Of the times I went to the Mayan Riviera (Cancún-Playa del Carmen-Tulúm), only twice I had very disappointing hotel experiences:

1)Blue Parrot Suites: I stayed there last November and almost had to fight to access to my room.  Despite I had warned that I would check in very late (around midnight) they had not check in service clerk.  The worst of all was that I had to go through a very violent group of bouncers who were “controlling” the access to the Blue Parrot bar, where the small reception is located.  It took me something close was to a fist fight to access the hotel. After a lot of discussion a dumb guard (who apparently had not been informed of our late check in) led us to our rooms (300 yards away).  The suite was ok, the price was also ok as it was low season (around $100), but it was too noisy.  You could hear loud music from all the 3 or 4 beach bars in the neighborhood. On top of this, the last afternoon, while trying to chill out after arriving from the beach, we had to listen to a show of two drunk guys who have taken to the pool a CD player with very loud “banda norteña” music (the music the drug dealers like in northern Mexico).

All hotel service was extremely poor. As a summary, not a place to rest and especially not a place you will like if you also hate (like me) disco gorilla bouncers.  A year before I stayed at the Blue Parrot 5th Avenue (100 yards away from the main Blue Parrot Hotel), and the experience was good.  The room was ample, we paid $ 65 + tax, it was quiet and the service was ok.

2)Diamante K cabins (Tulúm): located at the hotels zone (“Zona Hotelera de Tulúm”) in Tulúm, Diamante K offers a “natural paradise” for visitors.  The location is excellent, the sea is amazingly blue, but the cabins service is a disaster.  Personnel lacks a service attitude and the cabins seemed to have gone the last cleaning round centuries ago.  This was way too “organic” for me…

If you want to stay in this area, please go to “La Vitta e bella” or “Ana y José”.  They are both very good, though they have substantially increased prices in the last years (to around $ 200 in high season).

These 3 spots at the Yucatan Peninsula share the preferences of travelers from around the world, but all the three of them offer different things and cater to different public.

Cancún, the most known of them, and the closest to the airport, caters mostly to US “traditional” tourists, who prefer huge all-inclusive 5-star resorts.  Nightlife has plenty of options, mostly dance clubs where it is frequent to spot “girls gone wild” scenes.  Beaches are just perfect, and restaurant offer is diverse and meets the highest standards. The main disadvantage is that there is no “village & beach life”, to mingle with other tourists and locals you have no other option but to drive to a shopping mall or a dance club. Beach social life is also secluded to the private beach of your hotel. I personally do not like big hotels and the Cancún “tourism lifestyle”, though the beaches and the restaurants are probably slightly better than those of Playa del Carmen and Tulúm.  My top restaurant pick in Cancún is Restaurante Puerto Madero, and classy Argentine-beef-plus-seafood place by a marina.  It has a beatiful terrace overlooking the marina and the Cancún lagoon.
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