- Mexico Holidays
- Playa del Carmen
- The Reef Playacar Resort and Spa

The Reef Playacar located just a few steps from 5th Avenue and in one of the most exclusive fractions of Playa del Carmen, mixes the tranquility of a tropical jungle with the beauty of one of the most spectacular beaches in the world. The 196 rooms of this complex, distributed in 18 beautiful villas, have a Caribbean décor and all the modern amenities to make you feel at home. The facilities at The Reef Playacar include two swimming pools, fitness center, spa and for the fun of the whole family the hotel offers daily activities, a kids club, bicycles, water sports, aerobics, dance classes and evening entertainment. To delight guests, the hotel has three restaurants, a snack bar, an ice cream parlor, a place to enjoy tea and five different bars. In addition, the property offers its guests a fantastic selection of services with its different packages: Standard, Superior and Premium, the last one being the most complete in which you can enjoy even a delicious Japanese dinner and share your best moments through the free Wifi.
I just got back from the Reef playacar with my fiancee and a friend we stayed 4 nights 5 days. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone because there is no nightlife or really any entertainment during the day or night. there is only one poolside bar outside during the day or you have to go to the lobby to get a drink or you have to wait to the buffet is open. Coffee is not included in the front lobby unless you upgrade to a premium guess anytime of day. The bed in the room is very uncomfortable it’s like sleeping on the floor it’s super hard but it was very clean and well maintained by the staff. The variety of food was not good except breakfast was the best. Most of the buffet food was the same all the time and the air conditioning side of buffet is very small or you gotta sit and eat in the heat. The staff is very nice. The pool looked clean but it was very slimey and tons of hair floating around didn’t feel like it was cleaned at all properly. It’s a very small resort and when you’re in your room you can constantly hear everything. Gotta leave the hotel at night if you wanna have anytime of entertainment we went down to RIU tequila for the neon party and it was amazing had a blast this hotel needs to have fun entertainment at night for everyone. This hotels location is really close to shopping and restaurants in playa del carman and like i said staff is really good and nice and that’s why iam giving 3 stars.
My husband and I are planning a very important trip to Playa del Carmen and after researching many properties, The Reef Playacar quickly became one of our top choices. We absolutely love the beautiful tropical grounds, the relaxing atmosphere, and everything we've seen about the resort online.
Unfortunately, we've run into a problem before we've even been able to book.
Our trip is not a typical vacation. We are traveling to Playa del Carmen for extensive dental treatment/surgery, and because of that we have several questions about our stay that cannot be answered by the reservation center. We need information about things such as refrigerators, microwave availability, freezer access for medical ice packs, quiet room recommendations, access to soft food or accommodations, and a few other recovery-related questions.
We first called the reservations line and received a room quote, but the representative explained that he could not answer questions specific to the hotel itself. He suggested we contact the property directly.
Since then, we have attempted to call the hotel multiple times using the telephone numbers provided. On one occasion the call simply stopped ringing with no answer. On other occasions, after asking to speak in English or beginning to ask our questions, the calls were unexpectedly disconnected. We tried again on different days with the same result.
Even more surprising, the office manager at the dental office (which recommends The Reef Playacar to its patients) also attempted to contact the hotel on our behalf and experienced the same problem.
We are genuinely disappointed because we were very excited about staying at The Reef Playacar. The resort appears to offer the peaceful, beautiful environment we were hoping for while recovering from dental surgery.
My reason for writing this review is not to criticize the resort but to hopefully reach someone in management. If a Hospitality Manager or Guest Services Manager sees this, we would sincerely appreciate the opportunity to speak with someone who can answer a few questions before we finalize our reservation. We would much rather stay at The Reef Playacar than book elsewhere, but we're reaching the point where we need to make a decision.
We hope someone from the resort who can answer our questions will respond. We'd truly love the opportunity to become guests.
P.S. if you're reading this and have stayed in Playa del Carmen (here or somewhere else) after dental work, can you please share info., suggestions, reviews, etc. etc etc... we'd appreciate it.
Santiago and Fernando alias El Chino were amazing at the Mexican restaurant at the resort. They provided excellent service and were very helpful. Would recommend the restaurant for sure!
My family and I spent three nights here, mostly to attend our cousin's wedding at the property. It was my first time at an all-inclusive resort, and I found it very comfortable. My spacious room was very clean and came with a fridge, patio, ceiling fan, and strong air conditioner.
There seemed to be some confusion with our arrival time. I noted that we would be arriving in the morning and requested early check-in, but when we showed up, they said they had no record of it. They were able to get one of our rooms ready around 11:30, so it wasn't a huge issue.
Dining was very good at both the buffet and full-service restaurant. They also have a snack bar that was just okay. One of the nights we saw a Michael Jackson show, which was alright. The beach is fine, but there was a lot of sargassum, which is unfortunately a problem along the whole Riviera Maya.
Service was friendly and welcoming throughout our stay and the staff seemed to be constantly cleaning walkways and common areas, which was nice. Rates were pretty good, and overall, we had a very nice stay at this resort.
It has potential but they aren’t using it. 2 restaurants that book up quick yet there’s barely anyone seated in the restaurant. Sometimes only ones open so it’s either buffet (which is sub par) or pay and go off resort. It’s messy. No one cleans the pool area…crumbs….plates..empty cups. Our room we only had service twice and each time dirty glasses were left..half open wine…. The walls are super thin. We must be by the main service…doors slamming all night n day..saws…people shouting….ican hear the next rooms texts going off…I can hear stuff I don’t want to hear…anytime I’m in the room. Drinks are lacking unless you use the bar by the main lobby. Super unfriendly to smokers…you have to go out to the curb…no shade..no seats…. Like a dog. Food is average. Front desk isn’t helpful. We did have a bug problem while there but it was handled. Gift shop unfriendly and not always open. The best coffee doesn’t open till 8.. the ice cream place is only 4-6. It got a super strong sulpher smell near our room. Pool is dirty…cloudy stuff floating in it… massage was excellent.
