Las palapas is a truly lovely little place. While the rest of Playa del Carmen is a concrete jungle, las Palapas consists of two-storey cottages surrounded by gorgeous tropical gardens, on a beautiful stretch of beach. It's about 10 min walk away from the main shopping / restaurant area, and trust me, given how busy that past of Playa gets this is a good thing!

The standard of the cottages is pretty basic, so don't expect fluffy pillows and posh toiletries, but the surroundings more than make up for this. And the breakfast is great too!

A word of advice though, don't go to Playa del Carmen if you want to "get away from it all". It is VERY touristy and seems to be getting more crowded by the day. The restaurants and bars are very much focused on middle class Americans and Europeans (great food but expensive) so bring LOTS of money!

We stayed at Las Palapas for one week and I can honestly say it was one of the best holidays we have had. It is hard to put down all the qualities of this admirable hotel but here are just a few.

We had a garden suite deluxe room that was like waking up in the jungle canopy each morning, scrupulously clean , comfy bed and trust me we are fussy.

The freindliest staff from the efficient front desk to the tireless garden crew. The garden is awork of art in itself complete with coatamundis and songbirds.We asked for a fridge and extra pillows on arrival one round of pina coladas later and they were delivered.

The food was always good and the buffet breakfast had truly wonderful omellettes and crispy bacon to die for.

All this and I havent mentioned the beach , a picture post card location with loungers and thatched sun shades to spare.

If you want winter sun and a casual but professional place to stay within easy reach of a vibrant beach resort move quickly and book las palapas before it closes in August.

We chose Las Palapas as our destination wedding site because we heard the beach was the best--we were not disapointed! We stayed five nights and loved having the beach so close. The grounds are amazing. The rooms weren't as bad as I had heard, but when the rain came they did get a little damp. I thought the (free) breakfast was great and the food for the wedding reception was really good, too. I really missed Las Palapas when we left for our honeymoon.

I truly had a wonderful experience and would recommend Las Palapas for as long as it stays around. I also loved Playa del Carmen-- it was the perfect destination for a destination wedding. It has something for everyone-- relaxation and pampering, great nightlife and fun activities and adventure.

Wow. This place is completely breath-takingly gorgeous - if this happens to be your type of thing.
If you tend to opt for huge purpose-built all-inclusives, then this probably will not appeal - as the key words here are quiet, intimate and brimming with character.
THE LOCATION:
Las Palapas is located relatively centrally in Playa Del Carmen (it is dead easy to get into the main town - no more than a five minute leisurely stroll). However, it is far enough removed that you will experience no noise at all.
Playa Del Carmen itself is relatively nice, though don't count on getting any bargain souveniers - all the prices are hoiked up considerably as it is a tourist resort. Same goes for food. Playa literally consists of one major strip of shops that runs for 5km; it is nice enough to walk down, though you will get harrassed slightly by shop owners desperate for you to have a look in their shop!

LAS PALAPAS FACILITIES:
Las Palapas has a really nice restaurant, though personally, I would advise going out and eating in town at night for a bit of variation! The restuarant, like all the buildings in Las Palapas, has a gorgeous straw roof, which when lit at night is very atmospheric. They also do a GREAT breakfast in the morning, choice from yoghurts, fruit, breads, cheese, ham, plus hot choices like omelette made how you like it and Mexican traditional fare such as refried beans!
The bar is also great - check out happy hour - two cocktails for the price of one. This works out such good value - and their margaritas are very nice. The bar also does good lunches that are reasonably priced and you get lots of free tortilla chips with it to keep you full up! The nicest thing about the bar, is late at night, the racoons and the coatis run round it to see if there's any food going. (don't worry, they won't come near you, but it is cool to see them!)
There is a small beach bar too and a shop to buy souveniers in (again, overpriced) and a library area, where you can borrow books that other people have left behind.
The swimming pool is of an ok size, perfectly good enough to have a dip and is nicely secluded.
THE ROOMS:
The rooms are relatively basic, but this is part of their character. Be warned though, the beds are HARD. I had trouble sleeping a few nights. You will get a lot of mosquitos as well, so bring necessary preventative measures! The rooms generally have the lovely straw roofs and you also get two hammocks, which is by far and away the best thing, nothing beats swinging in a hammock reading a book!
THE BEACH:
The beach is only a few seconds walk from some of the rooms, and is beautiful, as you would expect for this part of the world - white sands, lush clear blue sea, palm trees, gorgeous. There is a dive centre right next door if you fancy a go at that as well!

In summary, I recommend this place totally. I went there for my honeymoon, and we had such a lovely time. We even loved it despite hurricane dean turning up in the middle (causing us to be evacuated to the far less pleasant Moon Palace for four days!)
This is a warning I would give you, especially if you are from the UK and not familiar with hurricanes: travel agents will NOT mention this to you, but it is very common to get hurricanes, right from august through to November. Don't worry too much though, the Mexicans certainly don't - they are totally used to it!
If you like places with character and peace and quiet with goregeous settings, las palapas will probably do the job!