Playa Largo Resort & Spa Autograph

We just got back from our third trip to the Playa Largo (2018, 2021), and while our first two stays were great, our experience this time was just unbelievable. We stayed for 5 nights, which is a perfect amount of time, and from the time we arrived to when we left nothing really could have gone any better than it did. Room: Prior to our arrival we had used Marriott Suite Night Awards to request an upgrade to either a two queen suite, or one of the 2 story bungalows in the Hammocks area of the resort. 3 days prior to the trip we received notification that our request had been granted, and the resort upgraded us to a bungalow which was a pretty incredible upgrade from the 2 queen tropical view room we had originally booked. The website doesn't provide a ton of information about the bungalows, but they are standalone houses with 2 full baths, full kitchen, king bed and 2 double pullouts. They also have a washer and dryer (detergent and dryer sheets included), and come with breakfast delivered to your door by 7 am every morning. The breakfast isn't huge, most days it was a few croissants, a muffin, fresh fruit (strawberries, bananas, blueberries, pears, and apples) and a pot of really good coffee. If you have a family of 4 it's likely not enough for everyone, but for a couple it's plenty. My only concern before the trip about having the bungalow was it could be a far walk to the lobby or pool, and it's definitely not; you can get to both in under a minute, a walkway connects to both the beach area and lobby. The only negative is the bungalows are in the woods, so if you really want that ocean view you may want to opt for a suite if you need additional space. But we couldn't have been happier with the upgrade, the villa was absolutely huge and having the 2 full bathrooms for the 4 of us was really convenient. Food and Drinks: We thought overall the food and drinks were excellent. My parents went along with us and had a separate room, and as part of the senior package they got breakfast for 2 adults and 2 kids under 12 at La Marea every day. My parents and our kids really enjoyed the buffet and thought the package was a great deal. We did lunch most days at the resort, and thought the steak tacos and hot chicken sandwich from Sand Bar were our favorite items on the menu. We had read some reviews that stated they thought the food and drinks were overly expensive; we thought for the quality of the food the pricing was fine, and was what we expected at a high-end resort. With our Platinum status my wife and I had breakfast in the Playa Club every morning, and going into the trip we had read some reviews with people complaining about the free breakfast being changed from the full buffet at La Marea to the more continental breakfast at the club. We thought the overall spread was really good and was more than enough to fill us up. Our only complaints were that it would have been nice if there was some kind of protein option like hard-boiled eggs, and the fancy coffee machine that was in there was not operational. But the club was quiet, the staff in there was great, and it was really nice having a relaxing breakfast without the kiddos every morning. Grounds/activities: If you haven't been to the Playa Largo before, it's a really beautiful resort and the water views and sunsets on the bayside are just incredible. The resort does free smore's every single night, they have a great sunset party called Eventide, and do all kinds of fun activities for parents and kids. Our last day they had free ice cream in the lobby, they do trivia night, daily fruit smoothies in the lobby, etc. We did pool cabanas two of the days, and one of the water cabanas another day as well. I can't recommend either of them enough, they are both really nice. The pool cabanas come with fruit, a pitcher of margaritas, and fruit-infused water, while the water cabana comes with a Yeti cooler filled with beers, seltzers, and sodas. I think we had a little more fun at the water cabana because we spent the entire afternoon snorkeling, paddling around on the paddle board, and just relaxing in the water. The cabanas are much cheaper during the week then on the weekend, but I highly recommend giving one a try. Staff: Simply put, the staff is what made our stay as fantastic as it was. The prior 2 times the staff had been very good (especially in 2021 when there was staff shortages because of covid), but this time everyone was so friendly to my wife and I, the kids, and my parents. The front desk staff resolved a billing issue at the end of our trip, and our servers at the cabanas were really fun and really responsive when we ordered food or drinks. When we did the first pool cabana, Edwin was our server most of the day and he was a blast, and he was replaced by Fritz later in the day (who oddly enough was from the same hometown in Ohio as us) and they were both did an excellent job. Edwin had the bartender put my youngest daughter's mango smoothie inside a pineapple with fruit and an umbrella on it, and she about lost her mind :) The day we had the water cabana the other 3 cabanas were unoccupied, so Akshay was our personal server for the day and he went above and beyond. It was my wife's 45th birthday when we were there, so right off the bat he brought us a bottle of champagne, and then later in the day brought her out a huge slice of birthday cake with a candle in it so we could sing her happy birthday. Akshay, we really appreciate your hard work that day, if you are reading this thank you! And lastly, I need to give a big shout out to John Ewing, the Director of Entertainment and Experiences at the resort. He arranged so much for us and went out of his way to make sure that we had an incredible trip. John, you really went above and beyond and our entire family says thank you again! Overall: Leading up to our trip we had read a surprising amount of negative reviews on TripAdvisor about the Playa Largo (although all of the recent ones were stellar) which after we left we could not understand. Everyone has different expectations and different experiences which we get, but our experience could not have been any better. The resort is a beautiful property, with a friendly, hard-working staff. Our only real complaint was one of the days the water in the pool was really warm, but honestly that is about it. If you have any questions about the Playa Largo, don't hesitate to reach out, I would be happy to answer. Thanks for reading! Read less

