Essence at the Fives Beach

Cancun, Mexico

Virgin rating

Deluxe Room
One Bedroom Resort Residence
One Bedroom Pool Walkout
Zky Bar
Oka
La Brasserie
Koh Thai
Gin Bar
Flavours
Garden Room
One Bedroom Resort Residence
One Bedroom Resort Residence
3 Bedroom Resort Residence
3 Bedroom Resort Residence
3 Bedroom Resort Residence
Penthouse Resort Residence
Spa
Spa
Adult only pool
Deluxe Room
One Bedroom Resort Residence
One Bedroom Pool Walkout
Zky Bar
Oka
La Brasserie
Koh Thai
Gin Bar
Flavours
Garden Room
One Bedroom Resort Residence
One Bedroom Resort Residence
3 Bedroom Resort Residence
3 Bedroom Resort Residence
3 Bedroom Resort Residence
Penthouse Resort Residence
Spa
Spa
Adult only pool

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! Plus, 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! There's a great selection of rooms to choose from too, including an Epic Collection Residence range with added extras and benefits to take advantage of. 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. Ice cream shop. 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, barbeque grill and a whirlpool tub.

The Epic Collection

Fancy upgrading? Epic rooms offer added extras and exclusive benefits to make your stay more enjoyable. Rooms are in better locations of the resort and include the following:

- Private check in

- Welcome amenity

- Complimentary laundry service

- Guaranteed same-day restaurant reservations

- Reserved seating at the beach and pool areas

- Special turndown service

- Premium bath amenities

- Pillow menu

- Personalised in-room aromatherapy

- Complimentary in-room breakfast (upon request)

(Available in Epic Deluxe, Epic 1 Bedroom Swim-Up Residence, Epic 1 Bedroom Penthouse Residence, Epic 2 Bedroom Resort Residence, Epic 3 Bedroom Penthouse Residence)

Choice of restaurants: Flavours (International buffet). Mestizo (authentic Mexican gastronomy). La Brasserie (Bistro restaurant serving the best of International cuisine). Oka (sushi bar). Koh Thai (Thai cuisine). Sea Olive (Mediterranean and Mexican fusion menu). Arezzo (Italian delicacies). Natura (grilled flavours). Lizzards (healthy delights). Oriola (beach club grill). 5 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.

Seven 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. 

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

Please note: a travel tax of $11 per adult (over 15 years old) applies when visiting the Mexican state Quintana Roo. The payment can be made prior to travel, upon arrival or during the stay, as the tax will be imposed upon departure. There is also an additional Environmental Sanitation Tax of $3.72 USD per room, per night (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 (12804)
  • Very good (2642)
  • Average (1089)
  • Poor (528)
  • Terrible (611)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating 5*

Apr 28, 2024 Daydream54356776498

Great resort! 5th time here and loved it. Juli at the epic pool area was absolutely amazing! Food here is amazing, our favourite is the Italian restaurant! Pools are nice, beach area is great even though there was seaweed they constantly were clearing it.
Image of the Tripadvisor rating An amazing family vacation!

Apr 28, 2024 Kailey W Coquitlam, Canada

I don’t normally write reviews, but I honestly don’t get the negative feedback here and I don’t want anyone to be apprehensive while heading here. We just returned from a week and had an amazing time! We are picky about resorts, very picky about food quality (rarely happy with food at AI resorts) and we have two kids, aged 2 and 6, so travel is… Read more
I don’t normally write reviews, but I honestly don’t get the negative feedback here and I don’t want anyone to be apprehensive while heading here. We just returned from a week and had an amazing time! We are picky about resorts, very picky about food quality (rarely happy with food at AI resorts) and we have two kids, aged 2 and 6, so travel is already challenging. We all had an incredible vacation. The food was probably the best we’ve had at all-inclusives and we’ve tried a lot of resorts, mostly 5 star, big brands. The service was also very, very good and all staff are clearly working very hard. Sure, you may need to wait for a few minutes when the pool bars are busy, but come on. You’re on vacation, relax. The nightly entertainment was awesome, we saw every show and my six year old insisted on showing up early to secure a good seat. The grounds are incredible. We’ve never experienced anything like the jungle/forest feel and interacting (at a safe distance) with the wildlife. Truly incredible. We tend to try new places each year but we plan on returning to The Fives for sure! Room details: We stayed in Villa 8 and found the location perfect for walking between the beach and the plaza. We were in a deluxe suite on the ground floor which was perfect for our family with regards to accessibility and size. Having a kitchen and full fridge was amazing and the suite was huge! ROOM TIP: We read that there weren’t any dishes or anything in the kitchen so we just brought a couple plastic plates, bowls and cutlery from home for the kids. You can get cereal boxes from the buffets and this was great for giving the kids an early breakfast while we relaxed in the morning. We also went to wal mart for some snacks, milk etc. After cramming into a regular hotel room with our family of 4 in previous years, never again. The cost to upgrade was nominal too, totally worth it. The bathrooms could use a bit of love, but overall totally fine and didn’t bother us that they’re a bit older. Housekeeping was wonderful, thoroughly cleaning the room each day and we have messy kids with sandy feet. Tip them well! RESTAURANT TIP: The food was fantastic, especially for an all-inclusive. If you like to eat early, go before 6pm and you should be able to get into any restaurant quickly. The busiest times with the longest waits seem to be between 6-7pm, so showing up after 7:30 or before 6, appear to be the sweet spot. We went at 6:30pm one night and waited an hour but the kids played with other kids and we chatted with the parents over a drink. On nights we went early, no wait at all. Thank you to The Fives staff for a magical vacation! We will be back! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Truly one of a kind

