Please read the comments from our owners here in Playa del Carmen...

Does anyone have any experience of The Elements? We are looking at renting several condo's here this summer and are looking for some advise. Thank you in advance!

Just returned from the Elements in Playa del Carmen and had a wonderful time! The condo was exactly as expected. Everything went very smoothly and Rene was very efficient and friendly! Thank you! We wouldn't hesitate to rent through you again!

A great website for everyone to visit. www.thetruthaboutmexico.com A few excerpts: The United States leads most other countries in terms of crime per capita. On the world stage, the USA ranks #8, with 80 crimes reported per 1,000 people. In comparison, Mexico ranks #39, with 12 crimes per 1,000 people. This means that it is probably safer to vacation in Playa del Carmen than it is, say, Fort Lauderdale. Of additional interest related to your Detroit vs Miami analogy is that the 2008 murder rate in all of Cancun's state of Quintana Roo was less than 2 per each 100,000 people, a European-style statistic. Miami was 20. Should the Mexican government issue a travel warning for South Florida? For additional perspective, LA was 13. Washington DC was 35. Baltimore led the league at 45. USA newscasters desperately need better information and greater perspective about Mexico. Hopefully this new blog will serve those purposes.

Just wanted to let you know that we where very pleased with our subsequent rental at Aldea Thai in Playa. The property is wonderful and even though there was still construction going on and elevators were not in use it was one of the best places we've stayed at and we have stayed at some very nice properties. Beyond that, I would have to say that our experience with Bric was topnotch. Graciela and all the employees we dealt with in Playa were great. The issues with the condo at Magia Playa were addressed promptly, we couldn't have asked for more. Please feel free to use us a reference for customers of Bric. You guys delivered what you promised and we hope to use you for future vacations,

We used Bric International (run by bilingual American and her husband)for a condo during our honeymoon last Nov and will be staying in the same place this coming Nov. We stayed at Hacienda San Jose on 1st and Calle 24 and the Bric office is on Calle 28. They do accept credit cards and require no cash deposit. That seems kind of sketchy to me. You can check out bricinternational.com for some of their properties. It was our first big trip and I was worried about being scammed but Bric took care of us and even did some concierge for us. Good luck and I'd be happy to answer any questions...Please say hi to O's and Primanti Bros for me!

Just got back from 8 days in PDC. It was a great trip. For those of you considering booking a condo in PDC I highly recommend Bric rentals. They could not have been more responsive and truly catered to our every need. We were booked for 7 nites at Magia Playa. I would not stay there again. Although it was situated in a nice spot and close to the beach, the beach that it was close to was off limits unless you were a guest at the Royal Porto. As a result it was a long hike to Mamitas beach club. As it turned out, the floor in our condo at Magia buckled on our second day of vacation and we were given a choice of three other places to move to. We toured the Elements and it was a great place, but a little off the beaten path for us. We chose the Aldea Thai which is just completing construction. It was down the road from the Bric rental office and a short walk to Mamitas Beach. The unit was outstanding and included a private pool. I would highly recommend the Aldea Thai and again Bric was wonderful.