I wish I could say I loved this place but it was just okay. A dirty hotel room can make or break a stay for me. We checked in and we were offered an accessible room. We declined as we wanted a regular shower. A few hours later we were told our room was ready. Once again, they tried to put us in an accessible room. So, we waited again. When we were finally given a regular room, we walked in and there was no view even though we booked a bay view with balcony. We went back to the front desk and asked if we were given the wrong room level. They said no, that "many of the second floor bay view rooms are obstructed by trees and other things on property". What? That should be clearly stated on the website because otherwise we would not have paid extra for a bay view room. I asked if there were any other room types that had an actual view and was told that only the third floor suites do. Very frustrating. The staff did offer to show us a different room that might have a better view, but when we went to see it, it was the accessible room. Not sure why they kept pushing that room on us. I gave up and said we'd take the original room with no view. We settled back in to the original room and when I walked into the bathroom the shower and toilet smelled musty. The shower were dirty- it clearly had not been throughly cleaned since there was crusty stuff all along the corners and in the shower. There was a thick layer of dust on the baseboards all along the room. The carpet by the nightstand was completely stained with some sort of spill, as was the mattress. At this point I was so annoyed with the whole room debacle that I didn't even bother to say anything because it just wasn't worth waiting in the room and dealing with it. We ended up using lysol wipes to clean the important areas- again, we shouldn't have to do that. The resort itself is nice. It has a beautiful pool. I think the pool area is probably the biggest perk for those with young kids. The beach area is nice, but finding a chair could be difficult at both the pool or beach. Some chairs looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a while- I wish the staff kept things a bit cleaner. We enjoyed the breakfast at Las Olas. We had a good lunch at the Sand Bar- shout out to Edwin for being an outstanding server! We ate dinner at Sol by the Sea and I wouldn't recommend it. The skirt steak was so tough and flavorless. We got an appetizer that was just okay. I can't speak for all of their food. Playa Largo does offer a variety of activities, music and s'mores by the fire. It's nice for those who want to mingle and hang out by the water at night. Overall, if I were going to Key Largo again, I'd choose Baker's Cay. We stayed there last year but wanted to give Playa Largo a try. We were very disappointed in the cleanliness and the fact that we paid a lot of money for a room with no view. Read less

We went here for our honeymoon and had an incredible experience! The staff is unlike any other. Jean, Sasha, Camillo, Tre, Taylor, and many more were just the most personable, kind people. They made us feel so comfortable and became friends by the end of the trip! The resort is gorgeous and there is so much to do. We had the daily breakfast buffet which was incredible and so much to choose from. The restaurants on site are delicious as well! We went to the spa and had an incredible experience. They even had steam rooms you can use after your service. I highly recommend this resort! The only con would be the cleanliness of the rooms. My room was good but it could’ve been cleaner. They don’t really vacuum the floors and there were stains on some of my furniture but this is the only minor issue I had when visiting. Read less

The hotel was nice but My room was very dirty, dusty and the floors full of sand, I went to shake my shoes in the sink in the bathroom and I found fake eye lashes from the floor. I complaint and they told me thank you for the feedback, I said this is not a feedback, this is a complaint. The Manager Patrice and his crew need to be trained about how is to clean a room. I have been in many hotels and I never had such a bad experience. At least the sheets were changed and clean. The chair in the room needs to be in the garbage. Never got an apology, they call me back to tell me if they cleaned the floors and I said yes. And she said again thank you for your feedback. What is wrong with this people, very disappointed Read less

The Playa Largo Resort was everything I needed it to be. Accommodating, comfortable, relaxing, and more. The room was spacious, cool, clean, and the bed was extremely comfortable. The check in process was seamless, and the welcome drink was very refreshing! I recommend renting a cabana for your pool day. Edwin took care of us throughout the day, and he was very attentive, and had a contagious positive personality. He brought us everything we needed and then some! The food at the resort was very good. We grabbed snacks at the pool bar, and were served by the wonderful Jean. We had dinner at Sol By The Sea, both nights. Elsie was our waitress and she was very accommodating. She made great recommendations, including the Mahi Dip, Steak, Grouper, and Jerk Chicken. I highly recommend this resort and can’t wait to come back! Read less