lammom

Medium priced. Like comforts of nice beds, large kid-friendly pool if possible.

MFNYC

We rented a Xaman-Ha condo. It's a complex on the beach with a nice pool. When we were there, there were lots of families. The locatin is ideal. It's minutes from Playa Del Carmens stores and restaurants.

We enjoyed the extra space, we kept snacks and drinks in the kitchen, and even used the washing machine & dryer. It came equiped with basic kitchen supplies, detergents, linens and lots of beach towels. It's was cleaned every other day.

KAH19

Hi MFNYC,

You seem to be very knowledable about the Mexican Mayan Riviera area,specifically PDC. You did reply to one of my questions and now I need more help. I would prefer a condo type place where there are other people(families) and a large pool for the kids when they tire of of the Ocean. Not sure about renting a car? What are other choices of transportation. Any top places for us to tour with the kids. THANKS!!

MFNYC

KAH19,

We rented a car for 1 day to do a side trip (we went to Coba) during our last stay. There are always tours, and believe me, as you walk down 5th Avenue you will be approached by dozens selling tours, car rentals, etc. On a previous trip we rented a car and went to Xel Ha. Before that we had toured Tulum (through a tour included in out AI way back when)

You can take the public buses or taxis to any of these tourist sites as well, but I like the convenience of having my own car. Most of the tourist sites get very crowded in the afternoon when the tour buses arrive. If you go early, on your own, you will beat the crowds (and the heat).

I also saw your other post asking about food/water. We ate all over PDC without any problems at all. We started cautious (avoided salads, etc), but after a few days we were eating eveything from frozen drinks to salads to homemade popsicles to churros from the street vendors and had no problem at all.

Years ago we stayed at Barcelo Maya which has purified water. Both my husband and I had a slightly upset stomachs (tolerable, but certainly a bit uncomfortable) that lasted for weeks after staying there. Sometimes there could be more bacteria in a big buffets regardless of the water situation, and we even avoided most of the 'steam-table' options and salad bars (stuck with more food cooked on the spot whenever possible).

PDC has a wealth of restaurants, and a huge variety besides Meixcan(Italian, Argentine, Morrocan, etc).

Also, Xaman Ha has bottled water included, can arrange for a private cook (at a price, but I hear well worth it), and tours. You do this through the managing agent of the unit (I think 3 different agencies manage units there).

jette

Most of the smaller nonAI hotels are fairly small and the pools are correspondingly small. The one exception is Tortuga. I highly recommend this place. Beautiful grounds, great location and staff and everyone who stays there raves about it.