The Fives Beach Hotel & Residences - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

18388 reviews

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  2/5 – Disappointing stay despite a beautiful setting

  We recently stayed at The Fives Beach in Playa del Carmen and unfortunately left feeling quite disappointed. On the positive side, the rooms were nice and the hotel itself was clean, with lovely grounds. Our cleaner was also very sweet and every day positioned the kids toys on the bed which they loved! We upgraded to a penthouse which included a kitchen, but it was completely empty. When we asked, we were told that basic kitchen utensils and even the use of the washing machine came at an extra cost. It felt like there were hidden charges everywhere. The breakfast buffet was completely inadequate for the number of guests. We regularly queued out the door for a table, food frequently ran out and wasn’t replenished quickly, and communication with kitchen staff was difficult. There was only one coffee machine, so getting anything beyond standard coffee often meant a long wait. There also weren’t nearly enough sunbeds around the pools. There were no loungers close to the sea, which made things difficult for families with young children wanting to play by the water unless you put towels on the sand or paid around £150 per day for a Bali bed. The Bali beds themselves were roped off and felt unnecessarily exclusive. One of our biggest frustrations was that the only kids’ park was located on the beach in a “members only” area, which gave the impression that non-member families were less valued. The hotel “ambassadors” promised a lot but didn’t deliver, and when issues were raised they were acknowledged without any real resolution. Restaurants were average, but if you didn’t arrive early you could wait up to an hour. Service was often slow once seated. We also discovered a restaurant called Seasons that appeared to be treated as members-only. We were given a booking through our ambassador, but while we were dining another couple were turned away because they were told it was for members only. That felt pretentious and uncomfortable to witness. The hotel has a strict smoking policy with designated areas, yet we saw rules not being enforced consistently. Overall, the resort looks beautiful but the experience felt overly focused on upselling and tiered access, which left us feeling like you needed to spend significantly more to be treated equally. Sadly, we wouldn’t recommend this hotel based on our experience.

  Feb 19, 2026
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  Not Great - Such a shame

  ⭐☆☆☆☆ 1 Star – So Much Potential but Very Disappointing We recently stayed at The Fives Beach in Mexico and unfortunately it was a big let down. This is marketed as a high-end all-inclusive family resort, but in reality it is average at best — more like a 3-star experience. Food – Repetitive & Basic The buffet is so small and very average. • Breakfast is the same food every single morning with very limited choice. • Lunch and dinner are repetitive. • You do not get fries in the buffet at lunch or dinner — not that that’s all I eat, but at a resort like this it would be nice to have the option. • Lunch is mainly burgers and hot dogs or tacos. • Kids’ selection is very poor with little variety. • No sauces or ketchup on tables or spoons which is pain for having to ask every day. • No outdoor seating in the buffet restaurant. • Only one coffee machine at breakfast — completely inadequate and chaos for the amount of people. • The conveyor toasters take 3–4 runs before your toast is done standard at most hotels don’t get why they don’t use toasters, so your food is cold by then. • Food trays are often empty with no staff quickly replacing them. Mexican night we queued 20 minutes for crepes only for them to run out just as we got to the front — very frustrating only 1hr into the night, kids were upset. We went to the à la carte brasserie one evening and they didn’t even bring my wife’s dinner out. We asked three times. By the time we had finished eating and waited another 10 minutes, it still hadn’t arrived — so we left. She was absolutely fuming. Completely unacceptable service. Drinks The beer is like watered-down piss water — you could drink 100 and still not feel tipsy. Even pineapple and coconut drinks on the beach cost around £10 each. For an all-inclusive, it feels like constant upselling. Extra Charges Everywhere • Bali beds on the beach cost around £150 per day — and there are about 20 of them blocking the view. The beach itself is nice, but you can barely see it because of all the premium beds. • Pool day beds are £130 per day. • $200 charge to watch the Super Bowl. • Kids’ beach park can’t be used unless you book a day bed. It honestly feels like everything is designed to make extra money. Smoking Policy Only two small smoking areas in the whole resort. You cannot smoke or vape on your balcony or on the beach. Very restrictive. Should have so many more areas! Rooms & Facilities • Bath water was yellow and only warm — no proper hot water. • We booked a penthouse and there was no cutlery in the kitchen we had to pay extra if we want this lol. • Not enough loungers around the pool — always full. • Pool music blasting at 5:50am one morning waking everyone up. Entertainment & Atmosphere In the evenings, everyone gathers in the main square for entertainment. The music is unbelievably loud — your ears are ringing after an hour. I asked four times on different nights for them to turn it down and was ignored. The entertainment simply repeats after a week — so if you stay for two weeks, you see the same shows twice. There’s no proper beach bar atmosphere, no reggae nights, no real vibe on the beach. The activity team are not engaging with the kids — mostly just standing around. Overall If you paid around £1,400 all-inclusive you might tolerate it. Pay more than that and you will be very disappointed. This place has so much potential but falls short in so many areas — food quality, service, atmosphere, and constant extra charges. Sadly, we won’t be returning.

