The Carmen Hotel - Ocean Front — Attraction in Playa del Carmen

I’ve flown over 2 Million miles on just one airline so I have a lot of experience staying in hotels. After thousands of trips, I’ve never experienced the thievery I did at The Carmen in Playa. Like you, I looked at my options, price checked my preferred hotels on various websites, and booked my reservation by paying online at the best one using my cc. I got a confirmation from the site with my reservation number & the hotels contact information. A few days before my trip I even received an email with additional details from the website confirming my stay and offering transportation from the airport along with the email address for the hotel in case I had any personal requests. After a long tiring trip, I arrived forlorn but full of excitement at the hotel reception only to be told no reservation existed. Impossible I said with details in hand - here’s confirmation letter, payment receipt and follow up from yesterday outlining my trip. The woman behind the desk smiled coquettishly and replied, “Oh that’s RENATO, we don’t work with them anymore”. No problem I said, you may have stopped working with them but you had a relationship and if they are selling rooms, charging guests and confirming bookings after that relationship ends, you need your attorney to stop them but it’s not my problem because regardless of YOUR breakup, I’m confirmed at this hotel and I’ve paid for a suite so I plan on staying here. Well yes she said, you can stay here because we do have available rooms but you’ll have to pay for it directly to me now and get your money back from Renato later. There was something in the way her answer came so naturally that made me feel uncomfortable. It was as if she had said the same thing a few hundred times before and knew exactly how to play the conversation to her advantage. After arguing loudly on why that didn’t work for me, a man who had been lurking behind a curtain this whole time said “There’s nothing WE can do about the booking site because they’re part of the Drug Cartel.” I suggested calling the police but he said they wouldn’t do anything because they let it happen. Can we just absorb that insanity for a moment? Basically a Drug Cartel runs Playa & the booking sites hotels like The Carmen use, and the police tasked with protecting EVERYONE are complicit. It took all my restraint not to call a taxi and head back to the airport but after my travel companion reminded me I could dispute the charge later, I decided to stay. Angry, tired and hungry I began the even more painful dance of negotiating for a room that started out being more than 3x my original cost but ended up being about 30% higher for a lower grade room. I paid reluctantly in cash and headed to our room. On the upside, the room had waves crashing just below our balcony , a view that was stunning, a well laid out floor plan and comfortable albeit worn furnishings. On the downside, the entire hotel needs a cleaning not only in the common areas like the long hallway that smells of mold but also in the rooms that look surface clean but detail dirty. Also, be aware if you’re booking for the sounds of the waves, you’ll only fully experience them between 4- 8am when the drunk revealers are in bed and the beach bunnies aren’t up yet. Lastly, for my fellow Americans who have been puzzled by dirty toilet paper next to public toilets at home you’ll learn whydirty toilet paper next to public toilets at home, you learn it’s folks from countries with less sophisticated plumbing like at The Carmen. That’s right, there’s a sign by the toilet saying don’t flush toilet paper with a mini trash can for your soiled paper. I’ve had a bit of practice but if you haven’t had any, get ready for a very disgusting learning curve. My recommendation - if you an option of staying at the Carmen or anywhere else, I’d suggest anywhere else. And if you have safety concerns about Playa, you should probably go with your gut because crazy is a resort destination that allows drug cartels to control it but crazier are the travelers that find that out...

From the moment we checked in, issues started and were never properly addressed. We booked the room that was advertised as oceanfront but was not. We paid extra for this and the bathtub— neither amenities were met.

The Room & Amenities: • The AC was not working from the start, and our sliding door didn’t lock (TO THE PUBLIC BAR) . We reported both issues immediately, but nothing was done, despite following up multiple times. • The room had a VERY strong musty/moldy smell, probably from all the flooding?! • The toilet water pressure was embarrassingly bad, and the rain shower barely worked—taking 10 minutes to warm up, with only half of the sprayers functioning. The bathtub was also unusable due to a faulty drain plug and sprayer. • The TV didn’t work properly due to poor internet, so we couldn’t even use it in the evenings. • The room was advertised as oceanfront but was actually bar-front, meaning. One morning the hotel bar started blasting music at 7am. • The sheets were extremely rough and uncomfortable, and while the pillows were nice, the pillowcases were terrible.

Hotel Conditions & Service: • The hallway and bar area flooded multiple times during our stay. • One elevator was out of service, causing long waits. • The entire hotel felt run-down, with moldy grout, peeling paint, crooked doors, and worn-out furniture. • Rooms were not soundproof at all—you could hear every noise from the hallway and hotel bar. The noise from the streets wasn’t that bad but the noise within the hotel itself was insane.

Staff & Customer Service: • While the cleaning staff did an excellent job, the front desk and maintenance staff were unresponsive. • The bartender initially told us we could charge drinks to our room, but the next day, my husband was accused of walking out on the bill—an incredibly unprofessional experience.

The Positives: • The cleaning staff was detail-oriented and thorough despite cleaning a gross place. • The restaurant food was good, and the staff there was friendly. • The location is great, and the rooftop offers a nice view.

Overall, we expected much more from this hotel, especially for a special occasion. The lack of customer service, the deteriorating conditions, and the inconveniences made for a frustrating and uncomfortable stay. We would not recommend The Carmen Hotel and will not be returning. We have attempted to contact management and they have not addressed any of our concerns. Save your money and...

I had high hopes for Hotel La Carmen in Playa del Carmen, but our stay was a huge letdown.

First, the noise: loud music starts early in the morning from the breakfast area and continues until at least 11 PM every day, making it impossible to relax. To make matters worse, there was a party on Thursday night that went on until 1 AM without any prior notice. When we asked about it at 11:30 PM, the security guard felt like he could take charge and rudely told us it would end at 11 PM, which turned out to be a lie as it already was 11:30 PM when we asked. The parties also occur on Saturdays. The security guard was dismissive and rude, making the situation even more frustrating. He made it very uncomfortable for us every day. The staff at the time said it's an adult hotel, what do you expect? To my response, no children. Ironically there are signs everywhere saying please keep quiet.

The location is another major issue. The hotel is right next to the noisiest and busiest part of the party zone, and there was no mention of this before booking. If you’re looking for peace and quiet, this is not the place for you.

We tried to speak with management regarding the noise, but we never heard back from them. The staff also made no effort to reach out or address our complaints, leaving us feeling completely ignored.

The breakfast, although included, was disappointing. There were very limited choices on the menu, and you had to pay extra for anything beyond the basics. The drinks were also lackluster—only bad coffee, and juice was only offered with one specific breakfast option.

While the hotel looks nice in photos, in reality, it’s dated and poorly maintained. The swimming pool had tiles chipping off everywhere, making it feel unsafe. As for the “private beach” they advertise, it’s just a tiny patch of sand with barely enough room to sit—no beach umbrellas, no space to relax.

On the positive side, the room itself was nice, with a comfortable bed, and it was cleaned daily. However, that wasn’t enough to make up for all the other issues.

Overall, this place was not worth the price or the headache. We will not be...