Just been for my 30th birthday 01/07/08 for 7 nights. Its a first class All Inclusive hotel. Up to now it has not been ruined by the British tour operators, I do hope they keep away. Its an adult only hotel too, no screeming kids - excellent!! The rooms,restaurants,food,staff,drinks,view, everything is fantastic. When we checked in we were asked what pillow we would like, they had 5 to choose from this was to go with the other 6 which was on your bed! What time you wanted your room cleaning. What time you wanted the maid to turn down the bed. Round the pool they have staff walking round with newspapers, magazines, the best bit is they have suncreams with cold flannels for your face, clean your sunglasses and spray you to cool you down. They have a room service menu, we used it alot, the food and champagne went down very well. They gave us an iPod to listen to music in the room which you connect to a Bosch music system. I have stayed in many hotels in the Caribbean area as well as Europe, but never come across the service and standard you get at THE ROYAL CANCUN. I give the place 10/10 if I could give it more I would. Im returning in september and im counting the days. I advise all you tourist with high standards to stay at this hotel, if your standards are not so high try THE GRAN BAHIA PRINCIPE RIVIERA MAYA.

We stayed at The Royal Cancun on 29th June - 6th July. Let me start by saying this hotel is wonderful and you are truly looked after. Check in was a breeze, although I was a little disappointed not to have the cold towel and champayne treatment that you are suppose to get, especially as I upgraded to Royal Ocean Front. Oh well, that was soon forgotton when we got into the room, FANTASTIC! We had a lovely bottle of champayne and birthday cake waiting for us. The views are the best and everything about the rooms are first class. The IPOD was a nice feature, we often returned to the room after a day by the pool and it was nice to be able to play some music while chilling in the hot tube!!
The pool was also fantastic. I don't understand any of the reviews about the so called towel game, I never had a problem getting a chair. Obviously there were some people reserving the cabanas chairs, we came down around 0900 - 1000 and never had a problem.
The food we found was brilliant. We never got sick and enjoyed all the restaurants, apart from the Tapa's which was total crap!
Drinks we found were never watered down and loved the bar service. Some of the staff that particulary stood out were Elouisa, Jessica, Baak and Rafehel. They were outstanding and couldn't do enough for you.
The beach is a little rocky outside the Royal but if you walk along to the Gran Caribe next door, the sand is much softer under foot.
We met some fantastic people there, everyone was friendly. We will definately be returning to this hotel in the future. It was everything we could have wished for.

After reading all of the reviews on here we were very very excited about our trip. And we were not disappointed! Overall the resort is very nice and clean and very well laid out.

Food: Wonderful! You never know what to expect with all-inclusives but it was very good. We loved Asiana the most so we ate there twice. Pelicanos was great for lunch but we didn't really like it for dinner except it was nice to eat by the ocean. Spice was great for both breakfast and lunch but we never ate there for dinner. We did the Tapas one night before dinner and it's not that great but not bad either. Maria Marie was wonderful and the filet was the best. I loved ordering Salmon Carpacio from room service every day.

Drinks: Can't beat top shelf. Lots of great selections and great frozen drinks. And we really enjoyed being able to have canned Coors Lights. Really nice to have red wine that wasn't bad and champagne whenever you wanted.

Service: Great service! Really good english and glad to help you. Elena, the Romance Concierge was wonderful and really helped us out.

Spa: We did a couples massage for 50 minutes for $80 each. Not actually a bad price considering I pay $75 in the states. Very professional and clean and good!

Rooms: We had a swim up suite 106 and it was well worth it for us! We loved having our private time every day until 2pm when the sun does go away. But then we would just head to the main pool to hang out. It is clean and private. We wished we could have been in another set of the swim up suites but no real complaints. I would definitely go back to Royal and do the swim up suite again.

I forgot my good camera so I had to buy some disposables. I'll post a couple of pictures but they do the resort no justice. It was a very nice relaxing trip and I would recommend this place to anyone!

