- Mexico Holidays
- Playa del Carmen
- The Reef Coco Beach

The Reef Coco Beach benefits from a picturesque, beachfront location with the shopping, dining and entertainment options of 5th Avenue within easy reach. Hotel guests can enjoy a variety of beach activities from snorkelling to kayaking, while numerous on-site facilities include a large swimming pool, a range of restaurants and a sports bar. The ferry to Cozumel Island is located nearby, providing easy access to the island's idyllic, white-sand beaches.
Standard rooms are air-conditioned with en suite facilities and a private balcony or terrace. Additional in-room facilities include a hairdryer, TV, telephone, alarm clock, iron & ironing board, safety deposit box and Wi-Fi (at a fee).
The Reef Coco Beach benefits from a picturesque, beachfront location with the shopping, dining and entertainment options of 5th Avenue within easy reach. Hotel guests can enjoy a variety of beach activities from snorkelling to kayaking, while numerous on-site facilities include a large swimming pool, a range of restaurants and a sports bar. The ferry to Cozumel Island is located nearby, providing easy access to the island's idyllic, white-sand beaches.
We spent a week here in May 2026. If you're looking for a quiet resort with plenty of daytime entertainment this is the place for you. Boris was excellent throughout the whole trip, he was so energetic and fun. Do not listen to reviews that say the food is rubbish, trust me, after working in the hospitality industry for almost 15 years I know good food when i see and taste it, it is at a good level, plenty to choose from, always available and cooked to perfection. The 3 restaurants that are bookable are brilliant, we only went to 2, the Mexican and Italian, the other, had a surcharge of $35 each, but the service and food was excellent. The room was very basic to what we have stayed in but we didn't spend much time in it so that was not an issue.
5th Avenue is only a 12-25 minute walk away depending on where you want to be on the strip - be warned though, they hound you!!! It got to the point where we went 1 street up to avoid this, it got too much.
We went on the ferry to Cozumel, we booked our tickets through the official website and got a discount, rather than one of the local sellers or at the port. Be wary when you get to the port, there are plenty of locals trying to sell you buggy and transport to the beach, they said it was 10 miles away from the ferry port - this is all the hotel areas where you have to pay to get to the beach, we turned right at the ferry port and walked for a while and then found Thirsty Cougars on the front, they served the biggest drinks ever. Sorbets and milkshakes and ice cream, well worth a try. Then we asked the bar staff where we could go snorkelling, they suggested Playa de la Capilla, which was 10 minutes left of the port. This was ideal, we were left alone to snorkel and bathe as we liked, there were a little restaurant nearby where we had food and drinks afterwards.
We visited Tulum ruins, this was a good day out, we got on the Ado bus, a little pricey but had air con and TV so can't complain.
We also walked through Playa del Cramen and found a Walmart, the girls were very happy with this, it was like Costco but on steroids. Also Parque Los Fundadores just by the ferry port, was great entertainment, with fire breathers and Mayans there to entertain throughout the day.
Overall it was a great experience - I didn't want to start the post on a negative but I have to add this on to the review, I know nature can not be stopped, however if you're planning to got to Mexico check out this link before hand :
https://sargassummonitoring.com/en/forecast-sargassum-mexico-riviera-maya/
It was horrendous when we got there, it is a type of brown seaweed that floats freely across the open ocean, but during the months of April to October, peaking during the summer months. Once sargassum washes ashore, it quickly decomposes. As it breaks down, it releases foul-smelling gases and creates low-oxygen conditions in nearshore waters.
It stinks, like rotten eggs, the whole area stunk, (the only place we found it had none was Cozumel) and swimming in the water is not advised, we went in the water, it ruined my necklace - took it back to the raw metal and my partners shorts were ruined. It makes the water murky, so seeing anything was impossible. Tulum was even worse when we visited.
The weather was great, we had a few thunder storms due the evening, which were great to watch.
