Royal Hideaway Playacar

Having gone to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Antigua, and other resorts around Cancun, this is still the resort that we compare all others too - haven't found another resort that measures up yet, so we're just going to keep coming back. The grounds are all well-maintained and relaxing. There's a mix of larger pools for socializing and smaller pools for relaxing. Good mix of restaurants with a high standard on the food. A lot of choice of refreshments at the bars. Beach peddlers were a presence, but not an intrusive or annoying one. Trends more towards relaxation than Spring Break partying. Smaller resort - rough estimate of maybe 200 rooms total. A few animal facts: this is the area of Mexico where there are agoutis - they look like guinea pigs with longer legs and are pretty adorable to watch. There's a falconer on staff at the resort, using a Harris hawk to keep gulls and other birds from pestering guests. There was, at the time of our visit, a brown dog that would hang out around the beach - she's enough of a presence that I'd heard her called "Lucy" by many guests. She was a happy, relaxy dog that acted like one of the guests - just napping on the beach until the sun caught up to her, then finding a new spot of shade. I think a lot of guests missed the dogs they'd left back at home, and having a friendly dog on site was a very happy experience. Have been here three times so far, will keep coming back every year from now on, God willing.

Rooms - as others have said the rooms are a bit tired but extremely comfortable and housekeeping keep everything perfect, spotlessly clean. We had room 3022 which was over two floors and had three balconies which we used and which were also spotlessly clean. Restaurants - above average, booked them all before we arrived and still managed to easily make changes. Asian and grill the best in our opinion. Drinks - Premium brands available, large selection of drinks available. Would have liked to have had Corona or Sol available. The Prosecco/Cava was unpleasant to say the least and it would be nice to have a dry rose included in inclusive drinks. Staff - where do we start. The pool and beach staff were phenomenal, in particular Jorge, Javier and Luis who worked tirelessly to ensure we were rarely without a drink and who were so kind and friendly. Armando our concierge did everything he could to ensure we were happy, organised restaurant bookings outside the hotel, organised transport and checked on us. He a a gorgeous soul and a real asset to the RHA. The only exception was the Barman in The Allegro Bar, he was miserable and rude, also noted by other guests, not just us. He needs some customer service training. Beach, pool area and grounds - beds on beach could be more comfortable and yes there were sunbed wars most mornings with us having to get up before 7am to find beds which had either been reserved by guests already or their concierge on their behalf. Many people didn’t turn up until lunchtime which was very unfair to those wandering around looking for somewhere to sit. The hotel needs to find a better way of managing this. There is live music daily around lunchtime which was a real treat. The grounds are stunning and we praise the staff who work hard to keep it all so beautiful. Location - it really is a hideaway, first impressions on arrival were that it is one of the most beautiful in Playacar. It is opposite a small precinct which has everything you need including an awesome restaurant called Jungle owner by the fabulous Abigail. It’s also 5 mins in taxi to the hustle and bustle of Playa de Carmen. In summary, this was our first time to this resort having been to Mexico before. We met guests that return year after year and we aren’t surprised by this. The staff, boutique size of hotel and location make this a winner for us and we will definitely come back. The positives hugely outweigh any niggles, hence our five star review. Thanks to all at RHA for a fabulous 10 day stay 🙏🏼

The resort is small, super cute. Staff is most friendly. The room is nice and spacious. The beach, the sand, the entrance into the ocean are the best we’ve ever experienced. HOWEVER, the food was the worst we had ever experienced. Compared to many other Mexican resorts this one doesn’t have a buffet (even though on paper there is one), not much variety in restaurant menus. Menus never change, not even for breakfast or lunch. Very few items on the menus had taste. Food had no spices, not even salt. MOST ANNOYING: they told us that all restaurants were booked until 9:30PM every night. When we walked into restaurants around 6:30-7, they were empty.

The location and general premises are very nice. The rooms are spacious and clean and well serviced. The food is very good in the sit down restaurants and average in the grill area. Service is spotty and slow and sometimes forgetful. The bars in the main building all need to be better stocked and prepared for service. Much of staff seems indifferent to your presence. Many of the staff are in desperate need of training for attentive and thoughtful customer care and they need to have management staff to ensure level and quality of service is delivered.

The rooms are old and some very run down. Food quality is pretty bad. Service from some employees was great, others not so good. I do not recommend this place. We were 13 including family from the us AND from Mexico. They seemed to not treat mexican’s as well.