Royal Hideaway Playacar All-Inclusive Resort, Playa del Carmen Centro

We recently visited the Royal Hideaway at Playacar, Mexico for a week. Our frame of comparison�a week at the Adventura Spa Palace (a little further south) last November and cruises of the Caribbean and Mexican Riviera. The price of the Royal Hideaway is about 40% greater than Adventura Spa Palace�this appears true at any time of the year. We were disappointed in the rooms, the service, the food and the overall experience. Physically the Royal Hideaway is nice, and the ambiance in the restaurants was very nice, but the rooms were inferior to what we had at the Adventura Spa Palace--smaller Jacuzzis, few rooms had an ocean view, no liquor dispenser in room, etc. There was a severe lack of sufficient air conditioning in two of the restaurants--Azia and Spices. The temperature was totally unacceptable for a resort of this supposed quality. Uneven front desk service; a few times we were ignored in terms of getting help, while at other times the staff was helpful�up to a point. In general the staff did not want to extend themselves to provide consistently outstanding service. The cleaning service in the rooms was poor. A number of times we had to request that fresh items be placed in the room at night, and at one time the porch and the floor in the room went three days without being cleaned. The dinning room service was uneven. Often the waiters/waitresses seemed more concerned about getting the right plates, silverware, etc. on or off the table, or setting up a fresh table after it was vacated, that they forgot to provide service to the guests who were already having a meal. A number of times we had to ask for more water, wine, coffee, etc. The presentation of food was always good, but the quality was uneven. Examples of poor meals are: (1) tough beef at Vantanas; (2) veal chops at Palazzos�tough, there was very little meat, and they had a lot of fat: and (3) spoiled vegetable quesadillas at Spices. Finally, they served instant coffee in Spices restaurant at noon! The quality of the food was no better and maybe slightly lower than we have experienced elsewhere. Another issue was understanding many of the staff at the Royal Hideaway. Our experience elsewhere (Mexico and cruise ships) is with staffs that had much better command of English. Overall, when you pay a premium, you expect a commensurate higher level of ambiance and service. That was not the case at the Royal Hideaway. There are far better, and less expensive, alternatives for a quality vacation on the Mayan Riviera than the Royal Hideaway! A final footnote: After returning from the Royal Hideaway we were talking with a travel agent who had recently been to the Royal Hideaway. Her experience mirrored ours in that she was very disappointed with the room, the service and the meals.

The grounds are beautiful, and our original concierge (Cynthia Sanchez)was absolutely the best we have ever encountered. There was an emergency, and we did not have her for the last couple of days of our stay and we certainly missed her.The food was fair, one meal was horrible (civeche). My husband went to the gift store to buy some Pepto, thinking with this, I will be fine soon. Well there was only one bottle left (with the price tag on it which read 2300 pescos . . . about 2 dollars and change, well she charged him $10.00 (supply and demand)! Well, the Pepto did not work, and after vomiting 11 times, we had to contact a doctor from town to treat food poisoning. The doctor cost about $300.00, but the hotel concierge charged an additional 10% for making the call. I could not leave the room and was on a rice diet, but the hotel did not have any plain white rice, so I ate dinner rolls. On one occassion I ordered room service and it never arrived. Oh, by the way, they do have premium spirits, but you must ask for them each time you order your drink or you will get the bottom shelf liquor. We had a little mishap with a frozen drink which had a fly in it. Our server said that he flew in there after the drink was made (it was not blended). Hmmmmm, I still wanted the drink changed out. I really did not care how or when the little creature got there, that was a little odd to me!

One of the best all inclusives we've ever visited. We were treated like royalty, the food was wonderful and the facilities top rate. The only negative we found was the native show - don't go - the food's awful and the service worse. The Asian restaurant was spectacular - we had some of the best food ever. The service was great and the staff couldn't have been more helpful.

