Is parking available at the property?

Yes, free self-parking is available on-site.

Does the hotel allow pets?

No pets and no service animals are allowed at this property.

What are the check-in and check-out times?

Check-in is at 3:00 PM and check-out is at 12:00 PM. Early or late check-in/check-out may be available upon request, but charges may apply.

What accessibility features does the hotel offer?

The property is not wheelchair accessible, and specific accessibility features are not detailed.

Where is the hotel located in relation to local attractions?

The hotel is located in Playacar, Playa del Carmen, within a 5-minute drive of Quinta Avenida and Playa del Carmen Maritime Terminal. It is 0.3 mi from Playacar Beach and 1.3 mi from Playa del Carmen Main Beach.

Does the hotel have a swimming pool?

Yes, the property features an outdoor pool.

Are children allowed at the hotel?

Children are allowed at the property, but specific age policies for free stays are not detailed.

The Reef Playacar Beach Resort & Spa in Playa del Carmen

Average nightly price at The Reef Playacar Beach Resort & Spa - All Inclusive by month, last 12 months (USD)
Month	Average price
January	US$247
February	US$451
March	US$248
April	US$202
May	US$135
June	US$116
July	US$119
August	US$130
September	US$127
October	US$152
November	US$187
December	US$218

What guests think

At The Reef Playacar Beach Resort & Spa-Optional All Inclusive, reviewers highlight the lush jungle setting, small scale, and beautiful beach, alongside consistently warm staff, while noting mixed food quality, tiered all-inclusive rules, and occasional maintenance or noise issues.

Many appreciate the safe Playacar location within walking distance of Fifth Avenue, the swim-up bar and pools, and a relaxing, low-key atmosphere. Common frustrations include hard beds, day-of restaurant reservations with limited availability, understaffed bars that close early, and persistent membership sales. Expect a quieter, nature-forward resort with solid service but uneven dining and amenities.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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Facilities

Compact resort with two pools, a beautiful beach with loungers, a swim-up bar, spa, and an on-site dive shop; many like the jungle setting. Facilities can feel limited: bars are sometimes understaffed or close early, some areas are VIP-only, and there are no elevators with many stairs.

Related guest reviews

10

Jason

24 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 6 nights

Outstanding dive shop, The Reef Marina, attached to the hotel--first class!

8

Kelly

20 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

This beachfront resort is in an excellent area, Playacar, which is gated and feels very safe. Walking, riding bikes or getting a taxi is easy. Outside of Playacar there are shops, historical sites, and museums. Wonderful restaurants locally, as well. But, there is also no reason to leave the Reef as there are restaurants on site, too. Boticelli and Terrazzo grill were our favorites. The Ome Spa was fabulous; we enjoyed our massages. We utilized the dive shop. The staff is helpful and friendly; we had a few delays that were not staff's fault. Also, the captain of the boat dropped us off quite a way from shore in our BCDs making us navigate waves and wind back to shore. Again, not staff's fault who were apologetic. Overall, we found the Reef to meet our needs and expectations.

8

Antonia

11 Oct 2025

·

Stayed 6 nights

Swim-up bar was awesome. Property is on the beach and you can see the ocean even from the pool!

10

MALCOLM

29 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 7 nights

The rooms were everything we needed, the staff and restaurants were great, the beach was spectacular, the water was warm and clean and no coral or rocks, my wife loved her massages, all in all a fantastic place. Evening entertainment was a bit lacking and they could use a bit more variety for lunches.

8

PETRA Joan

23 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 21 nights

The swim up bar was often crowded with children & their blender drinks & their rowdiness.The Kids Club needs it's own pool area?

