My 1-night stay at the Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen in Mexico started on the wrong foot, and the problems didn’t end until I left. By the end of my 24 hours at this property, some friends had started a group chat so I could keep them updated as they laughed at how bad my stay was.
That’s a pretty bad indictment of an all-inclusive property in a major tourist destination. It’s even worse, considering I hold the hotel’s top elite status.
The issues started before I arrived, with spam promotions from the hotel, and continued with my inability to access the property on arrival. Dining presented more problems, general maintenance was an issue, and the hotel failed in its efforts to make up for the problems.
Would I stay here again? Not willingly.
Booking Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen
Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen is a Category C all-inclusive property that participates in the World of Hyatt program. As an all-inclusive property, rates include food and drinks.
Under the new 5-tier award pricing, Category C properties cost between 20,000 and 40,000 points per night.
For my 1-night stay at the end of July 2026, Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen was charging $228 (including tax) or 30,000 points. Paying 30,000 points to save $228 meant redeeming Hyatt points at a dismal 0.76 cents each — about half of our valuation of Hyatt points at 1.4 cents each. Thus, I chose to pay for my stay and save my points for later.
Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen Location
Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen is located in the center of Playa del Carmen, roughly 50 minutes from the Cancun (CUN) airport by car and set directly on the beach. Numerous transport services are available, and renting a car can be cheap and easy for getting to Playa del Carmen.
The hotel is less than 10 minutes from the Playa del Carmen ferry terminal, which frequently runs to and from Cozumel.
What I Liked: My Room
The hotel’s standard room is a 1-bedroom junior suite. These all include a hot tub in the room, which is a nice touch, as well as a sitting area and a TV.
My king bed was comfortable, though the pillows left something to be desired. Each side of the bed had a nightstand and a reading lamp. Strangely, the air conditioning control was on one of these nightstands.
The hot tub sat at the far end of the room, requiring a big step to get into it, and a table and chairs were oddly pushed against the hot tub. There was also a sofa nearby, and the sliding glass door led to a large balcony. The hot tub had jets and was designed for 2 people.
The closet was inside the bathroom, which sat near the room’s entrance. The bathroom had dual sinks, lots of mirrors, a large shower, and a large rack for towels and toiletries.
My room had a solid wooden door and a privacy compartment for receiving room service without opening the door or talking to anyone.
Immediately inside my room, there were coffee supplies, a bit of storage space, and a minifridge. Items in the minifridge were complimentary since it was an all-inclusive property.
Why Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen Disappointed Me
I found myself laughing and wondering if I was on a hidden camera during some parts of my stay.
Spam Galore
I booked this stay about 2 months before arrival. In the 30 days before check-in, I received 10 emails from the hotel advertising spa services, activities, and room upgrades.
These were all promotional emails from the hotel, urging me to buy something.
Sending me 10 emails in 30 days meant I got an email from the hotel every 3 days, always trying to sell me something. That’s awful. And why send emails about paid upgrades to a Globalist in the first place, when I qualify for complimentary upgrades at check-in to the best available room? It was annoying, to say the least.
The spam frustration continued during my stay. Nearly every time I opened the Hyatt Inclusive Collection app (iOS, Android) — used to view property maps, facilities, hours, and other resort information — a pop-up message about a paid dining event appeared.
Lack of Room Upgrades
I’m a Globalist, Hyatt’s top elite tier. That means I qualify for space-available room upgrades at check-in. While checking in, the desk agent made it sound like I was upgraded to a presidential suite on Mars. Turns out, all I got was a slightly better view with an ocean view in a standard room type.
Throughout my stay, I saw numerous better rooms available. Checking the Hyatt app showed multiple upgraded rooms available that the hotel could’ve given me. I didn’t inquire about it because there were so many other issues during my stay.
Noise Outside My Room
Speaking of my room, the door was right next to the rooftop air conditioning units. All that separated me from them was a thin row of plants. I could hear these units at all times of the day. I kept music playing in my room in order to drown out the buzzing sounds.
Upkeep Issues
Maintenance during my stay could’ve been better. I found trash in the elevator more than once, and cracked floor tiles were present in multiple locations near my room.
Lack of Alcohol-Free Options
“What can I get without alcohol?”
“We have orange juice.”
Wrong answer in 2026.
Increasing numbers of people are eliminating or cutting back on alcohol (Source: Time). Hotels need to offer alcohol-free beverages to ensure all guests have options.
When numerous hotels are beefing up their mocktail lists, offering OJ as the sole nonalcoholic option at a fully stocked bar is hilariously bad.
Inability To Custom Order
I’ve been vegan for over 20 years now. “Can I get that without cheese?” is one of my most-used phrases.
Unfortunately, staff at 2 different restaurants told me that customizing dishes wasn’t possible, and I found that astonishing.
The hotel had a serious lack of vegan dishes, and the inability to alter a dish to make it vegan left me with very few options. After having a pair of appetizers at Asiana, the Asian restaurant, and finding the buffet closed that night, I retreated to my room and ordered a salad and guacamole. That was not at all what I expected for dinner at an all-inclusive resort.
Awkward Entertainment Situation
When entering the property, check-in was immediately to the left. Straight ahead, I found an open area with lots of seating. Guests passed through this area to reach the gym, coffee shop, the pool area, and other essential locations at the property.
This was also where nightly entertainment took place.
Cutting through the entertainment area while hunting for restaurants felt extremely awkward. Other guests also appeared uncomfortable as they crossed through the audience.
Repeated Service Failures
Let’s start with the difficulty of getting onto the property when I arrived. The guard booth was unattended, so I circled around with my rental car, looking for another way in. Not finding one, I returned to the guard booth and started honking and shouting, trying to gain the attention of bellhops I could see at the building.
After someone finally noticed me, they radioed to someone … who finally came to open the gate and let me in. That’s a bad first impression.
I also mentioned the spam emails at the very end of my check-in process, once I had my key. The woman didn’t seem to care at all.
At Asiana, the iPad I received with the digital menu died while I was looking at it. The drinks menu was also wrinkled, which made the presentation feel cheap.
These issues, combined with the bad food-and-drink experiences, meant I had a lot to say when someone called my room the next day to ask how my stay was going as a Globalist. I was very honest. I liked my room’s layout; I disliked pretty much everything else.
The woman on the phone offered to send a chef to my room to discuss vegan options. I told her it was too late because I was checking out in about 30 minutes.
She agreed that my stay was disappointing and said a manager would chat with me at checkout. “They should give you some type of compensation,” she offered. I agreed.
That didn’t happen.
At checkout, no manager was available, and there were no notes about the phone call in my file. I checked out and emailed my Concierge (a Hyatt Globalist perk) later with a recap, asking her to follow up with the hotel about the promised compensation.
Bottom Line:
My Concierge credited 20,000 points in my account after recapping the stay and sent my concerns to the hotel. No one from the hotel replied to me or to my Concierge, as far as I know.
Final Thoughts
I got my Brand Explorer credit, and the good news is that I never have to go back to the Hyatt Vivid Playa del Carmen.
From bad service to facilities issues and poor dining experiences, this was not a good stay. The list of failures is impressively long, given that I was only at this hotel for 24 hours.
If you’re looking for a great stay in Playa del Carmen, this isn’t it.