The hotel staff are the best ever, always friendly and helpful and go out of their way to help and make your trip the best. I'd like to endorse Lupita for room cleaning and Nic(h)olas for service in Myan Bistro restaurant. My wife is very excited about massage sessions, she had one even in the day we were leaving (7:00 am). Our room was ALWAYS exceptionally clean and comfortable. I will recommend this hotel to everybody.

Before booking here at this beautiful Aventura hotel, I read many reviews! We absolutely was not disappointed with our two week stay in Playa del Carmen! We had room 1108, the best room! The rooms were super clean with fresh smelling linens daily & with out standing maid service daily! The front desk, top notch and "over the top" in their customer service. I had arranged for them to pick us up from the airport and I had given them the wrong time to get us & and even though it was too late to send someone, they still reimbursed us our charges, even with it being my error & with NO questions asked! I've traveled all over the world and this was an adorable boutique. It couldn't be more perfect for my husband & me. The pool is small, but we stayed here because we were only 2 blocks from the ocean and this was what we wanted & had looked for. We also got the "all inclusive" dining at their Mayan Bistro restaurant. Can I just say "YMMMM!" Fantastic in all ways too! NO REGRETS! The friends we met while in Playa came to our place for dinner and are considering booking their next vacation here as well. We're counting the months til we get back here! Thank you so much for our wonderful trip to Playa del Camen Aventura! :-) Happy Holidays! Sincerely, Larry & Chrissy Cope - Colorado Springs, CO

We had a wonderful week holiday in Playa Del Carmen staying at the Aventura Mexicana, and even though there were a couple of small issues, I still think we stayed in the best possible place.

Good Points:
- Stunning, beautifully manicured, and very well kept grounds
- 2 lovely swimming pools, and a smaller hot tub. We swam in the pools ourselves, but people who did seemed to enjoy them,. They were also aesthetically pleasing to walk past each day. There were a good number of sunbeds around the pool side too, as well as some on the floor above for any serious tanners.
- Very friendly and efficient front of house staff, especially Keeke (pro. Key-keh) the General Manager. He spoke perfect English and was always happy to help and answer any questions, or give advice.
- Very clean around the entire hotel. The room was spotless when we arrived, and the grounds are also kept immaculate.
- Beautiful, contemporary, peaceful room! We were in Room 105 which is a Deluxe King and leads straight out to the poolside. I'm not sure if ours was larger than others as it was a corner room, but it felt like a suite. We had a large leather sofa, flat-screen TV, small fridge, microwave, LED bedside clock, and a safe. There was plenty of cupboard space, and although there was no full length mirrors, there were 2 large mirrors that more than sufficed (one in the bathroom, one in the bedroom). The furniture was lovely, it wasn't garish or too extravagant, neither was it some kind of flat pack Ikea job! And there was the perfect amount of furniture for the room, and for your needs.
- The shower always had hot water, and I found the pressure to be perfectly adequate - it wasn't a power shower, but it still flowed well.
- Complimentary organic toiletries were included and replaced every day including shampoo, conditioner, soap, aloe-vera gel, and a little vanity set with a cotton wool pad, cotton buds, and a nail file.
- There was an air-con unit, a fan in the lounge area, and a fan in the bedroom area
- The room had a complimentary water dispenser with drinking water which you could use to fill your bottles for the day. This was really handy and reduced the hassle of buying water from the shops!
- All windows were double glazed which was fantastic! It blocked out most noise, as well as any smells coming from the kitchen area.
- The main door leading into the room was a patio door (solid, sliding door, also double glazed) and behind it there was also a door with mosquito netting which was great. There was a net curtain as well as a normal curtain you could pull across for privacy (we were ground level) and also the patio door glass was tinted to provide privacy into the room.
- Every day the maid would make cute towel figurines!
- The location was perfect. It was barely one block back from 5th Avenue, so you had all the shops and restaurants a few minutes walk away, but the only noise we ever heard inside the hotel itself was from within the hotel. They played music around the grounds until about 10:30pm but it was never an issue or too loud, the windows blocked most of it out, and by the time most people would want to go to sleep it would be silent anyway.
- The beach is really close, and they give you free passes to 2 beach clubs which are a bit further along - Indigo and Maya which are next to each other. We only went to Indigo where the staff were really friendly, and the beds very comfy. The beach here is shallow for ages and ages, and though there are a few boats moored up, it doesn't ruin the experience. We also paid to go to Mamitas which is further along the beach (closer to the hotel). It's more expensive for drinks/food, but the beds were $30MXN each and another $30 MXN for an umbrella ($30 MXN is approx £1.50 GBP).
- The hotel also gives you complimentary beach towels that you can exchange each day. They are good quality, thick beach towels, so this is great as it saves you bringing (and then washing!) your own.
- The bath towels are good quality, 100% cotton towels. You were given a bath towel, a hand towel, and a face cloth per person.