6

David Arturo Pereira

3 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 7 nights

The grounds are beautiful with a lot of wildlife and peaceful nature. We enjoyed the resort kitty Luna.We loved taking the yoga class in the mornings with such a great instructor. I would highly recommend putting coffee makers in the room. It's very disappointing when you're an early riser and need to wait till 6:30 for a cup of coffee. My other complaint is all the kids jumping and splashing pool water in your drinks in the adult swim up bar. Would recommend a pool area for kids. The food needs work along with the syrup water down drinks. Our recommendations to use more natural juice and not all the concentrated sugar juice. The gym needs alot of upgrades and would be nice if the ac worked.

8

zhivko

10 Jul 2024

·

Stayed 7 nights

Pros: Very clean overall. New/renovated rooms with good room service. Courteous staff. Beach is good and it is close. Bar close by the beach. Pool close by the beach. Upper pool close to rooms with pool bar. Night entertainment. Serving modelo beer everywhere ( some bars even serve modelo dark). Good price transportation from and to airport. Overall good response to Hurricane Beryl. Cleaned up in a day. Cons: overall small property( its a plus for the distance) with less staff. A big minus for me is serving drinks: they only serve in the restaurant and buffet. Less equipment for the bars like the plastic cups; multiple times i notice the only bartender in the big bar(main pool) leaves and starts collecting cups so He can clean them and then fulfill people’s orders. imagine how long of a wait for a single beer that could be. The restaurant, there is one right on top of the buffet. So there is only one kitchen serving all the indoor food. The buffet closes at 11 so if you want coffee after that you will have to wait or start asking around. Espresso in the front office is not included in the all inclusive. Also the bar closest to the beach is VIP so u cannot ask them for anything? Also if you feel like going to the one hot tub it is also VIP. It is odd, I’ve never been in an All inclusive place that i was told my membership doesn’t include so many basic things. The food was good, just limited choices. mojito and cocktails are made from concentre. We would not come back.

8

Abundio

2 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

La limpieza del hotel es muy buena, a la playa le falta algo de limpieza. El personal es muy atento, el estacionamiento es suficiente

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6

Jacque

2 Apr 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Staff was rude on many occasions. Need more chairs for pool and beach areas.

8

Fabiola

5 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Todo bien..solo que mi habitación fue en tercer piso y son escaleras..no hay elevador... El restaurant bien..pero el italiano hay q subir escaleras... Para ir al teatro o auditorio escaleras .. .. osea personas de la 3ra edad .olvide lo... Fuera de eso todo bien

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Cleanliness

Many guests find rooms and grounds clean and well kept. However, recurring issues include occasionally dirty pools, odors or dampness/mold in some rooms, seasonal sargassum on the beach, and isolated pest reports.

Related guest reviews

8

Dante

18 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

The properties gardens and landscaping is so beautiful and very well maintained.

10

Michela

22 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

The staff were exceptional. You felt you could ask anyone for anything. The resort is simply beautiful. From walking in from the gorgeous beach to a cooler shaded jungle to find your room…well we absolutely loved it. The water was clear and beautiful and the beaches were almost totally clean of that sargassum (sp??). Some was in the water after some days with wind but you could easily get past it to the clean clear deeper water. And you could walk out several hundred feet without it being over your head. Do fun to just play in the waves without fear of strong undertows. Amazing.

6

Josephine

1 Oct 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

We found bed bug in our room. During the power outage, the property should provide emergency light or generator. And the cook should wear a cap at work especially during the power outage, the cook was sweating. She is using her clothes to wipe. So gross.

8

Yajaira

7 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 5 nights

Second time coming to this resort and we love everything the food is real good 10/10!! The staff is very friendly! The only thing we were upset about is how dirty the pools are I was disgusted and out of my 5 days here only got in the pool one day after that we were mostly at the beach. If it wasnt for the dirty pools this resort would b a 10/10..

