We stayed at the RI for the week of our honeymoon as a gift from my parents to use their timeshare. We are both international travelers and have pretty high expectations and were met with a fantastic resort upon arrival. We had a very smooth check in and when we arrived in our rooms the maid had left swans in the shape of a heart out of towels with a small veil and bowtie on the bed (HOW CUTE) ... we stayed in a one bed one bath villa (sleeps up to 4) and had a full kitchen and large balcony with ocean view. the pool was fantastic and the pool bar even better. We ate lunch at pacos tacos and the food was good and reasonably priced. TIP- happy hour is the best deal for drinks.

Yes, there is no beach due to mother nature BUT you can hop any shuttle from the resort which is every 30 mins and SUPER fast to one of the 4 sister Royal resorts (club international de cancun has the best beach) or you can go over to the royal sands and enjoy their enormous pool with special inpool chairs. The resort staff is amazing and we were not really hassled for timeshare once we said no we were not interested. We could change our money out at the front desk for a much better rate than in town BUT we recommend looking into changing you money at the airport IN THE U.S for an even better rate. a few tips-1) USE thomas moore for the shuttle. YOU WILL BE harrassed from vendors the MINUTE you step out of the customs area.. IGNORE all of them and walk straight outside and find the thomas more rep just like your voucher said that you have to print out before hand. Its easy, fair, and you WONT get ripped off..... 2) listen to the bellhops and vallets at the resort. they wont let you get ripped off by taxis and they will help you with the bus which is a lot safer,cheaper and easier than taxis. 3) dont eat the buffets at the resort, although good they are you not worth the money.....

the resort was wonderful, staff so friendly, and we will be returning soon (and hopefully to a new beach that they are working on rebuilding)

We own 2 weeks.... one week at the Royal Sands and one at the Royal Islander. We only went the 1 week this year...we stayed at the Royal Islander and that was a good choice considering there was no beach. We are not pool people and had to stay at the pool all week. The ocean was just too dangerous to swim in with all the exposed rocks. I know we won't go back next year if it is the same situation...I realize that you can't do anything about mother nature, but the beach was the reason we purchased a time share there.
Also, when my husband went to check out he used US dollars....why I don't know because the dollar is worth much less there right now. I think it would have been an honerable thing to do for the front desk to remind him of this fact...but they didn't. I made a purchase at the airport and was going to use US money and the cashier told me it would be cheaper to charge it because of the exchange rate. I am very disappointed in the Royal Resorts for not mentioning this.

The Royal Islander is a nice resort with very comfortable accomodations and a great staff. People return here year after year. The restaurants are top notch with very reasonable prices. There are a few scheduled activities which make for a fun day. HOWEVER, the beach is not usable. I had read reviews that said that there were rocks and it could be difficult to get into the water. I had even called the resort to inquire about the situation and was lead to believe that depending on the wind conditions, some days the beach was usable. There is no way to get into the water. The beach, at this point, is totally unsafe. Most returning guests said that the beach was beautiful until all the hurricanes hit over the last few years. They tried, unsuccessfully to re-establish the beach but it eroded again. There are plans to try again, starting in April.
We were looking for a beach vacation so we were somewhat disappointed, That being said, this is still a very nice place- just don't expect to use the beach. If they are ever able to re-establish the beach, this resort would be ideal!

We stayed at the Royal Islander from Jan 31 - Feb 7 this year. This was our third visit to the "tri-royals" in Cancun" (I have benefited immensly from information on TA and wanted to give a little something back--this is my first review). We had an oceanfront villa-two bedroom. We love the hospitality and excellent service that we consistently get at Royal Resorts. We also enjoy the option of taking the free shuttle down to the Royal Sands and using the facilities and restaurants at the other adjoining resorts next door to The Islander. Basically you're getting the use of four resorts instead of one--actually five if you take the shuttle down to the newest- Royal Haciendas in Playa DelCarmen.

Please bear in mind that these are "timeshare" resorts, but on the surface function as if they were hotels--your room key is your pass to use all the facilities and restaurants at any of the Royal Resorts-and no, there is no pressure to purchase one.

I give The Royal Islander excellent marks for service, good food, cleanliness, value and friendliness. Enjoyed Happy Hour every day, used the gym, loved that the pools are now heated--it was cool the week we were there, high 60's low 70's. Loved the breakfast buffet at the palapa every morning.

The only negative and it's a big one, is the loss of beach due to erosion started by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. This is the first time we could not swim at the beach at all during the entire week and frankly it was a big disappointment. Obviously, you can't blame this on the resort, but it is a big factor. There was some beach restoration done in 2006 and we did use the beach during our 2007 visit, however this year was the worst we have seen it. The waves break hard and close on the shore and the shoreline-water's edge is mostly covered in boulders. Much of the sand has been washed away. This appears to be the case for many other resorts as well along "the strip." The red flags are posted daily meaning "no swimming allowed." If you were to disregard the warning you may be risking your life-seriously. I asked around the resort and was told that for the most part this is the norm here--no (beach) swimming allowed. As some consolation, you can still walk the beach or sit in loungers and order drinks and take in the beautiful view of aquamarine blue waters and white sand.

The "old" beach was probably the most beautiful beach I ever swam on and sadly, for now it's gone. There is some talk about another government restoration project in the works. This is still a beautiful resort--just don't plan on swimming in the ocean here anytime soon. If swimming in the ocean is important to you...go someplace else :(