Wondering what Hilton Playa del Carmen is like in the middle of the hot summer and what activities there are to do? Check out this five day guide for things to do in the Playa del Carmen area.
Before heading to Playa del Carmen, I had never stepped foot in Mexico.
In my mind, Mexico always seemed so far-fetched and (for some strange reason) expensive for me, so I never added it to my immediate vacation list.
However, now that I have been to this beautiful country I can’t wait to go back and explore more of its history, art, and language.
This trip was a birthday excursion for an old friend (we were born two days apart) for 6 days, 5 nights. We were originally going to go to Belize but because of COVID restrictions, we had to change our plans with that consideration in mind.
While the trip was for 6 days our last day didn’t count as that was our travel day (we all checked out by 9:30 AM).
P.S. Before you continue, please be aware that this is a word-heavy article and very light on the photos, so I do apologize in advance! I was more concerned with living life at the moment than taking photos.
Table of Adventures
Our Overall Hotel Stay
In downtown Playa del Carmen we stayed at the Hilton Playa del Carmen, an adults-only all-inclusive resort. It was once known as ‘The Royal’ (as I found out by numerous travelers who had been there multiple times).
It’s an incredibly large luxurious resort with the beach as its focal point covered in white walls and balconies all around. The Hilton resort is on the main road in between the Grand Hyatt and Panama Jack resorts, both of which are also on the beach.
The Hilton is right next to the famous 5th Avenue (Quinta Avenida), so if you are interested in taking a stroll or shopping at high-end retailers and seek out handmade products, this is definitely the place for you.
Our hotel room was a Junior Suite that faced the Panama Jack resort.
There’s a hidden gem on the top of The Hilton and it’s a tennis court! You’ll have to ask for the balls and tennis racket in order to play (unless you bring your own).
View to the ocean
Since every room at The Hilton has a balcony, every balcony has a hammock. It can be really wonderful to sit outside and lay down in it or sit at the little table for two beside it. It’s really up to you what you do.
Overall, from the large sunken foyer at the center of the hotel to the grandiose pool area, The Hilton is truly a beautiful all-inclusive resort for the couple looking to have some respite away from the hustle and bustle of life.
Day One
Travel Day
Day one is usually a cut and dry kind of day. We traveled from Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford, CT to Cancun International Airport (CAN) in the very early morning.
Our flight left on time through JetBlue and arrived on time in Mexico (7:10 AM EST to 10:10 AM CST). The check-in process was effortless as I checked in on the JetBlue app the night before and therefore had our boarding passes, so we only needed to go through security.
As is the case in most U.S. airports, security is the longest portion but once you’re done with it you have the rest of the airport to run around freely.
The arduous part of our journey was trying to escape the CAN airport. There are so many companies and people heckling you for attention it can be overwhelming. If you know where you’re going, ignore them and head outside of the airport as quickly as you can.
Also, don’t pull a rookie move like my boyfriend did (even though I reminded him several times before the day of our trip) and exchange your international money in your home country. It’s always going to have a better exchange rate there than in an airport every single time! (◔_◔)
We had a band playing music for us on our way out of the baggage claim area. It was very cool.
We had round-trip transportation from the airport to The Hilton through Nexus Tours.
They’re really disorganized over there and if push came to shove we would have all just gotten a private transfer instead of shared (which we should have gotten because it was a group trip).
FYI: Don’t use a travel agent unless they truly know what they’re doing. Our agent was a piss-poor excuse of an agent and we have vowed to stop using travel agents because of it.
The journey to our hotel was pretty complicated. We sat in traffic for 45 minutes and our hotel was already 45 minutes away from the airport – so it took 90 minutes to reach our destination.
By the time we reached our hotel, it was already 2:00 PM. Yeah, it took us well over 4 hours to get seating on our shared transfer and to be taken to our hotel.
Check-In at The Hilton Playa del Carmen
Upon exiting from our transfer, we were immediately greeted by a member of staff to grab our bags and we were asked to take a seat in the lobby to wait for check-in. We arrived on a day when arrivals were ridiculously busy and the concierge desks were unfortunately backed up.
But we were OK with it because the staff began to ask us what kinds of drinks we would like to have. The first drink of my vacation was a Mojito.
I’d like to say that their drinks aren’t especially strong. I figure it’s because guests get unlimited drinks anyway so they’re not going to make strong drinks when they can give it to you in smaller doses and not have people walking around the hotel stark-drunk.
