Stayed at the Royal April 28-May 2 and found the property to be excellent choice for our short vacation in Playa del Carmen. Perfectly situated in heart of town, the location was remakably quiet and peaceful.

Aware prior to booking of bumping issues but a request by airline travel rep to reconfirm our reservations and request a king size bed was helpful in negating this issue. Having a king size bed on request allowed "Veronica" at the front desk to upgrade us to a king size room with an ocean view and upgraded amenities.

Found the staff to remarkably helpful and always courteous. Skip the Spice buffet resturant and head to Pelicano's at beach front of Hotel for breakfast and lunch, great view and interesting food. The more formal Marie-Marie provided two very enjoyable dinners and food came quickly, unlike most A.I. a la cartes.
Asiana, in front of hotel, is outstanding with above average table service and excellent sushi and wide range of asian dishes across the spectrum of nationalities.

Room was immaculate with very good housekeeping. Seldom do we ever return to a locale or specific property but wife and I plan to return in future to the Royal at Playa del Carmen

A friend and I just returned from a stay at The Royal and loved it. This is our third visit to Playa and we thought The Royal was the best hotel yet! The room was beautiful and the grounds spotless. The beach was gorgeous - we never wanted to leave it! Pool was also great and always fun. The staff was exceptional and really made our stay so enjoyable. Alberto, Fernando and Ricardo from the entertainment staff worked really hard to make sure everyone was having fun and always had lots of activities planned. Be sure to take the bike ride - it is really nice. I highly recommend this hotel.

I will try not to drag on and on so let’s get started:

We booked thru Funjet which was pretty simple I guess. I booked with the free transportation, it was thru Lomas travel. We had to wait about 30 min once we landed at the airport not to bad but was ready to get to the beach. They waited for other people going to different hotels in Playa. We had the first stop so it was not too bad.

Front Desk

They where awesome but make sure that you do the online check in. It really saves time and heartache. They bring you a beverage of your choice while you wait, but it does not take too long. We got there about 1pm so our room was not ready so maybe take a swim suit in your carry on if you get there early and head to the beach or pool.

Room

I will have to say for the basic junior suite, we had room number 175, we loved it. I like the location close to the pool as well as the lobby and restaurants. The room was a smoking room but I never would have known it. It was so clean and beautiful. The in room Jacuzzi was nice for two people and the walking in shower was just as nice. The mini fridge had coke, sprite, beer and water. I woke up the first night with a little hangover and grabbed a sparkling water by accident, not what I was expecting. Oh well. The room was great and they have about forty channels on the TV as well as a liquor dispenser.

Beach

The beach is really close to the big Mexican flag so I guess there are a lot of locals that come to that area. The beach is great there are a bunch of beach beds. I highly recommend that you go out early for a spot of get oceanfront and there is one reserved for you. We walked both north and south of our beach. The beach at the sister resort the Gran is horrible with the sand bags but if you go north the beach is great. You may see some topless girls north I think it is a public beach area. I did not sit on the beach so I have no idea of the service but it is beautiful.

Pool

I spent a ton of time at the pool. They have two or three different pools that you can enjoy. I highly recommend the swim up bar. They have a drink of the day every day. I brought a BUBBA KEG so they just refilled me every time with whatever I wanted. They also have activities pool side that may include blackjack, cooking class, yoga, dance lessons, bartending class, and crafts. I did not mention everything I am sure there is more. If you like to swim laps I think they have a pool that is measured for that. They also have a hot tub and cool tub, they were packed at night.

Food

I ate everything under the sun and never got sick they had great food.
Spice: Buffet
The food was great especially breakfast. They had an omelets station as well as crepes, waffles, and pancakes. We only ate there one night and it was Asian food. The food was terrific; I loved the fried rice and sushi.
Pelicanos:
Best guacamole I have ever had. I also live in Texas so we eat it pretty often. One day at lunch I think our server forgot us though, never got our food after 1hr of waiting. Oh well
Marie Marie:
I had the Salmon and it was good for an AI. My fiancé had the beef fajitas, they were ok, no USDA in Mexico for the beef.

All and all the food was very good for an AI.

Staff

Totally great and very nice.

ETC

Take a BUBBA KEG and have the time of your life you will love the resort. We took pictures thru the hotel and got some great photos to bring home.

Please IM me if you have any further questions.

We stayed at the Royal April 23rd - 27th and had the most amazing time ever. I had been to the Royal before for a wedding but was so involved with it and all they had going on that I didn't get a chance to truly enjoy everything this place has to offer. My Brother and I took our wives down for a week and I honestly can say this was the best vacation I have ever been on. You truly feel like royalty at the Royal. Everyone is so friendly and the place is kept Immaculate. It is adults-only so you will see NO kids what so ever which is very nice. Very friendly people as well staying at the Royal as we met some really nice people too!

Online Check-in: We did have problems with the online checkin as we booked two Oceanfront Rooms and they overbooked by one room. Not a big deal at all as they took care of us by refunding us money, as well as giving the four of us free hour long massages that were unbelievable. I would just say make sure you get on right at midnight 48 hours advanced to getting there to get the best rooms.

Airport/transfers: The airport is alot nicer than I remembered it as I think they just made major upgrades but make sure you allow yourself at least an hour to get through customs and another 45 minutes for taxi to the Royal.

Rooms: We had incredible Oceanview rooms over the pool facing the ocean that I thought were better than the OceanFronts. Great King bed that was way more comfortable than our own bed at home. Rooms are truly 5 star. The Bose stereo and iPod doc were big for us as we used them daily. Everything was perfect and the maid service was great everyday. We used the card to tell them when to come as well as the pillow menu and everything was just as asked. I would say give a few bucks tip each day to get better service as it helped us.

Pool: We stayed at the pool everyday and never really wandered to the beach but once or twice. The pool is amazing but YES, you do have to play the towel game like others said. My brother and I actually were down at the pool by 6 each day just to get decent spots but its all worth it. You're going to get sun and have a good time no matter where you end up and you can always find a chair somewhere. We did walk the beach a few days just to break from the pool and that was worth it as well. Beautiful sand and water....

Food: Spice Buffet was where we did Breakfast every morning and was all you could want and more. We had lunch at Spice one day but nothing compared to Pelicanos on the beach. Make sure you try the Sea Bass. For dinner Maria Marie was our favorite. Would say get the Beef Fillet or Rack of Lamb! Asiana was awesome as well. I've been to the restaurants across the street before and wasn't as impressed with them as I was the places at The Royal. Did not try the Chef's Plate but heard it great if you have the time and can make reservations.


Spa: MAKE SURE you go to the Spa area at least once and use there free Steam room/dry sauna/hot tubs/cold plunge area. It really made the trip for us. We also had 50 minute relaxation massages that were by far better than any I have ever recieved. I hear you can go to Veronicas on 5th and get a good massage for cheap but if you like the overall Spa experience and being right at the hotel then I would GREATLY RECOMMEND trying Spa Zul.

5th Avenue: I would also recommend going down at least once to 5th avenue. We made our way down 3 or 4 times since it literally is one block away and there is so many shops, restaurants, and bars. It feels very cozy and clean and especially safe. We had dinner down there one night and had great Mexican food and Margaritas. Also would recommend Tequila Barrel for a good time.

The Royal is INCREDIBLE is all I can say. I have stayed at places like the Ritz Carlton and I can honestly say that The Royal compares to the service and ammenities of places like that. I would recommend to anyone wanting to go to the Riviera Maya to DEFINITELY STAY at the Royal. My parents have stayed here before and loved it and we can't all wait to go back. If you have questions, you can PM me!