Tukan Hotel Playa Del Carmen

My wife and I stayed at the Tukan hotel for a week. While waiting to check in they told us to leave our bags in the middle of a common area - there was no secure luggage storage. They then pressured us to "upgrade" to a Deluxe room for $ 85.00 each and we could have a room right away othewrwise we would have to wait several more hours. And if we wanted a second room key we would have to upgrade other wise they would ony issue one key for the room. We chose the upgrade - which included a daily buffet breakfast. Big Mistake. Their buffet restaurant is accross the street and the food is low quality. Edible - but if you have ever been in the military and eaten at a Mess you will be familiar with the quality. At least the coffee was good. They also confirmed there was a safe in the room but charged us extra for the Lock and Key to the safe. When we got to the room we found that the deadbolt on the door did not work , nor did the WIFI. We asked each day for the WIFI to be fixed in this room ( 306) but it never was. On day 2 my wife and I woke up covered in bites and found that the room was infected with ants that were crawling out form behind a wallplate. We complained again and took the front desk person to the room and showed them our bites and the ants streaming form the wall. They then moved us to another room . They tried to downgrade us from the class of room that we had paid for and they finally relented after much arguing to relocating us to another Deluxe room (206). This room had a working deadbolt, no ants but sadly the WIFI was very intermittent. Also, the pool area was nice but they have a "jacuzzi" that is never hot and is just cold water with the jets running. My wife also observed the cleaning staff scooping buckets of water form the "jacuzzi" with dirty buckets to use for cleaning . My wife and I have stayed in 2 and 3 star hotels in Cuba and Africa and are not fussy people. The remainder of our stay here was uneventful but in walking around Playa we found several hotels that are superior than the Tukan and at a lower price. We found that they wanted to "upcharge" for everything - having to pay extra to be able to lock the room safe is pure BS. Their staff was unresponsive to issues and until we actually showed them the extent of the bites on our bodies they took no action. Stay somewhere else. [Details]

Pretty good, very nice staff [Details]

Check in was the worst we have ever experienced in 35 years of visiting Mexico, the transfer bus arrived at the hotel at 11 AM and we weren't given our room until 3 PM in the afternoon. A number of other people arrived after us and were given rooms. No explanation was provided except that the hotels check in time was 3 PM. We were up at 3 AM to catch our flight and were not impressed that we had to hang around 4 hours at the start of our holiday, to get our room. It shows an inefficient system, with poor communication all around , Manuel at the front desk could not explain the delay and was not interested in being of service. That being said, the hotel grounds were jungle like and an oasis in the center of town. The maid who cleaned our room was cheery and usually finished by noon each day. And Esau, one of the porters was very helpful and advised us on popular restaurants in the area. [Details]

Right in the heart of Playa Del Carmen. Loved it! [Details]

This was our second stay at this hotel this year so we knew what to expect. Our room was pretty basic, but comfortable. This hotel opens up directly onto 5th Avenue, so it's close to restaurants, shops and bars. It's a 10 minute walk to the beach where there are lots of chairs for rent. Our package included air fare, hotel and transfers only so we are not able to comment on food and drinks at this hotel. There are so many great restaurants and variety of food, that we chose to eat off the resort.
The pool is small and not too many chairs, but we managed to get a swim in most days.
The employees are very friendly and helpful.
We'll definitely return again!! [Details]

We chose the European plan because there is such a great variety of bars and restaurants on and near 5th avenue. Our check in went smoothly and pleasantly surprised that our room was ready at 1 pm. We had a deluxe room overlooking the pool which was clean and well maintained. Will definitely book this hotel again!! [Details]

1.Most of the employess at the front desk are rude, they will do their will anyways and if you try to speak with management they will tell you they are at lunch or give you any other excuse to don't let you do it. So be aware, Management it's a joke in this place, almost non-existent.

