The Reef Playacar Beach Resort & Spa

Limited food option Bed Comfort excellent

Small and intimate feeling. Natural location with lots of beautiful landscaping.

This used to be our go to hotel but the past 2 trips have not been great. The buffet has drastically changed. The options are not great. The other restaurants are ok when you can get reservations. Pool areas are not that clean. Wait lines at the bars are long.

The property itself is stunning—lush greenery surrounds the buildings, creating a serene, jungle-like atmosphere that feels wonderfully remote. Our room was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate our family of four. Now, onto the drawbacks. The hotel’s location isn’t the most convenient. It’s tucked inside a gated community, and getting to town (about 1.5 miles away) isn’t easy. You’re left with two options: walk in the heat or pay a steep fee of 300 pesos (roughly $16 USD) for a one-way ride. We opted for the non-member all-inclusive plan, which came with some frustrating limitations. Bars for non-members close at 6 p.m., and after that, only member-exclusive bars remain open. That means no access to even a soda after 6 p.m.—a major letdown. The buffet food was forgettable, and the service was noticeably understaffed. It took 10 to 15 minutes just to get our drinks, with only one server assigned to each section of 10 to 15 tables. It felt chaotic and poorly managed. We won't be staying in this hotel again.

Mice and clean on the beach

All was great

The Reef is located in a gated community making it a very safe and beautiful place, even to walk in the night outside. The great staff and very clean facilities, awesome pools. Unfortunately I was not able to enjoy the beach, as this time of the year tit is full of sargassum. Also, they were doing some loud remodeling next to our room for a couple of days. One thing to look out for when making reservations, make sure the all-inclusive is part of what you are paying for. I though when Expedia puts in the description 'all-inclusive' it came with the price, but I was never given the option to select it, so I only got the room. At the Reef I was not offered that option either. Other than that, a great place to stay.

It was awesome trip to Cancun specifically Playa del Carmen .Hotel was good not great Shower was cold mostvof the times and somebstuff had normal wear and tear. The Jungle view was Awesome Trees everywhere all types and some marsipuals walking the gardens The Buffet was Great at Chula Vista Breakfast we had many choices from eggs to mexican dishes and chilaquiles and were Delicious with the Salsas on top Tables Poolside make you feel rrally on Vacation. Swimming pools were nice and access to beach was delightful The club upstairs on Fridays was Totally kool with color coded headphones coordinated to the 3 DJs that are playing The Virtual Club is different but awesome experience and the bar tender was quick im making the drinks which help keep the flow moving .The Late Night Snack Bar hit the spot at 1:00 am tacos of fajitas de carne were recommended Alexis the gentleman was a pleasure to talk too and a Good Worker.... Liked thr place and will be returning in the future Thanks Reef Staff

Amazing. It was nice and quiet. All the staff was friendly. We had no issues with our room or getting the assistance we needed.

Ok so if your intention is to do all inclusive and dine and drink here i guess its ok. But the food isnt the best let me tell you. If you want to eat anything outside of the resort its like a 30 min walk into town or a taxi ride. The staff isnt the most helpful but we encountered that type of vibe from locals all over playa del carmen. Maybe its a culture thing or an "annoying tourist " attitude. The beach is unswimable right now due to the sargassum thats all over the beaches its CRAZY. We were one of the few who had pink bracelets that marked us as "room onky" guests. The all inclusive foolks wear blue or gold. We were offered to attend a time share presentation in exhange for access to all inclusive for 24 hrs and massages. It was hard to walk put of that meeting and had to dodge 3 people before we were let go so beware of that also.