Paradisus La Esmeralda - Playa del Carmen All Inclusive - Familly Oriented

My family and I stayed in a swim-up suite. The room was attractive and very clean, and the pool water was warm. We came in on an overnight flight. When we arrived (around 7:00 am), we were greeted cheerfully by staff members who had been up all night as well (working the nightshift.). The bell boy took our bags and welcomed us with a smile. He escorted us to check-in where he was going to see what he could do for an early check-in. He told us he would talk to the on-coming manager to see if we could stay in a room until a swim-up suite was ready. We were given bracelets so we could go eat breakfast. Unfortunately, we were not able to get into another room to rest until our swim-up suite was ready, but they were able to check us in at noon (as soon as a swim-up suite was available and clean). While we waited, we rested undisturbed in the side lobby. When we asked for anything (room service, extra blankets, etc.), we always received prompt and courteous service. Everyone there was so friendly, and all the staff we interacted with spoke English (which we appreciated since our Spanish is not very good). Not only were the staff friendly, but they were always smiling. It is a great atmosphere. The only reason why I did not give this hotel 5 star is because they had mosquitoes. My daughter woke up to 13 mosquito bites on the first night we were there. I called the front desk, and they sent someone to spray our room. That did help, but I had the room sprayed two more times, because the annoying bugs kept getting in our room. We bought some mosquito repellent at the gift shop. That helped reduce the problem, but there were still mosquitos outside, and we had to continually reapply the repellent. We still received a few more bites between applications. It would have been nice to have the room sprayed without asking (before we went to sleep and woke up bitten) and complimentary mosquito repellent (spray and wristbands) placed in the room. Bug zappers out-side would have been nice as well. I saw little kids with bites on their bodies that were huge due to scratching. It was sad. Last year, at the same time of year, we stayed at another resort in Playa del Carmen, and we did not see any mosquitos. Not sure why this area was different, but I was not expecting it. My advice to anyone going there is to prepare for mosquitoes. The beach is great if you like to snorkel close to the resort. In the beach swimming area, there are wreaths with small fish. Every now and then larger fish would swim up as well. We even saw a big star fish. The sea floor in some of the area was rocky and had some old wooden planks. Swim shoes are a definite must. If you’re looking for a beach vacation were small children can walk barefoot and play in the waves, this is not the spot. It is a great spot for making sandcastles. We also went SCUBA diving with the dive shop at the resort. Our guide, Martinez, was fabulous. He was so patient with our family. He took us to two great dive spots. It was the highlight of our vacation. He knew where to locate a seahorse, eel, cuttlefish, and a variety of brilliantly colored fish and marine life. We even got to see a sea turtle. It was a fabulous dive experience.

The 4 block drive to hotel from the main road is through a poverty and vandalized neighborhood. Every employee is trained to say: "We're sorry, it's not posible" For starters the only rooms with beach front view, are the time-share units, the rest 90% of the rooms have side view of the ocean’s horizon if you’re lucky. The pool: Wait, there’s a pool? Worst beach, nowhere to swim because the shore it’s all rocks and there’s jelly fish. Resort surrounded by jungle. Mosquitoes mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes. Did I mention the mosquitoes? And they love outsiders blood especially children’s. We Checked-in at 8:00PM, two desk attendants (not rush hr) we waited 20 min for 2 guests to be checked in. Very politely “David” would not honor the free upgrade that came with my package. The service was very unpredictable and inconsistent; we either got red carpet or “I don’t even see you” service. Policies varied from employee to employee. I asked a concierge agent for the GM’s name and she did not know it. I noticed that in the other side of the resort, the employees seemed more prepared to serve and were not native. The following day we had breakfast at the estaurant. I asked for coffee, it came with no cream. I asked 3 different people for the cream and never came. Finally our waiter came, the coffee was cold enough for me to dip my fingers in it; I was boiling and another waiter near us made a disrespecful commented to another waiter about us in Spanish, and laughed. I spent my life savings on this trip and I couldn’t be unhappier.

This was a wonderful place for our family vacation. we had a wonderful time at the pool and the food was good as well! the only thing was the beach was ok. but the pools where great!!

THIS HOTEL IS BRAND NEW AND THE HOTEL ITSELF IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT ENDS THERE, THE STAFF HAS NO CLUE WHATS GOING ON THEY PRETEND TO HELP YOU BUT THEY SCREW EVERYTHING UP. AND THE CLEANING STAFF WILL STEAL YOU OUT OF YOUR ROOM, I HAD A VERY EXPENSIVE CHAIN AND CROSS STOLEN OUT OF MY ROOM, AND THE SECURITY DID NOT WANT TO HELP.ALSO THE WEBSITE DOESN'T TELL YOU THAT OUT THE 8 RESTAURANTS THEY HAVE ONLY 4 ARE FAMILY ORIENTED, AND YOU HAVE TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR EATING EVERY NIGHT 3 DAYS IN ADVANCE AND THE RESTAURANTS ARE ALWAYS HALF FULL. IT WAS ONE OF THE WORST STAYS THAT MY WIFE AND MYSELF HAS HAD.

Beyond lovely. The food is some of the best I have EVER had, and it was an all inclusive. My entire family commented multiple times that there is no chance they will be able to keep it up, as they must be losing a bundle on the quality ingredients, made to order items, and simply fabulous options. Seriously gourmet. Although construction was still going on, staff was attentive, polite and helpful. We were upgraded as soon as we got there, and have a wonderful, awesome experience. Would go back in a heart beat!!

Truly Amazing , Jaw Droping Instalations ... Staright Out of a Move . And if you've Ever been to Playa You will definatly apreciate the apoxcimity to the 5th Ave ( the Only 5 Star Hotel less than 3-5 minutes away ... Truly a Paradise with Panoramic Post Card Views ... A True Allinclusive expierence where the Dinning goes above and beyond any preconcieved Expectetations ... Absolutly no reason to leave the Hotel other than Curosity to see the rest of playa , My only Peave and i' stuggling to find one is that at the time of my stay the hotel had just opened and the staff was at full capacity and a little over zealouse in comparison to the 25 percent guest capacity ... And the Night Life at the Bar could have been a little more lively ( they completly separate Family Instalations & Adult Instalations ... A Super + ) Over All Amazing Experience

Staff very friendly, great rooms, great food, small nice beach, not many activities (yet), upscale decor/ambiance. Great for kids, easy to walk around, food, pools, beach.

I traveled with my wife for our honeymoon and we had higher expectations for this hotel. the hotel is very luxurious and has an excellent decoration but has some drawbacks that will lower the quality. The hotel is located in a very bad neighborhood, in addition to the beach where it is located does not meet the expectations you have in this region because it is a very narrow beach, with plenty of stone. Another problem I had is that the hotel beginning operation without completing the construction in that order the hotel have many and had a lot of noise, dust, and construction workers.