Simply fantastic! Bungalow close to the beach, clean, great food, lovely beach, friendly people, I'd recommend this resort to everybody! There was also a wedding cerimony and it was super!

What can we say, my wife and I stayed here after suffering three nights at the #1 Luna Blues rock hard beds. Well if we could go back in time we definitely would have done all 10 at the Shangrila, it is as nice as everyone says.. We stayed in the pueblito section which is very nice.. A little walk to the beach, but the rooms are all redone and in excellent shape...

Food- as described breakfast is excellent, dinners a little more hit and miss somewhat monotonous, but the service was prompt and waiters always willing to help and extremely accomodating..

Rooms-Pueblito 52 B upper unit, very nice a little walk to the beach compared to the caribe section but very comfortable with nice remotely controlled air conditioning units and fans..Our stay in august was hot, and sleeping was a bit difficult but the rooms were still very comfortable. THe beds unlike what we have heard, were nice, firm but a bit pillowy on the top..

Bathrooms roomy and nice..Large tiled showers..

Patios-- large with two hammocks and if you are on the upper floors you get a nice ocean breeze...

Disadvantage of an upper room is that with the high roof it is hard for the air conditioner to keep the room cool..

Lack of a fridge is a problem.. Bring a cooler and buy ice and drinks from wal-mart or the little store just down the street..

Drinks purchased from the bar or store are pricey but available..

Lack of lunch is a bit of problem.. You can either order from aventura restaurant or go out, or buy snacks and wait until supper.. We usually got up later, for breakfast which lasted from 7-10:30 and then just snacked on some crackers and food we had picked up from the wal-mart or mega. Yes they do have a wal-mart...

Taxis-- Make sure to get the fare advice immediately from a reliable source... The drivers will definitely rip you off given the chance... Also if you are will to walk up to 10th rather than take the taxi directly from the Shangri Lato go downtown you will get at least a dollar or two cheaper rate... The door to hotel "tourista service" gets you a higher price...This tip was given to us by the hotel staff, and matters really only if you are using the taxis alot, but is nice to know...

Grounds- Beautiful and always being worked on, staff is very hardworking, and if you didn't know about the hurricane the only evidence is the big piles of sand.

Beach- As nice as everyone says...In a word "beautiful".. Amazing sand, gorgeous water, not crowded, and always palapas available.. A beautiful breeze kept it very nice even in the humid and hot summers of Playa..

Staff-- Excellent, restaurant, grounds, front desk, everyone was kind, friendly and accomodating...

All in all if you want a relaxing vacation in a simply beautiful location, then the Shangrila is for you.. The food choices aren't like cruising or even a more expensive all inclusive, but they are definitely simple buty enjoyable, and if you want something more go out..... The Shangrila isn't about food, trust me its about having peace, quiet , tranquility and above all an amazing location which you will love....

Go,, you won't be sorry...Trust me you won't miss your T.V..!!

My husband & I stayed at Shangri-La Caribe in mid-June for our honeymoon & we loved it. We are already planning our next trip back.

We booked our trip directly through the hotel based solely on the reviews we read on Trip Advisor (thank you!!!). We preferred that it was a small, beachy resort to a huge chain resort. While being relaxed, it was not too rustic (nice cold air conditioning & good service). The grounds were lush & beautiful. The staff was absolutely wonderful & we actually never once encountered a time-share salesperson. We really did like the food actually. We particularly loved the local dishes like slow cooked pork on banana leaves, and of course, the Mexican night (with the mariachi band) was great. We did not eat at the hotel every night though, because Playa del Carmen had so many interesting places that we wanted to check out. We were also thrilled that our end of the Avenida 5 strip was much more laid back and less touristy than the southern end near the Cozumel ferry. Our hope was to get away from a lot of that, while still feeling like there was a little civilization around to go play in. We felt we completely met this expectation.

The beach at Shangri-La Caribe is hands down, the best beach in Playa del Carmen. The resort is directly on a large and immaculate beach and you are provided with plenty of loungers & shady palapas to relax under. When we passed the other beaches in town we were not impressed by the crowds, sandbags and boats anchored on shore. There is public beach access in the middle of Shangri-La’s beach area but it is pretty small & it never once made a difference to us. It was never crowded like the other Playa beaches (which also had plenty of public access). If you need to see the beach traffic just check out the resort's web-cam.

As others have said, a great tip is to purchase a disposable cooler at the store right up the road. Since the rooms have no refrigerators this was key to keeping our beer nice & chilly. If you need to, there is even a Wal-Mart that you can walk to (or take a cab to) if you have to really stock up on snacks, water rafts, beer or supplies. Bug spray is a big must.

Lastly, we took 2 tours arranged through Shangri-La Caribe from Alderban Tours. The Chichén Itzá tour was long and the driver had us a bit scared. The ruins were well worth it, but I think I’d have rather rode in a nice safe bus than to be crammed in a scary little rattly van for 3 hours. The second tour to Tulum & Xel-ha was excellent- same van, but shorter ride. The all-inclusive at Xel-ha was worth it too.

We stayed at the Shangri-La Caribe for one week in late July/early August 2006. It absolutley exceeded our expectations in all ways. Not only is it situated in a beautiful beachfront tropical setting, but it is also truly an escape from reality without being showy or pretentious like so many other resorts. We were worried about no TV or phone...but it mattered not! Our room was ample and comfortable. Relaxing on the porch (we had an oceanfront bungalow!) or on the beach was an easy option that was irresistable most days. Both were great for watching the fabulous skies, the turquoise Caribbean, or the variety of people out enjoying each day(although the beach is never crowded!).

The restaurants & waitstaff were wonderful, the hotel staff was unobtrusive, but very friendly & helpful, and the proximity to town was perfect - an easy walk along the beach or via Avenida Quinto by bike or foot all made for a wonderful vacation.

We highly recommend the Shangri-La Caribe!