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

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.

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.

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.

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!!

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.

Just back from 12 days at the Paradisus La Esmeralda. We had a good time. The resorts are nice and with a little attention to detail they could be great. The food is excellent, the decor is excellent and the staff make you feel so warm and welcomed. If they put a little more effort into making sure that all areas of the resort are spotless, they will be hard to beat. It is a really nice place to visit. Go and enjoy.

This is a large property with a decidedly upscale feel. An interesting feature is the setup with one side adults only and the other for families, with some common area. I think that worked very well, as kids could go to some of the cool places during certain hours. The quality of the rooms, food (Passion restaurant is worth the supplement if you are a foodie) and mostly pampering staff was very high. It was not very full when we were there and it could be different at peak times. Negatives were: the ripoff 150 peso taxi to town for 5 minute ride, although too far to walk; the high pressure pitch to have you attend a presentation on their vacation club or timeshare upon checking, and the scuba dive taken with the in-house operator. There is a seperate royal concierge service area that is extra cost which we did not experience. The beach is good and somewhat secluded, in a protected bay a few km outside the town of Carmen. We did use the spa, which was good but expensive. There are interesting tours you can do in the area. Prices at the in-house agency are considerably higher than from those in town.

Great time spend there. Lots of dining options, rooms are clean, comfortable beds, kid's club fantastic, overall a great family resort

It was my second trip to the hotel. The hotel is 1 year old, modern and contemporary. La Esmeralda is family resort with concierge section which has heated pool. All shows take place in the bar or Gabi Club. Gym is very good for adults only. All a'la carte restaurants are very good. Buffet is good. Service is not very good, often in buffet we waited long time to get coffee or table to be cleaned. It took 50 min. for room service . They cleaned room at diffrent times, some days it wasn't clean until 4 pm. Turn down service - some days they were knocking our door at 10:30. The beach is very nice by family concierge section, other part has rocks at the bottom.

This place offers great fun for the kids and family. The food is great and the beach isn't as bad as many have spoken about. The rooms are spacious and cleaned everyday. I will return in the future.