Service: Cold, corporate, transactional and absent of any personality is how I would describe it. Missing is the warm, welcoming and authentic Mexican hospitality we’ve experienced at other resorts. An exception to this wintery effect, is Juan who was our very helpful concierge at the check in desk and Alejandra in the pool/beach area who had a friendly, thoughtful approach to service. Food/Beverage: Food was very good for an all-inclusive at this price point. Didn’t have a bad meal the whole time. Reservations are needed, if you don’t want to wait. There were 25-35 min waits every night at different restaurants when we didn’t have reservations. The drinks were good and weren’t watered down like we have suspected at other resorts. Beach: Better than expected, yeah it’s rocky in most areas, but there is an area that is totally enjoyable within the space in front of the resort. There is a first come/first served cabana area for Diamond members ONLY, where you have food AND drink service. We spent our time in the Diamond members beach area the whole time. However there is a limit of 4 plates/cabana/day, so eat well if you plan to spend the whole day at the beach. Or you can walk and bring some snacks from the several options within the resort. The cabana area that is for everyone else has drink service ONLY. Which doesn’t make sense and adds to the confusion seen around the beach on where you can sit and what you can order, how much of it and where. Pool: The pool area is where this resort really needs to improve. There are ONLY 20 first come/first served poolside chairs without additional cost. Poolside meaning on the edge of the pool. The rest of the poolside chairs come with poolside cabanas that you can RENT for as much as $170 USD per day! This also makes it to where you’re looking for a place just to relax in the pool that isn’t in front of someone who paid good money to rent a cabana and likely is in the pool in front of their cabana. There are more chairs by the pool but they are stadium style and no one in their right mind travels to see the back of a chair all day. If you don’t rent a cabana there isn’t any food service in the pool area Spa: We had a couples massage, there are different packages to choose from but there is no deviation to the package, my husband didn’t want a facial and wanted to add it to my services but they said no, there were a lot of no’s at this resort which made this resort stand out here in Mexico. Overall: Tough to recommend if this is your once a year vacation. We found a way to enjoy ourselves, but we’re Diamond members and had access to cabanas at the beach every day we where there. We travel quite often so we tend to roll with the punches while traveling, might be different for a casual traveler.
ronaldcE6792GN
We arrived to find out ocean view is really ocean view. It’s a crap view that is not great. We had to pay $400 to upgrade to a swim out. The food was average at best. Been MF a Hilton Honors Member means nothing! They sent me to a table to discuss taking a tour and they would give me a $100 gift. When saying “no” 3 or 4 times they struggle to take no for an answer. You literally have to be rude to get away from them. My wife and I came to celebrate our 35th anniversary. We are in day 5 of 7 here at Hilton Playa Del Carmen as I write this review. We will “never” return. It’s a beautiful town. Hilton Playa Del Carmen is “not” a 5 star!! I give it a 2 star rating! My wife and I will “not” be returning. I’m totally ready to go back to Indiana. This anniversary trip will have many regrets!
Y3959YQalia
What an experience at Hilton Playa Del Carmen. Lovely property with great facilities and delicious restaurants. The star of that resort is Jesus Tico. Great service from him from the moment I walked in till the moment I checked out. Went above and beyond every single day, checking in and inquiring if he can be of assistance. Special thanks to Omar Guzman, Pedro and Chef Sebastian at Chefs Plate. Gilberto was awesome, he was everywhere on the property. What a memorable experience!
