The Fives Beach Hotel and Residences

I never leave reviews but if I could leave zero stars I would. Disclaimer: I haven’t stayed at this resort. I cancelled a vacation I had booked for April 2027 in July (2026). It is now October and I still have not received a refund. They are gaslighting me at this point and keep telling me that my refund should be processed and can take up to 25 days to reflect in my account. ITS BEEN THREE MONTHS. I’m open to suggestions about what to do legally so that I get my money refunded….

We spent 13 nights at The Fives Hotel & Residences in October and, overall, had a fantastic holiday. The resort is beautiful, the wildlife is incredible, the rooms are kept immaculate, and the staff are genuinely some of the friendliest and hardest-working people we’ve encountered. There are a few areas that could be improved, but the positives far outweigh the negatives, and we came away with some brilliant memories.

The staff and service

Without a doubt, the people are one of the resort’s biggest assets. Staff are consistently welcoming, courteous, funny and attentive, and they go out of their way to make you feel at home.

A special mention goes to Omar, our Ambassador, who was absolutely fantastic. He was always quick to respond on WhatsApp, sorted out any minor issues efficiently and helped us arrange an excursion. He would even come and find us at our sunbeds to check everything was okay. His level of service was exceptional and he is a real credit to the hotel.

We had a noise issue one night, which disturbed our sleep. The hotel handled it with great professionalism, arranged a room move and offered us a hydrotherapy treatment as an apology. Omar followed up with us the next morning and arranged a meeting with management (Alejandro, who was also excellent) We genuinely felt listened to and reassured that our concerns were being taken seriously. The way the hotel dealt with this situation deserves real credit.

A big thank you as well to Araceli, Tino and Raul around the adults-only Natura Grill pool. Staff regularly came around offering drinks, brought them to your lounger or even into the pool, and remembered guests by name. It’s a lovely touch that makes you feel well looked after.

Francisco in the Italian restaurant was another delight, and Luigi, who we saw working across the front of house in several restaurants, was always cheerful and welcoming. Thank you also to Maria at the smoothie bar, whose smoothies were delicious, and Mariana at Santa Sirena, who provided lovely service.

Bring tips. The staff work incredibly hard and deserve the recognition.

Food and drink

There is plenty of choice across the resort, although portions in some restaurants can be on the small side, but dinner was mostly excellent and sometimes exceptional.

Breakfast was enjoyable, with plenty to choose from, but it did become a little repetitive over a two-week stay. The breakfast tacos were a nice option, although chicken or pork isn’t always what you fancy first thing in the morning. Fortunately, this outlet stays open until midday.

Lunch at Natura Grill was a highlight, as was the Thai restaurant in the evenings. The Italian restaurant is open for lunch, and there are burgers, pizzas and empanadas available on the beach daily. The Mexican BBQ on the beach on Sunday lunchtime was a particular favourite, followed by the Mexican buffet that evening. The ice cream is included and well worth enjoying, while the smoothie bar is another great addition. Marley Coffee, however, is chargeable.

One thing to be aware of if visiting in October is that not all restaurants or outlets operate every day. During our stay, some restaurants were operating with combined menus at different locations. For example, the Mexican restaurant was closed, but the Brasserie also offered a slimmed-down Mexican menu. On our final evening, the Thai and Sushi restaurants were separated, offering a much wider selection. We also found that Lizzards was closed throughout our visit.

There are no restaurant reservations, which wasn’t a major issue for us because we were happy to take our time. The wait was usually about an hour at 7-7:30pm but we were happy to have a drink and chill. If you arrive at 6pm, you will usually get straight in. However, after a full day out, it would sometimes have been nice to know we could eat at a particular time without waiting. There is also no evening buffet available every night, so a snack bar would be a useful addition.

Our biggest food disappointment was Santa Sirena, which we tried twice. On one occasion, it was operating as an outdoor BBQ buffet, and on the other we had the indoor à la carte menu. Unfortunately, neither experience lived up to our expectations having read many positive reviews, although the service was lovely.

Drinks were consistently very good, and the bartenders were happy to make whatever you fancied - there are no drinks menus. Cantina 1910 is a great bar, and the gin bar is also worth visiting, although seating there is limited. One small gripe is that draft beer wasn’t available at the pool bar and some other bars.

There are limited places to get coffee once breakfast has finished.

Pools, beach and resort facilities

The adults-only Natura Grill pool was a favourite spot, particularly because of the attentive service. The poolside bar service was excellent, though the area did close at around 5pm, which felt a little early.

