TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

The resort was beautiful, our rooms were very nice and spacious. The staff at the pool (especially Eduardo) were amazing! Very helpful and very attentive! Our servers were great and very sweet! We’ve been to Playa del Carmen several times and we were excited to try a new resort that was an adults only resort. However, the concierge took it upon himself to make our reservations every night at the restaurant he chose for us without any input from us. We were a group of 10 and I understand it’s not always easy to accommodate that many people at once. But… this resort does not have a buffet like many of the others do. So that was never an option. Our reservations were all made for nine or 9:30 PM which was extremely late for all of us. Everyday we had to wait till 3:30 to see if we can get an earlier reservation. Many times, we had to make other arrangements for dinner outside of the resort because there was nowhere else to eat (which we had to pay for out of pocket). For this being an all inclusive resort, our dining options were very limited. This was a huge frustration on all of us! In addition to all of that, 4 out of the 6 restaurants had a dress code and the guys needed to wear long pants (several in our group did not pack pants). They were not allowed to wear dress shorts (golf shorts) even though they looked very professional. For breakfast and lunch, we only had one option to eat. This all being said, we will NOT be going back to the Royal Hideaway Playacar! I would not rate this resort a 5 star. We paid more for this vacation than we ever had in Playa and it was not worth the money!! We will stick to the Riu resorts and Sandos resorts.

Cipriano was our concierge and was very friendly and helpful. On the first day we arrived he set up our meal reservations for the week. Made suggestions in regards to the resort and where to find things as well as little hints about the resort. He directed us to a secluded pool where we were the only guests using it and ensured pool service personnel came around to offer drinks. Outstanding customer service by Cipriano. Thanks for a great week

We just got back on the 16th and we had an absolute wonderful time here. We stayed in a "Luxury Sunrise Suite" in villa 24. Our room was wonderful, clean and stocked with water, soda, beer and a couple snacks, they restock it everyday. Hotel transport was arranged the week prior through with Barcelo. They tell you where to go and who to look for. When you walk out the airport there is like 100 taxi people standing outside and it's overwhelming but Barcelo made it a breeze. The day prior to leaving they booked our return transport no problem. The meals were wonderful and the service was outstanding. We booked through Barcelo itself and emailed a week prior with our restaurant preferences and times and had no problem booking. We booked 6 every night. Dinner takes about an hour and half to get through. We ate at all restaurants except Ventana's, no reason just what we wanted. The breakfast buffet has plenty to offer and they make omelets to order. The lunch buffet also had plenty to offer plus a menu to order from with tacos, quesadillas, burgers, pizzas etc. you can also eat upstairs at Spices for lunch. If you can't find something to eat for breakfast or lunch you're just being picky at that point. Everyday at 12 they turn on the music at the pool and do a pool dance party for about 45 min to an hour but the music stays on till about 5 / 530. If you want quiet time at the pool you will need to go to one of the quiet pools on the property, I believe there are 3 of them. The beach was fantastic, they get the tractors our first thing in the morning and grade the sand and clean up the washed up seaweed. If you want a pool chair you will need to get there around 6/630 am those go really quick. Im a beach person so that didn't bother me. I do go down to the beach in the morning and have my coffee around 7 am and there are plenty of chairs available down there. Most of them have an awning but if you miss out on one there are plenty of palm trees to use as shade. They have waiters on the beach to take drink orders if you need anything, be patient they will come back but get through everyone on the beach then getting drinks and delivering back takes some time so please be patient they are hustling. A lot of people double order between to the two because they think it took to long and the first guy forgot (trust me he didn't) and then they get all these drinks and are surprised why. Just wait and you will get what you ordered. Bring lots on ones or 20 peso bills for tipping. The only downfall is trying to find someplace to break the larger bills. When we checked in we were told the front desk always has plenty of small peso bills and we did cash in 1000 pesos but after that we were told everyday they didn't have any and to come back. We went to the hotel ATM and it only gave 500 peso bills which was useless until we could break it. Our only complaint would be the AC, like others said it doesn't really get that cold. I do think we lucked out on our room compared to others, ours at night got to 20 celsius, even the restaurants are warmer than what we are used to but it wasn't a deal breaker for us. Also I see some reviews talk about ants and mosquitos, We sat on our patio every night and had dinner outside and never saw a single mosquito or ant for that matter but we were in oceanfront room so I don't know if that helped us cause the wind but we saw zero insects. We booked a couples massage and it was absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend. We would definitely go back to this resort in the future. The service couldn't have been better everyone is extremely nice and willing to help if you need anything. I would say if you are into the daily / nightly activities ask about them when checking in. We didn't even know they had activities until about day 4 of our 6 day trip and was really bummed I missed out a couple of the activities I would have loved to do. They don't have them posted anywhere. There is a shopping center right across the street with some cute shops for souvenirs and sunblock, Advil, snacks etc. The Market I think had the best prices. We also went down to 5 ave (Quinta Avenida) and Paseo Del Carmen Shopping Mall and walked for a bit. All kinds of souvenir shops and restaurants. Was nice to get off the beach for a day we had lunch at Las Hijas de la Tostada (very very good) Hope this helps

Hands down this is the best resort I have ever been too! I will admit this resort is a little old and the rooms need some maintenance and updating, but past that the resort is very clean, and helpful and friendly staff. The best part is the food, never have I found food on a resort that is prepared so well, but it really helps that there is no real buffet except for breakfast and a bit for lunch, but you can also order off the menu for lunch, so it whatever you prefer. The Italian restaurant was amazing and we hit it twice on our week and both occasions were great. The steak restaurant would be my only poor review, but that’s purely a difference of Mexican beef and how it’s prepared vs our Canadian beef, so I wouldn’t rush to book the steak house, but every other spot was great. The Mexican restaurant is way more authentic than most resorts and I really enjoyed the tacos and pork dishes. Breakfast on the beach is also amazing, as the restaurant is right on the beach, and being a smaller resort, it’s all a very short walk away. Beach was fantastic with loungers and sunshades, the water is great and no real rocks to speak of. Bars are very well stocked and good choices in liquors, and also free bottle waters when you need a break. Pools were very clean but a bit small, but there is no swim up bar, but very good waiter service. I 100% recommend this resort and plan to make it our next stop in 2025

Very nice resort, many activities available, great food every night. Only 1 or 2 inconveniences that were resolved. Great location for trips and tours of Mexicos Mayan ruins.