¯\_(⊙︿⊙)_/¯
The check-in process was pretty easy once we saw someone and a bell boy took us to our room (which was beautiful by the way and I’m upset that I didn’t take photos of it).
Dinner at Rockas
Our group was composed mainly of people of Jamaican descent so when we saw that there was a Jamaican restaurant in the area (and recommended by The Hilton no less) we hopped on the idea quickly.
It’s an indoor-outdoor setup where there is no wall separating diners in a cooler environment. So, if you’re looking for that kind of space this place is for you.
I will say that if you’re queasy about bathrooms this one isn’t well cleaned or kept, but please remember that if you are American there are things you’ll have to take into account when you’re traveling. And this is one of them.
So use the bathroom at your resort, Airbnb, etc before leaving for outdoor restaurants.
Anyway! As Jamaicans, we have a very high threshold for what other Jamaican food would taste like, and with two chefs in the group, the stakes were ever-higher.
Long story short: we didn’t like the food. Annnnd moving on!
Late Night Snack at 24 Hour VIP Lounge
Between the time we arrived back at the hotel and we decided to crash, it was roughly 5 hours, and so my boyfriend and I were peckish. We could have done room service but we decided to try their 24 Hour lounge.
Benita was absolutely sweet and didn’t laugh at my revelation at learning that chips were “totopos” in Spanish. Honestly, I would’ve laughed at myself. ●﹏●
We got an order of fries and some chicken nachos. They weren’t bad, but they certainly weren’t great either.
Day Two
Breakfast at Pelicanos
This day was pretty fun as it was just our chill day. We started our day off by having breakfast at Pelicanos. This particular restaurant at The Hilton is outdoors and next to the beach.
Because of the seaweed season, you can absolutely smell the seaweed from where we were.
I had grapefruit juice and the Beef “Barbacoa” with a Pineapple plate. Ugh, one of the best breakfasts.
They actually were trying to do some beach clean-up at the time of our breakfast and we got major wafts of smelly seaweed during breakfast. Can’t say we liked the smell, but it didn’t ruin anything for us.
After breakfast, we lounged around in the large sunken foyer of the hotel and sipped on some mimosas. A lot of people at this time are slowly gravitating towards the pool or to their planned excursions.
The coffee shop, Aromas, (highly recommended) in this area is busy all hours of the day, but not irrationally so.
Walked Down Fifth Avenue (Quinta Avenida)
Early afternoon we took a stroll from The Hilton to Quinta Avenida (Fifth Avenue). This particular strip is considered a famous part of Playa del Carmen, and honestly, we had no idea until we got home.
The area is rife with small mom-and-pop stores, a large Americanized mall (with Forever 21, American Eagle, etc), and at every stop along the way there are people vying for your attention. Inside and outside of the mall.
It can be incredibly overwhelming, but you can make it through it if you have the wherewithal to ignore a lot of owners trying to buy their wares. Don’t be rude, but be firm.
Lunch at Pelicanos
We ended up getting stopped by a shop owner of a jeweler shop and while we entertained him, none of us could possibly afford what they were asking us to buy. So, we left and went back to the hotel to get lunch.
On the way, I picked up some fresh guinep (quenepas in Puerto Rico or mamoncillos or the other hundred names for it, haha) and enjoyed it throughout the rest of my time at the hotel and on the plane ride home!
We ended up going back to Pelicanos (accidentally as we were trying to eat at Rincón Mexicanos), which was pretty fun as the waiter was great to talk to.
I wish I had been more adventurous with my food choices here as they had a lot to offer, but I went with their BBQ Chicken option that came with corn and potato wedges.
It was fall-off-the-bone delicious.
Dinner at Asiana
After lunch, we all went our separate ways and relaxed wherever the day took us. My boyfriend and I walked around the hotel to find something new (we did!) and then we met up with the group in my friend’s room with bathing suits on.
The plan? Go to the beach and the pool before dinner.
We made it roughly 30 minutes before dinner was reserved so we didn’t have any time to actually do any swimming. But we did take photos of the abandoned cabanas on the beach so that was fun.
Since you have to make dinner reservations at The Hilton for any open restaurant on property, we were told the dress code for our next destination: Asiana.
So long as you’re wearing pants and a shirt you’re good to go. But bathing suits cannot be shown.