The four thousand character limit on reviews prevents me from listing all the things wrong with this place, but I will try to give the reader some idea of just how bad it was. While the scenery and rooms are quite nice, there are no other redeeming qualities. Whoever awarded this resort five stars should be fired. After booking over a month in advance, we called the resort to try to add an additional room to our reservation only to find out less than a week before our vacation that our reservation had been lost. After spending over thirty hours arguing via long-distance telephone calls, it was finally revealed to us that the resort had just switched management and that the new management did not have access to the reservations made under the old management. Worse, the resort booking staff was unable to confirm the reservations we had made until 9:00 am on the morning of our arrival. The service was mostly poor, with only a few resort employees actually even attempting to do their job. On one occasion, after asking three times for my food, I walked up and plucked my cold plate from the service line where it had been sitting for at least ten minutes. Room service was slow, but still faster than any of the restaurants. Out of the five dinners we had at the resort, only once was the order right. At Azia restaurant, only one person out of our party of eight got what they ordered. The Tom Yum soup is actually just tomato soup with one shrimp. Lemongrass is not used. The teppenyaki chef somehow managed to overcook the beef and chicken, while leaving the seafood mostly raw. While attempting to plate the food off the grill, the chef dropped hot, oily meat onto my fiance's lap - burning her private area severely. During the same meal, I watched the chef handle raw meat with his bare hands and continue cooking without washing or disinfecting. I excused myself from the table and ordered room service. The deserts at all five restaurants were tasteless, stale, and virtually inedible. The best food I ate the entire time was the room service buffalo wings and Cesar salad. The hotel information booklet in the room describes the resort's environmental policy: It requests that guests turn off the water while brushing their teeth or shaving, that they take showers instead of baths, and that the guests turn off all the lights and the television when not in use. To comply with the "green" policy, I took care to turn off the lights and television each time I left the room. However, every time I reentered the room, I found the television to have been turned back on and set to the resort information channel, and the lights turned back on as well. The housekeeping staff seems unable to comply with the resort's own environmental policy. The pools are constantly filled with seagulls. The seagulls do not hesitate to defecate in the pool so that little bits of white mess are always floating in the water. The pools are not heated. There are several hot tub Jacuzzis, none of which were hot and only two of which had working jets. The resort website advertises stocked minibars in each room, however our room mini-fridge did not have any liquor or food of any sort inside. Rather, all it contained was two beers (Modelos), a coke, a coke light, a club soda, and some bottled water. The hot water in the shower was inconsistent at best. The water would be scalding hot one second and ice cold the next without any adjustment to the knobs. After more than about ten or fifteen minutes, the hot water would run out completely. The list of complaints continues, but I have no doubt the reader will get the picture. I would never recommend this place, even to my worst enemy. Playacar is beautiful. The Yucatan has a great deal to offer in terms of great beaches and historical sightseeing, but I would have been happier staying at a red roof inn or motel 6, even for the same price. My expectations could not have been more thoroughly unmet.

There are people who complain that the staff isn't as attentive as they would like or a little slow. These people need to learn how to relax. You're on Mexico time now. The service can be a bit slow, but when you let them know you needed something, they are right on it. Are they ignoring you? No, it's just a different way of life down there. Things are a little slower, a little less "New York Minute." Also, we have to remember that English is their second language. People forget that. I ordered my French Toast without apples but got apples. Was it a forgetful waitor or one who didn't understand what I said since I talk so fast? Who knows. It wasn't a problem at that meal, but there was another meal where something was confused and it was corrected immediately. We ate at almost all the restaurants and were pleased with all of them. I am a picky eater while my husband will eat anything, and we were both impressed. Great selection and quality. The pools are both lovely. There is a limited number of rafts to float on, so learn to share. There are plenty to go around, but don't take one and reserve it for the day. Everyone at our pool was great about using a raft for a while then putting it back in the common area when done. You really won't float as much as you think you will. One word about the ocean - it's bigger than you and doesn't care how brave you are. When the lifeguards put up the red flags, get out of the water! I got a nice bump on my head from getting tumbled in the waves. Sand doesn't seem like a hard surface until you hit it with force. We were there just as hurricane Ivan passed through and the ocean was rough. The hotel was great about posting notices and keeping us up to date on the storm. They say you don't need to tip, but no one turned us down. You may be staying at one of the nicest hotels in the area, but look outside the gates at where your staff lives. 50 pesos won't kill you. We went off-season, so it was priced lower and was quiet. It's not perfect, but it was lovely. We're planning another trip this winter and I can't wait. It's peaceful, the staff is gracious, and the activities are fun.

I LOVED it! But the price has gone up since we went so don't know if we could afford it anymore. But it was awesome!

I have stayed there 4 times and love everything about it. The food is fabulous and the service wonderful. Definitely worth the price.

My husmand and I have been to Hawaii twice since our wedding, six years ago. We loved the HI islands, but hated the 12+ hours of travel time from the east coast. We cannot wait to return to Playacar, which is only 3 hours from our home. The Royal Hideaway was the perfect vacation. We spent 5 days there in May 2005. The weather was sunny and hot each day and rained only once, after 5PM. The staff was always pleasant and willing to help. The food was excellent. The restaurants were elegant. The poolside staff was very entertaining and accomodating. We could not ask for anything more because RH exceeded all expectations.

I can promise you that you will never find a hotel that you will love more than the Royal Hideaway. My husband and I are returning for our third stay and we can't wait. The service is unbeatable. You will leave feeling like a royality.

This was our first trip to the Royal Hideaway and an all inclusive resort...the resort is beautiful...the air if filled with romance and relaxation. All your needs are attended to by the staff...there is not much for you to do, but relax and enjoy...the food was very good, but the portions are small...you can order as much as you like so you never leave hungry from any restaurant. The breakfast buffet at Spices is excellent with a huge selection for everyone. There is not much to do at night, but for us that was just fine. Don't miss afternoon tea...yummy. Went to swim with the Dolfins...a great experience. Also visited 5th avenue and took the ferry to Cozmel...don't go on the weekend ....the ferry is very crowded...not much to do in Cozmel..next time we would stay at the hotel....if you are planning a trip to the Royal Hideaway ...you will love it...I had no complaints and I am usually hard to please!