Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen — Hotel in Playa del Carmen

My husband and I stayed at the Hilton Playa del Carmen in May using points. We didn’t know what to expect but read so many good things about the place we thought we’d give it a try. Plus, it was adult only and AI so why not. We arrived at the resort around 3 pm and had to wait for our room about an hour. Check-in was smooth and friendly. We did receive our black wrist bands at that time so we could get something to eat but just didn’t have our room keys yet. Not sure I was crazy about a wrist band; it made you feel like a child in my opinion but roll with it. Grounds were spotless and well maintained. We saw handrails/banisters, umbrella stands and common areas being cleaned regularly. There was not 1 single piece of garbage anywhere inside the resort that we saw – spotless.||After we left the check-in area we were immediately hit by a woman asking if we received our “gift”. We gave her our name & room, then she proceeded to walk us to a desk to hand us over for the spiel. The gentlemen proceeded to tell us about the resort, dinner options, shows & asking when we would like to do a 90-minute presentation. Not really asking if we were interested but more like when would you like to commit to a presentation. Very off-putting to say the least, especially since we JUST WALKED IN and had been up since 3 am. Needless to say, we shut him down almost immediately and said we were not interested. He seemed shocked with our response and we told him we wanted to go eat and get a cocktail. Bye!||There are 3 pools (that we saw) at the hotel – large main pool between buildings 1 and 2, smaller pool by building 3 and the “quiet” pool right outside of Kalamata restaurant by building 4. My husband is a big fan of having an umbrella for shade while at the pool and this was a bit of an issue around the main pool so we ended up renting a cabana each day for shade. Only half of the chairs around the main pool have umbrellas and they’re located the furthest away from the beach/closest to the main lobby. Keep in mind that ALL chairs have sunshades to block your face on them so it could work for some, but it didn’t for us. There were several rows of chairs in this area but again, furthest away from the beach. We did not go to the smaller pool at building #3 and only walked by the quiet pool at building #4 when we went to Kalamata for dinner. The quiet pool had a few umbrellas but not too many – maybe 5 or 6. The other half of the main pool had cabanas around it that you had to rent for either $109, $130 or $180 each day. All the cabanas come with 2 lounge chairs – most of which were on the pool shelf in the water, but some had them next to the cabana. People would try to use the lounge chairs that went with the cabanas, but the staff was very quick to ask them to move since they didn’t rent them. They literally had someone walking around with a clip board watching the cabanas; we watched them daily. Some guests had a really bad attitudes when asked to move and others moved without an issue. | |Renting the cabana was easy and you could do it at the pool towel stand or with Marina up in the Gourmet Experience office (off main lobby). For the $109 price, you get a bottle of sparkling wine OR they’ll take a food order and deliver it to you, a bucket filled with ice and 4 bottles of “regular” water and the pool wait staff. For the $130 price, you get a bottle of Tito’s or Jose Cuervo as well as the bucket of ice with 2 “regular” waters and 2 Evian bottles of water, food order and pool wait staff. For the $170 price you get a bottle of Grey Goose, 1800, Don Julio as well as the bucket of ice with 4 bottles of Evian water, food order and pool wait staff. Foam Party and Theme Party days (Wednesday & Friday while we were there), the cabana rental jumps to $185 and there is no other option on those days. Alejandra and Manuel were the wait staff that took care of us and they were all VERY attentive. Please make sure you tip them as they work so hard to please everyone!||Restaurants – we went to all of them while there and thought they were good – some better than others but in our opinion, nothing outstanding. Asiana was our favorite because we love sushi and ramen. When you order the sushi, it only comes with 4 pieces per roll but it was good. Ramen was perfect and just the right amount so you didn’t have a bunch left over. Kalamata was also good. You went up to the salad bar and appetizer bar but ordered your entrée from the server. I had the filet there and it was cooked perfectly. Hubby had lasagna and he really enjoyed it. We went to Rincon for lunch and had some of the best tacos there. The restaurant was completely in the shade and had a nice ocean breeze that felt great after being in the sun for so long. We did Pelicanos for dinner one night and if I’m not mistaken, it was the “other” half of the Rincon restaurant. Food there was also good, not outstanding. Spice is the buffet restaurant and had your basics for breakfast and lunch. There is a coffee shop with breakfast items off the main lobby. We went here every morning so hubby could get his coffee and I could get a yogurt. This is also where you’ll find the ice cream when you’re looking for a treat. We did the Chef’s Plate ($120 per couple) and thought it was just ok as the lamb chops were not cooked enough. If I had to do it all over again, I would not waste my money on it. We did Ma Petrona the first night and was not overly impressed with the pork shank and spareribs as they were both drowning in sauce and were pretty fatty. The only steaks we had were a filet or medallions. If you want any other type of steak, it’s an upcharge. They really push the Tomahawk, Ribeye and Strip steaks because they’ll charge you more. Our server Edgar at Pelicanos was fantastic!!!||Typical of AI resorts, the drinks were nothing special in our opinion. I could have 3 martini’s and walk a straight line without an issue there but if I did that at home, I’d have bed spins! So, I learned to order my vodka straight with a splash of cranberry instead of asking for vodka cranberry. They give you too much cranberry (not Ocean-Spray cranberry either), it melts within 5 minutes, and you’re left with a watered-down drink. Order it straight and you’ll enjoy it more. With that said, a HUGE disappointment for us was that if you wanted Tito’s, Don Julio, Patron, Grey Goose, 1800 or any of the “good stuff” - there was an upcharge of $10 PER DRINK. Absolute and Smirnoff were at no cost as was the Herradura tequila. ||We had an oceanfront room and loved having the large spacious balcony to sit out on after dinner each night. Unfortunately, they aren’t very private as your neighbors are RIGHT THERE next to you when they are out. We loved listening to the waves crashing and feeling the breeze come off the water. The bathroom area was large with a double vanity, however, they need to get rid of the jacuzzi tub in the living room – total waste of space and it would be nice if there was more drawer space for clothes. There was literally 4 drawers and a closet for 2 people for a week. The A/C worked well but if you want to get rid of the damp feeling in the room, you have to adjust the thermostat to 19C to get rid of it. Anything about this, leaves the room and clothes damp. There was a fair amount of seaweed on the beach and the staff worked so hard to keep up with it each morning but it’s almost pointless because there was so much. Some days worse than others but it’s the ocean so that’s not unusual. Another disappointment for us was the beach or lack of beach. There was enough room to have a row of free cabanas (some of them were tilted upward in a small slope of sand and were not laying flat) and a row of chairs but NOTHING else. There was a very small DIAMOND member area roped off but again, super tight space on the beach. You could walk on a slope of sand or walk in the seaweed water. We tried walking down to the left and didn’t get very far before we gave up and came back. We like to walk about 45 minutes each way and this was maybe 15 minutes. | |There are a couple photographers that walk around asking if they can take your pictures. You don’t need to commit to buying anything, but they’ll take a bunch of photographs, give you his card and you can go upstairs to the gift shop and view them. If you like any of them, you can purchase whatever you want. It’s a total rip-off costing $20 per 4x6 photo but if you purchase 6-9 then you get 10% off – woohoo!! More than 9 you get a bigger discount. There was a couple color as well as black-and-white photos that we really liked so we took the plunge and bought some! ||My husband and I also did the spa (booked ahead of time) and had wonderful massages and facials. The ladies names escape me, but they were fantastic! Service top notch and worth every penny!||I have to say that my husband and I felt like some of the oldest people at this resort. We are both over 50 but we are young 50+ people, and this place seemed to have mostly 25–45-year-olds. The music starts right away in the morning and with the water exercises in front of building #1. I would have been very upset hearing the music as loud as it was and as early as it was, especially if you had a late night and wanted to sleep in. It was rockin by 9-9:30 am. I don’t mind listening to music while at the pool, but this was LOUD and you could barely hear what your partner/friends were saying even with them being right next to you. It would be nice if they had a lower volume as background music but then increase it when there are pool activities. When the “foam party” started – OMG, it was crazy loud but everyone was having a good time and it was fun to watch the mayhem! LOL||All in all we had a really good time but we don’t need to go back; there are so many other places in Mexico that has much better food, drinks and beach.||Shout out to Marina Reyes, Viktor (Spice), Edgar (Petrona), Alejandra (pool), Manuel (pool) – great service and super...

