Review: Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen Resort

The Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen Resort is a Hyatt brand non all-inclusive hotel resort on the nicest stretch of beach in Playa Del Carmen. For those wanting the comforts and atmosphere of a luxury beach resort with the convenience of walking into town for some local culture, this is a great place to stay.  We have stayed at the Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen 3 times now and will give you an overview of the property to see if you’d enjoy staying here.

The Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen is a 5 story hotel split into 2 connected buildings and has 314 number of rooms of various types. The lobby is at the centre of the property and the two buildings branch out from the lobby towards the ocean and frame the bar, café, and lobby at the centre of the property. Here is a summary of the room types:

• Standard
• Accessible
• View
• Swim-up
• Grand Club
• Suite

We have stayed in: 3 suites and a standard. Each type of room definitely has some pros and cons.

The Atmosphere:

I’ll get straight to the point here: it is a relaxing place but livelier and dubbed as “vibrant” by the hotel due to the “beach party vibe”. The worst part of this hotel is the Coralina Beach Club that is attached to the hotel but not part of it (they’re tenants). Between 11:00-19:00 every day, they play loud club music and attract the party crowd. Sadly, the CoraLina Beach Club affects about 25 rooms in the hotel, all ocean view. Depending where you are, the music will be louder and you’ll have a view of the activities (people spraying champagne on one another while pole dancing and gyrating to club music). While people bring children here and it is somewhat family-friendly, it is more oriented to adults.

Overview of the Rooms:

The standard room we stayed in was on the 3^rd floor in the building to the left. It had a king bed that faced onto the patio, a large stone tiled bathroom with a large shower, and a small but comfortable patio that faced the landscaping and lobby bar/café area. These are the most common type of room and would appeal to those who don’t intend of spending too much time in the room due to the lack of view and sunlight. Due to their location, they can also be slightly noisier than some of the other rooms.

The basic suite we stayed in was on the 3^rd floor in the building to the left had an ocean view and faced the CoraLina Beach Club. It had a king bed, a large bathroom with a square tub and a large shower, and a living area with a couch and table. Due to the location of this suite, the noise from the CoralineBeach Club was less amplified.

We stayed in two ocean view pool suites; one near the Coralina Beach Club and one in the building away from the Coralina Beach Club. As the pool suite was tucked into the corner and on the 4^th floor, the noise from the club was amplified and we requested to change rooms. The only difference between the basic suite and the pool suites in the plunge pool; the plunge pool is more novelty than useful to be honest. While we appreciate the upgrade to a pool suite, we didn’t really use it because the water is too cold as it doesn’t get much sun and one of the pools needed some maintenance.

Our favorite part of the suite is the spacious balcony with a day bed, 2 chairs and a table. We spend a lot of time here in the morning and evening; get stunning views of the sunrise over the ocean.

Restaurant:

We ate at the restaurant, La Cocina once because of its oceanfront setting and the menu had many tasty sounding ceviches and tacos but it was a letdown as the food was quite bland and tasteless. Perhaps we had a bad experience but we have never been back to try it and prefer to venture out to Tacontenedor in town for ceviche and El Fogon for tacos.

The Gym/Pools/Beach/Bikes:

The property has a very functional and spacious gym that’s open 24 hours per day. It has the usual cardio machines and even a spin bike, which is my favorite piece of cardio equipment. They also have mats and free weights for yoga and strength training. Unfortunately, they charge about $30USD for the fitness classes and you can only access the lap pool when you pay for a day pass at the spa.

The property has one main pool and one adult pool(located near the CoraLina Beach Club). We’ve used the main pool once because you’re so close to the ocean and we prefer to swim there. Despite the pool area appearing small, it is easy to find a seat to relax and lounge.

The beach in front of the hotel is a public beach but there is a section quarantined off for hotel guests to site on beach loungers. The worst part is that it can be hard to find a place to sit because people just claim chairs and use them at random intervals throughout the day. We’ve enjoyed swimming here especially in the morning since the water is the calmest and clearest. As the beach faces east, it does get some of the seaweed that comes in with the afternoon tide.

The hotel has complimentary bike rentals for guests. The bikes are 7 speed beach cruisers with adjustable seats, large baskets and locks. While you can request a helmet, it is not the law in Playa del Carmen so we don’t usually bother with them. You need to sign a waiver each year and they hold a deposit slip which is destroyed when you return the bikes. We recommend renting the bikes on a daily basis as opposed to your entire stay to limit your liability for theft and damage.

The Grand Lounge:

Access to the lounge is available for Hyatt Elite members as well as those paying for a club room.  The lounge has indoor and outdoor seating. The lounge is open 24 hours per day and always has water, coffee/tea, and other non-alcoholic beverages and small snacks. Breakfast is served daily and includes a mix of things: scrambled eggs, pastries, yogurt, fruit, cereal, a chilaquiles station, cheeses and preserves, and sometimes salmon. Between 18:00-19:00, evening cocktails and appetizers are served. We usually grab a few margaritas and snacks, as we watch the daily fireworks at 19:00 when the Coralina closes before heading into town for dinner and snacks. The staff at the lounge are so hard-working and pleasant and we usually tip them in the evening ($2USD or the equivalent in pesos) for their assistance.

I would recommend paying for a club room because the breakfast and cocktail hour are worth it. You can leave the hotel for breakfast but things open later and the options are limited so you may enjoy the convenience and comfort of staying onsite and eating at the lounge.

Overall:

While staying here definitely has its drawbacks, we do enjoy it and will stay here again if we get the chance to. We realize this review does point out the negatives but awareness saves people disappointment. If you are looking for a very quiet and uncrowded beach vacation, don’t stay here and head down to Tulum or the Mayakoba area. But if you’re willing to put up with some noise and a livelier atmosphere until 19:00, then you might enjoy staying here. We recommend a 3-4 night stay here and perhaps a few extra nights somewhere quieter. Those wanting to stay on the beach but also to have access to Playa Del Carmen town to avoid “resort fever” are the most likely to enjoy the Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen.

More information: https://playadelcarmen.grand.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

Our last stay was in December 2017/January 2018.

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• Getting Around – Renting a Moped / Scooter on Cozumel Island
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Stay:

• Review: Playa Escondida, Sayulita, Mexico
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• Review: Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen Resort
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• Guide – Craft Beer in Playa Del Carmen, Tulum, and Cancun
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