My wife and I stayed at the Royal in Cancun from June 1st to June 12th 2008 celebrating our 17th anniversary. First off, Tripadvisor played a big role in our resort choice and it was a great choice. The Royal surpassed our expectations. We stayed in a Royal Corner Suite which was amazing. They staff was great and the food and drinks were also great. I’d like to say that for those of you worried about some of the negative reviews of The Royal, keep in mind there are some people that can never be pleased no matter what. Rather than enjoying their vacation they nit pick every little thing. Also keep in mind that in Mexico, things move at a slower pace especially compared to the “get it done yesterday” pace we deal with here in the US. It’s not that the service is slow, it’s just not the hyperspeed pace we in the US deal with daily. Heck, you’re on vacation so enjoy the relaxed pace. Isn’t that why you came down here??

The hotel:
As noted, we reserved a Royal Corner Suite and we were a bit concerned as the resort was booked so we didn’t have a choice with the online check in (might have to call the hotel to get the code depending on who you booked with) and we were assigned a smoking room on the activity side of the pools. First off, if anyone smoked in that room you’d never know. While I enjoy a good cigar my wife hates smoke (allergies) and she couldn’t tell it was a smoking room so no problem there. As for the activity side, we were on a corner so the stuff out there never bothered us. Perhaps if we were in a room RIGHT by the pool it might have been an issue but they have pretty thick windows. The room upon arrival was amazing. The towel art, rose petals, cake and sparkling wine were nice. The fondant on the cake sucked but the cake itself was good. The room was made up everyday at the time we requested and turn down happened at the time we requested. If we weren’t quit ready for either, the staff was more than happy to accommodate us. There were even few times they cleaned while we were there and they came in, got the job done and left with the room spotless. We also got treated to the towel art Cancun is known for. Each morning our mini-bar got restocked with soda, beer and water (lots of water). We didn’t drink much of the liquor in the room as the bar had much better drinks. The bottle butler had Absolut Vodka, JB scotch, a tequila that I couldn’t see the label on (but wasn’t too bad) and some kind of rum that wasn’t that good. I drank Don Julio Anjeo and Dos Equis almost the whole time we were there and my wife pretty much stuck with the Mango Tango. The beds were great. At home we have a firm mattress but it may be time to change. The pillow top bed was ultra comfortable, not to soft and not to hard. We both slept great. I should also mention the hammock. They are great for hanging out on the patio if you’re feeling lazy. I actually fell asleep in it one night (the sound of the waves has that affect) and slept there all night and woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a cruise ship on the horizon heading to Cozumel. Never got to cold as the weather is great at night. We also had the option of using the facilities at the Gran Caribe right next door but with all the great restaurants and bars, there was really no need. Something to note about a couple of items the resort claims. Not all rooms have wireless internet. We had a 4’ long CAT5 cable we had to use. Not a huge deal but if you need your laptop, your stuck on a 4’ leash. Not all rooms have a “Magic Box” for room service. Our corner suite which was on an outside corner did not. They would bring in the food and set it up for you or you could take it from them at the door but no “Magic Box”. The servers were polite and discreet.

The staff:
Lomas travel provide the ground transportation and it was great. We had our own Lincoln Navigator from and to the airport. It was only $38 through United Vacations and worth every penny. Upon arrival we were escorted up to the 5th floor concierge where we were provided with sparkling wine, a cool towel and a detailed run down of the resort, the activities and the amenities available to us. We were then shown to our room where our bags were waiting for us. With the exception of the occasional delayed service in the lounge, all the staff from the bar/lounge, to the restaurants, the gift shops, to the cleaning staff was super friendly and more than willing to assist you in anyway. I wish I could remember all their names but the older I get, the worst my memory is. The server in the lounge who waited on us a lot of the time was exceptional. After dinner we’d head to the lounge to watch the show in the lobby and catch the live band in the lounge. After the second night, we had a steady stream of Dos Equis/Don Julio’s and Mango Tango’s flowing to the table once we arrived without even asking. I really wish I could remember her name as she was super friendly and the best server in the lounge. The other person that really sticks out was Geronimo who is a server at Asiana’s. We were at the teppanyaki table and he asked if I wanted some tequila. I said after dinner and when dinner had ended he asked if I was ready for it now. I told him what kind of tequila I liked and he arrived back with a fresh beer and 3 glasses of Don Julio. I sipped on one and then I tried to talk Geronimo into drinking one with me. He said his boss was right behind him but after a bit of prodding he picked up a glasses and with a Salud!, we shot it down with his boss watching. Hey…the guest is always right and the guest wanted him to drink a glass with him.

