My husband and I spent six days in Playa and were so glad that we stayed at La Tortuga. It was our first time to come to the Yucatan without being on a ship so we booked our stay based on Tripadvisor reviews.
Everything about this hotel was wonderful. Bernado and Lisa were especially helpful with telling us where to eat and how to get around even though I had read about that on Tripadvisor as well.
The little things added the special touch such as: welcome drinks, help with the luggage to our 2nd floor room, towel art, etc.
We stayed in a standard room since that was all that was available at the time, but we were not disappointed. It was a little small, but if you plan right, you won't be in your room much anyway. We had a small balcony with a view of the pool.
The included breakfast was excellent. The staff there is very accommodating and nice.
The pool was nice and a great way to cool down after a humid, hot day spent walking around in Playa. The staff really takes great effort to keep the areas clean. There were at least 2 people cleaning the pool area at any given time.
The bar staff was also great. We didn't order from the bar much, but when we did, they were even nice enough to bring the drinks to our chairs.
Our room was always clean by the end of the day. We did have to call for wash cloths once, but other than that, they were very prompt to responding to anything we needed.
The only complaint we had was the noise from the construction next door. This is nothing the hotel can help. There is construction everywhere in Playa so if you stay in the tourist area, you are bound to hear it at some point.
Mamamitas was a great place to relax. It is a bit of a walk, but after eating such a great breakfast, my husband and I welcomed the exercise. The staff there was very helpful in getting us an umbrella with chairs. The water at the beach is amazing. The beach club is not as busy as most people complained it was. We had a great time there.
I would definitely recommend staying at La Tortuga. It is such a bargain, and I hope that they always will be. It's proximity to 5th Avenue can't be beat.

Typically we stay in all inclusives, but we want to experience more of Mexico. We chose La Tortuga based on all of the reviews on this site.

We stayed 3 nights (a bit too short) in a superior jr suite. The bedroom was smaller than I expected, but nicely appointed. The bed was very comfortable, the tv and air worked great. They even emptied the mini-bar for us so that we could fill it with our own beverages.

The bathroom was beautiful (although the lighting was not the best). Also, house keeping never hung up our towels let alone replaced them (not a big deal, but worth a mention).

We did not use our jaccuzzi tub on the roof top, but we did frequent the pool in the afternoons (very nice).

The restaraunt was wonderful as was the bar (try the palmarita's or the mojito's).

There was construction early (8:00am in the morning) but we are early risers. We did not hear any music from the night clubs.

Overall, it was a great stay, and I would not hesitate to return.

Stayed at La Tortuga in mid June while in Playa for a wedding, traveling with my brother. Had read good reviews and agree that the hotel is a great find.

Staff - cannot say enough, they were excellent, friendly, helpful, and well trained. Anna in particular was great and helping to make arrangements prior to the trip via email. Laura was also helpful.

Rooms - rooms are clean and comforable. I had a swim up room and my brother stayed in a standard plus. They were a little small but perfect for one person. Couples might want to stay in a slightly larger room, but would recommend them all. The air conditioners were a little noisy, but I got used to it. Bath products are great and towels shapped like animals were fun!

Food - breakfast was excellent, great choices. Other meals were good and sitting outside to eat was really nice.

Spa - spa is very nice, though double check if you are getting your nails done that the staff is trained. I had a great massage and body treatment, but the woman doing my nails had not been trained and it took multiple trys so I would not recommend nail services until Spa Itza hires/trains real manicurists. It was slow, so maybe they use used this woman who was a trained masseuse. But, nail services were not worth the money and I should have just done it myself. I was dissapointed after getting a great pedicure there the year before, during a trip to Playa in 2007.

Tours - the hotel will arrange tours at reasonable prices. We went snorkling off the beach. If they don't have a tour that meets your needs they will recommend someone.

Pool - very peaceful and cool....extremely nice pool and refreshing on VERY hot days (beware that it is very hot in June!).

Overall, highly recommend and can't wait to go back!

Staying at La Tortuga was one of the best hotel stays we've ever had! Eight of us stayed there in May/June 08 for our wedding (coordinated by the hotel's wedding planners, Caribbean Blue Weddings, which we highly recommend), and we couldn't have asked for a better hotel for this very special occasion! From the beginning, our emails to Anna Bassi were responded to very quickly and with such helpfulness and friendliness, I felt as if we had been friends for years :). Her assistance in providing me with preliminary information on having a wedding there was fantastic, and made our decision to hire Caribbean Blue Weddings very easy. Upon arrival, we were greeted so warmly by Anna and Alfredo, making check-in a breeze (those welcome drinks made it even more pleasant :). Our party had 2 standard plus rooms and 1 standard before the wedding, then my hubby and I stayed in a junior suite thereafter. The standard plus rooms were roomy (one was more roomy than the other...all the rooms at the Hotel are configured a little differently, lending to its charm) with a nice balcony overlooking the wonderful pool oasis at the center of the hotel. The standard room my aunt and uncle had was quite small but nicely appointed, and a good bargain considering the price! The junior suite was great, very spacious and with a nice jacuzzi on the rooftop - very romantic! (staff also beautifully decorated the room for our wedding night - a nice touch with the complimentary champagne too!)

All the staff at the hotel and restaurant (Bistro) were excellent, almost all of them knew we were getting married and made it a point to show how happy and excited they were for us, which made us feel right at home. The food at Bistro was excellent! We ate the included breakfast there every day and were very impressed with the quality and quantity. We had dinner there our first night and it was great too.

On the day of our wedding the van that was supposed to pick us up broke down, so the wedding planners and the front desk staff (special thanks to Fernanda!) were on it to get us to the chapel as quickly as possible, and it all worked out fine. Bernardo was another staff member who was very helpful and nice to us too...I wish we could remember all the others' names, but honestly every person we came in contact with was awesome.

We love that the hotel was not all-inclusive and not a mega resort (only 51 rooms). It's location was perfect...although it's not on the beach you are only a block from the action on 5th Ave and a couple blocks to the beach. We went to Mamita's beach club (the hotel gives you a voucher) one afternoon and loved it...it is a bit of a walk but well worth it. The sand is so soft, no rocks and the water is just gorgeous. Food and drinks there were good too!

The only thing that I want to point out to future guests is that the hotel does not have an elevator....while we had no problems with having our luggage brought up, we were traveling with older family members so at times they were a little tired going up and down (but it didn't take away from them liking the hotel, in fact they can't wait to go back!). Also, the jacuzzi didn't have a railing to easily get in/out, so my dad who's in his 70's had a little bit of trouble. Aside from those two minor issues, we LOVED La Tortuga and CAN'T WAIT to return!!!!!!! I can now see why it is rated #1!