We loved it! We stayed in the penthouse for a girlfriend getaway. My 3 friends and I really enjoyed this hotel. Having been to Playa before, I was not sure if this hotel might be too far from the action on 5th ave., but it worked out great. We took cabs into town at night because we were going to Calle 10. Every night the cab ride was a different price, but should be $4-5 which we had no problem with. PE is located in the newest, (soon to be) more upscale area of Playa, I can only imagine what it will look like in1- 2 years. There is a grocery store really close which we visited everyday, comedy really. But as far as the hotel goes PROs Brand new, clean lines, comfy beds, nice upscale bathrooms, beautiful infinity pool and gorgeous rooftop area. Cons which wouldn't deter me from staying here...no view from #312, except the meditation center, water pressure is a little weak, didn't think the music at the pool would bother me, but it was mildly annoying, and overall, there were very few people around the hotel, we did not even have a drink there. If you are going for a "resort" time, pick another place, if you are going for peace,relaxation, romance or have your own fun..you'll love this place. Location to the beach is perfect, there are wonderful restaurants and coffee houses nearby including starbucks, but the best coffee of my life was at the cafe behind the new sushi bar. try the granola, yogurt and fresh fruit there too! We'll be back there next year, but heading to the gran porto real with the family in 2 weeks!

Pueblito Escondido is in an excellent location by the beautiful beach and an easy walk to 5th Avenue. The condo was large which made our stay with our two older children easy. We were not in each other's ways. The bathroom had two entrances - very handy and more private. It was a large bright bathroom. The condo was nicely decorated as well. The front desk staff as well as all other staff were friendly and helpful.

The rooftop pool area was fantastic! The view was amazing as well. We spent most of our time at the rooftop pool. It was too bad that the condo management did not enforce the "adults only" rule even after being asked. Sometimes children were running around and It became noisy. We did not avail ourselves to the bar because we brought our own drinks in a small ice chest.

The condo was beautiful but the furniture setup was awkward. It was difficult for all of us to watch the TV at the same time. We really weren't able to do it, actually because of the furniture. Take a look at the condo complex's website to see what is meant. The shower had very poor pressure and was too high on the wall. Water sprayed all over and went under the shower door. The floor was a mess many times after a shower even after the maintenance staff cleaned out the shower head. The kitchen faucet came off at times and gave us a little shower. It was easily put back on with no harm done. It was just an annoyance. We wished that there were kitchen towels available since the dishes were hand-washed. There was plenty of dish soap available.

The most disappointing element of the condo was the horrible smell that came from the restaurant on the ground floor. (The restaurant was closed for the first half of our stay and then opened after Christmas.) It made the condo smell with no relief. We asked for help and there appeared to be no remedy. It remained smelly for the last three or four days of our visit. Opening the sliding doors did not help.

The internet worked most of the time and met our needs. It was nice to keep up on the rest of the world. The TV worked well with both Spanish and English stations.

Taxis were always available and the drivers were friendly and helpful. Also, the morning coffee pot near the main desk was a nice touch. We appreciated having a large starter bottle of water as well.

***First please note that some aspects of this review might not apply to all units of the Pueblito Escondido Resort since we rented a private unit directly through it's owner, therefore i twas very well equipped and also a lot less expensive than what the management charges for the same unit. If you wish to have contact information of the owner to book his unit, just contact me.***

1. THE COMPLEX
2. LOCATION
3. COMFORT
4. EQUIPMENT / AMENITIES
5. STAFF / SERVICE
6. VALUE

1. THE COMPLEX

The unit we rented was #215, on the 2nd floor. This is the highest you can go in the building for a regular 1 bedroom condo. On the 3rd floor there are only penthouses which add a 2nd bedroom with 2 single beds and a private rooftop terrace. Honestly unless you have children that 2nd bedroom is rather useless since it's single beds, I wouldn't recommend it for 2 couples sharing one unit. And if you're only two, don't bother paying the ridiculous premium for that "private" terrace, it's still in the view of the common areas and we went there in the holiday season and we've ALWAYS been able to secure two lounge chairs, most of the time the place was almost empty.

The rooftop area is very large and features a bar, lots of lounge chars, and that awesome infinity pool with the best views you could dream of. There's also another pool and a kids pool on the ground floor with some more chairs. All pools aren’t heated, this could be an issue if you plan to go swimming at night, but during the day you get so hot with the sun that a short swim in the refreshing pool is very appreciated!

Close to the ground pool you can also find "public" restrooms (very handy when you just got out of the pool and don't want to make a mess of your condo) and also showers for when you come out of the beach with sand all over you!

2. LOCATION

The Pueblito is located in the north end of the city on calle 38. If you've seen maps of Playa you might think it's too far away from some stores, restaurants, etc. Don't think so. It might be in a more quiet environment but it's still plenty close to all the cool stuff, and that way you don't have all the noises during the day and the night that some other condos / hotel can have.

How about the beach then? Well the condominium resort isn't technically on the beach but let me tell you this way: there's a side exit with showers and when you leave by that door, you have about 3 steps to do in the street (which is covered in sand at that point) and then you're on the beach. It's quite nice to see people go there by car or walk with their chairs when you can just leave the beach, shower yourself and be back in the A/C comfort of your condo in seconds.

