Platinum Yucatan Princess Hotel

Katie DeLuna

We recently stayed at the Princess Yucatán resort in Playa del Carmen, and unfortunately the experience was very disappointing overall. The biggest issue was the beach and seaweed situation. I completely understand that sargassum is a natural occurrence and not something the resort can fully control, and I do appreciate that workers were out there tirelessly shoveling and trying to clear it throughout the day. However, the amount of seaweed was overwhelming. There were literal mounds of it lining the shore to the point where getting into the ocean was nearly impossible. The smell was also extremely strong, like rotten eggs, and it extended far beyond the beach itself. We could even smell it outside our hotel room, which made it difficult to enjoy relaxing outside in the mornings or evenings. The customer service from several concierge staff members also left A LOT to be desired. One employee questioned me in a rude tone when I asked for extra towels, even though towels were visibly available behind the desk. Another concierge rolled her eyes when I asked about possible room upgrades. Small interactions like these really affect the overall atmosphere of a stay, especially at an all-inclusive resort where guests are simply asking for basic assistance. While some staff members worked very hard and were friendly, the resort overall did not meet the expectations we had based on the price and reviews. The grounds themselves average (in need of upgrades), but the beach conditions and lack of welcoming customer service made it difficult to fully enjoy our vacation. I truly wanted to love this trip, but I don’t think I would return or recommend it unless major improvements are made in guest service and travelers are made more aware of the beach conditions during heavy seaweed season.

Tanya Rodrigues

We had a lovely vacation here. Food was wonderful, the atmosphere was great, and we found that even though the resort was lively between 12 pm and 5 pm, at night time when we wanted to sleep we couldn't hear any noise at all. It was peaceful and serene. The bed was super comfortable as was the pillows. We loved staying here and would love to return one day again in the future The beach out back of the resort had some seaweed but they were working to resolve it and there was some rocks but 5 mins in either direction it was perfectly clear !

Kristin Scheurer

So let me start by saying I am actually still at this resort with my best friend of 26 years. We booked this trip together because her mother recently passed (last month). My best friend was raised in the caribbean and the ocean is her calm space. We wanted to do something that allowed her to feel a connection with her mother, that was always the ocean. First and foremost - the spa was amazing. We got the 80 minute ‘Yucatan’ massage and it was phenomenal. I would 100% recommend this and the massage therapist “Esmeralda”! The spa was incredible. She was amazing! Unfortunately - the beachfront is completely unusable. There are mounds of seagrass at minimum 5 feet high. Which is accompanied by a VERY overpowering smell of decaying shellfish. We did bring our frustration and disappointment to the concierge and assured them we understood it was a natural phenomenon and that it was clearly not her fault personally but that no where on their website or the sunwing website does it make mention that the beach during certain periods of time will be unusable. So no water sports as advertised, making you pool bound only. We have a pool at home. The frustration is that other locations seem to be more proactive in clearing the beach, or at least a section to be able to access and use it as intended. We asked if our room could be upgraded to a swim out or something, that was not an option. We asked if it could be updated at a reduced rate and we would pay the difference - the reduced rate was still an additional $900 USD. (We are Canadian so this was in fact around $1200 more). So that was clearly not an option For us/ they did offer use of the spa pool or a cabana at the Rodeo restaurant. However, we already HAVE use of the spa pool. The entire point of this trip was to lay on the beach and allow her time to heal. I literally have a pool In my backyard at home, if we wanted to swim in a pool we wouldn’t have left Canada during the warm season to fly down here to sit at a pool that we share with several other people. The point was the ocean. That being said this is not a five star hotel. The room shows obvious signs of wear, there are notches in the door frame from improper installation of the bathroom door. I have knee surgery in two weeks and the elevators don’t work regularly. When they work sometimes; it in general makes us nervous of being stuck in them so we now avoid them. But we are on the third floor so that is not awesome for my knee. The restaurants aren’t all open and the AC in our room can’t be turned down. Leading to an excess amount of humidity and a feeling of dampness. The staff is lovely. I will say the food is good and there is a wide variety at the Buffett. The staff is very friendly. Beach - 0 Pools - 4 Food - 3.5 (mainly because of the closure of the restaurants we want to eat at - the food itself tastes good) Staff - 4 Room - 3 Smell - 0 Spa - 5 Honestly we likely wouldn’t have been so upset had the hotel handled our dissatisfaction with the beach in a more accommodating way, we would have just dealt with the rest of the disappointment. I don’t know how you can claim to be five star when you don’t have a usable beach, the rooms are clearly falling apart, the elevators don’t work, the AC rattles all night and doesn’t go lower than 22 and the fixtures are rusted around the resort. That is NOT five star quality. Additionally; be aware that the “free” wifi is terrible, and drops constantly- they offer upgraded PAID wifi; which is shocking for a 5 star, as we’ve been to other 4 & 4.5 star resorts that have perfect free wifi through the entire resort. So be prepared to get your own plan in advance for your devices. Would we return? Maybe- but honestly most likely next door that was renovated last year and has the same great food- but still no usable beach at the moment. So the current outlook is bleak

