THE FIVES AZUL Beach Resort, Playa Del Carmen

Take your five senses on a journey

During our 11 day stay in Mexico we had to book a place to stay in between our stay at the Royalton Riviera Resort and Spa. We had qualified for two separate promotions with our travel business for the Royalton, so we just stayed in Mexico. We booked this with our travel club called DreamTrips Escape. THE FIVES “tag” line is: Take your five senses on a journey.

My wife and I stayed at THE FIVES Wednesday August 22^nd and checked out on Saturday August 25^th . The weather was amazing all week with highs in the 80’s and lows in the 80’s! Not much variation. Not humid at all. August is a great time to visit Mexico weather wise, HOWEVER during August and September the area battles seaweed in massive amounts. This particular “season” was much worse than normal according to locals.  Workers tried to remove the seaweed every day. The issue was much better in Playa Del Carmen area compared to Cancun. The smell of the seaweed kept us from much beach time. The beach itself was light beige not white and felt great on our bare feet. Plenty of beach area to walk and lounge on. Further out you could see waters that was free of seaweed and those waters where a beautiful turquoise color. The big lesson learned about the water and beach area is…don’t go during August- October if water sports is what you are in to. Now don’t get me wrong…still a very beautiful place!!!

After a 40-minute taxi ride from the Royalton Riviera Resort to The Fives we were greeted cheerfully by an English-speaking bellman. They took our luggage and a “host” lead us to the lobby and check in area.  This was a busy area with many of us checking in. The wait was short and the staff handling the “rush” very well. Check-in went smooth and the front desk person attached a “bracelet” on our wrist to designate us as an all-inclusive guest. We were given a room key card. Why that is significant is that at the Royalton the “bracelet” there is your room key as well. You don’t realize how helpful that is until you have that luxury…one less thing I must worry about carrying with me. After a very short wait another bellman arrived with a golf cart to drive us to our building. On the way he told us about the features of the resort, restaurants, bars, activities, and where the beach is located. Our building was in the “back” of the property and the furthest from the beach. That turned out to be a blessing because of the seaweed and away from the main pool and bar area where most of the guests spent their day. That lead to our area being very quiet and peaceful. Upon arriving he unloaded our luggage and guided us to our room and give us a brief tour of the room and features.

The room was a one bedroom “suite” with a full living room and kitchen. We stayed in a floor unit and we had 3 double door sliding glass doors. Yes, it was that big. That lead to patio areas that were peaceful to sit outside as it faced a “jungle” area where we witnessed monkeys climbing through the trees.  The entire unit was well decorated and had a contemporary look. The kitchen had red tiled walls and black counter tops. It was stocked with pots and pans, plates, silverware, and glassware. The kitchen was equipped with a full-size refrigerator, dish washer, and coffee maker. If you wanted to buy groceries and cook you could easily. Being all-inclusive we chose to eat like kings prepared for us!

The living room had a pull-out couch, LCD panel, coffee table, and an easy chair. The bedroom was set apart from the living room by a very large “rolling” door with frosted glass. The bedroom had a king size bed that was comfortable and had high end bedding. The bathroom had a huge closest with a sliding door. There was a safe located in the closest. The sink was a double vanity, but was a little small if both of us was were using the sink at the same time. The toilet area was roomy. The shower was equipped with a rain shower and a hand-held spray head. The shower was easily big enough for two people without even coming close to touching each other. You enter the shower thru a large frosted glass door. Showers like these makes it hard to get out of the nice hot shower!

There were very large pools that “zig-zagged” between buildings and connected to floor level units to create swim out rooms. Plenty of bar areas for each group of buildings including swim up bars at the bigger pools. Staff were attentive in asking if you needed anything. There are 10 bars on the property. Some large, some small. All were decorated uniquely and full of premium spirts. Towels were easily accessible, and you had to use a towel card to get towels. If you didn’t return your towels by the end of your stay you would have been charged for them. I have no idea how much that would have been.

There are 9 restaurants on the resort. Japanese, Italian, Asian, French, Mexican, Sushi, Raw Bar, Gourmet Burgers, and two buffets. Most of the restaurants were in one central area. Something for everyone. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner was superb, every meal and everything in between! If you go hungry it is your own fault!

All the pools were extremely clean and well kept. The entire grounds were extremely well maintained and beautiful. The walkways varied from simple concrete to “coble” stone in some areas. One unique feature was a “teak wood like” walk way that connected the back of the resort to the beach area. We witnessed monkeys in this area. Very much a rain forest type of jungle.

Overall, we enjoyed our stay, especially when other guests shared what they paid to be there as a time share member. We are not high on timeshares because we think there are more cost-effective ways to vacation. That is a topic for another time. I rate the THE FIVES Azul Beach Resort as a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 when comparing FOUR DIAMOND resorts. This isn’t the Econo Lodge! In my opinion, this resort was a notch below the Royalton Riviera Resort and Spa in Cancun and two notches below Sandals in Antigua and Grenada. Two notches below the Grand Pallidum Resort in Jamaica. I do think The Fives is a notch above The La concha resort in Puerto Rico.

Bottom line is I would stay at The Fives Azul Beach Resort again for the right deal. I wouldn’t go during August or September, but that isn’t anyone’s fault…just the way it is that time of year. I definitely felt we received our money’s worth and value.

This is one company that doesn’t exaggerate their pictures of the resort. Reality is very close to the pictures on their website. Here is there website: https://www.azulbeachresorts.com/resorts/the-fives