txhyattlvr

Ummm. "GLOBAL" means "THE WHOLE WORLD."

Look at the top of the screen. This supersedes the individual country guidance which is not being updated with regard to COVID.

But hey - nobody's likely going to stop you from travelling to Mexico right now. It's a judgement call.

TSTraveler

I’d think domestic travel in the USA is actually more dangerous now than any travel to Mexico.

saint

I'm so glad I decided to take my family to this hotel last week. We were reluctant to travel during COVID but already cancelled 2 big family vacations and the family really needed it after being cooped up inside at home for the past 4 months.

I've never stayed at this hotel before but heard great things. I'm a Globalist member with Hyatt and the recognition was great. Usually Globalist can use the Club Lounge for breakfast and some snacks at night. Well, the Club Lounge was closed due to COVID and they offered breakfast and dinner from 6 PM to 8 PM in the La Cocina restaurant. It was great! The dinner included appetizer, entree, dessert and drinks PER PERSON. Was amazing! The breakfast was off the menu as well. This benefit alone was well worth it as some of our dinners were over $300 per night with food and drinks. Breakfasts ran over $125 each morning but both were totally comped as Globalists. I left 20% tips as I felt like it was such a great benefit.

Or if you book a rate that includes access to the Club Lounge then here are the benefits:





Interestingly enough the first night they tried to limit what all you can get. For example, they would say the first night we couldn't substitute other things for appetizers even though the price was the same (House made beef empanadas being listed under entrees instead of appetizers even though the price was the same as most of the appetizers). Then I think they saw the tip from the first night and just let us order whatever we wanted including the more expensive steaks.

Dinner Menu:




I think Hyatt has some free breakfast promotion now going on so you'd get free breakfast even without being a Globalist member. It was all ala carte as they got rid of the buffet with COVID. As a Globalist member I also had the resort fees ($10/night) waived. They have really reduced the prices right now with it being so dead. I remember checking the prices pre-Covid and the prices were easily double what they are now.

The hotel only had about a 15% maximum reduced occupancy due to COVID and government restrictions. So it felt like we almost had the hotel to ourselves. The pool area is the highlight of the hotel and really great. It felt good not to have to fight for chairs. The hotel was so empty so we never had a problem getting chairs. Nicer cabanas with side curtains were $50 US dollars to rent for the day but we didn't see anyone renting them as it was so dead.

The guys at the pool area were really fabulous and went the extra mile. Always helping set up your chair or moving umbrellas. Also, they have a buzzer at the chairs if you want to order drinks or food. It was great. There are several pools and it's nice that in the afternoon (as you can see in the photos I posted below) there is shade in the rear end pools so it's nice and shaded and the water is cooler.

The beach area in front of the hotel isn't that nice. It's really barely any beach area. You have to go down to the left as you enter the pool area and go in front of Mamasita's if you want a good stretch of beach. But note that the sargassum (seaweed) situation was really bad while we were there most days. Some days when it was calm it wasn't too bad.

The 5th Avenue is under construction in many areas. Some places are open but it's totally dead compared to normal with no tourists in town in light of COVID.

The hotel is really taking great precautions and take your temperature upon arrival to the hotel. They desensitized all our bags. They are constantly cleaning.

I booked an oceanfront Grand Suite King along with a connecting room with two queen beds. The Suite was really amazing. It was on the 5th floor on the bridge connecting the buildings. I had suite # 546 and #547 . View was great. The ONLY thing I'd complain about these rooms were the AC didn't work that great. Although the temperature on the thermometer said it went down to 16 degrees C, the room always said it was 23 degrees and would never get any cooler than that. We did complain twice about that but doesn't seem like they could fix it. So that was a bit of a bummer as it felt warm while sleeping as we like it really cold.

The hotel has a kids arcade area which was really great. The hotel was so dead that they didn't really open it or staff anyone there but they told us if our kids wanted to play they could tell the front desk and they would send someone to open it which they did. Our kids loved it. They have air hockey (3 machines), basketball hoop game, ping pong table, and a few other games. They give you unlimited tokens to use in the machines. The kids went a few times over 4 times. Each time no one was working there as the hotel was so empty but they would just ask at the lobby area and 10 minutes later someone would be there.

Another hiccup was one night at 2:30 AM someone on our floor was having a LOUD party. It woke up my kids. I called down to complain and it took around 20 minutes or so for them to get them to turn down the music. I didn't know which room exactly it was coming from but it was really loud. They told me other guests were complaining too.

Also, something is wrong with the ATM machine off the lobby so be careful. I was withdrawing funds and the machine charged 3 $68.95 fees (US dollars) for a $120 withdrawal. The hotel management (Hector O.) is great and said they are working with the bank to see what is wrong. My bank refunded me the surcharges while it gets straightened out.

Another hiccup was that although they said the spa was closed they said that they could do massages but you couldn't use anything else in the spa. My wife went to check the prices the day we checked in and didn't think it was worth it with no other use of the spa. One day a woman from the spa was going around the pool area and saying they have 50% off promotion on massages for "today only". My wife is a native Spanish speaker and I'm fluent so no communication issues. They didn't allow a couples massage in the same room but they said we could get it in different rooms.

She gave us a ticket to give to the spa that had two 80 minute massages for $110 total. We thought that was a good deal. However, when we got to the spa they said we had to wear masks during the massages while face up. I should have left then but we decided to still go ahead with it. All throughout the massages there was loud construction noises of hammers hitting the wall so it wasn't relaxing.

