Royal Hideaway Playacar

Madelyn Greco (World Champion Bodypaint)

Wonderful Winter Getaway - Royal Hideaway Playacar We came with a travel group who booked the resort in its entire capacity, so many of the guests were friends already or had a least been on vacations together before. This resort is a standout for it's exemplary service, fantastic cuisine across diverse dining options, gorgeous white-sand beach and spacious, lovely suites with private concierge service. The resort boasts beautiful bars, pools, hot tubs and lush landscaping as well, so traversing the property is a joy. We were delighted with the care taken in catering to us, to ensure our stay was comfortable. 100% recommend. As a group, we came in with our own entertainers, DJ's, etc. so I cannot speak to the usual entertainment offered by the resort. We were however thoroughly impressed by all aspects. 100% recommend.

Daniel Ibarra Triujeque

Amazing experience in this beautiful hotel. My room was always clean, and the staff was awesome. Everyone was really kind, especially my concierge Fernanda Montoya she helped me with my reservations and some tours she really knew about the best activities Also, the restaurant palazzo was my favorite. The lasagna was phenomenal, I'll definitely come back to this hotel, the beach, the rooms and especially the service it's what it makes it memorable

William Edmonds

Third time at Royal Hideaway, but we won’t be coming back. It seems that, since COVID, the quality of this resort has gone far downhill. First, the pros. The rooms are very nice and classy. The dinners range from good (Spices) to excellent (Ventanas). And the staff are almost universally friendly. The problem is that the negatives have gotten to far outweigh the positives. Our room door wouldn’t shut completely (and wouldn’t lock at all). We notified our concierge on the first day and nothing was ever done throughout our five-day stay. This was the first time where we couldn’t reach anyone on the phone because the resort was so understaffed. There were some very violent and loud guests in our villa and we couldn’t get through to the front desk to ask for security. Less crucially, but still annoyingly, we couldn’t even get through to room service in the morning. On our previous stays, we had fresh-squeezed juice each morning (orange and grapefruit). Now, they serve sugary artificial juice. Breakfast and lunch were very hit-or-miss. They felt like reheated/microwaved meals. For example, we were served chile rellenos with cold sticks of cheese in the center. We asked for them to be reheated and they came back out exactly the same. We just left at that point. No hot tubs were functional (all room temperature) and several pools were out of service. There were other small things as well - but our general feeling is that Royal Hideaway cut costs during the pandemic and is no longer a “luxury” experience. It also appears that most responses to these reviews are AI-generated.

Zion Bitton

The room are good, we had aome mold in the shower but we cleaned it. Since I compare to other places in cancun, the food was tasteless, not fresh and everything is minimal . Most of the stuff are very nice but a lot are not trained or just unprofessional. It happened few time that we order in the pool or dining room and the waiter forgot just like that The pools are nice and the beach is nice The place is not well maintained, lots of promises to take care of issues, no one care. I do not recommend this resort

Christina Cruz

Pros: - the resort is beautiful - The employees are kind and helpful - Oscar, a server at Azia, was phenomenal; attentive, kind and thorough. He gave us a 5 star experience. Also, complements to the chefs. Everything was delicious. - Wilson, a server at Ventanas was phenomenal and had a lovely sense of humor. He was a pleasure to interact with both while dining and when just popping our heads into the restaurant to check it out. Again, complements to the chefs. Amazing meal from start to finish. This restaurant is not particularly beautiful, and is quite cold aesthetically, but the food makes up for it. - The pool manager and the pool staff were such lovely people; good humored and kind. The pool manager is a superstar! - Each villa has a concierge attached. You can go to this person to book excursions, dinner reservations, and ask general questions. Big THANK YOU to Gaby! - There was live music every evening. The genres varied, so it was always something new. Great to end the evening with a cocktail and watch the performers. Cons: - While all restaurants ask about allergies, I was unfortunately served kiwi at Spices. Both the hostess and waiter asked about my allergy, and the waiter ensured me that there were no kiwis in the kitchen. He did not notice the kiwi on my dessert plate, and served it to me. - At my second dinner in Ventanas, they were clearly overbooked and the service took outrageously long. Rather than inform us of the problem, and perhaps offer some bread or to refill our glasses, our waiter chose to ignore my partner and I for 45 mins as we waited for our main courses. I got so fed up that I left. We arrived for dinner at 830, and by 1030, still had not received our main courses. One of the staff members realized what happened and insisted on sending our meals to our room. Unfortunately, I had lost my appetite. This was a terrible end to our last night. - Room service frequently forgot items requested. Additionally, we ordered the spaghetti amatriciana, and received spaghetti covered in oil and sprinkled with cheese. No pork belly nor sauce. Very upsetting. - There are no food options after 6pm if you do not have a reservation. You must order room service, which as I’ve mentioned, is generally disappointing. I arrived to the hotel from an excursion at 530, and was not able to eat anything in between then and my 930 dinner reservation, which I was told was the only time available that night. Most all inclusives I’ve visited have a buffet or small a la carte menu in a restaurant for those who do not have reservations or are hungry before or after dinner. Here, you must eat lousy food in your room. - Brenda, a waitress at Azia, was not very personable or attentive. She seemed bothered by my partner mentioning that the oxtail was not available for the third time. I think that the restaurant should inform the patrons of what is unavailable before their orders are taken. Brenda forgot to bring a few things such as small plates to share the appetizers, and did not check on us frequently. We waited for an extended period of time for her to clear our plates and offer dessert, but she was nowhere to be found. We left without dessert. - The catch of the day is mahi mahi at every restaurant, every night. - The food at Polazzo is subpar. The desert was especially unremarkable. Another couple we spoke with felt the same, and also complained that the portions were small. - The Mexican fiesta was a dud. Most of the performances were unfortunately boring, and the food was awful! Flavorless chips and guac followed by flavorless enchiladas were served to everyone. Skip this and make a reservation at a restaurant. I would have loved to see more authentic Mexican cuisine options.