Ocean Riviera Paradise Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
Disclosure: My wife, daughter and I were recently invited to visit the resort for a few days to enjoy the sun, food and hospitality. Our room, food and drink were complimentary, however we paid our own way to/from the resort.
Overview
Ocean Riviera Paradise is a brand new 5 star all-inclusive resort located on the Mexican Riviera just a few miles north of Playa Del Carmen. The resort houses ten restaurants, five pools and large rooms spread across four distinct areas.
Lobby
The Ocean Riviera Paradise has a open and spacious lobby housed in a round Colosseum like building. (I love the design.) When walking in, the check-in desk is to the left while the Privilege check-in is to the right. Further on you will find the Piano Bar and the main Lobby Bar along with a lot of seating.
Rooms
Unlike other hotels with towers full of the same rooms, Ocean Riviera Paradise houses its 974 Junior Suites and Suites in four distinct buildings. Daisy (where we stayed) is for families and is closest to most of the restaurants and the lobby, El Beso is for 18+, Eden is a bit closer to the beach and sits next to the main activity pool and Privilege is the VIP or “Club Level”. Depending on the season, rooms start at around $200 in the low season and go up from there. (There is no loyalty program or points option for this hotel.)
Most of the buildings feature a variety of different rooms including some swim up suites and many rooms even have their own jacuzzi. The standard mini-suite is very large with both a bedroom area and a full sitting area with couch. All rooms also have a spacious balcony with comfortable furniture. Our room looked out over the Daisy pool and play area.
Pools
Each of the four distinct buildings has its own pool and there is a fifth pool down by the beach. For those who like to stay in the water, most of the pools also have swim up bars as well. The children’s pool is very nice for families since it has both a normal pool side and an activity tower with waterslides and more.
During many days the pool near Eden is used for activities. It always seemed to have the most people, however I can say that no area of the resort ever felt crowded. Since most of the pools all have their own bars and amenities, you can choose the one that is least crowded to enjoy.
Beach
The resort is basically laid out in a straight line from the lobby down to the beach. A main path leads between the two with the various buildings flanking either side. If you don’t want to walk, golf carts are constantly going back and forth giving guests rides! Once down by the beach you will find the fifth pool, Pez Vela a waterside restaurant that has a lunch buffet and then sit down service for dinner and of course the ocean.
There seemed to be plenty of seating when we visited, although the area was always full of activity. Towards the left of the ocean area is a private roped off section for Privilege guests. Despite not staying in the Privilege rooms we were given Privilege access and enjoyed this area mostly due to the quiet atmosphere, great service and the seaside cabanas.
Bars
One of the most important parts of an all-inclusive resort for many is the booze. Ocean Riviera Paradise has 11 bars spread across the property. In other words you are never far from that next drink. While Privilege guests get top shelf liquor, regular guests get a decent selection as well. Frozen drinks are of course popular and you can hear the blenders going day and night.
Food
Over the course of our stay we tried many of the restaurants, but didn’t have time for them all. Up near the lobby you will find four of the major restaurants. Route 66 serves American fair, La Locanda is the resort’s Italian Restaurant and Sakura is the Asian/Teppanyaki eatery. Most restaurants do not require/accept reservations, however Sakura is so popular that you do need to reserve a seat there.
Among the other restaurants are the previously mentioned Pez Vela, Bluemoon an 18+ restaurant, Margarita Mexican Restaurant and the Steakhouse. Villa Marina is the resort’s buffet and it serves up a wide variety of food for breakfast and lunch. We found the selection to be very good. There is also an ice cream parlor and a coffee shop as well.
Privilege
Privilege guests have access to their own private lounge housing a separate restaurant (serving breakfast, lunch and dinner), two bars and fantastic views of the ocean. The lounge itself is two stories with the first housing an indoor seating area along with the restaurant. Upstairs is an open air lounge with separate bar and fantastic views of the ocean. The lounge is a quiet retreat and we found the food to be delicious.
Amenities
As would be expected, the resort houses a full service spa along with a well equipped gym. There are also nightly shows in the showroom which seemed to be of high quality. The resort also houses a bowling alley which I found a unique touch. It was always quite busy and popular with resort guests.
As an all-inclusive resort, Ocean Riviera Paradise also has a kid’s club (Daisy Club) and a teen’s club. The ages for Daisy Club are 4-12, while the ages for the Teen’s Club are 13-17. Despite our daughter only being 2, we were allowed to use the Kid’s Club as long as we stayed with her. This gave her a chance to play around for a bit which was nice.
Conclusion
As a new resort, Ocean Riviera Paradise has something for everyone. From children’s facilities to adults only areas, this is a resort designed to please everyone. With 10 restaurants, 5 pools, 11 bars and the beautiful ocean it delivers on many levels. Check out even more photos below and find out more info on the hotel’s website.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Hi I was wondering How is the service food and rooms:)
I was there last week and while the resort is beautiful, the service is terrible and the rooms smell of mold. Also, all of the bars close at 5 except the lobby bar and it can be quite a walk depending on where your room is. They disable the phones so you can’t order room service and the mini-bar is patheti
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Am currently staying at ORP and cay say this is a very balanced repost. Family of 4 ( kids 8&10) having a very pleasant and fun holiday.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How was the food? Service? Entertainment? Activities?
No offense Shawn, but that was the most non-informative post I think i’ve ever seen. Whether you take the free room and board or not, have a viewpoint and take a stance or no need to write about it.