The Reef 28

Our first trip to México and we chose this boutique resort in Playa del Carmen. The staff, hotel, and amenities were fantastic. They were lovely to interact with and extremely helpful with all of our questions and needs.

The room was wonderful, the bed was comfortable and we had everything we needed. I asked for a room change after the first night due to a heavy mold smell to which i am very sensitive to. They graciously changed my room without hesitation and it was fine after that.

Really enjoyed the spa and hydrotherapy!
The Mexican restaurant in the hotel had fantastic food, and we loved the breakfast options, especially on the weekend.

This review is solely for the Reef 28 rooftop pool.

A couple friends invited me to go to the rooftop pool at Reef 28 and I accepted their invitation. This was my first time at a rooftop pool in Playa. I had so much fun!!! The drinks were strong and the music that was played throughout the day was great. I love that the DJ played hip hop and great music I was able to dance to. Other guests who were at the pool that day were also very lively..so that made it even more fun.

There is a minimum consumption that you can use towards your food and drinks then you just have to pay the difference if you spend more than that amount at the end of the day.

Fun place to spend your weekends if you are in Playa!!!

It took me an overpriced, bad quality stay at a Bahamian hotel to be writing this review for the Reef 28.
I stayed here a year ago and I just want to say THANK YOU for everything. You guys are amazing. The breakfast was great, the dinner was great and the staff is so incredibly friendly and well trained. This is an amazing service at a good price. While the rooms are average, the staff really makes up for it. Only disappointed was that we had to pay to use the sauna. Usually that’s included in most hotels and massages is what you pay for.
I am sorry it took me a year and a bad experience at the Grand Hyatt in the Bahamas to write this good review. We will come back here. Miss it!

Went for spa service. Roberto is very good at explaining the spa services. He is was attentive to our appointments and helped my friend with reserving more services. Friendly with a very nice demeanor and smile to go with it. Would highly recommend. Him and spa which is a beautifully done. Has everything you could want. Atmosphere is very nice. Well done job on the spa, the decorating and rooms are just top quality.

The hotel have a great location in Playa. Comparing with many other all inclusive hotels, The Reef is one of the best for the food they serve in any restaurant you choose to eat.

I recommend to visit their sauna and rooftop as a guest or you can pay anytime for a day pass.
My stay was amazing, I will definitely come back.

Thank you!

Drinks were high quality. the lobby bar has all the ingredients to make you whatever you’d like (mint, cucumber, all citrus, rosemary ++) and the bartender’s are fast & friendly. I never waited more than 1 min for service. Drinks upstairs in the pool club were very good, and very cold. I suggest getting the all inclusive package and tipping as you go. Our morning server was Luis, great english, great at his job. In the afternoon you can ask for Francisco Sánchez a.k.a Impala (nickname), he is a STAR. We had so much fun with him, he goes ABOVE AND BEYOND to make sure all your needs are met even before you realize you need them!!! Shout out also to Sergio Sanchez who runs such a good team! Front desk team extremely accommodating, remember your name and will do everything in their power to make sure you’re happy. The restaurants are too die for. Mexican, Italian, & Asian (plus the rooftop you can order a variety) all can accommodate vegetarian and vegan if you ask. Every night we were so impressed with the quality of the food, the visual appeal of the food, service was always great. Never had to wait for a table, groups of 4 and less don’t need to make a reservation which is very nice so you can really just relax. Rooms are very nice, cleaned every day by around 1pm. 100000% recommend this Hotel. The only downside, which they really should fix is the music on the rooftop! They need to mix up the music. BOOK NOW!

The best part about this place is the people. Every staff that I dealt with was just awesome. The food was great at every meal. Everything was clean and tidy. As I looked around I saw every guest being treated as well as me. Jose in the Mexican restaurant was more than exceptional. His focus on customer service and attention to details helped make my stay far more pleasurable. I hope to be back soon.

UPDATE - Luis took great care of us yesterday (Monday), the rooftop pool is great and they brought a hairdryer for us!

Brenda was also wonderful, listened intently to our concerns and went above and beyond to make sure our stay was improved.

We are excited to try the Asian restaurant tonight and greatly appreciate the efforts to elevate our experience!

By far one of the best vacations I've ever had!!! The food was amazing, the drinks were awesome and David the bartender was the absolute BEST!!! The only thing I didn't like was people would reserve the covered loungers at the roof top pool the night before and leave their stuff there all day so nobody else could sit there. The wait staff on the roof top was borderline rude at times but I will definitely be back here!!!

Not usually a resort person but I found The Reef 28 to be a delight. The rooms are spacious and clean. We were not on the street side so our balcony didn't have a view but our room was very quiet, which was perfect for us. When we wanted to be outside, we went to the rooftop. Which was clean and well kept! The gym and yoga classes were wonderful options to have.

We loved the Mexican restaurant, Cachito, and was greeted so well by Adrian, the host every night we were there. He was friendly and helpful. Warm and welcoming like we were coming home than just another patron at a hotel.

Very close to the beach but the beach, like most in PDC are very crowded. We preferred to see sunrise and then come back to our comfy rooftop at the reef where it was less crowded and more enjoyable.

