Club Melia Playa del Carmen Resort

We are on our way back home but wish we could have stayed longer than just our one week here at Paradise Playa Del Carmen. We have three children ages 10, 6, and 4. We all agree that this was one of our best vacations EVER!!! It began when Elisa, the manager on duty, helped to upgrade our room so that the five of us could enjoy more space as the agent we booked through did not book what we requested. The One Bedroom Suite that Elisa upgraded us to was more than enough room for our family. The property is luxurious beyond belief. They keep the grounds immaculate. The definition if luxury! Being vegetarians, we fully expected to eat pasta everyday, but upon arriving we're thrilled and blown away by our choices. They have buffets for every meal, but you also have the option of ordering from menus at two restaurants on the property. We also could make reservations at five restaurants and our favourite was Mole! The vegetarian options here were fantastic and so was the service. We recommend that you make reservations as soon as your arrive so that you can get the time that you want. A couple of times we had reservations at 8pm and by then the children were exhausted and ended up falling asleep at the table. This happened at our last night when we booked at Bana for their Hibachi service. The Hibachi chef was amazing and made us an amazing vegetable and tofu dish as well as the usual fried rice and then prepared the meat dishes for the other family - so thoughtful! The kids managed to stay awake as he made the onion volcano and did the knife tosses but fell asleep soon after, which meant more food for my hubby and me :) The kids loved the kid zone. You can drop off the kids from 10 to 10pm. We used it a few times and Clara was very entertaining and kind and made sure the kids were entertained. They also have daily activities for the kids and even took the children to visit the alligators in the cenote that is on the property. We all got a lesson on the importance of the mangroves which we thought was a wonderful lesson for us all. While the beach is not as wide as those in Playa Del Carmen, we were thrilled that the region is mindful of the importance of the mangroves to the ecosystem! Thank you Ivan for the tour. The night time entertainment was fantastic! Live shows every night that thrilled the adults and youngsters alike. Belly dancing, tribute to MJ, throwback to the 70s and a fire show. They had live acrobatics and talented dancers and we enjoyed every minute!!! We will definitely visit again and tell our friends to go too!!!

I can't believe I have taken this long to write my review. We stayed four nights in October. We traveled as two families each with a child (4 years old). We have stayed at numerous other resorts in the area (mainly AO AI). The resort was practically empty or at least felt that way on the family side. We had your basic room but were more than pleased they did offer to upgrade and were willing to work with us but in the end did not and glad we didn't as the rooms more more than sufficient. The customer service was great around the pools and on the beach. We never waited for drinks they typically brought another round as we were running low. They also allowed us to order lunch poolside without any issues! The service on the beach was amazing even bringing snacks mid morning to us. The room service menu was a little on the lacking side but honestly with so many restaurant options you could always go and get whatever you might be craving. The beach was nice it is a little bit of a walk from room or pool area. My preference is to be able to see the water while lounging at the pool so that is my disappointment. They do recommend reservations for dinner but we never had an issue getting in where we wanted and when (but we ate early). Also enjoyed a more laid back dress code at this resort. Only negative was the dishonesty with the timeshare presentation. We were offered a voucher to return for 4 days/3 nights within a year in exchange for listening to presentation. We agreed upon receiving voucher we learned that you had to pay a hefty fee to use it. Yes out fault for not asking more specifics on voucher but pretty crappy for implying it was for a free return visit. Then when I tried to speak to Management (Oliver) about it but no return calls. Overall I would recommend this resort. The kids areas were great, food and service outstanding. I did do a "live from" so for more details check that out.

Great food, modern and clean room, ultra friendly and professional staff, and a great vibe ... this hotel exceeded my expectations. The resort is big enough that you don't really need to leave unless you wish to. Highly recommended for families ( went with a 2 and a 5 years old).

We just enjoyed 4 nights, 5 days at Paradise. This was our first trip to Mexico and we loved it. The surrounding areas were intimidating but we felt secure and removed on the resort. The service was wonderful, the food outstanding, the atmosphere inviting and relaxing, and the rooms were very comfortable and clean. Our children are old enough to have their own room and we all enjoyed the resort thoroughly. We visited 12/7 - 11 and I recommend that time frame. It was not crowded and the weather was perfect. I would love to experience another Paradise resort. Thank you for a memorable vacation!

