Playacar Palace had its closure while we were waiting for our reservation and it opened back up approximately 6 weeks prior to our arrival. What follows is long but hopefully informative.

Arrival

The drive from the airport took about 40 minutes, a far cry from the short hop to Moon Palace.

When you drive up you come to the “Motor Lobby” a small parking area, bell services and a row of desks for check in. The lobby is open air and has a massive tree in the center. There are multiple waiting rooms along the side for you to wait until it is time for you to check in. They are simple, sofas and table. In typical Palace fashion someone brings you a welcome drink while you wait. We waited for less than 10 minutes before we checked in.

Check in was a smooth process, very different from the hectic lobby at the Grand. We were given our room number for one of the walk out suites and someone from bell services told us that he would meet us there. The motor lobby is actually on the second floor and we had to go downstairs to get to the walkout suites.

As we went downstairs to walk the hallway seemed to wind a bit. We walked past a towel distribution desk which was the main exit to the pool area. We found our room and it was far more spacious than the pictures online made it seem. The walk out suites seem to be in multiple different configurations, not a single standard. The evacuation plan map on the room door told us as much.

We went to Cafe del Mar for lunch. Never having been in the hotel we wandered a bit before walking outside by the pool and finding an entrance there, having stopped at the lobby bar for a drink as well. It is far smaller than something like the Grand Buffet and offers far fewer options. The food was just as good as it it at any of the Palace resorts. I would like to take this opportunity to offer an aside, we came after Playacar Palace’s recent closure and at this point the hotel was open for approximately a month. While leaving we saw the staircase from the main lobby that led down to both Cafe del Mar and Trattoria, the on site Italian restaurant.

We returned to our room and unpacked. From a time standpoint we had a very short time to freshen up and prepare for dinner. We made a reservation using the Palace app for Trattoria. If you’ve ever eaten at the Golf Course at Moon Palace the menu is the same. That brings me to…

Dining

Every restaurant at the hotel was fantastic. Every week the nights that certain restaurants are closed changes, they provide a list at check in and the information is available in the app.

Cafe del Mar is a buffet. It is significantly smaller than Grand Buffet and they seem to follow a schedule. The food on our 8th day seemed to have multiple identical options to the food on our first day. It is the only breakfast restaurant available aside from room service. As a result we had David and Manuela nearly every day as our wait staff. They remembered our names and our drink orders and were incredibly warm and welcoming every time we saw them. By the time our stay ended my single tomato juice with no ice and unsweetened iced tea were practically waiting upon sitting down along with my daughter’s strawberry daiquiri (no alcohol) and my wife’s coffee. The same can be said about lunch. The only real lunch option was Cafe del Mar, the snack bar by the bar next to the pool and room service.

Trattoria is identical to it’s Moon Palace counterpart in terms of its menu. We only ate there once during our stay and it was exceptional.

Momo and Momo Teppan are also have identical menus to their counterparts in other hotels. The quality is fantastic and between them we dined there 3 times in total. I would offer one word of caution, there are only two Teppanyaki tables so make reservations.

Madre Mia was unique. It was unlike any restaurant at any other Palace property at which we had gone. It is Latin American cuisine. It was amazing. The mixology bar is separate and, of course, adults only.

Lahná is completely different. It is not a restaurant in the traditional sense but a shared dining experience. Your drinks, appetizers, meal and desert are all shared. There are only two “seatings” each night they are open and you make your reservations in Cafe del Mar. I have no intention of giving away what takes place but I will say that the experience was well worth it.

The snack bar behind the pool bar is only open for lunch. They have the smaller “snack” menu that is available at many Palace snack bars where you will find some tacos, burger, hot dog, fruit, etc. If you are enjoying your day at the pool and don’t want to change or cover up to go into Cafe del Mar then it is perfect. That brings us to…

The Pool

There is a single pool spread out along the front of the hotel. There is a swim up bar at one end and a kid’s section at the other. There is ample seating around the pool and we never found ourselves unable to find a seat. The activities are varied and we found ourselves participating in things like water polo, blackjack, bingo, various exercises. The wait staff by the pool are attentive and you will never go long if you are looking for a drink. There are no Diamond or Residence cabanas to be found. There was one open staircase that led to…

