Fantastic Resort!!

The grounds at the hotel were beautiful and the food was amazing! Very good customer service ? The only complaint I have is there was a strong sewer smell coming from the bathroom which we eventually got used to..

Almost Perfect

This is the perfect size resort with an amazing beach and lovely grounds. I enjoyed all the restaurants and buffet for lunch and breakfast. Pretty good food for an all inclusive. Lots of veggies, beans, legumes, and fruit. Loved the juice bar at the beach. Service was great everywhere. Entertainment staff engaging, and had some fun playing games. Some improvements would be a little welcome snack and drink. There was nothing when we arrived very late at night and exhausted.  [... read more] This would have been a nice welcome. No late night/ 24 hour snack place. Instead there is room service that was hit or miss, sometimes waiting almost an hour. No buffet at night-except for Saturday Mexico night. Reservations, sit down only. There really should be a buffet option every night , or no need for reservations at a la carte. It’s a long drive from Cancún airport. Otherwise I really enjoyed this resort and would definitely recommend.

Beautiful and relaxing!

The resort grounds were beautiful. I loved the garden pathways. The beach was great and loved the proximity from the beach to pool area. We enjoyed a quick back and forth between the two! Nightly entertainment was good, the glow party was a lot of fun, the DJ played great music. Good selection of restaurants although I found it challenging that supper time meals needed reservations, so it made it hard to just be in the moment and go for dinner when you felt ready. We were also not told on arriva [... read more]l that supper meals required reservations , we found out by accident. You can always order room service but selection is limited and food was not great. Food at restaurants was good, aesthetically most restaurants were a bit bland looking though. I liked this resort wasn’t overcrowded and there was a good age range of guests. This isn’t a “party resort” which is what we were looking for. They did not have a lot of on resort activities, such as free waters sports, which is a little disappointing. we also weren’t made aware of all the different activities that were available during the day. When we arrived, it was quite late and it was a bit disappointing not to be greeted with a drink, or some type of itinerary of events to have a sense of what was happening or how to access them. Overall, the pros far outweighed the cons and it was a comfy and relaxing resort. We’d go again.

Fun resort

Overall a good experience. Entertainment staff was excellent! I enjoyed games by the pool daily. Rooms were quiet and well kept. Mini-bar was stocked daily without fail. The surf was rough most days, so we didn't spend time at the beach as we normally would. The evening show or activity didn't start until 9:30pm, which is a little late for us. So we only saw 1 show. Biggest drawback for us was **There is no dinner buffet! ** This is the only all-inclusive that we have ever been to t [... read more]hat didn't have one. Every dinner had to be pre-booked. So on our first night there, we had to order room service, as we couldn't find an opening anywhere! When on vacation, we don't like being tied to timelines. Also, we didn't like being hounded by different "concierges" about 'gifts' we could get if we took a tour with them and listen to their spiel.

Amazing Resort

Our trip to Catalonia Royal Tulum was amazing. The food is excellent, the resort is clean and what to say about the staff....they were ALL amazing. Le resort a su gardé un beau cachet des pierres de la sité des Mayas et de la forêt. Le pont qui relie les Villas à la piscine et buffet est simplement magique le soir. Tout est propre et bien entretenu.

Great resort

The resort was fantastic. Food was great. The staff is amazing and the rooms were nice and clean. I was disappointed to find out upon my arrival that the buffet is only open for dinner on Saturdays. You need to make a reservation for the restaurants and if they are all booked up you have to order room service...which sucks when you're hungry. I would have liked a place where I can go eat after 5pm. Also, I found the entertainment to be lacking.

Definitely going back

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. This resort is not party central but that is what we wanted. The food is very good. The hotel is very clean. The public restrooms are CLEAN and smell fresh. The beach is great. I also cannot say enough about the staff. Super friendly, gracious, helpful and happy.