Recent News on Mexico Travel Warnings March 16, 2009 As U.S. citizens living and working in the Playa del Carmen, Mexico we would like to share with you the insiders assessment about the plethora of negative news events affecting foreign travel to Mexico. First we would refer you to the U.S. State Department website for the specific details on travel advisories to Mexico and you will read that the increase in criminal activity is almost exclusively isolated to the border cities such as Tijuana, Nuevo Laredo and Ciudad Juarez – http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html Just for the record…Playa del Carmen is located over 2,000 Miles from Tijuana, Mexico, which has seen some of the largest increase in crime. Whereas Tijuana is only 40 miles from downtown San Diego U.S.A.; so much for visiting Sea World this year! It's like not going on vacation to Disney World in Orlando Florida, because of a crime epidemic happening in Chicago? It also means that you, the residents of Minneapolis, Toronto or Chicago are all closer to the border violence than we are here in Playa del Carmen. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i3WOIjvUbuOPshuFgFZ5NAjPn5Gg The only reference the State Department makes to Playa del Carmen is renting mopeds and “Drinking too Much”. So…don't rent a moped and don't embarrass yourself by drinking like you just turned 21 and certainly, don't do both together; drinking and riding a moped that is. Playa del Carmen is an extremely safe town of about 200,000 inhabitants and filled with thousands of tourists every single day. As any city in the World, crime does occur in Playa del Carmen, but can almost always be traced back to negligence on behalf of tourists themselves. So to assist you with this we recommend taking the following safety precautions when visiting Playa del Carmen (or any other city for that matter): ? Use common sense! Don't do things here that you would not do at home. Just because you crossed the border into Mexico does not mean you are free to “misbehave”. Mexico has very stringent laws against everything and will enforce them. ? Playa del Carmen is a tourist town with white sand beaches, Caribbean waters and a multitude of activities. This city lives alone on the tourism industry and is reflective of its citizens, specifically its Police force. The Police force is very predominant here; they are here to protect you (their business)! Without you, they have no job! ? Playa del Carmen is an extremely small town stretching for the most part along a 1.5 mile Pedestrian street know as LaQuinta. Everything is walk-able in Playa, yet it is recommended that if you are leaving the nightclub at 5AM, by your lonesome, after inhaling 10 shots of tequila, that you may want to consider splurging for a $5 taxi fare to assure you get home safe! I believe that this common sense would be recommended in your hometown as well. ? Petty theft is the most frequent occurring crime here in Playa del Carmen. Again, use your common sense, i.e. lock your valuables in the condo safe; or better yet don't bring your Rolex or expensive diamonds; you're in a beach town where the daily attire is nothing more than a bathing suit and flip-flops. ? If you have questions about anything or have any uncertainty at all, please just ask. Our staff and others here in Playa are very friendly people that love to make you feel at home and safe during your stay here with us. ? The only things to fear in Playa del Carmen are sunburns, hangovers, too much rest or gaining weight. All of these risks can easily be avoided through use of suntan lotion and aspirin. We live here with many friends of all different nations, and most with children. There are no Middle School shootings, Mall Massacres or acts of random road-rage. After many years of welcoming guests such as yourself to our beautiful city, we have never had a single occurrence of violence or crime. Common sense can go a long way here. Don't put yourself at risk (here or at home) by involving yourself in illegal activities and the likelihood of putting yourself in harms way is completely avoidable. If you are concerned about traveling to Playa del Carmen because of an increase in drug and gang violence 2,000 miles away you should not visit. But please keep things in perspective by watching your own 11 O'clock local news tonight and remember that the acts of violence and crime that are happening in your hometown today, do not exist here!

Just wanted to send a note that we enjoyed our stay and for not being there ever before we had a wonderful condo and a very good time and wouldn't change a thing. It was ever thing we hoped for and more. The condo was very nice and clean and the service was very good. The view was better than we thought. You have some real good people that helped us when ever we needed it. Iseral helped us alot and so did everyone else at your office. For not knowing what we were doing we did it right for the 1st time with your help. We were on the ferry to Cozumel and talked to some people where we were staying and I think they came and looked at it while we were gone one day. We will be back soon and we will give you a call when we do. Thanks for steering us to the right condo for us and I'm sure there is even better ones that we might look at if that is possible. Paul and Colleen A-2 Magic Paradise

We spend 4 days at the elements penthouse in Playa del Carmen and I would like to recommend Sthephanie who helped me before my arrival and rene Gonzales the concierge , who was there every time we needed . It's a great pleasure when we find people working so well. Sincerely. Joelle

Hi Stephanie, I wanted to let you know we really enjoyed our stay at Magic Paridise-B3. It was the perfect place for us. The location and ammeneties were great. We would definitely stay there again. Thank Stephanie I will pass on a good word to freind about the BRIC and the condo we stayed in. Glenda Hoffart

Dear Stephanie and team, We are back in Austria, temperatures are close to freezing and in the mountains it is snowing…Enjoy yourselves in the Caribean sun! We want to thank you again for the wonderful time we spent at “Arena blanca nr. 3”. Your work and friendly help was greatly appreciated, many thanks again. May we also use this opportunity to wish you all a merry Christmas and a grat start into 2009, Yours Uwe and Heidi Schubert

