Paradisus Playa del Carmen - Riviera Maya

My husband and I took our 2.5 and 4.5 year old daughters for spring break. Overall we had an amazing time! The pirate ship pool was a big hit, as was our swim-out room. (If you are worried about this type of room with littles, the sliding door out to the terrace is SO heavy that even I had a hard time opening it, so there was no way that our girls could have opened it on their own). We didn’t spend a lot of time at AquaZone but we enjoyed the smaller toddler area and the fact that they serve lunch there. We ate at the buffet 3/5 nights of our trip and didn’t get tired of it. We didn’t partake in many of the organized kid/family activities and only saw one show (the pirate show) which our daughters enjoyed. A word about the Kidsdom (kids club): children aged 1-4 are in one group and then they are further divided into 1-2 year olds and 3-4 year olds. The 3-4 year olds often have different activities to do each hour, so you can’t just randomly drop your child off when you want. They can only accommodate 4 1-2 year olds and 8 3-4 year olds, so you’ll need to get there early to ensure that you have a spot. They are open 9-2, 3-5, and 6-11. They don’t offer any food/drinks except for water. We opted for the Family Concierge service and enjoyed access to the Lunch Box and the lounge. Our FC was super kind and our daughters really liked the little gifts that he gave them. My older daughter and I did the cenote tour - I wouldn’t recommend it for babies or anyone under the age of 4 since the closed cenote is quite dark (you’re actually swimming in a cave) and your kid would need to be able to be make it through a 10ish minute yoga class and a 10–15 minute Mayan ritual prior to swimming in the cenotes. Overall it was incredibly family-friendly (everyone had littles) and we would definitely go back!

Amazing experience Eduardo was our concierge amazing so was Angelo the pool concierge. We visited in april 2025 and the concierge pool bartenders were awesome, kind with our children. The resort offered everything we were looking for . Waterpark , great food , pirate ship was closed but opened the last day we were there so the children enjoyed it then. The tiramisu in the italian restaurant is a must try, the seaweed was bad but out of their control . Room is spacious well cooled comfortable beds .

