Royal Hideaway Playacar

Things to know: -The deck, spices, and Azia are all three casual. Men only have to dress up at Ventana‘s and Palazzo -you can order food on the beach and at the pool and they will bring it to you, but it is a separate menu -Playacar community is very safe and you can walk for two or 3 miles because it’s basically a neighborhood with other resorts. There are shops across the street as well as a 7-Eleven, a Starbucks, a minimart, -you can smoke on the balconies of your room -Bring your own sunscreen because one will cost you about 20+ dollars. We used about seven for a week stay -our room was very hot and the refrigerator didn’t cool real wel. l we never said anything to the front desk, but we were told after the fact that we should have mentioned it and they would’ve fixed both. Just something to think about. -with regards to the beach beds, the only two that you have to pay for are the two that are on the beach. The other ones if there is not a reserve sign on the bed, they are first come first serve. -The walk to Playa Del Carmen is only about a mile and a half. Not bad at all -The hotel grounds are very pretty. They do a great job keeping everything very nice and clean. The staff was amazing, but they did seem somewhat short staffed. But they do work hard to try to meet everybody’s needs. Overall good time

We just left from our 5th stay at Royal Hideaway. We love the location, the staff, the quaintness of the resort, the beach, the food, and cleanliness. Charli Zapata from Azia was our waiter 3 times during our trip. He was fantastic. Gabriella was our concierge in building 30 and she was also amazing. All the beach waiters are always on top of it. We will be back in September.

I would not recommend!!! Upon arrival, our TV was broken, which they did replace but 90% of the staff was not friendly or welcoming at all, not even at the restaurants. Also, the service was extremely slow. The temperature in the room was extremely warm and was unable to be fixed. So rather than moving us, they just brought us a fan. One evening after dinner, we came back to the room annd it was entirely flooded so some of our belongings were ruined. We later found out from another couple that was staying there that the same thing happened to them as well. Management was made aware of everything but all we were told was “sorry for your experience and the inconvenience”.

This is my second visit to The Royal Hideaway. I truly had a great time. The staff are all friendly and go the extra step to ensure your well taken care of. I would like to recognize Irene who served us breakfast at the Deck. We were delighted to see her again on our second visit. I would also like to recognize Charli Zapata who works at Azia. He remembered our favorite drinks with out asking us which truly shows his attention to detail. Also he was very hospitable. We did have a minor incident at the hotel were our AC started leaking but the front desk team/concierge arranged a new room. These things happen but we were taken well care of which this didn’t impact our stay in any negative way. I will definitely be back for a third visit as The Royal Hideaway is truly a classic luxury resort.

Disappointed would be my main reaction to this hotel. The setting and buildings are beautiful but the actual guest rooms are dated and needing work. The restaurants are also lovely although the food could be better. The main issue is inflexibility around booking and very slow service during meals. Buffet service isn't available at all in the evening and the room service menu isn't too good. It can be difficult to get enough bottles of water and cans of soft drinks delivered to the rooms - very necessary in a hot climate where the water isn't drinkable! Several times we ran out of water. A major issue which has been commented on many times before is the unavailability of loungers at the pools. Goodness knows how one gets one of these - all are either 'reserved' or left empty for hours waiting for guests to return with nothing being done by staff to remove towels etc. Having been to Mexico many times before I wouldn't return to this resort as there are many much better and either cheaper or of a similar price.