Stayed here for 3 days and 2 nights for a friend's wedding. It was pricey but a nice experience for everyone. Day1 We got there early and waited until 3pm to get checked in our room. Upon arrival, we were given hand towels to clean our hands and offered popsicles but since we planned to eat, we didn't take advantage of that anymore. We were given bracelets which served as the room key. We were able to eat brunch at the buffet (Naos) first while waiting but they closed at 12 noon and opened at 1pm again. The food was breakfast food and was just okay. It was the only place that's open and doesn't need a reservation so we had no other choice. While waiting (for 3 hours) we lounged outside the buffet restaurant. There were bed chairs available outside. We tried the drink bar which was really nice since it was a hot day. While waiting, we also roamed around both La Esmeralda & La Perla. It's basically the same except it's extremely quiet at the adult side. The room was spacious but you can see the wear & tear specially in the bathroom. The flush of the toilet was weak that you have to press it long enough for it to actually flush. The iron was unfortunately broken and not usable. We went swimming and there were plenty of areas you can swim depending on your preference. The whole resort was huge and for sure you'll find a spot. The water was cold if there's no sun directly hitting the spot where you're at. For dinner, we went to Naos first since other places need reservation. The food was better than the breakfast's line up. Our friend had a reservation at Flora so we had our dinner continuation there. The theme there was nicer. It's mexican food where you will walk towards the sand and they had stalls where you can pick your food buffet style. It was interesting and enjoyable. The food was good too. Unfortunately, even when we asked for a high chair, they didn't give us one. Since we're here for a wedding, the first night they had a bachelor and bachelorette's party and drinks were unlimited, of course. We also went to the bar. I just didn't like the music they were playing there. It was a bit boring for a bar. Day 2 For lunch, we ate at Blue Agave. They offer ala carte Mexican food. The service was poor and we waited so long for our food. It did not help that the weather was quite hot too. The food was not good and we did not enjoy our meal. Afterwards, we tried the ice cream and I liked the banana split. The wedding took place at the bridge between Flora and Blue Agave. It was cool and windy there. The only thing I didn't like was since the beach was right in front, people were passing by and sometimes they even pause and stay for a while. It kinda ruined the view of the couple during their ceremony. For the reception, I was surprised the resort had halls. (This resort is huge after all). I don't know if I should comment on the reception since it's also the couple's preferences and the deal they made with the resort. But, if the sound system was the resort's then it was pretty good and loud. The food was just okay. The serving portions were not that filling. The decoration was minimal (both for the wedding and the reception). Day 3 Breakfast at Naos. They open at 7am. It was check out day for us. After our luggages were picked up from our room, I had ice cream one last time. I'm not sure if it's because it was early but they offer milkshake in the morning at the ice cream bar too. For checkout, apparently you can do it online too. If we had known, we wouldn't have waited for an hour in line. Other comments: Since we were here for an event, we didn't get to avail the other resort amenities but there were a lot you can do here. Too bad we didn't get to experience them. For starters, they have daily schedules for kid's activities. They also offer discounted massages (but it's still pricey). There's a guy you have to talk to regarding that. Along the pool area, there were table tennis tables where you can play. There's also a snack bar that offers burgers and fries and the like when you want to eat while swimming. The cabanas are paid for though (you pay extra for that). There's also the beach. All the staffs we talked to were nice. Overall, the people and the place were great. Unfortunately, the food was not what we were expecting though. We didn't get to try everywhere though so there's that. read more

It's a really nice looking resort. Everywhere you look, you feel like you are part of the jungle. Pros: - A lot of swim up suits and they are not connected to the main pools. - All the drinks were really good - Everyone was friendly and always had a smile. - If you opt for their Upgraded Ni'kte suit rooms, you get your own person concierge and that worked out really well since you can text them via WhatsApp. - When you updated to Ni'KTe suits you also get to check in your own special area that's never really crowded and have access to you a special lobby area - there is an adults only section if you would like. - Kid friendly. - More than enough pools so you never feel overcrowded. Cons: - Even though everything looks beautiful once you get a closer look you can start to see the wear and tear. - The beach isn't really for swimming due to the amount of seaweed but there are more than enough pools and they do try hard to clean it all day. - the food isn't great. We were really disappointed in the food. We mainly ate outside at the lunchbox. Now it's about a 45 mins ride from the airport so be prepared. If possible I would probably arrange transport before hand instead of trying to get a taxi. If you book an upgraded room, you get a cenotes Tour included. This resort is outside of Cancun and alot quieter and more family friendly. It's relaxing but you may be disappointed with the food options. I would probably go back honestly due to the service we received. They did try to schedule a timeshare meeting but I said no one time and never heard about it again. Most places usually call over and over trying to get you to attend a presentation. read more

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Let me just start by saying the food was the best of any all inclusive we've ever been to so enjoy the photos of that deliciousness. Reserve- definitely an awesome upgrade -you get top notch service, two exclusive restaurants (one is in adult only side), and two exclusive pools (again one is adult only side). Food- 5* isn't even enough for them. It was AMAZING. Pool side order you some tacos, wings, burritos, fries it's all delicious just don't let the Coati's steal it Rooms- so nice and well thought out, but I will say our swim up pool was not used by us as much as we'd imagined - we used our friends on the la perla side. Being kid-free adults on the kids side was mostly only annoying when kids were jumping into the swim ups and just being kids in the pool and you wanted to relax - we did initially book la perla but somewhere along the lines there was a mix up and they put us on the wrong side. Plus Right after they did landscaping there was a lot of plant debris floating in the pool that didn't get scooped or filtered out. It also just seems a little worn down and there are tiles missing. Normal wear and tear I'm sure as it's not like it's a brand new resort. Activities- eh, we are used to there being a lot more activities to do at a resort and a lot more going on pool side, but there really wasn't much. Could just be covid. They did have some fun Zumba and pool volleyball on the la perla adult side. Pools in general- the pirate ship is so so fun and the kids in our group loved it. The reserve pools are where we spent most of our time otherwise and they were clean, warm, and had great swim up bars. We LOVED the Bali beds around the pool as a nice hangout spot and it was great when it was raining. Beach- I'm sure the beach is nice other times of the year, but right now there's a lot of seaweed/algae or whatever and it STINKS and you can't really swim. We were expecting something different so that was a bit of a letdown. Up in Cancun the water was so pretty. read more

Paradisus La Esmeralda - Hotels Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

