The shock of expecting a busy tourist destination to remain a snapshot in time must be devastating. Agreed about the over-commercialism near the ferry pier. Go just a short distance farther north or west to find the "Old Playa." Maybe do what most of us do and eschew the tourist area altogether. Consider the changes in the world since Princess Diana was killed in a Paris car crash and Bill Clinton was president of the USA Playa is also quite different each year and continues to change continually.

There are hundreds of little rustic beach clubs between the mega resorts. So sorry you didn't find them.

SOME of the X-Theme Parks are actually very eco-friendly. The newest one, Xoximilco, is built over a dilapidated, abandoned, gravel pit. The standing water was a mosquito breeding ground and certainly contributed to the now dwindling dengue problem. Many tourists would never be exposed to Mexican, Aztec or Mayan culture without some of their folkloric presentations. But why anybody would want to go to the Caribbean to spend a day riding a quad bike or zip line is beyond me.

Communications and medical care are both dramatically improved and most public parks have free WiFi. The sanitary system and road construction is keeping up with development and generally improving. The 4 story height limit on buildings in still in place, so developers are really not running rampant as it must seem after 16 years away.

Although Playa is VERY different than the sleepy village we saw 20 years ago the change isn't all bad.