Hotel Riu Playacar — Hotel in Playa del Carmen

Stayed at the Hotel Riu Playacar in July for 10 nights. On arrival to the hotel, we were amazed at the huge lobby and reception area. ||Our room was towards the end of the hotel, overlooking a beautiful sea and pool view. The only negative is that there are no lifts in this hotel, and our room was on the top floor (2nd) and had to walk around x8 separate flight of steps. It wasn't too bad as it was good exercise to burn off some of the all inclusive food!||The room was huge and quite plain, i.e. white walls with no pictures of paintings, which I'm not bothered about. Toilet is separate to the bathroom. Shower is large, and we had two sinks (his and hers style). |We had a king size bed and also a sofa bed, large dressing table with drawers for clothes and belongings, TV above this and a cupboard with plenty of hangers for clothes. Inside the cupboard there was also an iron and board + free safe.|The balcony was big, with two chairs and a small table. |The room also comes with a mini fridge fully stocked up with cans of beer, pepsi, 7up and water bottles, all included in your stay and topped up every second day.||There is free WiFi across the resort and strong connection everywhere.||There are many bars across the resort and selection of drinks + cocktails is very good. There were no physical drink menus, the hotel is very keen on guests scanning QR codes on their devices to access menus and using the RIU app for entertainment and all other things. |Beer was XX lager, I was disappointed not to have Corona but the beer was still nice. Many branded spirits, for example Captain Morgan spiced rum. |Make sure you try the spicy mango tequila shots and michealda. ||There are x2 swimming pools, both big sized. One of them is used for activities such as foam party, water polo and water aerobics. The other is general. There is also a small kids pool with small slides and fountains.|Sunbeds are plenty around the pool area and beach which is a few steps away from the pool. |There were guests reserving sunbeds especially around the pool from as early as 6/6:30am which was very annoying. ||There are a lot of choices for food. |Breakfast is served in the main buffet and it's the same options everyday. Cereals, fruits, all types of eggs, bacon, sausages, pastries, even Mexican tacos with chicken and eggs which I tried and got addicted to.|There is a snack bar beside the pool bar everyday which serves beef burgers, hot dogs and nachos. |Lunch is served in the buffet beside the pool. The choice of food was the same most days, but they varied the pizza toppings and pasta dishes each day. |The pizzas here were so good, very cheesy and deep pan. Some wild toppings which I've never thought of before but they all worked. |Dinner is served in the main buffet (where breakfast is) but you also have the choice of the Al a carte restaurants. The hotel does not limit you on number of visits and no need to pre-book which is excellent. We tried the Asian but were not impressed. We also tried the steak house one night which was good, apart from my chicken ceaser salad where I found a live black beetle crawling inside.|When I showed the waiter, he was quick to take it away but did not bring a replacement. |The buffet at dinner was where we spent most of our dinners, plenty of choice for meat and vegetarian. Never a day went by where we were stuck for choice.||The staff were incredible, very hard working. I was most impressed with the cleaning and maintenance staff. The hotel is immaculately clean, and this is a credit to the cleaning staff constantly making sure they keep this a clean 5* resort. The maintenance staff also, painting walls, trimming palm trees, watering the plants etc. |The bar staff as well, with the amount of guests constantly ordering drinks, each making hundreds of drinks, cocktails fresh and not premade, all bar staff working with smiles, talking to guests and having a good time. |The entertainment staff as well do not bother you if you don't want to participate in activities. We took part in the water aerobics and I played beach football most of the time. ||Be sure to download the RIU app where you can see a daily itinerary of entertainment.||The evening entertainment was okay, couple of shows were very good, the rest were your usual holiday type shows. We particularly enjoyed the international night with dances from across the globe, being Indian we really enjoyed the Indian performance. There was also a silent disco which was great fun. We also went to the Tequila for the White Party and Neon Party which was full of fun vibes.||The beach was really nice, soft white sand and plenty of sunbeds. Unfortunately there was a lot of sea weed and the start of our holiday which meant we couldn't get into the sea. But the staff work tirelessly to clear it and towards the end of our trip we got to spend a lot of time in the sea. ||Would I return here? Yes, 100%. |Happy to answer any questions from...

So I am writing the most honest opinion I can, and I'm sure I'll raise my review by the time I leave!

So, this is my first time in Mexico. And I am having a wonderful wonderful trip! We booked through Sunwing. And as soon as we got off the plane and out of the airport we had a beer in hour hands. Once we got to the resort we immediately started partying. We were greeted by a very friendly bunch of people and we were able to go straight to the bar after getting our paper work done. After a couple of drinks it was straight to the pool.

Pool had good music and 2 bars connected.. one in the water, one right above it on dry ground. That first night we got HAMMERED. So, it's a bit of a blur.. but, a mix of the booze and not having our rooms ready by the time they asked for it, couple of us got in trouble between the group. so that's a minus unfortunately. As we really needed the room, but.. we also could have been more responsible but I don't believe we should have had to be in a weird sense.. just because we are paying alot to be here and things should be consistent.