There is a swim-up bar in another area but it was closed, which was disappointing as this was one of the reasons we chose the hotel. However, the excellent service at Natura made up for this.

The resort is enormous, with a good ten-minute walk from Natura to the beach, but that’s part of its charm. There is so much greenery, wildlife and scenery to enjoy along the way, and golf carts are available to hop on and off if you don’t fancy walking.

There are loads of sunbeds, so we never experienced any sunbed wars. Staff also move towels when loungers have been left unattended for too long, which helps keep things fair.

The gym is very well equipped, the Wi-Fi is outstanding, and the minibar is included and replenished daily.

Housekeeping also deserves recognition. Our room was consistently spotless, and everything was kept to a high standard.

One small point to note is that some balconies are shared, which can feel a little awkward depending on your neighbours. There is also very little indoor space to sit when it rains, so this could be an issue during a prolonged downpour.

Wildlife and excursions

The wildlife was one of our favourite parts of the holiday. We saw monkeys, coatis, lizards, agoutis, raccoons and plenty of birds along the beach. The cenote within the resort is beautiful and adds to the feeling that you’re staying somewhere special, surrounded by nature rather than just another hotel complex.

We also booked a trip to Chichén Itzá through Omar, combining it with a cenote visit, Valladolid and a traditional Mayan lunch. It was a brilliant day out, and booking through the hotel gave us peace of mind. Everything ran smoothly, and we were very pleased with the experience.

Entertainment and atmosphere

This is probably the area where the resort could improve most. There were some enjoyable evenings, particularly the fire shows and live music, but other nights consisted of things like movie nights or bingo. For a resort of this size and standard, we would have liked a little more variety and a livelier entertainment programme throughout the week. As the hotel got busier during our second week, there were nowhere near enough chairs for everyone to sit by the entertainment.

There were also quite a few weddings during our stay. While weddings are lovely occasions, some larger groups were quite rowdy, and the adults-only pool sometimes felt more like a party venue than a relaxing space. When a large wedding party arrived, we also noticed a significant increase in waiting times for food and drinks. This is worth bearing in mind if you’re booking primarily for a peaceful, adults-only experience.

A few practical tips

• Check the restaurant opening schedule using the QR code and hotel website. Not all outlets open every day, and this isn’t always clearly advertised around the resort.
• Pack insect repellent. You’re surrounded by beautiful vegetation, but the bugs are part of the experience!
• Don’t be put off by the October weather forecast. We had sunshine every day, and most rain showers lasted no more than around 30 minutes.
• If you fancy a massage, the spa prices are very high. There are massage providers on the beach just outside the hotel, about a minute’s walk away, offering massages for around $30.
• If you have dietary requirements, the restaurants were very diligent about checking allergens every time, which was reassuring to see.

Overall verdict

The Fives Hotel & Residences gave us a wonderful holiday. The beautiful surroundings, incredible wildlife, spotless accommodation, excellent facilities and, above all, the people made our stay special. Omar and the wider team deserve particular praise for the way they looked after us.

We would encourage anyone considering a stay here not to be put off by the small gripes, but to go and make the most of everything the resort has to offer. We had a brilliant time and left with some fantastic memories. Thank you to everyone at The Fives who helped make our holiday so enjoyable!

Tom and Ashley

The hotel looks a little tired and could do with a face lift. The hotel complex is huge and they run a regular shuttle service to different parts of the estate which can be very handy. Our room backed on to a swim up pool which was great as the weather was very hot. The room quality was average at best and looked tired. The shower was quite dirty and the rooms never seemed to be cleaned properly. The restaurants were OK but the quality of the buffet service was very average and the main restaurant had a canteen style feel to it. As usual with these things the theme of restaurant varied but without much variety. Regardless of the theme the food was basically the same. I thought the food was "0k" but my wife thought it was poor considering the price of the holiday. One of the most disappointing things was the beach, which was poor. No real attempts by staff etc to clean up any seaweed and it was not the sort of Carribbean beach you would really hope for. If the beach is your top priority for your vacation I wouldn't recommend you come to Playa Del Carman at all. Back to the hotel one of the most silly things they had was the Personal Concierge service which should attend to your every need. This was a joke. You could never contact your designated concierge and ended up waiting around for them. And then when they don't turn up, other staff that are available say they cannot help you because they are not assigned as your personal concierge. It was ridiculous. Behind all this they were just focusing on the guests with the most money and trying sell available vacation homes that were available on the hotel estate. Not surprisingly we will not go back to the hotel or Play Del Carmen.