Escape to The Reef Playacar Resort Hotel & Spa in Mexico for an unforgettable family getaway. Airfare not included.

Adequate but lacking in a few areas We arrived later in the day and were checked in and given our rooms quickly. The lady who did the resort orientation for us spoke very quickly with a heavy accent, so we got little of what she said. She did seem intent on selling us excursions. There was a map of the resort on the key card holder, so we used that to navigate until we got the lay of the land. Our rooms were in Villas 7 and 8, which are great locations - close to buffet/restaurants/pool/beach, but not so close as to be noisy. Our room was on the third floor, which meant four flights of stairs. That got old fast. The room was decent and very clean (the whole resort was spotless), if a bit on the small side. The a/c worked really well and the rainshower head in the shower was awesome, the beds were hard as rock - we've stayed at several resorts in Mexico over the years, and these beds were by far the worst. There were only four small drawers and a couple shelves in the closet for clothing storage. Lots of room to hang stuff, and lots of hangers. The safe keypad was EXTREMELY sensitive and always took multiple tries to open and close. The fridge had six pop in it - 2 Coke, 2 Fanta orange, 1 Sprite, 1 Diet Coke; if you wanted more, you had to pay 45 pesos per drink (roughly $3.50 CAD) , which was never advertised and really sucked at an all inclusive resort. The bathroom was nice but small, not a lot of counter space for toiletries but good water pressure. The balcony was, again, nice but really small, just big enough for 2 chairs and a little table. Being on the top floor, our balcony had a thatched roof and twice during our stay big chunks of thatch fell onto the balcony leaving it dirty and allowing rain to soak the chair cushions. We reported this to the front desk, but they didn't seem to give a crap. The maid sort of cleaned it up the first time, the second time was on our second last day after maid service, so our balcony was essentially unusable after that. There are decent sized water carafes in every room and multiple water stations around the resort. The carafe doesn't fit in the fridge, so we'd fill one of our water bottles to refrigerate for cold water. The food......the most disappointing part of the trip. The buffet is pretty limited in selection and nothing I had from any of the "hot" foods was ever anything more than lukewarm at very best. In seven days, the only actually hot food I had from the buffet was my made to order omelette at breakfast. The buffet could actually be above average if the food was hot (or even warm), because a lot of it was quite tasty....but cold. Even soup was barely warm. Dessert, fruit and salad selections are also not plentiful. The eating area in the buffet is laid out very well, with the very pleasant option to eat in an open air area. Staff service at the buffet was in general excellent. We had one server one evening who was unpleasant and unhelpful. They do a great job of keeping plates cleared and bringing water/drinks. We were advised on arrival that we could make a la carte reservations at either the front desk or the buffet starting at 7 a.m. Since the buffet was quite close, my husband went there to make a reservation at the Italian restaurant. When we went at the appointed time, they had no record of our reservation, but very kindly accommodated us anyway. My sister and I each had the mushroom ravioli in walnut sauce which was soooo delicious, my husband's lasagna was really good, as was my brother-in-law's steak and risotto. But again, all of our soups were barely warm. Overall, we quite enjoyed the Italian restaurant. The Mexican restaurant was subpar, which was exacerbated by a family group seating six children alone at their own table away from the adults, but near us. Kids will be kids.....the adults were the ones who needed a talking to. We had 3 out of 4 poor salads, 3 out of 4 poor appetizers, and 2 out of 4 poor entrees. We do not recommend the Mexican restaurant. The snack bar has great selection and pleasant service, but depending on when you went, there was sometimes a wait to get your food. That said, there were times when they were really fast. Food here was tasty and, because it was made to order, warm. The beach area is lovely, with a few trees and lots of umbrellas for shade. You have to be up pretty early to get a decent spot near an umbrella, though. The pool areas are nice, and a lot less busy than the beach. This resort has a beautiful wide beach, which is probably the best feature of the property. We paid for late check out but the front desk failed to reprogram our key cards. My husband went to the front desk to get the issue sorted, came back to our room and keys still didn't work, so another trip back to the front desk (remember - 4 flights of stairs), and the staff were not at all apologetic for the mix ups. The guy that checked us out was brisk and dismissive, it was like we were interrupting his day. Would I stay at this resort again? Maybe, if the price was right. But, as was solidified to us this trip, the weather on the Caribbean side is just too variable. We had maybe 2 fully decent days (more sun than cloud, no rain) out of 7, and 3 good swimming days, the ocean was too rough for us most of the trip. Puerto Vallarta doesn’t have the gorgeous white sand, but it is almost always sunny and hot. We'll take that trade and travel to PV going forward.

Winter Break We recently returned from a 10-day break at this hotel, which is set in a fantastic location. The property itself boasts great facilities and is well presented, nestled in the heart of the jungle with the Caribbean Sea backing onto the hotel. The staff were mixed some were very helpful, while others less so. Drink waiting times were a bit below par, and the food at the buffet was often cold, which definitely needs to be addressed. We spent most of our evenings at the à la carte restaurants, and the food at both the Mexican and Italian restaurants was absolutely glorious. On arrival, there was no welcome drink, and we were repeatedly approached with notes about “extra perks,” which felt a bit intrusive. Overall, despite a few shortcomings, we had a great stay.

Overrated and bad food. My son lives in the area so we came on a day pass and overpaid just to walk out to the beach, be aware and fully aware that they do not and you cannot purchase bottled water at the beach only alcohol. The food is horrible. The service is good.. The beach was dirty, and there were not enough chairs or umbrellas for people. I have no idea what people pay to actually stay here. I would never come back even just for the day not worth the money. Do not let them oversell you. This is a very low average property.. NEVER EVER. Beware .