Girly13662
We have been coming here since 2014 and this is now our 5th visit....(first 3 were when it was The Royal). Last year was the first time we were there since it was taken over by The Hilton and we have noticed a bunch of changes which unfortunately are not for the better. I'll break down my review so you can skip to whatever you might be most interested in reading.... Check In | Went smoothly again but did get stopped about a presentation....this is the first time it's ever happened. I tried to say a few times we weren't interested but my bf didn't want to be rude and thought they were just assisting with our check in....so we sat for about 5 mins while the gentleman said I can get a free pendant at the gift shop (not interested) and then proceeded to ask if I would like to meet tomorrow morning at 8:30 or 10. I looked at my boyfriend and said 'you still think this is just for our checking in?' I said again 'We aren't interested in any time shares or setting an alarm on vacation but thank you'. We were never bothered again. Also as part of checking in...they make you sign acknowledgement of three very important rules... 1. No smoking at all anywhere on the property. (*ok by me since we do not smoke but if you are a heavy smoker this wouldn't be the place for you since you have to go outside and across the street apparently to smoke). I believe you get a $400 fine if you smoke on the property. 2. Do not hang items over your balcony (shirts, undies etc). 3. Do not reserve pool lounge chairs for more than 30min. While all of these are great...only 1 is enforced. We did see a few balconies with clothing draped over (mainly in the area of the quiet pool) and the housekeeper probably didn't get to that room yet but it was quite tacky to see some guys underwear drying over the railing. I think it's a good idea to ask people to not reserve lounge chairs but unfortunately there is no way to keep track except maybe have pool attendants be more vigilant. On my first day at this pool, I went there around 9am, got my lounge chairs and stayed til 5pm. Someone had reserved 2 lounge chairs across from me earlier than 9am and came back at 4pm. So, for 7 hours nobody was there. Room | AC was perfect, fan was great. The only thing that bothered us was the bathroom light that is on a sensor on/off/on/off/on and when you get up in the middle of the night, it's quite annoying. Could use some more bottles of water but if you call room service they will bring you whatever you want. Housekeeper was wonderful and gave us wine/cake for my bf's bday, along with a door sash....cute. The bed however was a little saggy and to me not very comfy. Restaurants | Ok here's where I need to vent.....when this was The Royal there were 6 restaurants to eat at ...Maria Maria (now M.Petronas), Spice, Kalamata, Pelicanos, Asiana, and an Italian restaurant across from Asiana that is no longer there. I know the Italian one has been gone for awhile but last year we seemed to have at least 5. This time we had 3 as Kalamata was closed (for renovations they said) and Spice isn't always open for dinner. Asiana is not great. We only went once. The menu used to be a lot bigger and you have to order a lot of items since portions are small. M. Petronas was good but again, the portions are pretty small. Pelicanos was good but I noticed that the same ingredients are used in pretty much all of the restaurants and just prepared differently. Spice was great for lunch and/or dinner and honestly wish it was opened for dinner more often as we probably would have dined here most of the time. However....they need to enforce the dress code in here 'during lunch....people walking around in bathing suits is gross. Would be nice if they had theme nights in Spice. Barefoot is the walk up place by the pool. Last year they had acai bowls and turkey paninis but this year they seemed to take them off the menu (of course acai bowls are expensive so leave it to a big corporation to take it away). I still do not u
B118XJchantalp
Our overall stay at Hilton Playa del Carmen was excellent! The staff was incredibly hard working, friendly and accommodating. There are way too many people to mention that worked diligently to make our stay fabulous, but we would like to give a shout out to Benito, Edwin, Kevin G., Brenda, Janeth and Paco.
AmarilloHielo
Our 5 night stay started with check-in followed by a timeshare spiel before we could get into room. Not a fan of this tactic. Rooms are nice and large, but quirky. Big foyer and separate sink area. Small closet. Small bathroom/shower. Automatic lights that come on in the middle of the night if you have to use the bathroom. Big hot tub in middle of room. The hotel grounds are nice, but the beach just OK. Otherwise, the food and drink choices are good. We did not need any reservations to get a table at dinner. Asiana restaurant was very good. Other restaurants seemed to be hit or miss food-wise. Service at the pool very good. Actually service very good all-around. The value for what you get is good, but not great.
