I booked the Royal Solaris after reading the reviews so I thought I knew what to expect. This is our 8th time in Cancun and we have stayed at many places. We arrived Friday before noon, and the check in process went pretty quickly, and I was surprised to hear our room was ready. I had requested a non- smoking room and was told that my request was accomodated.
The lobby was ok, but very dark and on the older side. We were then ushered to a desk where we were to receive "additional information" about the resort. It really was a screening session to see if we qualified for time share tour. Since I was traveling with my teenage daughter and my husband was in the US and couldn't come with us. We didn't qualify and were quickly given a map with a list of restaurants. We were told that our room was in the newer tower, and the other tower was closed for renovations. There were 2 nicer restaurants, and the buffet restaurant.
We reserved and paid for a deluxe oceanview room. At the front desk they asked me if I would like to use the safe. When I said I did, I was given a document to sign stating if I lost the lock I would be responsible for a fine of 100.00. they then gave me a strange old fashioned lock mechanism, and a key on a green strand of yarn. I have never seen anything like this. We were then escorted to our room and I was very surpised by how dingy the accomodations were, old cracked tile floors very dated furntiure, walls in desperate need of paint, in general no more than 2 stars. there were even crushed doritos or some kind of orange chips on the floor. The view was nice, but the windows were hazy and there was no mini- fridge or any other ammenities in the room. and the safe was ancient and you had to insert the lock, and then remove the key to use.
The air conditioning vent on the wall was filty and there were cracks in the wall around it and black "stuff" around the perimiter.
Definitely much worse than what we were expecting.
I called down to the front desk and told them how disappointed I was with the room. They told me I could "upgrade" to the Grand Royal Solaris for a fee of 30 per person per day. When I booked the resort I could have booked the Grand for 20 more in total so after discussing my options with the manager for quite a while, there was no way I was willing to pay an extra 30 for my 14 year old daughter, who eats practically nothing, to upgrade also, they agreed to let me for a fee of 30 in total. I was driven over to the other resort and the difference was night and day! Lovely lobby, they hand you a drink while you are checking in, very nice rooms, (although they have the same exact decor, but it looks completely different in a new clean room), all rooms come with a mini-bar and balcony it is a very new and nice resort, night and day from the Solaris.
We did return to the Royal Solaris a few days later, as we wanted to use the paddle boats at the Marina across from the hotel and we ended up spending the day at the pool at the Solaris. It was nice, not as luxurious as the Grand pool but actually more upbeat and fun with better music- a lot more lively! The lunch buffet was much varied and upscale at the Grand, but the food and drinks were pretty similar at both resorts.
If the price difference is not significant definitlely upgrade to Grand Royal Solaris, if you really don't care about the room, and are looking to have fun at the pool and bars, the Royal might tbe fine- just know what you're getting. Nothing worse than that wave of disappointment with your choice of hotel when you get to your destination on vacation.
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