Paradisus Playa del Carmen - Riviera Maya

As a stay at home mom of three taking kids on vacation can seem like not a vacation. This resort and its Family Concierge service was just what I needed. This resort caters and entertains your kids so parents can take a step back and breathe. Our room was awesome and our housekeeper, Hidith was thorough and understanding. (I had a 1 year old that needed naps and she adjusted to our nap time for our daily spiff) our room was always clean and the couple times we did room service the dirty dishes were gone in no time. The grounds are also meticulously maintained. It was amazing to watch the attention to detail the staff at this resort took throughout our stay. We made our spot next to the pool for the week and Alejandra was our server and she was seriously theee best! Emmanuel was our concierge for the duration of our stay and using the WhatsApp we were able to communicate with him whenever (within his shift hours of course but if he was not there he made sure to send us the number to whom we could reach out to) He stopped by through the week with little gifts for the kids that enhanced their stay even more! He also helped soooo much when it came with dinner reservations, the one thing about this resort that can be a bit of a frustration is making reservations for dinner at their many amazing restaurants (hence the reservation frustration they fill up fast) Emmanuel was great!! I highly recommend upgrading to Family Concierge and if you have the fortune to have Emmanuel you will be very happy. Back to food. Their restaurant meals were so good! The grilled octopus at Cielo was to die for! I hate that I didn’t have it till my last night I would have tried to go back again for it. Their buffets for breakfast lunch and dinner are well kept and they have a nice variety of options, with a focus on Mexican food (obviously 🫶🏻) The shows at night and the Kidsdom kept my kids busy when they want to get out if the pool and the girls/women in their kid club were the best! They have such a great area and activities planned out for all ages. I could go on. While writing this I asked my more critical husband what was any downside of this resort and we really couldn’t think of one. We will definitely be coming back here or trying one of the other Melia/Paradisus all inclusive options. I booked this trip through CheapCaribbean.com but I think next time I am going to look into booking directly with them because they have a point system and you can use points you earned for upgrades and perks at their many resorts.

We came here for a wedding or we would not have chosen it. Paid extra for a swimup room and the pools were freezing. We could not enjoy. The food was never hot but warm and hard to get into for more than two people even when using family concierge. Positive - kid friendly

Stayed here with 3 other families with varying aged kids (3-11). So many areas to explore and activities for the kids. Every night they had some form of entertainment, from balloon artists to magicians to a circus. Food was great and lots of restaurants to try if you like food. Buffet was small with limited options. Booking resos could be painful but we upgraded to family concierge and then they were helpful with that. We sometimes would show up to a spot and try to get in earlier if we were hungry. Beach was beautiful but not enough lounge chairs. Pools were cold but the kids didn’t seem to mind too much. Lots of animals and mangroves which had pros and cons. You couldn’t see the beach from the hotel or rooms.