A wonderful place to stay! I would like to highlight all the following collaborators for the outstanding service:
Ernesto, Jorge and the bartenders of the Roof Bar. Uriel at the reception. And Jeronimo @ Italian restaurant for all his knowledge for Gluten free diet and friendly service.
And at the Coco Beach Reef location we met Francisco an outstanding collaborator( hopefully a future manager :) )

Superb :)
Feb. 2024
We had originally booked
Wyndham playa Del Carmen for my son's 25 th birthday! Big mistake.
Luckily we were able to book him for a night stay with friends at this fabulous place. We took all inclusive peg for him, which was excellent. Food for all tastes, fancy and beautifully presented.
Premium drinks served .
Rooms are super spacious and luxurious.
Bravo! They really got it.

My experience at the Reef 28 has been one of the best experiences of my entire life. I was able to give my girlfriend the best experience for her birthday with all of the accommodations that were made for the occasion. The resort is extremely beautiful and the staff were so extremely helpful and kind whenever it came to anything that we needed. Especially Brenda from Guest Service and Robert from the Spa. They made us feel as if we were right at home by making sure everything we asked for was done. I would highly recommend this stay at the reef 28 on any of your future travels to Playa.

The food at the hotel restaurant exceeded our expectations! Service provided by Adonay was impeccable. He is very attentive and gave us good recommendations for dinner!!

Great club yet there are shady characters, a young woman approached to bait us to join them for something. And there were mafia looking dudes with her. Just beware. The music was great, electronic music and DJ was good!

Firstly, I am experienced traveller with Playa del Carmen having stayed in many other hotels/airbnbs here in the past. I can honestly say Reef 28 is one of the better ones I have stayed at.
We stayed in a deluxe junior suite room - very nice and spacious. And staff laid out roses and bottle of sparkling wine for our honeymoon. No balcony with the room.
Majority of the staff are very friendly, especially Julian, one of the main waiters, I give him 5 stars.
However, only 4 stars for service overall as I had a bad experience with one of the waiters on the rooftop pool area who got annoyed when I didn’t leave a tip, I had paid for all inclusive and didn’t carry cash around with me at all. He shook his head and stormed off angrily, this was very disrespectful in my eyes as being tipped is a luxury and only deserved when the service is great. His service was not.
The location is great, literally 50 meters from 5th avenue. The food is better than most all inclusive hotels (despite their weird restaurant waiting service), breakfast has a great variety of foods. The coffee at the reception bar is amazing, strong and tasty.
Pool area is cool, modern and they have a hot jacuzzi and cold jacuzzi. They also have a live dj who plays everyday. The music is loud and definitely gives off a party vibe if that’s what you’re looking for. Peace and quiet is not an option in the rooftop area.
We were also lucky enough to use the spa for hydrotherapy, this was also decent. It was not too full when we used it. Cold plunge is very cold - sign of a good spa.
The shuttle service included in the diamond package is useful. However we only went to each resort once, so not really worth the money (30 USD per person per day). The other 2 resorts are ok, but quite crowded and food wasn’t as good as reef 28.
Overall 7.5/10 as an all inclusive. They also take Amex here.
P.s: DO NOT LISTEN TO THE VACATION CLUB STAFF IN LIGHT BLUE UNIFORMS - COMPLETE SCAM.

I’ve been here twice and each time I had a blast! Food 10/10 customer service 10/10 ambiance 10/10 the city felt safe and everything was walking distance. This is the most affordable all inclusive resort I’ve ever stayed at

Really nice location to stay in Playa. It's on a quiet block near my favorite restaurant in the city (Ictio Fish House) and my go-to dive shop (Tank-Ha) and just a 1-minute walk from 5th ave where all the action is.

The room was lovely and clean. The staff were warm and welcoming. The hotel also has a private rooftop deck with nice views of the ocean and excellent evening ambiance with a good bar and nice lighting.

When we checked out, we stupidly forgot a set of AirPod pro on the bed (white case, white sheet, woops 😬). We emailed the hotel to coordinate and they bent over backwards to get the AirPods safely packaged and shipped to us in the USA. Truly world-class service.

What a great trip from the moment we arrived! champagne upon arrival, very welcoming staff, quick check in.

We stayed from Tuesday-Saturday and enjoyed endless meals at the Mexican restaurant and roof top on site. We also made reservations for Hibachi at the sister hotel Coco Beach.

Well worth the all inclusive and area is easy to navigate! You won’t regret, bring $$$ for tips too as the staff are amazing and deserve it.

Roxana & Reyes are true gems! Thank you for your amazing customer service, not our first time and certainly not our last.

Really nice 5-Star hotel that has great services, facilities and well located at the intersection of the tourist and local parts of Playa Del Carmen.

Having spent a week at the Reef there are a few points prospective guests should be aware of.
1. It's noisy at the Reef 28. The walls seam to be paper thin. As a result you can hear everything from adjacent rooms, the roof garden plays music really loud and the main restaurant which is located in the centre of a open plan building can be heard from 5am when they start preparations for breakfast. So unless you are a heavy sleeper, prepare to be woke, or kept awake by these things.
2. You are not on the Beach, and you can't see it from any of the rooms. But the Beach is only a stones throw away.

On the positive, you get to use the facilities of the other hotels in the chain, and they are really nice, on the beach and offer great facilities.

In summary, the Reef 28 is great, but is a lively hotel, with lots of lively bars and restaurants within walking distance. Staff are attentive and pleasant to deal with.