Still, I figured $110 for two 80 minute massages wasn't bad. I gave the two masseuses a tip and they leave. Then the check-out girl gives me a bill for $220 US dollars. I explain to her that the other girl gave me a 50% off and even hand her the paper where she wrote down the deal. The lady said that $220 dollars was 50% off. Rather than argue with her, I just said I'd deal with it at check-out. At check-out I showed her the paper, explained the situation. She called the spa and the spa said that was 50% off. She said there wasn't anything she could do.

I don't actually know what the prices are and what the prices should be after the 50% off. All I know is I just wanted the deal that was written down. Again, I didn't want to ruin my vacation or argue. I just emailed my Hyatt Concierge when I got back home, explained the situation and attached a photo of the paper the lady gave to me. Sure enough, the same day I got an apology from the manager of the hotel about the situation saying that shouldn't have happened. They credited back the extra $110 they charged. I didn't let it ruin the vacation but those getting massages should double check what the actual prices are.

We routinely get massages while traveling and it wasn't so much the money issue as we just felt they should honor what they wrote down. I never created any scene even with the email. I just presented the facts and showed them the ticket she gave us. I'm glad I saved it. I definitely wouldn't let this point detract from our experience but I felt I should mention it lest others have issues as well with this.

All in all a great hotel and we'll definitely be back. Just a beautiful resort full of wonderful staff.

Some photos I took of my room and the pool area and arcade

ILuvParis

One of my favorite hotels too, but it looks eery with no people in the pictures. The pool area is usually so busy and the paseo usually has people strolling about.

saint

Yes! We actually preferred it not being busy as we never had to worry about getting a chair. I hate it when you go on vacation and have to wake up early to snag a chair/umbrellas. I can't imagine how crowded it must be when it's at full capacity. The only day that we saw more people was friday. I'm not sure if they allow locals to pay a fee to access the pool area? That beach club was playing music on friday and it had some people dancing but it stopped at 6 PM. We were actually a little excited to see some people on friday. There were mainly Americans and a few Europeans. But by saturday morning it was completely dead. I think maybe 4 other small groups.

Also, we walked around 5th Avenue which usually has a lot of life and activity and completely dead. They are doing construction on part of it but even the parts that were open was completely DEAD. I felt so sorry for the locals as they seemed so depressed about the situation. Everyone was super friendly and warm. Many restaurants and stores looked totally shuttered and not sure they will open up anytime soon. ALL the ATM machines except for 1 on 5th Avenue didn't work.

The day we checked out I rented a car on Priceline.com for around $20 per day plus the mandatory insurance which was around around $10 per day for a full size car. I picked it up from the Calle 3 South No. 229 Playa de Carmen 77710 location. I called to make sure I wouldn't have any issues but sure enough once I got there it was closed. But luckily I saved the phone # and called them and then a guy came out. With COVID they won't let you go inside but he brought the contract out to me, the credit card terminal and then he brought the car out to me. I brought the car back to the Cancun airport location 4 days later as we went to Tulum. NO hassles at all and glad we did it as we used it quite a bit in Tulum.

Astrophsx

How much is the resort fee here? The website cites that it's $10 in multiple places, but when you go to pay it's $25 and then the $10 svc contribution which pushes it to $35 USD per day.

https://imgur.com/a/1feNSN1

Dsnow0819

FYI here now and the appetizer, entree and dessert option for the club at dinner is gone and has been replaced by a “chef’s choice snack platter”. Last night it included bread, farmers cheese, olives, mixed nuts and figs. Drinks were still available.

TheTravelPlaybook

On property now- happy to answer questions as I'm here for the next 5 nights.

Breakfast this Sunday was free for Club/Globalist members, but was a modified buffet (behind plexiglass, waiters would plate food for you and hand you the plate). Not sure if that was just for the weekend, or permanent. Happy Hour 6-8 PM for Globalists/Club, light apps as described in the previous post.

Zelucifer

Slightly off topic, but how's downtown Playa right now? I always enjoyed the free street shows off 5th and the like, are they running?

Dsnow0819

When I was there a couple of weeks ago Fifth Ave was not as lively as it usually is but not dead. Some street performers and the majority of the restaurants had reopened (that are not closed permanently). We had a nice time and enjoyed the smaller crowds.

TheTravelPlaybook

I'd agree with Dsnow0819. It's less than our other four trips here, but certainly not dead. More local tourists than foreigners. Visited Xcaret today, not too busy compared to a visit two years ago.

Matt4200

How are most people from the US getting to PDC these days? When we were going we’d take a flight to Cozumel (CZM Airport) then boat transfer across. Not sure if that’s still an option.

TheTravelPlaybook

Hi Matt4200, I think you're confusing PDC with Cozumel, which still has ferry access. I'll be traveling there on Saturday.

Zelucifer

PDC is a 45-60 minute drive from the cancun airport, almost straight south. The general recommendation is to use USA Transfers for shuttle service if you're not planning to rent a car.

TheTravelPlaybook

We just wrapped up an amazing 7 night stay here. The club lounge being closed isn’t such a big deal, given the hotel is offering full breakfast and nightly happy hour in the restaurant.

I put together a little video of our time there in case anyone wants a recent report.