If you are looking to plan a trip to Mexico anytime soon, you may be wondering whether you should go the all-inclusive route or not. Personally, I have only been to a few different all-inclusive resorts and have had great experiences, but I know others who have not.
When you think of an all-inclusive place, you normally associate those resorts with cheap food, bad drinks, and not a whole lot of “luxury”. Well, I recently got back from a trip to Atelier Playa Mujeres and I can say that if you are wanting to go the all-inclusive path, I recommend you look into this resort!
Atelier Playa Mujeres is a brand new resort located in Quintana Roo, Mexico. Just a short drive from the Cancun airport, you will to some huge concrete gates that separate the street in Playa Mujeres from paradise. The resort is located on the white sand beaches of Caribbean. While some of the resorts I have been to have a tiny sliver of a beach the color of grey, rocky sand, this resort was far from that! I would compare the beach to the beautiful Florida gulf coast where I have grown up vacationing.
Resort
My initial thoughts as we got to resort were how nice and NEW everything was! I did not learn until talking with some other guests that Atelier’s opening had been postponed due to COVID-19, so the resort had actually just started fully functioning a few months ago. This came as no surprise seeing the modern rooms and amenities.
Restaurants
Unlike the stigma of most all-inclusive resorts, the food at Atelier Playa Mujeres was wonderful! There are six restaurants and two coffee shops located on the resort, so you will never get tired of the food or need new options during your stay. Even though we only stayed four nights total, we actually ended up eating at the same restaurant, Los Bravos, twice. I had a filet one night and shrimp one night, so they felt like different experiences.
The six restaurants are:
- Mercado 19 – The Mexican restaurant on the resort. I did not get to try this one only having four nights to eat, but I can imagine in Mexico the Mexican food could not disappoint!
- Maria Dolores – This is the only restaurant that is not included in the “all-inclusive” rate. We did not end up eating here, but we did hear other guests talk about how great the food was!
- El Suspiro – Oceanview restaurant serving seafood for lunch and Mexiterranian at night. I had the tuna for lunch one day and could not stop talking about it.
- Takeshi – The sushi restaurant on the resort. My favorite by far! The sushi was amazing and I recommend you try all of the appetizers.
- Cilento – Italian restaurant serving pasta, pizza, and great seafood
- Los Abrazos – steakhouse inspired by Argentina and Brazil serving juicy cuts of steak, as well as shrimp, salmon, and other seafood
The coffee shops were also a hit. Most mornings, our group would go to the coffee shop and sit for awhile, while eating some fresh fruit and talking about the night before. We did sit down and eat breakfast at the big restaurant with a buffet one morning and the food was great.
My only advice is not to get the almond milk. I’m not sure if they just had a different kind or he didn’t understand what I ordered, but it was not almond milk!
Activities
If only we had had more time on our stay I would have wanted to try all of the activities! The resort had a daily schedule of all of the activities offered and I was amazed at the amount. From TRX classes in the gym (which was VERY nice by the way!) to kayak races in the pool, Atelier offers a wide range of things to do if you aren’t exactly the “lay by the pool” kind of girl like me.
Pool/beach
I really have no words for the pools at Atelier other than amazing. The pool is absolutely HUGE with tons of seating and two different swim up bars. Who doesn’t love a swim up bar?! Our group of 15 people basically took over one small area of the pool for a couple days in front of one of the swim up bars and we had the time of our lives. I even won a kayak contest!
Like I said earlier, the beaches are also exceptional. With many cabana style chairs, hammocks, and even swings in the ocean, you will truly feel like you are in paradise. Tiki hut bars are also located on the beach.
Bars
As far as the bars go at Atelier Playa Mujeres, let’s just say you will not be short on drinks! The lobby bar right when you walk in is spectacular. It has huge windows behind it and just about any liquor you could possibly want. Get the passion fruit mezcal margarita!
Another fun bar you will definitely find yourself at many times throughout your stay is the Bar de la Calle. It is in the center of all the restaurants with many people walking by at all times. It is a great bar to go have drinks before dinner! They even had live music one night which attracted a crowd.
My absolute favorite part of the whole resort is the El Cielo Sky Bar. It is exactly what it sounds like – a bar in the sky! We went there several times to get drinks before or after dinner. It is a great option for a night out when you don’t feel like going to the “club”. The view is breathtaking and the tables where you can sit beside the pool are so cool. Since my group was there for a bachelorette weekend, we decided to have the shower up there while sipping on espresso martinis; we had a blast!
Of course, we did hit up the club, El Deseo, being that we were celebrating our bride to be all weekend. It was not crowded at all, so we got the DJ to play the music we wanted and danced all night. If you are traveling with a big group of people, I definitely suggest you go at least one night!
Conclusion
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay at Atelier Playa Mujeres and am so happy that is the resort our travel agent ended up choosing for us. I did not know what to expect before arriving, but it met all of my expectations and beyond. If you are looking to get away on a girls trip or celebrate a special occasion, you can’t go wrong with staying at Atelier. Everyone we met was on a birthday trip, bachelorette, or with coworkers on a trip they won at work. So I would say it’s a great place for a group. As far as a honeymoon location, I would probably look elsewhere. It isn’t as intimate and private as I would like for a honeymoon, especially considering how loud it would get at night sometimes. However, if you are looking to have fun and meet other people as newlyweds, you would definitely have a good time!
P.S. Ever seen Workaholics? We met the actor, Anders Holm, and his crew who were filming a new rom-com at the resort and ended up hanging out with them a few times. I can’t wait to watch the movie next year when it comes out!
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