Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Amazing Resort

Recently vacationed here for 9 days. Nothing bad to say. Wonderful people, food and weather. Beach is amazing. Resort easy to get around. Lots of music and entertainment. Thanks to our Butlers Pablo and Angel.

Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: Great Resort

First time at a 5 star for us. Enjoyed all the amenities. It was busy as it was the US March break so lots of kids on the Royalton side. We spent our days in the Hideway area but enjoyed most of the restaurants. Was difficult to get into the Japanese restaurant. Like the idea of the door 'key' on your bracelet. No worries about carrying around a door key. As per previous reviews, it is a strange way to clean off the weeds from the beach. They use a bobcat. You would think tha [... read more]t the first pass in the morning, they would use some type of rake. We had an ocenview room which faced also the Hideway pool with balcony Jacuzzi. The hot water for the Jacuzzi was very slow. Also no instructions on how to plug the drain. After a while, found a lever behind a panel on the Jacuzzi. Trip back home which was via Sunwing was delayed 1 hour.

Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: Fabulous resort

Fabulous resort. We were well received at the hotel no problems. The only thing that was negative is trying to find the right line to catch the plane. Not organized at the airport or signs and people from sunwing were not available. My ride to the airport was 45 min late because we were waiting for one more couple that finally never showed up in the end leaving us 2 min to spare before hoping on the plane then they changed the gate to upstairs instead of down so we ran and made it at the last mi [... read more]n. We were tired and stressed

Royalton Punta Cana Resort: We had an amazing family vacation!

I would recommend this resort to anyone and would go back again in a heart beat. Room and resort was immaculate. Food was great. The buffet was one of the best i have seen for both quality and choice for any meal of the day. Service was first class. And the beach...It does not get any better.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Outstanding resort for anybody over 18 including invalids

This was my first time in this hotel but I travelled to many hotels in Mexico and Dominican Republic and Varadero. It is spacious but cozy and homy at the same time . Hotel is full but you never feel there is too many people. staff is efficient but you do not have a feeling they are in rush or pushy or breathless as in both Mexico and Dominican. I feel hotel employs right number of people so although they are busy they are always there for you. Staff is kind in a particular Cuban way only they [... read more] know. It is also partially because Cubans are excellently educated so general level of staff is better than elsewhere,but again this hotel in particular has a good HR department. Many couples we met kept returning to this resort and I personally met two copies being there 7th time. That speaks for itself. Food was excellent for healthy food style... Fish, meet and raw and cooked vegetables in abandance. Non gluten pasta with vegetables and pesto with touch of garlic was out of this world. Regular flour crepe available at both lunch and supper. Deserts were exceptionally good considering that Cuba is not famous for sweets. Honey was available for those who prefer it with tea and coffee. Grill next to the pool has best healthy salads next to the roast and hamburgers. Absolute silance through day and night in area of rooms. Amazing. What stands out as absolutely impressive and above any expectation is entertainment. From yoga and aqua fit to valley ball on both grass and sand to afternoon and evening music that is memorable. First class musitions are brought in with world class performance skills that leave you to stop talking and feel as if on concert all the time. Opera singers from Havana sang for an hour well known arias from famous operas and we all sang with them in the audience. Entertainment this hotel offers one does not get in any other country or resort. And even if you think you are not a talent for Latin dance Veronica will turn those two left feet into a dancer by the end of the week and your significant other wil be very happy . Guests are such fine people that one would think hotel chose them and not vice versa. One is at ease to start chatting with anybody. No drunken or aggressive loud people out of control. There is a lot of loud laughter but not unpleasant. Probably the class of hotels service encourages only people with refine taste to go there. No need to mention that Varadero beach is spectacular. People with invalidity of any kind are rolled is special beach strollers to the water for a swim. Snorkeling in local reef is only kilometar away from the beach and it is arranged by sailing boats at the resort. Effortless and beautiful activity. One has to be patient with waiting for the bus for our of hotel activities. Buses are always late as they collect passengers from many resorts and it is guests who are not there on time makung the whole bus be late for the last hotel. If you like Cuban music do not miss Buena Vista Social Club concert in Varadero. It is worth waiting for a bus 40 minutes for only ten minutes ride to the Hall. Three musicians from old gang are still performing. There is not one insect in the room but two or three mosquitoes are there at night. I will be back to the resort with pleasure.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Peaceful Paradise

