Aventura Mexicana, Playa del Carmen

I enjoyed a wonderful stay in Playa at the Aventura Mexicana. The staff is the best, quite personable while still maintaining professionalism. I am a single guy and was travelling alone but needed some tanning lotion in the middle part of my back so as not to burn (as I had the day before). I was comfortable enough to ask Antonio who works the front desk. He graciously helped me out and did not embarass me. I spoke with Antonio and the assistant manager and others several times and they were all most helpful. My bonita chambermaid, Yolibeth kept my room spotless and orderly and displayed her skill in creating swans and "elephantes" with the towels! I also enjoyed talking with her. The room was very attractive, mine more so than the one in the yahoo pics. Large bed, large dresser with plenty of storage, beautiful shower, a fridge. My room was perfect with no complaints. No bugs, a nice change from Texas. I walked the entire beach and this hotel is just blocks from the very best part. It is also only one block off 5th Street which is where all the shops and much of the bars are located (the streets are numbered in 5's). The hotel's location is perfect. I visited during the low season and the hotel itself was not a big party place at this time. However, all the partying you may want is still close. I highly recommend this hotel if you want an attractive, personable and comfortable place to stay. If I return to Playa I will certainly stay here again!

First I would like to say how easy it was to get to Playa Del Carmen from Cancun's airport. We paid $8 a person at the airport and were pointed to where to go catch our bus. Bus was nice. A/C and t.v. Took maybe about 45 minutes to get to the bus station at Playa Del Carmen. Cabs were right there and charged us $3 to get us to Aventura Mexicana. Check in was fast and staff very nice. Our room was on the 3rd floor. No elevators so if you have a hard time going up steep stairs ask for a ground floor room. We passed the family area first where they had a small pool for kids. We only saw two kids the 3 days we were there and they looked like they were having fun. We walked then to the adult side of the hotel and fell in love with the hotel right away. Very green!!! Nice trees, flowers and fountain. Our room was very and comfortable. Bed was hard but we always felt very well rested in the morning. Bathroom does not have door and walls that do not go all the way up to the ceiling. I'm shy about going where my husband is near by so he would just step out when I had to go. The balcony/walkway had a little table and two chairs outside each room so it was nice to be able to sit out there at the end of the night when you were ALMOST ready to go to bed. I always noticed staff cleaning and tiding things up in the garden without bothering the guest though. Restaraunt was nice and romantic. Food was o.k. I would eat there again but not the whole stay but their drinks now were AWESOME!! 4pm-7pm is buy a margarita get one free. Try the coconut margarita. Very good drinks and I can not stress how nice the staff was. We also got to meet Olivia their house cat. Very sweet and I could not help but to share some of the steak and fish we were having with her. She was having a ball with us. Beach was very close. Probably about a 10 minute walk to a beautiful beach with Mamitas beach club and Kool beach club. Both these places offer chairs, drinks, food small pool and good music. Aventura Mexicana offers a discount card for Kool beach club and a beach towel per person to take with you. Hotel is also located right off 5th ave and 24th so it is nice and quiet yet very close to were all the action is. Blocks and blocks of great restaraunts, bars, nice lounges and shops. We loved coming back to our hotel after an evening of walking. The garden would be all lit up in lights and they would have music on just loud enough to enjoy but not loud enough to bother anyone. We had a very romantic time at this hotel. Can not wait to go back. Loved the feel of it. If you are looking though for a 4-5 star feel where everything is brand new and modern you probably won't like this place. But if a clean room, nice staff, beautiful trees, flowers, plants, close to beautiful beach is good for you then I highly consider staying here. Also forgot to mention the pool and jacuzzi's are open 24 hours for any of those that want to stay out later but in the hotel with your group of friends or family that is nice.

We originally booked the Aventura Mexicana in Playa del Carmen because we a) wanted to go back to Playa, b) didn't want to stay at a big resort, c) were looking for something affordable during their High Season and d) last not least something that might be called "Gay Friendly". I contacted the hotel myself - everything worked out just fine. Since it was the main season I had to pay my entire stay in advance, but Mario was very responsive to all of my e-mails, faxes and confirmation requests. Just because I know it's a small hotel without a huge Reservation Apparatus in the background I e-mailed one more time a few days before our trip - but the reservation for our room type, correct dates and transportation was all taken care of. We arrived in Cancun Airport and the independent transport was there waiting for us. Check in was smooth - Jose was fun yet professional and efficient. We had a spacious Room (Deluxe category) with a comfy (hard!!! mattress) King Size bed, sitting area with two chairs and bathroom. Lots of drawer and closet space. Lots of light, working AC two ceiling fans - fridge - everything was there and working. Everything was clean - Design was new and fresh - nothing stuffy about it. The locks were safe - but the system is quite antiquated - a regular safety lock would have made me feel a little safer - not that that was needed - also the safety box in the room was working with a hard key - not a personalized security code. The little restaurant on site offers great Happy Hour - the staff is friendly and involved - it's easy to talk to other couples and guests - you feel good about being there. Breakfast is consistent - nothing special, but great coffee and the four or five items are consistent and good. Rooms were cleaned nicely every day - only once we had a problem with a stinky (moldy?) towel - but that can happen to you anywhere - believe me...We were two people with nine days worth of stuff in the room - and the housekeeper managed to make everything look nice every day. They create weird towel shapes (swans, elephants or rabbits) with your towels every day. It's kind of ridiculous - but I guess there are people that enjoy that kind of stuff... Staff was very friendly in the Restaurant AM and PM alike. Jose, who worked mostly AM at the front desk was nice - and Mario seemed to have worked at all times and everywhere - fun guy to be around. Everyone was all about a friendly attitude except one American girl who seemed consistently bored. I am all about hiring attitude and not skills in this industry - since you can train someone on everything except attitude - but this girl didn't not engage you in conversations nor was she proactive about your needs - but anyway - that was one of 10 people I dealt with for over a week - so I guess it was a great service experience, as well. When I say "Great service experience" - then I mean Great for this kind of Hotel - it's obviously not a Ritz or Fairmont, but for what the Aventura Mexicana does and offers - they do an awesome job. Yes, your toilet might not work one day - they will fix it - yes, your shower head was hopelessly clogged - but they fixed it within two hours - yes there was NO water for a couple of hours - but it was ok and we made it through that. IF you are looking for flawless five-star-service - then go for one of the bigger boring international chain luxury resorts and pay an arm and a leg - if you are looking for reliable and consistent and intimate affordable service - this is a great place to be. I would come back - absolutely - the hotel is barely one block from Main Pedestrian Zone - yet very quiet - it's also only three blocks from the beach and they have a great deal with one of the beach clubs. We would come back in a heartbeat - thanks for a GREAT STAY!