The food was good—not exceptional, but perfectly acceptable—and the cleanliness of both the rooms and public areas met expectations.
Unfortunately, my overall experience was negatively impacted by the attitude and professionalism of some staff members. We had an item stolen in plain sight near the snack bar, and despite reporting the incident, no meaningful action was taken. The waiter we interacted with at the snack bar was discourteous, and the reception staff were neither particularly helpful nor welcoming. In fact, the response we received seemed to focus more on questioning whether we had brought the item with us than on addressing the theft itself.
I also have to mention the significant amount of sargassum and the resulting odor around the property. While I understand this is beyond the hotel's control, it did make the beach effectively unusable during our stay.
Overall, while some aspects of the resort met expectations, the poor handling of the theft incident and the lack of professionalism from certain staff members left a lasting negative impression.
Stayed 2 nights.thank God no more.1st night kept awake by bar below room til 2a.m and was told when I complained ti hang on they'll be closed soon, then woken at 6 by staff using machinery and generally being loud. We moved rooms only to have our stuff soaked through a broken aircon that flooded the room but hotel refused to do anything about this. Awful place..its cheap coz its cheap.
Our experience at The Reef Coco Beach Resort & Spa was disappointing due to inconsistent service, poor communication, and arbitrary enforcement of policies.
One of the biggest frustrations was that the dining room rules seemed to change daily. Our group was able to sit together on our first day without any issues. Later in the week, we were told we could not add a chair to a table, even though we had been doing so throughout our stay. On another evening, when we had reservations, the restaurant staff actually placed an extra chair at the head of the table to accommodate our group. Yet on a different night, we were told that chairs could never be placed at the head of a table. The constant changes in policy made every meal unnecessarily frustrating and left us feeling as though the rules were being made up as they went along.
We were also denied entry to the buffet because some members of our group were wearing shorts with stripes, which staff classified as "athletic shorts." We reviewed the resort's website before our trip and found no published dress code prohibiting this type of clothing. To make matters even more confusing, other members of our group wore athletic shorts to every meal throughout our stay without issue because their shorts did not have stripes. The dress code appeared to be based on subjective interpretation rather than any clearly communicated policy. It was frustrating to have an unwritten rule enforced without any prior notice, especially when expectations appeared to change from day to day.
The service at the Members Only bar was also disappointing. One bartender made comments about guests not tipping. Since gratuities were already included in our all-inclusive package, these remarks were inappropriate and made me feel uncomfortable.
We were also surprised that the resort made no effort to accommodate guests diving with the on-site dive shop, which was amazing. The breakfast schedule did not allow enough time to eat and change into dive gear before the required departure time. Considering the dive operation is located on the property, it would have been reasonable to offer an earlier breakfast, grab-and-go options, or some other accommodation for divers.
The rooms were very basic and did not reflect the expectations created by the resort's marketing. Throughout our stay, it felt as though the resort expected guests to meet five-star standards while providing an experience that was far from luxury. The disconnect between the expectations placed on guests and the quality of the accommodations and service was disappointing.
The resort itself has potential, but inconsistent policies, poor communication, and a lack of consideration for guests participating in the resort's own activities significantly impacted our stay. We expected a much smoother experience from an all-inclusive resort.
What a cracking location, right on the beach. The staff in all areas were extremely helpful, offering helpful advice on places to go. The food in all restaurants was all to a high quality with the exception of the desserts. Unfortunately, they were all rather bland and tasteless. However, a must-visit is the Japanese restaurant. What a delightful experience is to be had there. The large pool ensures that it is nerver over crowded, with plenty of room for all. There is also a private beach; however, it is a little small. The Mexican and Italian restaurants are only open on alternate evenings. A pity that there was no ice cream available. As there are limited facilities for kids, there weren't too many at the time of our visit, making it a lot more peaceful than it could have been. The three biggest issues we noted are:
Despite the above issues I would highly recommend this as a great ho;iday location.
