Overall, we had a very nice stay at the Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen Resort. The property is…read morebeautiful, the location is great, and the staff was friendly and attentive throughout our trip. The pools were very nice and easy to access, and overall atmosphere made for a relaxing vacation experience. The only downside was the constant upselling during the stay from timeshare presentations, to photographers, to upgraded dinner reservations at specialty restaurants. At times it felt a little excessive and took away from the relaxing vibe of the resort. Outside of that, the resort itself was very nice and we still enjoyed our time there.

What a great resort! It's clean safe and easy to access. Our room was clean on arrival and the…read morestaff were amazing

is it a fancy five star resort? Nope!…read more Do they have marble bathrooms and giant bay windows with pristine views and all the bells and whistles? Also no! Do they have an expansive menu with endless dining options? That's a no as well. Don't go into this resort, expecting a Hyatt or Hilton experience. This is a small, quaint, boutique style resort. What they do have is food that is executed and presented beautifully, even if it only features one main restaurant and one buffet each evening. They have excellent poolside lunch options. The menu may be smaller, but everything is perfectly prepared. This is a resort that spares no expense when it comes to flavor. The service at this resort is impeccable. From the wait staff to the housekeeping, I could not ask for better staff. The resort is starting to show its age. It's quaint, with its thatched roofs and tree treehouse like Haciendas. The grounds are well maintained, but again it's missing some bells and whistles. They need to make some updates, including better lighting (especially) adding well lit steps. maybe it was the drinks, maybe it was the early sunsets- but the trips up and down the stairs at night were beyond treacherous! The non-skid tape was well worn and slicker than it should be, and the steps were barely illuminated. We managed to make it through the week without incident, but barely! if you want a five star resort, this probably isn't the place for you. If you have kids and want a lot of activities again, probably not the place for you. However, if you are a foodie who values quality over endless menu options and you just want a nice relaxing vacation. This is a great place to stay. For us, it came down to location, location, location! Being able to walk out of our resort and right into the heart of shopping, food, and authentic experiences was a priceless amenity. I wish the bathrooms were updated, the concrete floors and dated showers have a very strong mildew smell- the lighting throughout is very poor. There isn't enough closet space ( I was able to hang three dresses, my husband's suit, and a few pairs of pants and with only three small nightstand size drawers there isn't much space for unpacking. Maybe it's the thatched roof, maybe it's the flaking concrete, but Even after sweeping the floor feels gritty - definitely come prepared with some slippers or flip-flops. I'm not used to having to wear shoes indoors, but at this resort, I highly recommend it. our week spent here was a bit rainy and overcast, none of the hot tubs at the resort were working. They were all slightly warmer than the pool, which isn't saying much, the ocean was warmer than the pools. Unfortunately, due the size of the waves we couldn't spend much time in the ocean, but their beach is much cleaner than many of the surrounding beaches. They do a great job of staying on top of all of the debris. And they have a lot of great lounging spaces with umbrella coverage. Unfortunately, during our stay Fuego, the main restaurant was under renovation so the limited menu was further limited. We were unable to order whole fish or any of their stone fired pizzas. Despite the closed restaurant, the weather, and the lack of hot tubs and updated facilities the stay was still magical. I can only attribute that to the warmth, sincerity, helpfulness, and availability of the staff. Was it the all inclusive resort experience I am accustomed to? No! Did I have an amazing time absolutely! I think it comes down to knowing what you want in a resort. If you aren't someone who wants 1 million activities a day then this is probably a great place to spend your vacation. They are generous with the drinks and the food, and even more generous with the hospitality!