The Beach

The beach is a unique circumstance because it seemed to be heavily eroded from previous pictures and that area had been experiencing higher than normal sargasum (seaweed) issues. They did their best to clean as much as possible and while there were red flags up a lifeguard was always watching the water during the day. There were no loungers or tables on the beach at the time because of the sargasum issues. Also please remember that the beach is public property and it is not unheard of to find people walking along the beach either south farther into Playacar or north toward…

5th Avenue

Playacar Palace is literally the closest hotel in Playacar (a gated community within Playa del Carmen) to 5th Avenue. 5th avenue is a massive pedestrian area filled with stores, bars and restaurants. There is far too much to attempt to explain. There are two main ways to leave the hotel to venture to 5th Avenue. If you walk straight out of the lobby, down the street you will come to a small shopping mall, turn right into the mall (I prefer the entrance next to Carl’s Jr.) and that will take you to 5th Avenue as you walk through the mall. The second way is to turn right out of the lobby, walk past a taxi stand, walk down a small street (some would say alley) with Mayan ruins behind a fence on your left and come to a small plaza. Walk through the plaza and you will find yourself in a position where if you turn left you will walk up to 5th avenue and if you turn right you will walk toward the playa (beach) and the…

Ferry Dock

There are 3 ferry companies that operate between that dock and Cozumel: Winjet, Xcaret Xailing and Ultramar. All have their rates and schedules published. You can purchase tickets directly from them at the dock or from one of the many people who will try to sell you tickets and/or tours. Personally I purchased open ended tickets (valid for 6 months) online and used the Xcaret Xailing app on my phone. Departures (going to Cozumel) depart from the second level and people will tell you where to line up for your ferry company. The ride itself takes about 40 minutes and can vary wildly. I was personally fine on the way to Cozumel and found myself asking for a seasick bag on the way back. The staff are helpful and warm. Once you get off the ferry you will find yourself in…

Cozumel

Cozumel and the activities there are a completely different review. I will say I found the island easy to navigate and offer the words of wisdom, make sure you know when the last ferry back is and get there early. If you miss the least ferry you can’t just grab a…


Taxi

If you need to take a taxi anywhere ask one of the bell services members at the front. They have a chart of costs, will call a taxi, tell them the cost for the number of people for your destination and that is what it will cost you. Don’t be surprised if on the way back it has a different price but always ask the price before you get in. When the ride is over, its time to…

Depart

Check out was quick and easy, not anywhere near as busy as Moon Palace. No one was attempting to sell us a return trip. We simply paid, got in our transportation and left.

All in all I could not recommend this hotel more. If you like Palace but you don’t want the Hotel Zone location of Beach Palace or the sprawling resort that is Moon Palace (Grand, Sunrise and Nizuc) then this is the place for you.

My honest and helpful review of Playacar Palace. I went to this resort with my wife and 3 kids between the ages of 3 and 7. PROS: -I definitely did like the pool, and the beach view was beautiful. -On average, the staff spoke good English. -The hotel was clean. -literally not a single mosquito (august).

CONS: The important stuff. -The biggest flaw is food. This is my 7th time flying out to a resort in Cancun. Everytome a different resort. This hotel has an absurd DINNER SCHEDULE. 3 times a week their buffet is open. And the rest of the week you must reserve restaurants to go to. The staff claim restaurants are walk-in welcome, but the restaurant receptionists make it clear that thats not allowed. Food options in the buffet are terrible. Very limited. -Contrary to the gorgeous photos on TripAdvisor and Expedia, the resort is actually half the size than it looks. Its tiny. Theres literally not much to do but to be in the pool all day or swim in the dark brown seaweed filled ocean, which I understand is nature's fault not the resorts. -overall not enough attractive pool activities. Not enough uplifting music. Not enough food. -beach is tiny. Not a space with beach beds. -two different staff members didnt even know how to tell me where the night shows take place. -they push you to go on excursions rather than bringing life into the resort.

Overall not pleased with entertainment, food, and practically the entire resort is closed and asleep by 7:15pm.

I chose this place because of the good rating and nice pictures, but it all doesnt add up in my stay this week.