Royal Hideaway Playacar

We really enjoyed our stay at Royal Hideaway Playacar. It’s a beautiful, smaller, peaceful resort with a more mature crowd. The grounds are lovely, the beach has plenty of loungers, and we appreciated that there are no wristbands separating guests by what they paid. The biggest issue was the sargassum. We know it’s a natural problem, but cleanup was inconsistent and there was often no clear path into the ocean. At one point, a dead animal was decomposing in it, covered in flies and maggots. We also met a guest who stepped into it, experienced burning, and later developed blisters. We can't say what caused that, but it was concerning. Beach vendors were also very persistent, approaching us every 5–10 minutes. A vendor-free section of beach or designated vendor market would allow guests to relax without constant interruptions. Food was good but not exceptional, and we've had better elsewhere. Dinner requires reservations and restaurants aren't all open every night. Vegan options are limited, but Chef Carlos Chay went above and beyond to accommodate me. Carlos Quintal, a restaurant manager, was also incredibly kind when I became sick during our stay. Our concierge was nice, but communication was inconsistent. A simple update when she was still working on a request would have helped. The fitness center was excellent, and we especially enjoyed the karaoke and circus-style show. Menus in additional languages would also be helpful for the many international guests. Special thanks to our housekeeper Adelfina—we left her a $20 tip when she was off on our last day and hope she received it! We loved the resort and would consider returning. If I hadn't experienced better resorts, I'd give it five stars. There is a lot to love, but I genuinely think Royal Hideaway can do better.

This was my 2nd time to stay at this resort. Again, we loved this resort and would stay here again. The only thing that I want to recommend for people who are going to stay here is get lots of pesos for tips. Front desk doesn't keep small bills if you want to exchange your $$. We missed giving some tips to the staff because of this.

Awful Hotel the biggest swimming pool was green for 4 days and the food was really below average. The worst buffet restaurant I have ever been to. Really disappointed with our holiday.

It has been a week since we left this hotel, and unfortunately, we will remember this vacation for a long time… for all the wrong reasons. I have never experienced so many issues in a hotel presented as “luxury”: a green and unusable swimming pool, or one you could use at the risk of ending up with yellow swimsuits, with absolutely no assistance or compensation from the hotel. The service was incredibly slow. It is simply unacceptable given the price we paid for 10 days. The restaurants were also extremely disappointing: terrible service, disgraceful wine, with some restaurants closed on a rotating basis and sometimes for several days, with no compensation whatsoever on the price of the stay. On top of all this, there was a major water leak in our room, forcing us to change rooms in the middle of our stay. After discussing the situation with management, we eventually agreed to leave 3 days early, with a refund for the remaining 3 nights. A document was signed, and a copy was given to us. And since then? Absolutely no news for a week, despite sending a follow-up email. No specific amount, no clear timeframe. We were told that the refund would take 20 to 30 days from our departure, but without being given any indication of the amount… Quite surprising when our payment, on the other hand, was taken immediately. We therefore strongly advise against staying at this hotel. Based on our experience, the level of luxury advertised is very far from reality. We are still waiting for our refund and for a response to our attempts to contact the hotel!

We are repeat guests at Royal Hideaway and some of the reasons we return are the quality and longevity of the resort staff that truly care about your stay. The quality of the resort accomodations and the restaurants set a high bar that is exceeded. We will be back and enjoy our trip.