Do NOT Book Your Wedding Here…read more They turned our wedding week (March 14 Wedding) into a nightmare so I want to warn every couple considering Mahekal for their wedding. What should have been the most magical week of our lives was repeatedly hijacked by the gross incompetence and dishonest practices of this resort's wedding team. And to be clear - we had a separately hired a wedding planner because by November we already knew Mahekal was not providing any support. We went into our wedding week thinking everything was settled without any warning of all the problems Mahekal was going to spring on us: - They lost track of $10,000 which we paid over SIX MONTHS ago. Totally unaccounted for in their system and we had to prove our payment history while onsite for our wedding. - They attempted to charge a $7,000+ penalty, claiming our room block had not been fulfilled through the code. We blocked 40 rooms and had 107 guests staying on property. We had to spend hours cross referencing the list they had which they didn't even have prepared for our meeting, with our list of guests which we had given them. We lost 4 hours to prove their botched webpage caused this issue. - What is truly unforgivable is Mahekal had an entire month after the room block deadline to communicate these issues to us. Instead, they waited until we arrived for our wedding to spring these problems on us due to their poor mgmt. We spent hours each day on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, AND Friday trying to clean up their messes, ruining our moods and taking time away from family and friends. - The front desk charged us $930 for an upgrade that was explicitly supposed to be complimentary. When we checked in they didn't even have us noted as the wedding couple and did absolutely nothing special for us - no rose petals, no welcome gift, nothing but headaches. When I brought the upgrade charge up to Laura, the in-house "wedding coordinator," she showed me on her monitor that their system had the upgrade documented as FREE... I showed her the additional $930 charge on my credit card. She took over a day to find the charge in their system and promised to work with the front desk to return this but has not responded to me or my wedding planner when we followed up. - We didn't get an adequate room even with the purchased upgrade so I couldn't take any getting ready photos. When we toured they showed a room with a living room which was not made available to me. Total bait and switch. I spent 9am to 1:30pm of my wedding day with just vendors because of this... They also do NOT have a bridal suite which is another sign they are not equipped to handle weddings. - I specifically and clearly requested mahi mahi NOT be served as the fish entrée option at our wedding and Laura said she would work with the chef... At our reception I took a bite of the fish and informed my husband it was mahi mahi and he gave me half his chicken... - For our welcome party, we were charged $450 for three infused water dispensers, a "water bar" we had approved for our outdoor cocktail hour (where it made sense given the heat despite the open bar). Instead, Mahekal applied it to the wrong event entirely; the welcome party which was hosted in a covered space with fans (La Cocina) for which we were already paying for a three-hour open bar. I didn't even see this water bar but whether it was there or not, they scammed us out of $450 because they can't even track a single add-on without messing up. - It's obvious now that we were shown updated rooms when we toured a year before our wedding. What we actually arrived to were cracked floors, broken AC, and toilets with rusted flush buttons. We stayed at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba, an actual 5-star resort, for 3 nights after our wedding to decompress from the stress Mahekal had caused. Mahekal felt like a beach motel in comparison. Mahekal is not just incompetent, they are predatory: waiting until you are emotionally and logistically vulnerable so they can hold one of the most important events of your life hostage. The individuals responsible for this horrible experience were Laura Elena Castellanos Patino and Maria Elena Armenta. The only thing I wish for them is Karma. Thankfully, we ended up having a wonderful wedding reception thanks to friends and family, and those memories are slowly replacing our horrible encounters with the resort staff.

We stayed in the Paradisus family section of the hotel…read more We were traveling with 9 people, 3 of which were children. This is the reason we chose your resort in the first place. About 2 weeks prior to coming to the resort we reached out to your resort to make dinner reservations, knowing after a long day in the pools and the sun the kids would need to eat by a certain time and then be ready for bed. You responded to us that it would not be necessary to make reservations , there was plenty of room. This was clearly NOT the case upon arrival. One of the adults we were traveling with literally stood in line for almost 2 hours to make our dinner reservations for the week. The available times were 5:00pm or 9:00 pm. This was very disappointing as well as horrible times for a group of 9 to eat. When I went to the concierge desk to discuss this with them, the person sitting there was rude and took no accountability for this, they advised us to bring it up with guest services. The rooms were lovely and very clean, The pool areas were well maintained and very clean. The staff working the pool area was extremely attentive. Overall, it was a nice place, very kid friendly.

If you had food poisoning symptoms around mid/ end of March 2026, please reach out to me. We…read morereceived stomach pain quite immediately after eating, 10-20 minutes and nausea symptoms a few hours after completing dining and vomiting I will be updating my review on the rest of our stay, which was phenomenal otherwise, but the post is for visibility purposes.

