TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Our family of 9 from 3 countries stayed at Mahekal in September for 5-9 days and we paid for an all-inclusive at 3 garden rooms and 1 beach villa. For 3 of us it was the first trip to Mexico. We absolutely loved staying by the famous and very loud 5th avenue while Mahekal felt like a quiet, peaceful island oasis. All three garden rooms were very quiet and cool. The front beach villa was very luxurious, cool and noisy because of the public beach. However, the family members who stayed there actually loved the noise! We really liked that the beach was public - as it should be everywhere - people watching is fun and the beach is very vibrant at sunrise because of open water swimming clubs, suppers, boot camps etc. Mahekal’s sun lounger area by the beach is very well setup and has plenty of shade. Despite being next to the public beach it felt very private, quiet and secure - we could leave our belongings without worry and go for a swim at all times. We had a whole week clear of sargassum - it only arrived on our last day and barely affected the beach due to the very effective barriers in the sea. While the seaweed stays in the sea and healthy until it’s collected, there is no bad smell at all. Next, the hotel has an army of very helpful, friendly staff. Whenever I had a minor issue I would message the hotel on WhatsApp and all matters were addressed within minutes. If we didn’t have cash to leave tips they weren’t bothered at all and said “just bring some later” which we did. The included, non-premium drinks selection is more than plenty and there are lots of choices. Only one restaurant was open due to the low season which makes complete practical sense, however it still had the a la carte menu from the closed restaurant (Fuego) for lunch and buffet for dinner. The food was absolutely delicious, fresh and lots to choose from. The gym is cooled off by AC and has good treadmills and weight selection. I used it a number of times. It closes at 7pm because it only has natural light, however I was able to sneak in and run on the treadmill at night :). It has towels and bottled water, only the right side door works with the key card. We were very impressed by all the swimming pools. We used four swimming pools - they were all clean, beautiful, all with their own characters. While there are no lap swimming lanes, I was able to do laps in the infinite pool by the restaurant and in the biggest pool. They were never crowded and the water was warm. The infinite pool was also great for a baby as it had steps and some shade. One of our favourite meditative activities was painting ceramics with Shilo. She was there for two days of the week - a few of us painted mugs, turtles and sea horses with acrylics to make highly personalized gifts, which were then glazed and baked the next day. Great value and fun! There was also morning yoga and stretching on a number of days. One of the most spectacular characteristics of the place is its immaculate gardens. As someone in the hospitality business I can only imagine how much effort goes into maintaining the grounds. There were gardeners at work at all times. We sincerely hope Mahekal does not sell out to be replaced with one of the many concrete condos. The grounds make it magical and very organic with the spirit of the land. We really loved seeing all the animals - white-nosed Coati, Agouti, cats and raccoons - all were shy and not aggressive. And cheeky birds trying to steal cheese. We also enjoyed exploring the smaller, abandoned wild part of the resort, the site of a future condo development. Finally, the price of the all inclusive. At first we thought it was more on the expensive side (before we arrived). Some nearby condos really slashed their prices and I stayed in one of them for a couple of nights after we had a last minute family addition. However, PDC is fairly expensive overall and what I saved in staying at another place (which did not have even have coffee in the room) I quickly spent on eating out. We are not a wealthy family and we all agreed Mahekal was a good value by the time one adds up rooms, service, food, drinks, swimming pools and sun loungers/beach. And there is no price to be attached to how enjoyable this place is. The only criticism I have (which is reflected in some negative reviews) is the lack of response from the corporate reservations team when making a direct reservation on their website. At first it made me nervous about staying at Mahekal, but all was quickly forgotten on arrival. If you’re worried about that, book through Booking.com. We were not charged any unexpected extras, everything was just fine. We all had a fantastic stay and everyone said they really wanted to come back again. We did not want to leave. Thank you!

We just spent a wonderful 10 days at Mahekal Beach Resort in Playa del Carmen, and it was truly the perfect vacation. Everything about our stay was exceptional. The rooms were beautiful, comfortable, and impeccably maintained, and the resort itself is absolutely wonderful — peaceful, charming, and beautifully designed. What made our experience especially memorable, however, was the staff. Everyone we encountered was incredibly friendly, welcoming, attentive, and professional. The level of hospitality throughout our stay was outstanding and made us feel genuinely cared for from beginning to end. After 10 days, we were genuinely sorry to leave. Mahekal was everything we could have hoped for in a relaxing vacation, and we would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone visiting Playa del Carmen.

Oh Dios Mio, this place is amazing and it's the staff that go that extra mile to make it really special and hard for us to leave. A special thank you to Silvestre who was always there for us , the staff at Las olas. Brian, Enrique and the receiptIon staff. And not to forget Caty who looked after our bungalow meticulously. During our 1 month stay. Definitely recommend this oasis in PDC.

Alejandro, Rebecca, Erica, Andrea were very kind and helpful in showing us how to make the bracelets.

We booked a cancellable trip for Jan. 2027. We had to cancel in July and when we did they withheld our deposit money. When I asked when I’d receive my deposit back ($1000), they said 60-95 days. I asked them to send the cancellation policy and they ghosted me. I only got my money back after making a dispute claim with my credit card company. Within hours of my complaint, suddenly I received a credit from them. This clearly wasn’t a mistake as you can see through the many other complaints. Do not book here.