2.I got to the hotel and showed my voucher, they said they didn't have the reservation and asked me to deposit about 70 Dllrs cash. I contacted the agency representative over there (expensive calls) and she said they only needed a credit card to gaurantee the resrvation because it was Sunday. So what I wondered?????!!!!! They didn't take a card, they asked for cash or go somewehere else. Nice people.

3.When I tried to get the deposit back they asked me for a receipt I couldn't find, I offered to sign for the deposit or else but they didn't care. It took three days to get the money back and just signing on a bokk.Nice people again.

4.Walls and floors are paper thin, you can hear everything from other rooms above or next to. The maids will take particular care in to make noise after 8:30 am so you leave the room quickly. The longer you stay, the longer they will be slamming things against the floor. One day they even entered the room while we were inside, That is invasion!!!! Management didn't care about it again. What a pain on the neck.

5.Maids will also miss towels, toillet paper, soap, etc. even if you tip them. Un-be-lie-va-ble! Management won't care as usual.

6. Food repetitive and low quality. Breakfast leftovers used for lunch (pork and chicken cooked).

7.If any employee was knocking at your door they will be loud and give you about 5 seconds to open the door before they go louder: rude and crude people.

Overall, a trashy place with trashy people. That's the sad true.

Do a favor to yourselve to enjoy your vacations and go to a decent place, it will wort the extra money. Don go to this tukan place. [Details]

Check in was no problem, staff friendly (hard to understand at times, some did not speak english at all). Thank god for airconditioning, it can get really hot! Drinks at La Ceiba across street were amazing, food decent with good variety..however...we had a major issue with ants in our room. we informed front desk and they sent someone to come spray room, but it didn't solve anything. we would wake up with ants crawling on bed, they also got underneath the keyboard in my boyfriends lap top (must have killed a good 50 just from computer)..it took 4 days to change room. Our new room was great, no complaints ther. walls in rooms are paper thin, there was one night that we didn't get any sleep (had to be up at 6 in morning to go on tour) because an alarm at the bank across the street went off for literally the WhOLE day and no one did anything about it. Also, bathrooms had no hair dryer (I neglected to bring mine assuming that like every other hotel I've been to, they would have a hair dryer..), so bring one!!

Altogether I liked the hotel, it was cozy and pool area was nice (hot tub is NOT hot but cold, when we asked if they could change the temp they said no because it was "ambient"...no it was f*ing freezing!!) Location is great, totally walkable to anything including beaches..would probably not return here due to our unwelcome "guests" in our room!! [Details]

It is lacking an elevator. The hotel is reluctant to change towels in order to save water, yet they have no plugs for the sinks.They have many large palm trees that block the sun in the pool area and on the balconies. [Details]

The hotal is not a 3 star by any means.

It is very under staffed, and is not worth the cheap price. I was very unhappy with the service, and the quality of the resort. The rooms were clean which was okay, but never enough towels, and toilet paper was not always replaced.

The All Inclusive is a lie. If you have the base All Inclusive, you can only eat at Le Ceiba restarant. The beach club is very in adequate, there are only 50 beach chairs for a hotel of 150 or so rooms. No food at the beach club either. If you want lunch, you have to walk the 1 km back to the resort. You only have a bar, at that is even lightly stocked.

The trip to Playa del Carmen was very nice, but as mentioned the El Tukan and Beach Club was not worth the money to be plain and simple about it.

I can understand people want a cheap holiday get away, but realy if you can spend a few hundered more and get a good one, read the reviews first before you book. [Details]

the hotel was clean , the people were friendly , and the food was very good.
however, the concept of all inclusive is lacking. If you don't go for the upgrade of $28 per person per day you only get one
restaurant to eat at and it's a buffet.we did get the upgrade and it is well worth it if you look at overall costs.The extra restaurants are lesaed by the hotel so it is difficult to get pool or room service. [Details]

