Resort Review: Paradisus La Perla in Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen is a popular area in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. It is only about 45 minutes from Cancun. We stayed at Paradisus, which has two resorts: Paradisus La Perla is the adults-only resort, and Paradisus Playa del Carmen is the family-friendly resort. As an adult (18+), you can visit either side and eat at any of the restaurants. Kids must stay on the family side.
Mike and I visited Paradisus for his sister’s wedding in June 2026. It was a beautiful setting for a wedding!
Getting to the Resort
Mike and I took a private shuttle from the Cancun airport directly to the resort. We had booked this shuttle online ahead of time, and the driver was waiting just outside of the airport holding a sign with my name on it, so it was easy to find! The driver gave us water bottles and let us know the drive would take about 45 minutes. It was an easy ride.
The Reserve
We got upgraded to The Reserve, which is their VIP upgrade tier. Amenities include a private lounge, a separate pool and beach, access to special restaurants, private gym, and a personal concierge. Since we were here with a large group, most of whom were not at The Reserve, we didn’t use many of the benefits. However, it was really nice to have a personal concierge who could help answer all my questions and book restaurant reservations for us.
Rooms
Our room in The Reserve was very nice! The balcony had its own private hot tub (although it was too hot outside to actually use). The room was pretty big and it was nice to have a little sitting area so we could spread our stuff out.
Restaurants
Lemonfish
Lemonfish was being renovated while we were there, so they had us sit in the Asian restaurant, but we could order from the Lemonfish menu. We had the waiter bring out several appetizers to share from the table and they were very good. I got the red snapper and it was incredible! The people who ordered the beef option did not love it as much.
Cielo
This was a delicious Mexican restaurant with lots of amazing options. We ordered lots of things for the table and ate family-style. Some of my favorites were the empanadas, guacamole, shrimp ceviche, corn soup, and corn cake for dessert.
Hibachi
The hibachi restaurant was very good and similar to hibachi you would get in the US. Each table seated 10 people and had its own private room. Since we had a group of 10, this was perfect for us. It was a set menu, and everyone got the same meal including chicken, steak, and shrimp.
Buffet
The buffet serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was the only option that was open for breakfast when we were there, and one of two options for lunch. I thought the breakfast buffet was very good, but lunch wasn’t my favorite.
Pool Restaurant
The pool restaurant is the other lunch option. I got the fish tacos almost every day because they were so good!
Drinks
We thought the drinks were overall pretty good! My favorite was the passion fruit margarita. Those went down like water at the swim up pool bar 🙂
Pool
There are five outdoor pools throughout the resort plus a kids’ water park on the family side. The adults side has one large main pool with a swim-up bar, as well as a smaller, quieter pool that is part of The Reserve. I liked the layout of the pool! One benefit of coming during their off-season was that it was never difficult to find an open chair, unlike many other resorts I’ve been to.
Beach
We were here in June, which is right in the middle of sargassum season (which is from April to October). Sargassum is a type of floating seaweed that washes ashore, causing portions of the beaches to become nearly unusable. It also produces a sulfur-like smell as it decomposes. The crew was actively working to get the sargassum out of the water while we’re there, but there were large piles of it on the beach. The smell was also really bad, so we didn’t spend any time on the beach.
Spa
My sister-in-law had a girls spa day at the resort’s spa. I got an “elemental” massage, and then we all hung out in the spa’s outdoor lounge area after. There was a pool and two hot tubs (although all three were ice cold) spa guests could enjoy. It was fun to hang out here with the girls for a bit!
Weather
Playa del Carmen has a dry season from November to May and a hot, rainy season from June to October. We were there in mid-June and I can confirm that it was in fact hot and rainy! We were there for four days. The first two days rained off and on, but we still had plenty of time to spend at the pool in the afternoons. The last two days were very hot and sunny!
Going to Downtown Playa del Carmen
I went into town one afternoon with my dad. We mainly just wanted to get out of the resort for a little bit and do some shopping. We headed to the cute walking street called Quinta Avenida. The street is lined with hundreds of shops, cafes, and bars. It felt safe, although there were many pushy sales people trying to get us to buy their products. I loved the store called Sol Jaguar, which sells high-quality Mexican art. We finished our shopping trip with a stop at Aldo’s Gelato for a delicious treat.
Getting there and back was very easy! We asked our hotel to call us a cab. The driver was very friendly and gave me his number so we could text him when we were ready to head back. We realized when we were there that there were tons of other taxis around so it would not have been a problem to catch one in town. Our driver took international credit cards, but I recommend checking with the driver first before getting in.
Costs
We were able to book our four-night stay for just under $400 per night. I thought this was a great deal for an all-inclusive resort, especially compared to the other all-inclusives we have stayed in!
Overall Thoughts
Overall, I really enjoyed my stay at Paradisus La Perla. I thought the resort was beautiful, the food was very good, and the pool was a fun place to hang out. If you are coming here for the beach, I recommend visiting when it is not sargassum season!
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