Traveling with Laura

Living a great story, south of the border. February’s stop in the Year of Travel took me to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, some 45 miles south of Cancún on the east coast of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. Why Playa del Carmen? Mostly because I wanted to try something new, and Playa fit the bill. It wasn’t too difficult to get to, I’ve never been to a beach in Mexico (I had only previously been to a few border towns – Nuevo Laredo, Agua Prieta, and Nogales), and it seemed like a good place for a few days of relaxation in the sun. After suffering through one of the worst colds I’ve ever had in the couple of weeks leading up to the trip, the warm temperatures, humidity, and vitamin D were all a welcome respite from the relative cold of New England.

The Hotel

The Hilton Playa del Carmen is an adults-only, all-inclusive resort, a first for me. Aside from tips, premium liquors, and premium steaks, everything is included in the room rate. There are seven different main restaurants to choose from, along with a coffee shop, room service, multiple bars, and a 24-hour lounge with food and drinks. The in-room minibar was kept stocked with soda, beer, and bottled water, and there were snacks left for me every day. There is also waitstaff available at both the main pool and the beach. 

I had an ocean view room overlooking the main pool with the ocean just beyond. The room was large and the bed faced toward the window so I could lay in bed and see the water. There was also an enormous whirlpool in the room, which I did not use. On the balcony were a couple of chairs and a hammock for relaxing. I found the music and crowds at the pool to be a bit much during the day, as the loud music managed to filter into my room despite having the balcony door closed. There are activities taking place pretty much all day, from poolside bingo to aqua boxing to live entertainment.

There are a ton of cabanas lining the main pool area, which could be reserved for an extra fee. Regular chairs are available at the far end of the pool behind the cabanas. As a Hilton Honors member, there is a separate reserved section of beach cabanas (free) and bar which I did take advantage of a few times. The strong winds made it hard to read on the beach for long though! There is also a ton of sargassum (seaweed) on the beach so I only dipped my toes in the water a couple of times. In addition to the main pool, there is a quieter pool in the back of the complex with a couple dozen chairs surrounding it. It was much quieter and had its own bar nearby; the trick was getting there when there was an empty chair.

Day to Day

How did I spend my days? I was up to watch the sunrise every morning and then spent a few hours reading by the pool, drink in hand. In the afternoons I went for walks around town, relaxed in my room, and enjoyed the shade on my balcony.

Just a block away from the hotel lies an entirely different world: Quinta Avenida (5th Avenue), the pedestrian-only shopping thoroughfare in downtown Playa del Carmen. With an interesting mix of tacky souvenir shops, tequila bars, street vendors, high-end retail, pharmacies, and restaurants, I spent about an hour every day just wandering around. Interestingly, I could not find a postcard for my classroom wall anywhere. 

My one day trip was an organized tour through the hotel to Tulum, about an hour south of Playa del Carmen. You can read all about my trip to Tulum in this blog post.

The Restaurants

Spice – The buffet-style restaurant at the resort, Spice serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and I managed to eat both breakfast (multiple times) and dinner there. Spice was my first breakfast of the trip, and wow… The French toast was to die for! Thick, well flavored bread topped with apple compote. Beyond the French toast, there was every breakfast dish under the sun available, including tons of pastries, fruit, eggs, meats and cheeses, yogurt, etc. I also tried dinner there one night, and wasn’t impressed. It was a mix of a charcuterie bar, salad bar, pasta station, ribs, baked chicken, etc. I tried a few things, but was underwhelmed. The desserts were, of course, just fine and I enjoyed a mini red velvet cake slice, cheesecake, and two macarons.

Pelicanos – I ate at Pelicanos for lunch/dinner on the first night of my trip. I was tired, didn’t feel well, and just needed some food. The burger was good, but it wasn’t anything remarkable. The flan, however, was excellent. I ate at Pelicanos again for breakfast a couple of days later and was much more impressed. The restaurant is located right on the beach, but a row of hedges blocks what could be a beautiful view, especially during breakfast. I tried a new dish for breakfast: chilaquiles. If you’re not familiar with it, it is small pieces of fried tortillas with eggs, meat (I had chicken), and enchilada sauce (I had half red, half green). It’s not something I would normally order, but I enjoyed it immensely. I also ate dinner at Pelicanos one night, where I had an excellent surf and turf with a mango, peach, and white wine cocktail, followed by a trio of lime, chocolate, and passionfruit mini desserts.

Kalamata – Kalamata is a Mediterranean restaurant and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Once you order your main dish, there is an “appetizer buffet” of sorts to enjoy. Everything was incredibly delicious, from the pizza to the charcuterie to the bread, salads, pastas, and soups. As I was waiting for my meal, I thought, “if the appetizers are this good, what will my main dish be like?”. Sadly, the beef filet with pepper sauce was just okay. I’m not much of a red meat eater to begin with. It wasn’t bad, just not my favorite dish. The crème brûlée was obviously delicious.

I enjoyed Kalamata so much that I decided to return for dinner on my last night. This time I ordered the gnocchi with beef rib ragu and it was phenomenal. The gnocchi and beef were both tender and there was a swirl of pesto sauce on top to give it a little kick. Coupled with the same appetizer buffet, a “Sweet Dreams” cocktail (Frangelico, Irish cream, evaporated milk, and caramel syrup) and tiramisu, it was the perfect end to a relaxing vacation in Mexico.

Room Service – I’m not usually much of a room service person, preferring to go to local restaurants instead of staying in my room on vacation. However, the morning I went to Tulum, I had to be ready for pickup at 7:50AM and the restaurants don’t open for breakfast until 7:00. A perfect morning to order breakfast on my balcony. Next to the door to the room is a small cabinet that opens on both the inside and outside. This is where room service meals are delivered and a little light comes on above the door when your food is ready! I enjoyed a basket of sweet rolls along with a ham and cheese omelet while watching the sunrise.

Getting There

I could have flown nonstop to Cancún, but I had a good sized credit with American Airlines to use up, which meant a stop in Philadelphia going down and Charlotte coming back. I was able to upgrade to first class on my flight from Boston to Philly, but sadly no other upgrades were available. The flights were all uneventful and my entry into Mexico took less than five minutes (thanks to automated passport lanes; alas, no new stamp in my passport though). 

I booked a private airport transfer through USA Transfers, which worked out perfectly. All of the emails from them provided detailed instructions on how and where to meet their representatives at the airport and admonishments not to go with anyone else who might attempt to trick me into thinking they were my ride. Good thing, because when I exited the airport, there were at least a hundred people with signs trying to get my business. I easily found the uniformed USA Transfers representatives and waited about 15 minutes for my driver (my flight was early). The drive to Playa del Carmen takes about an hour, just a straight shot down the highway. Going back to Cancún, I was given a pickup time of 9:15AM for a 1:38PM flight. The driver arrived a few minutes early and held up a sign with my name on it. It was very smooth and I would definitely recommend this company to anyone in need of airport transfers in Cancún.

Since I knew I would have time to kill, I booked a day pass to the Mera Business Lounge at the Cancún Airport. The Mera Lounge is part of the Plaza Premium lounge group and is included with several credit cards, but I paid $33 for three hours of access. The lounge was relatively small with a limited selection of food available at the small bar. I was shown to a seat and told this was my spot, my chair, and my table to use for the duration of my visit. While it was nice to escape the crowded gate area, the lounge was a little disappointing.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed everything about this vacation, from the warm sun to the beautiful hotel to the delicious food. It was exactly what I needed. Would I go back? Yes, but there are so many other places I want to see that I don’t know that I will. But it was a perfect place to continue my great story of 2023.