The Fives Beach Hotel & Residences — Hotel in Playa del Carmen

We spent a fantastic week at The Fives Beach Hotel & Residences in early May, and from the moment we arrived, the experience was memorable. Greeted with smiling faces, a chilled glass of bubbles, and cold flannels to refresh after our journey – the welcome set the tone for the rest of the trip.

Top tip: Wake up early to catch the sunrise – we did this every morning, and it was absolutely stunning. The peaceful beach, soft colours in the sky, and gentle start to the day really set us up for the rest of the trip.

Accommodation: We had originally booked a standard double room but were generously upgraded to a one-bedroom suite. It was incredible – spacious and stylish, with a separate living room, fully equipped kitchen, his-and-hers sinks, and two balconies. It felt more like an apartment than a hotel room – a real highlight.

Dining: The food across the resort was, for the most part, excellent. You can't book tables at the à la carte restaurants, which can be frustrating – particularly with Arezzo (the Italian), which was impossible to get into unless you queued before 5PM. Unfortunately, we never made it in, and the hostess wasn’t the most accommodating. That said, we still managed to try a variety of other places:

Flavours (Buffet): Our go-to for breakfast. Huge variety, from omelette and fajita stations to fresh fruit, cereals, and waffles. Quick, friendly service. 9/10

Mestizo (Mexican): First night dinner. It was OK, but didn’t wow us. 6/10

Koh Thai: We waited over two hours for a table, and sadly, the food didn’t justify the wait. 5/10

Oka Sushi: Visited for my birthday dinner after failing to get into Arezzo. Absolutely fantastic – fresh, flavourful sushi with excellent service. 10/10

La Brasserie (French): Nice atmosphere and decent food, but slow service. 7/10

Breeze Burger: Casual beachside burgers that rival (and surpass) Five Guys. Delicious. 10/10

Cantina 1910: A gem of the resort. Tequila, mezcal, and cocktails served by energetic and friendly bartenders. We ended up there most nights. 10/10

Marley Coffee (extra charge): Average coffee and sadly, no smoothies available during our visit. 4/10

We didn’t get around to trying Sea Olive, Natura, Lizzards, The Gin Bar, Humo & Vino, Oriola, or Muelle Ocho.

One lovely surprise was the Mexican-themed party in the plaza on our final night – complete with mariachi band, traditional dancers, and festive food. Flavours joined in the theme, though its buffet-style setup meant it lacked the atmosphere of the other restaurants.

Pool & Beach: The main pool was where we spent most of our time, enjoying cocktails from the swim-up bar. While loungers were plentiful, we did notice many were ‘reserved’ with towels for long stretches, despite the hotel’s 30-minute policy – something to improve. On our last day, we splurged on a Bali bed on the beach, complete with a cheeseboard, sparkling wine, and a dedicated butler – a perfect way to end the trip.

Spa & Wellness: We treated ourselves to a couple’s massage on the pier, which was a peaceful, ocean-side experience. It included a hydrotherapy session at the spa on our final morning – highly recommended.

Grounds & Wildlife: The resort is beautifully maintained, with lush jungle walkways where we spotted monkeys, coatis, and even raccoons one evening. The natural setting adds a special charm to the experience.

Staff & Service: The service across the board was excellent. The staff truly went above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable – warm, attentive, and always happy to help.

Overall Verdict: Despite the restaurant queueing system being a bit of a downside, our overall experience was fantastic. Beautiful surroundings, delicious food, friendly staff, and plenty of opportunities to relax and unwind. We’d absolutely return again – and maybe even beat the queue to...

My family and I have just returned from an enjoyable two week stay at The Fives and, if we were the kind of family that returned to a known country / hotel as opposed to looking to try somewhere new each holiday, it’s somewhere we would absolutely consider returning to!

TLDR – it’s a lovely hotel with great staff and the positives absolutely out-weigh anything else. Some of the negatives could be considered “useful to know” and likely wouldn’t be a negative for others, but they were for us.

Edited to add - my favourite points! How did i forget... (1) the room key for adults was an RFID tag on your cotton banded All Inclusive wrist tag, no more hunting for key cards (2) every eatery was on-point with allergies - asking for every meal if you/your party had allergies and advising on not/safe dishes accordingly.

