What We Love
- No reservations needed at any of the restaurants.
- Sinking your sandy toes into the soft, white shores in Playa del Carmen.
- Top-notch service where you get to sit back and be pampered. It's vacay time. You deserve it.
- Keeping the party rolling at night - letting loose at La Pinata nightclub.
- The full-service spa-some experience at Renova. Massages and facials and a whole lot of you-time.
- 100% Authentic Mexican food with lots of chips & guacamole for that necessary afternoon snack.
- Let the kids burn off energy with other kiddos their age. You get to lounge by the beach in peace.
Things to Know
- Eat, play, drink at the sister resorts.
- You're within walking distance of shopping on 5th Avenue - Playa's retail hub of local treasures and restaurants.
- You can explore all the local sites: ancient Mayan ruins, Sian Ka'an Reserve or the Crococun Zoo.
- Feeling like an adventurist? Head to the bright blue seas for snorkeling, kayaking, windsurfing and more.
- There's three glistening pools - perfect for lounging, day drinking and pure relaxation.
Location
Playa del Carmen - BeachProperty Information
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Resort Details
Dining
Amenities
Activities
Hotel Advisories
General Policies & Fine Print
Check-in Policy - Hotel requires a credit/debit card authorization or cash deposit upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.
Convention Policy - Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
Spring Break Policies - At least one person 21 years or older is required in every room February through April. Spring Breakers (either groups or individuals, regardless of age) are not allowed at any RIU property, at any time during the year. RIU Hotels
& Resorts, reserves the right to withhold admission to any Spring Breaker. The hotel reserves the right of admission and may request clients to show passport or official ID to prove full identification. Guests can and will be removed from the property at their
own expense in case of any disturbance or complaint from other guests or hotel staff. Parties in rooms are not allowed. Spring break groups or unruly behavior is not allowed all year round at any property.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price.
Minimum night stay restrictions may apply.
Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
Customer Ratings & Reviews
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
6680 reviews
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Apr 28, 2020REGULAR VISITS FROM THE RIU PALACE MEXICO.
We used the facilities regularly whilst staying at A neighbouring RIU palace. The refurbishment upgrade has been tastefully done with excellent use of the space available. The hotel is well positioned on the beachfront in Playacar and is in an ideal position for a stroll along the beach to PLAYA DEL CARMEN. The RIU Pool/Foam parties are at different times so we got to attend more than the norm. At the front of the hotel the refurb has taken advantage of the old garden space available and roofed over a breathtaking lobby and entertainment area that gave a bustling vibrant feel on entry. We used bars in the lobby and pool area as well as lunch in the buffet on many occasions and found all staff friendly,polite and professional. At the right price I would absolutely recommend a stay in the hotel.
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Apr 19, 2020
Perfect mix of relaxation and fun
Stayed Feb - March 2020, booked through First Choice/Tui. Flights direct from Birmingham to Cancun, Tui transfer to hotel. Playacar is a gated community of hotels and private villas set in beautiful jungle with lots of interesting wildlife. Hotel lobby just off the road, where opposite there are some small shops. There is 24/h snack bar and left luggage available in Lobby, as well as the main indoor bar, the 'asian' restaurant, the 'Italian' restaurant and the main buffet restaurant where breakfast is served every day. There is a long path down from the lobby towards the pool area and then the beach. Either side of this path are the accommodation blocks. There are no lifts in blocks, but if you are not on the ground floor you can have you cases brought up to your room, just remember to tip. Our room was on the top floor (2nd floor) of block 1 which was near the lobby. Room was very spacious. There were 2 small double beds, zircon, ceiling fan, toilet, shower, double sink, balcony with chairs, drying rack and ashtray (we had no view really). There was a TV that we never used. Additionally there was a hairdryer, iron, ironing board, chest of drawers, hanging space, safe for valuables which was really easy to use. There were optics of vodka, run, gin and of course tequila! The minibar had soft drinks as well as bottled water and beer and was restocked every 2 days. You can get ice from the ground floor in your ice bucket. Ice has been purified so okay to put in drinks but don't drink the tap water. Room did smell a bit fusty initially but it didn't really bother us that much. Room was serviced daily with various towel animals. The room was very quiet and we slept really well. The wildlife was a lot of fun, lots of Aguti and Coatis both very cute! The food was all delicious, I especially enjoyed breakfast at the buffet the variety is insane! If you have an allergy, dishes are NOT labelled, so it is really important that you ask to speak to the chef and show him a translation of your allergies if you don't speak Spanish like me! I have a nut allergy and even though I had all the