Just returned from Playa and our stay at Pueblito Escondido. We had previously stayed at La Tortuga, (about 20 blocks south)which we had thoroughly enjoyed, in January of this year. We found Pueblito Escondido to be superior in almost all ways, and less expensive. The room we had, first floor junior suite with King bed was really nice. The one point that did not come across in previous reviews is proximity to the beach, just steps away, and the beach clubs are best reached by simply walking down the beach, first Mamitas, then Kool. Both had advantages, but Mamitas filled up earlier, especially in January when we were here previously. Kool has more comfortable(padded) chairs, but was about $6 per chair compared to $2 at Mamitas, try them both, and decide for yourself.

The restaraunts near the hotel were more reasonable, and I felt better. I must say that the eateries in the mid to south portions of 5th Avenue were overpriced and commercialized. The Italian restaraunt around the street from hotel, will be moving into the restaraunt space at Pueblito recently vacated. We ate at this eatery twice, they also deliver to hotel, thought the food was good, I shared a tequila with owner as I waited for my takeout order. Babes on 5th was very good, the blueberry margeurita is huge, you can definitely share one. Stopped at La Vagabunda about 6-8 blocks down on 5th and had a nice lunch of fish tacos, pretty good. La Cueva del Chenga was nice for breakfast, it is 50 yards from hotel, we ate there twice, and also returned to La Tortuga for breakfast one day, we really enjoyed breakfast there when we stayed in January, we saw the waiters and they definitely remembered us, they were super friendly during our stay.

We arranged transfers thru the hotel but they were actually less than the amount we were quoted by e-mail from the front desk. We paid $60 to Playa and $50 back to airport. We toyed with idea of taking the "air conditioned luxury bus" and then a cab to hotel from bus station , but I was in a rush to get there.

The endless pool on the 4th floor was incredible, see for yourself that the pictures do not do it justice, you see the water, Cozumel, cruise ships, it was awesome. The bar is open til 6 pm, most days and closed on Monday. We brought our own bottle of champagne in the absence of bartender, who was good and made a nice drink-no low end liquor used here, all drinks were billed to room with a signature. There is also a pool on the first floor, we had a nice view of it from our room. Both pools were at times empty. We did manage to meet some nice people at the adult pool on the 4th floor, (LA, Denver, Dallas, New York, and New Jersey)

The front desk was very helpful with all of our requests, ice, (there is an ice maker in the freezer, good luck) a blow dryer, extra towels, I just made sure to always tip the person who delivered item(s).

In summary, this hotel was a bargain, I would recommend to friend and family. I can see minor details, such as the location of the 40" LG television, but how many people have a TV this size in their hotel room, there was also a 15" in bedroom, and we did not have any problem with viewing from bed. We moved the two ottomans to the loveseat by TV and they stayed there for our entire stay, I would definitely return, but it may be a year or two, as we have been here twice this year. We booked thru Orbitz, they had the lowest prices of major websites and the hotel website. Purchased some liquor at Cancun airport on arrival, never thought to do this before, nice savings, remember, there is a fridge and blender in room.

Amazing Condo! Very spacious and modern design. Rooftop adult only infinnity pool to die for! Walk in closet area, huge shower! Very helpful staff who spoke good English. Right next to Shangri La Hotel on wide stretch of white sand beach. Very quiet end of Playa. Would stay here again without hesitation!!! (Only improvements could be the lack of kitchen equipment...need a baking dish, more frying pans, wine opener, etc.) Walmart is a 35 peso taxi ride away. Quick walk to 5th avenue where all the great restaurants and bars are. Must do Altournative Mayan Encounter tour while in Playa!!

My wife and I loved Pueblito Escondido! Having just returned with some friends, it is very interesting to finally put all the reviews in context. I will try to do that here.

THE ROOM:

First, we were in a one bedroom suite. The furnishings were all relatively upscale, in good condition and very comfortable. In addition, the air conditioning worked very well. I suspect that if I intended to watch TV on vacation, I could understand some of the comments centered on its position, etc. - but I had no desire to do so and did not turn the TV on once. The couch in front of the TV was a little akward, but the main couch was very comfortable as were the beds.

I was a little concerned about comments regarding the view from the bedroom, until I actually saw how the condo was arranged. I erroneously thought that this inner corridor view was the only view from some of the condos. However, off our dining/living area was a huge patio that faces the inner courtyard/pool. Because of the pool view, the view from the room did not bother me at all. We shut the drapes and the hurricane shutters and it was a total afterthought.

From my perspective, there really wasn't anything to complain about as far as the room goes. The shower head was a little weak, but that was no big deal. And yes, there are mosquitos in Mexico. And yes, we had some in our room but I ascertained that this was because housekeeping kept the door open during their cleaning (presumably for access and to ensure that everyone knows they aren't doing anything they shouldn't be doing).

THE PROPERTY:

As far as the property and grounds are concerned, they were beautiful. Was it immaculate as far as American standards go? No. Was it immaculate as far as Caribbean standards go? Absolutely. Very much a rustic beauty to the whole place.

Easily, the most endearing part of the property was its rooftop pool. There were comfortable lounge chairs, but it was very hard to not just relax in the pool with a drink and stare out at the Caribbean. And if you needed shade, you could sit under the umbrellas, you could sit at the bar, or you could go up under the rooftop trellis area where a nice breeze always seemed to keep the area cool. There were a few times we just sat up there and watched the storms roll in. Jorge, the bartender, was fantastic as he would either blend into the background and you didn't know he was around or he was just as happy to talk to you about himself, his experiences, or Mexico in general. He was very accomodating and worked very hard to make sure you were happy. And as far as the music goes, we loved it! It was not really music we were used to, but was very relaxing and worked very well with the vibe of the pool and the ocean. Frankly, I am very surprised that anybody had anything to say about it as it really seemed to mix well with the surroundings and just enhanced the experience. Being a beach/ocean person, I was really surprised at how hard it was to tear myself away from that pool.

