We chose Hotel Riviera Caribe Maya based on TripAdvisor reviews (it was our second choice since Luna Blue was full), and overall we were pleased with our choice. But we had a few problems along the way.

The hotel is small, lovely, and clean--at least as visually appealing as the pictures on the web site suggest. And btw, almost all the rooms have balconies, and even those that don't have windows overlooking the pool in the courtyard, which is very pretty, and surrounded by nice lounge chairs. The one aesthetic shortcoming is the art, which is pretty bad. I know that's a small detail, but visually, the hotel is so nice otherwise, that the bad paintings definitely stand out.

Here are a few problems you might want to know about:

1. If you are considering staying here within the next couple of months, beware of the fact that the property immediately next door is UNDER CONSTRUCTION. At the time of our stay (Feb. 2008) the major structural work appeared to be nearly complete, but who knows how long the finish work on the inside will take. Unfortunately, our room was literally inches (through the wall) from the construction noise, which was kind of a drag. However, the hotel handled this well: we were moved to a different room ASAP (after one night). This was also an "upgrade" to a room with a king size bed for no additional charge. And btw, other than the size of the bed itself, the room was identical to the room we'd been in with a queen-size bed. After we moved, we couldn't hear any noise from our room. I think construction noise might only be a problem in the three rooms closest to the building next door. Still, thought it was worth knowing about. Of course, construction is happening all over the place in booming Playa, so you might find this almost anywhere you stay.

2. The queen-size bed in our original room had the hardest mattress I've ever slept on. Not quite as hard as a rock, but close. The king size bed in the room we moved to later was fine.

3. The entire hotel had no running water whatsoever for about an hour the first morning of our stay. (Possibly related to construction next door?)

4. For some reason, several lights in the front part of our room failed to work on the second morning of our stay. (Probably a circuit breaker.) This was fixed quickly after we notified the front desk.

And here are a few positives:

1. One great perk that I don't remember being mentioned: there's a laptop with free Internet access in the lounge area that guests are welcome to use to check email, etc. Rarely a wait to use it.

2. The hotel provides fresh beach towels (in addition to the regular bath towels in your room) daily. Just ask for them at the front desk.

3. The half-price discount at Mamitas Beach Club is definitely a good thing. You can rent comfortable lounge chairs for the day for $3 each. (I think that was the price after the discount, but I can't remember now.) Definitely worth it. Then you get waiter service for drinks (and passable food) all day. If you want a chair under a palapa-style umbrella, you might want to send someone out to save them by 8 or 9 a.m. I saw several people arrive early just to hang their beach towels from an umbrella to "reserve" it. Even though they didn't come back for a couple of hours, and even though every other umbrella was taken, everyone seemed to honor that that umbrella had been claimed.

My husband and I stayed here for four nights. It was super clean, the hotel is really cute, the location was excellent and the staff were really helpful and friendly. You have access to a beach club that is only two blocks away and 5th Ave is just around the corner. It was quiete, except for the construction next door but we were up and ready to get moving by then anyway! Excellent price!

My wife and I stayed for five days and nights and left on New Year's Eve 2007. Spotless, well maintained, very friendly staff, warm and inviting place to stay. Except for some 8 am hammering from condo construction next door, no booming techno, all night parties or loud trafic. Air conditioner, shady pool, and overhead fan kept us cool. The rooms were kept immaculately, and the towels folded into origami swans and other shapes. Bring your own washcloths, though. Luis numero uno and Luis numero dos staffed the front desk and were a hoot to tease and play with. Each morning, we received a ticket to free continental breakfast at a sweet little Italian/Mexican joint two blocks away, and a 50% discount to the closest beach club (ten minute walk). Get to the beach early to score a lounge. It as high season so we paid about $115 total (with tax) but we kept remarking how lucky we were to find this place relative to the larger, noisier places to the south. We would definately return if Playa was our destination of choice.

We stayed at Riviera Caribe Maya in september of 2007. The hotel is beautiful, impeccably kept, with friendly and attentive staff. The rooms were spacious and clean, well-insulated from noise and generally quite pleasant. There was the construction of a condo building in the space adjacent to th hotel (which also neighbours the hotel Prisma Caribe), and the construction noise lasted from 9am to about 7-8 pm. Most of the time this was not a problem: we were at the ruins or the beach, but the inevitable dust from construction sometimes drifting down on the building of the hotel was not so pleasant. The housekeeping staff did an exemplary job, but it's impossible to keep out all signs of construction when the project is in progress. Not the hotel's fault, but probably not ideal for honeymooners until construction ends (maybe another 3-6 months tops). The pool was spacious, 3 people could swim in it at the same time, and we liked the little ledge to lounge in on one side at the pool when the day is too hot.
Our breakfast was not included because we reserved through Expedia, but when making direct reservations with the hotel, the breakfast is included, and is offered at a nearby restaurant where they make an excellent mocha or capuccino, offered along with orange juice, reasonable toast, butter and jam. ($7 extra for us per day).
They also gave us complimentary beach/lounge towels and had a deal with one beach-front hotel for half off towels and umbrellas at the beach. We did not take advantage of the latter, as we were in the water most of the time anyway.
Luis and George were the bes desk managers, very helpful and friendly and even helped us with planning a snorkeling trip (we went with a package offered by a local firm Aventuras Mayas, I think, and we did a cenote, a small lagoon and a sea inlet in the same day, lunch and scenic drive included, for 80$ for both. Beautiful!
We would happily stay there again, and we loved our 2-week stay!