Folks, we just got back today. I figured i'd provide my 2 cents worth of feedback on the property:
1. property is well maintained. i'd say this is the best vacation accomodation we've had. we had a 2 bedroom villa for 3 adults and 1 child. furniture is old but is what you need at the end of the day; TV's are very small and old.
2. NO BEACH to speak of. whatever you read - believe me, there is no real beach: there are huge rocks and you are at your own risk if you decide to jump in! this is the only disappointment. Alternative: take free shuttle to Royal Sands every half hour (sister resort so you have all priveleges etc). Alternative 2: walk south from the RC for about 10 minutes and use Hilton's beach - you can swim there and have a real carib sea experience. quick tip - if you don't want to walk on the beach, then go through the other Royal property: this will save you some time and energy. Thepools were great but flat at 1.5 meters throughout - a bit annoying if you asked me.
3. Do not waste your time to go to Walmart. You save a couple of dollars but you wind up paying for a cab - so what is the thrill here? plus remember - when you are shopping, you are using up your vacation time!!!! conclusion - don't go to Walmart. the grocery store at RC's got what you need: toast, oatmeal, beer, ice cream. all of these items are reasonably priced (less than a buck for a beer, for example).
4. Food - average at the property. I'd recommend Hacienda Sisal at Royal Sands. n We ate there twice in 6 nights - reasonably priced and good food overall.
5. Recommendation - if you are staying at Royal Carib or any other Royal prop - take an elevator to the top floor (11th or 12th) and have a walk around the floor. you get some nice views for free; absolutely beautiful.
6. We used Cancun transfer for our transportation - very clean, almost brand new SUV's both ways for the price of a smelly little taxi. Book on their site directly and pay cash on arrival in Cancun (i am not their paid endorser but just a fellow traveller sharing an experience with you folks).
7. Kahlua - buy it in Cancun vs. airport, unless you don't want to carry it around. In Cancun, you can get it for under $9; at the airport, for about $12 or almost $13 bucks. Not a big deal but it adds up.
8. Take a walk to Playa Delfines - again 15 or 20 minutes south from the property. we actually walked on the road vs. the beach. you can take a bus too. some spectacular views here too plus good picture taking places etc.
9. Gym - yes, there is a gym but they charge you $8 bucks per day. Completely ridiculous and hence i did not go a single time. Looks smallish. There are tennis courts but who wants to play tennis in a 90 degree weather.
10. Lastly, this was our 5th time in Cancun - if it's just me or something but Cancun is not the same place it was when we first went there 10 or 12 years ago. The beach got beaten up by the hurricanes and the water is not as "blue" or "torquiouse" as it used to be. The sand isn't as white as it used to be either. Anyway, maybe it's just us growing a bit older or not remembering the past. Said differently, the first experiences are almost always the best and this may be the case here.

Anyway, i hope you find the above a bit useful. enjoy your travels and use sunscreen (trying to end on a funny note!).

My Husband and I stayed here for our Honeymoon a few years ago. We had a beautiful view from our room, the hotel was very quiet and there weren't very many kids which made it perfect for a honeymoon location. The beach was beautiful and had plenty of chairs. Great Resort.

I was a bit hesitant in going because of the swine flu but there was little to no worries. This place is truly worth it (I used my time share for exchange - which i'm selling if anyone interest. Reasonable priced). The place was well maintained, the service was awesome and the staff was helpful. There is no area for swimming as you can still see the effects of past hurricane but if you stay in any of the Royal properties, you can take the shuttle down to the sands and spend the day on the beach there. One of the managers mentioned that they will be helping nature along to rebuild the area for swimming at this property. The food was nothing to brag about (in my opinion it's over priced) but you can always head to the other Royal properties to have lunch or dinner or any of the other restaurant owned by the Royal (Captian's Cove, etc). The pool was very large and spacious so you weren't cramped and bumping into others swimming. I would certainly go again.

We stayed in a two bedroom Villa at the Royal Caribbean for one week with our good friends. The room was amazing, one side with a king size bed and bathroom, the other
side with two full size beds and a bathroom. We also had a full kitchen, living room and a balcony big enough for 2 lounge chairs and a small kitchentte. Although I was very impressed with our facility, after seeing all 4 of the Royal hotels, I will stay at the Royal Sands going forward. The Royal Sands is the only one out of the 4 that has a nice beach you can visit and a better buffet breakfast.
Even after 4 years you can still see the impact Hurricane Wilma (I think that was it's name) made on Cancun. The beach at the Royal Caribbean is almost non existent because of the hurricane, I believe they said they would be building it up.
Depending upon the type of indivdual you are, you will or will not like the location. You have a restaurant in the hotel but the food isn't very good. You also have Captain's Cove across the street which I did not eat at but heard it was good. You can walk to other hotels that all house at least one restaurant but you are not in the most commercial area with an Outback Restaurant, and other names you would see in the states. We took at day trip to Chitchen Itza was a great trip to take. We also took the ferry to Isla Mujeres which I highly recommend. We rented a golf cart and traveled around stopping at the Turtle Sanctuary. If you get a chance to eat at Puerto Madero in Cancun, we highly recommend it. Lorenzillo's was not as good as Limoncello and La Dolce Vita was horrible for someone Italian and used to a certain quality. La Distilleria was very good for authentic Mexican.
One of the funnest things we did was go to Mercado 28. This is a flea market that had every souvenier you can think of. Although the vendors are pushy they are not as obnoxious as the vendors at the Flea Market up the road around Senior Frogs. We had fun with these guys and we got alot of great bargains. Word of caution though, somehow you have to remember where you parked your car because we were so turned around we ended up having to look for our car for at least 45 minutes. I would suggest taking a taxi, then you won't have to worry about it.
All in all it was a great trip, the pool at the Royal Caribbean was amazing. The bartenders at the pool (Fraylie was our favorite) were very gracious. I can't believe the people that would arrive and just drink so heavily they would end up fall down drunk (literally). Some having to be taken away in wheel chairs!! The combination of the hot sun, no cut-off limit on drinks and the 4 hour happy hour was lethal. They had a great shop at the hotel with good prices and a nice gym. I would go back tomorrow if I could but like I said I will stay at the Royal Sands going forward.