Dear Bric, I just want to send a quick note to tell you about our recent stay in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Our experience with Bric has been outstanding from my first property inquiry all the way through the check-out process. This is our second year to visit Playa del Carmen and decided to take our chance at renting a condo even though we thoroughly enjoyed staying at an all-inclusive resort last year. Tony contacted me within 24 hours of submitting my property inquiry and it was because of him, and his customer service, that we decided to rent from Bric. Our next encounter was with Stephanie and she was awesome at answering all my questions and guiding me through the whole rental process. Once we arrived at the Bric rental office in Playa we were met by Marco and Renzo. These guys were incredible! They thoughtfully and carefully explained everything we needed to know about the condo and we felt fully assured that if there were any problems they would be available to help us day or night. We also greatly appreciated being met at the condo for the check-out and couldn't have asked for a smoother process. By the way, we LOVED our condo!! We also greatly appreciate being picked up at the airport by our own private driver rather than being squeezed in with a whole van full of people making multiple stops at other resorts before arriving to our destination. I also want to let you know that both of our drivers were superb and helped add to the perfect vacation stay. Bric, thanks for a wonderful experience and we look forward to renting from you again in the future! Sincerely, Geoffrey Grabow

"Property description was completely accurate. Clean and had everything from home. We even had daily maid service we were not expecting (except Sunday) who came in and did dishes also. Just ask for her homemade tamales. They were awesome. Mgmt office was very helpful and Renzo was great in his recommendations. Free unlimited DVD rentals during your stay, cell phone and purified water dispenser. Has satellite tv in living area and extra tv in kids room with another DVD player. About a block 1/2 from the beach and close to 5th Avenue shops and restuarants (walking distance). Make sure you hit the Super Wal-Mart when you get there. The complex even has an adopted stray guard dog "Cooley" who can fill in for your pet at home!! Make sure you either rent a car for the day or rent a taxi driver to do the 1/2 day trips to Tulum, Akumal beach (sea turtles), cenotes and one of the lagoons. We skipped the higher priced Xel-Ha and Excaret and did the state park Yal Ku which was just as good, much cheaper and very nice. Would highly recommend this place to all my friends."

You have an awesome team and you should be proud. I cannot tell you how extremely professional, thorough, conscientios, etc your team has been. You would be proud. And their attitudes are so pleasant and kind and genuine. First class all the way! From the maids, gardener, maintainance workers to Roberto and Graciela Getting the tiles replaced and all that involved and the repairs on things and the cleaning all first class. Thank you! Ms. Kendall Inman kendall@livingyogadallas.com

Born July 09, 2008 in Cancun Mexico. Enzo weighed in at 3 Kilos & 300 Grams, measuring 51 centimeters. Mom and her son are both doing well; happy and healthy. We want to thank all those who were such great help, especially the support from Rob and Michele Kinnon and Playa.info for their posting of blood donations. And certainly to the selfless woman, who so graciously donated blood on behalf of total strangers; you are inspirational and a true giver. You may see all of Enzo's pictures on our private website at www.roehmer.com

I was looking to stay there before I decided on Mamitas Village Condos next to Mamitas Beach. I heard some decent things about the place however, when I saw Mamitas Village condo complex my choice was made. Some condos in the Mamitas Village condo complex are managed by Bric international. I was familiar with them however, I heard some great things about their managment company on this forum. So far, now that I have booked our penthouse, they have exceeded my expectations in terms of customer service, professionalism etc. You should look on there website and take a look at the list of properties they manage in Playa Del Carmen. The website is as follows: Vacation Rental and property management . I think you will find some great properties listed that may meet your needs with a great and honest management company as well. Please visit www.playa.info

