Hotel Plaza Caribe

Hotel Plaza Caribe is the practical choice for anyone passing through Cancún by bus. It stands on Calle Pino, between Avenida Tulum and Avenida Uxmal in downtown Cancún, directly across the road from the city's main bus terminal, so you can step off a coach and be at reception in minutes. Oyster's review places it in the value and business category.

The hotel has 133 rooms in two- and three-storey buildings without lifts. They fall into two groups. The standard rooms, closer to the street, are older, with darker corridors and dated fittings. The business section faces the garden and has been modernised, with keycard-controlled, air-conditioned corridors, a work desk and a large flat-screen television; its bathrooms are separated from the bedroom only by a frosted-glass shower, so these rooms suit solo travellers best. All rooms have air conditioning, and a litre of drinking water is provided free, but there are no minibars or fridges.

The best feature is the grounds. An outdoor pool has a roped-off section for children, and the gardens around it are home to peacocks that wander freely and occasionally act as an early alarm call. Meals are served in a two-storey restaurant under a thatched roof, with an open kitchen, à la carte menus and an upper floor overlooking the pool, and there is an air-conditioned lobby bar. WiFi is free throughout, and there is free parking behind the hotel.

The hotel also works as a small conference venue, with nine meeting rooms and a thatched hut for outdoor events, plus computers for guests in the business section.

Plaza Caribe suits short stopovers, travellers catching an early bus or flight, families on a budget and business visitors. It is less suited to a beach holiday: the Hotel Zone is around 20 minutes away and the hotel offers no beach club or shuttle. Some accessible rooms are available, though Oyster notes that their bathrooms fall short of international standards.

The location makes it easy to explore the centre on foot, with downtown shops and restaurants within walking distance, and the airport is around 20 minutes away by bus from the terminal opposite. The Ki-Huic crafts market is on Avenida Tulum, and Mercado 28 and the Parque de las Palapas are also in the downtown district.