kitten50
The trip from the airport was just an hour. Nice check in. cool towel and cold drink. The room was modern but the hot tub took up a lot of room. We didn't have a lot of closet space but there were three drawers that helped. Room had a small balcony with two chairs and a small table. The bathroom was nice but hated the automatic motion light. the Bali beds around the pool were rentals and it was very crowded behind them with loungers. I tried to move mine one day to get out of the sun but was asked to put it back in line to open up the walking lane. umbrellas didn't have SPF factor...got a bit burnt. Most of the beds were never used and the water lounger went unoccupied all day. pool bar service was very good...the larger pool didn't have a swim up bar only the pool by the beach did. Very friendly staff everywhere in the resort. There wasn't much of a beach and again the Bali beds there were reserved for club people. They were empty all week and we weren't able to use them. The evening shows were some of the best we've seen in any resort. Early enough to enjoy the evening after. They have them in the lobby area which is open to outside so it was really hot but NO BUG!!!! We enjoyed all the restaurants but the Asian one was the best. Some restaurants were closed on rotation. Buffet was never open at nigh and just a few times during the week. They had a great breakfast. We're close enough to 5th ave to wander there after dinner. I did use the gym everyday. Great equipment, well maintained and they had some really good classes.
ellarA9734LS
It's our 3rd and last stay here (2018, 2021 and 2023). Twice we reserved an Ocean View Swim Up room, both times the reservation somehow becomes Ocean View only and you can pay extra for an upgrade. Also the prices have more than doubled in 5 years. Smoking is allowed across the way from the lobby and on the beach (unless some entitled young woman complains and then the hotel change the rules again). Customer service was awful. We did not feel welcome. Even tried to check out but of course no refund for the days not yet used. Attached is a picture from our Ocean View patio. Good luck.
krystalfarris
The beach was right at the rocks. They really hurt my feet. I had to pay extra for everything even those all inclusive. The food that was available was mediocre. The variety of restaurants was minimal
Radd S
Two magical weeks in July 2022 at this magical resort. From start to finish, the staff, the fellow guests, the food, the rooms, the facilities, the entertainment, could not have been better. We made so many new friends. Special mention to Max, Alejandro, Luisa in the entertainment team who made every day so much fun and to Marisol at 24 hr all inclusive and Barefoot who's service and approach to customer relations was exceptional. We were very sad to leave and can't wait to go back. There is nothing to improve on. The management of this resort clearly have a great approach to hospitality and I imagine the staff are very well looked after given the smiles on all their faces. We even had a minor injury and had to see the medical team and they too were amazing. Thank you also to the Discover team who arranged fantastic excursions for us creating unforgettable memories. If you are looking for a 5 star all inclusive adult only resort with the ability to get out and about and explore, we can recommend this resort very highly.
Service: Cold, corporate, transactional and absent of any personality is how I would describe it. Missing is the warm, welcoming and authentic Mexican hospitality we’ve experienced at other resorts. An exception to this wintery effect, is Juan who was our very helpful concierge at the check in desk and Alejandra in the pool/beach area who had a friendly, thoughtful approach to service. Food/Beverage: Food was very good for an all-inclusive at this price point. Didn’t have a bad meal the whole time. Reservations are needed, if you don’t want to wait. There were 25-35 min waits every night at different restaurants when we didn’t have reservations. The drinks were good and weren’t watered down like we have suspected at other resorts. Beach: Better than expected, yeah it’s rocky in most areas, but there is an area that is totally enjoyable within the space in front of the resort. There is a first come/first served cabana area for Diamond members ONLY, where you have food AND drink service. We spent our time in the Diamond members beach area the whole time. However there is a limit of 4 plates/cabana/day, so eat well if you plan to spend the whole day at the beach. Or you can walk and bring some snacks from the several options within the resort. The cabana area that is for everyone else has drink service ONLY. Which doesn’t make sense and adds to the confusion seen around the beach on where you can sit and what you can order, how much of it and where. Pool: The pool area is where this resort really needs to improve. There are ONLY 20 first come/first served poolside chairs without additional cost. Poolside meaning on the edge of the pool. The rest of the poolside chairs come with poolside cabanas that you can RENT for as much as $170 USD per day! This also makes it to where you’re looking for a place just to relax in the pool that isn’t in front of someone who paid good money to rent a cabana and likely is in the pool in front of their cabana. There are more chairs by the pool but they are stadium style and no one in their right mind travels to see the back of a chair all day. If you don’t rent a cabana there isn’t any food service in the pool area Spa: We had a couples massage, there are different packages to choose from but there is no deviation to the package, my husband didn’t want a facial and wanted to add it to my services but they said no, there were a lot of no’s at this resort which made this resort stand out here in Mexico. Overall: Tough to recommend if this is your once a year vacation. We found a way to enjoy ourselves, but we’re Diamond members and had access to cabanas at the beach every day we where there. We travel quite often so we tend to roll with the punches while traveling, might be different for a casual traveler.
