Illusion Boutique Hotel, Playa del Carmen Centro

The staff at the Illusion just couldn't be friendlier or more accommodating. Everyone was great....especially Javier, the bartender. The room was very very nice, although the bed could have been a little softer and comfier. The rooftop pool/bar/ sunning area has a spectacular view and the location of the hotel is absolutely perfect...near 5th avenue and a half block from a beautiful beach, but still quiet. There was a nice continental breakfast included, with an optional reasonably priced full breakfast ...served in their open air courtyard patio. I do not recommend taking a tour with Odyssey tours (as they suggested) though. It was a terrible experience.Take the public buses and go on your own. They are clean, reliable and comfortable....and much cheaper. You'll save time and headaches. I would absolutely stay at the Illusion again!

I always check reviews before I holiday but for some reason I let the photos of the hoted overcome my judgement... Luxury Suite definatley not worth the money... Tried to upgrade to the empty KingSuite to no avail... The staff are friendly but seem poorly trained... Two days with no hot water and two days without tv receotuib... Do not be deceived by pictures of the pool... It is a cooling pool only - 21/2 feet deep and about the size of a small bedroom... There were also a number of families with children ranging from seven to fifteen... The Alhambra - altho it doesn't have a pool seems like a better bang for your money and also has coveted beach space...

Well as always things are not all they say they are.My wife and I were there for two weeks for the 06 holiday season .As always things were not as they said our internet in our room did not work though they said they fixed it they did not. As well we could did not have a line in our room to dial out and they did nothing to repair the problem the a/c leaked water on the floor and on one morning they started to work on the out side of the building right next to our bed at 7:00 am also the beds are like sleeping on a marble floor. The only thing that made up for anything was the desk staff they were wonderful.

Just spent a week there - and can't find anything negative to say. It was all good, and about 50 yards from an amazing beach. Playa Del Carmen is relatively mellow, unlike Cancun, and the beaches are still empty enough so relaxing is still relaxing. Highly recommend getting out of Playa, however, and seeing some Cenotes (underground caves), checking out Mayan ruins, or just hitting some of the less-trafficked beaches down south (Acumel or Oscar). If you're looking for value and adventure, ask where to find the 'collectivo' vans that will shuttle you to nearly anywhere on the Mayan Riviera coast for a couple bucks a head. You travel with others, but they leave every few minutes, and run until 10 at night. Illusion was a great experience - a newer hotel, with great, helpful staff, a new elevator, an amazing rooftop deck/pool and pefect location.