We booked with La Tortuga because of all the great reviews from Trip Advisor. We were so glad we did! The hotel is exaclty what we were hoping for.

The location is perfect, close to everything, very convenient! Quinta is right around the corner which has everything you need. The beach is a short walk, and it's easy to get to any transportation you need.

The hotel amenities (pool, spa, restaurant, bar) are great! The free breakfast was very filling and delicious. Lots of options, and the service in the restaurant is very good. The pool area is very clean and the pool is constantly being swept by the staff. The hot tub is great after a long day of activities and a good place to meet other visitors.

Our room was perfect! It was cozy and had everything we needed. We were on the top floor (3rd floor) and had a private rooftop deck with jacuzzi which was so great!

The best part of the hotel is the customer service. The front desk was so helpful in everyway and it was such an easy check-in and check-out. It was my wife's birthday during our trip and they decorated our room on her birthday. We feel that they really went above and beyond. We would plan on staying here again when we go back to Playa. No wonder it's #1 on Trip Advisor...

Recently returned from an 8-day stay in Playa del Carmen. This is a very touristy, party town with the beaches staying very crowded. La Tortuga Hotel is not "steps from the beach" but more like 5 blocks from the beach. Mamitas Beach is a private beach that is available to many hotels for free, which means you need to get there early to get a lounge chair, which are rows and rows and rows of people.

We paid extra for the swim-up room. I probably wouldn't have used the pool had it not been right outside my room. The pool area is beautiful with many tropical trees, which means there was mostly shade around the pool. They have a rooftop area for sunbathing, which wasn't too appealing. The hotel staff was great, the complimentary breakfast was wonderful, the room clean. The room was very small, but the reason I am writing this is to warn future travelers about the noise.

Recently, a nightclub opened up behind the hotel. We were awakened every night about midnight to the thump, thump, thump of nightclub music. It went on until at least 4 a.m. We complained to the hotel personnel, but they said their hands were tied. No offer of a room rate reduction or anything (we paid $220 per night). They did find me some earplugs, which helped, but I wouldn't spend that much money to have to wear earplugs to bed every night. Too bad, too, because this is a nice place.

Oh, the other noise issue was the early morning grounds/pool cleaning crew. They chatted loudly at 7 a.m. When I'm on vacation, I really like to sleep in, but no go here.

Hope this helps!

My friend and I visited La Tortuga in March. We would rate this hotel a 3.5, but that was not an option. Honestly, we were expecting a bit more from the hotel, being that it is the number one rated hotel on TripAdvisor, but that said, we did have a nice stay. My friend has previously stayed at Playa Maya, and she said that she would choose that hotel again over this one, since it is right on the beach and she enjoyed her stay just as much, if not more.

We stayed in one of the swim-up rooms, which was nice, but not worth the money in our opinion. We really never used the swim-up feature. The rooms are spacious. The beds are comfortable. The air conditioner was working very well. Actually, we think it was was a bit broken because it was just working so well that we were quite cold on the warmest setting. We were constantly turning it on and off during the night, which was a little bothersome. The bathroom is basic. There were a couple of little bugs in the bathroom, but I think that is sort of to be expected. We had an annoyance with our key cards. Almost every day we had to get them redone so that we could open our door.

The setting of La Tortuga is lovely. Very peaceful and relaxing. The pool is not as much functional for swimming as it is pretty, but we still enjoyed going in. The staff collects leaves out of the pool throughout the day, which is nice. The jacuzzi/hot tub is also nice. There aren't many chairs to lounge on poolside, so if you want one, you should probably put your books and towels down early. We read that people love the solarium. It wasn't a draw to us, but some may like it. Having a computer at the bar with free internet access was a plus.

The restaurant was pretty good. Breakfast was average. The lunch menu was small, but we ordered salads off the dinner menu and they were very good. We also had the shrimp cocktail, which was good. The staff at the restaurant and bar are very friendly. We especially liked Danny.

At reception, Bernardo and Ferdananda were lovely. They were very warm and helpful.

The next part, I am copying from another review b/c we felt the same way:
"The beach: Two options --- Mamitas is very crowded and loud but fun party atmosphere. There's another beach option, but sometimes they accept the "coupons" you receive from the front desk every AM and sometimes they make you pay. I saw several people arguing with the staff there, although the nice beds with mattresses and more quiet atmosphere was more attractive to me than Mamitas."

We felt the same as the other reviewer. The quieter beach, Zensi, had great beds/chairs. Some clarity between the hotel and beach club is needed, though, in terms of what La Tortuga guests are entitled to. Everyone seems to have their own opinion. Even the staff at the hotel had different takes on their "deal" with this beach club. We found, we either had to pay $5 each for our chairs of consume $15 each in food/beverage, and then the chairs would be free. The food is not good at the beach club and overpriced. I highly suggest you walk down the beach to Playa Maya and eat there.

We had a great stay in Playa. We highly recommend the restaurant, Negrosal, for dinner. I had one of the best meals I have ever had. I am still dreaming about the ricotta and spinach ravioli and the filet mignon.

We stayed at La Tortuga in March for one week and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. I booked the hotel and airport transfers directly through the hotel website. I received immediate responses to my inquiries and was pleased with the ease in booking. When we arrived at the airport, the transfer was waiting outside with a sign as promised. When we arrived at the hotel, we were warmly greeted with a drink, quick check in process, and escorted to our rooms by the wonderful Alfredo and his big smile!

We booked a swim up suite which was perfect for us. We enjoyed coming back from a long hot day at the beach and jumping into the refreshing pool. The pool area is so very relaxing and while that area may not get alot of sun you can go up to the rooftop sundeck which will give you all the sun you need along with the most comfortable sun beds I have ever had the pleasure of laying on. The pool/bar area is truly lovely at night with the torches and tree lights. The room was ample sized with room to hang and store clothes. The air conditioner was COLD and worked great. The beds were extremely comfortable! The included breakfast every morning was a great value. You could order pretty much anything off the menu and all the food we had that week was great!! We only ate breakfast at the hotel and ordered room service one afternoon which was delivered promptly.

They provide you with two options for beach clubs....Mamitas and Zenzi. We preferred Zenzi because Mamitas was insanely busy with terrible beach service and food. Zenzi provided great beach service, great food, comfortable beach chaise and a cool vibe. Zenzi was also much closer to La Tortuga!

The location of La Tortuga is really a major plus! It is so close to all of the Playa nightlife restaurants and bars yet when you walk in to the hotel you would think you were in some remote location.

The staff is amazing! They are all so friendly and willing to please. They frequently ask how your stay is and if everything is to your satisfaction.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel for your Playa del Carmen vacation. It gives you a great opportunity to enjoy all Playa has to offer in terms of restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. Yet you come back to this quite lovely hotel to relax and rejuvenate for the next day.