10

Roberto

25 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Me encantó el hotel, había recibido comentarios positivos previamente y eso me ayudó a decidirme. La playa es bellísima y se respira mucha tranquilidad. El personal es muy amable en todo momento y el hotel está altamente enfocado en el cuidado de la naturaleza. Me encantó la garrafa de agua que te dejan en la habitación y la posibilidad de rellenarla cuando quieras. La comida del buffet es riquísima y el restaurante mexicano a la carta está delicioso. Las habitaciones impecables y uno descansa porque descansa. El hotel es familiar, pero al ser solo uno el Trato es igual. Únicamente tengo una queja con respecto a mi habitación: el seguro del baño estaba malo y faltó de mantenimiento por lo que estuve atrapado alrededor de 10 minutos y de milagro se destrabo y pude salir de lo contrario no sé qué hubiera hecho (viaje solo).

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6

bibi

21 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Got bitten up whilw sleeping ,not sure if it was bed bugs or just ant and other bugs since there is so much trees around. Dining option very limited . Italian restaurants was absolutely horrible...ended up leaving and going to the buffet. Mexican would give a 6/10 ..however you are only allow one main entree and portion sizes are really small..so if ur super hungry you would need to go to the buffet. Ended up going to the buffet around 9pm after the mexican restaurant, very limited options and many dishes wasnt refilled. Overall wouldnt recommend

6

Gloria

12 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

This used to be our go to hotel but the past 2 trips have not been great. The buffet has drastically changed. The options are not great. The other restaurants are ok when you can get reservations. Pool areas are not that clean. Wait lines at the bars are long.

8

Apphia

23 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 7 nights

The beach was wonderful! The staff was very kind and accommodating! The buildings and rooms could use some renovations and updates, but it was a comfortable stay. The food was my least favorite part of the trip. I have to maintain a gluten free diet and there wasn't alot of variety or food options. Some days the food at the buffet was cold, and it didn't vary based on timing of the meal. Great location in Playa!

6

Albert

12 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 6 nights

Pros-Staff spoke both English and Spanish and most were freindly. Beach was beautiful as well as pools. Grounds were nice with a jungle atmosphere. Resort is close to 5 Th Ave. Check in was quick and easy . CONS- beds are hard,food had little flavor and not much variety even the restaurants were just OK. Hard to get a drink unless you’re at the pool bar. Beach bar closed at 4:30 and a lot of the time the bartender was out picking up glasses from the pool/beach area. Pools although pretty are dirty as far as skimming. Taxi are really expensive!! I would not stay here again

4

Andreea

6 Nov 2024

·

Stayed 10 nights

Been at this resort before and everything has declined since. Our entire group got hit by Norovirus, and the hotel was denying it existed. They took no measures to minimize the spread as it swept through the resirt. Our upgraded ocean view suite had a hole in the ceiling and water came in during rain, windows were not sealed to the walls so noise and heat came in, and the A/C did not work in the bedroom despite us requesting service and them saying it’s fixed. The buffet food is terrible and service has also declined since our last visit. We will not return to this resort.

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Rooms

Rooms range from modern and comfortable to dated, with frequent mentions of very firm beds and occasional noise. Some report weak A/C or hot water, limited in-room amenities like coffee makers, and Wi-Fi unreliable outside the lobby; a few suites are notably spacious.

Related guest reviews

10

Kristy-Lyn

25 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 7 nights

A smaller resort with a more intimate feel. And a bathtub on the balcony!

6

Luis

25 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The quality of the hotel has decreased considerably over the last few years. Food is pretty average. A lot of noise at night makes it hard to sleep.