Key takeaway: Overall, a clean and well run family resort with good food and service. We would not visit again in the winter months due to the unheated pools, and we would definitely only book with the Family Concierge option. Probably not worth it at regular rates, but good value at discounted or promo pricing such as Cyber Monday or Black Friday. We visited this hotel with my partner and our two 3-year-olds. About six months earlier, we had stayed at Finest Playa Mujeres in June and had a wonderful experience, but this time we wanted to try a different part of the Yucatán. What appealed to us about Paradisus was the waterpark and pirate pool for the kids, the large swim-up suites connected to the main pool, the Family Concierge service, and its proximity to Playa del Carmen for a quick off-resort trip. I was able to book a Family Concierge Master Swim-Up Suite at 41% off during a Cyber Monday promotion. The price was significantly lower than a comparable room at Finest, so it felt like great value and worth trying. Overall, we thought the resort was good, but not amazing. We still had a great time, but there were areas where it could have been better. If we had paid full price, we likely would have left more disappointed. Here is where the resort fell short. Cold pools Unfortunately, we visited during an unusual cold front, with daytime highs between 21°C and 26°C. The pools are not heated. Our Family Concierge told us the Family Concierge pool is normally heated, but it was out of service due to maintenance. As a result, the pools were not very enjoyable and our kids did not stay in long. At Finest, we probably spent 80% of our time in the pool. At Paradisus, we only swam briefly a few times. Many guests were also avoiding the pools. Because of this, we would not recommend visiting during the winter months when comfortable pool temperatures are not guaranteed. Aesthetics The main indoor and outdoor areas of the resort, especially around the koi ponds, restaurants, Nespresso bar, and ice cream stand, were beautiful and had a great atmosphere. However, some areas such as the corridors and pool deck showed visible wear and tear. We noticed broken lamp posts, worn light fixtures, and other signs of aging. There were signs of ongoing maintenance like paint touchups, but some of the workmanship looked rushed. For example, there was paint spatter on the tiles in our swim-up and some bridges were only partially painted. This is a family resort, so some wear is expected with many children around, but if you are looking for a pristine, polished resort, this may not be it. Rooms We really liked the spacious Master Suite. However, the decor is dated and the furniture and cabinetry felt somewhat cheap and slightly worn. Again, expected for a family-focused property and easy to overlook. The bedding was comfortable but lacked a luxury feel. One evening we returned to a flooded room, which was cleaned up quickly and we were compensated with resort credit. We also had a malfunctioning toilet that required maintenance, and one night we found a cockroach in the room. Not a huge issue, and aside from these incidents, both the room and resort were very clean. Despite these drawbacks, there were several highlights. Family Concierge The Family Concierge service was excellent and made a big difference to our experience. Our concierge was very responsive, even though we did not see her often in person. We especially enjoyed having breakfast and lunch at The Lunch Box. We tried the main buffet once and found it too chaotic with many children and average food, so without Family Concierge we likely would have been less satisfied. We were also able to secure dinner reservations at our preferred times, which made evenings much easier. Food Overall, the food was good. We were not expecting a Michelin-level culinary experience, but we enjoyed most of the restaurants except Capella. The Asian teppanyaki restaurant was excellent and we wished we had booked it twice. Entertainment The theatre shows were enjoyable. On a couple of nights the entertainment was moved to the North Bar, which made seating and viewing more difficult. During the day there were always activities for kids such as balloon animals, face painting, bracelet making, and mimes. Service The staff were consistently kind and friendly. The resort is well run and service throughout was very good. We rarely waited long at restaurants, housekeeping and turndown were reliable, and our Family Concierge was always helpful. Final thoughts Overall, a great resort that is well suited for families with young children. We would recommend visiting outside the winter months and booking at a discounted rate with the Family Concierge option for the best experience and value.

This resort is absolutely Beautiful from design to decor and the landscape. We loved our "bubble tub" for 2 on our balcony which we enjoyed every afternoon. The housekeeper even filled it for us and put bubbles in it on the last day. We had a reserve room that essentially had 2 sides (kitchen/dining/living and then bathroom/closet/bedroom) which we had never seen before and really enjoyed. Our food was generally good about everywhere. We appreciated our concierge booking all of that for our group of 6. A special shout out to Isamel at Hadar buffet who always knew our drink orders for breakfast and lunch and took great care of us. The teppanyaki grill was some of the best I've ever had and Sal steakhouse was also a great experience. Sadly the thing that overshadowed all of the wonderful things this place has going on is the absolutely frigid pools. I am not kidding... I will swim in about anything and the water was no joke around 62 degrees. It was advertised that the reserve pool would be heated and it is absolutely not. We couldn't even utilize the swim-outs or swim-up bars because you would practically go numb immediately if you got in. The ocean was way warmer than the pools, but it has a hard rock/corral bottom, so I would definitely recommend water shoes if you want to swim. PS If you are picky about your pillow, bring your own. The bedding/linens are great as are the dark curtains, but there was supposed to be a "pillow menu" and there definitely was not.