Royal Hideaway Playacar

There’s a lot to love about this hotel, starting with the design concept itself. The fact that the rooms are in villas dotted around the grounds, each with around 20 units and its own concierge, gives the whole experience a very personal feel. The surrounding grounds are very attractive and well maintained, and while we were there there were painters constantly freshening everything up. Our large room, though not modern in design, was more classic than old-fashioned, so very acceptable, with a huge comfortable bed, decent pillows and silky bed linen. I would only say that the bathrooms are well overdue for a refurb. Our experience of the food was mixed, but the dinners were consistently good and the evening restaurants were delightfully small and intimate for a resort of this size. The reservations system works well. We found Ventanas and Palazzo especially good and really enjoyed the “theatre” of the teppanyaki table at Azia. OTOH, we thought the lunch buffet hugely uninspiring, with insipid salads and tepid “hot” dishes. Ribs off the lunch menu were inedible – grey, tough and, worst of all, luke warm. Definite no-no for pork. The drinks flow 24/7, which is something of a double-edged sword. A few guests take advantage of this to such an extent that, by mid-afternoon, they are behaving worse than the children who are not allowed in the resort. Watch the pool loungers empty out around 3.30 as many people retreat to their balconies for a bit of peace and quiet. The gym is exceptional – great, modern equipment that is vastly underused. The entertainment is of varied quality but we especially enjoyed Gabriel, the guitarist who plays two lunch times a week, and the silent disco was great fun. There are also some decent bands playing at the Allegro bar, which again is intimate and friendly. What a pity then that the whole two-week stay was made quite stressful by the ridiculous games – that you have little choice but to join in – around the whole poolside lounger fiasco. There’s a notice that reads “It is not allowed to reserve sun loungers with towels or personal items”, and yet if you’re not up by 7 am at the very latest (well before dawn), forget trying to sit around the pool. A large proportion of the loungers are reserved for VIP guests (those who have been back an unknown number of times – rumoured to be around 15), and are sometimes left unoccupied for a large part of the day. The rest are bagged by people parking books, flotation devices or any other bits and pieces they can lay their hands on to make sure there’s somewhere comfortable to sit. This, in my opinion, is because the beach chairs, of which there are plenty, are so uncomfortable. Such a shame because the beach is beautiful and the hotel does a great job of keeping the sargassum down. Make those chairs more attractive and problem solved! On the whole, we found the stay excellent value for money and would love to come back but the issue of the chairs, and to some extent the noisy guests, could be the things that decide us against.

This hotel is in a great location and provides top-notch service for its guests. The site is well maintained and has an excellent sandy beach which is maintained daily. The resort is smaller than some which is mostly a benefit. However, it also comes with a negative, and that is that the breakfast and lunch buffets offer minimal variety and are basically the same every day. The food is good but needs variety. The food in the restaurants in the evening is excellent. Also be prepared to experience sexual discrimination in the restaurants. Men are not allowed in with open-toed sandals, but it is perfectly fine for women's sandals to expose almost their entire foot. Although this may seem minor, it is still discrimination and should be challenged. The argument that it is just the rule is unacceptable. Would a defence of separate facilities for Blacks in the American south because it was the rule have been an acceptable argument?

First trip here. Staff was excellent. The food was exceptional. Very clean, quiet and plenty of pools. We wished they had heated pool, found one on the last day but not sure it was warm when we arrived. The facilities, rooms and restaurants are clean.

This resort was absolutely wonderful to stay at. Beautiful grounds & beach, excellent food and very friendly & attentive staff. Our only regret was that we didn’t book to stay longer.

Dayna Moreno and her team We’re absolutely amazing helping my dad with finding his phone. These people are seriously amazing, you guys should do whatever you can to keep them at this resort. I’ve never had such good service in my life, they helped us all the way through. Please give these people a raise or a bonus