My Wife and I chose to spend our Honeymoon at The Royal after a close friend to the family told us that, from the amenities to level of service, The Royal truly was second to none. It didn't take long to realize that they were right! We spent 7 nights at The Royal, in a Royal Jr Suite Oceanfront room, from October 10th through October 17th, 2009. We had been planning the trip for about 5 months so we had plenty of time to look at the website over and over, and we had heard such good things about everything associated with this resort, that I was concerned it wouldn't live up to our inflated expectations. Those concerns were gone the minute we checked in.
From the second we arrived, we were treated like Royalty. We were greeted with smiles, gratitude, an ice cold towel, and a glass of champagne. While checking in, we were asked to choose what time we wanted our housekeeping service each day, as well as what time we would like our nightly turn-down service. Yes, turn down service. They came in every night and turned down our sheets, lit an aromatherapy oil burner (we were asked to choose the fragrance when we checked in), and placed our robes, slippers, and pillows on our bed. They also asked us to choose a pillow from their "pillow menu". I'm not kidding when I say TOTAL luxury!
Our room was located on the 2nd floor, right above the SpaZul, and we had a perfect view of the ocean. At first, I kind of wished that we would have requested a room on a higher floor, but after falling asleep in our hammock listening to the ocean on our 1st night I was glad we were on a lower level. We slept with our sliding glass door open every night, and all you could hear was the waves crashing against the shore. The rooms look just like they do on their website. It was phenominal. Bose surround sound system, 42" wall mounted plasma TV, shower with multiple shower jets up and down the wall, 2 person jacuzzi, and a plush bed with more pillows than you'll know what to do with. There is also an electronic safe in the room, which was VERY convenient. It's not very big, maybe 6" high x 12" wide, but big enough to fit a purse, wallet, passport, camera, and/or camcorder.
The restaurants on the property are all 5 star quality restaurants. Most people eat around 8 or 9pm, so if you're going to one of the restaurants that requires reservations, make sure to get your resercations in advance. Our favorites were the japanese steakhouse Asiana's, and the restaurant on the ocean, Pelicano's. Spice is the best option for breakfast, made to order omelettes, french toast, and pancakes. Of course... there's ALWAYS room service (24/7). You have access to the sister "family" property next door (Gran Caribe), but in our opinion the food is not worth the walk over there. There's also a 24/7 "do-it-yourself" style lounge that has bottles of alcohol, beer, wine, and pop. It's great as long as you don't mind pouring it yourself... remember it's all-inclusive... NO LIMITS. This is where you'll find the nachos and cheese, deli meat, crackers, cheese, taquitos, chicken nuggets, and mozzerella sticks. It's a cool room... literally (it's air conditioned) and the guys wil love it. If you need a quick pick me up, the coffee shop is a a popular place to grab a latte or an espresso drink.
The pool is fantastic. It's very large, so there's a lot of room to drift. There are poolside cabanas that are reserved for some rooms (Presidential Suites, etc), but there are also some cabanas that are 1st come 1st serve. If you can make it down to lay out a towel before anyone else, you can get your pick. I would say if you get down there by 6:45-7:00 AM, you should get your pick of spots. Again, all you have to do is lay your towel(s) out on the chair... then you can go back up to bed. Don't worry... nobody will mess with your stuff. The Spa... SpaZul... off the charts. The most relaxing place in the whole building. You have to see it to believe it. The massages are out of this world (we suggest the deep tissue), and if you ask you can sometimes get them in the gazebo (about 20 yards from the ocean).
MVP's of The Royal staff... Bruno in SpaZul is awesome. He'll walk you through the circuit: 10 minutes in the sauna (ask for eucalyptus), 10 minutes in the steam room (again ask for eucalyptus), 10 minutes in the calming pool, and 10 minutes in the hot pool, concluded with a 5 second dip in the 45 degree Cold Plunge pool. BoBBy in Asianas is stellar, and Henry at Pelicano's does a wonderful job as well. Bring some $1's for tips. Tips are not required, but the service is so good you'll want to leave one. Usually $2 for breakfast, $2-3 for lunch and $3-4 for dinner seemed to be what others were leaving.
I could go on and on... if you are interested in learning more about this hotel pleas elet me know. I have a ton of pics, and I'd be more than happy to share them with anyone who's evaluating this hotel as an option.
