Beautiful setting

Nice &clean Good service The ground is green and lot of space to relax The room is cleaning at lease 2 times a days.the restaurants with reasonable food but the service is excellent all the time from my experiences

Great Resort

I'll break this down by item: The Room - we had a Master Suite Swim Out Suite (I think) and it was great. The room was massive and provided all we needed. The pool it swam out to got no sun, however, and was quite cold, limiting the time we actually spent on the balcony and in that pool. So a neat novelty, but rather useless for my fam. Be sure to understand where your swim up is located (which direction it faces) but all those pools are the same temp. Also, we wanted to upgrade to the Family [... read more] Concierge from this room type and it was going to be $120 US / day. We decided the heated FC pool and the balloon animals not worth $700+ US. The Pools - the pools were ok. Just like the swim up pool, the other pool was rather 'refreshing' and takes some time to get used to. That being said our kids only complained a couple times and did spend a lot of time in it when the sun was out. If you're really sensitive, you would like the heated FC pool, but it's constantly packed and is almost too warm. The Food - we dined in the standard buffet a lot and it was good. Lots to choose from and the staff try to help as much as they can. 8/10 for sure. And other reviews are correct, you must book reservations in the other restaurants and unfortunately our timing didn't allow us to sample much of the other offerings and if you want to eat with your kids, that cuts your options in half as some are on the adult side. The Beach - the beach was great. The FC section/side didn't look that much different, just a few bungalows that were always reserved and a few round beds that I never saw anyone in. Dont upgrade for this purpose alone, they both walk out to the same strip of water. And on the water, it was the ocean and yes, there was some seaweed in it, heavy at times and light at others, but overall the beach was good: only a few vendors who were chill and you can book all the water activities you needed right there if inclined. Entertainment - there was always a few things per day to enjoy. We traveled with kids so they loved the magician, the coco show and all the little things they did in and around the pools each day. One never expects world-class entertainment at these things but the staff tried hard, looked like they were having a good time and made sure the adults and kids did too. Mine looked forward to this part of the day eagerly. Overall, a great resort for the price but the January weather, swim up location and overall pool temperature will likely ensure this will be our only visit here.

Exceeded our expectations!

We’ve travelled to Mexico pretty extensively (more than 10 visits) to both Cancun and the Riviera and this one is a pleaser. The food was impressive, even the buffets offered tasty selections that didn’t disappoint. We booked the “family side” as it met our budget goals and as two adults travelling we could still access the adult only side. If you are going without kids I’d definitely recommend the La Perla side. The rooms were spacious and lovely. Cons booking a la cartes was made [... read more] complicated, and my goodness the sea weed on the beach. Still very useable and swimable but wow that is a real problem, they do there best! General use pools not heated, that’s a shame!

Fantastic family holiday

Traveled in mid-January 2019, and was pleasantly surprised - rarely does a resort look nicer in person than in photos! Staff was beyond lovely, accommodating and friendly. Will absolutely return! Amazing little inlet down the beach, shallow calm waters for the kiddies to play in.

Fantastic resort for adults or families!

I've had the opportunity to experience a number of different all inclusive brands in different locations and nothing really comes close to Paradisus La Esmeralda. Everything from the rooms to the service to the food and entertainment were all first class and unique to anything I had previously seen at an all inclusive resort. Food Most people anticipate the food will not be anything to write home about at an all inclusive but arguably the restaurants are the most impressive things abo [... read more]ut this resort. Bana and Mole were certainly our favourites but there was something for everyone and the decor and service were second to none. Beach The beach certainly isn't what you come to this resort for - there are definitely issues with seaweed and the accompanying smell. However, the service on the beach was fantastic. Our chairs were always set up to our liking and food and drink delivered directly to our seats. Pools Pretty standard fare. We spent most of our time at the La Perla adults only pool but the pool bar was adequate for our needs, there were always plenty of seats and the food from the pool grill was surprisingly good Rooms The rooms at this resort could be compared against any major chain or even boutique hotel in a major city. The amenities were fantastic and the room service was out of this world Entertainment Rather than the standard bandshell entertainment, there were a lot of live bands and other events taking place that felt unique to the resort. Live band karaoke, the Frankie Valli cover band, and casino nights were definitely highlights YHI Spa The spa is amazing. Get there early to make use of the hydromassage pools. The deep tissue massage was one of the best massages I've ever received Decor The entire resort feels like a New York City hotel dropped in a tropical paradise. The decor was tasteful and eye catching. Everything has been carefully considered, right down to the lighting near the pools in the evening I cannot recommend this hotel enough. I can guarantee you it's an experience you will not soon forget and will make going to any other resort very difficult after setting the bar that high.