Cayla Snow

This may just be the worst resort I’ve ever been. Firstly, the food situation is insane. There are 4 a la cartes advertised, but they close down 2 a night, so you really only have 2 to pick from. Aroma and rodeo are horrible. The silver lining I thought was that as platinum guests, we can access the resort next door and reserve through the concierge a reso at one of their 5+ a la cartes. HOWEVER, the past 5 nights, they are saying every morning the same rehearsed script “our reservation system is down”. So we literally get no benefits of eating at the other resort and stuck to 2 places. It truly feels like a rip off. On the 3rd night I got severe food poisoning at aroma and was bed ridden the next day, my partner tried to take me back some food from the buffet and got stopped and the staff wouldn’t allow him to bring anything and made a scene. The room service wasn’t edible, so I was left crippled and starving. We met another couple who was food poisoned as well. Besides the food, everything feels like an “up charge” or “extra” here which was nowhere advertised before, and I’m surprised nobody else is talking about this? The beach is horrible, out of there control but nobody talks about how bad the smell is from the sargassum. It’s actually disgusting. I highly advise to cancel and consider any world of Hyatt resorts if you’re willing to pay a little more money, or even any RIU is worlds better then here. Will never be staying again or recommend the princess. Edit to hotels response: Your statement is absolutely not true. We went every single day during our stay expect the first night to the concierge desk to try and book through them for next door. Every day they told us the system was not working and there was nothing they can do for us at all without even trying. It was simply laziness with no attempt to help guests. we went to the front desk and had the guy working there ask for us since your response said the system was working again and got the same response when he asked the concierge personally. We even went to the sunset concierge who told us the system wasn’t ever down but yucatan had to make the reservation. On the final day we just walked up ourselves and they happily let us in. If they told us to begin with that we were allowed to do that or just make a quick call next door, then this wouldn’t be an issue. But next door was more than happy to accommodate us because restruants were literally empty and that would’ve been nice to know to begin with, instead guests were so quickly dismissed.

Josee Desmarais

There from Feb 17-24. Disappointed considering this is a 5-star resort and the price we paid. If you have high expectations for the beach, you may want to look elsewhere. The sister resorts are older and less modern; while the beach area might be slightly better, the seaweed and brown water make it unappealing. Other than that, it’s a nice resort — all white, beautiful rooms, and a standalone tub. However, we were not impressed with the food or service, and we’re not difficult guests. I’ve never seen a buffet so small with such low-quality options: frozen nuggets with brown meat, frozen patties, frozen French fries, and single slices of processed cheese in plastic wrappers 😳. The food choices were really lacking and the restaurants are, hit or miss. Mostly miss for us 🤷🏼‍♀️ Seven days was more than enough. We will never go back.