Dolce Vita Caribe Guest House

The stay was mostly okay, but the air conditioning didn't work. They provided a toaster, though there were no plates or knives for preparing food. After checkout, they charged us for damage we hadn't caused. With no proof once we'd left, they could claim whatever they wanted and set any price, like 100€ for two towels. There wasn't much we could do, and they simply didn't return our deposit.

The peaceful, safe neighborhood is surrounded by gardens, and it's only a seven-minute walk to the city center. At Dolce Vita Caribe B&B, the pool became my favorite spot, with greenery all around and a calm atmosphere for sunbathing or cooling off. The rooms have a distinctive Caribbean look and were comfortable enough to make relaxing easy. From the moment I arrived, I felt at ease. We loved our stay and will definitely come back.

There are plenty of places in Playa Del Carmen run by lovely people. This one wasn't for us, and the owner's replies here say plenty. The booking.com page looked dreamy, with glowing reviews shown first. The 100USD deposit was disclosed, but on the mobile app it took clicking through a linked page and scrolling to the last of five information pages to find it. I booked one day ahead and missed it. Then I wasted time trying different ways to pay that deposit. Avoid. We cancelled as soon as we learned about the policy, because of the petty charges for basic amenities and our worry that the deposit might never be returned, with the owner making up a reason. We never went near the property. The owner's reply was, unsurprisingly, completely baseless. The place's conduct seemed so surprisingly horrible that I felt I had to warn others.

The apartment itself was very nice and clean, but I'd avoid this place if you want to spare yourself a lot of stress. We booked on the day we arrived and saw that the platform required a 2,000 Mexican peso deposit. It didn't say anywhere that it had to be paid in cash at oxxo or 7eleven, so finding an ATM that worked with Revolut took time and nerves. We later learned that oxxo wouldn't accept the payment, despite what we'd been told. After a tiring trip, this whole mess took four hours, and we couldn't reach the owner by phone. People at the house next door were dealing with the same thing, so it wasn't just us. When the apartment was returned intact, we still didn't get the full deposit back. We couldn't reach the landlord afterward and lost part of it. We also heard a lot of other unpleasant things about this man while there.