Paradise!

This was our second visit to Paradisus Esmeralda - and this time we decided for extend our trip to 9 nights! Our kids regularly asked to go to the kids club because of the programming, the new water park was an awesome surprise! (Bring life jackets if your kids aren’t strong swimmers - it’s deep!) The food was amazing as always! Only negative...the beach, while beautiful soft sand, does stink of seaweed and there is coral in the swimming area.

Best trip !!

Everything was amazing. The pools the food and the staff and beach. The set up of the resort was great easy to get around after the first day. All the entertainment was great! Bands a DJ and backstreet boys cover. We went away with 8 friends ages 26 to 30 lots to do. One suggestion for people going to adult pool is to bring your own music down to the pool. There is music playing but not very loud if you want a bit more of a party. Everything else was perfect. Food was the best I've had yet at a  [... read more]resort. Rooms were amazing and grounds were clean and staff was very friendly.

Loved the resort beyond words!!!! Amazing week

The Hotel was perfect from the start of our trip till the end. The attention to detail is amazing the service, the food, the rooms everything just perfect. Loved it 100%. Everyone is soo helpful and ready to make your stay amazing.

Very nice resort!

Great hotel and amenities, service and restaurants are top quality! The beach leaves a little to be desired particularly in view of the seaweed problems experienced this year. The entire area looks like a construction site most of the time! That is the one thing which would drive us away from this entire area!

Great for the Family

Just got back from a week at La Esmeralda with family & friends. The resort has a nice modern look but still feels like home. Rooms are very nice and kept very clean. The food was amazing, never ate at the same place twice. The beach is nice & clean and its close to a natural fresh water spring which the kids had fun playing in. My only complaint is the temperature of the pools. You shouldn't have to upgrade to family concierge to be able to enjoy the heated pool.

5 star all the way!

This was the 6th all-inclusive we have been to, and by far the best! Very family-oriented, great service, great food (not just for Mexico standards!) The pirate pool and baby club were both great for our 2&4 year olds!

Great Resort!

Very clean, excellent service (probably the best we have had in all of Mexico and we have visited Mexico over 15 times in the past 14 years). My only complaint would be regarding the entertainment. They constantly had an annoying slow music in the background no matter where you went by the pool. Not enough entertainment by the pool area. We like it busy and always hang out by the main pool for the entertainment and to listen to Spanish music but to our surprise there was very minimal entertainme [... read more]nt and no Spanish music :( . At night, the shows were good but there were not enough seats for people to sit so made it really difficult to enjoy. Specially since we have a 7 year old and she was too short to be able to watch and we had to pick her up to see anything. We finally just gave up watching the shows. Kids club was amazing. The girls were so good with the kids and had amazing programs for kids to participate in. All in all we had a really good time.

Wow wow wow! Jaw dropping experience!

