My husband and I are almost certain that we would like to try the Royal Hideaway in Playa del Carmen end of January early Feb. Any suggestions out there that would help our decision?? Best way of booking,such as Apple,Expedia,directly with resort..???Which Villa is the best?? We like to be by the pool and beach..Any negatives?? Thanks for all your help, Julie

Best place to book is cancun-reservations.com (by far the cheapest: 50% less than directly with hotel Only negative is no great ocean views. Overall a fantastic resort.

Book with Apple or Funjet. You get a lower air rate than if you book separately.<BR>Really depends on where you are leaving from.<BR>A travel agent will know who has the best packages from your area.

The RH is amazing!! I honeymooned there and nothing compares -- any where. Seriously. I book direct w/ the hotel everytime I go (been 3 times). It's about $400 a night for 2 people. I'd request top floor room (vaulted ceilings), and don't pay the extra to get an ocean view. All the rooms are great. To be by the beach and pool, I think it's villa 33. The only negative is there is no night life at all. Very quiet there, so if you're looking for a party atmospher, RH does not have it. But the town of Playa is a $4.00 usd cab ride away where the night life is jumping. The food, service, and accomodations and top notch. Go there and you'll love it!!

Have you decided on date of travel yet? My husband and I are going to RH the first weekend in Feb.

Hi Julie,<BR>I just returned from the RH, last week. I heard the best 3 villas are 24, 27 and 31. I did book the trip several months ahead of time, but I actually emailed the hotel roughly 2 weeks prior to our arrival requesting a king size bed and one of the those villas. (I booked the trip through Liberty Travel) I think unless you pay for the oceanview, you will not get it if I had the extra money to spend I would have liked the view. We wound up in villa 27 on the 2nd floor, king size bed, facing the gardens and other villas. It was just beautiful. I also would suggest bringing $100 worth of $1 bills for tipping. I know they say everything's included, but the service is just so top notch that you feel as though they deserve a little here and there. They definitely appreach it, I think they make like only $3 a day or something. Also before you get on the beach grab a green flag, when you stick the flag in the sand, they know to come over and ask you for a drink. And the water if fine. I drank tons of water and had no problem, obviously don't drink from the sink in your room. If you'd like I can email you beautiful pictures of the hotel grounds, beach, room, etc. I emailed another person on this site them and I think they really help you get a good idea. It truely is paradise!!

Hello, we are just about to book our trip for Jnuary. First choice is RH with RIU Palace 2nd, Aventura 3rd choices. However a poster on this site said that while the beach is beautiful the RH water is filled with kelp and the pools are inadequate. True? We're beach and water people. Don't use the pools nearly as much. Wouldn't the water be similiar at the other two resorts? What's people's opinion about the Aventura lagoon?

To Jim:<BR>As I mentioned in a previous reply I have a lot of photos of RH if you're interested. I would be happy to email them to you. I thought this resort was beautiful. The food was delicious (and I'm a tough food critic), the beach was beautiful. Very romantic, quiet place. If you're interested though in "night life" then this wouldn't be the place. Basically in the evening we would go out to dinner, and then go to their bar and sit outside overlooking the grounds and sip on some chocolate martinis, warning... they're delicious but strong!! Again, let me know if you would like more info on the RH and if you would like me to email you the pics.

Jim,<BR>the ASP lagoon is great! The RH did have some not so nice green stuff in the water when I was there, but I could have handled it. The big prob was the ocean itself. It was rough and windy. I hear that it can be like this throughout most of the year in front of the RH. On our next trip, we did the ASP and we thought having the lagoon was much more relaxing. As far as the pools go, well, it's like comparing a BMW to a Toyota Camry, the ASP wins hands down!

Susan, would you mind terribly e-mailing me pics of RH? I see a lot of other folks asked you, too, but I would really appreciate it! We are torn between RH and ASP for honeymoon in May and I seem to be getting conflicting reviews! Thanks!<BR>[email protected]

Susan I too would like to see your pictures if you could e-mail them to me it would be greatly appreciated. We ended up chosing RH after all,leaving Jan 18 for 7 days,I can hardly wait,Thanks Julie

Susan, could you email some of your pictures to me as well, if it isn't too much trouble? I am torn between Royal Hideaway, Riu Palace, and Adventura Spa Palace. Thank you so much for all your advice!

Susan,<BR><BR>Add me to the list for the pics. We are going in late April and I would love to increase my anticipation! Thanks!

susan,if you are still reading these posts please email me with your RH pictures, I would really appreciate it,Thanks in advance

Susan,<BR> I would love to see your pics, if possible. I just booked our honeymoon for the end of May and we can't wait. Thanks in advance for your thoughtfulness.<BR>Scott

Susan, <BR> Please e-mail me any pics of R.H.<BR> Thanks

Just returned from the Royal Hideaway and can't say enough about it. Definitely feel royal there, service is fabulous. Food out of this world. The Mexicans celebrate Christmas Eve big time and we enjoyed a delicious dinner with a Latin show that night. When we returned to our room there were two mini bottles of kahlua and a sweet cake as a Christmas gift from the staff. Definitely bring along U.S.dollar bills to tip the staff, they appreciate it and will remember you the whole time you are there and treat you great. Having your own personal concierge in the villa was fabulous. We were in villa 27 on the 2nd floor, huge bath/dressing room, king bed, balcony overlooking a private little garden. Didn't miss an ocean view at all. Speaking of which, the water was sparkling clean, no kelp. I walked along the entire beach area and the other resorts were crowded with people, kids, games. The RH was definitely the best. This was our first experience with an all-inclusive since I'd always heard the food/service/facilities were not all that great. The RH is definitely an exception to this rule. Can't wait to go back again!!

Susan,<BR>Would you mind sending me your pics as well? My e-mail: [email protected]<BR>We are having a hard time deciding where to go on our honeymoon this September. Can`t decide between Royal Hideaway, RIU Palace and Aventura Palace. Any information would be great. Thanks.

susan<BR><BR>if you are still sending pictures please email them to me. we will be celebrating our 22nd anniversay there on april 24th.<BR><BR>thank so much

Susan, would you kindly send me your RH photos? Thank you.