Need Vibes on the El Tukan Condotel/Real Playa

[Deekny]

My husband & I are both 40. We travel 3x a year to eithe Mexico-Caribbean. Usually stay at 4 star resorts.
We really love the town of Playa de Carmen and always said we wanted to stay right in town (we love the beach and all the little bars along the beach) & like 5th ave.
Which is better??? Who has better food?
El Tukan Condotel?
Real Playa de Carmen?
I realize they are not the Grand Porto Real or the other Real resort...I really don't want to pay the high prices they want for those resorts on the dates we are traveling .

Please help!

[Deekny]

Hi-I noticed any time I post-I see that the post is viewed..but no responses....
what about this Shammy person-I know they know everything about Playa...
can you offer any guidance? On these hotels?

[Rissask]

We stayed at the El Tukan both times we have been to Playa.
Reason being, it was the only non-AI hotel offered as an air/hotel package on a charter and the price was right. I believe now it has an AI option; in fact in the Canadian brochures it looks like it is only offered as an AI.
It's a very basic 3* hotel, a bit aged and the rooms are in need of a facelift, but it's clean and the location is great. A short walk to the beach and right on Fifth but it was quiet at night. And they had free passes to a beach club (on the beach north of the Gran Porto Real, great stretch of beach) when we stayed there, it was the Tukan then, not sure which one now.
There is one small pool that was usually very quiet and the courtyard is really nice, full of palms and very jungly.
The Real Playa del Carmen
was called Club Bananas a few years ago, it's in the north end as well, a couple blocks farther north than the El Tukan (so not as close to 'downtown') but still a good location, a bit nicer than the El Tukan, but also bigger and livelier.

I wouldn't go all inclusive to either of these, if you have a choice, but as a place in town to stay they would be good.

[Shammy]

Neither of these hotels is known for food or room quality. They are both off beach budget hotels and most people that stay there use them as "home base" so to speak - they eat out a lot, hit the bars in town, like hanging at the public beaches - and the main reason for booking them was to be IN town yet not pay big AI prices.
I'm not sure who EL Tukan uses for their beach club now, it's not Kool (which used to be Tukan beach club). Real PDC lets people use the Gran Porto Beach I believe.

Honestly, in my opinion - I wouldn't pick either hotel unless it was necessary because of it being combined with a charter package deal from your city. I'd find a condo or small hotel in Playa and then eat, drink off the property and go to any beach club I want. The food quality will be so much better, probably the rooms too. I just don't know why you'd want to do an AI plan at a 2* hotel when there are nicer boutique hotels in town that will end up costing you less. My 2 cents of course, you may think differently. or may need to pick one of the two as those may be your only in town choices - dunno.

[RonH]

Hey Deekny, you might want to look at just staying at one of the non-AI places. I don't know much about the El-Tukan AI. You need to make sure with them that you can do an AI at one of the beach clubs. I don't think you can. I think their AI is just eating and drinking in their restaurant. Jacko has been to the Real and he could give you better info. What I know about the Real Playa Del Carmen is that the beach club is at the Grand Porto. All you can get to eat there is chips and salsa (which is ok with me). The beach there is not the greatest, BUT!!! you are only steps and 2 minute walk to a beautiful beach. I can't tell you much about the food either. If you are all set on doing AI at one of these places I would choose the Real (only because I know for a fact that they have a beach club. Now you might have to walk for about 5 min to get there, but its there )

[RonH]

Originally Posted by Shammy

Neither of these hotels is known for food or room quality. They are both off beach budget hotels and most people that stay there use them as "home base" so to speak - they eat out a lot, hit the bars in town, like hanging at the public beaches - and the main reason for booking them was to be IN town yet not pay big AI prices.
I'm not sure who EL Tukan uses for their beach club now, it's not Kool (which used to be Tukan beach club). Real PDC lets people use the Gran Porto Beach I believe.

Honestly, in my opinion - I wouldn't pick either hotel unless it was necessary because of it being combined with a charter package deal from your city. I'd find a condo or small hotel in Playa and then eat, drink off the property and go to any beach club I want. The food quality will be so much better, probably the rooms too. I just don't know why you'd want to do an AI plan at a 2* hotel when there are nicer boutique hotels in town that will end up costing you less. My 2 cents of course, you may think differently. or may need to pick one of the two as those may be your only in town choices - dunno.

Yeah.. what Shammy said.

[Deekny]

This is the kind of info I wanted...
I'm departing out of Buffalo NY via Toronto...it's part of a package...if I did airfare on my own-then book a condo or boutiques property-the airfare alone would be more then the AI package itself that the tour operator is offering...
Thanks for the info...We'll see what happens.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by Deekny

This is the kind of info I wanted...
I'm departing out of Buffalo NY via Toronto...it's part of a package...if I did airfare on my own-then book a condo or boutiques property-the airfare alone would be more then the AI package itself that the tour operator is offering...
Thanks for the info...We'll see what happens.

exactly the position we were in as well, departing from Saskatoon. It sucks that the Canadian carriers don't offer more non-AI hotels as part of an air/hotel package- and that's the same for all destinations in Mexico, Cuba, the DR, etc. .

If I were you, I would just go with the cheaper hotel and then plan on using it as a 'base' like Shammy said, eating most of your meals in town and doing day trips around the area. That is what we did and we had great vacations both trips.

It would be handy to be able to get some drinks by the pool and coffee and breakfast in the morning, if nothing else.

I'd probably pick the El Tukan because it's likely the cheaper one and a little bit closer to downtown that the Real PDC, and I believe the beach club is actually Mamitas now- way nicer than using the Gran Porto Real beach and beach club.