Pretty, Unique Adults Only Property

The arrival transfer: this was the biggest letdown. They had a van that seated 8 people plus the driver, and they put 8 people plus the driver in it. They originally tried to put my partner and I upfront and I was too tall to fit without my legs being smushed against the gear shift and dashboard. Eventually another couple with a shorter woman offered to sit up front, and afterwards even she said that it was tight for her. She was about 5'2". Anyways, we got there in one piece. We had a direc [... read more]t transfer from the airport to our hotel, which was nice. It took about an hour and 10 minutes from the airport. I informed the Transat rep the next day, as it was definitely a safety concern. Our transfer back had no issues fitting everyone in, though it was still full. On the resort: A very beautiful and unique small property! The checkin was friendly and efficient, our room was ready when we arrived around 2pm. Originally they offered us a room on the ground floor, but we prefer an upper floor room and they were able to accommodate us. We were offered the Privilege upgrade at checkin for 30 USD (per person per night) for a minimum of three nights and we chose not to take it. The only nice thing about it would have been access to 24 hour food for us to make it worthwhile. We were in room 2205, a Premium room, which was nicely appointed. The amenities in the room included a mini fridge (water, soda and beer), snacks (chips, oreos and nuts), toiletries, as well as refillable shampoo and body wash. The bed was nice and comfy. Showers were nice with lots of hot water, and there was a rainfall shower head and a handheld shower head, both with separate taps. The towels, hand towels, and face cloths provided were in good condition and nice and fluffy. They will only change the towels and sheets if you indicate you'd like them changed, which saves on energy and water waste. Our beach towel was in the room on arrival. There is no towel exchange by the beach, you will have to have the towel exchanged at the end of the day for a fresh one as the cart comes by your room (assuming you are, indeed, in your room when they come around offering to exchange towels). The stone pathway from the lobby to the beach area is a little uneven and there are no elevators in the room blocks, which could make it a difficult resort for those with mobility issues (or if you've had one too may cocktails or even if you're just wearing flip-flops). The pool is on the smaller side, and finding consistent shade throughout the day can be a bit of a chore. Some of the umbrellas needed to be replaced. There's no umbrellas or palapas on the beach, only palms. There's better shade everywhere in the afternoon. We are not sun-tanners and found that we had to move around rather frequently to avoid being in full sun. The pool can be quite loud during they day (music, entertainment, other guests). There's lot of daytime activities to participate in. The beach is absolutely beautiful, soft white sand and gorgeous clear water. We did not have any issues with seaweed while we were there. There does seem to be more smoking than I expected on a resort in a country where smoking in public areas is now prohibited. People also smoked on their balconies, which was a shame. The clientele was largely European, though there were a fair number of Americans and fellow Canadians as well. The entertainment staff spoke in Spanish, Italian and English during the daytime games/activities and during the evening entertainment. The buffet is small, but has a lot of variety. We had no issues ever finding anything to eat, but during peak times (ie. breakfast) you would sometimes have to wait for a table. The buffet is open for breakfast and lunch only, except Saturdays for the Mexican buffet evening. The a la cartes are by reservation online (you're given access to the website on check-in). The Terrace was the most popular due to the ambiance. The vegetarian meatballs there were very tasty! Portions at the a la cartes are small, especially at the Italian. The Mexican was interesting, more of an 'elevated" style of Mexican with unique taste combinations. The food in the a la cartes were good. Rauxa has a dinner and circus show, but we did not eat there. We also didn't try the grill, as we were only there 5 nights. The BLoved is exclusive to Privilege guests and it's the only 24 hour restaurant. If people like larger meals/a snack before bed it might be prudent to book an early seating at one restaurant and a late seating at the tapas or even Rauxa. There is early entertainment in the lobby at 7:30 pm. We found that it was limited and only for an hour or so, and it was a lot of musicians who sort of walk from table to table to play requests. There was one gentleman who set up on the little stage and actually played music, he was a big hit. The evening shows (that we saw) were good but they don't start until 9:45pm and there's no actual stage, so it could be hard to see sometimes. The Mexican night had fun games and a mechanical bull. There was karaoke one night as well. This is not a party resort by any means, but the pool bar (not the swim up) is open until 2am and the entertainment staff work really hard to make sure everyone is having a fun time. There are lots of animals onsite. Highly suggest that you do not keep snacks in your bags while you're at the pool, as the coatis will steal whole bags and run off. People were unfortunately feeding the animals, which encourages this behaviour. If you don't want the animals in your bags while you're at the pool, keep the snacks in your rooms. Also ensure that your room sliding door is closed and locked. We opened a bag of nuts while the screen door was open, and we looked out and had a small flock of birds and a coati ready to join us for a snack. Some people complained that coatis had entered their rooms. If you have an early morning transfer, lights in the hallways and stairwells are still off, making it difficult to see which could be dangerous. No food was open before 7am, but there was coffee and croissants in the lobby. All the staff that we interacted with were amazing! They have really great people working here, from the front desk, the bar tenders, the waiters, and the entertainment staff. 10/10 for the staff. :) All in all, we enjoyed our stay and would consider returning. We've never returned to the same hotel twice, so that's saying something. :) We booked one excursion through the Transat Rep. We had booked a full day Tulum/Coba combo tour, but on the day of we were unable to travel to Tulum due to a road closure for the forthcoming "Mayan Train" (they say it will be open "soon" lol). We went to see Muyil instead which was actually more interesting as they are still in the process of doing excavations. We only had 45 minutes at Coba by the time we got through the entrance, making renting a bike or cycle taxi necessary to see the large site...it's not super expensive (5 dollars for a bike, 7 dollars for a cycle taxi). The food at the included Mayan Village was not great at all (I've been on maybe 4 similar excursions in the Mayan Riviera and this was by far the worst) and the cenote was underwhelming. It looked like it was a newer establishment, and they gave us an hour and a half (!!) there which seemed like way too much time. We would have preferred an extra half hour at Coba. The tourist tax: we did pay it at the airport while leaving and saw that some folks had paid it before arriving. However: no one asked to see proof of it, and my understanding is that it's not enforced at all. I'm sure lots of people didn't bother paying, but this may be changing in the future.