  Feb 17, 2026
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  Good trip inspite of changes

  Our stay was mixed, with some enjoyable highlights but several challenges as well. The room itself was average, but it was quite noisy at night, which made it difficult to rest—especially since we were traveling with small children. Room service was consistently slow, and even simple requests like additional towels were never delivered. Every day, the staff would shut down the AC, leaving the room humid with stale air. We were a family of five traveling within a group of seventeen, and we specifically requested two rooms close together. Instead, we were placed far apart. It took multiple requests and several hours of our vacation to finally get moved into the same area, which meant packing up and moving halfway through our stay. While staff members were polite, they were rarely helpful in resolving issues. Service around the resort varied. Some staff were wonderful, but many seemed uninterested in dealing with guests. On several occasions, waiters rolled their eyes when we asked for something, which made us feel unwelcome. The food overall was good, though the menus leaned heavily toward Mexican cuisine. The biggest issue was at the Mexican restaurant, where the manager was particularly unaccommodating. We asked for tables placed closer together so we could celebrate a birthday—something that could easily have been done since there was plenty of space—but he refused and made it clear he didn’t want to help. There were definite positives: the weather was fantastic throughout our stay, the pool was excellent, and the ice cream and smoothie shops were favorites for our group, especially the kids. Overall, while there were some great moments and a few standout staff members, the number of unhelpful encounters and service issues affected our experience and made parts of our stay less enjoyable.

  Feb 17, 2026
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  Adults only trip

  The Fives Beach resort is a wonderful place for both families and adults. We took an adults/friends trip Feb 8-14th, 2026. We were in building 20. We had a swim out, room 20002. Our friends had a penthouse. This was our second time traveling to this resort and our first trip was with our three children. We returned because we loved it so much. The resort remains a great place to stay! It is so beautiful and sits within a nature preserve with a beautiful long board walk to explore and see the wildlife. Pretty string lights are strung up so you can see at night, and it is enchanting! We had a one room swim out but unfortunately the weather had been cold so the water was not warm enough for us to get in. Thankfully, building 20 was right by the adults only heated pool (the only heated pool on the property). There is a bar right there and they serve up great (strong) drinks all day! I was disappointed in how nonmembers/nonowners are no longer able to make dinner reservations. This caused a long wait the night we went to Italian/Arezzo. When we checked in at about 730, we were told there were 18 families ahead of us. They can't really give you a time estimate unfortunately. We did end up waiting and while the meal was very good, we probably wouldn't wait that long again and would have gone to the buffet. Otherwise, we went to the sushi, Mexican, and French restaurants and didn't wait more than 10 minutes at any one place to be seated. We also went to Casa de Rosa one evening, which is an extra cost of $75 USD/person but it was so worth it! Again, we love this resort and would consider in the future becoming an owner. The staff were all wonderful and work their butts off. They appreciate even small tips and go above and beyond to be deserving of it.

  Feb 17, 2026
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  Get the tomahawk!

  Overall we’re having an amazing experience even in a party of 14 people. The hospitality and service has been excellent, and the food has been great. I really want to give a shoutout to some people especially, Montserrat, Yoshio, Abimelet, Daniel, Luis Raúl, and Gilberto for their professionalism and excellent service; the tomahawk steak and special cocktails really topped off our trip.

  Feb 17, 2026