Hotel Riu Playacar - All Inclusive

“New Year's Break”

My request for a quiet room on a high level was honored and I had the best sleep. I didn't mind not having a balcony. Housekeeping started at 8:30am and were quick and quiet. The food was good- Breakfast and lunch especially, I was disappointed that only 2 restaurants were a la carte and the food o… more

My request for a quiet room on a high level was honored and I had the best sleep. I didn't mind not having a balcony. Housekeeping started at 8:30am and were quick and quiet. The food was good- Breakfast and lunch especially, I was disappointed that only 2 restaurants were a la carte and the food offered could be found at the Buffet. The Buffet staff were great. The beach/pool bars did their best and no one waited long. The lobby bars offered more specialty drinks. The best part of the vacation was that no one saved lounge chairs!! At 11am you could find 2-3 pool or beach loungers and umbrellas. One suggestion would be to have additional trash/plastic drink cups/plates near the pool and beach. The entertainment was sub-par and the theater was very small. A lot of people went to the RIU Tequila which was across the street. RIU Playacar is located in an upscale, very safe neighborhood.

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“Great Christmas Vacation!”

Hotel Riu Playcar was exactly what we were looking for to have a Christmas on the beach! The service was excellent and we were always greeted with a smile. My only complaint was that the beds are only doubles so sharing a room with 4 (2 adults and 2 teens) was tight but we were able to get a cot … more

Hotel Riu Playcar was exactly what we were looking for to have a Christmas on the beach! The service was excellent and we were always greeted with a smile. My only complaint was that the beds are only doubles so sharing a room with 4 (2 adults and 2 teens) was tight but we were able to get a cot which helped for the kids. The Christmas Eve buffet and Christmas day activities were great. Thank you to all the staff for making our Christmas special.

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“Overall great resort! Best swim up bar, fresh juice drinks, perfect beach and location”

This resort is pretty great. Positives: The beach is one of the best - creamy white sand, expansive and walkable. The swim up bar! it's awesome - no kids allowed!! Lots of seating and tables right in the water, best part of the resort! Location is fantastic - walkable to Playa del Carmen which is… more

This resort is pretty great. Positives: The beach is one of the best - creamy white sand, expansive and walkable. The swim up bar! it's awesome - no kids allowed!! Lots of seating and tables right in the water, best part of the resort! Location is fantastic - walkable to Playa del Carmen which is a must-go-to. The resort is well kept and clean. Could use some updates in the rooms for sure, but the rooms are fully stocked with alcohol every day, and the bedding is crisp and clean. The drinks are made with REAL juice! Strawberry daiquiries made with fresh strawberries for example. All the slushes were real fruit, all the mix was real. So awesome - that is hard to find on resorts Negatives: Our room faced the maintenance crew so the noise was pretty bad - bring earplugs! Not much going on around the pool - no 'crazy games' or music all day Food is meh. The on-site restaurants are basically the buffet food served nicer. Nothing incredible about the food, standard resort fare.

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“Christmas Holiday ”

Advertised as a 5 star as you arrive, although with Tui it states 4 star. I would personally rate 3 star. The positives are the location, beach front hotel and close to town. The hotel also benefits from a nice pool bar, and the staff have all been great. Some of the negatives include the specialit… more

Advertised as a 5 star as you arrive, although with Tui it states 4 star. I would personally rate 3 star. The positives are the location, beach front hotel and close to town. The hotel also benefits from a nice pool bar, and the staff have all been great. Some of the negatives include the speciality restaurants, food varies from one visit to the next, first visit to steak restaurant was excellent, second was poor, and the steak wasn't edible, same goes for both the Italian & Asian. The buffet restaurants, although they look lovely sat outside, the birds are flying in and steal the food and leave their poo everywhere on chairs etc. In the main bar again the staff were great, but the cleanliness needs addressing, tables not cleaned, drinks spilt & still there a few hours later. Plastic uncomfortable chairs, dated and could do with replacing. The same goes for the rooms, although nice & spacious, they are dated, walls are very thin, so quite noisy & smell of mould, no air circulation or fan in the shower. They were cleaned daily & this was to a good standard. There are only 2 toilets near the pool, which are behind the snack bar, not ideal, always queuing & one didn't work on a day we were there. Lastly I was shocked to see that at the end of the night, all the food left over, which was a lot, was just thrown away into big bins, not even offered to staff to take home. What a waste!

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