nuts I'm allergic to translated, they still weren't sure what might have nuts in them, so I did struggle a little bit to find dishes I could eat without bothering the head chef every day. I did notice that they catered well if you require gluten free. Overall the staff were super friendly and helpful. I am also vegetarian and had plenty of delicious food to choose from. 2 pools plus pool bar which has tables and shade. Also drinks service if you choose a lounger by the main pool. Lunch restaurant is by the pool (becomes the steak house and Mexican restaurant at night) and there is also Pepes snack bar which does BBQ meat, chips and salad. There is lots of choice for a lounger with shade either by the pools or on the beach (less so on the beach but there is a bit of shade from the palm trees). Main pool has activities during the day like aqua gym and volleyball. There is a foam pool party once a week - my advice if you burn easily in the sun is to not get in until the foam actually starts (they seem to make you wait in the pool ages!!). The sea is lovely and warm with gentle waves for the most part! There was a tiny bit of seaweed but nothing major. The hotel staff were out cleaning the beach every morning (we got up early one morning to watch the sunrise over the sea, definitely recommend doing that one day!). The sand is lovely and golden. One evening we walked down the beach to Playa del Carmen which was really fun and lively if you fancy a change of scene. We got a taxi back which was about 150 pesos I think. There is evening entertainment at the theatre every night which is just off the lobby. One night a week there is a party at the Riu Tequila across the road which is worth a look (it will be either a white party or neon party and you'll be encouraged to dress to the theme!) Think the hotel is good for people who want to relax and have fun, but not get too rowdy. There were children around but not really that many. There is a small children pool area but I don't feel like this hotel is aimed at children/families. If you are a youngish couple and thinking about excursions I would really recommend going to Xplor, there are zip wires but to be honest everything else there was so much more impressive and fun to me (the aqua cars and the underground rivers). We also had a great day out on the TUI Chichen Itza / Mayan village with cenote swim, worth the money you pay for sure. I would definitely return to this hotel for a relaxing, happy holiday in the future! Thank you Riu Playacar.
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Apr 17, 2020
Excellenté
Just returned from another beautiful vacation at the Riu Playacar in Feb 2020( vacationed here in Dec 2019) Both us and our friends agree that this resort makes sure you feel like family! The friendly “Hola” greeting from the moment you arrive, it continues with every staff member thru out the resort. The staff, the food, the drinks(had a few)!, and the beach are all 5 star in our opinion. Our rooms assignment were super as well, thanks Carlos for cleaning our room spotless each day. Special thanks again to Sergio, Dany, Alberto, Hernandez who took care of our drinks. (Same gang from Dec) To the entertainment staff, who work and perform very hard to include all guests, shows are great as well. The foam party was a blast! And to our “Personal Waiter” - Nestor who had our morning buffet breakfast and lunch promptly setup for us along with mimosas!! A super shout out to the reception staff who provided us with excellent room locations in building 8. Looking forward to returning again, truly a relaxing vacation Jeff and Debbie
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Apr 13, 2020
Three hotels for the price of one
I have never stayed at this hotel but have shared the facilities when I stayed at the nearby Riu Yukatan. The lunch menu is amazing and because the restaurant is far enough away from the swimming pools wine is served in a glass not plastic. All the staff and the locals are really friendly.
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Apr 03, 2020
Good choice for a slightly quieter holiday
The Playacar is one of three close by RIU Hotels, all are quite different, There is a quieter feel at the Playacar. The room 6217 was well appointed. Separate shower and toilet were appreciated and the room was kept very clean, thank you Patricia. The food was plentiful and an excellent range. The Coronavirus did not really start to affect the holiday but for the last 4-5 days. This didn't really impact the general food standard or quantity. The upside was that there were plenty of beds around to chose from. The site itself had a gentle atmosphere other than some guests, not content with the usual musical noise of the entertainment team, provided there own unwelcome often loud music on small amplifiers. I fear this selfish trend may be growing. The evening show was often disappointing. The mainly live bands/singer on first was usually better than the home grown entertainment team. The dancers were good but a bit 'samey'. It all usually finished soon after 10.30pm. Staff were always helpful even when it was obvious that their jobs were to disappear shortly after we were leaving, with the Playacar to be mothballed, excellent service continued, Well done and thank you. I would recommend this hotel most heartily with the proviso that children could get bored quite easily. The other Riu hotels seemed far more child centred. A wonderful holiday tinged with sadness for the staff who now have no jobs because of Covid-19. Good Luck.