ChicagoDallasGirl

I've read tons of messages and viewed dozens of hotels and rather than feeling well-informed, I'm confused!LOL

Where should we go and stay for the following:

Affordable small hotel or B&B
Beachfront or close to beach
Comfortable room
Good, cheap food nearby

ChicagoDallasGirl

I failed to include our timeframe. We'll be traveling Jan 07.

JeanH

I spent a night in Playa del Carmen a few weeks ago on my way back to the US from Belize. I hadn't been there in several years. It has really grown alot in that time frame. Still a beautiful beach. Huge number of restaurants. It really has gotten pretty upscale in places.

We also spent one night in Tulum the week before. Not a fair assessment of the area, as we arrived late afternoon and stayed in town. I know from previous trips that the stretch of beach is awesome. Also some great little hotels (although I think you pay a lot for pretty rustic accomodations), and nice restaurants (but many on the beach are pricy.) I wouldn't stay there again without a car.

I also haven't been to Isla Mujeres in several years. I really like the place, in fact, I have a trip planned for January. I like the fact that you can walk virtually everywhere. We'll probably rent a golf cart for a day, other than that we'll walk, or possibly take a cab. It sounds like the food prices are still reasonable.

I guess in the end, I'm a 'town'person, I like to be in easy walking distance to lots of places to eat/drink. If you want more upscale, head to Playa. If you want more of a small town fell,head to Isla. I don't mean to put down Tulum, the beaches are stunning, I just don't want the hassle of having a car.

blondlady

PDC --fun to walk by the 5th avenue shops, can watch the ferry to Cozumel or take a day trip to Cozumel and visit the ruins on the island. Beautiful beaches, lots of restaurants on the beach and on 5th Ave. By all means look through the travel sites and pick accommodations on the beach. I liked visiting Tulum ruins, bus tour or rent a car for a day. If you don't want a big snorkeling tour, try Xcaret, look on the net for info. PDC is a good base for day trips.

zootsi

I've been to both Tulum and PDC, they are both great, but in different ways.
PDC- a small city with some beautiful, calm beaches. You can easily walk from the beach to busy, pedestrian friendly 5th avenue with it's wall to wall restaurants, bars and shops. Since no high rises are permitted, PDC still has a small beach town feel to it. Small beachfront hotels will start at about $110 a night, less for places a few blocks inlad. Check out the Playa Maya, and the Treetops.
Tulum has two parts to it - the wide, open ocean beachfront, which is lined with small hotels, cabanas and campgrounds; and the pueblo a few miles inland which is a small town with a few
fun restaurants and some small shops. Beacfront places start at about $60 for modest motel style rooms at a place like Cabanas Tulum, up to over $200 a night for the beautiful las Ranitas. There are many places in between.
Choose PDC if you want to hang out on a nice beach, then stroll over to a cafe for a beer and some tacos. PDC is very lively at night. Choose Tulum if you want to be on a nearly deserted beach with waves, then drive into town for dinner or eat at one of the small hotel restaurants on the beach. Tulum is very quiet at night. Have you checked out locogringo.com?

Diana

All three of those places you mentioned have the things you requested.

What makes them different from one another is how busy/touristy they are.

Tulum is very tranquil and quiet - boring for some people, heaven for others (like me)

PDC is very bustling, commercial and exciting (but you can find quiet spots)

Isla Mujeres has a nice mix of both tranquility and bustle with a cute downtown with shopping, partying and dining

IM and Tulum are the most affordable, but PDC has the most shopping, dining and accommodations choices.

If you have a lot of time - i.e. 10 days or more - split the trip among two of them. We do that a lot. Last time we went, we stayed for 2.5 weeks and did IM, PDC and Tulum.

ChicagoDallasGirl

Thanks so much everyone!

JeanH - I love your pictures. Thanks for e-mailing them. Very nice! And, I appreciate your plentiful response. After reading it I thought, ok IM sounds like the direction to go.

Blondlady - PDC was actually my first choice when I began researching a few weeks ago. I love that you can have the beach, but then the hustle bustle of 5th Ave.

