Planning a surprise 10th wedding anniversary trip. I am torn between Royal Hideaway in Playacar, or the JW Marriott in Cancun. Both get great reviews. Pools and lazy river look great at JW Marriott, but I've heard the surf can be rough.

Won't be able to get an ocean view room in November at RH (whereas we can at JW Marriott), but RH looks to be more secluded, have heard the water is calm, etc.

Does anyone have any opinions that can help me?

I haven't stayed at RH, only the JW, but we loved it. The view from your room is spectacular. If you can swing it $$$, the Grand Ocean Front Suites are really big, with great balconies (2). Worth the price. Surf (in late summer) was perfect.
Cancun also has a lot of good restaurants. We like going out to eat, so we've never done an AI. The beach at the JW is beautiful.

Royal Hideaway. Could not imagine a better place- we celebrated our 15th there.

Either one of those places are absolutely fantastic. Really, you couldn't have selected two better places in the area. I don't know if you arrived at these choices on your own or through a travel agent, but no matter which one you choose, it's a win win situation.

Here are some differences that may help you choose...

The JW is in the hotel zone of Cancun on a stunning stretch of beach and is very close to all of the shops and restaurants in the area. You can quickly and easily get to all of the sights and attractions in the area, and your trip to and from the airport would be a bit shorter and easier than to RH.

Since you would not have to go AI, you could sample all of the different choices of places to eat. (And there are some SUPER rests. in the area.)

The JW is more like the traditional luxury hotels in the US.

The Royal Hideaway gets VERY high marks for being one of the best AI's in Mexico - in fact - one of the best AI's anywhere. I have yet to see a bad review of it. It is more exotic than the JW, and is more secluded and private due to its distance from town.

That distance is one of the main differences. In order to go anywhere, you will have to rent a car or take a cab.

If it were up to me, and I just wanted to spend most of my time at the resort in a romantic setting with my sweetie, I would pick RH for the privacy and serenity.

If you want a more active vacation with shopping and restaurant-sampling and going to different fun bars, I'd select RW simply for the proximity to all of those things.

If you want to see ruins, you can easily do that from either location. November is still off-season, so you will not have crowds in either resort.

Congrats, and you are well on your way to having a great time.

Just returned from a honeymoon on Isla Mujeres, and one night on Cancun which we did merely to catch our 7:00am flight home. We were not really looking forward to the Cancun atmosphere, having come from 4 mellow days on uncrowded beaches and calm waters. We stayed at the Marriott (CasaMagna, not the JW, but it's right next door). The beach was terrific; we spent several hours in the water; I didn't find it at all rough. Beach was beautiful; crowded yes, but not annoyingly so.

Diana - Is there any way I can get your email address? I would like to visit with you more about your post to my question. Really appreciate everyone who responded to my question.