Paradisus is accurately named so - what a beautiful place to spend a vacation! Upon arrival, we were so overwhelmed and there were so many cool things we wanted to see so we were worried we wouldn't get to it all! We had about 4 full days there though and saw most of what we wanted to see. I think one extra day would've been great though since we wanted to check out the water park again and maybe try another restaurant. If you're visiting without kids, you'll also be able to visit the adult only side with even more options available to you for restaurants, clubs/bars and pools. The staff all across the resort were amazing. There was no shortage of them and always easy to find somebody. Many of their services and information can be found on the Meliá app. It's not the best app, kinda slow and not very up to date but it gets the job done if you need to order room service, find a restaurant, or order amenities to your room. WiFi is across the resort and I never had issues with it being spotty during our visit (until you walk out to the beach). The actual rooms are beautiful even if you have the basic one. Ours had a pool view so we woke up to a great view every morning. Ours was on the very east side of the property so it was a nice walk through the pool area to get to all the restaurants. We were closest to the water park also. I really liked that their hotel room access card is actually a bracelet so you don't have to worry about pulling a card out to get in/out of your room or have to carry a card around and worry about it when swimming. Food was pretty good but not the BEST - you have to remember it's all inclusive so portions will be small and buffet quality isn't always up to par, but it was all still edible and delicious and you can totally get your money's worth. One of my favorite parts was the Nespresso bar located near the lobby and restaurants. We got iced lattes every day and it was the best! They have plenty of dinner spots but you have to make sure you make reservations ahead of time with the reservation desk located near Capella. It doesn't allow you to make reservations on the app for some reason. Depending on the restaurant, some are a la carte and some are family style with a prix fixe menu. The portions can be small even with family style so you might find yourselves at the buffet after like we did. Many of them are resort casual dress code but some are formal so make sure you have nice clothes packed. My favorite restaurants were Agua Marina and Bana. I really enjoyed the fish tacos at the Sunrise Grill too, it was the perfect light lunch meal to enjoy at the pool and they even have a swim up bar to order drinks. Room service is also available 24/7 but will cost $5 starting on your 3rd room service request. Portions are small here too depending on what you pick but the food isn't terrible. It's just a nice option to have if you can't leave the room, like us while our son was sleeping. There are tons of amenities here, more than we could even use! They have a kids daycare area where you can leave any age children starting at 1 year old. We didn't use it but it looked like a great size kid-safe play zone and they even have a schedule of kids activities available. There are also portrait sessions available and the only cost is if you want to purchase any photos. We ended up picking a few but they came out great considering it's a short 20-min session, and they know all the good spots! I thought it was so smart of them to have this service because families often want some kind of memory from vacations and it's a great chance to get photos taken for you without having to worry about taking them yourself. There are also other things like a spa, various classes, gym, and planned activities throughout the resort like water zumba or silent disco parties. There is also no shortage of places to cool down too. You'll never find it difficult to find a place to hang out and lounge. It gets warm as soon as you wake up and stays humid through the evening so you could swim any time of day comfortably! The pool area is great and you can be in a kids area or a quieter side pool all in the same central zone. The adult pools are on the other of the resort too. The water park was fun, for all ages. One side is for small kids, and there is also a main area with large water slides and a water play structure. Just like the pool area, there are tons of cabanas and lounging areas along with a full bar. This was our first visit to an all inclusive resort and it did not disappoint. It's a great way to have a nice vacation if you want to stay on the resort and not have to plan any activities outside the resort (although those are available too!). I think the pricing is a great deal too, because elsewhere even if you had a cheaper hotel you could easily spend just as much on food and activities. I'd recommend it equally for both families and adults looking for a relaxing time! read more

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Second time at this resort, The first time was in 2021 the property was a "Gem" beautifully kept, well maintained super clean. every little detail was done with a warm smile. the servers knew your orders from how you wanted your drinks to what the kids ate !!! Now June 2024 the property is in horrible disrepair and decaying , it's a shame management and the owners haven't care or don't want to keep it up . Literally the place is falling apart , most of the roof structure from most of the public areas are leaking and celling falling to the walkways. The pool area furniture from umbrellas to lounge chairs are ripped and most inoperable. The restaurant food quality also has taken a hit. The check in reception area staff NEED more friendly and knowledgeable personnel! It took almost 1 hour to check in !!! Unacceptable!! read more

We been going to all inclusive resorts since we had kids and understood it's time to travel differently than what we are used to. We started when my youngest was 8 months and it was hard in the beginning. Until it turned out to a family tradition. We go off season for my birthday. Not during winter or spring breaks. We went with big groups, extended family, grandparents and alone. We also try a new resort every time. This is one of the worst ones I think. Best features: the concierge and staff treat kids like royalty. No frowns or faces just joy seeing them. Concierge came daily to make kiddos fun balloons and give them treats like shirts, hats and so on. They have service for kids camps if for hours or days called kidsdom. We never used that. Water park for kids inside the hotel with warmed pool.cause well when we came, it was winter in Mexico. For us it's just low grade sunny days comparing to snowing back home. Every night at 8pm, there are shows. Kid friendly. One of the best restaurants is bana family. They have sushi and main dishes and cater for allergies as best they can. Besides that... we got the swim up pool and nikte service that was about $900 more. We never used the pool (it was freezing) and our room only got sun when it was around 3pm. So it kinda rendered the pool upgrade useless. We didn't use the nikte pool cause we were at the water park pool all day long. It also grated access to lunch box restaurant that is open from 11am to 4pm. Not amazing. I wouldn't recommend that extra service. we usually go to places that have high recommended food cause that's our priority in resorts. Good food. Most of the restaurants here were very mediocre. Not sure how they got the high reviews. It's a nice yet expensive resort. I personally don't think it's worth the money they charge. We've been to more affordable ones that had better food and better activities. This one for the price and what you get for it is at 2-3. Mexico excarat being top at 5 stars. Good pointers: spacious wide rooms with big bathrooms and amazing water flow in the shower. Downside, mediocre food, not a big veriaty if activities with kids if you want to do something extra. And... between 4 to 6pm only one bar or taqueria is open for food. Odd read more

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Definitely not my favorite all-inclusive experience. 1) Food was great! When you could get in.... The restaurants all kept very weird hours, and nothing but the snack bar was open from 11am-12pm (prime lunch time for me) 2) Getting a restaurant reservation was difficult. This wasn't even peak season, and it seemed like everywhere was full for any time. We had a bigger group, so we even offered to split into two tables of 4-5 people. That didn't work for them either. 3) The resort was huge and very spread out. We weren't sure where our bracelet level of access could allow us to go, so we frequently were asked to relocate, even on the beach. 4) The was a $5 charge every time you requested room service food or beverage (I've never encountered this at any other all-inclusive resort) 5) There were no hot tubs anywhere!!! (Technically one in the children's water park which closed at 5pm and one in the spa, but we never got to have a warm evening hot tub dip which I always look forward to on vacation) 6) Room service cleaning crew did an excellent job multiple times a day, but I didn't appreciate them putting my things into other people's suitcases and vice versa. Overall, I would 100% choose a different all-inclusive experience the next time I'm going to Playa Del Carmen. Other than the quality of food being pretty good at the buffet (couldn't get a reservation anywhere else really), this resort didn't leave much reason for me to return. read more

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For a gift to my wife's mother, we took our family of five including our three year old to this very nice resort. Get a shuttle from the airport to make your stay a little more relaxing. Check-in could have been a little smoother as it took quite a long time, but every one was very pleasant and tried to be helpful. Whatever concerns we had were eventually handled and we were able to spend several days at a very nice resort. All of the help here went out of their way to greet us and offer any help they could. There are several very nice restaurants on site to have different kind of meals including a buffet style restaurant to have a low-key meal. The grounds are meticulously maintained and during the pandemic, we got the feeling that the nice people working here were extremely glad we made the trek. While you had to wear a mask while indoors, the rest of the resort was fairly lax. Gloves were given and collected at the buffet. When we went, you had to get a COVID test to return home to the states. Available on site, the testing is easy and painless. Results in just a few minutes. Like everywhere we travel in Mexico, this is a great resort and we would travel here again. One note to check- watch the weather reports for any incoming "red tide" if you are a beach lover. There was a ton of kelp on the beach while we were there and although it didn't ruin our trip- we might expect it might be a problem for others. read more

We were at the Paradisus La Esmeralda Family Concierge at the end of September with our 1.5 and 3.5 year olds. This place is a no brainer for families with young kids. The service was exceptional, and there was so much to do and so much support for young families. The beach was great. There was seaweed in the water, but the beach itself was kept clean when we visited. There was no issue of smell. My only complaint about the beach is that the lounge chairs and beds are quite a distance from the water, which meant that I couldn't really relax or be in the shade if my kids wanted to play at the water's edge. The resort was beautiful and kept as neat as a pin. We had a master one bedroom suite. It was huge, which was nice with four people to the room. The living area was mostly converted to sleeping space for the kids. Housekeeping came by twice daily (our concierge directed them to best times to avoid disturbing the kids during nap time), which is key when you have a kid still in diapers. The pools were great. We spent a lot of time at the pirate pool and the water park. The family concierge pool was great, and we wished that we spent more time there, but it's hard to walk past a pool with water slides when you have toddlers! Food was pretty good. We ate at Olio for breakfast, then lunch was usually either at the Sunrise Grill or the buffet. Dinners were always at the a la carte restaurants. We did not feel pressured to upgrade anything, but we did occasionally order a bottle of wine or get the lobster entree. We left the resort a couple times. We went to walk around Playa del Carmen once. I could have skipped that as it was overly touristy and very hot. We also went down to Tulum. It was hot but worth it. The resort can hook you up with a tour, but it was just as easy to get a taxi to drive us down and hire a guide on the spot in Tulum. We didn't mind doing a bit of walking, even though it is quite hot at the site. Service was top notch. I think there was only one night that I didn't love our waiter of all the meals we ate. Everyone was so nice, and they humored my Spanglish. I'll happily return. read more