8

Derrion

13 May 2024

·

Stayed 5 nights

Everything was oky however they advertise free wifi and we literally had no wifi the entire time. Other than that it was great, good great, staff great but sucked without wifi when you travel and work

10

Kimberly

7 May 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

I would like to say that the staff was super friendly! It’s much nicer than the pictures, a very quaint clean smaller resort with an intimate feel! They provide carafes and two glasses that you can fill up with water. My only complaint is you had to upgrade to get a coffee pot in the room. Never had a problem, getting beach chairs, or a chair by the pool. Always food available. I believe all the rooms have a patio with a nice chair, chairs and a table. I really enjoyed listening to the birds and sitting out in nature! I must say that I had the best deep tissue massage I’ve ever had I wish I had the young ladies name. Rented some jet skis from behind the hotel, which was a blast! Always felt very safe sharpness within walking distance, either way out of the hotel. To the left is a smaller shopping center with outside restaurant into the right you can walk up into play Adele Carmen on fifth Avenue, which may take about 20 minutes.( I’m 54 and short lol) I totally would recommend this hotel for anybody specially if you’re looking for something budget friendly! Definitely would return♥️

8

DENISSE

30 Oct 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

The front desk staff was not the friendliest during our check in. I was given a room number and said I couldn't check in until 3pm. Then when it was check in time I was told that I couldn't check into that room and given a seperate room with 2 beds instead of the king bed I requested.

8

Lisa

13 Jul 2024

·

Stayed 7 nights

I like it except the rooms were noisy and the beds were way to hard

10

Amy

16 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Limited food option Bed Comfort excellent

8

Shady

20 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

The property location is unique and so beautiful. Rooms are spacious and near to everything, small resort and walkable both ways to beach and to entrance. Beach is amazing and pools are good, bars and snack bars are excellent. What I did not like, low food varieties, can be much better. Reservation to Mexican restaurant was so hard, you have to wake up early to reserve a place over there from reception, and must be on same day. Room A/C was so weak and room phones were not working. I did complaint three times at reception desk, and after a day passed someone came over and did not do any improvement to A/C nor fixed the phones.It was short stay but loved the location and style, management should give more care for quick and good maintenance. Plus better food at restaurant and I will give them 10 next time.

8

Fabiola

5 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Todo bien..solo que mi habitación fue en tercer piso y son escaleras..no hay elevador... El restaurant bien..pero el italiano hay q subir escaleras... Para ir al teatro o auditorio escaleras .. .. osea personas de la 3ra edad .olvide lo... Fuera de eso todo bien

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8

Valerie

1 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 5 nights

We enjoyed our stay over thanksgiving break. However, I’m surprised to see not one review talk about the beds. The beds are extremely uncomfortable and very firm. I found it very difficult to get a good night’s sleep during our 5 night stay. Better beds would make this a more desirable property. Our party booked massages at the spa. We are told to arrive 10min before our appointment. Which we did. We had one couple massage at 10 and the therapists picked us up at 10:10. Although we booked an 80min massage they still finished at 11:20 even though they were at fault for picking us up late. I brought this to the attention of the front desk and the solution was to give the 10min loss to the next couple massage in our group. Very disappointing as I was the one who paid for and booked the massages. So I got just a 70min and the next group got 90min. The couples room is also very small. It looks like it should only accommodate one table but they have two in there. There is no way the massage therapists can practice proper body mechanics and technique without proper space to comfortably move around the tables. I say this as a massage therapist myself. I’m sure those ladies are in pain after every shift because of it. The Mexican restaurant was just ok. I am glad we tried it but had no desire to book a reservation again. The Samurai hibachi restaurant at the sister location was excellent. Highly recommend if you get the gold bracelet.

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Service

Staff are widely described as friendly and accommodating across the resort. Negatives include pushy membership/timeshare pitches, inconsistent front desk or restaurant service, slow bar service, and confusion around reservations or tiered benefits.

Related guest reviews

10

Cerian

8 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

A lovely, stay with very comfortable, clean rooms and fantastic customer service from all the staff. Thank you!

