Playa del Carmen Trip Report
February 2005: Includes Hotel Search, Nightlife, and Dining Information.
PLAYA DEL CARMEN
FEBRUARY 20-FEBRUARY 28
February 21
We passed out real good and woke up real late! I got dressed quickly and ran over to Cafe Sasta to get my large Cafe Americano to go. Cafe Sasta has three sizes of coffee and the largest is bigger than the largest at Java Joe's. The large Americano is 18 pesos.We had some serious hotel shopping to do, and I remember telling Shari as we left that we had exactly 50 minutes until we had to check out of El Sol del Caribe.
The Great Walk-In Without-A-Reservation Hotel Search
Bananas Cabanas
We went back to Bananas Cabanas. They had vacancies, and told us it would be 80.00 a night for a room with TV and AC. I asked if they had the rooms with two single beds and a balcony overlooking the street like we had last year. He told me those were 59.00 a night. Last year the TV/AC rooms were 60.00 and the single bed rooms were only 45.00.
Sergios
We headed over to Sergio's, who had vacancies, but no rooms with two beds and a balcony. We did meet a couple one day who told us they were staying there and had a room with one bed and the balcony overlooking 5th Avenue for 35.00 a night.
Mayeli
We went to Hotel Mayeli, but they were full.
El Elefante
Next we stopped by El Elefante. A couple of guys we met on my first trip had stayed there and said it was OK, but I had never looked at the rooms before. It doesn't look too great from the outside. We were surprised. A bright and airy double room was 40.00 a night and had a balcony overlooking the street. It would be a good choice for those seeking a respite from the hustle and bustle of 5th Avenue. We like the action on 5th, so we thought we'd look around a little more.
Da Gabi
Next stop: Hotel Da Gabi. I don't even know if they have rooms with two beds, because they don't say on their website, but they were full anyway.
Eclipse
We went to Hotel Eclipse which had vacancies, but were charging more than we wanted to pay according the the sign posted by the check-in. I think it was around 70.00 a night.
Colibri
We went to Hotel Colibri, which is a decent place that is on the beach for 65-75.00 a night, but they were full. We checked the hotels across the street from Colibri and they were full.
Posada D'Margo
We stopped by a little place called Posada D'Margo-which looked a little weathered from the outside. The lady told us rooms were 35.00, but she only had rooms on the first floor vacating later and the balcony rooms were full. We later met a gentleman from the UK who said he owns a hotel in England and always stays at D'Margo and it is very clean.
Siesta Fiesta
We were getting really close to our check-out time at El Sol del Caribe, so we were going to go see if they had any balcony rooms with two beds opening up. We stopped by Siesta Fiesta on the way and they had a couple of rooms that would be available after noon. One room was on the main floor, which had a patio with a hammock and chairs, but it was towards the back.
They also had a room with three beds (two singles and a king) and a balcony facing Posada Freud with a hammock and table/chairs. It also had a mini-fridge. After lengthy consideration, we took the third floor with three beds. We had to run and check out of El Sol del Caribe, since check-out time was in about ten minutes.
Siesta Fiesta Hotel on 5th Avenue
We checked out of El Sol del Caribe and hauled our bags down to Siesta Fiesta and then went to the bank on 5th and Juarez to exchange some money to pay for the room.
We ended up dealing the price of that room down a little bit, and it cost us about 42.00 a night with the exchange rate. It was 3,000 pesos for seven nights. It is a very rustic hotel, though. I can't say I wouldn't stay there again, but I can't say I would outright recommend it to anybody, either. It did have some charm to it, and a hippy vibe with the way they decorate. It could really use some work, though. We did like our balcony, even though it didn't overlook 5th Avenue. Down below you can see Posada Freud's pretty courtyard, and tall tropical trees loom above and provide a nice shade cover.
Playa must have slacked off on the noise-ordinance thing with the bands, because Siesta Fiesta has live music every night, now. If you like to retire before midnight, it would be noisy for you. We enjoyed having the live music start at 7 PM and relaxing on our balcony before going out.
Playa del Carmen was very lively and festive. The streets of Playa were packed. It was the busiest and most crowded I've seen it.
We stopped at a mini-Super and picked up some Bacardi Breezers and Montejo Beers for our mini-fridge. The Bacardi Breezers were about 14 pesos and the beers there were 12 pesos each. We liked the Piña Colada, lime and orange-colored Breezers.
Sidestreet to El Faro Hotel and Beach
We put on our swimsuits and finally, finally hit the beach. We were close to Alhambra Hotel so we just sat on my Sarong that day instead of trying to find a chair to rent since it was already about 1 PM.
The beach between Alhambra and El Faro was a nice, wide stretch of powdery white sand and the water was as beautiful and blue as ever. We kicked off our shoes and drank a few of our own Bacardi Breezers and finally felt free to relax and enjoy ourselves.
I always use a 45 sunblock down there now. I've learned my lesson from getting too much sun too soon down there over the years. I still get plenty of color with the 45, but not burnt like a lobster.
Back at the room, after we showered we had Montejos on the balcony. Afterwards we walked around the corner for our first real meal in Playa at Babe's Noodles. There was a line and all the tables were full. We started chatting with a nice couple in front of us, Carrie and Randy. They had been waiting a little while already and told us they weren't opposed to sharing a table if we wanted to sit with them. A street-side table opened up just a few minutes later, and we took them up on their offer to share it.
Shari and I split and order of crab rolls and an order of cream cheese rolls. I think one had a mango/mint sauce and the other had a spicier peach sauce. I might be wrong about the sauces. I do know we had Mojitos, which Shari hadn't tried before. She loved them, of course. Babes makes a good Mojito. Try 'em!
For dinner I had the Pesto with Chicken Noodles and Shari had Pad Thai, and both were delicious. The half order is quite large, so we each went with those. Our bill for two appetizers, two dinners and two Mojitos was about 34.00.
Shari, Jen, Carrie and Randy at Babes
We had a fun time chatting with Carrie and Randy. We had been discussing our hotel rooms, so they walked back over to Siesta Fiesta with us to see ours. Randy said it was beautiful, but we think he was being either kind or pulling our legs.
We all walked over to Los Itzaes to see their room. Los Itzaes is very, very nice. Their room was around 110.00 a night. Carrie and Randy had some beer in their fridge and were cool enough to offer us one and we all drank them outside by their roof-top pool while checking out the scene on 10th Avenue below.
Next we all ventured over by Captain Daves where Grady sings and plays guitar. Captain Daves is tiny, with only about four tables and the people were spilling out onto the street. It was shortly before 11 PM, so I suggested we all walk over to the Blue Parrot to catch the Fire Dancing Show since nobody in the group except me had seen it.
We got a table right in front of the stage and the dancers came on right at 11 PM. They did not have the percussionists this year, and I did like that better. They had taped music, but it is still a good show. It is very exciting with everybody smoking cigs and kerosene flying around and hitting you in the face...but that is Mexico!
Carrie and Randy headed out after the show and Shari and I walked down the beach over to Captain Tutix which is very popular, but just not a place I've ever gotten into, much.
The live music ends between 11 and 12 PM, and 5th Avenue becomes very quiet shortly after this time. Even the bars that don't have bands get deserted, for the most part, along 5th Avenue. If you like to party a little later-Blue Parrot, Captain Tutix and the Mambo Cafe stay open until 4 or 5 AM.
We stopped at the pizza stand nearby and got slices of bleu cheese pizza which was pretty good for a late-night snack. We got back to our room about 2 AM and I think I was sleeping by 2:15.