As you can probably tell by the name of the restaurant, Asiana is an upscale Asian fusion restaurant. They have options for sushi, sashimi, and other Asian specialties like Teppanyaki and Chop Suey.
The food here is actually very good and I wouldn’t mind recommending it. Did I feel like it was authentic in any way? Not really, but I loved the idea behind the food.
Went Night Swimming and Met Some People
After dinner, our group dispersed and those of us who still wanted to go swimming went to the swimming pool (after it was closed, shh!). We swam around in the hot tubs located on the right-hand side of the large pool area.
We met an interesting group of friends from Colorado. One was incredibly drunk but incredibly funny, and we found out that he had gotten an ocean view room that was sub-par. His words to his friend who let us know? “Shut the f*ck up, Danny!” Yeah. I hope to one day meet those people again, haha.
If you’re one of those sticklers for the rules, don’t worry, someone from the staff shooed us back to our rooms (or wherever else was open).
Day Three
Breakfast – Room Service
After an eventful night, we got a lot of needed rest and woke up very early because we had an excursion pick at 7:15 AM that day.
We ordered room service the night before for a 6:30 AM delivery (that didn’t get to us until 6:45). Because room service was late we had to eat quickly so as not to miss our transport for our excursion.
So, advice? Get room service to deliver a lot earlier than you think it should be.
The one qualm I had with room service was that no matter what we ordered through it they would leave something out that we asked for. So, when I had ordered pancakes they forgot to add the extra syrup I had asked for the night before.
Little things like that didn’t deter me from ordering from them over and over again though and it shouldn’t for you either!
ATVs + Zip Line
Our transportation picked us up a little later than 7:15 AM, which was fine with us, and we were joined by another couple on their 10th Wedding Anniversary. Super cute. :3
We arrived at AllTourNative, an outdoor adventure park in Playa del Carmen. We went Zip Lining, spent time in a cenote with crystal clear waters, and drove around in our own ATVs with our guide, Juan Carlos (hi, JC!).
It was a memorable experience and he, and the rest of the staff, were very friendly.
The one thing I do have to say? They will tell you to leave your phone.
They will warn you that if you were to drop your watch (or phone) into the cenote they won’t be able to retrieve it, but they will let you bring a GoPro that can be attached to the helmet they provide to you.
Do what works for you and understand the risks associated with it.
The entire point is to make you pay for a picture package at the end of the trip. Pictures will be taken, but they are not free nor part of your package.
AllTourNative – Emotions in Playa del Carmen
Lunch at ATV location – AllTourNative
For lunch, we didn’t have to go anywhere after our adventures zip-lining through the jungle. There was a chef on property that made everyone in our party food with amazing sauces to dip our food in.
They also had a hibiscus drink that Jamaicans drink during the holidays (called sorrel except they omitted the ginger). It was good, but it wasn’t sorrel. 😉
Dinner at Maria Marie
After we were dropped back at our hotel, we all retired to our rooms to rest before our dinner reservation at Maria Marie.
My boyfriend and I were greeted at our door with a ‘Happy Birthday’ banner, a small piece of mousse cake, and a bottle of white wine with two champagne flutes. It was very lovely of them to have done it and for the entirety of our stay, the banner remained on the door.
Our reservation for Maria Marie wasn’t without its faults. This was probably the worst service we received at The Hilton and that’s really saying something when we’d have such great service at other restaurants throughout our stay.
This was my friend and I’s birthday dinner (really hers since it was her trip and her friends but we’re two days apart so I claim it, haha).
Off the bat, it seemed like the waiters didn’t know what was going and they made things confusing that ought not to have been confusing. Frankly, we didn’t need three waiters assigned to a group of nine people, and I’m unsure why they felt the need to assign three to our table in the first place.
Several members of our group had dirty utensils, orders came out wrong, and service was overall sub-par here. Would I recommend it?
No. Could it have been a fluke that night? Absolutely. Would I try it again in the future? Maybe at a different feeding hour.
Late Night Snacking #2 at 24 Hour VIP Lounge
Another night, another opportunity for late-night snacking at the lounge. Since there are no other options, aside from Room Service, we figured hanging out in the lounge would be worth our time. Turns out it was.
My boyfriend got to play Pool with a stranger while we waited on our food and I got to watch some news. Nothing too drastic had happened while we were away. Thankfully.
I want to mention that the lounge does not have a large selection (an honest shame really) from the 3:00 PM-11:00 PM time slot, but that could potentially be due to COVID.