We are proud to inform you of two significant contracts secured by BRIC International in recent weeks. In Playa del Carmen, we have secured a preferred vendor contract with Origo Developers, developers of THE ELEMENTS in Playa del Carmen, THE ELEMENTS in Puerto Aventuras and Vaiven in Playacar Phase II. You may view information on all of these projects at: www.origodevelopers.com The Elements – Playa del Carmen will be delivering its first units beginning September of this year. We expect to be adding 50-75 of these units to our full time vacation rental inventory! Vaiven Playacar – will begin delivery in 2009 and represents almost 250 units! The Elements – Puerto Aventuras will begin construction this year. A Super High-End project directly on the ocean will add another 100+ units to available inventory. ? BRIC International has also secured a contract with Orchid Bay, a 115 acre master planned development on the waters in Northern Belize. This project will be managed by Mr. Tony Moreno of BRIC International. 21 beach casitas are being delivered Q4 of this year and should be available for Holiday rentals. An additional 150 custom homes, townhouses and condos will follow in 2009 and beyond. You can see more on this project at: www.orchidbaybelize.com and www.orchidbaybeachclub.com Thank you to everyone for your continued support and help as this significant growth certainly would not have been possible with your assistance.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Bric International for your superior service. From beginning to end, all was handled really well. Our driver was waiting when we arrived at Cancun airport and took us to the condo, which thankfully we were allowed to access early which meant we could get to the beach asap. The condo was great and the cell phone really came in handy. I could not get ahold of the office on Friday to remind them of our Saturday 6am pick up to go back to the airport, but when when we went downstairs he was waiting to take us back-all went really smooth. Again, really professional operation and will recommend. My wallet was taken at Xcaret-minimal damages as only had one credit card and a small bit of cash-so not good, but could have been worse. The card I gave you was the one taken but I believe you should have charged all anyway-please let me know if you have any problems. Thank everyone on our behalf for a job well done and feel free to use me as a testimonial. Jolie McMillian DST Output Canada Inc. Director Sales, Financial and Insurance Markets C: 416-882-8644 O: 647-427-0006 www.dstoutput.ca

Arena Blanca was everything I expected and more. The building was lovely and small and in new condition. The pool was beautiful and very inviting. The apartment was tastefully decorated and well kept. Kristin at BRIC International was very accommodating and attentive to our needs. I would highly recommend this this agency."

Hi Marcus! Just wanted to let you know that we really enjoyed our vacation and The Meridian (105). Stephanie and your staff were fantastic (Stephanie is a cutie)! The condo was great, also. Everything was as expected or beyond. I do not know when or where our next trip will be, but if there are Bric rentals available (who knows, we might be returning to Playa) we will definitely try to do business with you again. I have already referred you to others, so if you get more business out of Angola, Ind., I might have sent them. If there was any down side, and this is minor in my book, it was finding your office. The way the sun was hitting we couldn't see your signage. Plus, with the construction across the street, it is a distraction. We should have known, with the bikes out front and the fact that you rent them, that this was your office. We also had dinner one night at your neighbors. Fantastico! Take care and thanks again. You guys were great to work with. If you want to use my comments on your blog, feel free. -Mike

We were fortunate enough to "discover" this property on the Internet - and rented it for two weeks during Jan/Feb/08. Had an amazing vacation. The unit was lovely, the maid service terrific and the location perfect. The management company handled any questions we had throughout our stay. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend this as an authentic accomodation while you stay in Playadise... We still talk about having coffee or cocktails in "heaven" - a.k.a. the rooftop terrace. Hacienda San Jose C-11 "Casa Morris"BRIC International LLC R.Raymond

Great anniversary gift for the wifeAAF Philadelphia, PA, USA Date Submitted: May 12, 2008 Date of Stay: April 2008I surprised my wife with a week long getaway to this location after searching high and low for various choices. Location was a 5 (excellent), positioned right between the beach and the main avenue where the great shops/restaurants were located. Layout of condo was a 5 and very comfortable. Beds were comfortable too - just a tad firm but not too much. Loved the rooftop, however the hot tub is for one person and wasn't in very good working order (didn't use). Check in and housekeeping were superb and couldn't ask for anything more. I would recommend this highly

We don't know of any other Management company that is as thorough or more professional than BRIC International. They have earned our trust and we must see to it that our investment property stays well maintained and not take any chances on other companies. James and Sandy Zimmerman Meridian Unit #310 May 13, 2008