We stayed at Magic Blue at the end of January - wanted a bit of luxury after a long flight so spent two nights there before travelling down the Yucatan and staying in more basic places. It was perfect for what we needed - very very well designed and puts a smile on your face when you walk out the door first thing in the morning (with a sore head!) and see the courtyard with pool and huge palms and lovely gardens. As stated before the staff are out first thing cleaning and making sure everything is just right. The front of house staff are charming and always happy to help. You get a welcome drink and a mobile phone (with $20 credit) for your stay which are really nice touches along with sweets on your pillow each day, fresh water and towels. Breakfast was excellent (not sure why another reviewer would say it was just 'ok' - really couldnt see how it could be better! It can be a bit noisy in the morning with nearby construction traffic but cant see that that is the hotels fault and all hotels must suffer it. Great location otherwise. It is fairly expensive (for what i'm used to) but Playa is a fairly expensive place and it did seem reasonable compared to other similar hotels - we didnt actually go into these other hotels but from the outside it definately looked like we chose the best deal. Would highly recommend this place :-)

My husband and I stayed at the Magic Blue Feb. 17th through the 20th. I loved the location. It's close to the restaurants and shops and only a few blocks away from the beach. The hotel is MUCH smaller than I expected. It is set up courtyard style with the guest rooms surrounding the pool and bar. The hotel is not a resort, and it was quiet when we were there. The guests come in and out frequently, spending time in the city and on the beach.

The rooms are clean, but dimly lit. I found it hard to get ready. Also, we had problems with our shower. The shower head was broken and our entire bathroom area (which consists of a toilet and shower, VERY small) was wet, toilet paper and all. Our friends had it worse. No hot water. Actually, their water was freezing. We both reported the problems to the front desk. They said they would fix it but our shower was never fixed, and theirs still wasn't working when we left.

We were on the first floor and I didn't notice outside noise at night, but our friends on the second floor said they did. The breakfast buffet is okay. It's provided in a restaurant next door.

Overall, nice experience with a few minor problems. I would recommend checking your shower as soon as you get there and asking for a different room if it doesn't work.

We loved pretty much everything about this hotel and will definitely go back. The location is fantastic - 1 block from Quinta and a couple blocks away from the beach - very close to everything but just far enough to get away from the noise and bustle of Quinta. Our room was nicely decorated and very clean, the room service always available and very prompt. We loved the quiet mornings by the pool or in the hammock on our little porch. The hotel bar although small serves nice drinks and it's a great opportunity to meet your fellow travelers from around the world. The place is extremely clean - the hotel crew seemed to be out washing, scrubbing, cutting, and pruning first thing in the morning every day. The free breakfast totally exceeded our expectations with a great selection of fruit, juices, breads and cereal, egg and meat dishes to mention just a few. The beach club was really nice (also free) – we were greeted by Miguel right away and he aways made sure we were taken care of. The one thing the hotel needs to watch is the fact that the night clubs are starting to move away from the beach to the other side of Quinta – we could hear some music from a nearby night club at some ungodly early hour in the morning – wasn’t a huge problem but we did have a hard time going back to sleep.

Overall, it was a great experience at a great price.

We just got back tonight from 2 days in Tulum and 4 days in Playa at the Magic Blue. The location is good and the courtyard/pool area is beautiful. Magic Blue is a relaxing retreat from the hustle and bustle of Playa. The staff was extremely pleasant and helpful ~ the breakfast buffet was above average and offered something for everyone.

Unfortunately, the 2nd floor rooms with the large palapa roofs are extremely noisy. The outside daytime and night time traffic is nonstop - lots of trucks and noisy vehicles were traveling by right outside our window. Even with a ton of drinks in us it was torture to lie in a comfy bed each night with the outside world swirling around. In addition, there must be 2 different discos in the area that play music until daylight - no kidding! We had read about the noise factor on previous reviews but thought that the reviewers might have been exaggerating... they were not.

The rooms were very spacious, clean and modern. The beds are extremely comfortable given most Mexican hotels have substandard hard mattresses. This was our 10th visit to Playa and we always try someplace different. The price of $145/night is good but I would rather pay $245+ and be closer to the beach and away from the Playa traffic.

On a different note, my sister and her husband stayed in a 1st floor room closer to the front of the hotel (Room #33) and they did not have any issues with noise so I would recommend asking for a first floor room.... near the front.