Paradisus Playa del Carmen - Riviera Maya

Sorry in advance for the long review—hopefully, some of you find it helpful! 🙂 We’re a family of four with two young kids (4 & 6) and stayed in a Family Concierge Master Suite. The staff was great, the facilities felt luxurious and well-maintained, and overall, we had an amazing time. We’re likely rebooking for next year, so keep that in mind as you read the rest of this review! Food: Breakfast at the buffet was decent, with great pastries, a nice omelet station, and a kids' corner with colorful pancakes, but it lacked variety and felt a bit basic. A much better option was Lunch Box, where we enjoyed a delicious Mexican breakfast while the kids had pancakes, waffles, and scrambled eggs. It was a much smoother experience than constantly getting up and down at the buffet. For lunch, we mainly ate at Celcius, which had great wings, fish tacos, nachos, and burritos. A special shoutout to Cecelia, who went out of her way to provide excellent service. We also ate at the waterpark, which had solid options like burgers and hotdogs. We tried the buffet once, but aside from the taco station, nothing really stood out. Room service was pretty good, but we never made it to Lunch Box for lunch, as 1 PM was too late for our schedule. Dinner was the highlight of our trip. Cielo was our favorite, with unique and flavorful dishes and outstanding service. Bana Teppanyaki was fun, and while the set menu was simple, the show made it a great experience. The non-Hibachi side of Bana was excellent as well, but communication was poor—we didn’t realize the menus were completely different and were initially disappointed when we expected the show. Flora was surprisingly good, Cappella had okay pizza but great pasta and short rib, and Blue Agave was just okay. The buffet at dinner was bad—meat was undercooked at the carving station, the rest of the food was cold, and the desserts were the same as lunch (not great). Some food wasn’t labeled, which led to some accidental surprises. We avoided it after one visit. One of the best food experiences was Fiesta Night (Thursday). There was an amazing setup with different vendors serving smoked meats, tacos, stews, crepes, and more. The food was incredible, and we were so glad we knew about it from reading reviews, as we planned it as our dinner that night. However, there was no clear communication about it, and many guests didn’t seem to know it was happening. The biggest downside was the lack of seating—it would have been perfect with some tables and chairs nearby. For snacks, the ice cream shop was amazing, with tons of flavors—passion fruit and banana split were my favorites. The coffee shop had good cappuccinos, and the carrot cake was incredible. The bars were excellent, with plenty of delicious cocktails. Activities: The waterpark opens at 10 AM, and we spent about four mornings there. The kids loved it! The slides have a bit of a drop, so we caught them rather than letting them go under. The swirly slide and the large flat slide were their favorites. The toddler area and fort structure were great to have as well. The best part was no lines—it felt extravagant to have access to such a great facility without crowds. The on-site food, including ice cream, slushies, drinks, burgers, hotdogs, and quesadillas, was perfect. The beach had soft sand and was great for playing and building. Some seaweed was present, but the staff worked hard to clear it. Boats were available, but the waves were rough most days. We did a free 20-minute Hobie Cat ride, which was fantastic—make sure to book it first thing in the morning at the beach. The pirate ship pool was a hit with our kids! They could do the slides independently, so we got to relax and chat with other parents while they played. The Family Concierge pool was incredible, with plenty of shaded spots even in the afternoon. The swim-up bar and pool layout made this our favorite hangout. We never used the Celcius pool because the Concierge pool was so much better. The Kids Club was a fun experience. The activities were simple, like arts and crafts and feeding fish/turtles, but it kept the kids entertained for a few hours while we enjoyed drinks on the adult side. The nightly shows were okay. The circus show was the highlight, while the others were mainly dance performances—well-choreographed and full of talent but not cruise-ship level. Still, the kids enjoyed them and wanted to go every night. The pre-shows were also fun, with inflatables, balloon artists, and face painting. Other activities included a great magic show at 4 PM one day, and we also caught a talented juggler randomly performing. The concierge-arranged cenote excursion was amazing. It was our only off-property trip, and it was a great way to break up the week. The kids were nervous about swimming in a cave at first, but our guide helped, and they ended up loving it. The outdoor cenote was also fun, and I got to cliff jump while my kids cheered me on! We also visited a local cenote that was just a five-minute walk down the beach to the left. It was a spot where all the locals go, and it was great for building sandcastles. It was fun to mix things up, and everyone there was friendly, but as an obvious tourist, I was a little cautious. I wouldn’t bring valuables, but we had a good experience, and it was nice to see a different side of the area. Room: Overall, the room was very nice. Having both an outdoor tub and an indoor jacuzzi felt luxurious, and we used the tub often. The sleeping arrangements were fine for the kids, but I wouldn’t want to sleep on the pullout couch or rollaway bed myself. It’s surprising they don’t just put two small beds in the room instead of the couches. Concierge Service: Our concierge was fine. He booked all our requested restaurants, prepared the balcony tub for the kids once, set up a scavenger hunt-style game, and gave them a bag with small activities. That said, he didn’t go the extra mile. Still, I wouldn’t return without booking Concierge—Lunch Box, the Concierge Pool, and other perks made it worthwhile. Final Thoughts: Overall, we had an incredible stay and will likely return next year. While some aspects could be improved, like the buffet, communication about restaurant options, and concierge effort, the amazing dinners, waterpark, pools, and overall experience far outweighed the downsides. One of the biggest gaps was communication. The app helps, but figuring out what’s happening when—and what each activity actually is—wasn’t easy. It wouldn’t take much to improve this, whether through better signage, clearer descriptions, or improved staff communication. If you're considering this resort, I’d highly recommend upgrading to Family Concierge—it made a big difference! Hope this review helps—happy travels! 😊