Where do I start Paradise Playa Del Carmen was beyond my expectations! We loved it! Since check-in to check-out we received exceptional customer service. Especially from our personal Family Concierge Member Gilmer; he made us feel welcome; he was very helpful and was attentive to our needs. He always had a contagious smile and always happy to service us. The entire staff had great customer service skills. The food was delicious! We ate at Naos, Mole, Vento, and The Market. Servers were all happy to serve. The resort is family friend and stroller. Grounds are clean and well kept. Beach is clean and swimmable. Over all, I cant complain about anything and have an awesome 5 days.

We have just returned from a week at the Paradise Playa Del Carmen. We were greeted by our family concierge Allan who gave us a tour of the facilities and brought us to our room. He was very well organised and had all of our evening reservations organised by the following day. Our two year old looked forward to the daily afternoon cookie left for him in our room. We found all the restaurants to be excellent, with great service and a good variety of choices on the menu. Special mention goes to Ivan at the breakfast buffet who was exceptional. The hotel itself is kept amazingly clean and tidy. The walls seemed to be continually being painted so you felt as if it was a brand new hotel every day. The pool area was lovely and there were a good number of seats for everyone to have their own space. Carlos and Hernan did their best to make sure that we always had whatever we needed. My two year old also loved the pirate ship and the obstacle course in the other pools and even though they were cooler than the family concerige pool that never seemed to be a problem. We would not hesitate to recommend this hotel to any family looking for an escape to the sun!

We just returned last night and I can't stop thinking about what a top notch, first class resort this was! We stayed in the Family Concierge section with our 6 year old daughter and had Manolo as our personal concierge. He was fantastic and went above and beyond with his service! The whole resort had amazing service, not once did we pass somebody without a "Hola" being said. The girls at the Kids Zone were really fantastic whether they were playing at the pool, the ocean or inside the Kids Club. Really only negative comment was the beach, it is ok but not great (although the service at the beach was fantastic!). We spent about 25% of the time at the beach and 75% at the pool.

This hotel is just fabulous! Everything is absolutely georgeous, and the service and food is excellent! The hotel is brand new and so tastefully designed. There is a whole pool just for kids with a pirate ship with little water slides. my 3 yr old daughter must have gone down the slides like 100 times each day. Definitely remember to bring some sort of flotation device for your kid if they are not swimming independently yet so that they can fully enjoy the pirate ship without you hovering over them all the time. There are lots of chair and a bunch of poolside palapas which are nice to have if you want shade and if you want to try to nap your kids outside, or just for relaxation time. Possibly the most pleasantly surprising part of the vacation is that the restaurants are just amazing! The food is all really really really excellent, which you don't expect at an all inclusive. And the alcohol is top shelf! (they have belvedere, ketel one, etc.) We had a swim up suite with a living room, and brought the 2 kids, and each kid had their own distinct sleeping area - we were nervous about this since the girls can't really share a room since they both wake in the night but there was an extra room (kind of like a dressing room) in between the bathroom and bedroom where we put the baby's crib. it worked out great. And to address other negative comments about the pool, we are here in early February, and the pool temperature is perfect since it's in the 80's during day and 70's at night. My only complaints about this place are that there is no self service laundry facility (which is tough when traveling with kids). We LOVED this place and would def recommend and would def come back!!

Our family had the best time at Paradise! We booked 5 nights for our family of four, including a 10 year old and 8 year old. The food was amazing (we live in Chicago and get plenty of wonderful dining options), the service was top notch, and the kids loved the Kids Club, the activities, and the pools. There was so much for them to do. Definitely get a swim-up room!! The beach is just okay, we didn't spend much time there. If you have a young and active family, this is the place for you!!!

