The Fives Oceanfront

We had a wonderful 4 night stay at The Fives. It was not what we expected but exactly what we needed. Instead of the active partying style resort, it was very quiet and serene. The pool and beach area is small but so beautiful, quiet and peaceful that it could not have been better. They do a great job of keeping the beach clean and there were always clean towels available as well as beach beds with umbrellas with a beautiful view. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food and service were outstanding and the view from the restaurants breath taking with wonderful breezes on the balconies. The only issue we had was the room did not have hot water for showers so we regretted that we didn’t take them up on an upgraded room. We did a couple of excursions but snorkeling the coral reef right out in front of the resort was the best. Beautiful coral with wide variety of types of coral including fans, lots of fish and even turtles swimming with us.

The Fives was a great place to relax and unwind in a serene environment. The beaches and pools were meticulously maintained, and there was always an empty lounger available to use. Room 504 was spacious, clean, quiet, well stocked with supplies., and kept immaculately by our housekeeper. The rooms double balcony provided a beautiful view of the ocean and the main pool while we sipped our coffees in the morning. The food and drinks were excellent and exceeded our expectations. All the staff that served us in every capacity from check in to check out were professional and caring in their duties. Miguel, Elvis, Ian, Giovanni and Stefony were staff that stood out to us, and made our stay one to remember. We will be back.

Enjoyed our stay. The room was great. The food was delicious. The spa was nice but there was an odour , I think from the oil used. Great friendly service too.

My wife and I recently completed our third (and last) visit to the Fives Oceanfront in Puerto Morelos. It pains me to both write this review and say goodbye to the Fives, but here goes. First, the Fives is a beautiful, modern property—and easily the nicest hotel within easy walking distance of downtown and its dozens of restaurants and bars. On all three visits, we had a partial ocean view one bedroom residence that was large, comfortable, and well maintained. The staff are invariably polite, although vary in efficiency. The real problem is management. Each visit had its irritants, but nothing seems to improve. For example, there are too few lounge chairs at both the rooftop pool and the beach, when more could easily be added. The staff does nothing to prevent people from “reserving” them all day, creating a crack of dawn race to even get one for the morning. The service in the main restaurant is very, very, very slow, and the food just OK. The final straw for us though, occurred on the last visit when we had reserved (and paid for upon arriving) an ocean view one bedroom. Our check-in was delayed for over an hour without explanation. When we were finally shown to the room, it was in fact a cheaper, partial ocean view room (since it was on the ground floor, more jungle than ocean). In addition, the person who showed us to our room refused to allow our daughter and her husband in the room to look around (they were staying nearby and wanted to see whether they might want to stay there for their next annual visit), and went so far as to physically block them from entering. I immediately went to the manager, explained the room was not what I paid for, and that their employee’s actions were unacceptable. She wouldn’t explain why I was assigned the cheaper room, but offered a refund of the difference in price—some $350-$400. She apologized for the “misunderstanding” with her employee, explaining that non-hotel guests weren’t allowed in rooms, even to look around. I mentioned that she’d just lost a potential customer as a result, but she didn’t seem to mind—although she said they could come back and they’d make an exception (they didn’t want to come back). Before we left, I got the refund promise IN WRITING. That was over three months ago, and I’ve yet to see a refund even though they keep saying it is coming—and even sent me what purported to be a funds documents seven weeks ago showing it had been paid. They no longer respond to emails, and I’ve pretty much given up ever seeing a refund. The bottom line is that for the price, I don’t need the aggravation. For those who nevertheless want to give The Fives a shot, a final piece of advice—don’t do the All-Inclusive. The hotel really is too small with only two restaurants to pull it off (only one during the day, and the rooftop bar). We heard a number of people complaining about the lack of variety and, again, the slow service. Puerto Morelos is full of great restaurants within easy walking distance, and an excellent supermarket to buy drinks and snacks for the room. If you want all-inclusive you probably ought to look at one of the bigger resorts that dot the coast. (The seat-saver in the attached photo really struck me the wrong way. It was out every day at the crack of dawn and I rarely saw anyone in the seats for more than an hour or two a day)

The Fives Oceanfront was an underwhelming experience. I will start with the negatives and then the positives. One, for a hotel that is only 6 years old it is definitely showing a lot of wear and tear then it should. We have stayed in older hotels in Mexico that are kept up much better. Two, the pushy sales pitch at the beginning when we checked in was annoying. We have gone through this before and have simply said we are not interested and that is the end of the conversation. We were pressured to continue to hear the sales pitch of their vacation club. We were also bugged again a few days later about it. I find this unacceptable. Three, we rented a Bali bed one day and the service was almost non existent. In every place we have ever gone to if we rent a day bed we have gotten exceptional Service. Lastly, our room was booked with a "Partial Ocean View". That was an outright lie. We were on the ground floor located next to the lobby and you had to literally stick your head out of the balcony to get a sliver of an oceanview. That is downright misleading. Positives: One, the service was exceptional. The wait staff and the bartenders were all very good and attentive. Big shout out to Arturo in the Lobby Bar. He made amazing drinks and was great at talking to all of the guests. Second shout out is to Elvis in Romarly. We went there for lunch a lot days and his service was exceptional. The food at all of the restaurants we very good. The location is excellent and we went in to town most days to explore and have dinner. Puerto Morelos definitely lived up to expectations. Do yourself a favor and explore the town. If you want a luxury hotel or an all inclusive I would stay somewhere else. If you want to stay in Puerto Morelos I would rent a house or condo. There are tons of rentals in town. No need to stay at the Fives.