This is a lovely hotel, it’s big and split into two, adults only and families. The staff are lovely and very welcoming especially Miriam, who was our concierge for the fortnight she made our restaurant reservations every night and just looked after us so well, making the whole experience just that little more special. The restaurants are great, they too are split into adults only and adults/families. We were in the adults only side and you could make it what you wanted, there was a big pool where there were activities and music going on all the time but as older ladies we chose to use the quiet pool, which was much more to our liking. The beach is also great and again split into two, adults only one families. Our only hiccup was that as I was travelling with my sister we had booked twin beds only to be told on arrival that the type of accommodation we had booked didn’t offer a twin bed option on the adults only side, even though it was advertised as doing so. After some discussion it was resolved but it’s worth double checking when booking.

Shoutout to Flora for a great dinner. The restaurant was very accommodating to our many allergies. Carlos, our server, did a great job and we had an our best meal yet! Shoutout to Carlos Cardoz, chef Daniel, and the captain Bersain! They were exceptional and the service was tremendous.

Traveled here with my partner between Feb 8-14th. I am very well-traveled when it comes to all-inclusives and this was his first trip as an adult. Overall, we had a fantastic experience. We chose to save money staying on the family-friendly side and honestly enjoyed it more than the adults side!! Pros: Rooms were clean and well stocked each day. Wifi was fast, though not available on the beach (no big deal) The resort was a good size, but not too big, and well maintained. Beach was large with no seaweed. Pools were great, lots of loungers on the family side when we got the day started around 8AM. Habachi on the adults side was our fav restaurant. All the employees we interacted with were incredibly friendly. Drinks were great, bar staff were fast. My partner loved the Nespresso coffee bar and the ice cream shop. Cons: Hallways a little loud when people walked by, as other reviewers mentioned. Lunch/ dinner buffet was extremely lacking. The app for the hotel was glitchy, making reservations in person was frustrating and sometimes a lengthy line. We also had a number of nights when we could not make dinner reservations for 2 people until 9:30PM, even though we were booking days in advance. Our flight home was very late, so we had to check out of our roomprior to us leaving the resort. We had reserved the hospitality area behind the check-in desk prior to our departure, when we arrived at the front desk they told us we could no longer use the hospitality suite. Instead, we were told to get a golf cart to the Family Concierge hospitality suite, which was only a single toilet and shower. This shower only had moisturizer and hand soap, no shampoo/ conditioner. We also could not get a golf cart back to the main lobby to wait for our shuttle. It's unfortunate that our last memories of our trip will be running across the property to get our bus and washing our hair with hand soap. With all that being said, I would still highly recommend this resort to other couples/ families looking for a vacation in this area.

Not worth the money you pay. Cold showers, cold eggs, understaffed. If you stand in a line for omelets on the spot, those are good. Mediocre drinks unless upgrade and pay even more. If you want to go into town, it's a 1.5 mile walk or a $50 taxi ride.