Paradisus Playa del Carmen - Riviera Maya

There are very few places I've been to which I would 110% confidently recommend and this is one of them. We spent a week at the Paradisus - my husband and daughter (12) and my brother and his 2 boys ( 7 and 5) and we had an amazing time. Here are a few of the reasons why: - about 45min from the airport and a 5min cab ride to 5th ave if you'd like a break from the day to day - small enough where everything is 5min away but big enough to have lots of options and ways to spend the day - rooms are great. There is no "bad" area because the size of the hotel is not big enough for room location to make any difference; we were in room 3203 and my brother in 2298 which was absolutely perfect location for us. If you have a double bed... I forgot how tiny double beds are and the matresses not the very best. In retrospect, I should've taken the king room and put my daughter on the sofabed! - family friendly to the absolute max. Amazing kids club for <7yo, great kiddie pools and the splash park was awesome. Note the splash park water is over 4ft deep so something to consider depending on how tall your kids are. Even the fruit is precut into tiny cubes, grapes and tomatoes already cut. Stokke high chairs kep very clean. - the shows were fantastic. We've been to many hotels and the week may have had one or two standouts but it was always the same, tired lineup. Not here. The shows were spectacular and equally entertaining for kids and adults. The shows start at 8pm so a reasonable time for all. - impeccable service, always going WAY beyond what is expected. A few examples: - upon arrival late afternoon, we walked to the concierge desk to ask how to get to the beach. Sergio immediately offered a tour of the grounds and off we went with him clearly explaining everything the hotel had to offer - my nephew's ear swelled up the first night; after calling the front desk to inquire about a pharmacy, they sent up a life guard (Alvarez) with first aid kit in a matter of minutes who diagnosed it as a simple horsefly bite and assured it would go away in 24hrs... and it did! the front desk called multiple times to check in and ensure everything was OK - my nephews are picky eaters and the Flora restaurant won them over with fish sticks (which they would never eat at home!). The next few days, the restaurants brought the fish sticks to us even though it wasnt on the menu. Kudos to Hugo from the buffet, Rebeca from Capella, and of course the manager at Flora who offered the help in the first place. While the Hibachi restaurant was not my favourite, Hugo the chef was amazing and Eleazar (our waiter) would not let our glasses get empty before bringing a refill. - and of course speaking of service, guest services would walk and chat with guests to ensure their needs were taken care of. Enormous kudos to Eduardo and Omar (family concierge manager) who were kind, welcoming, and extremely helpful. Every single person we interacted with - from maids to waiters to gardeners to whoever, were an absolute pleasure. Speaking of family concierge, we were not in that program and unlike other hotels that have a dual system, there was never once a feeling of "second class." Yes, FC has access to separate amenities, but we did not feel at any point in time that we were lacking anything at all. The food was OK. The buffet breakfast was excellent, the Cielo pool bar was great and having the team bring you food to your chair was much appreciated (dont forget to tip!), but the dinner buffet was a bit lacking. There are SO many restaurant options and as you read in other reviews, challenging to get a timely reservation sometimes but nice to have different options. The lineup is huge at 9am when the desk opens so we went around lunch and again, the service was excellent. The Nespresso cafe is delicious with so many special coffee options and the ice cream everyone raves about is worthwhile; they also make shakes in the morning. The only caveat is if you have older kids (ie 10+) there is not much going on for them during the day. Yes they have a cool games room by the lobby but of course the preference is for them to stay outdoors. The hotel is working on developing a "tween" type program but in the meantime, just something to consider. Given the average age of the kids is <8, average was probably 4-7yrs old, there also isnt much going on at the pool except for daily aerobics but of course, parents dont really have time to partake in those activities since they're watching the kids! Yes we did have seaweed the week we were there but the hotel teams do an excellent job of keeping the beach clean as much as possible. The last couple of days we did go into the water and was great; the white sand is impeccable and doesnt get hot! Overall, I could not say enough about this hotel, the service. I would highly recommend it to anyone that has younger kids and though it's definnitely not a value hotel, the cost is definitely worth it.

What a great resort, quality of maintenance was evident. Well thought out and designed. My daughter greatly enjoyed pool fitness classes with Edgar. Food was great, love the taco bar. Flora restaurant was particularly good Beach is nice, almost as good as puerto plata in DR. Service was great, especially Sandra at the beach bar. She was very attentive and took great care of us. Will be back soon.

Beach is gorgeous and pools are very well taken care of and kept at a good temp. Staff are very available and meet your needs. Tje rooms are spacious and cleaned regularly. I greatly enjoyed the water aerobics lead by Edgar! All the staff are extremely welcoming. Only comment is the gym is only open to adults only. I beleive it should be accessible atleast to teenagers as well.

While the hotel rooms could use a bit of a renovation, the service was impeccable. From the momment we walked in, they treated us amazing. Food was great with lots of options, many healthy. Activities were fun but not too much in your face. Beach was ok, a lot of seaweed, even with staff cleaning it up daily. We took a children's concierge package. If you have kids, highly recommend it. Our concierge was Nestor, who was amazing. He loves his job, it shows, and can't thank him enough. From helping us reserve restaurants, to sharing activities daily to making fun surprises for our kids. One night we came back to the room with little mice balloons hidden through the room as a scavenger hunt . Another day we found the outside tub full of a bubble bath with floating sea creatures made out of balloons. It elevated the daily experience.

Great restaurants and buffet! The pools and grounds were amazing. Rooms were clean and spacious. Great family holiday!