Best family friendly resort ever!!!! We have came two years in a row & will likely be back next year! Everything from the room, amenities, food to the staff are amazing!! Alan by the pool was my fav! He remembered my sons name & our favorite song Our chef at Bana was also great but I can't remember his name. We ran into a few issues here & there but nothing crazy. The reason I took a star off is a long story but basically we were lied to about the price of something & we were stuck paying the bill Everything else was great. The water park is our fav because the water is heated but they don't serve liquor over there (you can go get it yourself & take it over there). read more

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This was my first time ever going to México as well as going to an all inclusive resort. Arriving here is a 30 minutes drive from the airport of Cancún. Let me remind you that this whole state of Quintana Roo is a jungle therefore the climate is humid. Once arrival, you are greeted by bellboys and staff, waiting to help you feel accommodated and relaxed. Check in was easy and I was ready to eat. I had taken a red eye flight and was hungry! I went directly to the other resort for adults only to have breakfast since the family side of the resort was busy. And let me say that the food was not disappointing. After eating, wanted to explore the resort, check out my "home" for the next few days, and was excited to know that there was a beach a walk down the beautiful resort. Service was amazing! I was always greeted, had conversation with workers and wanted to interact with them. Everyone was great as well since I did have an emergency situation in my room and medical staff was fast and informative. As my days counted down to my departure, I took advantage of all the shows, performances, events and clubs inside the resort. This resort has it all for both family and adults, I highly suggest you bringing your family or yourself and enjoying the Mexican riviera. read more

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We are loving our stay but the seaweed situation on the beach is a nightmare. They are cleaning it up but they are overwhelmed. If hanging on the beach is important to you Playa De Carmen is out for a while. read more

Paradisus La Esmeralda - Hotels Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

Visited here for a destination wedding. No plans on going back. This is my first all inclusive ( I use that term loosely here) resort. I have been on all inclusive cruises and this is not all inclusive. So, I get it and this was my first time, so I won't rate them to bad not being all inclusive until I go to another resort and have something to compare it to. It's a business I get it. Customer service:. Very remarkable. Everyone on the staff said hi everytime I saw them. They always asked if I needed anything and did a great job. Language was a barrier at times but I blame that on me not them. I was in Mexico and not them in America. Some of the best service ever. Food: Ehhh.... Not impressed. Again only had a cruise to compare it to and this stuff wasn't even close. You had to pay for better food and I didn't do that. The food was just ok. Tried to figure out why and I think it was just a volume issue. Too many people to serve? Had to pay for room service food. Sucks. Had to make reservations to eat at the nice places. Sucks. Empty seats all over and I couldn't get a reservation before 9. Sucks. Visitors: I noticed the entire resort was more of a family place. Even on the adult side it was couples and very reserved. If you are a couple and looking for a calm relaxed place with no action this is it. So, no action. Resort entertainment:. Sucks. No nightlife. Maybe a random band or karyoke but nothing worth mentioning. Seriously, get a band or DJ for every night. And in more place than one. About 10 pm this place shuts down. One bar open and one band maybe. Had to go out in town more than I wanted to so we could dance or just be around people after midnight. I am definitely not a partier and I was disappointed with the entertainment. Wedding was awesome. They didn't miss a thing. On the bridge to the beach, good music, decent food, great location. If you want a destination wedding and are bringing tons of family this is the place. Rooms: great! My room was clean and updated and very nice. Semi quiet, I was on the family side so kids all over, but overall quiet. Very nice rooms. So three stars. Good and bad and I won't be back unless another family member is getting married here and I may stay down the street and just visit on wedding day. read more

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Beware! Lies, Deceit, and Broken Promises! It is not safe! Let me preface this by saying this will be a long, detailed read. My wife and I booked this resort in April of 2019 for an April 2020 wedding. We then were forced to move the wedding to April 2021 because of COVID. Below are the highlights of our issues: · Two nights before the wedding, my mother was found UNCONSCIOUS in a public restaurant bathroom soaked in disgusting toilet water from a burst pipe. The last thing my mother remembers is walking into the women's bathroom and there was a man in there. She woke up the next morning with a swollen jaw. When asked to see the cameras outside the bathroom, they claimed there were none. When I inquired the next day, they claimed they reviewed the cameras (that they said didn't exist) and nobody fit this man's description. They then proceeded to blame my 70-year-old, 130-pound mother for ripping a pipe from the wall and then falling unconscious ATLEAST 15 feet from where the pipe was ripped from the wall. When I attempted to address this with the head of security, he became very combative and refused to provide any answers. I then proceeded to pack up and leave with my mother two days before my reservation was scheduled to end out of fear for her safety. It's clear they are trying to cover something up. · Rooms originally booked (with an additional $10,000 worth of upgrades paid for by bride and groom) were not provided, even though they were available upon check-in for an "additional" fee. These rooms were made available to the group of MLM Yoga pants distributors, even though we booked our rooms 2 years in advance. We had 65+ rooms in our group block and 120+ people. We were told there was no "adult" side, but to our surprise upon arrival, there was an adult side! I spent the first 3 days of my stay running around the resort fighting to get my guests into the correct room. In the end, only about 15 of the 65 rooms were honored. Some were forced to pay an additional $75-$300 to move to the adult side even though their reservations clearly stated they were on the "La Perla" adult side. By my wedding day, I was mentally and physically exhausted. · We spoke with a bride who had her wedding 2 days before ours and she had nothing but nightmare stories. This, coupled with all of the other issues we were facing made us completely lose confidence in Vanessa (wedding coordinator). My sister, whom is a wedding planner, had to DROP out of my wedding the day of so that she could direct the ceremony and reception. I can't imagine what would have happened had she not been there to save the day. · For our reception dinner, we ordered and paid for Sea Bass. We were informed as they were bringing out the food that salmon would be served instead. This was highly embarrassing as Sea Bass was on the menu placard in front of every guest. The salmon was disgusting and inedible. The resort had all day to inform us of the issue, but no communication was provided until the food was being placed. The next day, I was able to order Sea Bass from a restaurant on the property. Very deceptive and unacceptable. · They served sparkling wine to kids! Fish to others with fish allergies! We provided the resort with VERY DETAILED dietary restrictions and exactly what each person should be provided. My nephew drank alcohol and my father got sick from even having the fish next to his entree. · The food was cold and a majority of the guests did not receive their food until well after the toast. Most of our guests were not provided any of the cake that we paid exorbitantly for. · A few weeks before the wedding, the resort requested $4000 additional to "Privatize" the venue we were using for the reception. I begrudgingly paid it because I wanted no problems on our wedding day. On numerous occasions, I or someone from my family had to ask people dressed half-naked coming from the beach, to remove themselves from our wedding. They even tried to take a photo in our photobooth! Our wedding was a FORMAL event, so there is no way security (which was non-existent) could have mistaken those people for our guests. · My group was predominately African American. We experienced racial profiling at every turn. The most glaring example is when two of our guests were stopped at the beach and were shown a video of a group of black people partying on the beach. They were then told they were not allowed to use the beach by the security guard. It's interesting that security can stop "our people" from having fun on a public beach, but they can't stop people who don't look like us (who by the way were extremely rude and entitled) from entering our PRIVATE EVENT. This was an absolute nightmare that we are still dealing with today. The resort is completely unresponsive, and so is Melia. My wife and I saved for years to have the wedding of our dreams, and instead got something out of a Stephen King novel. read more

Paradisus La Esmeralda - The pipe they claimed my 70-year-old mother ripped from the wall - Hotels Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