This hotel is on a pristine piece of white sand beach, with relatively calm waters (we were there in March, which is a bit windier, so the waves were a little stronger, but lots of fun!). The hotel was well maintained and all of the staff that we dealt with were friendly and efficient. We initially had a problem with a slight musty odour and poorly functioning AC system in our room, and they accommodated us immediately with a room change and a dehumidifier. The rooms do show a little wear and [... read more] tear here and there, but the resort is a former Sandals, and we were pleased overall. Really, how much time are you spending in your rooms anyway? While food is generally not the high point of a resort in Cuba, we found the food here to be quite good! In particular, the Italian restaurant and the El Carribe restaurant were outstanding, and were among some of the best meals I have ordered in our travels! The buffet was quite extensive and if you can't find something you like to eat at each buffet meal, you're too damned picky and should probably stay home and cook for yourself! The best part of this resort was the quiet. There was no constant "oompa, oompa, oompa" of music on the beach or around the pool for the majority of the day. Occasionally, there was music from an aerobics class or dance class, but it wasn't outrageous. The beach was ALWAYS quiet; things kicked into a noisier gear about 4pm by the pool, as the happy hour was reached. At that point, if you don't like it, go back to the beach where it's pretty much silent or go get changed for supper. We had no problems getting the drinks we wanted (even premium stuff was widely available) and I can honestly say that there is no real need to purchase the diamond club extensions here. It gives you a few extra brands of booze, and a couple of separate areas on the beach and around the pool, but those areas are literally right beside the common areas...it changes nothing about your experiences in those two places. Sure you have a separate lounge and restaurant to eat your breakfast....but isn't half of the fun meeting others? This was an adults only hotel, and I truly enjoyed not worrying about little kids running around while we were drinking/relaxing. If it had children, diamond club would have been a more important consideration. Topless bathing was permitted, but there were only a few people doing this and it didn't seem to be a problem at all. Overall, there was only about 400 rooms spread across about 30 (?) separate bungalows, so it's super quiet there. We were in one of the farthest buildings after our room switch, and I didn't find it outrageous at all. You can easily walk everywhere on the resort/to the beach in under 5 minutes - even from where we were located on the far side.

Royalton Hideaway Riviera Cancun: FANTASTIC RESORT

Grounds were beautiful, Entertainment awesome, choice for food restaurants was amazing, although very busy and long waits for tables. Priority given to the Diamond Club. Many people not in that club were not happy . Beach was OK not wonderful, seaweed along shoreline. water was a bit murky and rough Rooms were amazingly modern , clean and well equipped. Service was friendly and willing to help in any way to make stay enjoyable. Late check in was a bit of a hassle as we were left to fend f [... read more]or ourselves until 3pm. Sunwing flight to and from was smooth and informative, friendly and on time !.

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Great Vacay!

We spent a week at The Royalton at the end of Feb and it was wonderful. The resort was beautiful and perfect for families. Our son was 23 months and the kids pool area was perfect for him. The water was a great depth and temperature. We had a swim out room which was so perfect for the afternoon swims after nap time. The food was great as well, so many restaurants to pick from. The staff was friendly, cheerful and accommodating. The only comment I would make is that the beach wasn't the [... read more] greatest so if you a full beach person this resort might not be for you. The sand was nice and soft but the water was rough and not idea of relaxing and swimming with little ones. We were ok with that as the resort is really what we were going for. Another great thing when travelling with kids is this resort if nice and close to the airport so you don't have to sit on a bus for over an hour getting to the resort. And even though it was close to the airport you didn't really hear or see that many planes. Overall this was a great resort that I would definitely recommend it for families!

Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa: Great resort!

The resort is new and very clean. The beds and pillows are so comfy. Good food.I have sensitivities and there were a lot of options. Pool side was fun with events, entertainment, lazy river. I really liked the gym- also Elanny makes poolside exercising so entertaining. Spa was great. Evening entertainment shows, casino. Not a lot for teens. More of a family resort. I was there with my 2 teens and they were not bored.

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Very Disappointed. Not much Luxury!

