Essence at the Fives Beach

Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Star rating

The hotel

Looking to create your own memorable moments in Mexico... well we're sure the Essence at The Fives Beach deserves a spot in your Wishlist! Sitting on a picture-perfect beach in Playa del Carmen the stunning Essence at The Fives Beach delivers all your holiday desires. Starting with their generous all-inclusive plan that offers global cuisine and impressive cocktail lists in 10 trendy restaurants and bars, that's enough to keep any foodie happy! You have a choice of inviting pools, beach club, dreamy spa and a kid's club playhouse, where little ones will be entertained for hours thanks to the energetic activity programme. Phew! Plus there's a great selection of rooms to choose from too. How does all that sound? It's clear to see a holiday here combines a blissful beach break with something a bit more 'extra'... it's no wonder it’s proving popular with fun-loving couples and families.

Amenities

  • Tennis
  • Babysitting service
  • Kids Club
  • Bar
  • Evening Entertainment
  • Internet Access
  • Restaurant
  • Room Service
  • Spa
  • Swimming Pool
  • Beachfront location

Where is it

Perfectly sat on the white sand coast of the Caribbean Sea in Playa Del Carmen. Transfer time from airport: 35 minutes.

Hotel information

663 air-conditioned rooms. All with a balcony or terrace with pool or garden views, air-conditioning, LCD flat-screen television or smart TV, WiFi, coffee maker and daily stocked mini-bar. 

With features of contemporary coastal style, Deluxe Rooms have a large balcony or terrace with garden views, and either 2 double beds or 1 king- size bed, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

All Inclusive includes: a welcome drink upon arrival. Meals and drinks at 10 bars and restaurants, plus casual dining options in the open-air eateries. Domestic and international premium liqueurs. Personal concierge in pool and beach areas. 24-hour room service.

Modern 1 Bedroom Resort Residences enjoy a separate living room with double sofa bed, and a full kitchen, as well as 1 king-size bed, sleeping 2 adults. These rooms are also available as a Swim Up Residence, where you can dip into the pool straight from your patio.

2 Bedroom Resort Residences feature a master bedroom, living room with double sofa bed and a second bedroom with 2 double beds (or 1 king-size bed), and a full-size kitchen. These rooms are also available as a Swim Up Residence, where you can dip into the pool straight from your patio.

1 Bedroom Penthouse Resort Residences have their own rooftop lounge area complete with a pergola, barbecue grill and a whirlpool tub.

  • Booking Bonus: Book by 31 Jul '25 to receive up to 25% off the accommodation cost between 28 Feb '25 –23 Dec '27. Terms and conditions apply. Any applicable offers have been calculated into the prices shown. Offers may not be combinable. Blackout dates apply. 
  • Room Upgrade and Hotel Saving: Save up to 65% plus receive a complimentary room upgrade from a Deluxe room to a 1 Bedroom Residence for completed stays between 19 Oct25–31 Mar '26 and 19 Oct'26–31 Mar'27, book by 24 Aug '25. The room booked is the room received, upgrade included in price. Any applicable offers have been calculated into the prices shown. Offers may not be combinable. Blackout dates apply. Terms and conditions apply. 

14 restaurants and gourmet corners including Flavours (family-friendly buffet restaurant with International dishes, open for breakfast and dinner), Lizzards (healthy delights and natural ingredient-based cuisine, open for lunch), Natura Day Club & Grill (adult-only, grill restaurant, open for lunch), La Brasserie (Bistro restaurant serving the best of International cuisine, all-day dining), Oka (sushi bar, open for dinner), Mestizo (authentic Mexican gastronomy, open for breakfast and dinner), Arezzo (adult-only restaurant, Tuscan cuisine, open for dinner), Sea Olive (Italian dishes, open for dinner), Koh Thai (Thai cuisine, open for dinner). Pop up food corners including pizza slices, Mexican bites, burgers and sandwiches and other pop up delights. 4 pool bars and 4 signature bars. Coffee shop*.

Daily and nightly entertainment.