This hotel has 1000 rooms, hosts conventions and is not on the water. You have to pay $120 extra a night to have access to heated pools. Want more? This hotel is like Vegas and a Disney Resort all wrapped in to one. Still more? We paid a FORTUNE for our stay at this hotel. We had a one bedroom suite and did the concierge upgrade which is fortunate because the concierge pool was the only warm one. You have to make dinner reservations unless you want a Vegas-style buffet. Our room was overlooking a central courtyard and two nights they were hosting parties at a restaurant in the courtyard until 9pm which is awesome when you're on vacation. The backside of our room also had a courtyard. Again, awesome. I was very disappointed in our stay here. Given the sprawling size of the resort, the fact that we had to wait for chairs on the beach, the awful room placement, the bad margarita mix...the list goes on. I created a summary matrix of features if you need more detail but you can do a lot better in other parts of Mexico. read more

Great hotel but if you're coming for the beach, forget about it. They don't tell you the problems they're having with algae and how bad it is. If I just wanted a resort getaway I could've stayed home and check into a local hotel. So bummed! The algae is not so much the issue as it is the smell. Oh the smell!! You can smell that stinky smell everywhere around the resort. Food is good and pools are good. read more

Paradisus La Esmeralda - Hotels Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

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Where do I start. We just returned Dec 2-9th 2017 with a family of 13 (5 kids under 8). We also went here October 2015. We couldn't wait to return! Family Concierge: This is worth the extra money!!!! There is a heated pool only for family concierge guests. This alone was worth it for me, the other pools including the pirate ship pools were freezing. Concierge service also includes butler service. This is great to have when you have little kids, here are some of the main things the butlers provided upon request: bubble bath set up with huge balloon animals, bubble bath with roses to celebrate our anniversary, Xbox/PlayStation, dropping kids off at kid zone, booked tennis courts, made all dinner reservations, made sure we had bottles of alcohol/wine in our room, stocked requested snacks that were available. I could go on. It is definitely up to you to get your money's worth. Don't be afraid to ask for things. We did a better job of utilizing our butler the second time around. Restaurants: ranked in order (majority family vote) 1. Vento 2. Bana (wings, spring rolls, shrimp apps were to die for) 3. The Grille 4. La Palapa (adults only concierge restaurant-we dropped the kids off at kids zone to enjoy an adults dinner) 4. The Market 5. Mole (was better last time but we did get to have roasted grasshoppers ha!). Don't sleep on the dinner buffet, we stopped in a few times to feed the kids. Great selections. Pool: Mainly hung out at the heated concierge pool. Don't miss the foam party and bouncey houses/slide near the pirate pool. The resort doesn't do a good job of advertising the fun stuff. If you have family concierge you are also able to go to LaPearla adult side and enjoy the Royal Service pool. This is a must to get a break from the splashing of pool water into your drink. Ha! ***Something New this time that I found to be very annoying were the towel cards!!!If you forget it in your room, the people working the towel hut will try and make you go get it for a towel at the pool. They need to do away with this!!!!! Beach: Family concierge has their own section with plenty of lounge chairs. Beach toys are also included with concierge rooms. Bring tips, I felt you were ignored on the beach if you weren't waving dolla bills ha! Non motorized water sports are included with concierge. Jet skis were $75 I think. DO NOT FORGET WATER SHOES, lots of rocks in the ocean, pretty bad. Kids Zone: we took our kids for 2-3 hours per day do do the fun stuff like making cookies/pizza and face painting . My daughter is 4 and was in the baby room while her older cousins 5 and up were in the big Kid room. She adjusted so it was fine. You have to show a passport, so don't think you can sneak the little one in the big kid room. Staff was awesome. I'm a picky mama and had no worries about leaving my kids. Very safe and clean. Entertainment: Was the exact same from when we went in 2015. Some of the shows are decent like Michael Jackson and Cirque de Sol (sp?). Tips: There is a beautiful spa pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room on the adult side that is free of charge for concierge guests. I didn't know this last time and it was so nice! There is also hooka upon request. My husband always asked for a shot on the side when ordering drinks because they can be a bit watered down. Tips get you better service!!! Learn a little Spanish, it will go a long way on the resort. There is also a bartender on the 2nd floor of the family concierge from 5-11 in the evenings, huge plus for us!!! When you are finished eating food, get rid of it or the Quatis will appear. You will know exactly what I mean. I highly recommend this resort. I loved it so much we went twice with 13 people. read more

Absolutely amazing stay. We booked our stay through Cheap Caribbean's mystery deal (highly recommend). We wanted La Perla since that was adult only, but La Esmeralda was just as great. It's a bit of a walk to La Perla but not too bad. Everything blew us away- service, FOOD, cleanliness, quality, etc. We really can't complain. We also booked an excursion to the coral reef through the hotel concierge and it was amazing. Ideal for getaway for families and couples. read more

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This resort is the best its clean and the service is top notch cannot say one bad thing about the resort the staff really give 100%.. I guess the only negative is time share people are annoying but ever resort in mexico has these people... Definitely will be back here my favorite resort in playa del carmen read more

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We were a group of 14 (15 year old - 70 years old) staying at the Paradisus La Esmeralda from 11/21/19-11/24/19 in 7 different swim up rooms Pros: - The resort is beautiful. It's huge! - Rooms, pools and grounds were super clean! - Food was good - not great but very good. We ate at Mole, The Market and Vento. Because we were a large group we did family style at Mole (Mexican) and Vento (Mediterranean/Italian). The market is Brazilian steak house Facts and myths: -I read a lot of reviews that complained about the check in process but I thought it was very efficient and the staff was quick. - the beach: I thought it was clean and not as much seaweed as the reviews say. drink/food service was slow on the beach - I'd recommend getting drinks yourself - up charges: the only thing I noticed was an up charge was the Illy coffee bar (which was delicious!) however a cappuccino was about $1.50 USD WITH alcohol so not sure what people are complaining about. - there are a ton of kids at the La Esmeralda side. This would be a positive if you have kids looking for friends or a negative with how loud it could be Recommendations: - Make reservations a head of time! As a group of 14 it was great to have that potentially stressful situation taken off our plate. - go to breakfast early! the buffet was CRAZY busy and loud. - get a swim up room! it was so fun to float around! also, they serve you drinks and food by the pool. Anita was our waitress and she was a dream! she was quick, always remembered our order and brought us things she thought me might need. - pack biodegradable sunblock if you are thinking about doing any excursion! - if you have a swim up room bring a float! Overall, I definitely recommend this resort if you are looking for an all inclusive! read more

Overall, there's a lot of good and fun in this place just like most Mexico all inclusive vacation spots, but there's something definitely rotten here on a level I've not experienced.....the upcharge for services. I continuously run into "there's an up charge for that" related to things that in other resorts is a standard thing. I'm enjoying myself here but they have definitely created a "have & have not" environment depending on what you paid. It's uncomfortable, it's noticeable, it's unnecessary. We definitely will never return here. I do not like their business model, not one bit. read more

Paradisus La Esmeralda - Hotels Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

PROS: The food was excellent, spa was lovely, nice gym, swim up room was very nice. CONS: The seaweed infestation makes the beach unusable. What's worse is that I found out about the issue weeks before our trip and attempted to call the hotel the get the details, while I still had the option to cancel completely. I called the hotel several times and could not get a straightforward answer. They said that they clean it daily and could not control the issue, but would not specifically tell me if the beach was usable or not. I asked to speak to a manager on multiple occasions, but the people at the front desk would not allow me to do so. I decided to take the chance and keep the reservation, which was a mistake. The beaches are in fact infested and unusable, period. This is a long-standing, known problem that impacts the entire coast line. No one from the hotel will tell you this before you arrive. The photos on their website that show a beautiful beach front do not depict what you will actually experience. The surrounding area is industrial and unsafe. As a result of this, combined with the lack of access to a beach due to the seaweed, you are essentially confined to the resort -OR- you are a cab ride away from shopping. These are your choices. The closest beaches we found that were not impacted by the seaweed issue were in Cozumel, which is a 45-min ferry ride away from downtown Playa Del Carmen, plus at least a 30-minute drive in a rental. They were mediocre beaches, at best. On the Esmeralda side, it's kiddie land. Reminded me of a water park, rather than a resort. Great for young families, but for older teenagers, not so much. Too old to be splashing around with elementary aged kids on the Esmeralda side, and not permitted on the Perla side. My teens couldn't wait to leave. Theft is an issue, as other posters have mentioned. My loss was an expensive pair of sunglasses. Long story short, they were left where they could have only been handled by a staff member, and they were not recovered. ATMs are consistently out of order. read more