Seasoned traveler here, lots of insider tips in my long winded review. TL;DR version: take your kids here that are 9 and under at least once, upgrade to the bigger concierge room and negotiate the price, the kids entertainment is amazing, food and drinks solid for an all inclusive, pack pool toys, games, floaties if your kids need them, yetis, sand toys, snacks. Starting off, this is our first and only all inclusive stay as a single mom with 2 kids ages 9 and 4.5. We have done other similar kid focused trips such as JW Orlando, Disney wish, Disney World resorts, Aspen for skiing. This hotel is probably on the lower quality and less expensive side compared to our other typical trips, so we tried to manage our expectations. We booked this stay last minute with Amex points redeeming 396k points equal to $2700 for a basic room. This is not a great redemption value but we wanted a free stay and we got one. I got an email a week before offering an upgrade to family concierge and I negotiated an even bigger upgrade to the family concierge master suite for $640. Using an Amex platinum to book, we had a $200 credit to use on anything at the resort. This is a huge perk for an all inclusive as all the others I have been to have restrictions making the credit virtually useless. Overall my biggest complaint about Paradisus is the waiting in line for absolutely everything and the gym being on the adults only side. The kids agree that it was worse than Disney world. It is very misleading to advertise a gym that can only be accessed on the adults only resort. We were up at 6:30, dressed for the gym with iPads for entertainment, walked over and realized:, we could not access the gym. But that being said, I would 100% recommend this resort to families with kids 9 and under. It’s tricky if you’re a single parent, but everything is harder as a single parent…. Points/Money/etc The store was very limited for such a large and family friendly resort, I am honestly confused why there is not more shopping with clothes and swimwear etc. But nonetheless we used our $200 Amex credit at the store to get hats, goggles, sunscreen, souvenirs for the kids and didn’t spend any other money except for tips. I took $200 in small bills and we spent it all on the amazing staff of the resort. The servers at Blue Agave and the hibachi experience were FANTASTIC and well deserving of tips. The bartenders in the main area outside the restaurants were also incredible. Swim up bars and bartenders in both the main pool and concierge pool were also wonderful and deserve some cash for sure. Your room will not be ready until 3, that is just the way they roll. I would not depend on an Amex platinum upgrade either, splurge for the upgrade when they email you. Food The reviews about the food are accurate. Breakfast buffet could be nicer for this kind of resort. My kids did not like any of the donuts/waffles/pancakes and they are big breakfast eaters. I loved the chilaquiles options on the buffet, smoked salmon, rare tuna, bacon, eggs made to order, and the churros. The churros were a highlight during all of our meals. We loved tacos for lunch at blue agave. Hibachi was the best dinner we had. We missed cielo in favor of a long nap and pirate show (worth it). Otherwise I couldn’t even figure out how to make a dinner reservation outside of what the concierge did for us prior to arrival. The dinner buffet was enjoyable and the kids options are extensive. We had the cooked to order fish both nights, various stewed meats, rice, quesadillas, black beans, salsas and guacamole on repeat. Blue agave dinner was delightful, esp on the night of the Mexican carnival, very convenient. The food by the pool was a fan favorite of the kids. The chicken tenders were one of their best meals. I really enjoyed the nachos as well as the fish tacos by the pool. Food delivered poolside at the family concierge pool was very convenient and dependable. Servers were very sweet. But the main pool restaurant is BUSY and you have to get a table quickly or get in a weird line and order. My biggest complaint about all the restaurants is not knowing where to go exactly or how to order or what the hours were. If your kids get up early, the only place to get food at 11 is right by the pool. Hamburgers and hotdogs are a separate line that was so long all the time we never got them. Room service was difficult, order in advance. The best routine is really to get back to the room once done with the pool/beach and place the order for afternoon snacks before you even get the kids in the bath. Wine/Cocktails Overall the wine at the resort is fine. It’s better than most all inclusives. The Chardonnay and Merlot do the job for a single mom with 2 kids on vacation. The cocktails at the north bar were amazing. Swim up bars did tons of virgin drinks for the kids, really delicious Paloma and top shelf margarita. One bar next to cielo does espresso martinis which were great. Tons of water stocked in the room. Ice requires room service delivery. Pool/Chairs/water park/beach The pool chair situation is interesting. It was very difficult for me being by myself as you really can’t reserve chairs in the pirate ship pool unless you stay there. Which I totally respect and I think is a great idea, it’s just tough as a single parent with 2 kids. It is impotent for me to have a chair where I can see them from all angles and I can’t guard the chair from 7am-9am and hold the spot because I am taking them to breakfast or the bathroom etc. I would have loved to pay whatever amount of money to reserve a chair. I did notice on the last day you could get bottle service and a cabana or something. There are tons of cabanas, easy to snag throughout the day and get shade. And it was fairly easy to get chairs along the “lazy river” by the swim out rooms at any time. Concierge pool was usually packed and you could leave your stuff on a chair and hold it. We enjoyed all of the different vibes of the different pools and went to them all every day. Aqua fitness is a must do, it’s kind of a fun dance party vibe. One of our main draws for this resort was the water park. We did spend 1 afternoon there of 3 full days. The kids had a blast but the pool around the water park is so deep and the 9 year old could touch but my very strong swimmer almost 5 year old required help. The beach is fantastic!!!!! Sand is soooo soft. Tons of chairs available. There is a bar on the beach for drinks. Bring your own toys. Overall the winding pools and fun river to explore in combo with the concierge pool, water park, pirate ship, and swim up bars makes for a variety of water entertainment and is probably the strongest feature of the resort. They cleaned the seaweed from the beach well, lots of seaweed in the water though. Entertainment The Thursday night show was fabulous and by far our favorite. The Tuesday night pirate show was also amazing. We also enjoyed a plethora of kids activities including: face painting, cotton candy, marquesitas, bounce houses, silent disco, mini disco, and the fair with carnival games and bull riding. Very sad that we slept through the foam party some how/ Overall the kids activities are impressive. Be prepared to wait in some lines though, which again is more challenging when traveling alone with 2 kids. Kids club is a bust. Could never get both kids in at the same time. My son turns 5 in may and they made him go to the “baby room” (His words) instead of with his sister. My daughter could only get a spot in the morning or if you get in line 30 min before kids club opens. Again…. Charge me $100 I don’t care. I would love to make a reservation and know both kids can go in for even just 1 hour. They each went on separate days for about 2 hours and they did say they enjoyed it. Room/Concierge Our Family Concierge Master Suite room was totally worth the $640 upgrade. It was 1200 square feet with lots of space to spread out for a family. 2 entrances to the bathroom is very smart too. The patio was fantastic. Kids enjoyed a bath outside every afternoon. We were facing the main pool and it was loud during the day. We used a sound machine though and still got some naps in. Otherwise the “family concierge” aspect is pretty lame. The private pool with food delivery was nice and the service was 100% better than the big pool. You can get decent service by the big pool with a generous tip though. I do think the swim out rooms at this resort would be worth the money. Normally I don’t feel that way. But the way they are set up is pretty amazing and you could arrange your day between sun and shade. We never heard from our concierge “butler” but we did have restaurants booked in advance with 6pm dinner times. Which works great to make the show and activities starting at 7:30. Shower products are great, balcony whirlpool tub is amazing, room amenities are slim as far as snacks. The concierge lobby snacks were not great for my kids, I would recommend packing some of the things your kids like to eat if they are picky at all.

Great trip overall! The food was awesome—our favorite restaurants were La Capela and Cielo. The pool bar crew made the experience even better—Roderi, Angel, Raymundo, and Caye were friendly, helpful, and always kept things fun with great jokes while staying respectful. The entertainment team was amazing with the kids—they had a blast with beach soccer, volleyball, aqua polo, and pool aerobics. We truly did it all! A special thank you to Ivan from the front desk, who found a place for our family and friends to watch the Brazil vs. Croatia game—that was a great touch. Overall, it was a fantastic vacation!

The best part of the hotel is Celcius bar - Raymundo, Edilberto, Roderi, Angel, and Abisail all know how to trear their guests with 5 star costumer service and above!! Nelson from Capella’s was amazing! Everyone who works here should take note on how they treat people! Thank you for making this a great trip even with some unfortunate circumstances, Hector and Gabriela were able to make up for it.