Royal Hideaway Playacar - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10121 reviews

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  Family Christmas Trip

  This property was very clean and comfortable. Rooms were spacious and roomy with a deck that was comfortable and easy to use. This is a smaller property which allowed for quick access from room to restaurant to beach. Property was quiet with an overall older group of adults. Location was a 10 min taxi ride from 5th avenue shopping and reasonably close to the Cozumel ferry. Great little local shops across the street from the front property gate, small grocery store for late night snacks. This is definitely not a party property, however there is some night life in the downtown area approximately 10 minutes away if that is what you are looking for. The gym's were very clean with new equipment - one gym has cardio equipment and the other was free weights and machines. Ensure you speak with your concierge immediately after check in to reserve dinners for each night of your stay, we were not aware of this and caused a little hiccup and ended up with dinners between 7:30 and 8:30 each night. We would stay at this property again with a couple small changes on our part (booking dinner:) to ensure a slightly better experience. This was a family Christmas trip with our 3 adult daughters. Try this property, you will not be disappointed.

  Dec 23, 2025
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  Heated pool, gorgeous beach, smaller resort in gated section of Playa del Carmen

  We've been to many AIs and three other Adult-Only resorts -- JOIA, Valentin Imperial Maya, Privilege Aluxes on Isla Mujeres. We chose Royal Hideaway because we brought five adult kids and the price was right for a larger group. It was a solid choice with just a few minor issues and we had a wonderful vacation — love the heated pool and gorgeous beach — huge bonus!! CHECK-IN - chaotic and lengthy. We'd booked three rooms for seven people through the Bavaro hotel/flight package website. They had paperwork for FOUR rooms and scrutinized all of our booking confirmations (fortunately, I'd printed them out) and spent 15 minutes trying to sort out confusion. Honestly, it was the first time this has happened in 30+ years of staying at all-inclusive resorts. BREAKFAST/LUNCH BUFFET - food presentation at buffets is good — while the options were similar each day, we enjoyed the buffets. The servers work hard, but it became evident that they are short-staffed in the kitchen, as it sometimes took almost an hour to get our food from the menu, and most days a wait for a table. Some days we ate upstairs at Spices — lovely atmosphere and leisurely pace. CLEANLINESS Resort is SPOTLESS. Grounds and rooms are immaculate as are the beach and the pools. Groundskeepers work tirelessly keeping the landscaping beautiful around the resort. The lobby and common areas are beautifully manicured. Beach/Pool Loved the beach — no swim shoes necessary - never stepped on a rock the entire week. Main pools are both well maintained and very clean — and the HEATED POOL is a huge bonus — especially in December. The chair game is in full force, as mentioned by other reviews, but plenty of seats on the beach so we camped out there. Plenty of small pools scattered around the resort for those who prefer peace and quiet. Activities/Entertainment The games and fun were great - we participated in bingo, beach yoga (really good stretch class), pickleball and volleyball at the resort next door. Also, loved the live music outside the buffet several days — really nice. Nightly entertainment was FUN. We participated in karaoke, silent disco, Cuban band (not to miss!), and caught the tail end of the Michael Jackson show. Gym The gyms are small but sufficient. Rooms Beds are very very comfortable! Room 2211 was super quiet and we slept great… Our room was always clean by the time we returned around 7:00 pm. Housekeeping was excellent and we received new towels, etc daily. The minibar and snacks were awesome. Safe worked fine. Our daughter and son and girlfriend's room in a different building had major issues — we suspect mold in the vents because all three had respiratory issues a few days after arrival. They did not request a room change. Food We are picky and healthy eaters and enjoyed the food. The salad bar at lunch was great — plenty of options. And, ice cream, by order. A la cartes Food in the ala cartes is wonderful. Since we were a group of 7, we loved eating in the private dining room at the Mediterranean restaurant. Azia is FABULOUS — the menu is endless and the food was gorgeous and delicious — loved it!!! Location About an hour from the airport. The resort is in the gated section of PDC so very safe to walk outside the resort gate and explore the ruins ten minutes down the road and the mall across the street. Prices in the pharmacy are not crazy expensive. Tips/Tips Bring drink containers with lids to enjoy cold drinks in the pool and plenty of $1/$5 for tips. They are appreciated by staff. Shout-outs to exceptional employees: Sandra Gonzalez - thank you for the advance dinner reservations - AMAZING not having to do this at the resort! Alexis, bartender in Azia - spent ten minutes making me the most delicious pineapple margarita!! Oscar the server in Azia, excellent service Yoga instructor Housekeeping — all excellent!! Note to management - while we realize this resort caters to older couples, there is just one thing that would keep us from returning with our kids — our dinner reservations were usually between 7:30 - 8:30 so around 6:00-7:00 our 20-something kids were hungry since lunch was hours prior. At other resorts, there's a coffee/ice cream shop with sandwiches/wraps, etc. Strongly suggest adding this in the lobby bar. Also, our concierge was unfriendly, probably because we booked dinner reservations prior to arriving. Just mentioning because it was super obvious this was not his preference.

  Dec 23, 2025
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  Dining by the water

  Had a great dining experience at the Grill on the water. Godoy was our server a very attentive/hepful. Food was amazing. Overall experience was 10/10

  Dec 23, 2025
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  Bahr Family

  very nice. you should have a different type of day pass when someone has friends and family staying at the Allegro. Next time I wont upgrade my wife to the RHA. We'll just stay at the Allegro.

  Dec 22, 2025
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  Very good Service & feeling

  My husband and I spent truly wonderful days at the Royal Hideaway Hotel. The service was excellent, the food was very good, and the entertainment program was perfectly balanced – not too much and not too little. It was a great mix. I can highly recommend this hotel to anyone who wants to leave their worries at home and simply enjoy a relaxing and peaceful time. The entire resort is extremely well maintained, which is especially worth mentioning, as we have traveled to Mexico several times before and therefore have good points of comparison. A very special thank you goes to Dayna Moreno! We had a small issue in our room, and she took care of it quickly and professionally. She is an incredibly kind and competent woman. We will definitely be back and look forward to seeing her again. Thank you for your great work!

  Dec 22, 2025