We just returned from this resort two days ago. This was the best resort I’ve ever been to and I’ve been to Cancun, Dominican and Cuba. Pros: Beach, lots of chairs, the workers always found chairs from somewhere no matter what time you arrived. Shout out to Carlos for always finding chairs for people and Carlos our beach waiter for always getting us drinks. You would finish a drink and Carlos would already have another to put down for you. Amazing service and always had a kind word for y [... read more]ou, was never rushed. A lot of rocks in the water but we did find one spot to go into which was sand all the way out. It was to the right of the flag at the main bridge to the beach. Room, I can’t say enough, we had a butler in our 1 bedroom master suite who made our dinner reservations. We had a fridge fully re-stocked daily with pop, water, beer, juice, milk, cereal bars, chips, m&ms and Oreos. Soaker tub inside and a jacuzzi for 2 outside on our balcony. King size bed just like home in our bedroom. Don’t worry about bringing anything but your clothes, they have shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, manicure set, suntan lotion 50spf, bug repellent, hand cream, body lotion, and the list goes on. Plenty of clean towels always. The room and resort was always spotless. Restaurants/food, 6 star gourmet food! You name it you can get it here, and it’s a-m-a-z-I-n-g. Everything is. I had steak better than The Keg. Our favourite was lapalapa. The buffet we only ate at for breakfast, there are so many restaurants here some you need a reservation others no. Bars, lots of places to get a drink, lots of nightclubs but we weren’t really interested in this but did check out a few. One thing missing is a bar near the front with a lobby especially when you arrive or waiting to leave at checkout. Service, amazing service they could teach other resorts how to treat guests. You feel like every worker you meet is genuinely happy to greet you. They always ask if you have any allergies before ordering, get your drinks for you at the beach and around the pools and so much more. This trip was just my husband and I to celebrate my 50th birthday. They had a bottle of wine and cheese plate the day before my birthday and on my birthday a large balloon character, bottle of champagne on ice and birthday cake for me! Cons: check in and check out was very disorganized and needs to be corrected as it’s the first and last impression one has of the resort. We landed at 730pm but it was 11:15 before we were checked in. The bus ride was only 45 minutes from the airport but it took a long time for the bus to leave the airport and drop off people at two other resorts before us and 2 families were dropped off at Paradisus la esmarelda. We arrived at the front of the resort but we needed to go to family concerige check in and were told to wait at the front a golf cart would take us next, but no they took the 2 other families before us so we walked to checkin. A very long day made even longer unnecessarily by this disorganization at checkin. Of course all the restaurants were closed by 11:00 so our only option was room service which was fine but it took till 1:30 am to get the food! Check out was the worst ever, we called for them to get our luggage and left to checkout. We had requested hospitality suite use at the end of the day as we were at the resort till 6pm. When I went to use the suite at 4pm I was told whoever made a mistake and booked us for the next day! Fortunately we did get to use it but for a shorter time period. Our luggage was missing from the front so we had to track it down and my husband believes they never bothered to get it from the room which is pretty frustrating when you are ready to leave the resort. Next year we plan to return to this resort with our 3 daughters. We did not do any excursions, instead we rented a car which was very easy to do and get around, we drove down into Tulum to the ruins, Grand Cenote and stopped at Akumal Beach to swim with turtles. I will try and book at Paradisus other locations in future. We were very happy with our travel agents recommendation! If you book here you will not be disappointed!

Excellent resort

Very nice resort with excellent food and service. Staff always pleasant, polite and helpful. Very nice gymnasium. Beach was not quite as nice as various carrebean islands but still very nice and well maintained.

Great experience

The hotel was clean, felt safe, had great food, good kids play area indoors, fun kids pools, the concierge upgrade was worth every single penny. Having someone check in on you every day and organise your trips, reservations, babysitting etc was great not only for us parents, but every day our concierge person would leave treats and a present (baloon dragonflies, or colouring books etc...) for our children which totally made their day.

No need to go anywhere else.

This resort was more than we ever expected. There was nothing you needed as it was all there. The cleanliness was unbelievable; from repainting literally everything to sweeping, table service, wiping everything down, washing all glass every day; this resort looked brand new. The rooms were beautiful and the air conditioning worked perfectly. Rooms are very large and quiet st night. Food was outstanding and the people that work there speak English very well. You are treated like royalist. Would d [... read more]efinitely recommend and go back. Oh, and the beach was beautiful it too was cleaned daily of any debris including seaweed.