4

Lindsay

27 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

None of the proper staff were on the same page on what the rules and regulations were for all inclusive. We sold a gold bracelet to go to another Sister resort and use their pools and restaurants, but we’re not informed that a shuttle would be longer than we originally told 30 minutes we were told 10. and also made multiple stops. They also neglected to tell us that we would need to make reservations before 4 PM and couldn’t make them prior to the day of. Had to go to the front desk to make these reservations as well we also were not informed that shuttles stopped certain days early and other days ended at 10 PM. We paid 250 per person to be able to use the other resort but due to this lack of information we’re not able to use it at one time. All minor things, but made our time at this resort disappointing because nothing was disclosed at the time of check-in then when we tried to make reservations, we were told one thing and then the next day found out that the actual protocol was something different. Upon finally being able to arrive at the Sister resort, we were found that there’s actually one pool because the resort was still under construction. They also allowed vendors to come on the property. We were continuously haggle to buy things on repeated day daily, which made enjoying the pool or sitting oceanfront unpleasant. Overall, I thought it was beautiful. The food was what was expected for a all-inclusive buffet style. Has a lot of potential but overall disappointed

6

Blanca

12 Jul 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

Llegando al hotel nos entregaron la habitación y de inmediato una persona de nombre Beatriz nos ofreció un desayuno, (en otro hotel lejano de ahí) fuimos, y como no les compramos la membresía que nos ofrecieron, nos empezaron a tratar de diferente manera. Con verdades a medias nos convencieron para aceptar el desayuno en el otro hotel, The Reef Coco Beach. Y en el desayuno, al finalizar, como dijimos que no deseábamos comprar la membresía, nos echaron en cara el desayuno diciendo: ¿entonces por qué aceptaron venir al desayuno? A lo cual respondí que aceptamos por su insistencia en que fuéramos. Porque de echo nuestra estancia en el hotel incluía desayuno, y dejamos nuestro desayuno en The Reef Playacar por ir al otro hotel para que nos dieran un mal trato por no comprar una membresía No volvería a hospedarme en alguno de los tres hoteles de los que yo sé que tienen. En el bar todo excelente En limpieza todo bien En el restaurante los camarer@s muy bien, solo que quienes asignan las mesas, en la primera noche nos atendió una señorita que antes de cualquier cosa nos cobraba precio de adulto para una niña de 9 años, yo le hice la pregunta sobre ese detalle, y fue como nos ofreció aplicar una tarifa menor para la niña, aunque de hecho lo hizo de mal modo.

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10

Michela

22 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

The staff were exceptional. You felt you could ask anyone for anything. The resort is simply beautiful. From walking in from the gorgeous beach to a cooler shaded jungle to find your room…well we absolutely loved it. The water was clear and beautiful and the beaches were almost totally clean of that sargassum (sp??). Some was in the water after some days with wind but you could easily get past it to the clean clear deeper water. And you could walk out several hundred feet without it being over your head. Do fun to just play in the waves without fear of strong undertows. Amazing.

6

Ruben

20 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Upon arrival the front desk manager was arguing with a guest. Not very professional. He was telling her regardless of what she said, he was changing her for a damaged mirror. That’s scary. Upon Checking in we were warned losing the towel card for the pool would result in a $35 charge per key. Scary. We paid for the VIP upgrade. Not worth the cost. They ran out of top shelf alcohol by1pm. Cabanas filled up quickly. Buffet food was terrible. Property was nice. Needs better management.

10

Ashley

30 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 8 nights

Words cannot describe how much we loved the reef. The entire property was so clean and stunningly beautiful. The beach was spectacular, it was like nothing I’ve ever seen before! But what made this trip even better was the absolute amazing service that we received every day that we were there. Everyone from the bartenders to the cleaning staff were always smiling and friendly, and we got to know quite a few of them on a first name basis and they made our stay feel like a second home. The staff went above and beyond to make our vacation feel like a magical dream. They had fun entertainment by the pool during the day, but the entertainment at night seem to be lacking, however, I think it is because this resort is more of a relaxed place, and a lot of people did not attend the nightly entertainment. The food was what you would expect at an all-inclusive. There were some good options at breakfast and lunch and dinner were just OK. The Italian restaurant and the Mexican restaurant were fantastic and I highly recommend trying both. I highly recommend this resort for couples and families looking for a relaxed yet fun vacation away. The pictures online do not do this property justice as to how extraordinarily beautiful it is. We had the best week ever and will be going back many many times in the future. We found our home away from home!

