Hilton Playa del Carmen

We took the spin class with Katia and it was awesome! It was challenging but not too challenging. Got our heart rate up. Was a perfect start to our first full day at the resort. Highly recommend taking any of her classes. She had great energy. Was engaging. And a lot of fun!

Before Hyatt bought the property, the Hilton cared for it very well, and we returned yearly with no issues. You felt special when you arrived, treated like a Diamond, and saw some of the same welcoming staff. Now it is a Hyatt and poorly maintained; even the grass is not cut in places. A brief summary....

(Room 1) A water leak from the wall to the bed caused a slip hazard. I took a video and photo for proof at 6:06 AM. I presented it to Yadina, a very professional and polite front-desk employee, who received approval to move us to a new room. While waiting for the new room to be ready, a manager named Sofia callously demanded further "proof" and made the move contingent on it, essentially calling us liars. Sofia then broke her promise to meet us at the front desk. There were blood stains on the linens. Manager Jose eventually authorized the move after I showed him the pictures. He said he could not offer a partial refund. (Room 2) The replacement room had stained pillows, a dirty towel, and an abandoned bottle of chemical cleaner. Housekeeping changed the linens and removed the cleaner before we agreed to move to that room. (Room 2 Offer) A second room offered near the pool was infested with drain flies at the entrance and smelled of mildew. (Room 3) A lizard was on the ceiling. Staff botched the removal, sending the pest under our bed. This triggered an anxiety attack as we had to quickly pack and evacuate the room. Manager Christina lacked empathy, telling me to "calm down" because "we are in the jungle” and she has lizards in her home. She eventually moved us to a room near the lobby. (Room 4)This final room had brown water coming out of the taps, a failing AC unit, and a strong, mildew-smelling pillow, indicating the room was uninhabitable. On-site management claims they can't do much, can't offer refunds, and tries to offer low points for compensation.
Escalate, escalate, escalate to get a refund and the compensation deserved for not having a "vacation"!

The property, food, and day-to-day atmosphere at Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen were genuinely excellent, and under normal circumstances I'd rave about this place. But one unresolved billing dispute over transportation exposed a level of indifference that changed how I feel about recommending it.

We prepaid for private round-trip airport transportation through the hotel. The airport-to-hotel leg went perfectly. On departure day, the return private shuttle simply never showed up — despite a confirmed reservation. The front desk pointed us to the Amstar desk in the hotel, who confirmed the booking was made through the hotel, meaning this was a communication failure entirely on the hotel's side. By the time anyone acknowledged the problem, we were 35 minutes behind schedule for our flight, scrambling.

The front desk told us to hail a cab ourselves and that they'd reimburse us. We did, and I kept the receipt. When I disputed the $109 for the service we never received, I was told I'd already "signed off" on the transportation — conveniently ignoring that this sign-off happened at check-in, before any shuttle was used, not as confirmation that the return trip actually happened. I escalated through my credit card company, receipt in hand, and was still denied.

I'm fluent in Spanish, so let's be clear: this wasn't a miscommunication. It was a hotel that took my money, failed to deliver the service, and then refused to take responsibility for its own mistake — passing the blame around until I simply gave up.

Bottom line: The hotel itself is lovely. But the moment something goes wrong, don't expect accountability — expect to be stonewalled while eating a bill for a service you never received.