This was a great property for a large group. We all had plenty of room to spread out but also room for all of us the pool! Alma was great and the host was very responsive.
The house is very nice. It is spacious; it is perfect for family vacay. The house is in a safe private community. The owner and manager are amazing and very helpful. Everything you need is at walking distance such as convenience stores, the beach, some restaurant and fifth avenue. Xcaret parks are very close as well 10-30 minutes driving. My whole family loved it!!!
THE PROPERTY WORKS WELL FOR FAMILIA & FRIENDS MINUTES TO THE BEACH , NICE INFINITE POOL WITH OPENING FROM LIVING ROOM TO POOL IF YOU WISH AND ALMA THE CHEF & MAID WAS TOP NOTCH, WE WOULD RECOMEND THIS PROPERTY TO ANYONE.
The property was wonderful any and all issues were immediately resolved. The owner is very attentive to needs. The housekeeper and maintenance person were wonderful and professional. I would stay here again
Gordon was always quick to respond. The house was beautiful and in a great location. Alma was wonderful in taking care of us and our every need! Highly recommend this location.
House was wonderful. Location to beach and 5th avenue was amazing. Alma was very nice and helpful. Gordon was an amazing host and helped us make our trip to playa the best ever!
The property was clean and well kept. Itâs a vigorous walk into town for some older folks but doable. The air conditioning in each bedroom was a god send. Very much a family type atmosphere. Alma was great to work with, we loved having her there. We will be back.
Location was awesome for both the beach and downtown, found the information booklet provided, which is in both English and Spanish was an awesome resource. Any issues we did have were dealt with very quickly. Alma our maid was very amazing and thorough and easy to work with. Any questions we had were promptly answered by the owner. Our family of thirteen had an awesome family vacation at this residence and we would highly recommend this property.
Could not have been happier with the accommodations and the help rendered by the amazing housekeeper Alma. Everyone we interacted with was super responsive and top notch in every way including the property owner. The home is very close to the beach in a secluded cul-de-sac where it is in complete harmony with the manicured jungle around it. The small pool connected to the house was also really fun, we actually never ventured to the larger community pool because we like the one at the house so well. My only complaint is that there was some problem with the address where we had a hard time finding it and also our ride back to the airport. Other than that this was a 10/10 experience
It was a fabulous home for multi-gerational gathering. We were a group of 6, but there was plenty of space for additional guests if needed. The host was in communication both before and after we arrived. Any questions or issues were handled immediately. A lovely woman named Alma came every day to take care of house and us. Pool man was there every day and was very pleasant also. The house had a number of updates, but also maintained much of the original Mexican charm. The community of Playacar is great , and very secure. We ranged in age from 3 to 76 and everyone loved it! Highly recommend this listing.
What a gem! This property is nestled in a beautiful, safe and intimate community. It is incredibly accommodating with all its bedrooms, en suite bathrooms, expansive kitchen and dining room. We especially enjoyed the indoor/outdoor experience that the bi-fold glass doors provided with access to the property's private pool. There are many additional ammenities including a community pool, tennis courts, quick beach access and wonderful customer service. Every time we reached out with a question or request, we were greeted with immediate and responsive service. I can't speak higher about our experience at this property. I just want to go back!!
Villa Ensueno was a wonderful getaway for a girls trip celebrating 40 years of friendship! Gordon and his on site team were spectacular, responsive and very accommodating! Alma is a dream and extremely hard working along with the pool crew! The home is safe , private and a few minutes to the warm clear beach we visited daily including 3 hours before our return flights!! Highly recommend Romeoâs Italian and Ilios Greek Live Show! Tulum and the Mayan Ruins a must using Gordonâs recommended transport company the day was easy breezy! Our only comment was we didnât feel it would have worked for 6 adults 55+ who prefer private bedrooms & bathrooms. As it turns out we had 4 and it was perfect! Especially enjoyed the plunge pool at the end of the day to refresh & recharge ! Thank you to Gordon, Elena, Alma and the JF Rivera Tour team for making us feel So welcome !! We highly recommend this rental!!!
What a lovely, amazing, magical place Gordon and his family have made here. Plenty of room for many extended family and friends, daily housekeeping services provided by Alma, prompt and courteous communication from both the owner and the on site property manager. Itâs close to two different shopping/dining areas, a very short walk to a beautiful, pristine beach, and an easy taxi ride away from so many wonders Mexico offers. We made memories for a lifetime and checked many items off our bucket list (manatees! Snorkeling with sea turtles! Jumping in cenotes! Xavage adventure park! Standing at the base of one of the 7 wonders of the world (Chichen Itza)!). And even with all that, staying at home and enjoying the plunge pool for hours on end was probably one of my kidsâ favorite things of the whole trip. Would definitely recommend to others and it will definitely be on our list should we ever return to Playacar. Thank you!
We had a group of 13 (ages 3 to 70) between 5 different family units staying here for a birthday celebration/family reunion. There was space for everyone, and each couple/single person to have their own room and bathroom. The A/C in the bedrooms was fantastic.