Had read reviews...so didn't have super high expectations. It was cheapest deal we could find for the week and that's why we got it. Would say it was as expected.
Buffet had excellent food and variety every night. Beach area was awesome except spots were very limited for the tukan area...hard to get a spot. Worst part for me was that I found the bed very hard...but I am used to a very plush bed at home. I got used to it after a couple days. It was loud at night but we always ran the a/c a night and that helped drown out the sound.
Pool area was gorgeous and very relaxing. Great that we were close to 5th ave. and close to pick up spots for the tours we had booked.
Overall for the price I would stay here again. [Details]

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE EL TUKAN MANAGEMENT AND STAFF FOR AN ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC WEEK!!! THE SERVICE,THE FOOD AND THE LOCATION OF THIS HOTEL WAS PERFECT!!
A BIG THANK YOU TO MARCOS PEREZ, THE HOTEL TRIP CO-ORDINATOR FOR A FINE JOB AND GENUINE ENTHUSIASM FOR MAKING SURE HIS GUESTS ARE HAPPY... I WILL DEFINATELY BE BACK AT THE TUKAN VERY SOON...AND I WILL BRING MY FRIENDS. [Details]

nothing fancy about this place.Hope you like chicken for every meal.Never went in the pool.About 10 min. walk to beach.Go to END ZONE sports bar down the street.Cigar shop across street.Walmart for booze-best prices. [Details]

This story may be tooo long! Flights were excellent, pick up at airport was excellent. arrive at hotel to find our room was across the street with a patio with a wall so high you can't see out. We ask for a change, very hesitant front desk moves us upstairs one flight, better balcony where we can see the huge screen of the sports bar across the street. TV noise of boxing match till 1am. We move again. Front desk not helpful. Put us across the street, different building. Lovely Mexican tiles, lovely room, only one double bed so my friend and I shared, this was a better deal than last room. Then the music started. We are over the piano bar on 5th ave. the music goes till 3am. i get out of bed twice to tell manager this is not happening!!! Finally four rooms later we have a room with two beds, view over courtyard and are able to sleep. The all inclusive was a stupid idea. The food was about the standard of a bad hotel in Cuba. Over cooked most of the time and very limited choices. We started eating out. The beach club is a ten minute walk along the beach but we enjoyed that. Deck chairs very tightly packed but could buy others for $4.00 from other hotel next to us. Staff were friendly. We paid the same amount last year for an all inclusive outside of playa and at least had amazing selection of foods everyday and pizza, bbq, burgers by the pool for lunch. We bought lunch everyday so we didn't have to walk back to the hotel and lose our spot! What a disapointment! We love Playa and being in town is great but this hotel should not be considered an all inclusive and people need to know about the noise problems if you are not in the main building. [Details]

The people working at the hotel are very efficient and courteous. They make your visit to this place a great experience.
The hotel location is excellent (in the middle of the action)
Food is tasty a good quality.
The beach is within walking distance (may be 5 minutes from the hotel)
However the rooms are small and not everything is in good working conditions.
The swimming pool is too small. [Details]

Great staff, nice pool and hottub, beach club several blocks away. Clean and lush. [Details]

Overall this hotel was what I expected, and exactly what I wanted and needed as a single female traveller. Plus, I prefer this type of place over a big all inclusive cookie cutter type resort. I felt I got what I paid for. It was simple (but better than I expected based on some reviews that I read), had an authentic Mexican quality (which I found charming), clean, and I felt safe being there on my own. I had a room at garden level near the pool with a small patio. Although, I never used the pool once. The hotel was located only a 5 minute walk to the beach and because it was on the main street in town, it allowed me to be near all the evening action and shopping. This way I did not have to pay for a taxi to get everywhere. I would say that the food was average to less than average, but it was what I expected. I had planned on trying out a few local restaurants anyway, since I got such a good deal. I think it should labelled an almost all inclusive rather than an all inclusive, because there was the "Living Bar" where drinks were not included, and there was no food at the beach bar. Also, I arrived very early in the morning and I was told that I would have to pay for breakfast because check in was not until 3pm, but my room was ready and they allowed me to go to it. The employee at reception said that I would be able to have breakfast on my last day, which was not the case, because I had to leave the hotel at 4 in the morning to catch my flight home. When I tried to explain this he didn't seem to get the point, and was not willing to make an allowance. He was the only staff member there that I felt was not very friendly. Everyone else was great. Perhaps if I had asked to speak to the manager, I may have gotten further with the matter. I was more disappointed with the charter vacation company that provided the package than the hotel, and it reminded my why I have not flown with a company that does charters for more than ten years now. But that is not the review I have been asked to provide here. I would stay at this hotel again for sure, but I would book a regular scheduled flight to get there next time. [Details]

