Paradisus La Perla - Adults Only Riviera Maya

The hotel/resort is really nice with large rooms and amenities. The food was good in the specialty restaurants and also in the buffet. However, in the buffet it would have been nice to have a microwave to reheat the food as it was usually kept tepid by the warming trays. The staff are absolutely wonderful and couldn't be more helpful. Be careful eating in the Sal Steak restaurant. We ended up spending over $260 US for two which seemed a bit exorbitant for an all-inclusive! We were expecting some evening entertainment similar to the other all-inclusive hotels we have stayed at but unfortunately all that was offered was an extremely loud live disc jockey. We were unable to use our room overlooking the pool each day between noon and 5.00 pm because of the loud thumping music that was being played. The programming catered for a good time younger adult and not seniors which we are:). Not recommended for older adults/seniors. [Details]

It would have been miserable if not for the Reserve privileges that we selected. La Perla is adult only as advertised, but it's really only a wing of the much larger Paradisus Playa del Carmen. That's where most of the restaurants are, and they're over run with children running amuck, left unsupervised by their parents. And if you want to be on the beach, that's where you need to go. The beach is not setup at LA Perla. We asked many times why there are no beach chairs but could not get a clear answer. The usable beach is at the sister resort about 1/2km walk down the beach. Be prepared to share it with lots of children, lots of children.
Food was just ok, nothing stood out as exceptional. The Reserve privileges does give you access to a couple nice restaurants as well as a real nice breakfast and lunch restaurant near the Reserve pool. Rooms, no problem. We got an unexpected upgrade to a one bedroom suite, and that was fantastic. The South bar, has nightly entertainment however the furniture is horribly uncomfortable and be prepared for smoking to be allowed almost everywhere, something we did not appreciate. If we couldn't get a fantastic deal during off season, I doubt I would go here. It was just ordinary and certainly not a five star resort, four at best. [Details]

Was amazing. Loved the atmosphere and staff! Spa was well worth it. [Details]

Paradisus La Perla is a beautiful resort with lots of natural greenery throughout the resort. The main pool(s) as well as the private royal reserve pools were on the small size for my liking. Small and easily crowed.
However, our room was a reserve upgrade swim-up suite and those are amazing. Large rooms, large Patios with your own private entrance to the swim up pool. They completely make up for the lack of main pool sizes.

They could use another grill/bar for those in swim up rooms/pool as the waitress barely came over to the section we where in asking if we wanted anything.

To enter your room you are given a colour coded bracelet. Each colour has different meanings. We had the gold bracelet for the Reserve Upgrade. Love the idea.

Food was mediocre at best. It was a little on the annoying side having to make reservations for every dinner. At other resorts, at any time, you could walk up and be seated. Few Days we didn't know when we wanted to eat or where. Not sure if this has anything to do with Covid, but those times and nights we where at the restaurant there was plenty of seating available.

The buffets had average to below average food and choices. We ate at the asian fusion restaurant Bana a lot and it was really good. The menus for the other specialized restaurants were on the meh side. imo better choices where needed and not so much of the exotic type dishes with exotic ingredients. More simple dishes would been nice. Food is an area they really need to improve.

Did i mention how green this resort is? If you like nature this will be the resort for you. They pride in keeping it on the nature side. Lots of mangroves dot the resort. You will be entertained by the onsite Coati. They have roughly 12-20 of them around. These animals are fun to watch.

We did not go into the ocean thanks to all the seaweed - and there was a lot! thankfully we had a swim up!

The food is mediocre at best. This is an area they really need to improve on. [Details]

From the point we arrived and stepped off the shuttle bus the service was outstanding. Ensuring that all our needs and questions were answered. During our 7 days stay every employee provided outstanding service and very polite and professional. House keeping and room service went above and beyond to ensure our stay was perfect. The selection of restaurants and the quality was exceptional and so was the service. My wife said every night we were treated like royalty. At no point during our visit we're we disappointed. [Details]

This was a truly memorable holiday.......we keep wishing we were back there. In large part this was due to our personal assistant Armando. He took such good care of us with even a surprise bubble bath on our terrace at the end of the day. The servers in La Palapa were great and we went to all the restaurants and enjoyed them all. Particularly liked the teriyaki experience and the Martini bar was great although a bit cold with AC. [Details]