THE LOCATION:

The location of the condo was perfect for us. The beach was right there. No, there weren't any beach chairs, but I am not used to using one anyway. There was a beach club available as others have mentioned, but we just had no desire to walk down there. There was great access to 5th avenue and we shopped/ate/walked down it pretty much every evening. Although prices weren't super-cheap, I found most of them to be cheaper than the states (and there were plenty of places, particularly on the northern end where very reasonable meals could be had). The condo was in a very quiet part of town - having walked down 5th, I can now see why some people might have a hard time relaxing/sleeping at places that are in the heart of it all. We enjoyed the seclusion of Pueblito and the walk did not bother us at all (and we always felt very safe walking to/from 5th).

RESTAURANTS:

As everyone else has mentioned, la Ceuva del Chango was fantastic and cheap especially for breakfast (their lunch was good too, but we just preferred to eat elsewhere most of the time). There isn't currently a restaurant on site but you can order room service (from an outside restaurant). This didn't bother us at all as there were a couple of small places close (if you wanted to eat quickly) and we preferred to walk down 5th to eat each night.

In addition to la Cueva del Chango, we also enjoyed Yaxche, El Fogon (wished we had eaten there earlier in our trip so I would have known to go back), and the Uruguayan steakhouse. We actually had relatively few bad meals, these were just the highlights for my wife and I. If you like empanadas, they were especially good at the Coffe Cafe, the Uruguayan steakhouse, and the little Argentenian grill right by the hotel.

One of my favorite places to go and hang out was at the Coffee Cafe. It was reminiscent of a Starbucks but much better in my opinion. The coffee was great, the atmosphere was fantastic, and there was free internet (either WiFi or via their desktops, which came in handy for those of us who had no desire to lug their laptops to Mexico). And surprisingly, the music was the best part of it all - again, it wasn't music we were used to but we became very attached to it by the end of the trip as it was so relaxing! Just a great vibe overall to the place!

THE STAFF:

We had a similar situation where we got there and our room wasn't ready. Veronica asked for the 1000 peso hold and told us when our room would be ready. We headed to La Cueva, had lunch and returned once our room was ready. We personally had no issues with how this was handled. The staff was always very professional and courteous - and very helpful (they booked us a tour to Xel-ha that was much cheaper than anyone else could get).

OVERALL:

I would have no hesitation going back to Pueblito Escondido. Location, comfort, and the rooftop pool make this place an absolute gem, especially when factoring in the price!

My girlfriend and I just returned from Playa Del Carmen, where we stayed at Pueblito Escondido. We knew going in this was not a full service hotel, but a condo/hotel. Reading reviews prior was very helpful in choosing this place. Most reviews are spot on. I booked through Orbitz $147/nt for a 2 bedroom suite. The unit was really nice and very spacious. This came in handy, since we both over packed;-) Having a kitchen was nice, we stalked up on ice, water, alcohol/mixer (blender provided), snacks from the convience stores within a couple blocks. I found the mayan riviera is not cheap in general if you're in any touristy area. No major complaints on the rooms, they were great, clean, a/c, decent beds, plenty of towels, etc. I would note that the main floor pool/bar was closed and there was construction going on during the day. It really didn't bother us since we were typically at the beach or on an adventure during the day. The rooftop terrace, pool and bar was awesome as described! Wish the bar would stay open a little later, since most people eater later in the evening. Drinks were no great deal, but Jorge the bartender was great. Served me my first Michelada, and I about died! I was warned:) The roof area was usually very quiet as well. As noted by other's the penthouse suites with private rooftop areas & plunge pools are not totally private. But unless you're looking for complete privacy, they're pretty cool. Enjoy.. wave at your neighbor. Met 2 or 3 owners, all very nice, who were very interested in what we thought of the place since they all rent their units. The staff: front desk, housekeeping, etc were pretty attentive, helpful and accommodating. Again I wasn't expecting Fairmont/4 Seasons style service. The beach is literally steps away. You can rough it, throw a towel down and enjoy the beautiful north end beach area right off the hotel or walk a couple of minutes south down the beach to the beach clubs. We mainly went to the Kool beach club and used the 10% discount, food and drinks, lounges etc. A beach front cushioned lounge/umbrella was about $6. Mamitas beach club, located right next to Kool, was cheaper and a little more busy/happening if that's what you like, around $2.50/$3.00 for a lounge. We didn't know until we checked into it. We mainly used Kool, it also has a pool area and we liked the cushy lounges. The hotel is on the north end of the town, a short walk to 5th Ave. Bit of hike if you go all the way to the south end. Taxi's were anywhere from $2.50 to $5, depending on who you got and insisting on change. And yes things are pricier on the main avenue. We also enjoyed La Cueva De Changa, very close the hotel. For good italian try il Baretto. Great prices and they'll make to order if they have it. My mistake was not getting addresses for the restaurants off 5th Ave that were suggested in some of the other reviews. It's helpful in finding them. Front desk didn't seem to know many of them. If you want a good jungle/cenote snorkeling or diving adventure definitely check out Hidden Worlds. We jumped on a "colectivo" by the bus station for 20 pesos each to get there and paid about $75/pp for an all inclusive activity pkg. I think the prices vary, but well worth it, was a blast. All and all a great vacation and great condo/hotel. I do wonder about what may happen when Shangri-la is raised and what may be put in it's place. Right now though I would definitely go back.