Curt Dumas
Royal Hideaway Playa Del Carmen
March 1, 2024 – March 9, 2024
Stayed in building 25
From the time we got off the private shuttle from the airport until we boarded the same for the trip back, we were very impressed. We were met at the front desk with libations that set the tone for the entire trip. In no time we were in our room heading out to dinner on the deck looking at the beautiful view and loving the breeze and the sounds of the waves hitting the manicured beach.
We had made reservations for dinner before arrival for each night at a different restaurant, usually at 7pm, the communication with the resort really helped great getting everything set for our trip. Our first full day was spent poolside. Enjoyed a fantastic breakfast with omelets made to order while you watched, and mimosas served by a super friendly staff. The servers kept palomas coming until it was time for water aerobics in the infinity pool. The activities crew was excellent, especially Rinaldo (call me sexy Ray), Carlos & Tristan. They kept the day entertaining with announcements, games, classes and emceeing almost everything at the resort.
We really enjoyed many of the extras offered from tequila tasting to silent disco, to painting classes, to 4 outstanding full stage shows.
The dinners were all 5 star, each plate was a work of art. The amazing bartenders kept the party going with their specialty drinks. (we usually arrived a half hour early) to the incredible and different selections offered at all of the restaurants.
Highly recommend the Royal Hideaway for an all exclusive, adult resort. Bring your sunscreen, the days are beautiful!
Curt & Kelly D.
Michigan
Audrey Holt
Overall, RHP was a great experience, I’d say 4.5/5. Food was pretty good (I wouldn’t say amazing but definitely better than expected). The rooms were clean and overall the property felt very well kept-up and clean. The staff here was a 5/5 for sure - everyone was incredibly nice and helpful, and didn’t let us lift a finger the entire time. My biggest complaint would be the lack of seating at the pool or beach, however this is more on rude guests than the resort. People would get up at 5am and reserve chairs with towels, so you were pretty much screwed if you were any later than that. HOWEVER, the pool manager was very diligent and would move towels to open seats up if those “reserved” seats were vacant more than an hour. The property itself is beautiful, with lots of greenery and wildlife. It’s also very quiet overall, no loud parties (if parties are your thing, don’t come here, but if you just want to relax, it’s great). I would definitely come back here. Despite little hiccups here and there, it was still a great way to spend our vacation and it felt like money well spent.
Motopartsinc00
My overall experience at this resort was positive however for them to call this resort 5 stars is grossly overrated. There were several things that I’ve experienced at actual 5 star resorts that this one was lacking. For instance, there is a major lack of pool and beach chairs. There is an abundance amount of room on the beach for them to add more recliners however there is no where near enough to accommodate the guests. Chairs are cheap and they make the guests happy. Why they have so few is beyond me. Also, there is no dinner buffet. If you don’t feel like dressing up or having a longer sit down dinner the only other option is to order room service and eat in your room. I’ve never stayed at a property this size and had no dinner buffet. For me it seems like a major oversight. When you pay this kind of money for your stay the guests should have every food option available to them. These may seem like small grievances but they should not happen at “5-star” properties.
I would like to point out that the food is delicious, the grounds are meticulously maintained, the staff is incredibly friendly/helpful and I did enjoy my time here. That being said I would not return to this property. With so much resort competition on the Mayan Riviera there is definitely better places for the money I paid.
This resort needs to step it up or do future guests a favour and lower their star rating.
Craig Beattie
We had a great trip and enjoyed most aspects of our stay. The food was great, the "front line" staff were wonderful (except when the language barrier was an issue), and the pools/oceanfront setup was good (other than the somewhat significant issues associated with an insufficient number of lounge chairs both at the pool and the beach).
We had a couple of occasions to deal with the front desk / management staff, and that was the low point of our experience, as we felt that they generally tried to avoid being helpful, ESPECIALLY if the solution should have involved a financial cost. Others had a similar experience this way.
Would still consider going back, but would definitely be more persistent and prompt if there was a need for something to be addressed.
Anthony Colavito
Overall good 4-night vacation with my spouse. We booked air, resort, and airport transfers through Costco as a package. Our first time in Mexico after other Caribbean resorts. Will likely choose another resort/package next time.
The Good
comfortable room, comfortable bed.
Beautiful well maintained grounds.
Gorgeous beach with plentiful palm tree shade and bonnets to cover lounge chairs.
Pleasant staff.
Good variety of food and drink.
Aqua aerobics was popular each day if that’s your thing.
The Bad
Limited activities, with additional cost for nearly all water sports (except kayaks, swim-in snorkeling)
Limited food at times in the evening. For example, Dinner Reservations were limited to 6p one night and another at 9:30 with no flexibility from the resort. Resort instead relied on room service, which was hit or miss (mostly miss - one time food was good and on time, one time food was not good, one time food didn’t show up and we spent the evening uncomfortably hungry).
Only 2 restaurant choices for breakfast and lunch and they’re right next to each other near the pool; meant a lot of repetition, especially if you had to eat at those restaurants for dinner too.
1 bar served the whole resort most of the day, with 3 more bars opening to serve restaurants in the evening. No bar stools available- you have to take your drink back to your lounge chair to enjoy.
Airport shuttle from CUN was a bad experience, taking about 2 1/2 hours off our first day, while we drove around dropping other tourists at their resorts. We took a taxi back to the airport and it was worth it (only 40 min!)
2 main pools and 1 functioning hot tub - the rest were not functioning or we didn’t use, mostly because they were not near the bar/restaurants.
Other
Guests tended to gather around the pool because the bar is there, which was fine for us because we preferred the beach. Wait staff serve drinks and food to you on the beach.
Resort attracts an older crowd (65+), with a mix of others in their 30s/40s/50s.