2

Heather

1 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

Receptionist was not friendly or accommodating. Very rude and loud, talking over me. He made a threatening comment more than once. Will not stay at any Reef properties again!

8

Maria Guadalupe

21 Oct 2025

·

Stayed 6 nights

Great staff great bartenders room very clean nice air-conditioned

6

Bonnie Sue

30 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 7 nights

There were quite a few issues at the Reef Playacar. The staff at the buffet were very unfriendly. You had to get up at 7 am to put towels down for a spot on the beach or pools. There isn’t enough seating at all for everyone who stays there. We paid for premium and there weren’t any of those available either. People left their towels the entire day and never showed up to use the chairs. We’ve done a lot of all inclusive vacations and the food at the buffet was the worst we’ve experienced. There are two restaurants on site and once again you needed to get up at 7 am to get reservations the day of. We ate at one of them but were never able to get a reservation at the other one. We did eat at a restaurant at a sister hotel which was good. I wouldn’t stay here again.

8

Kristi

7 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 7 nights

The property was very nice and clean. Then walking from building to building in the middle of the resort was beautiful, lined with trees, man made waterfalls, and a ton of greenery, but I’ve been to a hand full of all-inclusive hotels and this one was a “tiered all-inclusive”, you can upgrade your bracelet, so you could only get dinner at certain restaurants if you had the upgrade, drinks only if you had the upgrade, or sitting at the beach only if you had the upgrade. I did not enjoy that, I drink beer and the buffets are good for me. As a group of 6, half of us were upgraded and the other half weren’t. So it was hard to plan things. Upgrading the bracelet for room wise was all the same. We had all the same things, except for beer in our fridge, but I could just walk to the bar out of my room and get the same beer. So in my mind the upgrade is a waste of money for me, but maybe some need it was alcohol choice. You never had to fight for pool or beach seating. We always got the same area without having to get up at 3 AM to drop towels. As a blue bracelet, we always got a comfortable cabana to lounge in. All in all, we loved it. You meet the best people.

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Location

Set in the gated Playacar area, many find it safe and walkable, with on-site beach access and Fifth Avenue about a 15–20 minute walk. Some note pricier taxis and that getting to town from inside the complex can feel inconvenient.

Related guest reviews

8

Kelly

20 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

This beachfront resort is in an excellent area, Playacar, which is gated and feels very safe. Walking, riding bikes or getting a taxi is easy. Outside of Playacar there are shops, historical sites, and museums. Wonderful restaurants locally, as well. But, there is also no reason to leave the Reef as there are restaurants on site, too. Boticelli and Terrazzo grill were our favorites. The Ome Spa was fabulous; we enjoyed our massages. We utilized the dive shop. The staff is helpful and friendly; we had a few delays that were not staff's fault. Also, the captain of the boat dropped us off quite a way from shore in our BCDs making us navigate waves and wind back to shore. Again, not staff's fault who were apologetic. Overall, we found the Reef to meet our needs and expectations.

10

Olga

12 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

I liked the quiet, safe, relatively close to the town, comfortable, clean facilities and very good customer service.

10

Ana

3 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

La pasamos súper rico, es un hotel bien cerca de la Quinta Avenida que podemos ir a pie. Nos encantó

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8

Anthony

28 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

We traveled as a group of friends, the beach access is great and the vibe was really cute. I would come again but I think I would pay to upgrade to have access to nicer booze and some of the fun vip seating areas. The staff were very kind and engaging. While we were there most of the guests seemed to be from Europe and while it was full, the resort didn’t feel too crowded. We also loved how easy it was to walk to 5th street and get the downtown experience without having to catch a ride.