Great Family Trip

We travelled with a 3 and 5 year old and they just want to go back! They never tired of watching the fish and the turtles each morning in the beautiful courtyard, while mom 'n dad relaxed on lounge chairs or lounge bed and had an Americano and fresh pastries from the Illy café (included). The pirate ship pool was warm and fantastic and right next to the adult pool with swimup bar for margaritas and pinatas for the kid. I have never seen such sincerely friendly and helpful staff. Tanya Smith  [... read more]with Tripcentral was fantastic with helping us find the perfect spot, and with all the details when we had to change our dates (she even got us an upgrade!) The beach was lovely, some days with a lot of seaweed and some days not so much, but it just took a short walk own the beach to get clear of the seaweed. The food was amazing, even the buffet (check out the theme nights early so you know when to go - we even cancelled a dinner reservation one evening to go to the buffet) The lunches by the pool were mediocre American fair, but with such decadent breakfast and dinner, I didn't need lunch and it was fine for the kids. The biggest thing missing is a place to get lunch/snacks on the beach for families - you have to go back into the resort to get food, and my favourite thing on a sun vacation is to dine al fresca by the ocean, so that was the only disappointment. Absolutely gor

Great resort

It was great. We enjoyed the family concierge and family pool. All the restaurants also met our approval. The beach is a bit disappointing as there is allot of seaweed but that is the only negative thing that I could think of.

Swanky spa/lounge resort

We traveled with 10 children ranging from 14-4 months. 2 master suites and a junior suite. We were spoiled upon our arrival. We were given cool cloths with essential oils to freshen up. Then while checking in the hostess brought trays of drinks for the children and adults. The bracelets are tasteful wood and fabric. The staff is very attentive to any special needs. One of the children has anaphylactic reactions to any traces of dairy. She was given an allergy ID for each restaurant. Awesome. In  [... read more]fact they had an entire box to choose your allergy/sensitivity card from. Our fabulous beds had real down duvets which you don't often see in tropical destinations. Lovely modern and classic decor. The showers are large enough for a family. Also indoor and outdoor jacuzzis. Awesome water pressure lol. Our kitchens yes plural had one formal dining area and one kitchenette. The dining area was perfect for when we indulged in the 24 Hour room service. 4 big screen tv's, we only used one but still. Stunning, stunning, stunning!!! This place was totally accessible for double strollers and they had scooters for those in need. It's a well planned place. Spa /lounge music and essential oils atomizing really set the tone for this 5* property. We were able to have some adults only dinners and take the kids to the Kids Club. It was excellent. They had different activities depending on the age group including rock climbing and some kind of mini zip lining. The food was excellent for those who are ready to have really fresh flavourful food. In the a la carte restaurants they allowed us multiple appetizers and desserts. We were able to get a real taste of the restaurants. We enjoyed all the different ethnic restaurants and the buffet was excellent. Lots of choices and constantly filled up and hot! The beach wasn't as bad as I had expected. We had an hour and a half of twigs and little seaweed but then it was suddenly gone. There's lots of umbrellas and lounge beds. You can always find shade, thank goodness because it was hot! My only negative comments are: no top bolt on the doors, it was easy for the little ones to figure out the bolt and the room was massive so we couldn't hear them trying to get it open. Secondly I wish they had complimentary shuttles to Playa Del Carmen it was actually expensive to go. We had two vans and one car. The vans were $24 each way and $16 for the car. It was a 10 minute drive. Thirdly and lastly, they do have a handful of people selling time shares and time at the spa and photography. We did go to the spa at the FamilyConcierge it was fantastic. Worth every penny. We also did have professional photos done and it was pricey but Vincent the photographer got great shots . He was amazing with the children. He really captured out trip of a lifetime. All around our best vacation and yes we're well seasoned travelers. Cassandra Heeg Spa owner, mom, wife

Perfect resort

The food was amazing and had top shelf alcohol. The attention to detail in everything was great. Our two boys loved the kids club. The best part with the kids club is they did most activities outside of the "kids club". The service from everyone was great!