Zootsi - Thanks so much for the scenarios of each. They both sound so inviting! Yes. I have checked out locogringo. I've found some great lodging in Tulum, but the more I think about it, I don't want us to have to rent a car. So it's probably better to focus on IM and PDC.

Diana - I wish we had more time. This will be a four day get-away to celebrate our third anniversary so I'd like to squat somewhere and just be, but also have access to good food and a little shopping if/when we get the urge to pick up a few things.

All in all, considering we only have four nights, I think I'll focus on PDC and IM and save Tulum for another visit.

The hotels I'm considering are:

IM - Casa Ixchel, Playa Medialuna

PDC - Playa Maya, La Tortuga, Aqualuna, Quinto Sol(?)

Any thoughts or these, or others?

Diana

Hi again. For a short trip, I agree with your rationale. Getting to PDC might be a hair easier - between getting a cab or collectivo or bus to the ferry dock and then a ferry over, I think it might be a bit quicker to PDC. )Especially if you have arranged for your transport ahead of time.)

I like to pick someplace where I can make it in time for lunch on the beach!

I have stayed at Media Luna on IM and Playa Maya in PDC. Both are friendly, clean and reasonable - although I like Media Luna better. (I'm a VERY light sleeper and found PM to be a bit on the noisy side, but this can also depend a lot on your room.)

I'd also recommend Secreto (gorgeous) and Cabanas Maria del Mar (VERY reasonable but surly staff) on IM.

ChicagoDallasGirl

Diana - Getting there by lunch time would be oh so nice Secreto would put us over my desired budget. I did get a response from CMdM, but still don't have a good feel for which area of the hotel would be best, cabanas, castle, or tower. Have read TripAdvisor reviews about the noise so wondering which area would be most quiet, but close enough to hear waves;-)

Saugatucker

We stayed at Maria del Mar 2 years ago. What bummed us out was the tall chain link fence separating the hotel from the beach (although the grounds at MdM are sandy...and very nicely landscaped). The "tower" rooms are closest to the beach, cabanas rooms looked nicer (roomier) and are around the pool...set back just a bit farther from the beach...and castle rooms I probably wouldn't recommend (they're over the street and the hotel restaurant...maybe noisier?)

We just ran our window a/c to block any noise out (we did have noise from some kind of alley behind the tower rooms...we were on the first floor).

Saugatucker

Forgot to mention: we loved not needing a car in Isla. About the only downside of the island was lots of 'peddlers' on the beaches. But gorgeous beaches, friendly people, decent food, decent snorkeling...a really good value. Tulum was much more quiet and laid back...except for having to get in a taxi every time we needed to grab some groceries or go into town, etc. That part was a drag.

Diana

On Cabanas Maria del Mar, we stayed in the Cabana rooms by the pool.
If you choose that section, try to get one of the upstairs rooms. We had a large porch/patio with a table and chairs that was perfect for coffee in the mornings.
We chose the cabana rooms because we heard the Castle rooms were dark and small and the Tower rooms were noisy.(I am a light sleeper.)
The Castle rooms are closest to the water. The Cabana rooms are furthest away. The Tower rooms are in between as far as distance goes, and the newest, but the noise issue left those out for us.
We are very fortunate to get to go to the Caribbean 2 or 3 times a year, so we pick whichever room seems to have the best combination of comfort and quiet - I guess that is us getting old!
MDM is on the best stretch of beach - Playa Norte.
Media Luna is not on the greatest part of the beach, but it's a really nice property and fills up fast.

jamie99

Agree with Diana, we have stayed at both Maria del Mar and Media Luna, I like the Media Luna but it does not have a restaurant (killer view though) and we like the ground floor cabana rooms at MdM, stayed there last two times, close to pool. Short walk to beach and the three swing bars.

colokid

In PDC Playa Maya is nice and on the beach at the south end of town. At the north end you have Riviera Del Sol which is one block from the beach and has a free breakfast, passes to Mamitas beach club, pool and street parking if you have a car. Quinta Sol is on 5th Ave. I've stayed at Playa Maya, Luna Blue and Riviera Del Sol. All are nice with Luna Blue the least expensive, then Riviera Del Sol and Playa Maya. I prefer the north end of town but that's only my personal preference.