Interesting Hotel

this hotel is built around and to some extent, over, a cenote, of which there are lots in the area [we particularly recommend cenote minotaur], though swimming in this one is not permitted. the a la carte restaurants are situated between the hotel lobby and the cenote, one on the banks of it. beyond them and over the bridge the road is a model of a mayan highway, with neatly arranged limestone slabs. off this to either side are the rooms, hidden by the preserved jungle [with wildlife], ensuring  [... read more]privacy. it's quite a step then to the mangrove swamp, crossed by a wooden walkway, until you reach solid ground at the pool area. here you have the buffet restaurant [breakfast and lunch only] with friendly staff [kudos to Quetzabel] on the other side of the pool are other facilities including a good bar for espresso coffee before 10 a.m. [after that time they are allowed to serve booze as well]. directly beyond the pool is the beach area - plenty of seating under coconut palms before the beach proper and the sea. food was generally good, but evening entertainment did not impress.

Fun and Relaxing at the same time!!

Absolutely loved the charm of this Mexican authentic resort! Not a lot of glass and marble, the grounds are like walking through a romantic jungle. The staff members are always smiling and ready to make sure you get everything you're looking for out of your trip.

3rd time at this resort

As always, the food is exceptional and so is the staff. Very friendly and accommodating. However, we are not techy people and don't rely on cell phones on vacation so we found reservations difficult to navigate.