First I want to say that this hotel is absolutely gorgeous! The resturants and service was great. The all Included alcohol sucks! Cheap crap!...All premium alcohol per hotel (1800, patron, don julio, etc...) starts at $10 and up $110 per shot. The mixology bar charges $110 for a shot of Clase Azul Tequila....Smh... I stayed 5 days; on arrival day I was told cabanas were on a first come basis. Well the pool cabanas are $109 a day. The first come cabanas are off-site on the local beach off the property. Imagine that! There's a pool snack bar, the menu isn't the best. It's self serve only; if you have a paid cabana you'll receive a special menu with way better choices. Along with a dedicated staff member to cater to you. While viewing the property, one of the resturants/24 hour sports lounge offers finger food while playing pool. Really cute, Mr. Francisco a worker, will hunt you down if you attempt to leave the lounge with food...I witnessed him confront a lady exiting with a plate of food out the lounge. He told her to stay in & eat or go to her room and order room service. The woman stated; She's been coming daily to get snacks. Along with not being approached or stopped. Francisco snatched the plate and threw her food away in her face. He was extremly rude!!! His tone & demeanor was sooooo disrespectful. If this is a rule, the hotel need to inform guests on arrival while checking in. It's weird because they have two outdoor resturants on the property. Along with a bakery / ice cream parlor. They place your dounuts and pastries in a bag for you. I went to get ice cream every night. I left the parlor and went to my room. This is an aldult only establishment; Treat your guests like an adult not like a child being scolded. I felt the embarrassment of the woman. After settling in I ordered room service. I attempted to order a alchol beverage with my meal to be told you can't unless you purchase a bottle. Now I was disturbed and contacted Hilton customer service. Mind you I just arrived to the property within an hour of all this nonsense. I spoke to tatiana; I explained my concerns along with what I've just witnessed. I was provided case# 214653707, I was also suppose to speak with the manager of the resort. Still today I have yet to receive a call or response of my concerns. I mentioned I'm interested in relocating to a different resort if applicable. The manager would have to approve the relocation and/or refund. I feel like that's why I wasn't contact while on the premises. I also mentioned to Kathleen the welcome to Hilton advocate my concerns. She was more so there sales advocate attempting to book a 90 min tour to purchase a membership with Hilton. Absolutely NOT!!! I expressed again I'm not happy with the services. Therefore, why would I purchase anything at this very moment. My concerns again was disguared once I declined the tour. This facility is all about making money vs there patrons concerns. It's a slap in the face. Being a diamond member is useless at this facility NEVER AGAIN! When I say you get no incentives or recognition. I was offered a coupon book with up to 15% off services on-site as a welcome gift and a pendant that I wasn't able to retrieve. I was told to take my validated coupon to the gift shop before checking out. I went the morning of my checkout to be told they have to order it and can take up to 48 hours. None of this verbage is on the coupon nor verbally expressed when giving. I requested to have the pendant mailed to me. I was told that's not an option. Needless to say no welcome gift nor points was giving for this stay. My experience at Hilton Playa del Carmen has definitely placed a damper on wanting to continue to visit properties in the future. The fact that I've filed two complaints with Hilton customer service and received no response is very distasteful. As a Hilton Diamond member I am extremely disappointed with the terrible customer service AND feeling tooking advantage of as a loyal customer! I planned this trip for months not expecting to be the most frustrating,...