I am so disappointed. Our LUXURY hotel was EXTREMELY Over Rated. I would not recommend this resort to anyone and will not book another Royalton resort. If you have any complaints, … perhaps you should upgrade! I paid for Luxury accommodations already, .. but they think you should pay even more! My biggest complaint was health and safety. Both of us had stomach issues and both got major chest / sinus infections while there, …no wonder when you never see staff washing or sanitizing h [... read more]ands. They go from dirty dishes to clean and put fingers all over clean dishes and silverware. No railings for the stairs and lots of drop offs at the paths and in the lobby. When asked about any services for deaf or hard of hearing, ... they do not provide any services like that. There is not even closed captioning on the televisions. They said there were subtitles but the only subtitles were in Spanish on the English channels. If you have booked this hotel, ... you will be ok and survive. We had an ok time (when we were not confined to the room with no closed captioned television). I was expecting to be wowed at a 5 star hotel and was disappointed I had spent so much money for nothing. Having 3 people murdered a few miles up the road the first night we were there, … made us nervous to do any outings. . Room The musty smell when you opened the door was the first indication there was trouble. It never did get much better during our stay. I am very allergic to mold and dust. This room had both! Took a finger swab above the television, … made my furnace room look clean! The room was very basic with 1950 laminate furniture that was peeling off. The “Jacuzzi" tub: that was advertised had 4 very corroded jets and the tub was not secured to the floor or wall, … making it tippy when empty. The tubs electrical connections were plugged in and very easy to splash water on! Shower floor was WAY too slippery with no grab bars. To top it off, .. the rusty hinges on glass door with no weather strip around the door left you a flooded room when the second rain shower was used. There were no chairs on balcony when we arrived, but they did bring at least a couple chairs. The maintenance building that was immediately behind us had a terrible hum noise that made sitting on the balcony not very fun anyway. The mangrove was not impressive but it did not bother me as much as the constant hum of equipment in the building. The hallways were EXTREMELY NOISY No nap during the day and maids carts with hard wheels going over the tiles at 7am every morning. At 4am one morning there was a man and 4 women in the hallway cleaning it... and talking very loud! Any noise in the hall sounded like there was someone in your room. Televisions do not have closed captions available. There was very little to watch anyway but anyone with a hearing impairment is out of luck! At least the loud hallways do not bother them! . Pool The pool area actually had lots of loungers, … and unfortunately lots of birds. It was hard to find a lounger that was not covered in bird droppings. Anyone that left any kind of food around invited 20 birds to pull it apart. They are so tame they almost dive bomb you. I would not let children in the water park. There were about 15 birds bathing on top of each of the palm trees that have water coming out the top. Full of birds and of course droppings. . Lobby and Public Areas The lobby was marred with an unusual amount of bird droppings as well. The couches were covered. The carpets were full of droppings but also disgustingly stained with spilled drinks that never did get cleaned up. The carpets were filthy all week. We watched a show from the balcony of the lobby. It was a nice view of the show below and the ocean out far. Unfortunately the wicker chairs are very uncomfortable ( and full of bird …t!) The worst part was is when it gets dark it is extremely difficult to see the steps on the deck. Brown deck and unmarked steps when it is dark is not a great combination, … both my friend and I tripped causing pain and discomfort for both of us. There are so many obstacles around the hotel to avoid, … you must be on your guard always. There are very few railings to assist and many places that have drop-offs very close to the paths. . Entertainment Very limited entertainment at night. Usually just a singer with a small band. There was a casino open from 6pm – 2am but we never did go there. . Smoking You are not allowed to smoke in your room or restaurants, … but everywhere else was fair game. They sell cigars every night at the entertainment venue. They bring you ashtrays at the bar if you want. . Restaurants Very pedestrian offerings. I was hoping for some authentic Mexican but the dishes offered are very lame. All edible but nothing special. Very little flavoring at all. I would have rather had Taco Bell! The stations at the buffet offer good breakfast omelets and fried eggs. In the evening you can have your fish and seafood grilled fresh. Sushi bar was pretty good. Watching them was glasses at the bar was a show in itself. They have this one at a time glass washer that they put the glass on. It has brushes and water flowing. Then they take the glass and put it into a bus bin with what I guess would be sanitizer. Then they take the glass out (usually with their dirty fingers inside the glass) and . Staff Here was the only highlight of the trip. There are some very wonderful staff. Very accommodating and friendly. Most staff was great but of course there is always a few.

Royalton Cayo Santa Maria: Not a five star resort

Rayalton Cayo Coco Santa Maria , we were not happy with this resort , got eaten by bugs and they would spray the resort twice a day , this spray would go all over every one and they didn’t care which I complained and fell on deaf ears , food was bad with only 3 restaurants to choose from , rooms were exhausted and tired looking , we are still recovering from bug bits , would not recommend this resort

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Wonderful vacation

My son and I visited this resort in March. Really like the Royalton chain overall. This one in particular has an exceptional fitness centre and dedicated trainers. The catamaran with snorkeling right off the beach was perfect too. Rooms are the perfect size and well kept. The staff was very accommodating and friendly, food excellent. Would go back!

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Great for families but with caveats!