The house is on a gated street within a gated community - itâs very safe in the middle of PDC. The walk to the beach only takes a minute, and the beach itself is almost private bc you basically need to be staying in Playacar to access it. We virtually had the beach to ourselves all 10 days. The house pool is also perfect for hanging out - the kids preferred it to the big community pool which is a 2 minute walk.
The kids LOVED staying in the pool house (which was very secure - we had been worried about strangers being able to get into the house, but in addition to the house being in a strictly guarded community on a gated street, you need a code to get into the pool house itself). Itâs only a few steps from the main house.
Communication with the host and the local managers was so easy. I had 3 people I could contact at any point, and they all answered immediately. Alma is an absolute gem - she is a fantastic cook, will have the house completely clean each day even with 6 kids running around, and will answer all your questions about the house and community.
We had a fantastic time at this house, and we are thinking about making this our new yearly family reunion spot.
We stayed for 16 nights for an extended family holiday. Positives were a beautiful home and grounds. We loved the pool and the proximity to the beautiful beach. The house was exactly as shown in the pictures. Alma and the rest of the staff were wonderful and took great care of us. Alma went out of her way to do whatever she could to make our stay perfect. We very much appreciated the beach chairs and umbrella. On the downside, we had many issues that arose during our stay. Alma and Gordon were quick to respond to our concerns. Some were fixed immediately, some took more time and I feel some were not addressed at all. Even though it was really no oneâs fault that some of these issues happened (mechanical), it still made our holiday less than perfect and even stressful at times.The biggest complaint that I have is with the cockroaches and various other critters that we shared the house with.
As much as we want to give a higher rating- the best we can offer is 3.5/5.
Our friend group visits Riviera Maya each year and this is about our tenth year renting VRBOâs. Overall, this is not one we would return to or recommend. There are others we liked a lot better.
The positives:
The house is nicely furnished and the pool is beautiful.
There are beach chairs, umbrellas, and beach towels available.
The caretakers were here almost daily, were very polite, and did a nice job.
The neutrals:
The communication was all through whatâs app and google translation
This house has many levels and not for anyone with ambulatory concerns. Including the trail to the beach. Itâs a bit farther than a short walk and is not flat terrain, although, there are other paths you can take to get to the beach.
There are a lot of keys and different codes for doors/gates.
The outside pool seating area is quite small for the size of the house, although there are lots of separate places to gather.
The negatives:
The lock on a side door near the kitchen was difficult to close and lock.
2 of the bedroom en-suite toilets did not flush and were not usable.
There wasnât hot water for showers, except one. The dishwasher and oven were not functioning during our stay.
If any food was not sealed in its original packaging, it attracted numerous large ants and one morning we woke to a couple of dead roaches on the kitchen floor.
The bathrooms had minimal number of towels and they were very thin/worn.
We were 6 adults that stayed in this lovely home for two weeks. The area is beautiful, so well kept. Alma was fabulous, doing all she could to make our time there relaxing and pleasurable, happy and willing to help however she could.
The kitchen was well stocked, pots were wonderful to cook with, we found mostly all we needed, only thing I can think of would be to replace the rubber spatula and salad spinner. House was kept very clean, pool cleaned consistently. Great lawn chairs to take to beach, and owner sent in beach umbrella when we asked if one there.
The transport service JF Tours that Owner recommends was great, we used them for all out transfers, and their response time was quick and efficient.
Furniture good, beds comfy, we werenât lacking anything.
My thanks to the owner Gordon, who is very caring and responsive, was a good vacation.
Sam Bishop
Wonderful location and great spaces for everyone. We were a family of 11 and there was plenty of room! The kids loved the plunge pool. There were plenty of beach chairs and umbrella for the short block and a half walk to the beach. Alma came every day to clean and she was wonderful!! Walking to town was easy and safe. Easy communication with owners and management too. Have wonderful memories to take back!
From pre booking to returning home the property manager was very responsive and helpful. Everything about the process and the trip went better than expected. Gordon surrounds himself with the best of the bestâŠtransportation service, cleaning crew, host, cook. The house was just as listed. Very comfortable and clean. We used the pool everyday after returning from our adventures. Although the beach is within walking distance, we were so busy that we did not spend much time there. Fifth avenue is a little longer walk but doable. The party aspect of fifth avenue is not our thing but we did find several great restaurants that we enjoyed. Just look for a place where the Mexican locals are eating and you are sure to find a great meal! It was so enjoyable to spend time with local people and getting to know them and their culture. We had Maria cook several meals for us, alma came every day for several hours to clean, pool guy cleaned pool daily, and Elena (local host) was very helpful in setting up fishing and other activities for us. The icing on the cake was Fernando who provides transportation. We hired him to take us to Tulum, akumal, cenotes, snorkeling, and ruins. He was so much better than just taking a taxi or packaged tour group. He is kind, knowledgeable, and helpful. We left with so many happy memories of this place and these people. This trip was a splurge for us and we are so glad we splurged. Hope to splurge again someday and return to the same location!
We fell in love with Playa Del Carmen and the Playacar gated community. The proximity to the beach, town, golf and 5th Avenue drew us to the area. The home is spacious with everything you need to make this a special family vacation. We love the privacy of the jungle back yard yet we are close to everything anyone could want in a vacation.