Where to Stay

There are a myriad of places to stay in Playa del Carmen, with price ranges for everyone. There are 3 main lodging types:

• All inclusive resorts (includes room; unlimited food, drinks, and alcoholic drinks; onsite activities, shows, etc).
  
• Hotels (room only; sometimes called the “European Plan”)
  
• Condo/home rentals: these can be very affordable if you have a group to share the condo with. Remember not to drink the tap water.

Our hotel, part of the Real Resorts all inclusive chain: Our wedding will be at The Royal Playa del Carmen hotel. This hotel is part of the “Real Resorts” chain, which allows guests to visit partner hotels for free. If you are not a guest at a Real Resort, there is a day fee (approx. $50) to come to the Royal Hotel. Here are the Real Resort Hotels in Playa del Carmen:

The Royal Playa del Carmen ("our" hotel): 4.5 star hotel for adults (16+) only.
(www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150812-d530483-Reviews-The_Royal_Playa_del_Carmen-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html)

Gran Porto Real: 3.5 star resort geared towards families and next door to The Royal (www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150812-d185329-Reviews-Gran_Porto_Real_Resort_and_Spa-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html)

Real Playa del Carmen: 2 star budget resort (www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g150812-d240509-Reviews-Real_Playa_del_Carmen-Playa_del_Carmen_Yucatan_Peninsula.html ); this resort is not on the beach, but has a free shuttle to the beach (to see the location, go to http://www.locogringo.com/maps/tour/148a-t.html)

There are also two Real Resorts in Cancun, which would be just under an hour shuttle bus drive and may be slightly cheaper. See the Real Resorts website for more information: www.realresorts.com


Other Options:
There are endless possibilities for places to stay. The best source of information, especially for condos and houses, seems to be www.locogringo.com . They have many options with tons of photos: if you look under the “lodging” tab and select the type of lodging you want, it will list a slew of them and any deals they can offer. Make sure to see photos of your chosen location first and get any details in writing. Keep in mind you (probably) want to be close to the beach, 5th Ave, and our hotel.

For the best reviews of hotels and resorts, I would check www.tripadvisor.com , where people post their personal thoughts and photos.

Prices:
Hotel prices can vary greatly. All inclusive hotels tend to be more per night but can be a great deal in comparison to regular hotels when you consider all of your meals and drinks are included. Most all inlcusives even include room service! Each one is slightly different, so be sure to ask if there are any restrictions.

In our research, the MOST expensive option seems to be going through the hotel directly and the LEAST expensive option seems to be when booking through airline vacation packages (i.e. Continental air/hotel packages; see “Booking” post). You can find some great deals at www.locogringo.com and Travelzoo (http://vacations.travelzoo.com/mexico-vacations) but they are often last minute. Hotel prices for children should be significantly cheaper; if you think you are being charged full price be sure to ask a sales agent about lower hotel rates for children.

For flights alone, we recommend www.bing.com/travel/ . Bing will certainly give you the lowest priced flight and offers a “price predictor” to tell you if prices are expected to rise or fall.

Please let us know if you hear of any great deals and we will be sure to spread the news!