This is possibly the best All-Inclusive Resort ever. We upgraded our suite on arrival and had a beautiful 1-bed ocean view complete with full size alcoholic beverages (vodka, tequilla, rum etc), champagne, wine, Wii, jacuzzi steam shower etc etc. The food was top notch, particularly in the Mediteraneo restaurant and the Spa was magnificent. I had great massage treatments from Angie and Alcudia and a lovely pedicure. Fantastic service, from all staff. Our light was broken on the balcony terrace and was fixed within hours. I would definitely go back.

1 st Time. We stayed at the Royal Playa del Carmen from Dec. 22 - 29, 2012 and had an Outstanding experience. The Family Christmas Vacation was just Outstanding. The staff was fanstic - Jamie, beach buttler Playordomo and Elizabeth who served our family all week were the very best. Friendly and efficient service 100 % of the time. Pool activaties with "Katie" were just outstanding. Very outgoing and friendly every day. The entire staff was world class - I would recommend at 6 star level. SPA was wonderful. Levinia and Lucy - Therapist did an outstanding job getting an old body back to feeling like new. They were very professional and worth the experience. Our Family had one of the "BEST" Vacation thanks to the Royal and it's wonderful staff.

The reviews about this resort were bang on....This place has THE best location of all resorts in Playa Del Carmen....The staff is what makes this place so great! They are friendly, attentive and very hard working. We can not thank them enough for making this vacation one to remember. Selma at Spice is a real sweetheart and very hard working! Victor with the recreation staff was so much fun!
Check in and out is a breeze....Pre book your rooms online 48 hours before arrival. We got exactly what we booked and we loved our choices...we had rooms 296, 293 and 399. We could not have gotten better location......I would not have traded for an oceanfront.....choose the second or 3rd floor and enjoy the view. The only downfall of this hotel were the meals. Although the service and presentation are amazing...thats where it ends. The food is just OK. The buffets are smaller than other resorts and very repeatative. Don't get me wrong, this did not ruin it for us. We had lots to eat but would not give this area a 5 star. We expected better!
The turn down service was hit and miss as well as the maid service. Our room was always cleaned but the time of day varied although they ask you what time you would like this service it was never consistant.
We stayed over New Years and the event the resort planned was nice. We had a good time but it was not for everyone. The music was loud and "dance" music which did not suit the older crowd. There is lots of music out there that they should have played a better variety to meet everyones likes. The menu was set and we were given the choice of steak or seafood. Again, this was just ok. There was a resort just down the beach that had a huge stage set up and famous DJ's were playing throughout the week. This resulted in very loud techno bass thumping throughtout the resort until 4 am. I was okay with it until 2 but after that was not impressed!!
The beach is very busy. Lots of locals and the towel game is definately in play but we had no problems getting a great spot to lounge on the beach. There are no beach vendors but shopping is just around the corner.
I would recommend this hotel to anyone who is looking for a great location and great service.

We were upgraded from the Grand Porto Real to The Royal.This trip was a Christmas present to ourselves and our two grown boys,(young men).This was our first trip to Mexico and in our opinion the Royal in Playa Del Carmen has set the bar very high.The cleanliness of the resort was unbelievable. The constantly hard working staff were very warm, polite and professional. The beach was beautiful . Our experience on the beach was made even better by a beach butler named Mitch. I don't know if there are other butlers on the beach , but he seemed to cover the entire beach area himself. He was extremely friendly, genuinely enjoyed stopping to talk to people and always had a smile on his face. He never made a mistake on a drink order. He spent his day literally running on the beach serving the guests, and as far as I could see making them happy. Mitch is the one employee of the Royal who stood out or exceeded our expectations. We had the use of a beach cabana daily which was very nice. The location of our cabana was next to a kiosk which rented out jet skis, kayaks, etc. One of the guys who worked there was a local guy named Armando. I enjoyed meeting and talking with him about where he was from . He talked about diving in the area and sights to see locally. Each day he made sure to come and see us and shake my hand. Thanks Armando. We were quite impressed with the food served on the resort.We had lots of variety and a good choice of a la carte or an extensive buffet. The wait staff in all of the restaurants was top notch. The weather was great and overall we had a fantastic time. Thank you to the Royal in PDC.