Alhambra Hotel

We stayed at Alhambra for 5 nights in February, 2006. The hotel was not our first choice, but we couldn't find an available room at any other hotel. Pros: Right on the beach, good breakfast, clean. Employees who worked the beach bar area were very friendly. Cons: No TV in room (normally not an issue for us adults, but we were traveling with 2 children who tend to get bored easily, especially at night). The room was small, and the decor very plain. It could have been a room in any Motel 6. Water pressure was inconsistent - often it would be little more than a trickle. Water was rarely warm, let alone hot, for showers. We've traveled to this area 8 times so we know that hot water is not always readily available, but it seemed to be in extremely limited supply at Alhambra. The staff who worked the reception area/ front desk were not friendly. We (four of us) were charged $163 per night for our oceanfront room. The hotel's price list states that these rooms are $152 per night, for 3-4 people. Upon checkout, I asked the clerk about the discrepancy and he acted like he didn't understand. We had to leave to catch our flight, and did not have time to argue, so we gave up and left. If the room had cost us less than $100 per night, we'd give a better review. However, we feel that the Alhambra is extremely overpriced for what you actually get.

Staying at the Alhambra was great - the location was perfect, being right on the beach and all, but right downtown as well. We spent a week there, and were quite pleased with everything we saw and did that had to do with the hotel. Our room was refreshed every day and the room was clean as could be. We had one of the lower floor ocean front rooms, which was HUGE. Definitely ask for Roberto, the waiter outside at their little restaurant. He quickly became one of our favorite people and one of the most helpful. The included breakfast was a great way to start the day and the coffee was great too. If you are going to Playa, get the Can-Do map, which has some posts about it on the forum. It is a great map and has stuff about a ton of restaurants as well as other stuff in the town. Im sure we will make it back there once we run out of places to go on our current list, and if so, we quite likely will come back here.

Hotel Alhambra sits on the beach and is one block from the busy 5th Ave. It is far enough away from the hustle and bustle to give you quiet when you want it, but provide the closeness to restaurants and shopping. The hotel is busy putting the finishing touches on the clean-up from the hurricane. We've stayed here before and they provided the same excellent, caring service as before. It is incredibly clean and care is taken to every detail. The food is outstanding! Breakfast is included. Meals are provided on the beach. Beach towels and beach chairs are provided. Don't forget to spend time on the terrace on the roof...the view of Cozumel and the beach is wonderful. Free drinking water is also provided. The staff is friendly and work to make English speakers welcome and nutured!

It was a last minute trip with great friends who had stayed here before. Did't know what to expect due to the good price. Would highly recommend this place on your Second trip to Playa. Hotel very clean, neat, staff friendly, & Roberto is wonderful. Breakfast comes with your room and was good, served right on the beach with a view. The proximity to everything was great. Took the local buses, very cheap and CLEAN not like in america. Never rented a car, transportation never a problem. Ate off the vendors carts, & in the hole in the wall cafes and Montezuma didn't visit any of us. Great place. Owners on site but not obvious unless you needed them. Would Highly recommend to anyone. Hope they survived the bad weather, hate to ruin such a good thing. Thank You, everyone at the Alhambra.

The Alhambra was a perfect place to stay during our vacation to Mexico . The thing that impressed me the most was the attitude of the employees. Whenever you needed something they were always there for you . We stayed when Hurricane Emily hit and they were able to get everyone in the hotel to a safe place. Dont forget to dtop by Senor frog while you are there !

You can't beat the Alhambra Hotel when you compare price, location, service and quality. Make sure to ask for Roberto!!! He can help you in many ways from making suggestions for your vacation to the best service I have ever recieved anywhere!!!! The hotel has very a beautiful view, architectural features and beach. You can see Cozumel from the beach and your balcony. The location is great!!! Its right in the middle of all the action. The resorts are great but I suggest if you stay in one that you only stay for a day or two then move to the Alhambra Hotel. The hotel is very quiet and secure and the food is delicious!!! You have to try atleast one of the massages while you're there!!! I'd suggest this hotel to anybody, from couples, honeymooners, families to retirees. Although there was some construction going on to fix repairs from the hurricane. I had a great time. There are topless women on the beaches at times. Make sure you visit Senior Frogs and The Blue Parrot.