3. COMFORT

This condominium resort was built in 2007 so everything is still new but for some strange reason stuff seems to wear out faster in Mexico. For instance the plumbing was poor in our unit. You had to be very careful with the shower in order to not make a mess in the whole bathroom (as others have noted) and the kitchen faucet was already broken.

But let's get to the important stuff: the air conditioning was working like a charm, both quiet, and powerful, it cooled the unit very quickly. Each condo has it's own A/C unit and has full control over it.

The bed was very comfortable as well and you have so many pillows that you'll find one that suits your preferences for sure. Everything was clean and in very good shape (once again this might be due to our unit being a private one)

The only problem with this condo was the noise. Since quite a lot of the units are offered as rentals, there are many visitors and that means slamming the doors shut, running in the hallways, the same thing that you'd get in a normal hotel. During our 7 nights stay however I can say that only 2 or 3 have been "problematic" and it's nothing worse than any other hotel I've visited but I didn't expect that from a condo complex.

The hard flooring also means that you will hear if someone is walking above you with high heels, but normal walking won't be an issue.

4. EQUIPMENT / AMENITIES

**please see the note at the beginning of the review**

This was another strong point of this condo, we had EVERYTHING we could need. Full cookware, Microdyn (we used it in the water to wash the dishes) lots of paper towels and a huge 18 litres jug of water (very useful to refill your water bottles or to cook with). The only thing missing that we found a bit weird was the lack of a toaster which could have been useful for breakfast meals. But unlike others who rented “rental” units, we had a hair dryer, dish soap, oven mitts, etc.

We also had a blender to make drinks! The wifi internet was very quick, the TV had almost all the channels you could wish for and many movies were in English with Spanish subtitles. We even had some books, magazines (all from the current month) and a few music CD's in the unit, this was very welcome and we liked these little attentions.

5. STAFF / SERVICE

**please see the note at the beginning of the review**

Since we had a private rental, check-in was as easy as you could dream of, it took all of 30 seconds to do, I had to sign a contract and I got handed the access cards while someone guided us to our unit, no deposit was required (since it had already been handled directly with the owner). Everyone we talked to have been very professional, the two young men we saw at the front desk spoke a very good English too. The barman (even though we didn't order anything from him) made very good looking drinks and was also acting like a tourist guide to some other customers.

In the contract it was said that we'd have maid service once a week but they came twice when we were there which leads us to think that in fact they came once every two days. Very nice since they did a very throughout cleaning: from changing the sheets to washing the floor.


6. VALUE

**please see the note at the beginning of the review**

It's a brand new condo, with an awesome location, for not a lot of dough. We had a very good deal on it (read hundreds less than what booking directly through Pueblito Escondido would have cost us for the same unit!) and for that money currently you can't beat that for such a luxurious 1 bedroom condo in Playa, let alone one that is steps from the beach.

I definitely recommend it. To see more pictures and a video of the resort and of our unit, feel free to go to my website at: http://www.kevintrudel.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=30

First off I am already sold on Playa Del Carmen. The area is fantastic. The location of this condo hotel is superior. For the past 3 years we have stayed in and around it. We watched Pueblito being built and had great expectations about being able to stay there this year. The reservation making experience was fine. Ms. Ramirez is cordial and all aspects of our reservation matched our saturday arrival. The clerk on check in..name Carmen..was not able to communicate very well with us...we went to our room...and sadly it was very dirty...hair on the floors, furntiture dirty and blood on the bedroom wall. I went back to the desk and requested a room move or that something be done about the room quality...this was met with an inability to get things sorted out until Diego arrived an hour later. Diego quickly organized a cleaning crew to fix up my concerns...but the condition of the Hotel is quickly deteriorating..very sad. In unit 103 the patio doors are broken and there is mold on the ceiling of the shower. This was pointed out by another guest on trip advisor and not resolved. I bought bleach showing them how to correct the problem and it was never attended to...The furniture pool side is stained and the furniture within the suite had many stains on it. There are virtually no amentities in the kitchen..no toaster..but there is a microwave, fridge and stove and coffee maker. Sadly there are no oven mits and we had to buy them and a dish towel. There is no dish soap. The pools are not heated but the ocean water is fabulous. I want to provide some real information for you...If you shop you should go to Chedraui..pronounced shed rau eee...you get the best choices and best prices there. go to the one at the playas americana mall...the daily cleaning service is nice but washing dishes is extra so buy some dish soap...sheets are changed daily along with towels...bring your own hair conditioner as there isnt any supplied...no hair dryer in suite, towels are of poor quality and this is not a luxury condo experience. i want to be clear to those who travel alot and have high expectations..this isnt a luxury experience. It is a beautifully designed complex but deteriorating fast. Watch you r bill on check out as we had someone elses bar charges on ours..they did taken them off but not the taxes associated with them I noticed later...the bed is reasonably comfortable if you like a hard mattress..the drapes do not cover the bedroom windows very well and so if you like the room dark this is a problem...Thank goodness for Diego at the front desk who looked after us...the other staff are friendly but language barrier for non spanish speakers is the problem...in room tv is nice...reasonable water coming out of the shower head...

I would encourage you to check the kitchen stock on arrival. Our coffee pot was broken and we would have been charged for it on check out if I had not had it switched...check all of the kitchen wares on arrival...