From booking to our return trip home, this was an absolutely fantastic resort to celebrate our 20th anniversary.
We opted for the Royal Service Junior Suite, after reading some of the other reviews, and agree fully the Royal Service is well worth the additional (low) cost to upgrade. However, don't wait until arrival at the resort to upgrade, as the cost is considerably higher.
Transit to the resort was painless, with the shuttle bus waiting for us after we cleared customs, into the shuttle (all our own) and a quick 40-minute ride to the resort.
Arrival & Check in
Our bags were immediately off loaded from the shuttle at La Perla entrance, to be taken to the room and we were provided with bag tag receipts. We were also given cool damp towels. We were then shuttled to Royal Service Reception Lounge where we were immediately handed glasses of champagne and checked in. After reading some review room tips, we had requested a top floor room ahead of time, however were told none were available, so we were assigned a room on the 2nd floor, partial ocean view. We were then told there was a third floor room available as a $70/night upgrade. We thought we would take a look at both and decide, but loved the original room, so did not upgrade, mostly because of the additional cost. Check-in took only a few minutes, and we were introduced to one of the butlers, Francisco. We instantly fell in love with Francisco. As he was not our assigned butler, he showed us to our room, gave us a mini-tour, and ensured we had a bite to eat from the lounge, as were starving after the long flight.
Royal Service
As we mentioned it is well worth the additional cost for Royal Service. We were provided with a cell phone to call our butler at any time, from anywhere. Alma was our assigned butler and she was fantastic, from the time we met her on the day after our arrival, until we said goodbye the day we left. She made a point of finding us everyday, to see if we needed something, or ask how everything was. Some resort guests utilized the butler service much more than others, and we found ourselves only taking advantage of the butler service on a few occasions, but on those times it was superb service. Advantages of the Royal Service in order of importance to us were the following; 1) heated pool – we had a couple of days of cool weather, and loved the heated pool. Guests from La Perla side found the pool cold, and we never saw a lot of people in the other pool. 2) Exclusive La Palapa Restaurant – open for breakfast lunch & dinner, close to our room and the pool, and fantastic food and service (ask for Fernando's section for breakfast & lunch). 3) Room Service – we took advantage of morning room service for coffee, OJ, and breads every day, by putting the card on the door and received delivery on the requested time. We did order full breakfast one day, it was good, but had cooled down considerably once it arrived. 4) Butler service. 5) Special surprises in the room – preferred bottle of alcohol and mixers, wine and chocolate covered strawberries, jaccuzzi bubble bath waiting for us on the deck, rose petals leading to a drawn bath, etc, etc., every day there was a new surprise waiting for us. 6) Preferential reservations at a-la-carte restaurants, including any changes we wanted to make – the resort was full, but Alma was always able to obtain our requested reservation, even when we made a short notice change. 7) Exclusive beach area - very private and always available Bali Beds and recliners. 8) Nightly turndown service, with a tidied room and the special chocolate on the pillow.
Resort grounds
Impeccably maintained grounds and beach, throughout the resort. Staff were always observed cleaning, pruning, etc.
Rooms
Our room was everything we expected; spacious, good temperature controls, modern, and very comfortable. It had a safe, a stocked fridge, double shower with overhead rain shower heads, double sinks, two-person bathtub, iPod dock which we used often, couch, table and chairs, good lighting, lots of closet space and drawers. The deck had two comfortable chairs and a two-person Jacuzzi, which we used a couple of times, very nice. The king bed was very comfortable, with great bedding and choice of pillows. We had a view of the ocean, the mangrove forest and the sunsets over Playa Del Carmen. We could hear footsteps in the room above us occasionally, but we live in a condo, so it did not bother us at all. As other reviews have noted, they have to do something about the slamming room doors, that was annoying and very common at all hours.
Housekeeping
Immaculate! Great service, including arranging of our shopping purchases into a beautiful display in the living area. We had an issue with an overflowing toilet (clean water fortunately!) which caused a minor flood in the room, and they were there within minutes to rectify and clean up the room very quickly, while we had our coffee on the deck.
Restaurants
The food was fantastic at all the restaurants we tried. We did not opt for the Passion (extra $$) experience, and didn't meet anyone who had. We ate at Fuego (seafood), Vento (Mediterranean), Bana (Asian), Mole (Mexican), and La Palapa (Royal Service). All the meals were fantastic! The only negative experience we had was at Mole, where despite booking after 7:30 to avoid the kids from La Esmeralda side, we experienced a couple of nearby tables of loud, screaming children, with no apparent parental supervision. We couldn't even talk to friends at the next table it was so noisy. We at breakfasts one day at Naos (buffet), but after that ate all our breakfasts at La Palapa which we preferred. Food selection in Naos was exceptional, it just didn't have the same ambience. We also grabbed a quick bite at the beach grill on several occasions, having grilled sea bass, chicken and some great salads, it was great for when we needed a quick snack.
Pool/Beach Service
The pool service was phenomenal; your drink was never empty. The swim-up bars were fun, with different shooters, (ask for mini-beers!!) and top shelf liquor drinks. Beach service was a little slower (they had further to go), but once the servers got to know you (very quickly) they were there with a fresh drink, whether you needed it or not! We tipped a dollar or 20 pesos for drink service most times, as well as for meals, the tips were very much appreciated, but not expected, which was nice.
Shows/Nightlife/Bars
We did not take in a lot of shows or nightlife, as were pretty much bagged by the end of the day. We did partake in Casino Night, and being regular visitors to Vegas, didn't expect too much, but actually found it a lot of fun. It only lasted an hour which was disappointing, could have gone on a bit longer. We did hit a few of the bars with the Red Lounge being our favourite, once it got going after 10 or 11 pm. The South bar was also good, as was the M bar. At Blue Agave, we were treated to an impromptu tequila tasting of over 8 tequilas, made my night!
Final thoughts
I would highly recommend this resort to anyone. It is close to PDC (30-minute walk down the beach or 150-peso cab ride). It has everything you need in an all-inclusive resort and then some! We did get hit up once in the resort for the timeshare presentation, but politely declined, and they didn't ask again. The layout of the resort is set up very well, you can avoid the noisy family side. The staff without exception were absolutely fantastic, it is obvious they take great pride in their jobs. What more can I say about Royal Service, unbelievable service and attention to detail. It was like they knew all your preferences, where you were at any given time, and worked together to ensure every detail was taken care of. I have to give very special kudos to our butler Alma, she was utterly fantastic each and every day, looked after all our needs (including a minor emergency involving Immigration forms), and was always smiling, and available to spend a little time with us. We got to know quite a few of the butlers and will miss Alma, Francisco, and the rest of the Royal Service team. We met some great new friends from all over Canada and the US, and plan on staying in touch with many of them. We'll definitely be back! [Details]

