My husband, myself, and 2 daughters (16 and 12) are planning our March 2004 Spring Break Vacation. We're looking at Mexicao, specifically the RIU Playacar or Ixtapa Club Med. After reading others reports, we are very concerned about the RIU Playacar rooms being musty and not nice for the money /and the Club Med not as appropriate for older children as younger? We want a wonderful vacation, keeping in mind we have to younger teenage daughters. Any good input on either or both of these destinations for families?

I did reply to your email, however with regards to Club Med, we went to one as a family a few years ago (it has closed down since 9-11) and we all had a great time. I was 19 my sister was 16 and we went with my parents who were in their 50s. We all had a fabulous time! There is something for everyone at Club Med!
Just a side note to my detailed email response!
Megg

I stayed at the Riu Playacar last fall, and it was quite nice. Our room was not musty at all. (We kept the ceiling fan going most of the time, so this probably helped.) The food was good and there was a large variety. We were there during the school year so there weren't many young people, but it seemed like they would have a good time there. The beach was gorgeous!

Playacar is a great area for a family vacation. Right across the street from the resort, there is a nice shopping area and an internet cafe with cheaper rates than the hotel. A cab ride to downtown PDC is only $5 and there are TONS of great shops and fun restaurants there. It's nice to stroll the streets and browse in the evenings. We also did a snorkeling trip that was a lot of fun.

Oh to add to that...you can also walk into town in about 20-30minutes. It's perfectly safe at night, expecially as a family of four. We would often walk to town after dinner and then take a taxi back!
Megg

We stayed at both the Riu Playacar and Riu Yucatan , liked them both but prefer the Yucatan , think it's a little nicer and the difference in prices is very small.