Ocean Plaza by Zamá Homes — Local services in Playa del Carmen

We had a mixed experience at this Airbnb. To start with the positives: the host was extremely communicative and helpful throughout our stay, which we really appreciated. The location was excellent—close to everything—and the private rooftop pool was absolutely incredible. The beds were very comfortable, the water pressure in the showers was hot and strong, and the air conditioning worked perfectly in all rooms.

However, there were a few significant downsides. The upstairs bedroom had an issue with water pooling on the floor, which seemed to be from a leaking AC unit. Unfortunately, this ended up soaking some of my friend’s clothes more than once. In the downstairs room, sound traveled very easily—you could hear every noise in the building, including loud music from nearby clubs until around 3:30 AM, which made it tough to sleep.

Though the property is beachside, the beach was not swimmable during our stay due to heavy seaweed buildup that wasn’t cleaned daily. This caused a lingering fishy smell in the area, though we eventually got used to it.

The biggest issue, however, was with one of the security guards. On our first night, a man in an unmarked shirt approached us (four women) on the street, telling us to be quiet, and then followed us into the building. Only after entering did he identify himself as security. We immediately apologized and spoke in whispers, but while we were waiting for the elevator, he turned off the lights on us. The next night, he appeared outside our door and when we tried to talk to him about other noisy guests, he became aggressive—shooing us out, recording us, and even physically grabbing one of us and knocking a phone out of her hand. Thankfully, another security guard down the street intervened, apologized on his behalf, and promised to address the situation.

We contacted the host, who assured us they would reach out to the security company. While the same guard was still present when we returned later that night, he did not bother us again, and the following night a new, more professional guard had taken over.

Overall, the property itself has a lot of potential and some great features, but the negative experience with the security guard and a few maintenance and noise issues impacted our stay. I hope these concerns are addressed for future guests, as this could otherwise be a...

This was without a doubt the filthiest, most disgusting rental experience I've ever had. We rented through VRBO, and afterwards, they wouldn't even send us a link to rate it because there were so many things that went wrong. First of all, the bathroom fixtures were corroded and moldy. The trash can in the kitchen upon check in had trails of black liquid coming from the top of it, and hadn't been cleaned, probably ever. The refrigerator leaked, covering the kitchen floor with water the entire time we were there. The furniture in the den was so old, worn, and dirty, we put beach towels on it before we would sit on it. The wifi didn't work the entire time we were there, and the TV had several remotes with no instructions in English. The patio furniture consisted of 3 white plastic Wal mart chairs that were covered with black paint splatters. The washing machine flooded the bedroom, and 3 out of the six days we woke up with NO WATER AT ALL. No showers, no flushing the toilets. The complex is extremely noisy, with people running around screaming drunk all hours of the night. One night I woke up with someone peering through the window, because the curtains weren't big enough to cover them. I had to use beach towels to cover the gap. Not a very safe place at all. THERE IS NO BEACH, in front of this condo....it has washed away. One bathroom didn't have hot water half the time we were there. The clean water dispenser broke, and instead of replacing it, they would just put random pitchers of water in the kitchen. Needless, to say, without knowing where it came from, we didn't drink it, and had to go buy bottled water and carry it back ourselves. It is the most disgusting, poorly managed complex you can imagine. You've...

Ocean Plaza is our favorite place to stay by the sea. It’s nice, quiet and comfortable. Everything we need is there and everyone is helpful. We’ve stayed on all the floors in this building over the last few years. While I haven’t stayed in all units I believe the decor, beds and baths are slightly different in them all. Also I’ve only stayed in the ocean front rooms. The pros on the ground floor is no steps but you are just steps from the sea. You can sit outside and enjoy the day it’s almost like a walk out apartment to the sea. The upper units are loft style with soaring ceilings and more space. These units have great private balconies. I love the decor in each unit I’ve stayed in. If there had to be a con. It’s something that is unavoidable due to the units being beach front. When the seaweed comes in it can smell pretty bad. But they are pretty good with cleaning it up so it doesn’t last that long. Ocean plaza is a block from 5th Ave and still very quiet. All you hear is the sea especially if you are ocean front. It’s just a few blocks from restaurants, pharmacies and grocery stores as well. You can get anywhere buy foot but there’s also loads of taxis near by to take you where...