While advertised as an eco-friendly paradise, the Hotel el Rey de Caribe is in fact smelly and bug-infested, with a rude and unfriendly owner and staff. Upon arrival we found our room to be unclean with a terrible stench coming from the toilet that not only pervaded the bathroom, but also the entire hotel room. There were bugs in the bathroom, in the sink in the room, and also in and on the bed. When we complained of the stench and the bugs, the management would not change our room, but instead sent a maid up merely to spray the toilet. The stench returned within an hour and the bugs continued to roam about. Since we arrived late in the afternoon tired, and since it was our last night in Mexico, we went to bed early, instead of looking for another hotel. That was a mistake. All night long we had to put up with the stench and the bugs. The next morning when we complained, the front desk clerk shrugged his shoulders indifferently, and implied that nothing would please American guests. It was obvious he was anti-American, and took pleasure in our discomfort.. We asked to speak the owner. She was also unsympatheticl, rude, almost belligerent. WARNING: If against our advice you still decide to stay here, please make certain you have US dollars to pay the bill. If you try to pay with pesos they will charge you an exchange rate 10% higher than anywhere else in Mexico. This, of course, was entirely unexpected and we belileve unjustified since one would not normally expect to be charged a surcharge for paying in the local currency. Needless to say when I complained about this to the owner, she informed me she could charge however she pleased at her hotel. Nowhere on their website or in any e-mail correspondence I had with them, did they state this policy. Our experience here almost destroyed our otherwise wonderful vacation in Mexico. We found the people wonderful everywhere, except at the Caribe.

Of all places we visited in Mexico during our 3 week tour Cancun was by far the less appealing to us. It is OK if you want to sunbath during the day and enjoy nightlife at night but otherwise it lacks of significant points of interest. We stayed at another (grand) hotel (booked online) and after one night decided to look for something more personal. We found this little hotel with it’s big white-washed front hiding a peaceful and unpretentious garden with small swimming pool and lots of tempting hamocs.
The rooms were pretty basic but spacious and clean and allowed for self-catering.
When we came back from our ‘Tour de Yucatan’ to catch our plane we stayed there again and were equally pleased.
It's a good address for independent travellers.

We were there for 6 nights. The room we stayed in was large, clean, simply decorated and the beds were comfortable. The courtyard was wonderful, it's as if they found a lush garden and built the hotel around it! The pool was small but it was great for unwinding in the evening, it was never crowded which was also nice. The staff was very friendly and accomodating. The Breakfasts were good, not amazing - they had a varied menu, and you could choose one option for food and beverage, anything else was at an additional cost. We did enjoy a 90 minute Cocoa Butter (chocolate) massage - well worth the $40ish! So while it doesn't have the glitz and glamour of the Hotel Zone - it still definitely has charm and subtle luxuries. The location is great, The Bus station is less than 2 blocks away so we had easy access to the Airport and many of the attractions in the Yucatan. You can also walk around and find several flea markets and restaurants, as well as catch the bus to the Hotel Zone to go to the beach. We walked to the Super market on the corner and enjoyed the local produce (Mangoes and Guavas!) at local prices.

We stayed for 2 nights. Our room had beautiful wood flors and was "shoe-less" (they asked not to walkk in the room in the shoes. Overall room was very simple, with loud A/C, small kitchenette with no pots/pans and with a camping stove :-). But we loved the hotel because of it's garden and a swimming pool. There are coconuts, papaya and bananas growing in the garden! It felt at least 10 degrees less in the hotel yard in comparisson with the cement Cancun streets. Also bus station was only a block away, which was a big plus for us. I was afaraid we will hear buses, but not at all. Hotel provides nice breakfast (you pick one item from the menu + coffe/tea; you pay for extra items, at least we did).