Royal Hideaway Playacar

I was a little leery of the place given the reviews about the food, AC, and pool chair situation. We could not have had a better time. We traveled with a group of 8 to surprise my husband for his birthday. Everything went splendidly. Even before we arrived they accommodated our wish to have our group be near each other and helped keep the surprise a secret to the last second. The concierge worked with us to be able to have dinner together each night. The food was overall quite good! The poolside food was kind of bar food - OK but not amazing. Spices I would skip, there was a mix of great dishes and some that were just not good. The Grill was great - all eight of us enjoyed all of our dishes and we all shared bites and there wasn't anything that we didn't like. Azia and Las Ventanas were top-tier. These would be go-to restaurants even if they were stand alone. Especially Las Ventanas. We ended up with nearly everything on the menu and everything was great. The hibachi at Azia was a fan favorite and we all agreed it was the best Hibachi we have had. The service is outstanding everywhere. Every person is smiling and appears to truly enjoy their job and be enjoying themselves despite working outside in the tropics. Sheets and bed were spectacular! The AC struggled slightly but all of us (4 rooms) were able to keep our rooms at 23C at least (if you're a lady of a certain age consider a fan! I brought my own and then I was fine. We didn't have any trouble getting pool chairs until the last day where we didn't start until noon or so. We were able to get eight chairs together several days. The beach is also so close it really doesn't even matter. The relaxation pools are also a lovely option especially if you want more shade. Our group is big and all 40-50 but like to have fun. We loved karaoke, trivia, and casino night. We found it to be a good balance of fun to be had without there being too much noise/activity to rest and sleep if you wanted to. Some of our group had been to several all inclusives and most have been on cruises. All agreed that this was the perfect fit for our group. Less crowded than a cruise and great value for money for an all inclusive. We paid around $1200 each couple for 4 nights and it was more than worth it. I'd expect to be 20-30% more for the quality based on hotels that I usually stay in

Maybe a 6 of 10. Airport connection poor after a long flight. My daughter had no A/C the first night and the concierge said it felt OK to him. Sea weed was terrible in appearance and smell.

Excellent resort! Staff are incredible. Property is spotless clean and kept in pristine shape/condition. The spa is the best

We went on this trip for our honeymoon and it was fantastic. Food was amazing and room was great. Staff is so friendly and helpful,very professional as well. I'd highly recommend this place to someone on a budget for their getaway. Would gladly go back some day.

This is a nice, clean chill hotel. It's situated near a market that is walkable. The neighborhood the hotel is in is considered "upscaled" as well. The staff was friendly, the property is well kept. I would stay here again but I think it may have been too quiet for me. My bf, however, enjoyed the calm and quiet though.