Playa Palmera Beach Resort — Hotel in Higüey

Stayed here 5 days in January 2024 for my mother’s birthday and rented one of the “Penthouses” via AirBNB. I posted this review via the AirBNB app but I see they deleted and reposted the listing so my review would not post so I came here to add it. I should drop a start for that but I did not hate the stay.

The positive….. for the most part the staff is friendly. Perhaps uncomfortable speaking in English (we are from the US and speak minimal Spanish), so made for difficult communication at times but not a dealbreaker. The food was always amazing, the common spaces are CLEAN (for the most part), and everything you need is on the resort.

The negatives….. our room wasn’t ready when it was check in. Probably because the house keeping staff were busy. It seems like guests do not treat the rooms well. Walking by some of the open rooms the house keeping were removing lots of trash. When we finally did check in the bedding was dirty with stains from the previous guests including hair and what looked like bodily fluids. The floor wasn’t swept and mopped, the bathrooms were still dirty and the stove/oven which needs a propane tank was empty. The rooftop alway was supposed to have patio furniture which it did not. We brought this to the staff attention and though the response times were slow they accommodated.

Special shoutout to Ms. Yaritza who manages the house keeping staff for checking in to ensure we were comfortable and to Juan Carlos who took care of maintenance needs for our unit. Once those things were handled our room was very comfortable.

The next thing I’d say was the Monkey Club was loud and obnoxious all day from sun up to sun down which is peculiar considering the demographic of guests staying was largely older people and families with young children. It was sending the wrong signal in my opinion. Barely anyone patronized the amenities on the resort which was also weird considering they would not offer a late check out because they had a full house.

Again the fact they deleted and reposted the listing to get rid of my negative review speaks to the ethics of this place and I could say much more however, I don’t think it’s worth ruining the business for them. It’s worth the stay for the money but they do need to tighten up on the things mentioned as negatives above. Should give it two stars for the poor ethics but the staff more or less made the stay...

Avoid Playa Palmera Beach Resort at All Costs!**

(If you're the clueless owner of this miserable place don't bother writing an apology response. You would just sound stupid. BYE!!)

My recent stay at Playa Palmera Beach Resort was an absolute disaster from start to finish. I'm still fuming as I write this review.

First, the keys didn't work, forcing me to make 4 trips back and forth between my apartment and the reception desk. It was frustrating and time-consuming.

Things only got worse from there. I was switched to a new apartment way further from all amenities, which was conveniently located right next to the construction site. The constant noise from the workers (cars, motorcycles, trucks, tools, gathering, drinking, and staring at people) made it impossible to relax or sleep. I was told that this would be "temporary" but it continued all day and night for the entire duration of my stay.

To make matters worse, two out of three air conditioning units in our apartment didn't work, leaving us sweltering in the heat.

But wait, it gets better! The washing machine in our apartment leaked, causing our apartment to flood. Yes, you read that right - flood. We had to deal with standing water in our living space.

To add insult to injury, the prices at this resort are completely outrageous for what you get. Overpriced and underwhelming is the best way to describe it.

The resort itself is also a ghost town. The pools are always empty, and there's never anything happening on the playa. We asked about some form of compensation for our troubles, but The employees at the reception are clueless, we were met with complete ignorance/dumbness from the staff.

The beach itself is also a disappointment. It's littered with trash and debris, and the water quality is questionable/nasty!

My wife was furious throughout our stay, and I eventually just gave up and told myself I'd write this review to warn others.

Avoid Playa Palmera Beach Resort like the plague. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Don't believe me? No Pb!!!! Just go ahead and enjoy wasting your time and money.

BTW the Wi-Fi is also garbage.

Palmera is a money grab. It will end up closing at some point .. Watch!!

*...

My husband and I got married this past weekend, and stayed at Playa Palmera Beach Resort. We stayed in the apartments for four nights, and the villas for three nights. Both I would rate as a 1.5/5 stars. What's getting them a full star is the beauty of the facility, and overall cleanliness upon arrival, the maids to an excellent job when they're there. Everything else, fell so below expectations, I can't even put in words how disappointed we all were. No WiFi: Limited to the common areas, and the WiFi that is used, is weak and cannot be used on most devices. Front desk service was AWFUL. We called and messaged prior to our stay confirming there was a pack n play for my toddler, and when we arrived they said they did not have one and we would be without one. My son had to skip multiple naps because they could not get us one in time. No hot water, cold showers throughout the entire trip No water pressure The shower knobs fell off and the faucets did not work in the villa Our pool flooded the entire courtyard area, with no reasoning or maintenance from staff. Chef and maids were late due to miscommunication from front desk employees that we were occupying the villa The apartment pool was under construction while we were there, requiring loud music and equipment noise from 6am-9pm Centipedes were all over the courtyard TV in the common areas did not have remotes, it took us 36 hours to get a remote, and then the TV did not even work Hot tub did not work, and was not repaired within our four day stay No one there speaks English. Washer but no dryer or drying racks No garbage cans in the entire apartment Scented toilet paper, and could not get replacement in the villa Had to spend extra hundreds of dollars on ice, water, and toiletries that were supposed to be supplied but were not and could not get them in time of need.

This place needs better management, needs to take some sort of class or training on etiquette and proper communication so their service can improve, and learn how to maintain the building. This would be fine for one night, but on day three we were ready to book somewhere else and were stuck...