We booked the trip for 6 nights for a fmily of four. One of the reasons we choose Paradise was the hotel was fairly new and we read the reviews in Tripadvisor food and service were excellent. We still have our reservations but when we stepped in the hotel it showed a boutique contemporary style and zen like atmosphere. We were greeted in the lobby with warm towels to freshen-up. Then to reception we check-in in just a few minutes we were greeted with our concierge Patty who was very helpful. She gave us a welcome drink and told us details we need to know about the resort. We did have a few glitches, when we booked and upgraded for a Junior suite swim-up but they gave us a corner room which was bairly a swim-up. We ask to be transferred, the next day they gave us a bigger room and a swim-up facing southwest facing the sun always. In some of the reviews they said the pool was freezing cold, I have a 3 and a 5 years old they never complain it was too cold at all. We enjoyed the swim-up and the kids pool (in some reviews said it is freezing cold was totally over exaggeration). The thing you need to know it's not all "all-inclusive". There are certain things that are extra charge but of most of the time they inform you and if not you can easily ask and they give you options. For the service we can say it's almost perfect, they strive to make your stay stress free. If there was a problem they address it ASAP no questions asked and they want your stay to be perfect.We went to the Melia group talk, Diana explained to us what they offer but they never pushed us to take it. The offer was great but just not the right time for us. We love the decor, all the speakers are Bose surround sound even in the pool area. WiFi is everywhere even in the beach. Housekeeping comes twice and they have a "Turn Down" service in the evening, changing used towels, tidy up and they put coffee chocolate on your pillows which is a nice touch. Everything and everywhere is maintained well. For food everybody has it's own preference but to those who under understand food like myself as a food blogger and my husband the critic it says a lot. They serve fresh local ingredrients and of course drinks is a plus. We were not impressed about Bana, we had better sushi in other places. We did love Mole which is a Mexican restuarant, Vento is a Mediterranean style, if you are a meat lover The Market Grill is the one for you. All other else if you don't want to be bothered with reservations buffet is a way to go especially if you want to go. Fuego a Latin fusion restaurant food and service were excellent from the beginning to the end. We are happy with the service and quality but there were few staff that stand out the most. Patty our concierge most of all was always helpful, honest and always there when we need her. Alberto and Bernabe from the beach, they were very attentive and informative when we ask about places in the beach and Mexico in general. In Gabi Club we usually drop by after having dinner and get a drink and tapas which is out of this world. Victor is there to serve us and have a few laughs with my boys. In Kidzone Joana, Fatima and the rest of the crew thank you for taking care of our boys. In the Sunset Grill at the kids pool side Luis and Elizabeth was very attentive to our needs. The Front desk and Guest service staff were very accomodating. Over-all you don't pass at anybody that would not greet and give you with a Mexican authenthic smile and greeting "Hola!"

We love everything about Paradise! From the room to the food and the friendly staff and especially our concierge Camila who made our stay just perfect. Gorgeous grounds, beautiful beach, very clean, spacious and nice room. The food was absolutely delicious. Every staff member was great! My son enjoyed the kids club and all the girls working there (Yessenia, Joana) were absolutely amazing. Free Wi-Fi everywhere. The spa was just amazing! We had a photo session with Cristina and she did a great job. We absolutely love the photo book. Lovely place!!!!! Great family vacation!!!!

We just returned from an amazing stay at this resort! Our trip was fantastic! I would definitely recommend it to families. They really cater to kids. Going with the one bedroom swim up was amazing. It was worth the extra money. The room was 900 sq ft with a 200 sq ft terrace. The pics from the website were legit. This room also included the family concierge which was great. We had a host designated to us and he took care of all of our needs. I'm not sure if all the hosts are as good as Aldo was... but he was excellent!!! He took such great care of my husband, myself and our 20 month old. I personally wouldn't go to this resort without kids. The majority of adults had kids with them. I never thought I would go to the same resort twice but having kids (especially because we'll be having another baby in May) takes the guess work out of choosing a holiday next year and being worried if its safe for the little ones. We plan to return next year!

