Staying in Playa Del Carmen has been great so far. After staying in the first hotel for a couple of weeks I decided to change hotels and get a different perspective on the city. I ended up moving closer to the city center since the first hotel was closer to where the locals lived. I chose a hotel right on 5th Ave so I could be closer to the shopping, restaurants and the beach. As I said in a previous post, 5th ave is where a lot of the tourists go and hang out. Staying on 5th Ave had many positive and negative experiences about the location and hotel itself.
Let’s start off with the positive things about the hotel and location.
One of the best things about my location was that my hotel was less than a 5 minute walk to the beach. Standing out on the patio I could see the ocean and the waves. At the front of the hotel door were two restaurants, a convenience store, 7-11, and a taxi stand. Once I walked out a little further I could see the Ado bus station (bus to the airport, Tulum and a couple more cities), McDonalds, several shopping stores and more restaurants. At night there was a club very close that played current US pop music.
Being able to go out knowing my hotel was close enough that I didn’t need to catch a taxi to get back was a wonderful feeling. It also gave me peace of mind knowing I could run back if I needed to use the restroom or if I forgot something in the room. Staying in the tourist area gave me more access to buy things that were only in the tourist area. I was able to purchase some plantain chips that I’d never had before and they were delicious. Here is a picture of the fresh coconut I bought from a local by the beach. It was good too. It was the best coconut water I’ve ever had.
One of the places I ate at often was right outside the door of the hotel. I could get a full meal for about $6. That would get me 3 tacos, guacamole, chips and salsa. There was a Walmart and a grocery store I could walk to if I needed something specific. I enjoyed the feeling of being able to get up and go as I pleased.
Here are some things I didn’t like about staying at the hotel in the tourist area.
The club that was nearby played loud music until about 2 in the morning. I could CLEARLY hear the music in my room. Also, since I was close to the shopping vendors I had to pass them when I went most places. They were constantly trying to get me to stop and buy something in their store. I had to quickly learn how to give a solid no or ignore them as much as possible.
Seeing police with guns was a normal site when walking up and down the street. That can be looked at as good or bad. Depending on the person it can make you feel safe or make you feel unsafe thinking something bad is going to happen. The beach was pretty but I never got in the water because it had too much sargassum. As I walked on the beach I saw men singing on the beach in hats, long jeans, long sleeve shirts and boots. I’m sure that was their way of making money. I really admire the work ethic people have in Mexico. It seemed like everyone was doing something to make money, even the little kids.
That’s everything about the location that I didn’t care for. Now let’s talk about my hotel room. My hotel room was on the third floor but it seemed like the fourth floor since I had to walk up a flight of stairs before I was on the first floor. This hotel didn’t have an elevator so I had to carry all my luggage up three flights of stairs. Not only that, this hotel room didn’t come with a water cooler like my last hotel room did. I ended up going to 7-11 and Oxxo convenience stores to purchase gallons of water during my stay. Once I got my luggage in the room I didn’t mind walking up the stairs as much. It was tiring but still do-able. Also, the hotel didn’t have any bath towels to bathe with. I’ve now found out most places outside the US don’t supply small bath towels to the guest. They had the big towels to dry off but not the smaller towels. On top of that a couple of the towels they gave me had ripped ends.
I almost forgot! During the time I was in Mexico it was HOT! Extremely hot. Mentally prepare yourself for the heat if you plan on being out in the hottest part of the day. Actually, my main issue wasn’t the heat. My problem was that a lot of stores and restaurants didn’t have air conditioners. They had several fans blowing to cool off the store. My body had to adjust to being hot and slightly cool. I only felt cold air in the hotel room.
I’ve gotten that experience out of my system and I don’t know if I would do it again. I probably would but I would change A LOT of things.
And that was my experience in Playa Del Carmen, MX.
Flowing With My Spirit 