We stayed for a whole week and walked away extremely happy. The food the staff the resort. All a 5 star experience. The wait staff was on point every single day at every single restaurant. Attentive and kind! Tons of a great restaurants to choose from. The buffet was just ok. But really the food was exceptional and surprising from an all inclusive. The hotel itself is gorgeous and modern. Extremely well kept and clean! The trek to the beach as a bit of a hassle. The lack of bathrooms closer to the beach was a huge downer. The towel cards are a total joke and should be eliminated to bring back the 5 star experience. Charging $30 for a lost towel card is laughable at this high of a caliber resort. Our room, a swim up suite, was exceptional, except for the marble floor that I took a great big fall on while wet. Maybe a different type of flooring would be better for this type of room? The 3 hour time share presentation that we basically got conned into was horrific and down right maddening. BUT with all of that said, this is the best all inclusive resort we have been to yet! read more

The best all inclusive family friendly hotel I've been to so far! We were staying at the Family Concierge section. My kids (4 and 2 year olds) loved it! Every day there was at least one surprise left in the room for them: different shaped balloons, special snacks with animal shapes, bubble bath ready and more. The food at the hotel restaurants was really good. We are very picky about food, and we enjoyed trying the different types of cuisines every day. The Italian food at Olio wasn't as good as we expected, but the atmosphere was really nice. The customer service was amazing! We also had our own concierge person to help us out with everything we needed, such as making reservations for restaurants and for other activities even outside of the hotel. We enjoyed the beach. They have beautiful cabanas and waiters serving food and drinks. They have water activities, and sports such as volleyball and soccer. The kids club was great! They helped me out with putting my baby Mielle to nap. They have face painting every afternoon, which my son Ely loved. The crew was so nice! Especially Emily and Irina. Thank you! It's open from the morning until 10 PM so that we could use the spa several times throughout our trip. By the way, when you're in the family concierge the spa is included. The only kind of negative thing I could say, is that babysitting costs $40 per hour for two kids. But it is also expected to be that expensive in this kind of hotel. If you go to playa, you should definitely go watch the Cirque Du Soleil show Joya. It's also good for kids (4 and up I guess). I wish I knew before hand, I would have taken my son for sure! Also, Excaret is a must. It's like a zoo in the nature. They had beautiful shows throughout the day. Our kids had a blast! Sorry for making it so long, but I had to write how great this place is. We will definitely go back again in the future! read more

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Just finished my massage at Yhi Spa with Grisell and it was excellent. The right amount of pressure, super professional and talented. You can tell Grisell is very passionate about her work and I have already booked my next massage with her again. The beach has recovered from the seaweed build up it had previously so I'm very relieved about that. Really enjoyed my stay at this resort and love how they have an adults only side as well as the family side. The swim out rooms are fantastic and worth the extra cost. Swim up bar in the center is fantastic and especially like the bartender Luis. He's very entertaining and good at engaging the guests in conversation. I found all the staff very polite, professional and happy. The overall place is well run and you can tell the staff are trained well. My room was always made five star and never a single thing missing in my room which has happened to me on other vacations. The restaurants I especially enjoyed were Bana, Market and Mole. Ask Luis to make you this frozen kiwi (real kiwi) blended with mango vodka and Malibu. Super refreshing and light on a hot sunny day!!! Also if you want to go shopping we had the lady from Olympus tours book us with Einer to go to Cancun luxury shops (he was with us for five hours and was super patient showing around) was able to get for $150.00 which is so much cheaper and safer then taking a taxi. read more

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This is the third and the last time we are visiting this resort. We come here every couple of years and the resort has been nothing but amazing. The moment we came now, they informed us that all the specialty restaurants were booked. When we came out to the pool and beach, they started charging for use of the day beds, and room service is charged now? All inclusive or not all inclusive? I saved the best for last- the food is beyong disgusting... Now I am not the one to complain about all inclusive food, you get what you pay for, but this is insane. Imagine wet, disgusting, mushy slop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Necer again Paradissus, you should be ashamed of yourself.. read more

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Not coming back!! Not only were we unsatisfied with our service, we were flat out disrespected when we caught a staff member in our hotel room filling a bubble bath with rose pedals, just so we can buy the time share!! Thank you but no thank you I like my privacy!! We had a do not disturb sign on our door for a reason!! When I called the front desk to explain what happened they said a manger would be in touch with me which never happened! On the other hand The bartenders were great, and the hotel was really clean, we loved the koi fish and the pools. Best part of the hotel read more

Paradisus La Esmeralda - Hotels Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

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When we arrived at the airport we met with our transportation BD Transportation. We booked through West jet Vacations and they use BD. They gave us a pamphlet asking us to meet the very next day at our hotel to discuss our return transportation. This obviously was a sales ploy because who meets early the day after arrival to discuss returning home!? We spoke to the front desk and after they told us to meet with BD when I complained I didn't want to get up the next day they said we could contact them anytime. We later found BD is on the grounds and you can book an excursion through Them. Once at the hotel we met with Karina to book our restaurant reservations, we were very tired from a day of travel but met with Karina anyway to make sure we got restaurant reservations and the front desk had said she was waiting for us to get our reservations secured. The next day we haven't heard anything about our reservations and we found she hadn't made us any! We spent 20 Minutes with her then spent another 1/2 hour with some other ladies trying to get reservations and watching their faces saying there was nothing but 930 pm slots... so we got 930 pm reservations most days which is way later than we like to eat but that's what we got...who wants to spend time on vacation making reservations!? Annoying! All in all it was a nice resort but I have stayed at others I would prefer. They have some issues with restaurant availability and follow through. This resort is not good for teens. Our 16 year old daughter didn't have much to do at the resort and to use the gym she had to get approval. We had to meet with Elizabeth the "Spa Manger" for permission. More time away from our vacation...My daughter also wanted a facial at the spa and they said it would be $145.00 and she couldn't use the facilities i.e. Sauna, whirlpool etc because of her age but she would be charged what an adult pays. We decided that was not a fair deal and decided not to get it. If you have small kids or stay in the adult side it should be ok but I would not return here with a teen. We found the restaurant help and housekeeping to be excellent. read more

The tale of two resorts, within two resorts. At times this resort is five stars. At times it is zero. So we picked the middle. This was paragraphs long but I shortened it. First the pro's. The resort was generally very clean. Service was excellent and given with a smile. You should tip but it didn't appear to be required. There were lots of restaurants and a buffet. tip: Go to the restaurants (make a reservation). They are better than the buffet Also the buffet gets old quick. Pace yourself. Then the cons: There is no heated pool for the plebeians. You have to buy the "concierge service" to have this. When it is cool out you need a heated pool. The pool is freezing in January. IF you want to eat at 5 PM you are out of luck. This was especially troublesome when you have a baby who needs to go to bed at 7 PM. Even if you could eat at 6 PM, and the baby has a meltdown. There are no good options to get good food to your room. The room service food is garbage. Even if I sit at a restaurant, it is like pulling teeth to get them to help. We can't take it out of the restaurant in a to-go container OR have it delivered to our room. We can't be the first people with a baby with this need. This was a HUGE downer. Our in-laws had a room which smelled like a sewer. So we called the front desk to have them fix it. They came up and claimed that spraying a scent in the room would solve the problem we should come back in an hour. (Obviously this didn't fix the issue). When we came back it smelled like a sewer with an added lemony scent. So we called the front desk and they claimed they had no rooms available. We knew this was a lie because we checked the website beforehand. Finally with arguing and pushing the room was changed. This should NOT be so difficult in a resort. So if you are traveling here. Make sure you are able to enjoy yourself with your kids between the hours of 6 pm and 8 pm. Otherwise this is just a room with a pool and bar. I am not sure I would come back. read more

