Playacar Palace

So, just to preface this, I booked this resort along with the Cozumel palace because I had heard great things from a friend who is a travel agent. I planned on going in October for a week, and they require you to pay 1 night of each property as a "refundable" deposit. Long story short, plans changed, I couldn't go as far or get away for that amount of time in October, so I called to cancel and ask for refund. Even in trying to set up my plans (it was a large party of people), there were always problems finding the same person who had helped you before, I was constantly transferred all over the place, when I referenced a name they often didn't know who I was talking about and was even told nobody worked there by that name, and they were always moving so slow it is crazy...I mean, I have been to Mexico many times and understand that things move slower, but this is just a lot of passing the buck and in my opinion possibly hoping that people just give up. It has been explained to me that the organization is huge and they are split between Mexico, Miami, and on line only agents...it is soooooo frustrating. The first person who supposedly put in my request for a refund said they don't send email confirmations, what? I asked if he could make an exception, and he agreed, but never sent it. Then, in trying to follow up on the status and get an email, they had no idea what I was talking about. Meanwhile, I was clear that it was 2 different properties needing a refund and was assured that they did that. Then, I was told that the refunds come from Mexico, so they probably won't show up in my account for a month. After passing me around and disconnecting me multiple times, I was finally put in touch with someone in Miami who emailed with me and assured me she would be my point person from this point forward. I asked for he to verify that the refund request was submitted and she did. fast forward 3 weeks to a generic email sent to me notifying me that my refund would post in a couple days....but it's only for 1 resort (half). I email my point person in Miami and she has to send an email inquiry to the accounting department and tells me that they often take 24-48 hours to reply back to HER. I'm sure this is a beautiful resort, and if you actually go I hope it all goes smoothly, but due to the organization, I can't ever do business with them again. The right hand doesn't talk to the left and nothing went smoothly. Hopefully will get the second half of my refund sooner than a month from now???

As an avid traveler in general, but specifically to the Yucatán and Baja California Sur, in Mexico... we enjoyed our stay. In hopes of answering any questions specific to your needs I’ll share the following: Reception- we’ve had better. Keep in mind this is a very urban/city location.. it’s quick not elaborate entrance/arrival.. they were not as accommodating as we are used to/would have hoped but lots of smiling faces - my feedback to the staff is remember as travelers from the US it has been a long trip especially with kids and if you notice we may have come from a colder climate make accommodations to increase comfort.. I want minimal conversation and don’t want to book anything special until I have eaten and changes into more appropriate attire.. Rooms - neat and tidy, well stocked fridge, great views, lots of energy. All the utilities function well other than phone and TV. But your on vacation so hopefully it using them much. Phone for ordering room service and well the menu is now on the tv so when it didn’t work it was a little inconveniencing. The food is good - I’ll get there. **if you like to watch tv, May want to bring a Roku stick or maybe hdmi to see if you can input to the tv.. we used a laptop to watch movies and had no cords. Everything on tv was in Spanish and no Netflix/streaming options. **walls are a little thin. Light sleepers will wake to the loud doors or nearby rambunctious children. We didn’t mind as we have two of our own, so if a family and occasionally noisy feel at peace — if sensitive to that kind of think may want to ask for room not near kids if they can do that kind of thing. Room service is on point, towels always stocked and fridge/snacks always replenished- can ask for specific drinks too if you catch them. As for drinks (made to order/bar) Recommend: iced or hot cappuccino (very well made every time), Moscow mule, purple rain, iceberg Food: go book hibachi right away (reservations are limited especially for non members - inside cafe Del Mar @ momo) **if not motivated by the entertainment you can order off menu the hibachi food (steak, shrimp, fish, chicken) this was our favorite- the last entree of the menu was very cool/good too: itchyachi or something. Cook your own beef on a hot stone at table. Italian food fans.. the Italian restaurant was great too for dinner. Petite filet was excellent with asparagus & mashed potatoes Between the two above 5 dinners of 7 were there. Cafe Del Mar and the outdoor dinner areas are fine just didn’t have the flair with the food/service that the other two offered. Pools are great clean and perfect temp. Lots of activities and attentive staff. The birds can get a little overwhelming when you order food poolside so don’t let your guard down... they are watching. Tours/membership sales.. honestly not too pushy. We are already interval members/other hotel group so we’re prepared and open. We did spend some money to get weeks but felt like we could have walked away and they had a lot of confidence in their product. You can start very small if you were ever curious and certain you would use/book the travel... you can always upgrade so start small if cautious. The benefits are there. Spa was delightful- keep in Mind spa credits have limited services and there are plenty of add on costs. Book your own tours. AVOID- Selvatica.. go to XCARET or XPLOR for cenotes- zip lines - those activities. Stay on top of transportation if you have it included book in advance There’s an OXXO across the street. Spend money there instead of at the on site shops for Misc stuff.. energy drinks, sunscreen, ect.. mall right there too for everything else.. Starbucks if you can’t deviate but the resort coffee products are not a downgrade in my opinion.

Another great trip to a resort in the Palace family. After the last year, it was great to escape and get back to traveling. Playacar Palace certainly helped us relax. Due to an abundance of caution due to COVID, we spent most of our time right at the resort, and only ventured off property once or twice. We were certainly able to enjoy ourselves. The service was great, especially at poolside. Daniela was absolutely phenomenal taking care of us by the pool, and we sought her out daily. She would ensure that we always had what we needed, whether it be food or drink. Before she would go on lunch break, she would bring us extra beverages so we had plenty in her absence. She went above and beyond, and made our stay extra special. Thank you Daniela and Palace for an awesome stay. We are leaving tomorrow, but the memories will last years! Cannot wait for our next Palace vacation!

Visiting Playacar Palace is like going home to visit family. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly, and that is why we always return. When we arrived, Carmen at the front desk was very helpful in assigning our room, and then Leonardo helped us to get settled in. Christina welcomed us and opened up our credits. Each day for breakfast, Yaasnia and Raul were friendly and so nice. At guest services, Fabiola worked with us to set up our spa reservations where I got a pedicure from Carmen, and we had facials and massages with Sara and Margarita. We spend our days at the pool, where Brenda, Jorge, Alexander and Xiomara always provide great entertainment. Gaby is amazing and always made sure to check on us to make sure that we had everything that we needed. Perla was also great. We enjoy seeing Benito at the bar each time we visit, and Juan is great at making fun cocktails. Anaclesio was a new face at the bar for us, but he certainly made sure that we were taken care of, even remembering my favorite drink. We ate at the Italian restaurant a few times where Ricardo waited on us, and at Momo's where Ivan took care of us several times. We loved Enrique and his amazing work at the sushi bar. After dinner, we would head down to the lobby bar where the two young men (I can't remember their names) made drinks for us while we watched the shows. One note: I would recommend paying extra for private transfers, because it is 45 minutes from the airport, and by the time we picked up/dropped off other people, it took us 2 hours to get from the airport to Playacar Palace, which was disappointing. We love visiting, and we will be returning in June!

We experienced a week of pure relaxation at Playacar Palace over our anniversary. We had a beautiful view of the beach. The water is amazing, three shades of blue. The food and service were absolutely amazing! A special thank you to Silvia who took such great care of us at the pool with food and drinks! Also to Eder, our pool concierge, for such great service all week. We also want to thank Paola and Tania, our Diamond concierge, Perla and Basilio at the pool, Fernando and Porfirio at breakfast, and Ivan and Miguel at Momo. There were so many others that made our trip so perfect.