El Faro 302 Coral Penthouse

The beach can vary a lot. Sometimes there’s plenty of sand out front, while storms or erosion can take much of it away. Sargassum tends to be worse from April to September, and it can get nasty. El Faro itself is right on the beach, with a huge clean pool that’s more than you could expect, and it’s easy to get to Playacar for a walk along the shore. The location in Playa Del Carmen is hard to beat, with hundreds of restaurants and four large grocery stores from a five-second to a 10-minute walk away. The shared areas are professionally kept up, the bins are emptied several times a day, and the front desk and security staff are happy to help. Since each condo is individually owned and managed, quality varies: some are spectacular, others neglected. That isn’t El Faro’s fault, since they can’t make individual owners keep their units to a high standard. For the best chance of a great condo at a good price, try Silvia and Eber at Deam Zone Travel Mexico. They manage many El Faro condos, know most of the units well, and are based in Playa Del Carmen. Their website comes up if you search dreamzonetravelmexico.