15 Tips for travelling to this resort: 1) when you arrive in the airport in Cancun, DON'T stop for the staff in the white shirts who try to direct you to their desks. They are trying to get you to attend a time share talk in order to get discounted excursion and spa vouchers. 2) if your travel package doesn't include transfers from the airport, consider using Cancun Shuttle. Great company. Paco was a very good guide and he spoke excellent English. 3) Strongly consider booking Family Concierge as this will give you access to the wonderful heated pool, the special part of the beach & the great Hydro Grill. 4) When you first check in they will try to get you to attend a talk about their sister properties. They assure you this is not a time share and yet it's the same kind of selling that leaves you feeling icky. They promise you spa services and discounted excursions if you just sit through this talk which is held on site. We politely (and then not so politely) passed and actually decided not to even book any excursions. The resort was great enough on it's own. 5) The food is FABULOUS. We have been on several cruises and visited many all-inclusive resorts and we have never had food of this calibre. I highly recommend the Market Grill where they serve 11 kinds of meat at your table. Mouth-watering! Even the Buffets are great and the coconut ice cream for dessert got me every time! Skip room service- it just doesn't have the same quality and is more like cafeteria food. 6) The cabanas are AMAZING and keep you nice and shaded all day. Although you aren't permitted to "reserve" them by throwing a towel or your beach bag on them at 6am, people still do. It's hard to avoid that issue at any resort, but this place is so large that it is practically impossible not to find a place to lay your head. 7) The Pirate ship pool is such great fun for kids. Even though it is not heated, the pool was a highlight for our 4-year-old. As was the inflatable water play area. 8) The beach is lovely but the ocean floor has large rocks and crevices in some areas. If you are die-hard ocean lover it won't bother you at all. There are two bars in the beach area and so many towels that you never have to worry about where to find a clean one. 9) The shows are actually quite good. Especially the acrobats. They are Cirque-du-Soleil quality. The Michael Jackson tribute is great also and will have you grooving in your seat. Get there early to get a good spot. 10) The drink service is amazing. A glass of champagne at the poolside daily is not to shabby!! 11) In the Family area there is a popcorn machine, nacho machine, snow cone machine and cotton candy maker. Kids heaven! They even bring in a clown to make balloon animals poolside. 12) There is a very zen-like quality to the lobby and incense burning everywhere so it smells awesome- but sometimes strong. 13) The kids room offers babysitting (which we did not use) but we did go in to play pool and air hockey with our son and he loved it. 14) The rooms vary based on where you are in the resort and what upgrade you have. When we arrived we were on the bottom floor in a room that faced the tennis court. We switched rooms the second day to a second floor room facing the pools. The room was lovely and had a mini-bar stocked with beer, water, pop, juice and club soda. There were also potato chips and oreos. 15) Try all the specialty restaurants. The menus are too exotic for the average kid, but they offer a child friendly menu at each one- with your standard fare of fries, etc. The restaurant "Bana" on the adult side will seat children before 8pm, so you even get to try that one. We LOVED this resort and exploring along 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen was fun too and only a $10 US cab ride. We will be back again next year- Until 2015, Mexico!!

Our 2 kids, Maude and David, 7 and 8, felt so special because Orion our family concierge, a very kind man, took such exceptionally good care of us. Orion noticed that we were very exhausted and disoriented when we arrived. He asked if we were hungry and what we wanted to do. Right away he brought someone to take our food order and found us a nice place by the pool. The pool bar service was great by Jeremiah. Every day Orion made sure that we had good service, like a nice place by the pool, towels, lunch, drinks,... Orion brought our girl to a special holiday party, he booked and changed our restaurant reservations to accommodate our preferences and really made our holiday special. Because the kids were happy, we got to relax. The kids really like Orion a lot. He is a kid magnet! I can use his name today to get them to brush their teeth with the complimentary spanish toothpaste that Orion gave us in the room. Things to really like about this place: great food, heated pool, good room service, great for kids, quiet at night in the family concierge section, good entertainment in the evenings and in the day for kids. Family concierge is really worth it!