Great vacation spot

We stayed at the Royal Catalonia Tulum for 10 days. It was a great vacation spot. We had a redeye flight and arrived before noon. The hotel gave us full access to the property and one of our rooms that was ready right away. You can’t talk about this resort without talking about the staff. They are friendly, welcoming and happy to see you. Quesabel in La Palapa is friendly, efficient and a pure joy to interact with. She made us feel special every single day. Other favourites were Car [... read more]los in La Palapa, Luis in Adelita, and Anna at the Terrace. Antonio looked after our room and went out of his way to get us new towels mid day. The grounds are beautiful with lots of wildlife. Iguanas, geckos and lots of coatis was the norm. I loved it! They have a beautiful wooden walkway through the mangroves that is lit up at night. Beautiful! There is lots of beach to walk on with more secluded areas just a short distance from the resort. You can walk quite a ways and only see a few other people from the resort. The beach and water are stunning. There is good snorkelling right off the resort beach and in the coves at either end of the beach. The water was fairly calm and the waves were not an issue. The resort was at 90% occupancy and never felt crowded. The pools are nice and its quite easy to find private space if you want. If it rains, there are not a lot of public areas to escape to. Luckily for us, rain was not an issue. It’s a smaller resort and we quite loved it. Our favourite restaurants were La Palapa (main restaurant for breakfast and lunch), Adelita (Mexican) and the Terrace (tapas). We found the food in La Palapa good, and there was enough variety we did not tire of it. The Terrace is outside and located next to a grotto. It’s beyond lovely. We tried all of the restaurants and I wouldn’t go back to the others. We appreciated the free water offerings and took advantage of the catamaran. It was great fun!

Excellent vacation spot

Just returned from a 10 day stay at Royal Catalonia Tulum. We’ve travelled a lot and this was one of the best values we experienced so far. Beach was outstanding: white sand, clear weed free water. Few rocks. Lots of chairs on the beach. Service was excellent. Happy people that want to keep you happy Pool was large. Some activity around pool but not overbearing. Could probably add a bit more variety in day to day activities though Rooms were nicely appointed. Quiet. Tv channel selection  [... read more]was decent Food was “ok”. Buffet for breakfast and lunch was good. Needs more variety from one day to the next though. The themed restaurants were promising but have a way to go. Portions small but you could ask for more. Online reservation/menu system was excellent. Night life was a bit of a let down. All activities started at 9:45 and were lacklustre. We still were happy with each day we experienced. The weather was outstanding with beautiful sun rise and sunsets! Will definitely return WestJet service was impressive, especially on the way down with the larger plane. Not so much on the way home although luggage was waiting for us when we got through the paperwork. The rise from the airport is a bit long but it’s worth the drive All in all, a great vacation.

A fabulous getaway to the Mayan Riviera!

This smaller resort offers a more intimate option for a relaxing beach holiday. Stunning beaches, comfortable accommodation, tasty Mexican food and amazing staff are some of the highlights. For nature lovers, the mangroves and tropical plant life on site provide homes for an abundance of birds, geckos, iguanas, agoutis, and coatis (Mexican racoons). Snorkelers will find many opportunities to explore the ocean life.

Great beach resort

Re. Covid, only a few servers wore masks. Not a single guests wore any. Tables were somewhat distanced from one another so it felt safe enough. There was no sanitizing of any chairs or public areas we saw.

Beautiful quiet beach

The hotel grounds were openly lovely…natural rustic bridges that extend over the fish pond and lead to tropical mangrove trees w local people friendly animals creating shaded cover along the paths to hotel rooms. Very romantic feel. Rooms were exactly as pictured in their web sight and our maid, Paula, met us every day w a big smile n friendly warm demeanor. Rooms were very clean. It was a surprise that there was no elevator. Good thing there are only 3 floors! Staff very polite n friendly. Ma [... read more]rtha in the spa was able to fix my back from 5 years of consistent 24hr pain. She was amazing! …was the best sleep I had for years. Shout out to Daniel, guest services, who was able to address every concern (many Europeans seem to smoke in non smoking areas)…need a reservation when everything is booked?..he’s your go to guy. Reservations are required for dinner at any of the 5 restaurants (there is 1 other restaurant at the beach called “Beloved” but u must upgrade for $120 or $60 for a minimum of 3 days open to u for all meals if u purchase it) so I suggest you book as many as u can ahead of time for ease and comfort. They also offer a romantic dinner on the beach w exclusive service for a price of course. It looked pretty inviting! If u forgot anything, they have a few shops that can cover every need. Pool area is very well designed w cabanas near by to lounge on. Entertainment team was non stop. Though there was some construction near the pool, the hotel did their best to control the noise which was not significant at this time. Food overall was a bit of a let down; Somehow, I was expecting better quality. Hotel is almost an hour from the airport. I must say, The highlight of this trip was the beach! Gentle warm Caribbean waves adjacent to undeveloped properties to one side makes this property seem exclusive.