We stopped in here after a wonderful dinner next door at Lido. The location is undeniably…read morebeautiful, set right on the water, but unfortunately the decor and ambiance fall noticeably short in comparison. We had a group of 14, and despite the bar being mostly empty, the hostess would not allow us to split into two tables. Instead, she insisted we crowd around a single six top and move chairs ourselves, which left part of our group standing, leaning against walls, or waiting for space to sit. Service was slow from the start. It took about 20 minutes for the waitress to take our drink order and another 20 minutes before drinks began to arrive. Given the delay, lack of seating, and overall disorganization, we decided not to order any late night food. I ordered a margarita, and it was honestly one of the worst margaritas I've had. Very heavy on sweet and sour, clearly not made in house, with a weak pour. Prices felt steep for the quality being delivered. Oddly enough, the highlight of the visit was people watching. The vibe is... strange. While waiting in line for the bathroom, someone who frequents the bar mentioned it's known locally as a swingers spot. The crowd skewed heavily 60+, but hey, whatever works. If you're in the area, I'd strongly recommend heading next door to Lido for a far better experience in terms of atmosphere, service, and drinks.

We stumbled upon this place looking for a fun atmosphere and after-dinner drinks! This was perfect!…read moreI wish I knew the name of the band because this band was amazing! People were dancing and the music was popping! We ordered drinks which were decent and the food we got was really good! Coconut shrimp, French fries and ceviche. The ceviche was amazing! So fresh and delicious. This is a great spot! So fun and good food with beach views!

I can't recommend this hidden gem enough. This was by far the best breakfast experience we've had…read morein a long time. Juan and Angel were knowledgeable and exceptionally friendly. The chorizo Chilaquiles and various waffles are unmatched. To the point we struggled to order anything else because they were just that phenomenal! Be sure to try the lemonade too! 10/10

1000/10 ! The iced latte was the best coffee I've had in all playa de carmen! Angel was great,…read moreamazing service, and so welcoming :) thanks to the owner for the delicious food

A beautiful resort nearby Playa del Carmen. It has two huge swimming pools, four outdoor hot tubs…read moreand a dedicated kiddie pool. Staff is friendly and helpful. The resort offers a free shuttle daily to downtown Playa Del Carmen (drop-off and pickup location is "Silver Traditions" retail store across from Senor Frog's on Quinta Avenida & Calle 22 Norte) which is three miles away and the return shuttle charges 60 pesos or $4 USD per person which is reasonable. Please see my photo of shuttle departure times. The last shuttle leaves Playa del Carmen at 9:00 pm. You pay pesos or USD directly to the return shuttle's driver. Your concierge will need to make shuttle reservations for you in advance. There is no resort shuttle service on Saturdays. Taxi service to and from the resort to downtown Playa del Carmen is a flat $300 pesos or $20 USD. The resort is isolated with a few other resorts here behind a walled compound. It was very safe and you could go for walks on the main road in the compound and to the main entrance in order, to reach 5th Avenue. There is no public bus or collectivo van that comes close to the resort. You can walk down the beach to downtown Playa del Carmen and there are two brief sections where you will need to walk through shallow water (shin deep for short women), but it is a lovely scenic walk. Or you can walk down 5th Avenue to downtown Playa del Carmen instead of the beach route. The TV in our room did not work otherwise, our room was comfortable. The beach area is heavily eroded so you cannot get into the ocean, but the swimming pools were great. You can take the large red ADO coach bus (drop-off is downtown Playa del Carmen's bus station on Juarez Avenue & 5th Avenue) or Maya train (limited departure times and the station is slightly west of downtown) from the Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen then hire a taxi for $300 pesos to get here and back to the airport. Both options are much cheaper than airport shuttle services. There are 39 ADO buses that leave the Cancun Airport and go to Playa Del Carmen daily. You can see the full list of departure times on the ADO website. Once you arrive at the Cancun Airport and leave the customs area, you can purchase ADO tickets at a red ADO booth or a stand on the bus platform. The ADO bus fee is 270 pesos or $17 USD per person and use pesos or no larger than $20 USD bills. Taxi stands are easy to find in downtown Playa del Carmen.

