The Carmen — Restaurant in Playa del Carmen

I have travelled extensively. Currently, I’ve logged over 2 Million actual flight miles on just one airline. I therefore can safely say I have a lot of experience staying in hotels. After thousands of different trips though, I’ve never experienced the level of thievery I did at The Carmen in Playa del Carmen. Like most travelers deciding on a vacation spot, I looked at my options, price checked my preferred hotels on various websites, and booked my reservation by paying for the trip online at the best one using my credit card a full 6 weeks in advance. I received a confirmation email from the booking site that included my reservation number and the hotels contact information. A few days before my arrival I even received an email with additional details from the booking website re-confirming my stay and offering transportation suggestions from the airport along with the email address for the hotel directly in case I had any personal requests. Everything about the booking unfolded in the same way thousands of other trips before had - that is, until I attempted to check-in.||||After a long tiring trip, my companion and I arrived forlorn but full of excitement at the Carmen Hotel reception only to be told no reservation existed. Impossible I said with my details in hand - here’s my confirmation letter, my payment receipt and the follow up from yesterday outlining my trip. The woman behind the desk smiled coquettishly and replied, “Oh that’s RENATO, we don’t work with them anymore”. No problem I said, you may have stopped working with them but you had a relationship and if they are selling rooms, charging guests and confirming bookings after that relationship ends, you need your attorney to stop them but it’s not my problem because regardless of YOUR breakup, I’m confirmed at this hotel and I’ve paid for a suite so I plan on staying here. Well yes she said, you can stay here because we do have available rooms but you’ll have to pay for it directly to me now and get your money back from Renato later. There was something in the way her answer came so naturally to her that made me feel extremely uncomfortable. It was as if she had said the same thing a few hundred times before and knew exactly how to play the conversation to her advantage.||||After arguing loudly on why that didn’t work for me, I was told by a man who had been lurking behind a curtain this whole time - and if you are reading this standing you may need to sit down - “There’s nothing WE can do about the booking site because they’re part of the Drug Cartel.” I suggested calling the police but they said they wouldn’t do anything because they let it happen. Can we all just absorb that insanity for a moment? Basically what was said was Drug Cartels run Playa Del Carmen, the booking sites hotels like The Carmen use to attract unsuspecting vacationers, and the police tasked with protecting EVERYONE are complicit. It took all my restraint not to call a taxi and head back to the airport and out of this check-in hellhole of what I imagined was surely a recipe for more disaster. Against my better judgement though, I decided to stay after my travel companion reminded me I could dispute the charge with the credit card company later.||||Angry, tired and hungry I began the even more painful dance of negotiation for a room that started out being more than three times my original cost and ended up being about 30% higher for a lower grade room. I paid reluctantly in full and in cash and headed to our room. On the upside, the room had waves crashing just below our balcony, a view that was expansive and stunning, a well laid out floor plan and comfortable albeit slightly worn furnishings. On the downside, the blush is definitely off the rose as they say. The entire hotel needs a good industrial cleaning not only in the common areas like the long hallway that smells of mold but also in the rooms that look surface clean but detail dirty. Management definitely needs to retouch paint and spruce up what may have once been hip but is now more drab and dated than is acceptable for the fees they charge. Also, be aware if you’re booking for the sounds of the waves, you’ll only fully experience them between 4am and 8am when the drunk revealers are in bed and the beach bunnies aren’t up yet. Even then though you’ll still need to contend with a few drunk stragglers and the diligent cleaning crew tasked with picking up after them. For my fellow Americans who have turned their nose up at dirty toilet paper next to public toilets at home, you’ll learn firsthand why. It’s not the unhygienic fellow mall shoppers, it’s folks from countries with less sophisticated plumbing like the plumbing at The Carmen. That’s right, there’s a sign by the toilet saying don’t flush toilet paper and a trash can for that smudged debris next to it. I’ve had a bit of previous practice and I still hate it but if you haven’t had any, get ready for a very messy learning curve.||||My recommendation is if you an option of staying at the Carmen or anywhere else, I’d suggest anywhere else. And if you have safety concerns about Playa del Carmen, you should probably go with your gut because crazy is a resort destination that allows drug cartels to control it but crazier are the travelers that find that out...

