Royal Hideaway Playacar

We highly recommend this place for anyone who likes a quieter more private luxury vacation. Staff was amazing. Service and food were great.

Outstanding experience at a reasonable price. If there would be any suggestion, please increase the number of chairs around the pools.

Apologies for the length of this review but I want to cover every aspect of our experience. Resort and Rooms: The resort is set in the gated Playacar community of Playa Del Carmen. The grounds are beautiful and are meticulously maintained by staff that seem to be constantly working. The footprint is on the smaller side where everything is easily walkable and the rooms are located in traditional low- rise hacienda buildings. As some have pointed out, the rooms are definitely beginning to show their age. While the main (bedroom) section of our room was very nice, the bathroom (more specifically the bathtub and some of the finishes) are definitely in need of a refresh. That being said, the room was well-appointed, the bed was comfortable, and the housekeeping staff did a wonderful job. I should note that the couple travelling with us experienced both air conditioning and plumbing problems with their room, and, after being moved to a new room, experienced a water leak in the bathroom. Bottom line is that if your looking for a ultra modern luxury room, you may need to temper your expectations somewhat. Beach and Pools: The beach and associated views are quite breathtaking. There are two main pools side by side (one heated, one not) . Unfortunately, the “chair reservation game” is in full force partly because there are chairs reserved for loyalty guests and owners (which I totally understand) and partly because the pools themselves are not huge and can’t accommodate the necessary number of loungers. We did notice poolside staff removing items from chairs that were “reserved” but left unoccupied - so they are making an effort to try to address the issue. Part of the solution may be trying to add a few more loungers around the pool areas. Chairs were always available on the beach however, and some people took advantage of the quiet relaxation pools, where chairs didn’t seem to be as much of an issue. The beach area is quite nice, and despite some sargassum issues later in our stay we did get in the ocean for a swim. Restaurant, Bars and Staff: We tried all of the restaurants at least once, except for Palazzo, which was our favorite, so we booked it a second night. We booked all of our reservations prior to arrival but were able to modify them with a Concierge as needed (thank you Fernanda). We were initially not aware of the Mexican Dinner Show but were able to get a reservation and enjoyed the experience (and meal). With the exception of one dinner which, was probably the wrong choice on my part, we found the food quite good and definitely on par with other resorts we’ve stayed at along the Mayan coast. There can be some waiting for breakfast and lunch however we found that if you try to avoid peak times, the wait was never long. The buffet is definitely not as extensive as I’ve seen in other resorts, however we found there was ample choice for breakfast and lunch and the ability to order off the menu for lunch – or to go upstairs to Spices for breakfast were great options. All of our evening waiters (including Carlos, Wilson, Victor, Fernando and Oscar) were fabulous and took great care of us. Same goes for the breakfast, lunch and bar staff (even the one server that needs to learn how to smile). Whenever we travel south to all-inclusive resorts we always try to be friendly, polite to and respectful of staff and find that by doing this they definitely respond in kind. We ordered room service coffee in the mornings to sit out on the balcony and they always delivered on time. Activities and Nightlife: The Activities staff (Roberto, Alexa and Mariana) did great job of organizing a variety of activities throughout the day to keep people occupied, and were very interactive with guests. There was never any pressure to join in and information on the day’s scheduled events was posted by the pool and also accessible through scanning a QR code on your phone. Some of the afternoon musicians who played by the pool and evening performers were excellent. We played tennis one morning and cornhole on the beach, and also played 9 holes of golf across the street at the Hard Rock Golf course. Evening shows and entertainment were fun (we attended the Michael Jackson and Circus shows, participated in Casino Night and watched the Karaoke). Nothing went terribly late - which was totally fine with us. Overall: Despite being an older property, there is clearly a comfort level and laid back, relaxing vibe associated with this resort that keeps people coming back (many multiple times). With the exception of a couple of “constant complainers” - who everyone became aware of quite quickly and who probably should have stayed home or gone to the resorts they kept claiming were better - we met and interacted with a lot of wonderful people, all of whom seemed to be having a great time. As mentioned, I would not consider this a modern luxury resort, but for its age it remains quite beautiful, with good food, service and amenities. Bottom line is that we have no regrets about our stay here and if you can accept the reality of your room being a little dated (and potentially having to deal with in-room issues) and are willing to tolerate the chair game (which quite frankly, exists at almost all resorts), there’s no reason not to come here and have a wonderful time.

Very good resort for the price, amazing entertainment during the day and night, restaurants had delicious food and just an overall great place to vacation, peaceful and relaxing

Loved this small and quiet resort. The selection of food choices was great. Our room was lovely and quiet. Really enjoyed the beach plus the pool. The staff work hard and were amazing!