Family of 5. Teen, tween and child. Flew Sunwing, stayed for a week. I'll start with the caveats: At the airport, make sure you sit right at the front of the bus. If you're not, check-in will take a long while and you may not get the room you requested. For us it was great since we were first on the bus and first to check in. Others weren't so lucky. Caveat: Don't lose your bracelet. It contains a chip to unlock the door to your room. 100US to replace. Caveat: Like most all inclusive re [... read more]sorts, they'll ask you to join a Sunwing rep for a presentation regarding "joining" the club. First off, the tactics used to entice you to the presentation are misleading. Second, unless you're ready to throw down thousands of dollars to join a quasi "timeshare", don't waste your 90 minutes. Caveat: Reserving pool loungers. The resort claims not to allow this. Far from it! We had to "reserve" our chairs as early as 7am to beat the madness of everyone else reserving loungers. Worst part is some people would reserve loungers and show up for 10 minutes only to disappear for the rest of the day. Staff not much help here. Caveat: If you're a beach person DO NOT COME TO THIS HOTEL unless you're prepared to swim with seaweed. The Sand itself is beautiful until you approach the water. Apparently they hired a company to clean the seaweed on the beach and you can see the little tractor cleaning up everyday however it's been an ongoing issue for years now. The water is murky and brown unless you get lucky with a day without wind which is rare. Caveat: Reserving restaurants... Forget about it unless you're diamond club or from hideaway resort. If not, you need to show up at 6pm (there's usually a lineup) to get a table for any time before 8pm. Guaranteed frustrations there. That goes for all restaurants except for Zen where you can reserve but you have to show up around 230pm to wait in line until they start reserving at 3pm for either 630pm, 8pm or 930 pm. Crazy system! Caveat: The wait staff makes an average of 150 dollars a month so they depend on tips. If you don't tip, you don't get served. Simple... Btw if you like coffee, imo Mexican coffee is not that good. Stick to the cappuccino. Ok now the good stuff Restaurants! Steak House by far the best. Steaks cooked perfectly, and very flavorful. The entire menu was delicious. Italian, Indian, sports base triedand Caribbean are good. Once you get into the restaurants you'll definitely enjoy and service is great as well. Zen is Japanese Teppanyaki and is fantastic. Great food, great entertainment. A definite must. Buffet is buffet. Different varieties, good service but pretty repetitive. Pools are great. Kids pool is fantastic with a whole bunch of things for children. Activities in all pools are great as well. Grounds are very well kept and the hotel and rooms are newer and well maintained. Kids club was great for our youngest for couple hours a day. Kept him well entertained. Take lots of sunscreen please!!!!!! Sun is very hot and we've seen our share of "tomatoes". Overall, this is a good very large family hotel. You'll definitely enjoy! We've been to both Royaltons in Jamaica and Punta Cana. I would rank this in the middle of the group.

Royalton Hideaway Blue Waters: Great 30th anniversary trip

We just came back on Monday! We had a great time. Our daughters bought us this trip for our 30th wedding anniversary. We have been going to Jamaica for that last 20 years because of places like the White Sands. This is our favourite resort by far. Very personalable and the small details are what makes it stand above the rest. The staff like Natoya who works on the beach serving drinks made our trip. She looked after us like we were her family. You won’t be disappointed in this resort and what [... read more] it has to offer.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Fantastic resort - keep coming back!

My wife and I just love this resort. We started going to the Hicacos resort in 2005 which at that time was owned and operated by Sandals as the Sandals Royal Hicacos Resort. We have attended this resort 9 separate times since 2005. One of the reasons we keep coming back are the people that operate and work at the resort. They always seem to remember you and are extremely friendly. The accommodations are very nice and are like little cottages with a lovely bathroom, bedroom and a separate si [... read more]tting room with a chair and couch. The grounds are very well looked after and maintained. Another reason we keep coming back is the food. We have heard so many complaints from tourists at other resorts that they don't like the food at their particular resort. They have a lovely buffet and approx.6 or 7 separate restaurants that you can book with a reservation. The beach at this resort is spell-bounding. One of the finest beaches that you will fine in Varadero, Cuba. There is a lovely beach grill restaurant literally right on the beach which serves, steaks, chicken and lobster while listening to live Cuban music while you are dining. You do have to remember that you are in Cuban and there could be little amenities missing that you would be used to in other countries or at home. At anytime we have requested something-we find that they try to fix things almost immediately. We have made so many friends over the years that some people almost feel like family. We have always said that if you cannot be happy at this resort you must be very spoiled and have no idea how good we have it in Canada. The pool area is right in the middle of the resort with the amphitheater and buffet restaurant beside it. There is lots of daily activity around the pool with fashion shows, music and games. The nightly entertainment is top-notch and firmly believe will not be matched at any other resort. One week is not enough - will be returning a.s.a.p.

