Stayed at the Blue Parrot Suites 2/25 to 3/1/08 which is one block down from the beach club. The suites are 1 block in from the beach, and do not have beach views, except for the top floor (rooftop) rooms with private palapas. The private pool was very nice and clean. The suites have a great location between La Quinta (5th ave shopping) and the beach. The best part of staying there was eating breakfast (fresh fruit) on the beach at the Blue Parrot beach club. Yes, the Playa Palms Hotel (formerly known as the Blue Parrot Hotel) located next the beach club is nice also, but is quite loud at night due to the adjacent night club, and therefore is not recommended. The suites have a better location, only a block away, and you cannot hear the night club music at night. Our room was quite nice, with a limestone tiled floor and modern shower with glass door. The hotel provides yucatan bath products made from local honey that i loved. If you can afford it, book a rooftop room with private palapas.

Another good option is Kinbe Hotel (lonely planet recommended), but it is also not located directly on the beach, but you could eat and hang out at the Blue Parrot beach club. If we visited playa del carmen again, we would probably stay at the Hotel Las Palapas located directly on the beach (booked at the time of our visit). Recommended that you book a tour to the mayan ruins of Chichen Itza and Tulum, an experience of a lifetime.

I stayed at this hotel in Nov. but it was NOT the Blue Parrot. It is called Playa Palms, and is under new management. It is not afilliated with the Blue Parrot at all. The pictures of the beachfront hotel are NOT the Blue Parrot. For some reason, both on their website and on Trip Advisor they are advertising this hotel. The video on the www.blueparrot.com is of the Playa Palms, not Blue Parrot. Again, buyer beware.

We stayed 3 nights in the suites which is about a block from the main property. It was a quiet room, well appointed but no larger than a typical hotel room with two queen beds. This was among their least expensive rooms and only had one window in the form of a sliding glass door. The ceiling fan didn't work so we used the air conditioner as needed. It is close to the small beach and shops/restaurants. Given what we paid relative to other places that we saw, we did not feel that we received good value. Also, the staff was indifferent. The emphasis here seems to be on the evening party session at the bar rather than accommodations. Breakfast was just toast, juice, fruit and coffee and we couldn't even get that one morning when the staff hadn't shown up yet and our kids were hungry. The front desk just shrugged and told us to talk to the manager when he returned the next day after we checked out. Also, there is no on-site parking so if you have a car you need to find street parking which isn't the easiest during the busy holiday season with crowded 5th avenue nearby.

We had our wedding there in November. Worked with the staff to book a total of 22 rooms between the BP Suites and 5th Avenue Property. Everyone loved the Suites, from broke just of college friends to multi-millionaire family members. Some were less than thrilled with the 5th Avenue property, but no major complaints, just noise and size of the room.

Our room was at the Suites and was much better than expected, we usually stay at La Tortuga and the room/experience here was comparable if not better. Breakfast and pool are better at La Tortuga, but you can either walk there or hit up 100% Natural and the beach is closer at the Suites. There was no noticeable noise from the night clubs at the Suites.

Despite the fact that the beach disappeared the week prior to our wedding, everything went perfectly. Everything we were worried about before we left the States was beyond our expectations. From the flowers to the photographer to the food to the DJ, all the unknowns in a destination wedding were better than we imagined.

I cannot say how much of a pleasure it was to work with Paula (Wedding) and Angela and Mercedes (Rooms/Transportation).