We arrived to find out ocean view is really ocean view. It’s a crap view that is not great. We had to pay $400 to upgrade to a swim out. The food was average at best. Been MF a Hilton Honors Member means nothing! They sent me to a table to discuss taking a tour and they would give me a $100 gift. When saying “no” 3 or 4 times they struggle to take no for an answer. You literally have to be rude to get away from them. My wife and I came to celebrate our 35th anniversary. We are in day 5 of 7 here at Hilton Playa Del Carmen as I write this review. We will “never” return. It’s a beautiful town. Hilton Playa Del Carmen is “not” a 5 star!! I give it a 2 star rating! My wife and I will “not” be returning. I’m totally ready to go back to Indiana. This anniversary trip will have many regrets!
What an experience at Hilton Playa Del Carmen. Lovely property with great facilities and delicious restaurants. The star of that resort is Jesus Tico. Great service from him from the moment I walked in till the moment I checked out. Went above and beyond every single day, checking in and inquiring if he can be of assistance. Special thanks to Omar Guzman, Pedro and Chef Sebastian at Chefs Plate. Gilberto was awesome, he was everywhere on the property. What a memorable experience!
We have been coming here since 2014 and this is now our 5th visit....(first 3 were when it was The Royal). Last year was the first time we were there since it was taken over by The Hilton and we have noticed a bunch of changes which unfortunately are not for the better. I'll break down my review so you can skip to whatever you might be most interested in reading.... Check In | Went smoothly again but did get stopped about a presentation....this is the first time it's ever happened. I tried to say a few times we weren't interested but my bf didn't want to be rude and thought they were just assisting with our check in....so we sat for about 5 mins while the gentleman said I can get a free pendant at the gift shop (not interested) and then proceeded to ask if I would like to meet tomorrow morning at 8:30 or 10. I looked at my boyfriend and said 'you still think this is just for our checking in?' I said again 'We aren't interested in any time shares or setting an alarm on vacation but thank you'. We were never bothered again. Also as part of checking in...they make you sign acknowledgement of three very important rules... 1. No smoking at all anywhere on the property. (*ok by me since we do not smoke but if you are a heavy smoker this wouldn't be the place for you since you have to go outside and across the street apparently to smoke). I believe you get a $400 fine if you smoke on the property. 2. Do not hang items over your balcony (shirts, undies etc). 3. Do not reserve pool lounge chairs for more than 30min. While all of these are great...only 1 is enforced. We did see a few balconies with clothing draped over (mainly in the area of the quiet pool) and the housekeeper probably didn't get to that room yet but it was quite tacky to see some guys underwear drying over the railing. I think it's a good idea to ask people to not reserve lounge chairs but unfortunately there is no way to keep track except maybe have pool attendants be more vigilant. On my first day at this pool, I went there around 9am, got my lounge chairs and stayed til 5pm. Someone had reserved 2 lounge chairs across from me earlier than 9am and came back at 4pm. So, for 7 hours nobody was there. Room | AC was perfect, fan was great. The only thing that bothered us was the bathroom light that is on a sensor on/off/on/off/on and when you get up in the middle of the night, it's quite annoying. Could use some more bottles of water but if you call room service they will bring you whatever you want. Housekeeper was wonderful and gave us wine/cake for my bf's bday, along with a door sash....cute. The bed however was a little saggy and to me not very comfy. Restaurants | Ok here's where I need to vent.....when this was The Royal there were 6 restaurants to eat at ...Maria Maria (now M.Petronas), Spice, Kalamata, Pelicanos, Asiana, and an Italian restaurant across from Asiana that is no longer there. I know the Italian one has been gone for awhile but last year we seemed to have at least 5. This time we had 3 as Kalamata was closed (for renovations they said) and Spice isn't always open for dinner. Asiana is not great. We only went once. The menu used to be a lot bigger and you have to order a lot of items since portions are small. M. Petronas was good but again, the portions are pretty small. Pelicanos was good but I noticed that the same ingredients are used in pretty much all of the restaurants and just prepared differently. Spice was great for lunch and/or dinner and honestly wish it was opened for dinner more often as we probably would have dined here most of the time. However....they need to enforce the dress code in here 'during lunch....people walking around in bathing suits is gross. Would be nice if they had theme nights in Spice. Barefoot is the walk up place by the pool. Last year they had acai bowls and turkey paninis but this year they seemed to take them off the menu (of course acai bowls are expensive so leave it to a big corporation to take it away). I still do not u
Our overall stay at Hilton Playa del Carmen was excellent! The staff was incredibly hard working, friendly and accommodating. There are way too many people to mention that worked diligently to make our stay fabulous, but we would like to give a shout out to Benito, Edwin, Kevin G., Brenda, Janeth and Paco.