The Food:
All the restaurants were really good. If you have the option to do the Chef’s Plate…DO IT! I wish we had done it more. I won’t spoil it for those heading down there but I will say the food was great and the intimate atmosphere with only 14 other couples was a great way to make new friends while enjoying some fine food. I normally dislike lamb but the way the chef prepared it has made me rethink my ways. Of course the staff was outstanding.

Pelicano’s is great for lunch if you want an amazing view of the ocean and the sound of the waves while you’re eating. We generally had lunch at Spice which is a buffet style restaurant with good food. You can also get a variety of foods cooked to your order so it’s a great place to balance the kind of meal you want. You can also get cheeseburgers cooked to order which with some fresh made guacamole was great. I don’t know if it’s the naturally raised, grain feed beef they use in Mexico or the fact your surrounded by the beautiful Caribbean ocean but the burgers just tasted better there than in the US. It wasn’t just me as a number of other guests said the same thing. We ate at all the restaurants and found them all to be really good. We ate at Asiana’s a number of times as the sushi is good as is all their food. They have a 24 hour lounge with pour yourself beer, liquor, coffee, etc. They also have snack food which was probably the only weak point at the resort. Some looked like it had been sitting out for a while and wasn’t too good but it’s a great place for a snack and to shot some pool or play ping pong and enjoy some A/C.

This was me and my wife’s first “real” vacation in 14 years without the kids and it would have been disappointing if the resort had been bad. Fortunately, I listened to all the great reviews about The Royal and me and my wife can’t wait to go back. I’m not a picky person but if I pay a fair amount for something, I expect a fair return and The Royal exceeded our expectation. Thank you to all the staff at The Royal for making our 17th anniversary a trip to remember. We highly recommend The Royal.

A few side notes about Cancun. If you’re not up to the long trip or aren’t there long enough to get out to Chichen Itza, the El Rey ruins are just a few kilometers down the road towards to airport. They aren’t as large or spectacular as Chichen Itza but you can get a good idea of what the Mayans built. Costs about $3.00 to get in and is not crowded at all. For shopping, take the bus or a taxi down to Mercado 28 downtown. You’ll get better deals (especially if you like to bargain) than in the hotel zone and you can find out what a “Mexican Minute” is. DO NOT buy any Cuban cigars there or from the people walking the beach. They are all 100% fake. Want some genuine Cuban cigars and a real Mojito, head on down to La Casa Del Habano/Havana Club. It’s just a kilometer or two down the road. It has a nice lounge with good food and drinks. You can also be assured your getting the real deal if that’s your thing. Note that there is a cigar store in Plaza Flamingo right across the street from the resort that appears to be La Casa Del Habano (I think they call themselves The House of Cuban Cigars) but I would highly recommend heading down the road to La Casa. They used to be in the Plaza but moved down the road. Don’t bother paying the outrageous prices in the lobby. Even the Mexican cigars are $$$$ and aren’t that good. The store in Plaza Flamingo has a guy that rolls Mexican cigars while you watch and are only $5.00 a piece and aren’t that bad (for Mexican cigars). For fun food outside the resort, head over to Margaritaville right across the street. Try the nachos and be amazed. The burgers are pretty good as well. Bubba Gumps was fair but overpriced for what you get but it’s vacation so have some fun.