Royalton Hicacos Resort and Spa: Amazing beach!

The resort was very easy to get around and the rooms were spacious and clean with great veranda/deck space. Staff was welcoming and accommodated our requests for dinner, despite not getting very many options at the reservation desk. Said that there were only a couple of slots left and not at all the restaurant options. However, when we spoke with the restaurants at the time, they were willing to seat us. All in all, a great trip!

Royalton Negril Resort And Spa: Beautiful resort, lovely beach

The hotel was beautiful, the food was very good and the beaches are the nicest we've been to in Jamaica. We spent a day at 7 Mile Beach and the beach at the Royalton Negril is just as nice. We've also been to Ocho Rios and Montego Bay and the beaches here are the nicest we've encountered in Jamaica. The resort was very busy since it was March break but the staff and butlers will "reserve" chairs for you for a tip $$$ - not sure if that's a good thing or bad. It is unfortunate that many chairs sa [... read more]t claimed by a book or magazine for the entire day. The food was very good at the restaurants, at the buffet it was just okay. (We've also been to the Royalton White Sands and found the food to be better there) Our favourite restaurant was Calypso the West Indian restaurant. The jerk hut, food truck and various beach bars to eat at provided lots of good options if you didn't want to get changed and go inside for lunch at the buffet or the Italian restaurant. Overall an excellent vacation - we reserved two excursions through our Butler (I would suggest upgrading to Diamond Club) and had a great time on both. We did 7 Mile Beach, downtown Negril for a Juici Patty run, and Rick's Cafe one day. We also did YS Falls, Blackriver Safari and Pelican Bar on our other excursion. Make sure to bring cash on excursions, many places do not accept credit card.

Royalton Punta Cana Resort: Beautiful Resort!

We had a great time at the Royalton. Beach was very important for us and it lived up to it's expectations. There was one day with very strong winds/waves 2-3metres which caused a lot of seaweed to wash up the next day and it was all cleaned up the following day. One area the resort could work on would be the suite bathrooms. They are dark and the shower always leaked requiring several towels to be put in front of it to stop the pooling of water. The staff were extremely friendly and outg [... read more]oing all the way through the resort. Great bartenders with great special mixed drink options (G&T with mint and passion fruit!) They always had something new for you to try! On our next visit we would go to the Royalton Bavaro about 10 minute walk up the beach. Much newer resort and same beach.

Royalton Bavaro Resort and Spa: Beautiful resort!

The grounds are very well kept, and are done to be in keeping with the original land...so, grasses are intermingled with other local plants, but kept neater than mother nature might! Some paths were covered, so that we could get around without getting heat stroke. It would be helpful to have some other paths covered. The food was very good and plentiful choice, even at the buffets. However, the noise level in the main buffet makes being there very difficult. Keep up the good work!  [... read more] We would like to return, but would prefer to do so when there are way less children. When would that be?

Royalton Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa: Third visit in two years - just keeps getting better!

This was the third time in two years that I have visited this resort. The first and last time I traveled solo. The second time I traveled with my three adult children. Obviously, I love this place! All three times I stayed in the regular section - building 9 - in what would be considered the kids' section because it's right beside the kids' pool. I found this location very quiet and certainly not a long walk from all the action. I ate at the buffet for breakfast each day but always found [... read more] an ala carte restaurant for my dinner. The food in all the restaurants is fantastic -- lots of choices as well as a kids' menu available. There have been lots of negative reviews about the beach. There is some seaweed washed ashore on the beach but resort staff do use tractors each day to try and keep it to a minimum. The water is not clear and snorkeling at the beach is not good. If swimming at the beach is a deal breaker for you this might not be the right location. I personally like to walk the beach but then I prefer to swim in the pools. All of the staff are wonderful!! Shout out to my personal pool waiter, Cesar, who kept me well hydrated each day. I do tend to tip well. I take US$ - lots of ones. I tend to leave $5/person at dinner and a dollar or two at the breakfast buffet -- waiters bring mimosas, juice, tea, coffee etc. I usually tip $1/drink at the pool / pool bar / evening entertainment. You can exchange larger bills for ones at either the checkin desk or the Diamond Club lounge. The entertainment is good - there are a number of activities for both adults and kids each day. Some include beach volleyball, pool volleyball, aquafit, foam party in the pool just to name a few. Each evening there is a show at the main pool area -- a Fire Show, Circus Show, Aqua Show, Mexican night. One day they bring in local vendors so you can do your souvenir shopping right at the resort. I know this is a long review but I hope I have addressed some concerns that travelers have. You won't be disappointed at the Royalton!