The bad My wife,…read more(Royal Resorts timeshare owner) and I spent the week of May 9th to the 17th. We were very disappointed in the condition of the beach. Erosion has left the beach almost nonexistent compared to our stay 10 years ago. There were giant 10' diameter burlap sandbags across the entire beach area leaving very little swim area. The sargassum seaweed is a problem as well making it undesirable to go in the water. A crew was constantly working with pitchforks fighting a loosing battle to remove the seaweed. Hopefully they will restore the beach to its pre hurricane status. The restaurants are a challenge to reserve a table. We were a party of 6, they had nothing available at Los Murales Mother's Day night. There were 40 percent of the tables empty the whole evening. It took a relative's complaint of an injury and inability to stand and wait for a table before they gave us a table. Tried to reserve a table at the same restaurant the evening before we left. Same issue, nothing available. No help from the owners desk, said the same thing. No tables available, this time for only my wife and I. Concierge Ian helped us out and poof, a table was available. Restaurant was 50-60 percent full at most. My wife and family have been Royal Resorts timeshare owners since the 80's. Sad that owners get this level of service. The good Aside from the poor condition of the beach, the grounds are meticulously maintained, clean and beautifully landscaped. The rooms are cleaned daily. The food in all the restaurants is very good including Los Murales. Pickleball courts and activity trainers are excellent. The pools, swim up bars, and games played in the pool areas are all fun.

What an absolute dream resort. This was the perfect getaway for our babymoon, and we couldn't have…read moreasked for a better experience. It's adults-only, relaxing, and beautifully designed. There are multiple pools, but we spent most of our time at the activities pool, just the right amount of live music and energy without feeling like a full-blown party. Tons of restaurant options, too, but definitely go early or be prepared to wait. We'd grab our dinner buzzer and head over to Dark Horse for pre-dinner cocktails, which became our favorite routine. Packing tip: Leave the heels at home! The walkways are cobblestone and much easier to navigate in flats. You might get by with wedges, but honestly sandals take up less suitcase space and you'll be happier in them. Every staff member we encountered was incredibly friendly and eager to help. We visited in June during sargassum season, so we didn't spend any time on the beach; but we knew that going in, and with so many great pools, it wasn't a big deal. Definitely bring your own insulated tumbler so bartenders can pour your drinks into it directly, it keeps your drink cold so much longer. The nightly shows were fun, though after two or three they start to blend together. However, we absolutely loved the speakeasy nightclub. Every night had a different vibe depending on the music and the crowd, and we had such a blast there. Our room was great as well, equipped with a steamer, hair dryer, shampoo/conditioner/body wash, plus robes and slippers. We requested turn-down service each night to make the trip feel extra special. The only thing I wish they improved was the late-night room service menu; it would've been nice to have a few more options. The pass-through food box was super cool, they drop the food in without needing to open the door. We would 100% come back to this resort. Truly an unforgettable babymoon!

The property is wonderful. The small pools and "cenote" pools are really cool. The pools close…read moreat 6 pm though. Champagne check in. The rooms are decent. I had a couple of maintenance issues that we fixed within a day (phone and TV). The mini fridge only has Amstel Ultra. Gross. First all inclusive I've ever been to they didn't have a beer from the country in which it was located. The bathroom and rain shower were excellent. The food was very good. The 4 main restaurants say they have a dress code, but intermittently enforced. Street tacos until 1 am every day. The coffee shop is open 24 hr and had pastries and ice cream. It's good. They offer some different lunch options which change daily out near the main pool and beach. The employees are excellent and attentive, with one exception (see below). The "speakeasy" is a dance club. A lot of fun. Opens at 10:30. Great staff. The entertainment theatre is indoors. It was ok. I saw parts of two shows. The downside: for the single occupancy cost (I went alone to a wedding), the value was just not there for 720 bucks a night for one person. It's "mostly inclusive". The extras are everywhere with a staggering price tag. Beach cabana, extra, bottle of wine at dinner extra, every Restaurant had some sort of extra experience. Ribeye steak at ember, 80 bucks. There are enough beach and pool chairs for the volume of people. Of course, half of them are reserved with a towel or personal item and unoccupied like every other resort you've ever been to. I find this highly unacceptable. The beach is fairly mediocre. It's not very wide. The are not very many chairs, and it's not very fun to swim in the water there if you can find a break in the endless amount of seaweed. It's fairly rocky. It's just the way the Riviera Maya is. The coast sucks. This is the third resort I've been between Cancun and Tulum and none of them had a good beach. And the seaweed is endless, along with the army of workers and the loud tractors picking it up. The worst part was the understaffed pool bar. This is the main activity pool. We were there for an hour or two each day, it was the same problem, no bar back, only two bartenders, waiting 15 to 20 minutes to get a drink. Tipping them didn't get you any sort of faster service. They barely acknowledged your presence. They seemed genuinely unhappy, and they were really the only employees at the resort that didn't seem like they wanted to be there. So I will not go back to this place. And possibly never to a secrets again.

