IH Riviera Maya Spanish School
The school building
The school is located in the very centre of Playa del Carmen, on Calle
14 Norte 171, just two blocks from the beach (see map, below).
—Markus, GERMANY
The school consists of two adjoining buildings: a colonial style house with a domed roof and terrace at the front which houses the reception, two large student apartments (not to mention an exclusive French restaurant called Byblos!); and a new, purpose-built building at the back that contains the teachers' room, the study room, the Internet access room, offices, the classrooms and two more student apartments.
There are 10 spacious classrooms in total, all with air-conditioning and views of the garden, which is full of exotic trees and plants. There is also the bar area in the garden where students can relax and socialise after class.
Separate from the school buildings themselves, a five-minute walk away, we also have our new student residence.
There are dozens of bars, restaurants and shops nearby.
Our students
Our students come from all over the world. The majority of them are
from Western Europe and North America, although we also have some students
from Brazil and Asia.
The average age of our students is 24-28, although we often have students
as young as 16 and as old as 75.
The majority of our students are young professional people who need Spanish to develop their careers. But we also have a large proportion of students who are still full-time students in their own countries as well as an increasing number of people who are simply learning Spanish as a hobby.
As for their countries of origin, last year 64% were European, 31% from North America, with the remaining 5% from just about all over the world.
The top five nationalities were US, followed by German, Italian, Swiss and British.
Student services
Feedback I think that the services you offer are outstanding: the extracurricular activities, Internet access and also the possibility of eating at very decent price in a top restaurant! I enjoyed it all very much.
The location of the school is obviously ideal too with quick access to shops, hotels and the beach.
Christophe Vaughan (Chevreuse, France)
Internet access
The Internet Room at IH Riviera Maya
is used regularly for Spanish classes. A typical Internet activity
will involve searching Spanish websites for information and students work
together with one computer so that they are constantly talking (in Spanish!)
about the materials they find as well as the task itself.
When the Internet room is not being used for teaching, it is available for use by students. You can reserve a computer for 30 minutes a day but -- if no one else wants it -- can in fact use it for as long as you wish.
There are several Internet cafés near the school, which offer Internet access for as little as 2 US$ per hour.
Students' manual
At the beginning of each course we supply you with tourist
maps and information to help you find your way around Playa del Carmen.
You also have a copy of our Students' Manual, which introduces you
to the school and explains how our courses are organised. The regularly up-dated Manual also gives you information on restaurants and bars, local transport, nightlife,
museums and other cultural attractions, etc.
Students' card
You also receive an IH students' club card on the first day
of your course. The card comes with a list of local establishments that have agreed to offer our students
discounts on their services. These local establishments include restaurants
and bars, shops etc.
Cafeteria
We have a cafeteria located in the school garden, which
is open form 08.30 to 20.30 Monday to Friday and from 09.30 to 13.30
on Saturdays.
The café provides hot and cold food and drink all day long, so you can come and have breakfast in the school before class, or stay and have lunch after class.
Food served includes many typical Mexican dishes such as quesadillas and nachos, and we also make a variety of freshly squeezed fruit juices. You'll never look at a Big Mac again...!
(You love Big Macs? Well, don't panic: if you don't like the idea of going ethnic, there are two sets of Golden Arches in Playa del Carmen where you will be able to get them!)
If you really get into Mexican food (and lots of our students do!), we even organise special courses on Mexican cooking!
>> Information on all our Spanish courses in Playa del Carmen
