My boyfriend and I (mid 30s) would like a smallish, boutique hotel in Riviera Maya/Playa del Carman (or somewhere not in Cancun) from Dec 26-Jan1. We are using points for the Hilton in Cancun, but, what I really want is romantic, peace and quiet, doesn't have to be beachy (because we will get that in Cancun), could be an ecological resort.

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Thank you so much!

Sooo many options in that area! In Playa? Further down in Tulum? AC or not? Pool or not? Night life or not? Maybe Merida, not on the beach at all but a beautiful old colonial city.

For really romantic eco no frills (or electric)Tulum would be wonderful. If you want a mix of great restaurants and night life, Playa might suit you better.

Try and define your requirements a little more and I can be specific about hotels.

We are looking at La Tortuga. Great pool with garden and a block off 5th Avenue in Playa. A 10 minute walk to the beach. We enjoy being close to the nightlife, but the hotel seems to be secluded and quite. The best of both. It gets great reviews on TA.

This close to the holidays you might find it difficult finding anything available. Many may also require a specific number of nights to book.

We had an amazing time at Hacienda Paradise boutique hotel in Playa del Carmen. A block from Fifth Avenue (yet no noise at all), and only a couple of blocks to Mamitas Beach Club (and the wonderful beach). Very clean, nice pool, front desk manned around the clock, free internet in lobby, room fridge, room safe, wonderful breakfast included, very friendly, and really comfortable beds (which is sometimes hard to find in Mexico) - I can hardly wait to go back again next year. I'd highly recommend it.

If you want something romantic, secluded and mostly different than Cancun I would suggest Tulum. The downside of Tulum is that most of the cabins don't have online reservations, and the better ones do tend to sell out during the dates you are looking at.

Best advice I can give, is that price will determine what you get, specially during the time you are looking to book. The good thing about PDC is that even if your resort/hotel is not the best, you can use it only to sleep.

Manny

There's also Le Reve which looks nice and Ceiba Del Mar.

There are definitly a few really great boutique hotels in the Riviera Maya to choose from. Several in Playa, Maroma Resort and Spa, the Tides and a few more. You should read this page of a website to give you an idea of the different options. I think it can help ya out.
Beth
http://www.riviera-maya-hotels.com/boutique-hotels.html