The salad was good. This is a Kosher restaurant which appealed to us. However, they present the…read moresteaks as "Prime Beef." We are from the great state of Texas and know our beef. Their ribeye was just plain awful. In no way was it prime. Service was good, seating was nice, wine list is very lacking. Expect very high prices and a let down in almost every way.

It was a pretty atmosphere. The food was good. If you come during the day you'll catch beautiful…read moreview of the ocean other than that it's a nice romantic spot.

When you're at the Andaz Mayakoba Resort, leave your worries behind because you've entered island…read moretime. Even though Mayakoba is not an island, the creators of the resort have created the perfect retreat that keeps you feeling isolated and safe. Mayakoba has 4 hotels: The Rosewood, The Fairmont, The Banyan Tree, and the newest being the Andaz. All 4 properties can be accessed via walking, bike, shuttle, or even boat and have their own set of restaurants. The Andaz offers 4 unique restaurants: Casa Amate, Cocina Milagro, Sotavento, and Tinta del Pulpo (see individual reviews for details). Though comparing the four to each other feels like comparing apples to oranges, the experience at Sotavento could not be matched, as you're having a gourmet meal with toes in the sand adjacent to the beach. Out of the 4 properties, I truly felt the staff at the Andaz were the gold standard. They were always very accommodating, incredibly polite, and competent. If you're looking to bring home a souvenir, I would suggest looking at one of the other hotel gift shops, as the one at the Andaz was tiny and did not provide many options.

I enjoyed everything about the resort. The food/drinks are great, staff is accommodating, and the…read moreviews are unmatched. This hotel is part of the trio hotels on the beach. The private gated entry to Mayakoba; Rosewood, Andaz and Fairmont. Walking on the beach all three properties are side by side. Very high end and relaxing. There are bicycles for use to each property. Stop in by the pool and grab some ice cream!

Review for Fuego Restaurant located in the MAHEKAL beach resort in Playa Del Carmen…read more 4 of us ate dinner at this beautiful high end Oceanside restaurant on February 21/26. Atmosphere was perfect, along with attentive staff. Starters, and drinks were great.....sadly that's where things went downhill big time. 3 of us ordered the Pescador entrees , (seafood & pasta in a salmon sauce). As soon as we started to chew we knew something was terribly wrong. Then we figured it out, the sauce was LADEN with fish scales!! Nobody could eat them so the waiter apologized and took them off the bill. Now the horrible part, hubby had chicken risotto. Then at 3 am was Violently ill with food poisoning. ( our next day Cozumel excursion had to be cancelled) After 2 phone calls to Fuego and them promising to have manager call me back I've given up and decided to post this review everywhere I can . ( we've since seen negative reviews for food quality online) Our advice: do not eat here!

Had a very below average experience first evening at the Mahekal here. Like many other yelpers…read morementioned, view was amazing, service was lacking, and food was meh. - The scallop Appetizer dish was undercooked, and sauce was overwhelmed with paprika. - Arugula and Tuna fish salads were just okay. Green mix in the tuna fish salad was not organic for sure. Arugula salad was very basic. Just a handful of arugula with some shred provolone and little sprinkle of pine nuts. They don't have the sea bass dish this particular Saturday evening. We then ordered the lobster and shrimp dishes, unfortunately, neither were fresh. Side veggies and everything else were pretty bland except very strong coconut oil taste. Service was unbelievably slow and lacking despite not many customers. The server asked us any food allergies to begin with, but then when I told him I do not want alcoholic beverages as I have alcohol intolerance, he seemed disappointed. No water refill without making multiple request. The hostess appear only attentive to males European patrons and was very impatient with us ladies. She even got annoyed when realize our reservation was made through OpenTable, which the link was from their website directly. Overall, I ended up canceling my other two evening reservations here. Going to try other restaurants on site. Btw, there're many wonderful options near the resort.