Thank you paradisus for an amazing trip. We stayed for a whole week in April 2021 during Covid and they took all the precautions to make us feel safe! We stayed in a swim up room on the reverse side so worth the upgrade. Our room was 2036 across from the swim up bar perfect to swim over and grab a cocktail. The staff is so attentive and friendly. I felt waited on from the moment we arrived to the moment they were packing up our shuttle. Elvis & Ivan on the beach we're so funny and got us anything we wanted love them. Found a bartender Angel at Fuego restaurant made the best fresh watermelon drinks a must try. Not all the restaurants were open but the ones that we did get to try like Italian, fuego and teppan grill had great food. Buffet was even good and very clean. The beach had powder white sand & warm water. This resort is so big I feel like I didn't get to experience everything in 7 days. Fun night life with outdoor dj and bar. We had a concierge assigned to us Norma who helped us book all dinner reservations excursions and our Covid testing appointments. They had our Covid results printed out for us in 30 mins. Our friends got massages and loved it. Great trip even during Covid and I am a Melia fan now. P.S if you go to exploror & Xcaret it's a 15 min drive. A must try Sonora Prime steakhouse downtown playa delicious and the vibe is incredible! We had a pretty big group with kids and the staff helped with our kids so we could enjoy ourselves 5 stars for sure. read more

My Wedding Experience - Itzel at the Spa and Arturo with Outdoor Photos are the Best! I chose the Paradisus resort for the location of my wedding purely on two experiences of trusted family members and friends who attended weddings their previously. Without having been to the resort, destination wedding, or even the Yucatan; I didn't know what to expect. First, to highlight the staff that far out-performed my expectations: Itzel at the Yhi Spa did my hair and makeup. I didn't give her much to go on for my hair (because she is the expert), but she somehow took what I dreamt my hair would look like and made it better. I've never had so many compliments on my hair and makeup. She truly made me feel at ease and calm before the wedding and turned this low-maintenance girl into a princess! Arturo with Outdoor Photos was our photographer. I haven't received the photos back yet, but I couldn't be more excited to see them. He was so enthusiastic to take the photos and mostly took candid, in the moment shots instead of focusing on the posed photos. I was told he was a hard worker at editing photos...hope he can edit out the boys who apparently mooned the wedding! So here is a quick rundown for people looking at the resort for weddings: Romance Coordinator Representative in Miami - helpful but didn't have a lot of information. Said I would find out more closer to my wedding date from our Wedding Coordinator at the hotel. Vendors - They prefer you use their preferred vendors for decorations, photography, and audio. All were pleasant to work with. On-Site Wedding Coordinator - all communication was done by email but I read other reviews that said it would all come together when we had our meeting at the hotel. And it did. Wedding Location - We chose the beach. It was really nice even though it is not private. Most people were respectful during the ceremony and photos and tried not to walk by. I wouldn't change the location for the world. Cocktail Hour/Reception Location - We chose the Solarium however during our meeting with the coordinator it was revealed to us that the solarium is actually poolside. So we opted for the backup location which was in one of their conference rooms. I wasn't too thrilled but when we walked in on our wedding day, I was blown away. It didn't look like a conference room....it looked so romantic with the decoration and lighting. Overall I would hands-down recommend having a wedding a Paradisus. I would just tell you not to expect quick responses or knowing everything before arriving for the wedding...but it will all come together. read more

Paradisus La Esmeralda - See Itzel at Yhi Spa for hair and makeup. She made me feel like a princess on my wedding day. Everyone is still talking about it. - Hotels Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

I'm a big fan of the paradisus chain of hotels. We stayed at paradisus Cancun few years ago and had an amazing vacation. This year we had a large group of 21 adults and 17 kids at La Esmeralda. This hotel is beautiful but struggles to identify itself as kid friendly or adult only. It wants a piece of both pies and fails. Here are a few things to consider when looking at this property: Food: the food quality is great. They have three buffets. Market which is much calmer with limited options, Hudor the large buffet that can get crowded or the grill which is half buffet/half order adult only. My issue is that the adult only had much better food options. So put your kids in kid club if you want to eat here. They have tons of other restaurants for dinner including sushi, teppanyaki, Asian, Mediterranean, Mexican and Italian. Make sure to make reservations in advance otherwise they book up and you are stuck with buffet food. They had many adult only restaurants and kids not allowed past 8pm in most places. We ate at passion which was extra $90/person charge and enjoyed it. After hours if you want a snack room service is only option with extra $5 charge. They don't allow food outside restaurants and you can't bring out of buffet. Only drinks.. so limited on only eating dinner. I tried to get fruit at couch area near North bar and told no by 3 different managers. My husband tipped a server $10 and got us fruit... have tipping money if you want anything outside their "rules". Kids Club: Open 9am-10pm with many activities and friendly staff. My youngest is 3 and not potty trained so he was allowed in small kid (up to 4) but could not leave center for activities until potty trained. If kids 5 or older they have option of eating meals at club with pre registration and attend all kids shows/activities with the group. Both kids enjoyed this option. Beach: The hotel is hit hard with seaweed this season so the beach is not usable. They do not tell you about it beforehand so it was a bummer. The beach is a walk away... this is not beachfront property. The family concierge and regular section very separated. The smell is awful from the seaweed so double check online conditions before booking. Rooms: We had swim up jr. suite room which was awesome. We mostly spent our time in the outside pool since it was calmer than kids pool and main pool area. If you tip the servers very well they will come to you so you can get drinks/food all day. Entertainment: They had great kids entertainment but they don't advertise anything. They have an app that crashes so it is hard to plan. They had theater set up for the soccer world cup which boys enjoyed and the only show I saw "Michael Jackson" was cheesy. The jersey boys never showed up for their show. We only found out while sitting and waiting. They had karaoke night few times which is fun but the red lounge has the worst layout for this. Service: very accommodating and friendly overall. I had a private party one night and they were exceptionally great. Watch out for alcohol quality when doing private extra charge things.. they hide more premium options under bar for "request" so that people don't know it's an option. After tipping well you can get them to put out on bar for people to see. Spa: $15/day to use amenities which is worth it but massages range from $175-$200+ which is a bit high. My issue with this place also was the fact that on Friday night we get a letter at 9pm that due to Mexican election resort will do dry days for Saturday and Sunday. No alcohol served anywhere but at restaurants during a meal. So two days we had no drinks unless at dinner. We still payed for all inclusive for these days and no warning about this in advance. This resort is not honest about what is going on not to lose money but is losing their reputation. I would stay at paradisus again but never this location. read more