Our 5 night stay started with check-in followed by a timeshare spiel before we could get into room. Not a fan of this tactic. Rooms are nice and large, but quirky. Big foyer and separate sink area. Small closet. Small bathroom/shower. Automatic lights that come on in the middle of the night if you have to use the bathroom. Big hot tub in middle of room. The hotel grounds are nice, but the beach just OK. Otherwise, the food and drink choices are good. We did not need any reservations to get a table at dinner. Asiana restaurant was very good. Other restaurants seemed to be hit or miss food-wise. Service at the pool very good. Actually service very good all-around. The value for what you get is good, but not great.
The trip from the airport was just an hour. Nice check in. cool towel and cold drink. The room was modern but the hot tub took up a lot of room. We didn't have a lot of closet space but there were three drawers that helped. Room had a small balcony with two chairs and a small table. The bathroom was nice but hated the automatic motion light. the Bali beds around the pool were rentals and it was very crowded behind them with loungers. I tried to move mine one day to get out of the sun but was asked to put it back in line to open up the walking lane. umbrellas didn't have SPF factor...got a bit burnt. Most of the beds were never used and the water lounger went unoccupied all day. pool bar service was very good...the larger pool didn't have a swim up bar only the pool by the beach did. Very friendly staff everywhere in the resort. There wasn't much of a beach and again the Bali beds there were reserved for club people. They were empty all week and we weren't able to use them. The evening shows were some of the best we've seen in any resort. Early enough to enjoy the evening after. They have them in the lobby area which is open to outside so it was really hot but NO BUG!!!! We enjoyed all the restaurants but the Asian one was the best. Some restaurants were closed on rotation. Buffet was never open at nigh and just a few times during the week. They had a great breakfast. We're close enough to 5th ave to wander there after dinner. I did use the gym everyday. Great equipment, well maintained and they had some really good classes.
It's our 3rd and last stay here (2018, 2021 and 2023). Twice we reserved an Ocean View Swim Up room, both times the reservation somehow becomes Ocean View only and you can pay extra for an upgrade. Also the prices have more than doubled in 5 years. Smoking is allowed across the way from the lobby and on the beach (unless some entitled young woman complains and then the hotel change the rules again). Customer service was awful. We did not feel welcome. Even tried to check out but of course no refund for the days not yet used. Attached is a picture from our Ocean View patio. Good luck.
The beach was right at the rocks. They really hurt my feet. I had to pay extra for everything even those all inclusive. The food that was available was mediocre. The variety of restaurants was minimal
Two magical weeks in July 2022 at this magical resort. From start to finish, the staff, the fellow guests, the food, the rooms, the facilities, the entertainment, could not have been better. We made so many new friends. Special mention to Max, Alejandro, Luisa in the entertainment team who made every day so much fun and to Marisol at 24 hr all inclusive and Barefoot who's service and approach to customer relations was exceptional. We were very sad to leave and can't wait to go back. There is nothing to improve on. The management of this resort clearly have a great approach to hospitality and I imagine the staff are very well looked after given the smiles on all their faces. We even had a minor injury and had to see the medical team and they too were amazing. Thank you also to the Discover team who arranged fantastic excursions for us creating unforgettable memories. If you are looking for a 5 star all inclusive adult only resort with the ability to get out and about and explore, we can recommend this resort very highly.
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