Royal Hideaway Playacar

This is a great resort, beautiful grounds and beautiful people. The beach is amazing. Can walk for miles. The food has been incredible.. Carlos Quintal was great at Spices restaurant as well as Christina.

I was charged twice for a daypass and they have not refunded the 2nd charge yet, despite promising to do so. It's been over a month. I've had multiple calls and emails with them, and they are now ignoring my messages. Roberto Guerra is the chief concierge.

Carlos Quintar provided us with excellent service for a very tasty meal!

We had a fantastic trip with friends! The beach is gorgeous. It’s a nice quiet resort.

I had read a lot of reviews about this hotel before choosing it as there are so many to choose from in this area. Reviews range from painting a faultless picture to 'never going back'. Most are rightly positive and it does depend on your expectations. Being a '5 star hotel' does obviously raise expectations that everything will be perfect and that is hard to achieve, particularly when views are subjective. Overall, it does many things very well which means that if it doesn't do something well, it stands out more. Strengths: Beautiful setting - stunning beach and well maintained grounds (hats off to the hard working grounds staff) Calm and tranquil feel All restaurants for evening meals, bar Spices (not bad, just average), were excellent Two well equipped little gyms Large and comfy bed - always well cleaned (many thanks to the maids!) Some genuinely personable staff throughout the hotel Comfy beds around the pool and a variety of pools Areas to improve: Breakfast and lunch - just not the same quality as the evening meals. A tough act to follow, I know. Pool lounger 'reservations' - it's no fun having to get up every morning before 7 to guarantee one! Should you go? Absolutely - its different and lovely in many ways. Would we come back? Possibly, probably for fewer nights as part of a multi-site trip. I'm sure it'll keep looking to build on its many strengths. Am I glad we chose this hotel? Most definitely. We had a lovely relaxing stay in a beautiful part of the world with great evening meals.