Excellent resort.

Beautiful resort. Small but has everything you need for a great holiday. Very clean. Staff very friendly and helpful. The beach was disappointing because they had a real problem with an invasive type of seaweed. Might only be at certain times of the year. Not their fault.Nature.

Perfect Resort for a quiet and remote vacation

I will keep it short and point form because I could go on and on about the excellence of this resort. Some have said that it is 'too quiet' and everyone was old and grey. We found a great mix of all. During our week, we met with people literally from all over the world and even a few groups of people travelling/partying together. We are not necessarily 'joiners' so we did not partake of the Entertainment offerings but what was organized was very well done. Participants were all having a won [... read more]derful time, lots of laughs and cheering. The resort is in the perfect location and is the perfect size. We were looking for a small and quiet get away, this was exactly what we were looking for. The staff are amazing, very warm and welcoming. Always a smile and an 'Hola'. We chose the Privilege option and suggest it to everyone, the perks are SO worth it! The Junior suite is wonderful with a large and furnished balcony. The bathroom is large with a great rain shower shower 'room'. The room was immaculate as well as all other areas in the resort. There are 6 buildings with rooms located between the lobby and the pool & beach area. The walkway to the pool & beach area is beautiful with the entire resort right in the middle of the jungle. The pool is large as is the beach. The beach was immaculate. A few days there was quite a build up of seaweed but that is not under the control of any of the resorts. They kept on top of it as best the could. WE WILL BE RETURNING!

The people made the vacation

Catalonia Royal Tulum is a beautiful resort made even more special by the kind, caring and hard-working staff who always have a smile and a Hola! The beach is beautiful and provides a breathtaking walk of 4km, though the loungers are pretty much crammed together and you need to get one fairly early. The food was very good too. We liked that we could go to any a la carte we wanted to without a reservation (except Rauxa which we didn’t go to) since the buffet isn’t open for dinner other than  [... read more]on Saturday for the Mexican night. Adelita’s, the Mexican a la carte, was our favourite. Unfortunately for the most part we didn’t enjoy the drinks and never had a decent margarita or mojito, but the juice bar at the beach was wonderful and a very good idea. I wish more resorts had one. As for Covid, we had no concerns: masks were worn whenever people were inside or in close contact such as at the buffet. Hand sanitizer was provided and used everywhere, and getting our RAT Covid tests was easy and quick. We appreciated not wasting any of our precious sun time! And on that note we did decide to upgrade to BLoved so we could access the restaurant. After a few days of spending far too much time waiting for essentially the same food we could readily get at the buffet, we decided to forgo BLoved which was a very good decision. You could get pretty much anything you wanted without the upgrade. Really the only major con of this resort for us was the amount of smokers. As non-smokers we seemed to be the minority, often being surrounded by smokers no matter on the beach or at the evening show (where it was the worst). It is unfortunate that resorts don’t provide specific smoking areas as we have in ‘everyday’ existence. It sure would be appreciated. Overall though CRT is one of the best in the Mayan because it’s small but big in heart. Loved it there and will return.

Wonderful Resort

This resort was kept very clean, the staff were energized, friendly, courteous, eager to help and very happy! The grounds were extremely well kept and there were staff members everyday working on cleaning up the gardens. It was so nice that Covid protocols were in place and staff adhered to them and also enforced them. The restaurants were fantastic and we were so impressed!!…both with the service and quality of the meal. The buffet was great and never had any problem finding something we e [... read more]njoyed! The show and dinner theatre was extremely well done and was like a mini Cirque de Sole!!….very impressed!! The shows put on by the staff were very high energy and well done! So much work goes into each show and we appreciated al that work!!