Go to this adults only resort only if you like kids. Kids are playing in the adult restaurants. Kids are yelling and crying and whining in adults only bars. The hotel and travel providers are fully aware that this is not adult only place. After 6 PM there are no rules. [Details]

Modern place with various entertainment [Details]

We traveled with friends in the beginning of April. This resort is not an Adult only resort. Kids are everywhere. We were very disappointed with the food. The food at the buffets was always luke warm. At the a la carte restaurants we had to wait for 20 min until someone came to the table to greet us and it took 3 hours by the time we finished with the food, which is more or less the same as at the buffets. The service at the restaurants all in all was very weak. The beach was as expected. You need water shoes to get in. The rooms are very nice. Comfortable beds with nice bedsheets, nice big bathroom and a big balcony. The common grounds are also nice and modern.
Our overall impression is, that they need to get organized. If La Perla is supposed to be an Adult Only Resort they should manage it as an Adult Only Resort. [Details]

Our stay did not get off to a good start. When we arrived at the hotel, we were told that there was no room for us at the La Perla and we would be staying at the La Esmalalda. We had paid a premium to stay at the La Perla as it is an adults only resort. I understand that this is common practice for this resort as we met another gentleman who had the same problem. They really need to stop doing that as it is a wonderful resort with some excellent restaurants and friendly staff. [Details]

The resort is modern, clean and extremely pleasant. The architecture and decor of the lobby, courtyards, dining-rooms, theme restaurants and even our suite are superlative. We loved the high ceilings and the spaciousness of the important areas in the resort. We adored the Paradisus' signature designs of extra large, square or round couches found throughout the grounds, where patrons could lie down comfortably at any time, day or night, indoors or outdoors. The food in the main dining-room, Naos, was great, especially their pan-fried fish. Nevertheless, the food in a couple of à la carte restaurants was a little disappointing. The staff in the resort, especially that in Naos, is always helpful, pleasant and eager to please their guests. We were lucky to have our accommodation upgraded to a suite, which is the best that we have ever had so far. The fragrance of their toiletries is exquisite. We felt totally relaxed during the week we were there; we never had to worry about fighting for a table in the dining hall, or for lounge chairs under a beach umbrella or for clean beach towels. We loved taking a stroll or a rest in their covered courtyards during the day when it was hot outside, just to soak up the tranquility that the caressing breeze and comfortable ambience provided us. Nevertheless, the beach of Paradisus Playa Del Carmen was quite disappointing, especially to my husband, who is a swimmer. The beach is small and rocky. The water was murky every day we were there, so much so that one day, my husband got his leg scraped pretty badly by the hidden rocks while swimming. In addition, the overhead beach umbrellas are put very close to each other. As a result, the lounge chairs on the beach are found to be very close to each other too. Sometimes, they are just too close for comfort especially on days with lots of sunbathers. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience at the resort. We would definitely consider revisiting the resort if their beach can be improved. [Details]

Nice resort, see pros and cons below [Details]