My husband and I spent 5 weeks at the Mimi del Mar from December 28 to February 1. We have previously only stayed at All-inclusive resorts with a 3½ star rating or better and I must admit that I was a little concerned about having booked 5 weeks at a 2 star hotel. But I don’t have a bad thing to say about it! We were a group of 11 for a period of 9 days and I don’t think a complaint was made by anyone. We all stayed in Standard rooms, 3 on the ground floor and 3 on the 2nd floor. Some of these rooms are larger than others. We were very happy to have a larger one on the ground floor, room 103, since we were staying awhile, but really, all we did was shower and sleep in the room so it really wasn’t an issue. The rooms are basic, but have everything you need. We like staying places that look and feel like Mexico, not fancy hotels! The lighting is a little dim, but I have found that to be an issue everywhere we have stayed in Mexico or the Dominican. I found the beds and pillows to be some of the most comfortable we have had on a holiday and I slept like a baby every night. Our room had a king size bed, but the smaller rooms had either queens or doubles-not sure what they were. The air conditioner worked well. The water pressure in the shower was great. We never ran out of hot water and the power never went out once during our stay. That is a first on our holidays!

The language barrier was a little greater here than at an all-inclusive. The majority of staff had minimal English, but they certainly are eager to learn, which helped us to add to our Spanish vocabulary as well. Staying as long as we did gave us a greater opportunity to get to know the staff and they were all wonderful and eager to please. The housekeeping staff were friendly and efficient. The maintenance man worked from the minute he arrived until the minute he left, keeping everything in tip-top shape (I wanted to bring him home, he was such a great handy-man), reception staff was friendly and ever so helpful, management was eager to please, and the beach/bar/kitchen staff were absolutely fabulous. We enjoyed our daily chats with Nedi and our impromptu Spanish/English/French lessons with Pedro! Not one rude or unfriendly person to be found here. Like anywhere, you treat them with respect and you get treated with respect in return!

The kitchen was added to the hotel about a year ago, so breakfast is served right there under the palapa or in your room on a rainy day, and it was always delicious! We sure do miss that fresh squeezed orange juice and our Mexicana scrambled eggs! We’d put our towels on our chairs in the morning and then go for breakfast. Sometimes when we went back to our chairs our towels would be all spread out on them waiting for us. Nice little touches! Bar service was excellent and the drinks were delicious and big! The food they prepare in their little kitchen is amazing and you can eat at a table under the palapa, or right at your beach chair. From breakfast dishes to nachos, salsa, guacamole, to the most delicious fish you ever tasted! It’s true, they do close up the kitchen a little early, otherwise we would have eaten supper there more often. But from their point of view, there really aren’t too many people who hang around on the beach after 3:30 or 4:00.

The pool is small, more for show than for use, I think, but who needs a pool when you are only a few feet away from the ocean! The pool was great for a quick refresher though and we did use it a few times! There is an outdoor shower for rinsing off and a bathroom right beside so you didn’t have to make the trip back to your room while at the beach.

The beach is rocky in front of the hotel, but from pictures I have seen and from what Nedi told us, it hasn’t always been like that. The hurricane played havoc with the beaches there and it will take years to rebuild them. We only had to walk down the beach a bit either way to find good swimming spots though.

The location of the hotel is great, second building on the beach south from Calle 4, so if you are dropped off in the right place, it is a very short walk to the hotel with your luggage…no big deal. Just make sure they take you down 4th right to the beach, and then walk to the right on the beach. If the staff sees you coming they will rush to get your luggage and carry it to your room for you and when you leave, they are right there to carry your suitcases back to the street for you. The hotel is close enough to 5th Avenue to be handy and far enough away to be quiet. We normally were on our balcony until 11 or 12:00 at night and it was so quiet, and we were never disturbed during the night! In addition, it is close to the bus station, the Cozumel ferry docks, tour pick-up spots, taxis, and close enough for a pleasant walk to the Collectivo pick-up site, and Wal-Mart (best place to buy beer, etc).

All in all, we found it a great place to stay and a hard place to leave! Should we decide to go back for another extended stay, we won’t hesitate to book there again.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at godin@mts.net

Hotel is simple, clean and a GREAT location. If you are not looking for complete luxury, but a nice firm bed, clean and simple - this is the place. Can't ask for better. RIght on the beach and just off the main drag of 5th avenue. We stayed in a Standard room, which had a queen bed, nice sized shower with GREAT WATER PRESSURE, and small kitchen. We only used the refridgerator, which was great to have. We never cooked anything so could not tell you if the stove top worked or not. The maid service was great. We tipped her each day and everyday, our 'towel art' was more impressive. The staff was great. We had a hard time working our safe deposit box, and they were up to help us immediately. Also, the waiters, front desk help were wonderful. Food and buckets of beer were cheap, and the chairs in front of the hotel are just for the guests so there are plenty to go around. Also, they provide fresh clean beach towels daily. The pool is small, and I think more for looks as no one was ever in it... Would stay here again in a heartbeat. HAVE FUN.

me and my fiance stayed 8 nights at the mimi in mid jan/07. our top floor room was clean and had a/c and cable tv, king size bed, kitchen and patio with a view of the ocean. the staff were excellent and very friendly. we really loved our maid who cleaned the room nice and always made us a different towel animal everyday. we left her 2-3 dollars everyday and a bit more on our last night. the front desk went out of their way a couple of times to book us tee times at a local golf course which was appreciated.
everyday each guest got a fresh beach towel altho we sometimes kept the same one for a couple days to save water and energy.
altho their beach isn't huge we always managed to get a lawn chair everyday with no problems.
i would definitely recommend this hotel to any of my friends
especially because the location couldn't get any better with
the ferry dock to cozumel, the ADO bus terminal, 5th ave restaurants and shopping all just around the corner.

We spent 2 weeks at Mimi Del Mar from in December06/January 07 and we had a great time. We were a group of 11 so were were taking up 6 of the 18 room at this hotel. The hotel rooms are simple but they are clean. Some of the rooms are larger than others and not all the standard rooms come with a king sized bed. Some only have double beds and those rooms are smaller.

The fridge in the kitchen worked well and was really nice to have. We never turned the burners on so I don't know how well they worked. The rooms don't come with a lot of dishes but our room had enough. I know some of the other people we were traveling with did not have glasses or ice trays so they had to ask for them.

Our room came with a free breakfast that we ate at the restaurant next door and breakfast was simple with about 5-6 choices but it tasted good. Some of the choices were a ham and cheese omelet, scrambled eggs, Mexican scrambled eggs, hot cakes, or just toast (continental). Breakfast came with orange juice and coffee or tea.

The staff was extremely friendly and very helpful. When our shuttle to bring us back to the airport did not show up on time, the girl at the front was extremely helpful and made every effort possible to contact them to find out what was going on.

The water in front of the hotel is OK but there are some rocks. Snorkeling in front of the hotel wasn't great but the day that we were snorkeling probably wouldn't have been any good anywhere.

The location of this hotel is excellent, especially if you plan on doing tours or going to Cozumel. It is close to the ferry, bus station, collectivo pickup (12 person van sort of like a taxi that runs up and down the main highway that a lot of people use to get to different tour locations. It's really cheap to use). It is on the beach between calle 2 and 4 (closer to 4) and very close to 5th avenue (which is where most of the shopping is).

Calle 4 is also where a lot of the scuba shops drop off and pick up so if you want to scuba dive, it's close.
The dive shop we used was probably 200 feet away on 4th between 5th and the beach.

Next time we go to Playa Del Carmen, we will stay here again for sure.