At the end of January 2014, I travelled with my mother (72) and my son (4). Honestly, Paradise Playa Del Carmen exceeded our expectations, and that never happed in an all inclusive. From the check in to the check out, they make us feel very special. Clean hotel, it smells good everywhere (!) Everybody knew my son's name, always chairs available at the pool and at the beach (at any time of the day!). No limit for the beach towels, always someone cleaning and making sure we were happy. The family concierge is an incredible experience. Lucia was our family concierge, she is a kindergarten teacher, she is truly extraordinary! She knows what she is doing. Surprises every day for my son; either the chef brings a special dessert plate at the table, an 8 step treasure hunt in the room, a hot bubble bath with balloons on the patio after the beach, crayons with colouring sheets adapted to the age and interests of my son... One night, she brought in our room for my mother and I a cheese plate and the other night a nice bottle of wine. The ultimate surprise of the week was a party organised for my son. About 10 characters (fairies, a juggler, a super hero (Flash is absolutely great with kids!!!) etc...), 10 families were present with their kids, food, kids make-up, rock climbing, bungee jumping on the trampoline, a super hero cake with his name on it, and finally a piata; truly extraordinary... Mr. Santiago and Oliver made sure we were satisfied on a daily basis, they are doing a great job, everything, I mean everything, is planned. The family concierge also gives access to a heated pool, at that time of the year, if you do not choose that service; bring wet suits (shorty) for your children. Beach was beautiful, however a bit of rocks here and there, but I am just trying to identify some negative points, I cannot find many... We are foodies and we were not disappointed; the buffet was diversified, always fresh, if you need something, they will do all they can to provide you with what you want. The a la carte restaurants we enjoyed the most were Vento and Bana. Always spending a lot of time in the restaurants and at the buffet to relax, never felt pressured to leave. In a nut shell, I strongly recommend this hotel, we will certainly return next year!

My family and I stayed at the Paradise Playa Del Carmen last week and it was a fabulous stay. Pool area and beach are very nice. The rooms are spacious and top notch. I also like the fact that the air can be turned down cool enough so room is comfortable, that's a huge plus to me. Food and beverages were good as well.

This resort is beautiful. We stayed in family concierge which we recommend to anyone with kids. Lucia our concierge was very nice, and made our trip stress free. Tons of restaurants which we loved, and excellent facilities for the kids. The whole place is very clean and super nice.

The hotel is wonderful. Food is so great at every restaurant, Our servers Felipe, Carolina, Sava and Luis always a smile and great eggs from Valentina in Hadar in the morning were fantastic. On the beach we had non stop service from Jose on the beach. Awesome service from all the employees. You can really tell they like their jobs. The hotel was spotless and the pools were beautiful.

La Esmeralda is one of those places that you don't want to leave.. since the begging to the end this is a 5 star resort that deserves more than the 5 stars.. the service from our Family Concierge /Butler ALLAN was amazing, very kind and happy person.. always saying hi taking care of us and playing with our kids. The beach very calm almost like a real pool, the restaurants! our favorite was FUEGO, The Market and Naos.. what a VIEW! THANK YOU Paradise Playa Del Carmen Staff for making our vacations THE BEST!!

We just came home from this resort and we are spoiled now for travelling. This resort was outstanding. We had the family concierge package and it was well worth it. Vrigina was great to us and having everything we needed/wanted was amazing, She booked our meals ensured anything we wanted in the rooms was there. The kids loved having their bath's on the balcony with a tub full of balloons and their own slippers and the cookies that came every day. The family concierge pool was perfect for the the cooler days as it was heated. Jerimiah was the bartender at the swim up bar and got to know each of our kids and would talk to him. My daughter was just thrilled he remembered what she liked to drink. The pool side service was great:) All the restaurants we went to were delicious. It was nice to have all but one Al La Carte. The one buffet they did have was delicious with great variety. The family concierge lounge was nice to have for coffee and snacks as well. The Kids club could have a been a bit better. Ages 1-4 in on room is a bit of an age difference which was tough for my daughter as she wanted to be with the older kids watching the Disney movie and not the babies. But we didn't use the kids club as much as we thought as the kids were so content swimming and playing. The pirate ship pool was great but cold which was perfect for us adults to cool off but the kids got cold, which made the family concierge pool so nice to have access too. The beach isn't great but the resort made up for it. The had loads of beds and chairs around the pools. The bali beds were great for our 4 month old to stay in the shade and sleep during the day.