My Husband, my 22 month old (LO), and I enjoyed five nights at La Esmeralda last week - our first all inclusive. Headline: Great trip, great food, great service, great for young kids, Melia Club Sales Pitch put a damper on the thing. Food: All in all we thought the food was good to great. Breakfast: We liked the Market over Naos. They have a smaller buffet but you can also walk across to Naos to get whatever other food you want. Lunch: We only ate at the pool bar/restaurant. The staff were great - Jose seemed to really care about knowing our names/remembering our favorite drinks, etc. We liked the ceviche, the fish tacos, the steak burrito, and the fish burger. Ask for some habanero salsa on the side to kick things up a bit. Don't waste your time on the hamburger, chicken wings (if you get them get the sauce on the side), or the queso (movie theatre queso). Our little one loved the ham and cheese toasted sandwich and the fish burger. Dinners: -The portion sizes at the restaurants are more European/Non-American/Not-supersized, so we normally got three appetizers and 3 mains between the three of us. House wines were ok - we liked the tempranillo probably the best. The first day or two I could do the sav blanc but quickly got burned out. Sparkling was ok as well. Go into the side door at naos to snag an ice cream cone for dessert if you don't do dessert at dinner (or let's face it, even if you do) Bars: I wish the fancier bars had cocktail menus. If you read about them on the website they boast "mixologists" and the like, but generally just ordered my normal drinks because I didn't really know what to ask for/didn't get much from the bartenders. Vento: Our favorite restaurant by far. We loved the duck and the lamb main courses, the octopus tartare, and the desserts. Our waiter, Roberto, was so very sweet and attentive. All of the staff were absolutely lovely and made such an effort to make us comfortable. Side note - it's so awesome to be able to be comfortable taking your kid to a restaurant of this caliber. Second side note - it's a shame the bar connected to Vento is Tequila/Margarita focused - doesn't really make sense with the food. We should have eaten here twice! Bana Teppanyaki: I am not a huge fan of hibachi type food, but we thought our little one would enjoy it, and he did! Our sever Aaron and our chef were absolutely lovely. The meal was chicken, beef, and shrimp, all really well seasoned and very enjoyable. The chef even cut up everything into tiny bite sizes for LO. Fuego: This one is a head scratcher for me, but we would return. We really enjoyed all of the crudos, and in retrospect, probably should have ordered more as none of the main courses really called to us. My husband's veal was not very high quality meat, and my main was ok - it was a white tuna with noodles...but I didn't really feel like it was latin fusion/none of the items really seemed that interesting (maybe a suggestion is to put from where they are influenced because perhaps my ignorance is the issue?). When I think of Latin fusion I think of somewhere like Jose Enrique in Puerto Rico, so maybe I am spoiled. Olio: This restaurant is only for family concierge members for Breakfast and Lunch, but we tried it for dinner. We heard that it was really good for bkst/lunch. Five Stars for Service (Marco!) and ambiance. Two stars for the food. The gnocchi was extremely dense and heavy, the caprese salad had extremely sad tomatoes; in general, the pastas were just uninteresting. Now, if you've got kids who want really plain pasta that's not as good as what you make at home, this might really work for you. We did like their breads but thought they focused too much on them. I think we should have done the Market Churrascaria instead. Mole: We live in Texas and have a lot of these "elevated/gourmet Mexican" spots, but this was great in my opinion - probably second favorite meal. We really loved the seabass (the rice was disturbingly sweet though), the tres marias appetizer, the skirt steak, and the jalapeno margaritas. I've run out of room but you can find my full review here: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g150812-d10386024-r573772483-Family_Concierge_at_Paradisus_La_Esmeralda-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html read more

I like to share my experience on Yelp about Paradisus La Esmeralda for everyone. Now, by saying for everyone meaning adults and children. This hotel devides into two resorts, one for adults only and one for adults with kids. I have visit this hotel 3 times including this visit. This place is very kid friendly. They have everything for kids available for all ages, from free babysitting center to  the schedule for different daily activities for all kids ages. The staff makes it all fun possible for everyone. What amazed me most at this place, is the staff and the hotel itself. The spot was build about 6 years ago and it's been build so modern that you will enjoy every visual architectural design of the hotel. La Esmeralda has 4pools. 3 in the main area and the other one is in the Family Concierge area. In the main area, the large pool has pool bar, build in stools and beach chairs. They have dance activities in this pool during the day and also they inflate one of those water slides for kids to enjoy the activity. Also this pool is merging with the rooms the are located on the first floor. The swim up rooms. The water in the big pool is noticeably colder then in the kids pool. Next pool is kids pool. This pool has 4 water slides. The pirate ship has 2 slide; one wide slide on that you can slide as a whole family at once. Orage tube is for all kids and some adults. The tube is short but so much fun for new kids to experience the event of water slides. Hipo water slide and Shark water slide are spread out on the different sides of the kids pool. I like this slides a lot. They are very short slides and they let your child experience something that they never introduced before. Kids build confidence by experiencing this actions. The water in this pool is much warmer then in the bigger pool. But I must say when you first get in it feels super cold once your body adjusts to the temperature of the pool you don't even notice that water is cold. I noticed that the water is slightly salty. May be they exchange water from the ocean via pipe and filters. I'm  not sure. Next pool that they have is for babies. It's small, shallow and warm. You can sit on the side of the pool and watch your baby experience the water. The pool that located on the Family Concierge area is big and warm on one side of the pool. The pool area has mini Balinese beds which are free but the ones that are bigger and build in ones are $100 per day. In the main area  Balinese beds are $59 per day. Now little bit about Family Concierge. The area is separated for those members that are purchased this deal via travel agent or internet. They have little bit different rooms, service and separate pool area. I honestly didn't see the rooms to compare but I imagine they got to be nicer then the ones I was in. The lobby has a 24 hr food and beverage access for Family Concierge members only. Food is not much, snacks like mini cheese sandwiches candies for kids pop soda some beer, all kinds of teas and Nestle  espresso machine to make you your coffee or espresso beverage. As far as service for Family Concierge members, they have 2 bottlers to help you out through out the whole stay. This 2 guys will go extra mile for you and I mean it. This couples I meat told me that the guy is reacting to all beers with heartburn except Bud light. So those bottlers went out of hotel to the supermarket and bought him his beer. Of course he paid for the beer but the service was provided by all means. I won't take much of your time I just want to share and recommend restaurants in the hotel area. Every restaurant I've been to I had great experience and time. In the morning we went to breakfast buffet restaurant called Nanos, which has everything you want and like for breakfast. They have bread station, fruit station, eggs grill station, yogurt station, cheese and deli station, cereal spot, hot waffle maker and so on. Also they have another restaurant for breakfast The Market it's little smaller selection but faster service during busy times. The Market don't make eggs on the grill. You can use this 2 restaurants at any time while they are open for breakfast lunch and dinner. This are only 2 buffet style restaurants. Sunrise grill is for snacks lunch and somewhat dinner snack. And Market. I would highly recommend this place. I would like to say thank you to all staff members of this hotel for the work they do respect that their carry to all their guests. read more

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Pro- free room upgrade and got a jacuzzi on the balcony. Chilled Sparkling Spanish wine. Yay! Late night sheets change was prompt. The food is great... I mean delicious 80% of the time. The booze is name brand. Con- pull the sheets back and there are wrinkled sheets...someone else's slept in sheets. Bed was remade and looked perfect. My friend's bed was clean with fresh sheets... read more

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We booked a family concierge master swim up suite for 11 nights. I signed up to the paradisus playa del carmen la esmeralda -la perla Facebook group and researched early on. Lots of great info there. I saw that Jonathan was the number 1 recommended butler. I also saw mixed reviews on family concierge as a whole. Some felt is was a waste of money. I noted the names of the butlers that people were raving about and time and time again, Jonathan came up. So we requested him and several others that frequently came up as back up. We were lucky enough that he was available for us. He really made our vacation extra special for our 3 and 5 year olds. Prior to arriving, to be honest, I completely regretted booking this resort due to the beach. When we went, the water was murky and brown, but overall it was swimmable. Definitely the least pretty beach in Mexico that I have been to. That said, the service, the food, the drinks, the accommodations, the water park and the resort were the best that we have had at any all inclusive. We visited Iberostar paraiso maya 4 months earlier and while their beach is much nicer, that is literally the only thing that they did better than paradisus. Food presentation is nice at iberostar. Taste is not. The food is very mediocre. I lost weight on that 10 night vacation. Their drinks mostly tasted odd to me and their liquor selection was not that great. Their rooms were nice, but dated. Their resort was just too big; you had to wait for golf carts everywhere. We thought we would.like a larger resort. We were wrong. Their service was great, paradisus' is fantastic. Their landscaping and architecture are fantastic. Okay, they beat paradisus on those 2, but that's not what is most important to me. I feel paradisus spends their money more wisely, in areas with more impact for sure. At least for me, personally. Iberostar is showing some wear too, but so is paradisus. Just little repairs needed around both resorts. Broken shower heads and foot sprayers at paradisus' beach, a loose light and shower head missing its tube casing at iberostar. Those sorts of things. The pools at iberostar are massive and they do have the bar under the waterfall and the icecream shop. Those are definitely pros over paradisus, but still doesn't put it in the same league. Paradisus has an awesome, brand new water park. It's deep, so it is nice to be in for the adults too. Versus the ship park at iberostar with less than 2 feet of water (1.5?). Paradisus has a pirate ship pool as well. My kids enjoyed that one. They could reach the bottom while standing. It's about 3 feet deep with a pirate ship that has a look out and slides coming off of it. The swim up option at paradisus is such a great option too. Iberostar does not have that. At iberostar, you will not get a Jonathan or anything close to a Jonathan. Overall, we were disappointed in the beach, but everything else was just so much better here that we would choose here over iberostar maya if we go back to one. Jonathan sent us the daily schedule of activities, moved our reservations as needed, made tons of balloon art for the kids, left them.a treasure hunt, a special bubble bath, food for the turtles and fish (several.times, as we requested) and sent us champagne. Full disclosure: the house champagne was horrible. Otherwise, drinks were good. Try the mango margarita, the peach daiquiri and a mojito. All were yummy. Avoid building DD if you have a young child that naps. It is the main activities pool and it gets super loud during the day. If you don't have a napper, it is an excellent location. Tip: If you have the included transfers from booking directly, be aware that they completely gouge you for carseats. They charge $20 per carseat, each way. We needed 2. It would have been $80. And it is a shared transfer. Even though we had the "free" transfers, we ended up booking "cheap transfer cancun" for $85, including both carseats and *private transfers. If you're a total beach person, I would skip this hotel. If not, it is an excellent option and I found it to be priced accordingly to make up for the beach. For this level.of resort with a nice beach, we were looking at about $150 more per night. Plus there is a beautiful, but cold cenote about 3 minutes walk down the beach. See the picture of my son in it. It is a local hangout though, so it's really only this peaceful early in the morning. It gets busy and loud later on. Overall, we were super pleased with our stay and would definitely consider returning. read more