TL:DR - Reservation Nightmare with extremely poor customer support.

Long story:

We were invited with friends to attend this resort for 7 days. I did not book it through their travel agent as I found better pricing through a Hilton Discount program.

We made the reservation approximately 120 days prior to the trip and would not be charged until the 60 day mark per their terms. It turned out that we were not charged until 30 days prior to the trip (which would have been nonrefundable).

Unfortunately, my credit card company marked the transaction as fraudulent - which caused the reservation to be in the process of being cancelled.

I contacted Hilton Customer service which was completely useless. It turns out this resort is own by the "Playa" group of resorts. They own about 20 resorts or so in Mexico, Dominican and Bahamas.

I suspect that Hilton licenses their name to this company and is compensated for that.

Hilton has to relay all info to a processing team in Mexico which is the Playa Group. There is a GIANT communication gap between these companies as Hilton operates the beginning portion of payment, and reservation - but truly has no control over reservations once it is made.

I then called Hilton after I received the declination email about the reservation. The worthless customer support assured me that the reservation team in Mexico would receive an email to recharge my card (I notified my bank that the transaction was legit).

I waited a few days hoping all was well with the world and then I received a final reservation cancellation notice .

I then called Hilton CS again who advised they would send another email to the reservation team for the resort. This representative was actually helpful, but clearly appeared to indicate that this resort is owned by another organization but operates under the Hilton name.

I waited all day the next day and received no call or email response. I ended up calling the resort front desk directly, who then after about 4 transfers go me to someone who was able to help. She was able to restore my reservation and told me they would charge my card. She also received supervisor approval to approve my reservation without payment just in case my card was declined again (which would mean I would just pay upon arrival).

Unfortunately, this person - although helpful, did not put the proper notes in the file for my reservation indicating it was reinstated... But of course they made sure to charge my card and take my money...

I arrived at the resort blissfully unaware there was an issue. I KNEW my card was charged and that I received a confirmation email.

I went to check in and was told by "German" that my reservation was cancelled the night before and that a card refund was being processed. "German" told me that the customer (referring to me) had called and cancelled the night before.

I explained that this was impossible and that I did not cancel. I also explained that I knew they would not be refunding my card as it would be against they payment terms of agreement as there are no refunds 30 days prior to the reservation.

"German" was rude, unprofessional and treated me with a "F-U" type demeanor. I was essentially told too bad so sad despite showing him my confirmation email a d the charges on my card. I was panicked at this point. I was in another country, on a trip with friends, with nowhere to stay.

I told him there must have been a mistake with the reservations department. He essentially said there wasn't, and that I could talk to them myself if I wished to do so. He didn't offer to call them, or even give me the number. I then demanded that we call them through the resort phone.

After about 20 more minutes of disrespect and waiting, the reservation agent on the phone advised there was a mistake in the file notes. She was unaware why the reservation was reinstated, but not documented properly.

"German" then begrudgingly gave me my room key and I didn't not have any other issues for the rest of the time.

All I can say - the resort is not owned or...