Modern and colorful, One Playa del Carmen opened in 2010. Its blue-and-white blocky exterior gives way to a bright, open lobby, with lots of windows and orange couches where guests can gather. The breakfast room, with its white tables and chairs, keeps coffee, tea, and water on hand all day, and small snacks are available at the reception desk. There's also an outdoor terrace with tables and chairs. The clientele is mainly families, couples, and groups of friends traveling together, many of them from Europe, Asia, and Latin America. 

One in Playa del Carmen sits behind the ADO alternative bus station, right behind Plaza Antigua on Avenida 30, one of the town's primary arteries. It's a five-minute walk to the restaurants, bars, and nightlife on Avenida Quinta, and a five- to 10-minute walk to the beach. Taxis and buses are plentiful. Walmart is about a two-minute walk south of the hotel, and Super Aki, another major market, is about a 10-minute walk from the hotel. Cancun International Airport is a 45-minute drive away.

The 108 rooms at the One Playa del Carmen are minimally furnished, but they're bright and pleasant, with white walls, dark-gray ceramic tile floors, built-in wooden desks and headboards, and abstract paintings opposite the beds.

Standard Triple Rooms have queen and twin beds, and Standard Quadruple Rooms have two double beds, Standard Rooms have single queen-size beds. There is one accessible Standard Room, with wider bathroom doors and a larger floor plan. Views are nothing special -- most rooms look out on the downtown sprawl.

Amenities include flat-screen TVs and air-conditioning. Bathrooms have  aux marble countertops and ceramic tile floors and walls, and high-pressure showers. Basic toiletries are included, along with hairdryers. 

A daily breakfast buffet of hot and cold items, including such local dishes as beans and chilaquiles, is served daily in a pleasant breakfast room, and is included in the room rate. Free filtered or bottled water, coffee, and tea is available 24 hours a day, and snacks and bottled drinks are available at reception.

There's an on-site laundry that guests can use at no charge, and detergent pods can be purchased at the reception desk. There are two public computers and a small meeting space that can fit up to six people.

There's on-site garage parking -- the hotel holds 80 spaces for guests -- for a fee.