I have travelled extensively. Currently, I’ve logged over 2 Million actual flight miles on just one airline. I therefore can safely say I have a lot of experience staying in hotels. After thousands of different trips though, I’ve never experienced the level of thievery I did at The Carmen in Playa del Carmen. Like most travelers deciding on a vacation spot, I looked at my options, price checked my preferred hotels on various websites, and booked my reservation by paying for the trip online at the best one using my credit card a full 6 weeks in advance. I received a confirmation email from the booking site that included my reservation number and the hotels contact information. A few days before my arrival I even received an email with additional details from the booking website re-confirming my stay and offering transportation suggestions from the airport along with the email address for the hotel directly in case I had any personal requests. Everything about the booking unfolded in the same way thousands of other trips before had - that is, until I attempted to check-in.||||After a long tiring trip, my companion and I arrived forlorn but full of excitement at the Carmen Hotel reception only to be told no reservation existed. Impossible I said with my details in hand - here’s my confirmation letter, my payment receipt and the follow up from yesterday outlining my trip. The woman behind the desk smiled coquettishly and replied, “Oh that’s RENATO, we don’t work with them anymore”. No problem I said, you may have stopped working with them but you had a relationship and if they are selling rooms, charging guests and confirming bookings after that relationship ends, you need your attorney to stop them but it’s not my problem because regardless of YOUR breakup, I’m confirmed at this hotel and I’ve paid for a suite so I plan on staying here. Well yes she said, you can stay here because we do have available rooms but you’ll have to pay for it directly to me now and get your money back from Renato later. There was something in the way her answer came so naturally to her that made me feel extremely uncomfortable. It was as if she had said the same thing a few hundred times before and knew exactly how to play the conversation to her advantage.||||After arguing loudly on why that didn’t work for me, I was told by a man who had been lurking behind a curtain this whole time - and if you are reading this standing you may need to sit down - “There’s nothing WE can do about the booking site because they’re part of the Drug Cartel.” I suggested calling the police but they said they wouldn’t do anything because they let it happen. Can we all just absorb that insanity for a moment? Basically what was said was Drug Cartels run Playa Del Carmen, the booking sites hotels like The Carmen use to attract unsuspecting vacationers, and the police tasked with protecting EVERYONE are complicit. It took all my restraint not to call a taxi and head back to the airport and out of this check-in hellhole of what I imagined was surely a recipe for more disaster. Against my better judgement though, I decided to stay after my travel companion reminded me I could dispute the charge with the credit card company later.||||Angry, tired and hungry I began the even more painful dance of negotiation for a room that started out being more than three times my original cost and ended up being about 30% higher for a lower grade room. I paid reluctantly in full and in cash and headed to our room. On the upside, the room had waves crashing just below our balcony, a view that was expansive and stunning, a well laid out floor plan and comfortable albeit slightly worn furnishings. On the downside, the blush is definitely off the rose as they say. The entire hotel needs a good industrial cleaning not only in the common areas like the long hallway that smells of mold but also in the rooms that look surface clean but detail dirty. Management definitely needs to retouch paint and spruce up what may have once been hip but is now more drab and dated than is acceptable for the fees they charge. Also, be aware if you’re booking for the sounds of the waves, you’ll only fully experience them between 4am and 8am when the drunk revealers are in bed and the beach bunnies aren’t up yet. Even then though you’ll still need to contend with a few drunk stragglers and the diligent cleaning crew tasked with picking up after them. For my fellow Americans who have turned their nose up at dirty toilet paper next to public toilets at home, you’ll learn firsthand why. It’s not the unhygienic fellow mall shoppers, it’s folks from countries with less sophisticated plumbing like the plumbing at The Carmen. That’s right, there’s a sign by the toilet saying don’t flush toilet paper and a trash can for that smudged debris next to it. I’ve had a bit of previous practice and I still hate it but if you haven’t had any, get ready for a very messy learning curve.||||My recommendation is if you an option of staying at the Carmen or anywhere else, I’d suggest anywhere else. And if you have safety concerns about Playa del Carmen, you should probably go with your gut because crazy is a resort destination that allows drug cartels to control it but crazier are the travelers that find that out...

From the moment we checked in, issues started and were never properly addressed. We booked the room that was advertised as oceanfront but was bar front. We paid extra for this and didn’t get it. ||The Room & Amenities:| • The AC was not working from the start, and our sliding door didn’t lock to the main bar . We reported both issues, but nothing was done, despite following up multiple times.| • The room had a strong musty/moldy smell, which gave me headaches whenever I was inside. It was far from welcoming.| • The toilet water pressure was embarrassingly bad, and the rain shower barely worked—taking 10 minutes to warm up, with only half of the sprayers functioning. The bathtub was also unusable due to a faulty drain plug and sprayer.| • The TV didn’t work properly due to poor internet, so we couldn’t even use it in the evenings.| • The room was advertised as oceanfront but was actually bar-front, meaning we heard loud music and noise at all hours. Music even started at 7 AM on Sunday.| • The sheets were extremely rough and uncomfortable, and while the pillows were nice, the pillowcases were terrible.||Hotel Conditions & Service:| • The hallway and bar area flooded multiple times during our stay.| • One elevator was out of service, causing long waits.| • The entire hotel felt run-down, with moldy grout, peeling paint, crooked doors, and worn-out furniture.| • Rooms were not soundproof at all—you could hear every noise from the hallway and hotel bar.||Staff & Customer Service:| • While the cleaning staff did an excellent job, the front desk and maintenance staff were unresponsive.| • The bartender initially told us we could charge drinks to our room, but the next day, my husband was accused of walking out on the bill—an incredibly unprofessional experience.||The Positives:| • The cleaning staff was detail-oriented and thorough.| • The restaurant food was good, and the staff there was friendly.| • The location is great, and the rooftop offers a nice view.||Overall, we expected much more from this hotel, especially for a special occasion. The lack of customer service, the deteriorating conditions, and the inconveniences made for a frustrating and uncomfortable stay. We would not recommend The Carmen Hotel and will not be returning. We have received no appropriate response from management even 2 weeks after our stay. Very...