If the menu changes you can definitely find it here: 24 Hour VIP Lounge Menu.
Day Four
Breakfast at Kalamata
Waking up bright and early, we headed down to Kalamata for breakfast. This particular restaurant can be a little tricky to find if you’re unsure that there’s another wing to the hotel.
Over in this particular part of the hotel, there’s a smaller, more intimate, pool situated in between another coffee shop (that seemed to never open), Kalamata, and a spot that has morning Yoga.
Breakfast was buffet-style with staff serving you. The food selection was vast from fruit (a lot less tropical than I would have imagined) to yogurts to an omelet station and pancakes, too.
They of course have Mexican-inspired foods so if you’re into trying something that you usually don’t eat, please try!
I personally thought the service at Kalamata was worth the time. The staff around the floor are attentive and deliver top-notch juices in less than two minutes.
Day in Tulum
After our breakfast, we lounged around and waited for our transportation to take us into Tulum for the day. We picked up another couple from another hotel right before arrival.
This excursion was by far the best that we had. I would absolutely do this again with a new crew just to hear the history of Tulum again. Our guide was informative, funny, and clearly enjoyed his job (same for JC of AllTourNative).
This particular day was interrupted by a cooling rainstorm during a heatwave. It’s a shame visitors are no longer allowed inside of the ruins because of past visitors not being able to control themselves.
That would have been a wonderful cooling respite alone.
The guide let us loose for roughly 90 minutes, so we went to the cliffs overlooking the beach and checked out the beauty that was afforded to us by the Gulf of Mexico.
Visitors weren’t allowed on the beach because of nesting turtles nearby, but also because it was seaweed season the beaches weren’t particularly inviting.
The walk into and out of the ruins is roughly ¼ mile. So be prepared to wear comfortable shoes and have water on hand. You’ll have options to buy water from locals along the strip going back toward the main square.
Lunch beside Tulum Ruins
For the last 45 minutes, we went back into the main square and beelined towards a food spot for lunch. We ate this delicious arrechera (skirt steak) tacos that had guacamole, fresh vegetables, and various dipping sauces.
It was pretty difficult for one member of our group to get food at most places as he is vegan. So even when we explained that he couldn’t have any animal by-product they would still put cheese on his food. He ate it anyway. 😂
Our only issue came in the form of our waiter completely disregarding us when we needed to meet up with our group. We’d sat around for over 20 minutes trying to get his attention before the New Yorker in me had to drag him over to get us our check.
I promise I was kind, but he did almost catch these hands.
Swim Time
Upon returning to the hotel, I took a nap. I was exhausted from the sun and needed time to cool down.
Then we went back out into the sun. (◡‿◡✿)
We lounged at an empty cabana (that had been abandoned because you have to pay for them and there was no way we were doing that) and swam around for a while. I’d say it was around 3:30-4:00 PM when this happened, so the pool was pretty busy.
They were running a movie song trivia game which got people laughing.
A lot of people were drunk in the pool, so just be aware that you may hear a lot of yelling since people’s voices tend to raise when they’re excited.
Before dinner, we took a trip to grab a snack at the nearby outdoor snack bar, Barefoot, for some pizza and then over to Tequileria for a drink. The pizza is definitely nothing to write home about (I’m from New York, we have the best pizza, period, don’t @ me), but it hit the spot.
I wish I had gotten a smoothie here, but I always seemed to forget until after it was closed for the day.
Dinner: Room Service
Once we were done with the pool, we all ordered from our respective rooms but had them deliver all of the food to one room. 1115 was the room to be in.
Pretty sure the kitchen thought we were out of our minds until they rolled in the orders and realized it was a group of us. Can’t imagine the stories they concocted before and after! 🥲
We spent some time hanging out with each other and laughing and enjoying each other’s company. If you’re with a group this is a great way to get to know people better and it doesn’t take too much.
Day Five
Breakfast at Spice
This was our last full day. Gotta say it was a real bittersweet day.
We had breakfast at Spice, also a buffet-style restaurant like Kalamata, however, this is on the ground level with the pool instead of in some far-off corner of the hotel. It actually didn’t open until this day as it was undergoing renovation so we got really lucky!
The food here was delicious and I loved their eggs. This is one of those locations that I wish I could have eaten dinner at while we were here, but alas.
