Hi

I suggest you message Lea

tripadvisor.co.uk/members-forums/LeaPerLaVita

as she is a very experienced traveller who has been to DR several times and she has just returned from Catalonia Royal.

Also have a look at her live from thread as that contains a lot of useful information

See link to her live from thread:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g147293-i28-k20873…

Beach vs. Royal Section:

Beach - also all-suites; older but well maintained rooms, larger (10 times) beach section, no room service, huge clean pool, multiple bars, 4 ala-carte restaurants, creperie, gym, tennis courts, golf course next door, 2 buffets, great pool side snack bar, catamarans, canoes, great entertainment staff, bars, disco, huge lobby bar, martini bar, pool tables, ping-pong, entertainment theatre, etc.

Royal - new rooms, but set back from the beach, its own pool (quiet), adults only (as you pointed out), its own separate ala carte restauarant, pool side drink service, room service, newer rooms, small beach section (I was surprised how small and few visitors use it), access to all amenities on the beach side, separate lobby-check-in.

We preferred the Beach section - had more life, younger people, more action (sports), etc. We hang out at the beach so, not the pool, room service doesn't matter for us. Might try Royal when we are older and want more quiet times.

Either way, hard to go wrong with this place - for us, the selling feature was the beach/ocean - just spectacular - best I have ever seen.

Thanks Flip.

I've been in touch with Lea and hoping she will hop on this thread. She has provided great info via PM. The purpose of this thread is to detail differences between these and have the info available to others as well.

Bugsy, many thanks for your detailed post.

I am happy to help - let us know what you decide.

Hey NY neighbor !!

First let me preface that we try to stay in Adults Only when we travel. We LOVE & ADORE children and we are truly VERY active contributors to the children of the Dominican Republic. We can be found traveling off resort hours in to towns and villages sharing love and spirit with the lovely little ones of this Island. Here at home too !!

But we like the peace & serenity of an adults resort. AND when we get lonely for action or little ones we like the idea that they are just a minute away.

The Royal Cat has one of the most spectacular private restaurants we've ever eaten in, throughout ALL of our stays in DR. That would have to be the MOST noticeable differences in both sides and

ALL of the resorts we’ve been blessed to have retreated to.

While food, for us during vacations, has ranged from decent, to good, to very good, the RC had the best...

The Catalonia had the BEST succulent slow roasted (in an oven right in front of you ) chicken at their pool side. When someone on the board told me the chicken was a “not to miss” I did not appreciate that until it was on my plate, falling off the bone like a slice of heaven.

And excellent oven brick pizza (almost as good as ours here in NY).. The chefs could barely keep up with the children’s demands for “extra cheese” and “pepperoni”… A few cold cervezas to these hard working men yielded a relief to the high demands (and also a pepper and onion for us) :>

At the Royal we were able to set up all of our reservations for the other specialty restaurants ahead and we even had the privileges to change, last minute in fact, and were accommodated.

The specialty restaurants were shared by both Royal and Catalonia.

It terms of age, there was a nice mix. I’d have to say that young couples, vacationing and honeymooning, dominated the scene. Mid aged (that would be us) were plentiful and seniors were far and few…

The Royal Pool was truly a magnificent experience. We are generally beach people and due to some healing issues this trip I needed to limit my beach trips and for the first time I fell in love with a pool.

The reclining chair beds were spectacular and the Papalas were so large that a full family could be accommodated. We literally set up our day there. We were able to set our drinks and sunscreen, camera and accessories on the circular built in table. The service was #1 . We had fresh fruits and drinks offered to us ALL day by attentive servers. They were truly awesome and took the time to get to know the guests and their needs.

The Catalonia Pool was beautiful and clean and much larger. We observed children enjoying the different sections of this area and families were easily accommodated with standard pool chairs.

The grounds at the Royal are VERY small but Gorgeous. There are presently four villas with two additional ones being built, Oceanside. The grounds at Catalonia were absolutely beautiful, clean and well kept and you could stroll through the many fountains and paths. Also the Catalonia side had a adorable covered pathway to walk under to the beach

The beach on the Royal side was secured and small. Perfect for the Royal Guests. Beach chairs were wider and easier to lay upon. Papalas were open and available for guests all day. The Catalonia side had regular beach chairs with plenty of them available.

There were sand beach bees at the front of the Royal Section that AT FIRST looked quite intimidating. But, they literally parted the way for you when passing. So some folks might have viewed this as unpleasant. I did at first, but after holding my breath the first day, they seemed to be more intimidated by little me…

There is absolutely NOTHING to do on Royal at night except to eat, stroll and sit gorgeous pool side and have some drinks or share some time with your lover. We are off resort people so we spent a few nights hoppin around town and the other nights at the Catalonia side enjoying some shows, the casino and a pretty nice domino game we had the pleasure of starting.. AND finishing, I might add !!!

For us, we enjoyed the option of relaxing and treasuring quiet peaceful time together un interrupted by very little. They even kept all music poolside off until after 11:00 so people could comfortably and quietly sleep in if they wished.. BUT with just a minute walk away you could boogie your butt off if desired at the Catalonia…

The Spa at Royal was excellent !! Perfect massages, steamroom, state of art air conditioned gym and hot tub. I don't think there was a spa on Catalonia side..(open for correction)..

Okay, outta here after my longwinded ramble ….

I miss the Royal and am returning July 2009.…

Much luck in deciding!! Enjoy the MJ in September

Peace

Lea

PS … Thanks Flip !!

Lea, many thanks for that "longwinded post". It is exactly what I appreciate. I'm sure others thinking about Catalonia vs the Royal side will benefit from it too.

Reading your post convinces me more and more about visiting it after my Majestic visit in Sept.

I like the fact that you mention that the Catalonia side is only a minute's walk in the event that we want more activities or a dance at the disco.

Just to correct Lea there is a SPA on the regular side of CATALONIA.

There is also a work out gym available.

Is there a difference in the amount of a la cartes that can be reserved during a one week stay?

When staying on the Royal side you can eat at as many a la cartes as you wish and as many times. They will accommodate any and all of your requests with a smile. It has been a few years since we stayed on the regular side but I think you can only have 3 a la cartes per week .