Bad Points
- The breakfast is barely worth going to. I was expecting this from the previous reviews, but it's not even as described on the website which was a real let down. After a couple of days I did complain and ask why they didn't serve whole wheat bread toast instead of just white bread (as advertised on their website), and also why they only served a particularly awful type of fake and watered down orange juice and apple juice when their website said they offered a selection of fresh juices. After they spoke to the owner the next day I was offered whole-wheat toast, though there was never a resolution about the juice, and I decided not to push the matter.
So, the breakfast consisted of:
- very lightly toasted white bread (or whole-wheat after I complained)
- plain yogurt
- some questionable granola
- fruit that in my house would have pretty much all of it been in the bin the day before or sooner
- a selection of freshly baked cakes which my husband seemed to enjoy
- a selection of spreads for your toast: jam, honey, syrup, and butter
You can buy additional bits from the menu, but we never did. Instead we bought some extra bits from Walmart and Mega such as croissants and fruit, and ate them in our room to top up!

- Whilst pretty much all of the staff were friendly and helpful, the lady who served breakfast really wasn't. The first morning we arrived at breakfast she was sat at a table chatting on her mobile phone and totally ignored us. She then appeared quite put out when another couple went and asked her questions. She was generally abrupt and sullen, and where everyone else spoke English, she obviously understood it, but initially looked blankly at my husband when he asked if she spoke English - the next day she had no problem understanding us. The bit that wound me up most with her though was when I was talking to the waiter and asking about the whole-wheat bread, she asked him afterwards (in front of my husband while I wasn't there) what the conversation had been about, and when he told her she rolled her eyes and shook her head. Even with his decent knowledge of Spanish, such gestures are universally rude.

- The cleaner was lovely, and did an excellent job of what she cleaned, but she did seem to forget at least one thing a day! One day she didn't leave us one of the hand-towels and face-cloths, another day she forgot to wash the dishes, another day she forgot to empty the kitchen bin, etc. and most days she left the fan and/or the lights on. It's something I come to expect in Mexico, and it didn't bother me, but if I was there another week I suspect it would have started to irritate me.
- As some people have said the wall didn't reach the ceiling in the bathroom. This certainly looked lovely, but privacy regarding smells and sounds becomes an issue if you're sharing!! There are communal toilets around the pool area if you prefer to use them. But as a result the room was pretty humid from the shower, though we could probably have left the door open more, and/or the air con on for longer which may have sorted that out.
- The biggest shame (after the breakfast) was that the bedsheets were of low quality. They were poly-cotton (50% cotton, 50% polyester) which meant that whilst the bed was very comfy, it wasn't as pleasant to sleep in as you'd hope, especially given how hot and humid the place is. They also use a plastic backed mattress protector under the sheets, which is not pleasant to sleep on, especially when combined with poly-cotton sheets! It was such a shame, especially as it was so not in keeping with the high standard of so many other things in the hotel.

I really found though that the positives massively outweighed the negatives, and I'd certainly return and recommend the hotel. But I would say to potentially think of the hotel as not including breakfast, and if you do this you'll probably have a better experience!

Beach Tip!
We used the free beach passes, but the best beach experience in Playa Del Carmen was when we reached the beach and turned left, and just walked. There are loads of lovely beaches along the way, a lot less crowded, and without the underlying sulphuric smell! Where the kite surfers are is nice, but we walked much past that, and past a bit where there are rock pools (great for spotting sea urchins and other sea life only a step or two into the water, though be careful not to tread on the spiky sea urchins!), and we went all the way up to where there was a group of apartments and a small beach club with diving shop, where we lay in the shade of a palm tree. It was quite a way, but pretty much anywhere along the route was lovely.

This boutique hotel is oneof our favorites. We have stayed here 4 times and will continue to go back for years, as they always seem to be able to find a way to keep improving it. The service is courteous and prompt, the entire place is squeaky clean, and the resident cat Olivia welcomes guests with a friendly tail flick. There is a small spa on site with many services available such as massage and yoga, a lounge with great wifi and flat screen TVA, open air dining, and romantic lighting. The food in their restaurant is great for breakfast, lunch & dinner. The continental breakfast includes self-serve tea, coffee, juice, purified water, toast, and bakery bread like a croissant or muffin of your choice. You can also order extra things like delicious Juevos Rancheros if you are still hungry. They have a great guest services concierge who speaks perfect English and can help you book tours for a fair price. I can't recommend it more highly.