6

Ana De

11 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 5 nights

The property itself is stunning—lush greenery surrounds the buildings, creating a serene, jungle-like atmosphere that feels wonderfully remote. Our room was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate our family of four. Now, onto the drawbacks. The hotel’s location isn’t the most convenient. It’s tucked inside a gated community, and getting to town (about 1.5 miles away) isn’t easy. You’re left with two options: walk in the heat or pay a steep fee of 300 pesos (roughly $16 USD) for a one-way ride. We opted for the non-member all-inclusive plan, which came with some frustrating limitations. Bars for non-members close at 6 p.m., and after that, only member-exclusive bars remain open. That means no access to even a soda after 6 p.m.—a major letdown. The buffet food was forgettable, and the service was noticeably understaffed. It took 10 to 15 minutes just to get our drinks, with only one server assigned to each section of 10 to 15 tables. It felt chaotic and poorly managed. We won't be staying in this hotel again.

8

mary

30 Jan 2024

·

Stayed 5 nights

Overall good experience it’s small but cozy and the beach didnt disappoint. Easy walk to everything

8

Michele

17 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 7 nights

Great location great food great staff, dark jungle vibe. I prefer something a bit more tropical for next time as I missed the color, we did a lot of excursions, including swimming with sea turtles I rented a car from the resort for one day we swim in a cenote and did the explorer by Zcaret which was great good to get off the beach for a day out of the sun huge waterslide was insane bring your own ocean floats and yetis!

8

Gene

7 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 10 nights

Great location

8

Marco Antonio

31 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 6 nights

The Reef is located in a gated community making it a very safe and beautiful place, even to walk in the night outside. The great staff and very clean facilities, awesome pools. Unfortunately I was not able to enjoy the beach, as this time of the year tit is full of sargassum. Also, they were doing some loud remodeling next to our room for a couple of days. One thing to look out for when making reservations, make sure the all-inclusive is part of what you are paying for. I though when Expedia puts in the description 'all-inclusive' it came with the price, but I was never given the option to select it, so I only got the room. At the Reef I was not offered that option either. Other than that, a great place to stay.

10

Silvia

29 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Muy bonita locación y bastante seguro.

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Dining

Dining is mixed: many call the buffet limited, bland, or lukewarm, and securing à la carte reservations can be difficult. Some praise the Mexican/Italian venues and late-night tacos, but drink quality and bar service vary, and there is no room service.

Related guest reviews

6

Luz Ma.

21 Feb 2026

·

Stayed 3 nights

La comida baja su calidad cada vez más

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6

Luis

25 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The quality of the hotel has decreased considerably over the last few years. Food is pretty average. A lot of noise at night makes it hard to sleep.

8

Yumi

1 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 6 nights

This was our first time staying at an all-inclusive. We came down to Mexico for dental work. I wouldn’t say this place is five stars but we liked it because it was small but it had everything we needed it. Two wonderful pools, a beautiful beach with lounge, chairs, and umbrellas! The two à la carte restaurants were OK. The buffet is outstanding. It’s really good. The rooms were also very clean and I didn’t feel that they were old. We are very comfortable here and the staff was very friendly. I think this is a great place to bring a large family, kids, couples or if you’re traveling by yourself.

6

Caroline

16 May 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

This was a cute little resort. The beds are as hard as a rock though. Probably my biggest complaint. Second conplaint is compared to other resorts we have stayed at their food selections aren’t the best. We were unimpressed with the buffet and the restaurants. However their late night taco bar is probably the best food they had if you can wait that long to eat. The pool was nice, the rooms were nice. We didnt visit the beach, at this time there was a lot of seaweed but i know that can be seasonal.

