Paradise Hotel

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My husband and I, with some of our friends stayed at this hotel for the second time and could not have been more happy. The service is so friendly and the staff are really very helpful. The hotel really does deliver exactly what it promises. It is elegant, but not over the top lavish. Personally I like the Hacienda style - it emphasizes Mexican architecture and style. The prices are really good and fit our budget just right. Hotels in Playa can be quite steep in prices and offer very stale service. We enjoy exploring nearby La Quinta (5th avenue) and like our accommodation to be close, comfortable and convenient. We enjoyed the breakfasts very much and the pool was great for the mid day escape from the heat. We absolutely LOVED the location as it is very close to the beach, and downtown Playa is so much better than the crowded central area.
Nearby beaches (literally 8 minutes walk) Mamitas, Coco beach and playa Shangri La are just incredible! The waters are calm and there are no rocky areas, with soft white sand you can walk all the way to Playa Esmerelda or just relax and soak up the sun!
The restaurants close to the hotel are excellent, and the bars have so much more atmosphere. A wonderful little coffee shop called Ah Cacao serve the most divine Mexican chocolate drinks and is just a few streets away. I recommend the Chocolate Maya which is a strong little shot of rich hot chocolate with a hint of chillies and spices. It bites into your tongue, lingering the rich, delicious flavor of the chocolate. Try the Mango Tlan from Sushi Tlan - it is sushi with a flair of Mexico, it is colorful and fresh - perfect for lunch!
We spent most of our trip diving the fresh water "cenotes" of the area. A must for any scuba diver. They do snorkeling too so you don´t have to go through the dive training to enjoy this natural wonder. This was our main reason of returning to Playa del Carmen. We dived with Pietro. He runs a dive operation called Karst Diving which specializes in cenote diving. They do ocean diving too, which we enjoyed, especially the trip to Cozumel, but the cenotes were just breathtaking. The highlight after the thrill of cavern diving is stopping at Taco Paco on the way back. They serve fried shrimp tacos that you drench in various salsas, onion, coleslaw and chiles. By far the best tacos I have ever tasted!!
We have booked our winter trip and return to Hacienda Paradise in January! We simply cannot wait!!