kddpac

We are considering a trip to Playa del Carmen next spring and wondering what are the opinions of HCC's two units? Which is more desirable...the penthouse or beachfront?

Tedpilot

Depends on your point of view but I really, really, really liked the beachfront!!!

baylor1

If you have the option I'd go for beachfront.

pwrshift

Beachfront is very nice anywhere! Their Turks property is even closer, I believe.

DCTraveler

We were only able to get the Penthouse unit for our spring break. Is it still worth going?

tripTX

Definitely. The penthouse is still only 2 minutes (down the stairs or elevator) to the beach.

LTTravel

Depends on what your expectations are. Read Vineyarders impression so that you get to see a more critical review.

Tedpilot

Yes, still worth it either way.

baylor1

100% yes. Just a quick trip down the stairs.

want2travelmore

My wife is at the penthouse unit this week with two of her girlfriends. She had read about the issues Vineyarder cited and had concerns. But she and one of her girl friends I spoke with last night sounded happy. Some of the penthouse patio furniture has already been replaced, and they didn't seem to have any issues with the narrow staircase Vineyarder cited in terms of eagerness to use the penthouse lounging area or what my wife termed a great barbeque. She also thought some of the smallness feel the unit first gives you is because HCC went with a larger dining room table with six chairs instead of a smaller table with some barstools in the kitchen area which would have made the unit live bigger.

They really have enjoyed the breakfasts at the nearby Fusion restaurant that is literally steps away from the property. They have their regular table their now. The were doing an excursion to ruins at Tulum tomorrow I believe. They really enjoyed the location of the property.

My wife could understand Vineyarder's frustrations, but you'll note Vineyarder's degree of unhappiness with the unit and unit property management seemed to fade later in his review thread comments. Vineyarder sounds like a very experienced traveler with high expectations, because he apparently has had lots of great trip experiences, so his satisfacion meter might be calibrated a bit higher than others who also chimed in about their satisfaction with the Penthouse property in his review thread.

I will say, based on reservation patterns of the last year, the beachfront unit, even without the extra rooftop patio space appears more popular with members.

Also, I arranged for flowers to be delivered through Nancy at HCC, and although there were complications due to miscommunications with the florist provider, Nancy had me informed and updated on Saturday and everything was resolved - so I still got my husband brownie points. Chris covered for Nancy for part of the pre-trip planning while Nancy was restocking the NYC unit, and she was also very responsive and helpful as always.

want2travelmore

My wife did note that they peeked into the HCC beachfront unit and it looked pretty nice, but is right next to the disco that gets very loud on weekend nights.

Birdman

We stayed at the beachfront two years ago - summer of 06. We really enjoyed the room and location. The disco was not yet complete - but we could watch it's slow progress.

We befriended a gentleman and his family from the Denver area who owned a couple of units - one being the beachfront penthouse on the adjacent side of Luna Encantada. We were able to get up there for wine and cheese one evening and thought it was OUTSTANDING. The view was incredible and completely unobstructed.

If we were to make another journey down there - we would prefer the penthouse for the view and how the layout allowed guests to have another option to sunbathe and enjoy the outdoors. We are big on sunsets and views and having the unobstucted view and no roof over head would be real bonus for us.

As others have already said - either is a really good choice and you will have a great time.