10

Claudiu

7 Oct 2024

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Stayed 8 nights

We love Playacar area and we had an amazing time at The Reef. The mexican a la carte restaruant has teh best food I had in all Playa de Carmen so far. Next time we will try the Italian restaurant too. We missed it this time

6

Bonnie Sue

30 Dec 2024

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Stayed 7 nights

There were quite a few issues at the Reef Playacar. The staff at the buffet were very unfriendly. You had to get up at 7 am to put towels down for a spot on the beach or pools. There isn’t enough seating at all for everyone who stays there. We paid for premium and there weren’t any of those available either. People left their towels the entire day and never showed up to use the chairs. We’ve done a lot of all inclusive vacations and the food at the buffet was the worst we’ve experienced. There are two restaurants on site and once again you needed to get up at 7 am to get reservations the day of. We ate at one of them but were never able to get a reservation at the other one. We did eat at a restaurant at a sister hotel which was good. I wouldn’t stay here again.

8

Shady

20 Jul 2025

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Stayed 3 nights

The property location is unique and so beautiful. Rooms are spacious and near to everything, small resort and walkable both ways to beach and to entrance. Beach is amazing and pools are good, bars and snack bars are excellent. What I did not like, low food varieties, can be much better. Reservation to Mexican restaurant was so hard, you have to wake up early to reserve a place over there from reception, and must be on same day. Room A/C was so weak and room phones were not working. I did complaint three times at reception desk, and after a day passed someone came over and did not do any improvement to A/C nor fixed the phones.It was short stay but loved the location and style, management should give more care for quick and good maintenance. Plus better food at restaurant and I will give them 10 next time.

6

bibi

21 Nov 2025

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Stayed 2 nights

Got bitten up whilw sleeping ,not sure if it was bed bugs or just ant and other bugs since there is so much trees around. Dining option very limited . Italian restaurants was absolutely horrible...ended up leaving and going to the buffet. Mexican would give a 6/10 ..however you are only allow one main entree and portion sizes are really small..so if ur super hungry you would need to go to the buffet. Ended up going to the buffet around 9pm after the mexican restaurant, very limited options and many dishes wasnt refilled. Overall wouldnt recommend

6

Gloria

12 Aug 2025

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Stayed 1 night

This used to be our go to hotel but the past 2 trips have not been great. The buffet has drastically changed. The options are not great. The other restaurants are ok when you can get reservations. Pool areas are not that clean. Wait lines at the bars are long.

6

David

16 Jul 2025

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Stayed 4 nights

Our stay was ok. Disappointed by the size of the pools - photos taken with a wide angle lens! There were plenty of opportunity to get a drink and food by the pool but it would have been nicer if they came around serving drinks The quality of the food in the buffet was poor, quite tasteless and at the most warm, not hot. The Mexican restaurant was very nice food but the Italian was terrible for food, atmosphere and service. The rooms were clean but basic. Beds were comfy and shower was excellent but it is a basic to provide a kettle and water in rooms. I did know that there would be no kettle but it was not worth having a premium room to have a kettle. There were a few cans of fizzy drink in the room when we arrived but it was not replenished. There was one accessible plug in the room, the rest were in the bathroom- so had to charge phones in the bathroom. The setting of the hotel was small but nice Overall we were disappointed.

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
1	2	3	4 $164	5 $164	6 $201	7 $201
8 $242	9 $221	10 $221	11 $220	12 $164	13 $232	14 $242
15 $251	16 $211	17 $164	18 $164	19 $151	20 $482	21 $484
22 $414	23 $195	24 $233	25 $233	26 $224	27 $291	28 $379
29 $253	30 $195

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1 $167	2 $176	3 $167	4 $224	5 $224
6 $224	7 $167	8 $157	9 $157	10 $186	11 $186	12 $151
13 $151	14 $151	15 $151	16 $151	17 $214	18 $214	19 $214
20 $214	21 $214	22 $214	23 $348	24	25 $817	26 $424
27 $386	28 $348	29 $745	30	31

The Reef Playacar Beach Resort & Spa - All Inclusive

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