ritacco

My husband and I are traveling with our two boys (ages 8 and 13) over the holidays to Playa del Carmen.

A friend recommended the Viva Wyndham Azteca or Viva Wyndham Maya.

Does anyone have any feedback on these properties. We are looking for a property with a nice stretch of beach.

thanks.

ONZGO

We have travelled a fair amount in the Caribbean and Mexico and I can personally recommend the Barcelo Maya resort. It is the first resort where we have been repeat visitors. It is on one of the best beaches in the area that is almost 2 miles long on a private cove with on site snorkeling. We have had 3 family reunions there and all ages love it. Good information and pictures of the resort can be found at the Unofficial Barcelo Maya website.

http://www.unofficial-barcelo-maya.com/

Good luck with your decision and have a great family vacation. 8-)

tilly2354

You might check to see if everything is up and running since the hurricane 3 weeks ago.

blondyinnh

The Wyndham is close to the Iberostar Tucan where we stay. It is located in playacar a part of playa del carmen with upcale homes, nice AI's and a gorgeous beach. I like where we stay cause its at the end of the strip then you can walk for a while with no one. The Tucan is awesome with it's jungle with monkeys all sorts of wildlife!
Maryann

ONZGO

Resorts south of Playa del Carmen were affected less by hurricane Wilma. Most of the damage was from Play del Carmen north to Cancun. Most of resorts such as the Barcelo Maya which are south of Playa del Carmen are up and running. 8-)

Ryberg

Well actually most of the damage was from north of Playa del Carmen, say about Puerto Morelos, to the north of there. THere was little damage to properties in central Playa del Carmen where we are located, for example. It is an ongoing battle to get people to distinguish PDC as not having been damaged much by Wilma, in contrast with Cancun, Cozumel and Isla Mujeres.

Steve

ZSCHULZ

My wife, daughter (12 years old at the time), and myself vacationed at the Azteca four years ago. Both of these Resorts are in the Playacar developement, a private gated area just outside of Playa Del Carmen. Either of these resorts would be a very good choice for your family. They are both smaller properties, and keeping track of your sons would be much easier than a 500-1000 room resort. The Azteca is a bit smaller than the Maya, and a bit more low key and relaxed. I would say the Maya was louder, with fewer places to find a quiet spot if you just want to relax. My daughter found plenty do at the resort, though. We did walk the beach to the Maya, enjoyed the resort for awhile, and ate lunch, but liked the Azteca better. You will have exchange privilages to go to either resort no matter where you decide. They are a very easy walk down the beach from each other. Bicycles were provided at no charge at the Azteca, and we biked as a family to the Playacar shopping area, Playacar Aviary, (highly advise doing), and twice into Playa Del Carmen. The beach is very good at either resort, but we found the ocean better at the Azteca. We traveled during spring break, and the specialty restaurants were very hard to book. I have no idea how these resorts fared this hurricane season, but Trip Advisor reports could help you get a better idea. Another very good website with pictures and a wealth of information is http://www.locogringo.com/index.cfm

tomschick47

we went to the playacar area last april,,booked late so went to sunscape in riveria maya, actually in Puerto Aventuras cute little village..it was good over all, it said it was 5 star buy not sure about that. Butlots of kids there all ages and mine had a blast.The food was really good, and good service for Mexico. Weather was great..it was great trip overall. My sister in law went to Barcelo Maya with her son and 20 friends and other parents for their senior trip. I guess they all had fun, partied at the disco. Downtown Playa is so cool and only 10-15 min away. Great shopping and restaurants. Actually we might go back to playa or try Cabo..ok good luck!!