Positives – (1) Staff -as with most resorts / all-inclusive hotels of this type, the main positive is the staff. They work hard, tirelessly, are always available and polite and will look to support with any questions or queries. One useful thing this hotel does, is offer a WhatsApp Ambassador service – which is essentially a WhatsApp group per booking/family where you can ask questions directly to a relevant member of staff instead of having to go to reception / the lobby / corral someone walking past. (2) Cleanliness – everything was clean, or constantly being cleaned, and there was no shortage of grounds people, maintenance, security, cleaners. (3) Quality – everything was working towards being top-shelf or high-quality. From the branded alcohol and soft drinks at the bars, restaurants and in-room fridges, to the sustainable in-room amenities (shampoo, conditioner, shower gel), to the robust (branded) drinks cups from the bars (though they would happily fill your reusable Stanley / Yeti style tumblers if you had them); everything was of a good quality. (4) Animals – there were a host of animals on-site and they all appeared happy and cared for – I wouldn’t consider them “completely wild” but more “wild animals released in a controlled way to the environment”. We saw coatis, deer, monkeys, turtles, small mammals (capybara type) and a plethora of bird types. (5) Food – the food quality and variety was really good across all restaurants we ate at. The burgers / hot dogs at the beach bar were great, the freshly made pizzas lovely and the a la carte restaurants provided a really high bar of food quality and waiter service. (6) Rooms – the room was spacious and clean, with a full kitchen including a full-sized fridge-freezer. We have two teenagers and although the room occupancy was “four adults” – this was in the form of 2 x double beds (though the main bed in the room was at least Super King sized). I asked for a rollaway bed and this was supplied with no issue, and was potentially more comfortable than the double sofa bed!

Negatives – (1) Cashless – we were not made aware until after we arrived and tried to book an excursion that the hotel is completely cashless (excluding gratuities), including payment of the $4 per night Government room tax. This would have been useful, at least for us, to know in advance. (2) Low Season – we were not aware we arrived during “low season”, which meant that particular bars (including the one at our closest pool) were closed. To mitigate this, however, they did fill caddies with ice and canned / bottled drinks (soft, beer and water) for access. I advised that putting up a note advising of closure and the closest open bar would be useful but this hadn’t happened by the time we left. Additionally, there was waiter service at the pool, which meant we could order drinks and have them...

Our family of four just spent a week at The Fives and we enjoyed ourselves very much. The resort is large and spread out nicely. Because of the size of the resort, it was very nice that they have golf cart shuttles that can take you to different areas of the resort. We don't mind walking so we did not utilize these much, but they can be very handy. We stayed in one of the two bedroom units with a kitchen and the rooftop terrace. It was spacious and had everything we needed except for an actual bed for one family member who had to sleep on the pull out sofa bed. We did not use the kitchen, but as a matter of note, it was not stocked with anything so it would have been almost impossible to use it anyway. We also did not really make use of the rooftop terrace because it rained quite a bit while we were there. Our unit was very far away from the beach though, so that was a bit disappointing. On our first morning, after arriving, we visited our assigned ambassador, Aleks. He was wonderful! He gave us many options for excursions and took care of all the reservations for us. He was super helpful during our stay and we enjoyed getting to know him. The food was very good everywhere we ate (not amazing, but solid). My husband and I stayed at an all inclusive in Puerto Vallarta and the food was extremely dissapointing, so this was much better. Our favorite dining experience was at Casa de Rosa. This dining experience is not included in the plan, but it was wonderful. We absolutely loved Wendy who is the host. She was the BEST! This is a hands-on experience where the guests participate in making the meal. Highly recommend it! Some of our other favorites were the Thai restaurant, the French restaurant and the Trattoria/Pizzeria. Oddly enough, the Mexican restaurant was our least favorite (other than the buffet), and we love Mexican food. Speaking of the buffet (Flavours) it was decent food and convenient but on the line of elevated cafeteria food, in a cafeteria type setting. It can get quite crowded and loud. The pools are spread out around the resort, plenty to choose from. We mostly used the adult-only pool becuase it was closer to our room and less crowded/loud. As mentioned earlier, it rained quite a bit during our stay so we did not spend a lot of time on the beach. Our last full day at the resort was a beautiful day and we spent the entire day at the beach, which was lovely. The beach area is quite nice with plenty of lounge chairs and cabanas that can be rented for an extra price. The grounds are very nice and kept clean. There is wildlife that roams the area and it was fun seeing the different types of animals native to this area. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at The Fives. There were things that we did not enjoy, but most of them had absolutely nothing to do with the resort, such as: The smell of the jungle that surrounds the area is a bit off-putting and it got absorbed into all of our clothing. The mosquitos were terrible. The humidity was brutal. Because of the time of year and the rains, there was A LOT of seaweed in the water and on the beach. We had been warned about this by our travel agent before we booked the trip, but until you see it first hand you cannot be prepared for it. Instead of the water being the beautiful blue that we expected, it was more brown because of all the seaweed. It also created a bit of an unpleasant smell. This was our first time visiting the Playa del...