7 outdoor pools. Spa*. Gym. Outdoor tennis courts. Basketball court. Running and jogging circuit. The Beach Club with loungers and sun beds. Aluxitos Play House (4-12 years) offering fun supervised activities for kids, ranging from fitness classes, arts and crafts and tennis lessons. Interactive cooking class*. Joy & Wellness Programme (variety of activities designed to refresh and renew both body and mind. These include yoga classes, sport activities, evening entertainment and cooking classes).

Butlers in the pool and beach areas. 24-hour room service*. Dry-cleaning/laundry services*. Babysitting service available*. 

Guests staying in the Mexican state Quintana Roo are required to pay a travel tax of $11 per adult (over 15 years old). The payment can be made prior to travel, upon arrival or during your stay, as the tax will be imposed upon departure. There is also an additional Environmental Sanitation Tax of $4.25 USD per room, per night that will be added to your hotel bill (payable locally, subject to change).

* Denotes local charge. 

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (13107)
  • Very good (2704)
  • Average (1137)
  • Poor (552)
  • Terrible (662)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Such a mixed bag, fix dinner time!!

Jul 10, 2025 grahamt66 Gosport, United Kingdom

As many reading this will be, we were nervous travelling after recent reviews. The resort itself is spacious and well laid out, looks a bit tired in some areas but we witnessed daily maintenance at least attempting to stay on top of it. Check in was swift, we were allocated room 1111. Block 1, floor 1. This is close to the Plaza and noisy until… Read more
As many reading this will be, we were nervous travelling after recent reviews. The resort itself is spacious and well laid out, looks a bit tired in some areas but we witnessed daily maintenance at least attempting to stay on top of it. Check in was swift, we were allocated room 1111. Block 1, floor 1. This is close to the Plaza and noisy until entertainment stops at 10.30. The apartment was huge, much bigger than we expected. It worked perfectly for the three of us with sliding doors off the lounge / kitchen and a big sofa bed, separate toilet. The bedroom was spacious, watch out for the step on the first night in the dark!! Staff were excellent all round, the tipping mentality is driven by North American visitors largely, we tipped at the end of our stay as that’s the way we do it, didn’t have any issues. Breakfast was good, main buffet open every evening with other restaurants also serving, we only visited the Brasserie which is a bit more personal. Lunch there are multiple options, the pop up paella stall is excellent! The burgers and pizzas were perfect for a lunchtime snack. Icecream parlour also very nice, high turnover of flavours though so don’t expect to get the same everyday. All Inclusive drinks were again excellent with premium brands. We found the lack of any kind of menu quite strange when it’s so easy to do with a QR code these days. Bar tenders were more than happy to be creative and make new stuff up, they are very heavy on the ice though!! Pool areas were vast! Due to the surrounding vegetation they did not always appear the cleanest but this is a difficult job. Guests leaving their rubbish around and abandoning cups everywhere was a real shame. The main beach pool became quite a party scene in the afternoon so we avoided that after lunch. Coffee - if you like a caffeine hit, the Marley coffee shops are excluded and getting a coffee is not easy, seems a strange idea and goes against the all inclusive idea. Seaweed - it’s a nightmare, the sea is out of bounds, salt water crocodile seen on one of our days coming out of the water onto the beach. They are trying to stay in top of it but it’s a thankless task. Hope it improves soon otherwise the tourist industry will be decimated here. Lastly, dinner time! What an absolute shambles. The main buffet only opens 3 or 4 nights a week even when the resort is allegedly full. That leaves the speciality restaurants which were very nice but couldn’t cope with demand. We believed no reservations were allowed but on some nights got asked if we had one, think there must be a tiered system dependant on wrist and colour but it was very confusing. To eat around 7pm you probably had to be out collecting a pager around 6pm. To eat at 8pm you needed to be out about 6.30, to make a reservation and collect a pager. Once you got used to the system it was okay but they simply couldn’t cope at peak times. Nightly entertainment is hit and miss, some genuinely excellent acts but others were just a cheap copy and pretty awful. Pop up Silent disco and bucking bronco activities were great, they really tried compared to European resorts in this area and it was a lovely surprise. Lots to like but the dinner situation spoiled it for us and the other parts didn’t make up for it. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Great Service!

