We booked our stay at the Moongate, during the recession but before the flu scare, for $50 a night. The Moongate was closed and they put us up across the street at the Hotel Tukan, which is a nice looking hotel built around a lush tropical garden. The rate included a substantial breakfast buffet, and the Tukan Beach Club. The Beach Club was about 8-10 blocks away (they have a shuttle to the beach), a beautiful beach, and it saved us from paying $8/day for 2 chairs and a palapa. We could also buy drinks and lunch there, and did.

The hotel is right on 5th Avenue (Quinta Avenida), which is pedestrian only and lined with shops and restaurants, etc.

The room was OK, but very dim. When we turned on the one ceiling light we could barely tell it was on. You definitely couldn't read by it. We asked for a lamp and they gave it to us, and that helped. Also, there was no chair, but we brought in one from our patio, so that worked. And the bed was hard, but surprisingly not uncomfortable.

The bathroom was fine, plenty of hot water, new fixtures, 2 lights in the bathroom vs. only 1 in the room, nicely decorated.

So I got the impression that other rooms were much nicer than ours, and also more expensive. I can see in the hotel photos that they have more lights and look really nice. But since I don't know what the other rooms are like and how much they go for, I can't say if it is such a good value for everyone. But we enjoyed our stay there, and considering the location and the generally pleasing grounds and the nice breakfast, I'd recommend it.

I spent 10 days in Playa at this hotel and it was great! I had planned on going Apr.17-27 with a buddy and we booked the Moongate Hotel (a sister hotel to the El Tukan) across the street. We booked with Expedia and booked 2 double beds. On arrival, we were told we had a king at the Moongate which was totally unacceptable. They said no problem, we will put you in El Tukan the first night and in the AM you can discuss this with the manager. We went to the room (406) and found it was poolside with a nice deck surrounded by palms. This room was perfect! Upon entering the room, the entrance is separate from the sleeping area with counter space, cupboards, and a sofa. This was perfect as the first day we went to Walmart for a few supplies. Picked up a styrofoam cooler ($4), 1 cup coffee maker ($9), beer, Don Julio tequlia, Controy and margarita mix. Also some plastic spoons and large plastic cups for making margaritas. Who needs AI! I'd do about a 30 block hike each morning taking photos and return to enjoy the PM with a margarita on the deck by the pool. The pool was never crowded and there were always chairs available. I think most people went to the beach.
Management allowed us to stay in this room the entire 10 days. I think the hotel uses the Moongate across the street as an overflow. The whole time I was there I never saw any guests entering or leaving the Moongate. The room was always clean with towel art every day but I made sure to leave 50 pesos on the pillow each morning for the maid. The room was always cleaned by 11 AM when I returned from my hike. All the staff I met were friendly and with a quick Hola whenever you saw them. Maitenance, security, front desk, housekeeping, it didn't matter, they all had a greeting and a smile for you.
The hotel itself is in a prime location. Right on 5th Ave. but far enough north so you are away from most of the pushy vendors. From Calle 14 south to the pier you seem to run the gauntlet of vendors but this hotel is a couple blocks north of that and the vendors don't seem so pushy. You are surrounded by great restaurants, bars, and small hotels in this neighborhood. Dubai, Coco Bongo, End Zone, Tequila Barrel are all within a block or 2 and there is a great pizza stand across the street for late night snacks.
This was my 4th trip to the Riviera Maya but my 1st time staying in Playa and not at an AI. After this trip, I will never stay at an AI again. My last 3 trips were at a 5 star resort, and if you're willing to give up a little pampering and amenities, this 3 star hotel has everything you need in a perfect location!
I am already planning a 3 week trip for July and will definitely try to book El Tukan again. By the way, when we subtracted our airfare from the total cost, our stay cost $52CDN/night split 2 ways without the AI option. You just can't beat value like that!!!

This is hotel sucks! We just came back yesterday. The food is awful. The all-inclusive offer is a lie. You have many restrictions. They only offer one place to have a a buffe breakfast, lunch and dinner. Only one bar is included with very limited drinks. The beach club is 10 minutes away and only offers few drinks. They use sea water to shower in...
I do not recommend this hotel. The only good thing about this hotel is that it is located in the centre of the tourist area. However, the beach and the tourist areas are packed...

We've been to Mexico too many times to count and I am a bit on the fussy side so take my review with a grain of salt.

Rooms: old, in dire need of maintenance and updating although the beds were comfortable. Nice to have hammocks on the balcony. We stayed at poolside which to me was the absolute best spot - room 401. No hair dryers, no coffee makers, no coffee to be had anywhere at hotel before 7:00 am (if you are an early riser).

Cleanliness: Room cleaning hit and miss. Some days lovely towel art and sparkling floors. Other days a bit to be desired. Balcony area never once swept or cleaned so I eventually found a broom and did myself.

Staff: Overall pretty friendly maintenance and cleaning staff. Excellent, friendly and diligent security staff...really felt safe. However front desk staff not so accommodating (except wonderful man who checked us in...didn't catch his name...only friendly one) they seem annoyed when you ask for anything...ie: I desperately needed an extra garbage bag to tidy up our room and I was told to go ask housekeeping...housekeeping didn't have any!! Never got a bag and gave up. One example of many.

Grounds: Excellent very clean pool, well maintained. No pool bar or service.

Food: Good breakfast. Lunch and Supper with plenty of mystery meat and potatoes. Rarely salads or any variation on fruit offerings: papaya and melon. Many people seemed to enjoy the food. I had a hard time. A vegetarian wouldn't make it at all. Mostly meat/potatoes/breads. I have never eaten so many buns/butter. Why no Mexican food!!!???

Also on the restaurant: they are militant about carrying a coffee or beer to your room-want you to use Styrofoam yet never have any available. A bit of a hassle with having to cross the street and the environment of the eating hall is a bit like a hospital cafeteria....no ambiance what-so-ever. I worked it out that the food budget we would have had without the 'all inclusive' would have been about $200 per day for our family of three and we could have had some pretty good food for that - not the same crud day in and day out.

Location: Many people comment the 5th ave location is great, however I found it noisy. I will not choose to stay off of the beach again. It was a pain to get to the beach and then there were not enough chairs and as several people have mentioned-no food-not even nachos served at beach club.

The "all inclusive" does not include water sports equipment, etc that is usually part of an all inclusive.

General: Most guests are European it seems. Most guests very nice, quiet and reserved-in general a quite resort..no partiers in sight.