Platinum Yucatun Princess Hotel Playa Del Carmen

Hotel in Playa Del Carmen

The Platinum Yucatan Princess is a 5 star all-inclusive hotel in Playa del Carmen and it is really rather impressive. On arrival you are greeted at reception by some lovely bell-boys overlooking a long stretch of pools and gardens. The hotel was only built 5 years ago so it is modern, clean and inviting.

The Pools / Private Beach

There are around 11 different pools, including a “main pool” (see more below!). Many of the pools have swim out rooms (literally outside your balcony) which are quieter.

The main pool has fantastic entertainment when you are in the mood. It has great music, a swim up bar (or waiter service at your sen bed for the lazy days) and games throughout the day.

There is also a private beach (white sand and palm tree delight) with a bar and snack bar if you fancy a change of scenery. Make sure you keep an eye out for the local animals – Coati and Raccoon like creatures that wander around!

The Swim Up Room

Given all of the positive reviews, we opted for a swim out room which was fantastic for an early morning or evening swim or to escape the party at the main pool.

The room was large with a king sized bed, sofa, private balcony with sun-loungers and direct pool access. The bathroom had a bath, twin head shower and double sinks! The mini bar is included in the all inclusive so you can continue drinking (or hydrating) when back in your room. You can also order room service as part of the all-inclusive package, which we did once when we were in a rush.

The Bars

There are A LOT of bars – one at each of the main pools and the beach, as well as one in the lobby, the theatre, the nightclub and the 24 hour bar in the main plaza next to the restaurants. They can make pretty much any drink you want – there is no list so just ask! They have a lot of internationally branded sprints which is great for an all inclusive. The staff were all very friendly and we tended to give a small tip every now and again to those we saw frequently.

The Restaurants

In terms of restaurants there is a buffet which operates almost 24 hours (we had a snack post nightclub at 4am!) with a fantastic selection of food. They offer all sorts of cuisines – Oriental, American, Italian, Mexican to name a few. They also have a grill cooking fresh meat and fish and a salad bar.

There are also 4 free a la carte restaurants (Grill, Italian, Japanese and International) and one a la carte restaurant that you have to pay an additional charge for. We visited the three of the al carte restaurants included in the package.

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is the Italian a la carte restaurant offering a 3 course meal with house wine. You can buy different wine if you would like but this is an additional cost.

We had bread with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and parmesan cheese as an appetizer which was AMAZING. Then on to the Bruschetta and Parma Ham Asparagus (to start and the Chicken Parmigiana and Penne Arrabbiata for mains with a Cannoli to finish.

The meal was very tasty with great portion sizes and it made a great change from the Mexican food we had enjoyed for the previous 5 days in Tulum.

Tao

Tao is a Japanese style tepinaaki restaurant and one of the most popular in the resort. There are show tables where the chef cooks the food in front of you which is really cool!

Unfortunately we had not booked in time for one of these tables but we sat at the sushi bar instead. There was a little bit of miscommunication as we were under the impression that we could still order from the main menu (the couple next to us had) but sadly it was just the sushi and sashimi that you could have.

It was great watching the chefs prepare the fresh sushi and there was a huge variety, including fried sushi with flank steak which was delicious. Definitely worth going to but make sure you book in advance.

Rodeo Grill

Situated by the main pool is the Rodeo Grill, which in high season also opens for lunch. As the name sounds, it was more about the grilled meat.

To get started we had:

• Tortilla chips, Mexican sauce and guacamole
• crackling pork rind tomato and onion tostadas
• veal in alioli sauce of chipotle.

For the mains we picked “from the grill” and ordered a rib eye steak (don’t expect it to come out rare even if you ask for it!) and the BBQ pork ribs.

The food was nice enough but we would recommend the other a la carte restaurants over this one.

The Entertainment

Imagine a posher version of 18-30s for the mid 20’s – 50s and you have the entertainment at the Princess Yucatan!

There are activities around the main pool area ranging from water aerobics and pool volleyball (so much fun!) to an international beer drinking contest, a twerking competition and throw the ball through the hole! Get involved if you want or just sit back and watch. The “Mexican water” aka tequila always livens things up!

The best day for me was the Saturday afternoon foam party. It was super fun and everyone got into the spirit with the music and throwing foam around! We were all very excited about a shot called “Shit on the Grass”. Yes I wrote that down correctly…

In the evenings, there was entertainment from 8 to 11 with games and theatre shows. We particularly enjoyed the casino night where they set up roulette tables, black jack and poker. I managed to win the last game of poker when we went all in! They also had dancers, a Mariachi band, bingo, local traders at a Mexican market and cocktail making performers!

The entertainment trio of Eder, Marco and Mario made our stay even more enjoyable!

Overall

What an amazing hotel in Playa Del Carmen! We cannot fault the Princess Yucatan – the facilities, food and service were just incredible. Make sure you get a swim up room – it is worth it!