Before i went here i did some heavy researching on everyone who stayed here had to say. The rooms do need updating but the a/c's work great and no bugs!! The maids were great, spot on everytime!I only use the room for romping and sleeping so how the room looked didn't matter to me. :)Beds are hard, but the girl likes it hard!, ;) The biggest thing I would say to anyone who goes here is to purchase the premium all-inclusive!!! trust me you'll want it! I'm not a big mexican food person and the restaurant you'll be eating at with regular all-inc. band has limited selection of re-fried beans, salsa chicken, and mushrooms oh ya and more re-fried beans!- If your on a sailboat and the wind dies down just stand close to the sail cause you'll be full of wind after eatig at this buffet. We ate here once then went to the palatines?? restaurant that only prem-all-incl. can go for free! WOW the portions and the food is absolutely incredable!! Just tip the severs US$2 for breakfast $2 for lunch and $3-4 for dinner, when you see what you get the work and effort the servers put it its worth it! besides that, they will fight over youthe next time you go its funny to see! We ate jumbo tiger shrimp, lobster bisque, calamari,sea bass, the softest, most tender flank steak ever when we ate here and that was breakfast, lunch and dinner!We avg. US$125 bill every dinner (NO @#$%)Also they love it when you try to speak spanish. With the prem. all-incl. you get top shelf liquor and the bar stays open till 12:00am with just the all-incl. you get headache beer and a trip to the bathroom for a day!! plus the bar closes at 11:00pm for you!the biggest thing everyone wants to know is the walk to the beach- i wondered this too- the walk is nothing, 742 paces...I counted less than 5min.The beach is beautiful, i also found out it is the beach that the corona commercials are filmed at!! The bar there is good they never ran out of liqour (hint: tip US$2 every 3rd or 4th drink, they will actually start to deliver the drinks to you) they won't if you don't andyou have get up and walk all the way up! and they make them strong- ask for the mexican flag!Also with prem.all-incl. you have access this beautiful hotels pool and the queen-size beds that are on the beach! The hotel sits on 5th ave. the heart of Playa, all the clubs are 10mins down the street so there is absolutely no way to get woken up at night! At night when the stores close this Bar at the hotel sits on 5th and is the a prime spot after hours! Last but not least do not throw away you bands when you leave to go home they will charge you US$25 each!! but if you want to keep them just say you threw them out- they'll put up a stink,but just mention the amount of money you invested there and they'll soon forget all about the missing wristbands! I know I'm missing something but i know what i mentioned here will help you!! We Loved it here. Would def. come back!! [Details]

The Hotel was great you didn't feel like you were at the standard [Details]

we were very pleased overall!! [Details]

A great location, lots of trees. A very peaceful and cool place for sleeping at night. My room was facing the internal yard. And whenever you need entertainment you can find it just round the corner of the hotel, where there is a street for the pedestrians only. There are always people, restaurants stay open, I think, all nights. It is safe to walk near the hotel at night and have free concerts, as musicians play music at each restaurant along the street. The beach is 5 minutes form the hotel, which is extremely useful as, the food is delicious, it is good to walk after a heavy meal. [Details]

Place OK chaep enough that we stayed in another town one nite [Details]