Apr 27, 2024 Safari800761

My husband, family and I just got home from an incredible 7 day stay at the fives beachfront. I highly recommend staying here, which is the adults only side. The staff treated us like family, and their service level was unmatched. The property was beautiful, the only thing I would have changed is that the beach could be nicer- but obviously that… Read more
My husband, family and I just got home from an incredible 7 day stay at the fives beachfront. I highly recommend staying here, which is the adults only side. The staff treated us like family, and their service level was unmatched. The property was beautiful, the only thing I would have changed is that the beach could be nicer- but obviously that is not in the staff’s control. I’ve been to Mexico many times, and our experience at the fives beachfront was truly one of a kind- every member of my family agreed that this was the best resort they’d been to. A shout out to Julio, Alejandro, Evany, Lucas, Danae, Habib and Bruno- thank you again from Familia D’Souza! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Lots of great memories

Apr 27, 2024 MartyRobbz Hockley, United Kingdom

We went to this hotel for a special occasion after doing a fair bit of.research as we were spending more than we usually do and wanted to experience the Caribbean. Overall we had a very relaxing holiday and that's what we wanted The room was outstanding, really comfortable and even the mini bar was free. The hotel is built over a large area… Read more
We went to this hotel for a special occasion after doing a fair bit of.research as we were spending more than we usually do and wanted to experience the Caribbean. Overall we had a very relaxing holiday and that's what we wanted The room was outstanding, really comfortable and even the mini bar was free. The hotel is built over a large area and it grew on us each day we were there. The best bit was walking through the mangrove on the decking paths to get to the beach from our room and seeing monkeys swinging across the trees, racoon type animals foraging and turtles swimming in the crystal clear pools. There were lots of restaurants. We had hoped to book the Italian restaurant for our special occasion but unfortunately you weren't allowed to. We turned up one night at 7pm and were told there was a two and a half hour wait despite there being loads of tables free. This is because there are owned apartments and timeshare owners who are allowed to reserve the tables as they have to pay for their meals separately. Very disappointing. We had to go before 6 to get a table straight away. However the French restaurant was exceptional and we were able to get straight into it. The food and service there was superb. Generally we found the service slow particularly at breakfast where it took ages to get a coffee and rarely got asked if we wanted a refill. We spent a lot of time on the beach as there were always sunbeds available and the sea was really nice to swim in though there was quite a bit of seaweed. There was food available on the beach and a bar which was all good. We did get out of the hotel going to the temples at Tulum, visited a mayan village and swimming in an underground river and this was great, the guide was brilliant The staff were all really friendly and they really looked after the grounds. There were a few power cuts whilst we were there and quite a few weddings but they all added to the experience. We did feel let down by the Italian restaurant and the beach in regards to the seaweed and being a bit rocky. However all in all we enjoyed our days at the hotel and the atmosphere of the plaza in the evening. They had some brilliant musicians up to 8pm but we didn't really bother with the entertainment after that, just sat and chatted over a drink watching the world go by. In summary we had a great holiday it just wasnt the Wow we had hoped for. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Very poor experience

Apr 27, 2024 anthonylV4547XU Rochford, United Kingdom

We stayed at the five beach Hotel & Residences, during the Easter holiday from the United Kingdom Accommodation One bedroom penthouse was very poor, we had no hot water for 4 days, first day we had arrived the children bed wasn’t even ready so we had contact reception this took further phone calls until it got sorted, the hot tub on the roof… Read more
We stayed at the five beach Hotel & Residences, during the Easter holiday from the United Kingdom Accommodation One bedroom penthouse was very poor, we had no hot water for 4 days, first day we had arrived the children bed wasn’t even ready so we had contact reception this took further phone calls until it got sorted, the hot tub on the roof terrace was leaking and water would empty without even touching it, which is quite disappointing when I want to in the hot tub in the afternoon. The restaurants in the hotel on the second night we went to the French restaurant this experience was so bad myself and my wife was quite poorly after this particular meal, we did have some meals at the Thai, Italian, restaurants during our stay, but what was very disappointing the hotel decided to close some of the restaurants without telling the holiday makers, the breakfast was very nice in the main restaurant with plenty of choices, the waiting staff worked very hard, and all had smiley face to greet you in the morning, the biggest concern with the restaurants in the evening the members or owners there can jump the line and get a table straight away, paying holiday makers don’t get look in. Pools on the first full day of the holiday the security tried to take our towels from sun loungers as some of the family was still eating breakfast, there was being very aggressive, at this point, drinks was very nice near the Beach but long queue as there wasn’t enough staff during busy periods. When we tried to book excursions we spoke to staff member called Carlos and he informed me that I would after attend presentation the next day, this was clearly huge mistake by myself, as it was spending 2 hours with this sales rep trying to sell me a room for next 10 years, this person refused to listen to me and my wife that we was not interested as we are holiday. My overall review we spent £10,000 on out dream holiday but what we got very bad experience, clearly this hotel is not 5 star hotel, TUI shouldn't selling holiday's on there website stating this top hotel in Mexico as its not. . Read less