PLAYA DEL CARMEN

PLAYA DEL CARMEN

PLAYAMERICARMEN

Glitz, music, dancing and a warm ocean breeze...it's all an illusion.  This is fun town - the place where being close to the centro means you'll get no sleep, and if you're on the outskirts, you're far away from the delicious plates of food served up in some of Playa's better restaurants.  I have a love/hate relationship with Playa Del Carmen, and I hope in future that changes - but I'm unsure that it will.

In 1996, Playa had Senor Frogs, but most of the corporations were an hour north in the sky-scraped city called Cancun.  We weren't in Mexico for the Hard Rock Cafe, or Senor Frogs, though we did visit the latter - and the food was okay, drinks weak, and seats uncomfortable.  Okay - maybe I just have something against corporations and franchises.

Then again, maybe not.  100% Natural is a franchise, but the food here was fabulous.  The service was also friendly and efficient, and the fruit fountain was pretty beautiful.  We stopped here for breakfast a few times, because they had amazing bread, fruit salad, yogurt, granola and all the huevos ranchero's style meals one could want in the morning.  We found the prices very decent, and the one time we stopped for a nightcap, our drinks were the size of fish bowls.

There are some beautiful shops in Playa Del Carmen, but buyer beware - you'll pay high prices here.  If you are heading inland, and know you're coming back - check the shops before you leave, so you can shop around.  We found prices were extremely high in Playa, and very reasonable in Merida.

This sign is confusing!  But they actually mean if you drink one, you've paid for two...for the most part, it seemed happy hour covers most of the day in Playa.  In 2007, the currency exchange meant that two drinks cost $5.55 CAD, and 2 beers cost $4.44 CAD...pretty darn cheap if you ask me!!  The only thing about this, is that if two people order a drink each, they will be charged full price each - so to take advantage of this deal, you need to be prepared to drink 2 each....that's not hard!!

Playa is beautiful, busy, fun, exciting and expensive - but the part I object to most is the fact that Starbucks has now taken over the small local coffee shops that used to be busy on Aviendo Five.  In 2007, Burger King was also located on Aviendo Five, and it's unfortunate to see the mum and pop operations that were there in 1996, disappear.  Even between 2006 and 2007, much had changed on the main strip.  It's demoralizing to think tourists travel to Mexico for the comforts of home - and think nothing of avoiding small businesses if they can order that name-brand taste of that Starbucks Frappaccino they are accustomed to.  I say "try something new!"  Mexico happens to have some excellent coffee - and the best pizza I ever tasted was at the Cafeteria El Meson at Parque Hidalgo in Merida.  Unless tourists begin voting with conscious feet, there will be little reason to even visit the Mayan Riviera.