By: Ariane Devizio, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
Good food is extremely important to me, especially on vacation. When I'm away I try to eat new-to-me foods rather than the usual burgers and pizza and it's an aspect of traveling that I really look forward to. I recently had the chance to visit 7 Palace Resort properties in Mexico with a group of fellow travel agents, staying at two. Right from the start I was extremely impressed with the food options and quality that Palace Resorts offer, and for our final two nights I was excited to see what Playacar Palace had for us to try!
Playacar Palace is a boutique resort in Playa Del Carmen, with a beautiful open air check- in area and right around the corner from great shopping and dining on 5th Avenue. Playacar Palace has numerous dining options for you to choose from:
Our group of travel advisors arrived starving and ready to eat. Many of us hit Cafe Del Mar, which showcases hearty international dishes for breakfast and lunch and traditional Mexican fare for dinner. After trying their made-to-order tacos-because who doesn't love tacos- I completed my mid-day meal with a quick stop at Sweet & Coffee, located off the lobby, to grab one of my favorite snacks, macarons! Every Palace Resort has Sweet and Coffee or a version of it, with snacks and desserts made right on site. Great for an afternoon treat or a good cup of coffee and a pastry to start your day.
I was excited to try for dinner, which is a Latin-inspired dining venue that turns into an adults only music and mixology party after dinner service completes. We dined on fish and chicken tacos, short rib bao buns, and smooth as butter filets before finishing off with super cool ice cream flavors (you may have guessed sweets are my favorite). Myself and another travel agent opted to share the Olive Oil ice cream and Yuzu ice cream. I would return to Madre Mia just to have these again!
More dining options at Playacar Palace include MOMO which offers sushi, teppanyaki, and shubu-shubu.
Bocelli is their gourmet Italian restaurant and Lahna is their adults only restaurant.
Serving a 10-course Mayan inspired menu, Lahna takes you on a journey through the land of vibrant flavors and legendary traditions of the Yucatan Peninsula. Open Monday-Saturday and offering two seatings per night at 6pm and 8pm.
Having so many varying dining options right at your resort is a huge plus. However if you venture into town to shop and feel a little peckish, 5th Avenue offers lots of great places to eat as well. If some of the restaurants are a little too "exotic" for finicky children, you'll find a nice array of choices here. Speaking of children, kids 17 and under stay free at all Palace properties!
If you're wanting a relaxing vacation at a luxury resort, along with gourmet dining and the ability to stroll around and window shop some unique stores and booths, Playacar Palace will check all those boxes.
