HouseTrip Vacation Rentals in Playa del Carmen
My family has been vacationing in Mexico for the last several years. We have become very fond of the Yucatan Peninsula. When an opportunity to stay in Playa del Carmen came up, I was glad to explore yet another area that I had not seen. I was invited by HouseTrip to stay in a 3-bedroom, luxury oceanfront condo for a few days in September.
The home itself was truly beautiful. There were 3 bedrooms/3 bathrooms, a large living room with floor to ceiling windows that gave us unobstructed ocean views. There was a fully stocked gourmet kitchen complete with a microwave, coffee maker, blender and even purified water. When I travel with my family I love the option to either cook in or even to arrange to have a chef come an cook for us as a special treat. I have a family of diverse eaters (= code for some are picky) and sometimes eating in is just easier than eating out.
The location of this home is very close to some fantastic restaurants that we had the opportunity to try so if you want to go out I’d suggest Plank for dinner or Imprevist for breakfast. Both were right around the corner from our place.
In my mind, the thing that made this property stand out though, were the multiple outdoor wrap around decks. There was a terrace with plenty of outdoor seating from which you could watch the sunrise every morning while eating breakfast, plus we had an private roof top deck upstairs with our own hot-tub and grill and even more seating.
Although I wasn’t here with my family, it was easy to picture myself there with them. They would have enjoyed coming home perhaps after a long day of exploring the Mayan ruins to relax in the large living space rather than cramming into a small hotel room. And the kids definitely would have loved swimming in the private pool or hanging out at the beach club.
WHY PLAYA DEL CARMEN
The location was ideal for so many reasons. Playa del Carmen is located halfway between the Cancun Airport and Tulum. Not only was it was easy to get to; it was the perfect spot from which to take day trips. We visited the Chichen Itza ruins one day, but the Tulum ruins and beautiful beaches are less than an hour away as well. You could easily explore a cenote like Dos Ojos or the Xplore Adventure Park. There are so many day excursions that are all within easy reach from this area.
Our vacation rental was also right off of 5th Avenue which is famous for its shops, restaurants and nightlife. There is quite a bit of competition to get your attention to come in to buy souvenirs so if you aren’t good at saying no or keeping your head down, you’d better practice ‘no, gracias’ before you go.
WHY HOUSETRIP
One thing that makes HouseTrip stand out from other vacation rental agencies is that you never have to worry that you are sending your check off to who knows where. Just like when you stay in a hotel, all payments are made up front with a credit card. But for extra security HouseTrip will hold it until 48 hours after you have checked in, just in case there are any issues on arrival and then only after they know you are happy with your home do they then transfer the funds to the owner.
They are one of the largest holiday rental websites in the world with more than 300,000 properties to choose from in over 20,000 destinations worldwide. I know that next time I think about booking a home rental or apartment I will be checking the HouseTrip web site first to see what is available in the area I am looking to vacation.
Disclosure: While my accommodations and some meals were provided by HouseTrip, as always my review reflects the honest opinion of my experience without outside influence.