Lunch at Yo Amos Tacos Bar ‘n Grill
After breakfast, we went back out into the area around the hotel and took our time to do some last-minute shopping. Then, we took a much-needed pause to grab some lunch.
We chose a spot about two blocks away.
Just like Rockas the first night, this is an indoor-outdoor vibe. We were situated in a cooler section of the establishment and had our order taken quickly. The orders came out a little mixed up (or messed up), but because our group was particularly large we didn’t think anything of it.
It was easier to get a vegan option here though I will say.
In terms of the food, it’s one of the better meals that I had and I would recommend them if you’re OK with being hot since there is no air conditioning at this location.
Oh and also to be charged way over what you should be paid. They were overpriced and probably charged us more because we were tourists.
Dinner at Moshe Cube
Since we all knew that we were leaving in the morning, after lunch, all of us went back to the hotel to pack up and get ready for dinner.
This night we decided to eat off the property and made our way to Moshe Cube, a Jewish restaurant about ¼ mile from the hotel. It was very easy to find and took us very little effort in getting seating in the restaurant.
I will say that if you’re trying to go to Moshe Cube though as a Kosher food eater you have to arrive early. It’s an incredibly small eatery with roughly three small tables inside and maybeeee six tables outside that hold at most four people at a time.
However, that does not detract from the fact that the food was phenomenal. The two chefs we were with enjoyed dinner here more than any other restaurant we had been to the entire trip.
I tried their Chicken Breast with mashed potatoes and rice. It was honestly perfect and it only had salt and pepper on it as far as I could tell. It wasn’t frilly, but it was the most delicious dish I ate that week. Easily.
Dessert at Suerte de Churro
On our way to Moshe Cube, we saw this adorable churro spot that we wanted to stop by for dessert.
Suerte de Churro did not disappoint. It absolutely delivered! The best churros I have ever eaten in my entire life.
I spoke to them in Spanish (I used a translator to make sure I knew exactly what I wanted to say before ordering) and they probably thought I was a native speaker because the owner didn’t miss a beat to reciprocating.
^^ I gave him that exact look and he repeated in English and he gave me no grief about it. He was really lovely.
Aside from that, the storefront is only meant to order, and there’s a little seating area right outside to eat your churros. They make the churros to order and they come out hot, crisp, and mouth-wateringly delicious. Ugh, the way I am daydreaming about them now.
My order consisted of churros and a decadent caramel milkshake.
Disney could never.
Day Six
Breakfast: Room Service
Our flight was early in the morning and so we had to be up pretty early.
We ordered food the night before for a 5:00 AM drop-off. It arrived on time this time, which was a relief. They delivered coffee, a plate of fruits, and a nice heavy breakfast for us which worked since we would have a long day ahead of us.
We met up with our transportation at the front of the hotel right on time, but we almost forgot to check out! Thankfully we were given a bit of extra time to do so and it literally took less than five minutes. They put our bags in for us and then we were off.
Cancun International Airport
Oh gosh, the airport was an absolute mess. If you want to be on time for your flight make sure you are there three hours before your flight! The line just to check-in (we were flying with JetBlue and because of COVID restrictions we couldn’t electronically check-in like we usually do) took us 90 minutes to get through.
What a time to be alive.
We needed to have our COVID testing done three days prior to taking off and they definitely checked that, and of course our passports.
Unlike TSA here in the United States, bags being checked in Cancun Airport was barely a check. In the States, they frisk you and touch you in places where they ought to keep their grubby paws off of. But Cancun let the bags roll through, didn’t yell at anyone, and we went through the metal detectors easily.
It was fun!
Altogether the process took roughly 2.5 hours leaving us about 20 minutes to grab food, eat, and run to our gate. That part wasn’t as fun.
But we made it.
The plane was delayed by an hour though so I don’t know why they didn’t update that in the app and give us more time to eat instead of sitting on a plane with our masks on. The only time I’d been disappointed in JetBlue.
How the 5 Days in Playa Del Carmen Trip Went
Let me just say that five days in Playa del Carmen is more than enough time to have a whole lot of fun. There’s a boatload of things to do and while things aren’t exactly cheaper (because we were in a touristy area and going to touristy things) it was an experience worth having.
My boyfriend and I have decided that we’d love to come back, just the two of us, and get a better taste of Mexico in the state of Quintana Roo (where Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Cancun are located). Of course, if you’ve ever been to The Hilton Playa del Carmen, what would you recommend to other travelers?
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