We recently travelled to Mexico with Sunwing Vacations to visit the beautiful Paradisus Playa Del Carmen. The Paradisus Playa Del Carmen is a relatively large resort, but it’s also easily walkable. It’s divided into two sections, Esmeralda, which is the family side- and La Perla, the adults only side- which is where we stayed. When you stay at La Perla you also get access to all the Esmeralda amenities.

Take off and arrival:

We were flying in Sunwing’s Elite Plus section which gives you priority check-in (a huge perk when the check-in lines are long), priority boarding as well as extra leg room. Everything went really smoothly. Check-in and boarding went swiftly and we were greeted with complimentary glasses of sparkling wine. The four hours went relatively quickly and we were there before we knew it! We had private transfers to our resort and as soon as we made it through immigration we were paged. Before we knew it we were on the road to the resort!

Upon arrival we were greeted with cold towels (it was HOT, so very welcome) at the La Perla lobby. Because we were staying within the Royal Service section they quickly ushered us into a golf cart and moved us to that side of the resort. Check-in went extremely quickly, they went over all the restaurant options and a brief description of where everything was located. Royal Service includes Butler service (more on that later), but because we arrived late in the day our assigned Butler had left, but another butler took his place to take us to our One Bedroom Master Suite. He showed us around our suite to make sure we knew where everything is and how it all works.

Our Room:

Our One Bedroom Master Suite was extremely large with a separate bedroom with a king sized bed, and a two part bathroom which was bigger than some New York apartments. You get two massive bathtubs, one inside and one on the very large patio. Our room overlooked one of the pools and you could see a bit of the ocean through the trees. The living room included two sofas, a desk and a great big dining room table. The room comes with everything you’d ever need, but if not, just tell your butler!

Royal Service:

As previously mentioned, we had Royal Service. When you choose Royal Service, you essentially get full access to a more intimate boutique hotel experience with a very high service level within the larger resort. You’ll have exclusive access to two pools, one larger, more active pool with a swim up bar, and a smaller, quieter pool for when you just want peace and relaxation. Royal Service also gives you access to an exclusive restaurant, La Palapa, which serves all meals a la carte style. To top it all off, there is a Royal Service lounge which you can pop by at any time during the day for drinks and snacks. One of our very favourite things about Royal Service is the personal Butler Service! Our assigned Butler, Hector, had left for the day when we arrived but he next day he easily tracked us down, introduced himself, and got us set up with WhatsApp (download the app before you arrive so you can easily message your butler). Essentially your butler is there to make your stay absolutely seamless, they take away any of the added stresses of your day. No waiting in line for restaurant reservations, they will make sure your mini bar is stocked to your liking, your room gets cleaned at your preferred time, and they’ll even iron clothes and pack and unpack for you. They’ll also take you on a tour of the resort. Some of the best things about the personal Butler Service are the little surprises along the way, but we won’t ruin that for you!

Food & Drinks:

All the meals we had we’re absolutely delicious with a wide array of options, and they also indicated all the healthy spa recommended options, in case you’re trying to watch your waistline. There are about 10 or so different restaurants scattered across the entire resort. As a Royal Service guest you get access to all of them, including those on the family side of the resort. Service at all restaurants we found to be extremely attentive. They typically referred to you by name and frequently checked to make sure everything was fine. We also found each restaurant's’ manager would stop by to make sure we were enjoying everything. Food was also great, everything we had was delicious, well prepared and presented. We really appreciated the the diversity on all the menus, there was always something for everybody.

There was also a bunch of bars to choose from. During the day there were various pool bars. And in the evening they had everything from a martini bar to a Prosecco Bar. We loved all the drinks we tried!

Our experience at the hotel was absolutely seamless, from pickup to dropoff we couldn’t have asked for better attention to every detail. If you’re looking to relax and unwind, and not worry about anything during your stay, we’d absolutely recommend this resort, specifically Royal Service, you can’t go wrong!

Take a tour of the resort:

Our stay at the Paradisus Playa Del Carmen La Perla is in partnership with Sunwing Vacations, however, all opinions are our own. Many thanks to Sunwing for this fabulous and fun opportunity!

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