Jul 6, 2025 Mobile46551808961 Dallas, Texas

I am an Epic member and I definitely want to give a shout out to our ambassador Lucy. Lucy went above and beyond for our entire family and there were many of us. But the most wonderful thing was locating my clothing items I had left in my room and having them delivered to me on the same day-within two hours. If that’s not ABOVE AND BEYOND as a… Read more
I am an Epic member and I definitely want to give a shout out to our ambassador Lucy. Lucy went above and beyond for our entire family and there were many of us. But the most wonderful thing was locating my clothing items I had left in my room and having them delivered to me on the same day-within two hours. If that’s not ABOVE AND BEYOND as a butler, concierge, ambassador-I don’t know what is. THANK YOU LUCY!! I hope my family can look forward to seeing you every time we return to The Fives Beach Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Beautiful location and facility but terrible service.

Jul 6, 2025 janebsukloff Marietta, Georgia

We went to this resort for our annual family vacation with 8 adults and 7 children age 7-17. We had requested being in the same building 6months prior to our trip but were originally placed very far apart. We ended up having 3 rooms in one building after 2 night and 1 in another. Getting the rooms changed was quite a hassle and the staff was not… Read more
We went to this resort for our annual family vacation with 8 adults and 7 children age 7-17. We had requested being in the same building 6months prior to our trip but were originally placed very far apart. We ended up having 3 rooms in one building after 2 night and 1 in another. Getting the rooms changed was quite a hassle and the staff was not helpful. We were supposed to be in the Epic program with an ambassador and butler who we saw the first day and never tried to help us again. We had to contact the guest services manager to help with dinner reservations and were told most nights by the host that they couldn’t find our reservation. The hostess, Mara, at the Thai restaurant was extremely rude to us on 2 occasions. It was very difficult and frustrating with 15 people. We also only received our champagne and strawberries on the 4th and 5th days after our travel agent called to asked why we hadn’t gotten them. The residences were beautiful and spacious. The pool and beach areas were wonderful. The entertainment at night was very good and the food was delicious and plentiful. If the service was good this would have been a perfect vacation. We are supposed to be getting a refund for services we didn’t receive but I am not confident this will happen. Service at the front desk was particularly bad. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating excellent stay

Jul 6, 2025 rob l

Absolutley a hidden gem fantastic service from start to finish. We were upgraded to a water villa which was outstanding, The staff can not do enough for you. The beach bar staff were amazing especially Razzel he remembered our drinks all the time. The bar manager has this bar running fantastic. The food is outstanding do not hessitate to… Read more
Absolutley a hidden gem fantastic service from start to finish. We were upgraded to a water villa which was outstanding, The staff can not do enough for you. The beach bar staff were amazing especially Razzel he remembered our drinks all the time. The bar manager has this bar running fantastic. The food is outstanding do not hessitate to book. We have been to the Maldives a number of times but never had bikes great fun getting around the 2 islands. Snorkeling was fantastic we have never seen so many tutrles, Thank you for making our stay a great 25 th wedding anniversary celebration. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Perfect destination wedding resort

Jul 5, 2025 W1050OKnelsons

My daughter just got married at the Fives, and it was an amazing experience. Mar Albarran and Luz from the wedding team were the best. We had the wedding on the Sky deck and the reception on the second floor of the same building. From the flowers to the rehearsal to the DJ, we could not have asked for better. When the weather was questionable for… Read more
My daughter just got married at the Fives, and it was an amazing experience. Mar Albarran and Luz from the wedding team were the best. We had the wedding on the Sky deck and the reception on the second floor of the same building. From the flowers to the rehearsal to the DJ, we could not have asked for better. When the weather was questionable for our welcome party, the team quickly adjusted and moved us to a protected area. We would highly recommend this resort for your Destination wedding. Read less