Guest Review of El Taj Ocean
Guest Review of El Taj Ocean Condo Hotel that was posted in Trip Advisor this past week. I have included it word for word because Elena S. from Boston said it better than I ever could!
The day before Hurricane Rina was a beautiful day!
I never wrote a review before but before we booked this trip we checked trip advisor and saw all the glowing reviews for El Taj. When we arrived three days ago we learned from the manager that a major hurricane was formulating and Playa del Carmen was in the direct path of Hurricane Rina. We couldn’t believe it because it was a picture perfect day and couldn’t imagine a hurricane was looming. Our room was directly on the beach and we have never experienced a hurricane before and didn’t know what to expect.
We thought we should take many pictures of the hotel thinking it might get destroyed in the hurricane and we wanted a lasting memory of it since this is one of the most beautiful hotels. We have traveled all over the world and stayed in some of the most luxurious hotels and El Taj has one of the most unique atmosphere especially since the architecture of the building is so unique.
The building is all curves and there is hardly straight wall. The pictures on their web site are very nice but the pictures do not capture the real beauty of the building. It’s magnificent! The landscaping is so lush and tropical. We thought it would be a shame if the buildings got damaged and It suddenly dawned on us that we are staying in the building. Everyone at the front desk and most of the staff speaks english and this was very comforting (especially during a crisis) since we don’t speak Spanish which is their native language.
Normally it wouldn’t make a difference, but in situations like this we were getting a little nervous and we heard the hurricane formulated into a category 3 and destruction was almost certain. We were determined to enjoy our vacation and we are having one of the best vacations ever. Actually I am writing this review while we are still in Playa.
We read a few reviews that there are several boats anchored in front of the beach club. When we first arrived there were a few boats and we thought it added to the charm of the place. Especially since the boats were local fishing boats and painted in bright colors and reminded us of a little greek fishing village.
You can walk about 100 feet to the right and the crystal clear turquoise water is magnificent for swimming. We couldn’t believe that we read a few negative reviews about the boats when you can swim just a few feet away. There is also a very cute picturesque pier in front of El Taj. We understand the owners of El Taj built the pier for wedding ceremonies but the pier is quite popular just to hang out and you can capture great sunsets which we saw on the first day we arrived.
The beach club is awesome and they offer a great buffet breakfast every morning. It seems they offer a promotion frequently that provides complimentary breakfast since most people had breakfast vouchers but it’s a great deal for $145 pesos around $13 US dollars.
We became friendly with a few guests and one person complained because they booked their vacation through a big travel discount.com and they didn’t know which condo they would receive until they arrived and they seemed to be a bit disappointed. We booked directly through the hotel and choose the room we wanted. All the front units facing the beach are 3 bedroom units and there is only one two bedroom unit directly on the beach.
El Taj has two swimming pools. It is actually two separate properties called Beachside and Oceanfront. The oceanfront property is directly on the beach facing the ocean and beachside property is across the street from the oceanfront property.
The unit we stayed in was spectacular and it looked brand new. We are light sleepers and the mattress was heavenly. Their was hardly any noise and it was very quiet even though the clubs are down the block from El Taj. The rooms are very spacious and they have I-pod players and cable TV and all the amenities you expect of a well appointed home. The windows are double insulated glass that block almost any outside noise.
They claim the windows are hurricane proof glass but we didn’t want to witness if this was true even though we would have liked to hear the crashing of the waves which were quite big but no chance of that with the thick glass windows. The location of El Taj is awesome if you want to be in the middle of everything. The famous 5th Ave. is only two blocks away. There’s no need for a car or taxi since everything is within walking distance.
We celebrated our 25th anniversary with our two grown children and they went out to the local clubs and bars that are just down the block. No worries for us especially since walking back from the clubs is just one or two blocks away! The only concerns we had was the Hurricane.
Join us at El Taj Ocean Condo Hotel
The next day the manager offered to move us to their other property at Maya Villa or Porto Playa since our room was directly on the beach. They also offered the same for other guests and I must say we felt extremely safe in our unit in El Taj. But we never experienced a hurricane before. Most of the guests stayed in El Taj to ride out the hurricane but we choose to move to Maya Villa. It is only one block from El Taj but not on the beach.
We also looked at this property on trip advisor before booking El Taj and we were not quite sure if we should stay in Maya Villa since we like staying in beachfront properties especially with an ocean view. So when they offered to move us we thought it would be great to experience both of their properties. We were sad to leave El Taj and thought we would return after the hurricane. But once we walked over to Maya Villa we were equally blown away and couldn’t believe how quint this hotel was.
It captures a Mayan theme with exquisite detailing and I couldn’t stop admiring the gecko shaped swimming pool. It is a much smaller pool than El Taj but it is very unique sort of like a river pool with spectacular jade colored mosaic tiling throughout. They provided us with a 3 bedroom duplex condo that is stunning. I will post a Maya Villa review but the best news is that Hurricane Rina had been downgraded to a major tropical storm.
We do not recommend traveling to this region in October since it is the tail end of Hurricane season. But if your not worried about the weather then El Taj or Maya Villa is the best place in all of Playa. Their Fitness club is also fabulous and it is a professional gym not your typical hotel gym. We also got to know the concierge (Teresa). She is so helpful and she is eager to help with anything.
She also knows every restaurant and she offers a library full of complimentary DVD’s and games which we found very handy since we are in a tropical storm and currently writing this review. Since we are riding out the storm in our condo I will also write a review for Maya Vila condo hotel. I hope you find this review helpful. We definitely recommend El taj or Maya Villa and we are coming back in January!
Stayed October 2011, traveled with family
Thank you Elena! If you read this, please contact me.
For additional information on El Taj Ocean Condo Hotel, Porto Playa Condo Hotel, Maya Villa Condo Hotel, El Taj Beach Condo Hotel, or Villas Sacbe Condo Hotel, contact me.