Good and bad. Overall, probably a little overpriced. Staff is great. Food is very good. Management... well, not so much. We have stayed here 3 times. This time, we returned to room on day 3 to overpowering toxic fumes, like mineral spirits or paint thinner. It was uninhabitable. We had to wait outside after calling room service. The room service supervisor said she would have someone come and spray Lysol. What the heck?! That would only make it worse. We went to front desk and, after a good deal of trouble, given a new room. The fumes were from some roof work directly above us. Someone clearly spilled a great deal of something. This was careless and irresponsible. I stayed in a hotel in PHX last year. They had a water main break the day I was to check in. They moved me to another hotel, 10 miles away. I went there to check in. As I was checking in the manager came out (without any request by me) and said I would be getting 30% off and the first night was on them. That is ownership and customer service. Do not expect anything like that at the Hilton Playa Del Carmen. They just did not care. One more important note: BEWARE! A couple years ago we signed up for their Playa Collection. We paid $16,000+ for lots of great things. I have a long list of facts to show how very little that was promised came true. They took 2 weeks to get back to me on my first request, nothing is every available in other locations (eg. PHX) for the times I asked, their prices are mostly not better than Priceline (which is free), they claimed Roadway Inn and Super 8 were 3-start hotels (seriously?!), I asked about a room in PHX once and they offered something in Tucson (90 miles away), the list goes on and on and on. Please, please do not let The Playa Collection make a presentation to you. We absolutely regret it.

Very nice staff and clean property - JOB And entire pool and entertainment staff excellent - really enjoyed the aqua fitness daily Coffee place excellent always open friendly service ! If your a beach person there’s no real beach front and the private cabanas around the pool are excessive and expensive - they surround pool area and so seating is limited - Hotel location is great if you want to wander Main Street of playa del Carmen ( 5th avenue ) it’s filled with stores and restaurants - all in all enjoyed the week stay !

Absolutely positively the best resort on the Riviera Maya. Food, accommodations, and the service is beyond comparison. We have been there six times now and continues to improve, which I know sounds impossible. If you want the absolute most for your money, there is no better place to go.

The best thing about this hotel is the staff. They are truly amazing, very friendly, and do everything to meet your every need and make you happy and comfortable. Some of our favorites who waited on us often were Ruben at Pelicanos, Javier and Jose at Spice were so nice and attentive. The hotel used to be privately owned and Hilton bought it when the owner passed away. In my opinion, it was so much better when it was privately owned. It was truly all-inclusive. Alcohol is all inclusive if you drink rail liquor. If you want a Grey Goose martini, or any nice name brand alcohol or mixed drink (Jameson, Kettle One, Don Julio, Patron, etc.), it's an up-charge. For the Grey Goose, it was an $11.00 per drink charge. When it was private, it was all inclusive except for the very expensive Tequila, which was served at the Tequileria outside. The grounds and pools are beautiful. There is one large (HUGE) pool with two hot tubs, one smaller "fun pool" right behind it over the "bridge" with a swim-up bar, and then there is a "quiet pool" in another area. There used to be a lot more chairs around the pool that anyone could sit in when it was private. Most chairs have been replaced with cabanas that Hilton charges anywhere from $109 (tuesdays/thursdays) to $130-150 any other day. Some rooms/suites are so large/expensive that you have a reserved cabana everyday of your stay. There are chaise lounge chairs available where you can lay out by the pool, but the number is greatly reduced, replaced by the money making cabanas. I've been to this resort four times (3 when it was privately owned) and we liked to hang out at the "fun pool" (closest to the beach) and there aren't any chairs there anymore; you have to rent a cabana. The food is phenomenal! There are five restaurants to sit down and eat, a coffee show (Amada is a great barista!!!!) and a "grab and go" near the pool. Asiana's is by far my favorite. It is sushi and Asian infusion. Delicious. They have seafood at most, if not all, restaurants, a taco bar on the other side of Pelicanos (can't recall the name of that restaurant), a Mexican, Mediterranean, a one stop shop (Spice), and Asianas. Things to do: The beach right behind the hotel is very rocky. You can walk down to the left (away from the pier) and it is not as rocky. Since you are on the bay, there aren't waves rolling in, it is calm water. You are two blocks away from 5th avenue with many more restaurants and bars. It is safe and easy to walk there. We had fun at a beach bar (different direction) called Zensi (?), listened to live music at Fah (great time), and stopped in the Dirty Martini Bar for a nice drink. It is a beautifully maintained and post-card perfect resort. The changes aren't for the better, but it is a friendly place. If I had never been before when it was privately owned, and this was my first visit, this would be a one and done vacation. There are too many other places to go. You fly into Cancun and then it is about an hour drive to Playa del Carmen, not a pretty drive at all. just sayin.....

We had an excellent stay at this Hilton. Meals and service were all excellent. We particularly liked Asiana. The waiters were kind and tried to help us with our Spanish. There was no issue with getting reservations. Just went to the office every couple of days and booked ahead. Bars were good. No queues and no issues with quality of products. Equally no issue with getting sunbeds, both for the main party pool and the quiet pool. There was a bit of upselling but it wasn’t intrusive and some folk clearly wanted to add on the extras. We went to the gym several times. Well stocked and immaculate. We also had an afternoon at the spa. Lovely treatments and again, immaculate. My only tiny gripe was that, whilst most of the music was great, there was a dreadful tape of covers!