The Reef Playacar-All Inclusive - Playa del Carmen

the food was like an imitation of good food...a poor imitation.because of the jungle like environment in the middle where you have to walk to get to your room....it was really muggy and humid..they will try to sell you timeshares and waste a day of your vacation.the all inclusive doesn't include a lot of things like the 2 dollar a day lock rental for the safe in the room.or the 5 dollar bottle of water.the mini fridge in the room is not stocked.there was no life at the hotel after 5pm.the taxi charges you 5 dollars to take you the annoyingly short distance to town..15 minute walk...they didn't have enough towels in the bathroom. i could write a book about this hotel..the light fell apart above the bed.the air conditioner made a horrible noise...otherwise it was a great hotel.

The Reef was a bit more expensive than our last Mexico all-inclusive trip however it was not worth it. The hotel itself had a cool setup-the rooms were in seperate villas among some lush foliage and whatnot around the grounds. There were also a couple pools with a staggering area with beach beds and chairs. The beds were exceptionally wonderful and by the far the highlight of this place. The staff was not as friendly as what I have encountered in Mexico before. They weren't very entertaining nor were they very nice. The room is dark and small and the bed is SO uncomfortable so after a couple days we "upgraded" to a suite which had a private balcony and jacuzzi and a nice bed, etc. We paid an extra $400 for the new room for the last few days of our stay. The jacuzzi did not work and was disgusting looking the whole time we were in there. We complained 3 times to the manager and he said he would have it fixed, he supposedly did, but it wasn't fixed. We ended up leaving before it could get resolved and after getting home I had to call the hotel numerous times to speak to the manager about a refund for the supposed "upgraded" room. I was always told he was unavailable and would call me back, and he never did. We ended up filing a dispute with Visa and recouped our money that way. Very disappointing. The food here was okay, not too many options and the quality was standard. My boyfriend ended up getting sick the last 2 days here, we were very careful with the water, so it must have been something else. I would not recommend the Reef to anyone though, I would have rather paid a bit more elsewhere and had a piece of mind than saved a few bucks and settled for this place.

Overall our stay at the Reef Playacar was somewhat disappointing. WE enjoyed the overall location of the hotel and the outside amenities. The beach access is probably one of the nicest in the area. But we were very disappointed in the rooms since they seemed to have clearly deteriorated since our last stay a couple of years back. For instance was the bathtub fixed with a rough patch that covered about half the bottom and still leaked - which did not seem bother anyone. The AC was loud, AC drainage leaked into the room and the drapes had mold spots. Also be aware of very agressive sales people appearing to be hotel employees (which they are not!) trying to sell 25yr memberships for $13K for preferential access at certain hotels. This was very annoying!

The Reef Playacar is not worth staying at. The rooms are plain and not very inviting. There wasn't a good variety of food offered on the buffets. Furthermore, neither the Mexican Grill or the Italian Restaurant are worth going to. The food was not good. The outside of the resort is very pretty and the staff at the resort were very kind.

The Reef Playacar was overall ok. There are nicer places out there for the same price. We had problems with our room from the start... the bathroom ceiling leaked when we flushed or showered. We had a resident lizard in the room that seemed to enter & exit as he pleased through a window that was permanently unlocked because it was broken. The A/C broke and after a 6 hour ordeal with maintenance, we had to get a new room. The AC in the new room worked great, but the room decor was tacky in comparison to the previous room, which was very chic & relaxing. I think if it wasn't for all the problems with our room, I really would have loved this resort. The outdoor areas - swim up poolbar, regular pool, palm tree shaded lounge chairs, and beach were all very nice. The beach was actually quite beautiful and the water was warm & clear. There are sandbags offshore to prevent further beach erosion, but they are far enough away that you still have plenty of swimming space. The buffet dinner was standard. The restaurants offered excellent meals though. We especially enjoyed dinner at the Mexican restaurant. Had we known it was so good, we would have dined there more often. There's an ice cream parlor open in the afternoons to cool off a bit. The ice cream is much like italian gelato and we really enjoyed it.

Our hotel stay was very good, the only complaint I have is the food wasn't very good and they didn't clean up after people were done eating very quickly so you would come to the restaurant and the tables still had dirty dishes on them and the birds would get up on the tables and eat off the dirty plates. Our rooms were spotless and the staff was very nice. It was a short 10 minute walk to town. We have been to Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. Best=Puerto Vallarta 2nd= Riveria Maya Last=Cancun

Hotel was okay, restaurants were very predictable and never changed their menus. Got very bored with the food. Lots of noisy neighbors who came in at night - had to call security more than once.....

The hotel was a good experience. This was our first all-inclusive vacation. The Hotel is also starting to try to push Membership (Timeshare). Don't waste your time!

The PlayCar Reef was just what we were looking for. Quit,quant atmosphere. The beach was very nice. There is a ferry to Cozumel about a 3 minute car ride away from the hotel that we took. The food was great. The staff was very friendly and always willing to help. We had a great time. Be Aware everyone is trying to sell a time share.

Stayed at the Reef two times prior to this trip. I must say they were way overbooked and seemed very short staffed. Staff members did not appear to be as friendly as in prior trips. Had to change rooms after the first night due to no air conditioning. Also seems that more and more locals come in on the weekends, way too many kids...... Love the location and the beach that is why we have gone back several times. After this trip though i think i would consider an adults only resort. One suggestion to the Reef, KIDS don't belong in the pool bar, sitting on the stools, i'm talking as little as maybe 1 1/2 year olds while the parents drink and order the KIDS non-alchoholic blender drinks. Accomodations were great once we changed rooms. One more thing seems they run out of certain alchohol quite frequently for long periods of time, like a day and a half on vodka and rum.