Princess Family Club Riviera — Hotel in Playa del Carmen

My family and I just returned from spending 10 days at the Family Club.

The resort itself is dated but overall well maintained and large (from our room near the check in to the beach it was about a .9km walk). We didn’t mind though because our daughters loved seeing the animals and the paths were easy to navigate/ stroller friendly. There are also frequent carts going back and forth for those who do not wish to walk. There were lots of employees working hard to maintain the landscaping, pools, cleaning etc daily.

The room itself was 6/10. There was very little storage for families (ie no dresser drawers and only 1 split hook in the bathroom to hang towels)There is some shelving in the closet and hangers in the closet but it was not sufficient. More hooks for towels or a dresser etc would definitely add value to the rooms. In addition, there was dirt and dust under the beds/ behind furniture and, smudges/ finger prints on the windows and mirrors in the room. There were stains on the sofa and chairs. The black out curtain and sheer curtain had noticeable of mildew. All over them (normal in a tropical climate however should be cleaned regularly and checked before guests arrive). We didn’t feel comfortable letting our 1 year old crawl on the floor or go around the room.

The main door to the room had a bolt however I was surprised it did not have an inside latch lock in the upper door for additional security. My 2 year old was able to easily undo the bolt and try to escape the room. There were also instances of intoxicated people mistaking our room for theirs so that added touch of safety would have been appreciated with a latch lock.

We had a swim out room and the water was very cold. It was not used often as it was shaded and got very little sun. We spent most of our time at the larger pool- something to consider before splurging on a swim out room. Other families we spoke to also felt the same way and did not use the swim out pool often.

The balcony was large and I appreciated the child lock high on the door leading out to the balcony.

In the room, wooden mini cribs were provided (upon request) and there was a children’s gift for each child in the room (beach bucket set filled with shovel, rake, sifter and 3 sand molds). There was also bubble bath and a cleaning mitt kit.

The kid water park/ playground was super cute and great! There is a lifeguard on duty and lots of shaded area! Definitely work the Family Club part of the resort if you have small children.

The pirate buffet is super cute! It serves a pre-cooked items buffet style as well has jarred Gerber baby food which was a nice touch. We preferred eating at the main buffet for fresher food and more options but stopped in a few times to check it out.

Anahy at the ice-cream shop next door was so kind and happily greeted us every day! Every night she filled our baby’s bottle with milk and was ready for us as soon as we stepped through the door.

The restaurants and buffet were decent. There was a lot of selection, food was basic and comparable to most resort buffets. The pasta counter at the buffet was great!

Fausto at the Rivera buffet was amazing and helped us out every day for breakfast and lunch. As soon as he saw us coming, he immediately located high chairs for us and began prepping our table and water. He was attentive, worked very hard for his section and was able to build a strong connection with our 2 year old. She didn’t wasn’t to let go of their hug when it was time to say goodbye. He made our meal times much easier travelling with a 1 and 2 year old!

*It should be noted that the high chairs were extremely clean and the trays were wrapped in Saran Wrap to ensure they stayed clean and not contaminated at buffets and restaurants. This was highly appreciated.

The pools and beach were beautiful. It was easy to get lounge chairs and exchange towels.

All staff were extremely friendly, attentive and happy to help- especially engage with our children.

Overall we have a lot memories and made the best of our experience at the...

This was written in context comparison to Villa Del Palmar, Ventus at Marina El Cid, and Marina El Cid of last 4 years. I believe Princess resort is class 3.5 star resort than a 4 star. No public hot tub or jacuzzi, no heated pool, food is mostly sub-par with CHEAP Sushi, nightly shows were mostly way below par, hazardous beach and slippery room, and annoying sale staff. Beach is best, and staff are friendly. Sport bar offer live sport events. Many annoying external sale staff all around to keep hassling customers!

There is a Princess Spa, but cost USD$25 per person per day, and no kids allowed. During the winter, on the cooler days or rainy days, the pool is absolutely COLD.

The room air-conditioner is as loud as jet-engine! It also drips water onto the floor right in front of bathroom. Room is clean. The bunk bed has no hand rails to climb up, so it's hazardous to young kids at night to climb down.

On the way to the beach, the main route is littered with 4 sales booths, and outsider sales staff always try to hassle you. Sometimes a smile and nod is not enough to keep them away! Is Princess resort so desperate for cash to rent out these booths to external sales people?!

These are the a-la-carte restaurants I attended. Best is the seafood Olas – must order the Chef special dinner for 2, and the friend Calamari. Mexican Hacienda is average, while the Swiss Fondue require special taste as the food need to be dip into liquid cheese. Worst is Miso – attended both the Miso Chinese, and Miso Sushi. Sushi has the worst experience – Run out of Salmon Sashimi!! The best dish and most expensive in sushi is Salmon meat, yet at 6:30pm reservation they are out of Salmon. CHEAP! And the eel nigiri has VERY tiny eel with HUGE portion of rice, which is way different from the picture. Again, this speaks to the standard of a 3-star resort than a 4-star luxury.

However, compliment is due in their breakfast Hash Brown -- world best! And the snack bars serve delicious burger meat patty.

There is a magician that perform some trick every Monday, Thursday, and Sat in the 2 main buffet restaurants. However, it requires luck for him to attend to your table.

Best beach of all the resorts I have been to around Cancun. Shallow water all the way out far into ocean, and resort provide complimentary boogie-board that you can ride the waves. Also has soccer goal post, and volley ball field. However, there are hazardous objects lying in the beach that hurts people everyday. My leg was cut after bumping into a hard object in the sand, right next to the soccer field. Next day at beach, I witnessed another lady got her feet cut as well, and a few paramedic have to attend to her.

Nightly Entertainment show is the worst part of resort. Mostly resort staff doing some cheap tricks like Pinata, dance and sing around, or get customers to go on stage to sing and dance. Only 2 nights of shows with professional playing fireball, aerobic, and live band.

Suggestion:

1. The resort made it a big deal when customer has injury, and we have to file a report before we can check out resort. However, I wonder why these sharp objects of rocks and tree roots are lying around to hurt customer every day? If this is such a frequent occurrence and resort is making a big deal, they should have staff cleaning and checking the beach every day! SAFETY First, especially so many kids running around bare-feet. I really doubt the reports are sent to local government, which probably would have shut down the resort beach if government officials have read it or seen it.

2. Something must be done to the room air-conditioning. Jet Engine noise level, and dripping water is really hazardous that customer would likely slip and fall in the middle of night. Hand rail should be installed on the bunk bed.

3. The magician performance in the buffet restaurants need to have a stage, so that all the kids can watch. We were there 3 times, but could not get hold of him, because he only attends to 1 table at a time, and each time is about 30 minutes with...

My family (with 2 children