This was the worst hotel I have ever been to. Whoever left good reviews has never traveled. Everything about it was horrific. The service!!! The beach!!! The kids Club!! And the shows!!! I hated this hotel read more

This was my first trip to Mexico and it was a fantastic trip! I stayed with 15 other family members and the resort really catered to our every need (and we had a lot of them)! There were 12 adults (over 18) and 4 kids, ages ranging from 9-58 and we all were together all the time and always had something to do. Rooms- Two families stayed in the two bedroom master suite and it was beautiful and huge. Two bedrooms with a living area in the middle which we all hung out in after dinner. And two families stayed in the junior suite which was also very spacious. All decorated modernly and all have balconies. Cleaning/Room Service- We used room service a lot. It's a bit slow and once they forgot our order but they did a good job overall. It takes 30-60 mins to get an order depending on how many other orders they have. The cleaning staff does a great job cleaning but I don't get why they take all the towels and leave one. I called down maybe 4 times during our stay for more towels. Especially since I was staying with my cousin and we needed more than one towel. Food- The food is great! All the restaurants we went to were great and the staff is so helpful! My personal favorites were Naos (buffet style that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner) and Vento which was a Mediterranean place and the food was great. One of my cousins got three entrees from Vento because everything was so good and he surely finished every bite! We also visited Mole and Bana but I personally wasn't too into the food there. Pool/Beach- The pools are immaculate and the cabanas surrounding are beautiful! We got there early every morning to save the same three cabanas and spent most of the day at there. There's also poolside service so you don't even need to move, just sit back and let Luis and Anna bring you your Piña Colada and Banana Daiquiri. They also have a kid pool area that my younger cousin enjoyed with slides and things like that. Towels are available throughout the pool and beach area. The beach smells and there's a lot of seaweed and it's a bit of a walk from the pool area (4 minutes) I'm sure you've read this before. BUT on a nice and sunny day it's gorgeous regardless. They try their best to get rid of the seaweed but they bury it instead of throwing it away or moving it elsewhere. I don't think it makes sense but I don't work on the resort so there's not much I can do. There's a freshwater spring close by that was beautiful and seaweed free. You can also enjoy beach volleyball, kayaking and paddle boarding for free or jet skis for a fee. Cons- So as much as I loved the resort there were a few cons. There's Mosquitos everywhere so pack your bug spray and try not to dine outside at night (they eat you alive!). The Wifi drops easily and is only for the rooms, lobby, restaurants and by the pools but only very close to the rooms. The room key stopped working once and they said it's because I had it near my cell phone but that wasn't true because I didn't even have my cell phone on me and if I did it wasn't near the key. But they did reprogram it and it worked fine thereafter. I also really wished they would throw away the seaweed instead of burying it. The beach could have been so much more beautiful it they did. Overall Paradisus was wonderful and we had a great family vacation! read more

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We went to Paradisus La Esmeralda in the end of March with our 2 and 4 year old. This is our second time going and this time we upgraded to family concierge...We don't normally go to the same place twice but this place has just been easy. The kiddos loved the beach, the waves were small and there are lots of activities to do. Although, kids can't use the kayaks and stuff unless they are five. The concierge provided sand toys if you didn't bring your own. And the toys typically stay there so anyone can use them. The pools are great. This time, they had a children's water park which was cool. Although it was a bit of a walk and they don't serve alcohol. So we stayed in the inner pools. The food and drinks have always been great. You need to make reservations for the restaurants unless you want to eat at the buffet for dinner. We just found out that you can make reservations before your trip, which I would recommend. The brazilian bbq restaurant is amazing and we went there twice. We also love the service. Everyone is very kind and tries their best to make you happy. Now, there is one individual who ALWAYS went above and beyond though!!! Mr. Enrique at the Sunrise Pool. He was everywhere, taking care of everyone. We camped out by the big pool and he would bring us food, refill drinks without asking, drop waters to help take care of the kiddos, bring a lounge if needed. This guy was just THE BEST! Find him, he'll make your trip the most relaxing! The hotel is a short 10 minute taxi ride away from downtown Playa del Carmen. This time we wandered over there to shop a bit. Lots of great little shops, pharmacies, a great little Tequila/mezcal shop. Not sure if we'll go back a third time, but definitely had amazing times the first two times! I'd definitely recommend it. read more

Absolutely love this resort! We had a one bedroom family concierge suite and it was perfect for our family of 2 adults and children ages 9 and 12. Family Concierge check in: After a long flight - it was so nice to check in, have a mini buffet with salads, appetizers and desserts. Best of all - there was a candy bar and a bar cart with a great selection of liquor. Check in was a breeze and our luggages were already in our room when we got there. Room: The one bedroom suite was perfectly sized for our family. The mini bar was stocked with an assortment of sodas, chocolate milk, candy, chips and bars. The balcony was huge with a large hot tub. The rooms came with backpacks and hats for the boys, bath robes and slippers. The bathrooms were stocked with everything. You really don't need to pack any toiletries because they provide it all and restock it every other day. Our butler - Alan was amazing. He came to our room everyday and left desserts and balloons for the kids. One day - he left the boys an Xbox and he did a scavenger hunt in our room with the Xbox games and candy as the prize. The kids loved it!!! Housekeeping comes and cleans your room about 2-3 times a day. At night - they have turn down service and leave chocolates on your bed. Room Service: We made use of room service...a lot. The menu offered a really good variety of food - which includes options like seafood, filet mignon and New York steaks which were good! Each time the food was delivered, they would explain each entree in detail. Food: The food throughout the hotel was amazing - though you do need reservations at the nice restaurants which Alan took care of for us. The decor at all of the restaurants are very comparable to 5 star restaurants in Las Vegas. Family Concierge Pool: The temperature of the pool was very comfortable and the kids definitely made use of the swim up bar and ordered a ton of smoothies. We purchased Bali Bed several times for the day which was $100 all day or $50 after 12pm. The beds were super comfortable. Placito was our server and holy cow - I could just hug him. He was the nicest human I have ever met and was very attentive. He would bring us drinks when we noticed we were low and brought the kids ice cream without us ordering it. He knew us by our name throughout our entire stay. Beach: The beach was perfect. We had a sectioned off area with comfortable lounger beds. We got massages on the beach - the boys got "Relaxing" massages for $45 and I got a deep tissue massage for $55. You can get cheaper massages at the beaches off 5th avenue - but they looked a bit grimier. Overall we had an amazing trip and we plan on coming back! There aren't a ton of activities for young teens - but they were fine hanging out in the room with the xbox or playing on their phones. read more