This hotel delivered. It was a perfect 5 day vacation stay. The soap was not to my liking (I had read a previously submitted reivew on the soap); was prepared and brought my own. The service I received was exceptional. The front desk as were all staff members excellent and could communicate in English and understood my broken Spanish. They made me feel welcome and special. What I would suggest for a first timer in Cancun is as you leave the airport you are almost accosted by men in white shirts. They are salesmen for excursions that you can get from the hotel. Do not stop and talk to them as they take up your valuable beach time. Proceed directly ourside to the podium across the street, there you will find someone who will direct you to your transfer. It was rather surprising to be pulled a side and hit all at once with the "good deals" you could get by signing up now. Don't be afraid to take the bus! It will get you where you need to go and just tell the driver where you want to get off. We were paying the taxi drivers $10 one way to go where we could take the bus for 50 cents! Besides the experience is great! The beach is rather small but during the time of year we went it was PERFECT for the guests to enjoy. A nice quite time to go is end of Apr begining of May, no spring-breakers. We would stay here again except for the beds.

We had a very good experience with this hotel overall. The staff were extremely nice, and you can't beat the location of the hotel! The beaches were blocked off from other hotels by rocks, so they were private for only the guests of the hotel. The 4 or 5 restaurants on the premises were very good. We ate 75% of our meals there, and they had many enjoyable things to eat. The A/C in the room kept it very nice and cool, and it was always kept very clean by the staff. I would recommend spending the extra $12 for the in room safe just as a precaution.

If you forget any toiletries, don't expect to get them free from the hotel -they will just direct you to the on-site store which will rip you off for everything. Also, a tip for getting drinks at the pool - wait until happy hour (usually 3PM every day) to get 2 for 1 drinks.

The walk to the closest mall/restaurants wasn't too bad - maybe half a mile. The stores there are MUCH more reasonably priced if you need supplies.

We too were there during the Swine Flu thing. What a shame. It was like a ghost town toward the end of our stay.

Overall - it was nice for the price. Beautiful beach view, nice staff and well kept grounds. Centrally located and easy to get buses and taxis. Several off property restaurants within walking distance.
This hotel used to be a Hyatt. It needs updating. We had a first floor room in the main building. We had to call maintenence for a/c and a leak in our bathroom. The furniture is old and very uncomfortable. Everything was stone, marble or wood and very cold and hard. Not cozy at all. Housekeeping was lacking. The rooms overlook both the main pool and beach, which is terrific - BUT they played loud thumping club music that rattled my brain all day & most of the night. It doesn't seem loud outside but all you hear in your room is that basey thumping sound. It's quite disturbing. If I want to hear club music, I'll go to a club.

Other reviewer are right on about the food. High priced lousy food at the hotel. And I have never heard of a policy in which I can't bring food or drink in if I so choose. They need to put a fridge in the room and get over it. I too want to have a beer while getting dressed for the evening, or enjoy a beverage on the balony after returning from dinner - or whatever. I won't stay there again just because of that.

Beware of the constant sales badgering also. Those Royal Holiday vultures are everywhere trying to sell you a club membership. They actually called our room to telemarket us! We were told to come down to get the "welcome package that they forgot to give us when we checked in." Then they do a presentation that is very similar to sitting in a car dealership with a high pressure salesman and his manager. Ugh. I just want to relax - we were angered by this. And for the price to jin their club I literally could have bought a new car. The gift turned out to be $50 off of a tour. We chose Chitzen Itza. It was a 3rd rate tour. Don't go through Royal Holiday. Book elsewhere.

One of the other reviewer mentioned "nickel and dimed." Absolutely true. They charge or expect a tip for absolutely everything. We were literally forced to give our lugguge to the bell desk while we checked in at the front desk. I never use a bellman. My choice.
In room internet cost $20 per day. Wi-Fi is free at even the cheapest hotels now a days.

We thought we were getting a good deal on a room rate, but by the time you add it all up, we could have stayed at a much nicer hotel and been way more comfortable.

The positives were the location and the hotel staff (except for housekeeping - they stunk)was very friendly and helpful.

We liked the hotel and room (standard room; we were on the ground floor so had a patio), and the service was *impeccable*. Our A/C didn't seem to be working when we checked in, and within 5 minutes of calling the front desk, they came by to fix it. Rooms and hotel were clean. Furniture in the rooms is not brand new, but is fine. Bed was a bit firm, which we were expecting from others' posts about beds in Mexico.

We had two issues we were unhappy with - see below for a description (first the good, then the bad...).

The hotel was not full when we went, so there were plenty of chairs available on the beach under umbrellas, by the pool, etc., and staff were very attentive and had time to stop and chat. Location is in the middle of the hotel zone, within walking distance of some (tourist) restaurants and with a bus stop right out front where you can catch a bus to the Centro where it is less touristy if that is your preference.

There is an onsite cafe open 24 hours, and several restaurants. We ate at all but the most formal, and food was good. Service was again excellent.

Wireless internet in room and common areas is $20/night. I think the business center is free perhaps.

Pool and chairs around it are nice, and there are umbrellas & chairs on the beach for use by hotel guests. Many of the beaches in Cancun, from what I understand, are much smaller since the hurricanes, and here is no exception - there is a fairly narrow strip of beach between the pool & hotel and the ocean. While we were there, the ocean was very rough and not easily swimmable - no bobbing softly on the waves while we were there. But this is not the hotel's fault.

We had only two concerns:
1. The "concierge" is part concierge/part salesperson to get you to buy ownership in the Royal Holiday Club. I don't know if all the presentations are like this (companies start pitching presentations in the airport), but the RHC people (ie, the concierge) offer you free breakfast and goodies ($50 off a tour) if you go to a presentation. The breakfast and presentation was fine, first sales person (not the concierge) was very nice, but refused to discuss price and details at first, and it became a very very hard sell at the end. No printed material containing prices is available, because apparently they don't have fixed prices, it's whatever they can get. They first quoted us $23,000 (!), but were down to ~$7,000 by the time we were able to get out of there. Sketchy, felt like used car salesmen. The club may be a good deal, but if you go for it, be sure to hold out for a much much much cheaper price than they first quote you.

2. There is a policy of no outside food. That's very frustrating, because usually like to keep a 6-pack of soda or beer and some snacks in the room. We did that anyway, but had to hide it in our luggage when we left so the cleaning crew wouldn't see it. Also you can not have outside food delivered, or get take out and bring it in to your room without having to sneak it. We also bought (and hid) big bottles of water, which are much cheaper outside the hotel, and used that to refill the littler bottles we bought at the hotel.