Next day we got up and took it easy. Had a few more drinks, some good food and chilled at the bar for god knows how long.. but didn't get as messed up as before. Now... the food is pretty good. But, I do not recommend much on the buffet or in the Asian restaurant. But I just personally am not a fan of buffets because I always get sick with them. I must just have a weak stomach.. otherwise the food is great! I'd give the buffet stuff a 3.5/5 and the cooked menu options a 4.3/5. Breakfast buffet is another story though.. if your up early enough to make it it's good. Overall restaurants experience asides from the hiccups with the buffet is a 4/5... waiters are always checking in you, encouraging you to have more of their tequila and so on and usually are very friendly and funny, but. I noticed some buffet dishes not being completely clean.. but they are serving hundreds of people and again.. it's a buffet. so ya. But, I did get food poisoning and was forced to take a friends prescription but ruined 2 days for me

I absolutely love the drinks... I'd recommend their Cesar, dirty monkey, mojito, and if you get someone who knows what it is, they make very good grasshoppers and very fun gin and tonics.

The rooms are ehhh... not that great but not bad. The beds are stained yellow, the blankets they give you are paper thin (more in closet), tv is busted electronics don't always workkeycards are always finicky but other than that they are clean.. restrooms smell uhh.. funky I'd recommend some air fresheners of some sort.. but I believe that's just the sulfur so it's not actually gross. The mini bar though!! Damn it's incredible! 4 bottles of liquor and lots of mixers and beer! Refilled every 2 days! Lots of water bottles to. And the AC is killer.. overall, just sort of small and boring and not what I expected from a place like this, but.. still kind of cute and romantic at the same time...

Lots of cute little animals running around outside and has quite the liminal vibe (or however you spell that word lol) with fancy vibes all throughout the rest of the resort...

Pools are great.. salt water, not too deep, again the bar, good music, ping pong tables, chairs, and there was this killer foam party.. I thought I was gonna drown in the foam! But like... in a good way lol, girls coming and pouring tequila directly from the bottle to your mouth, other girls dancing (I'm gay but if that's your thing it's there ;p) still fun either way... every night as well there are new events which can feel a little tacky but with like. A Luxurious or party hardy twist/vibe.. and the beach is stunning... tons of chairs, palm trees, crystal clear water that is neck deep After about half way out to the bouey line and there are lots of fun things you can do at the beach despite it not being too crowded (which is a plus), soft sand.. cool little fishies to.

Cool stores out front. But they are scam artists and thieves. Don't buy souvenirs from them. DONT, you would be...

This was my 1st trip to Mexico and my 1st time staying at a resort, so here are some of my 1st impressions.

The Resort itself: Well kept grounds are kept clean and well groomed, grounds were free of trash I observed lots of cleaning.

Security: Gated, and each time we left upon returning our wristbands were shown to security and taxi driver was verified as well the trunk of the car was even checked. I never felt unsafe.

Staff: Nice always with a smile and hello with only exception being some service at the steak house, but later for that.

Front Bar: Drinks are pretty weak. If you are used to a stronger drink, you must ask for double or even a triple. This area is nice to lounge late nights.

Theater entertainment area: Plenty of seating noghtly shows are pretty good too, there was a Merengue show that was nice and full of colorful dresses. There was a silent Disco night this was more fun than I thought it would be. The Michael Jackson show was entertaining as well as the entertainment staff that comes and gets you up to dance if you like.

Chinese Restaurant: This was one of my favorites with amazing rice and chicken I loved.

Steak House Restaurant: This one was my least favorite place. The steak came over cooked, and plates were switched, giving some people well done and some medium. We tried this place one other night, and service was no good. I think this was the only time we received bad service and rude interaction. So on second time coming service was better but food just ok and I wouldn't want to return.

Buffet: Here is where you will find the best food choices and breakfast. There are several things I enjoyed here, and the Charcuterie was one of my favs so this place was a life saver. Ample options at any given time food made fresh, and I lived on the fresh guacamole and plantains daily. This is also where I found the best service and wait staff!

Beach Grill: Chicken was good and this was one of the only times in Mexico I had French fries so this I enjoyed, I wish they held later hours but when they were open this is convenient way to get a quick bite to eat before hitting pool or beach.

Beach Service: Many times, drinks were ordered, and the waiter never returned. This service is hit or missed.

Beach: The beach was nice and clean I observed very little trash or cigarette buds as this is going to happen as people are on the beach all day I feel they did a good job at cleaning, sand was nice and white. Being I was here in April, I am not sure if Seaweed is at its peak, but boy, was there a lot of it by day two. Day one was clean and clear, but just overnight, there was a lot at shoreline. The resort did have this swept daily if I am not mistaken. There are some illegal vendors selling items on the beach. (How do I know) when the police walked the beach, they ran off. Rooms: Me and my roomie had a double bed room, the set up is two beds are pushed together to make a mega bed but they can be separated. Rooms not very large and offers minimum privacy if your not with your mate.The bathroom is only room behind a door and shower. I found the rooms very hot and kinda musty even with thermostat at its lowest setting the room never got cold. Thank God for the ceiling fan with 1 setting (high). I didn't care for the mauve colored towels as even at home I only use white towels. I found the towels never smelled fresh. This was a issues as I am very picky about smells. For the most part room was clean with only slight issues with shower odor and not so fresh towels. In room bar has Rum, Vodka, Gin and Tequila this is nice but we didn't drink much of it as the quality is lower than I like but this is convenient. There is a mini fridge with plenty of water, coke, club soda, and 7 up. So this was nice. Overall: This is a nice place to stay and provides a nice experience for guests. If you are looking for a little more party there are some other RIU that have clubs on the same strip. This was a girls trip, but I have found this resort is better suited for families and couples looking to just get away...