We just got back from a 2 week stay in Playa Del Carmen at the Fiesta Banana Hotel. It is a family run hotel, the brothers taking turns in the office. Ask Roberto and he will give you some restaurant tips off of the tourist strip that are excellent. There were four of us in two separate rooms. One on the 2ND floor and ours on the 3RD floor. Both rooms were kept spotless each day. There was also a "special towel" arrangement each day also. All of the staff were very helpful and friendly, especially Oscar the afternoon desk clerk. He was great. The restaurant of the hotel does a great breakfast so no need to wander for your morning coffee fix. They also have "happy hour" all day long, 2X1 drinks, every day all day. My wife and sister had to have their Mojito fix every day there. The best thing about the Fiesta Banana is its location. It is only 2 blocks from the Mamitas and Kool beach clubs and is on the more quiet end of 5Th Ave. Babe's is on the next block and the PG Sports bar is only a few blocks away.

My mother, sister and I, older adults, are budget travelers. We choose our hotels based upon price (and of course reviews). We were not disappointed with our choice of Fiesta Banana. The hotel is clean and well kept. The balcony was tiny and not useable because of the tropical plants from the street taking over the balcony, but we were there to sight see and not sit around the room! The staff was friendly and helpful, arranged a Chichen Itza tour for us at our request, which cost slightly less than if we'd prebooked through any website.
I booked the room through a website other than the hotel's, because they requested credit card information be submitted via e-mail and I wasn't comfortable doing that - didn't seem secure. It took a couple of e-mails from me with the off-site reservation information before Fiesta confirmed the reservation, but that was not a big problem.
The room key operates the lights and a/c and the key must be turned into the desk each time you leave the room. That's not a problem in Nov. and it saves them on the electric bill, I guess!
we didn't use the very small pool, in fact, never saw anyone use it. If you haven't been in Mexico, don't be surprised at the signs requesting that ALL paper and paper products be disposed of in the waste basket and not flushed.
We walked from the bus station to the hotel, about a 15-20 min walk. That gave us a chance to get our first glimpse of 5th ave.
We paid extra for the continental breakfast served between 9a and 11a. Coffee/cappuccion, o.j. and toast w/ jam. Restaurant is also open for lunch and evening I believe, but we weren't around.
we had no problem with sleep being disturbed by noise even though there is a small restaurant/bar right across the street. we also enjoyed evenings in the second floor common room which had two sides open to the street. bottled water was available there for the guests.
There are also MANY other resturants all along 5th ave.

My boyfriend and I stayed there from sep 18-25, 2007... The hotel was very easy to find (we were driving from the airport), and since the first moment the crew were very polite, and also funny. Even we arrived pretty early still they give us our room. It had plenty of room for two people, because c'mon... we use the room for sleeping(LOL), not to hanging out, who needs more space? :P

Anyway, the room was cleaned every day, and we got the famous swans, butterflies, etc, made with the towels, it was a very nice detail. We give a deposit for beach towels and it was refund at the end of the stay.

Its located at the north end of the 5th, wich i found it great because is not noisy, even tho there's a small lounge in the front corner, it wasnt noisy, believe me, i slept perfecly every single night and i have a light sleep.

The continental breakfast included its perfectly fine, coffee (my boyfriend asked expresso and i asked a capuccino, everysingle day), with toast, butter and strawberry jelly, was fine, and i realize that actually i dont need more for breakfast.

The Mamita's Beach discount coupons, were right at the counter, and it give's a 50% discount, but c'mon ppl, the rent of the chairs is for $30 pesos each, that's 3usd or 2eur... DO U REALLY COMPLAIN about not finding the coupons???? Anyway, we got them everyday, everytime we left the key.

The room had air conditioned wich it had to be turned off at nights, cause its so damn cold, with the ceiling fan its ok... at day the AC is a MUST.

We didnt use the little pool, indeed is pretty small, more like a jacuzzi, but i guess its a good option if is raining, we got a day of rain, but we drive ourselfs to a mall, to the movies, so no pool needed

Anyway, we for sure are staying there again if we come back to Playa. Great service, great price, great location, lovely people.

My husband and I stayed here for three nights in early September. There were several things that could have been better about the stay, but the hotel was so charming and fun we really enjoyed our stay, and the price was great, too!

The only things we didn't like about the hotel were the piece of chewed up gum we found in the shower (yuck!) and the paper thin walls. We could hear the maids cleaning every day, and at night we heard the LOUD club next door. Luckily, I had ear plugs! Other than the gum the room was always very clean.

The location of the hotel was great - right at the north end of Quinta, and only two blocks from the beach. We also loved the general look of the building. The pool, though quite small, was really nice because it was mostly shaded so it was cooler than the ocean and I could still enjoy swimming when I was sunburned. We were disappointed because we never saw the Mamitas beach club discount coupons that were advertised.

I would recommend this hotel to my friends, and I disagree with the review who said this place felt like a hostel. We thought it felt like a local Mexican inn.