Our trip to Mexico did not originally include any time in Playa del Carmen, but when our rental car broke down south of Tulum we ended up staying at a large American resort. It was here that we got sick for the first time (after staying in two other small hotels north of Playa del Carmen and in Tulum, without electricity)! Since we couldn't go any farther south due to our broken down VW, we decided to hang out in Playa del Carmen for a few days and recuperate. This hotel had rooms available for about $65/night, so we booked them. It turned out to be a great place. The room we had was on the second floor overlooking the street, had a double bed and a futon, a nice clean bathroom and free purified water. The staff were all very friendly, the breakfast was nice, and everything was sparkling CLEAN. The hotel is in the middle of it all on a beautiful beach, but has a lot of charm. If I ever go back to Playa I would probably stay here.

My wife and I usually stay at the Albatros just across the street from the Alhambra but since the Albatros is closed we booked a week here. The room was very nice. We had a room facing the Caribbean that was large and clean. We had breakfast a few times at their beach restaurant that was good. The hotel staff was excellent. Eduardo at the front desk was great. He took care of everything for us......check-in/out, bags, transportation, towels, safe, you name it. We had friends visit us and he told them that he had just seen us on the beach and directed them to where we were. When Eduardo was off Fernando was there to take care of us. They were both very helpful. We would stay there again in a minute. Great location, good value, spotless, great staff. The Alhambra is one of the best hotels in Playa del Carmen that is right on the beach and under $100.00 a night.

I stayed at the Alhambra for two weeks. Lucky for me, there was a room available since I had no reservations and walked in off of the street. Thank you Fernando for being resourceful. Excellent place to stay!! Wonderful options for free breakfast. Delicious food and great waitstaff. Fantastic pina coladas! Thanks Gonzalo, Antonio, and Roberto! The first part of my stay was in room #8 that has a balcony that faces the ocean and then I moved to room #19 which has a nice balcony and a view of the pool area. The AC is cold and the rooms are super clean. No phone or television contributes to the peaceful atmosphere that this property has to offer. I must add that while I was there, I suffered an accident which was entirely my fault. I slipped on the tile and bumped my head. Lucky for me, it resulted in a huge bump and that was it. Kudos to the hotel staff who helped me during this emergency! I will always be thankful to Rosa, Cidro, and Aumara for keeping their cool and knowing what to do.

I'm giving this hotel an above average score b/c we only paid $134/night and included taxes and free breakfast every day. It's in the heart of 5th Avenue where all the excitement is at! I loved room #8 b/c it's the room closest to the beach & restaurant and I could run to my room to use the bathroom while laying out. And I could wake up, save 2 sun chairs and run back to my room for another nap! they don't own enough space at the beach so the sun chairs are crunched together. But to my surprise, they provide beach umbrellas; after 5 hrs. of baking, an umbrella is needed! It's a small mom-pop hotel that really tries to accomodate your needs. You cannot be a high-maintance snob at this hotel. It's simple. No television, no phone, but it has A/C, clean towels, great ceviche & wonderful beach front location. We didn't want an all-inclusive hotel. Alhambra gave us 4 good nights to lay out, shower and sleep (the beds are hard!). Do not be fooled. THERE IS NO SWIMMING POOL. The little pond they have is not a pool. It's a foot soaker! Would I stay here again? If caught again with a tight budget and high-season prices, sure, I would stay here again. But I would check out the Blue Parrot. The websites don't give it enough praise. It's an awesome hotel with a great fire show at 11PM every day. So take the walk on the beach at night and see the show. I hope this review helps you. Feel free to email me. I"m sorry I forgot to take pictures of the hotel. Enjoy Playa! Susana