Hi all,

I've been trying to pick a great place for our Honeymoon and have been trying to steer clear of the Hurricane belt since we will be going Oct 8-15th '07. We were mainly looking at Aruba, but I decided to check out what we could get for our budget in Mexico just for fun. I came across the Royal Hideaway in Playa Del Carmen and I'm incredibly impressed. The AI sounds awesome and the beach seems pretty good. Is the water at this resort clear and good for water sports (mainly snorkeling)? Do you think it's just stupid to plan an expensive trip in October considering Hurrican Wilma hit there?

The other main options we have been considering are Bucuti Resort in Aruba and the Sandals Regency in St. Lucia.

It is impossible to predict what the beach will be like at any given time sometimes it's better than others. Right now it's not so great but that can and most likely will change in the summer. Royal Hideaway is a beautiful resort. Snorkeling in PDC or Playacar is not great as there is no reef there to attract the fish. The water is clear though for the most part but sometimes with the waves it can diminish. I don't know the odds of another hurricane hitting in the fall compared to other parts of the Caribbean. This year we didn't have any problems at all. Buying trip insurance would be advisable for any tropical vacation but it would be sad if it ruined your honeymoon regardless of the insurance. It's hard to predict the future.

We were at the Royal Hideaway before the big hurricane hit last. It was wonderful! I cannot say enough about it. The service was wonderful, food great, and beach nice at that time. We haven't been back since but would not hesitate to go again. The beds on the beach are nice as are their palapas. Have fun!

I just returned from 8 days at this magnificent resort. I was there 4 years ago and there have been some changes. For one, and the most important, ( to me, anyway) was the beach, or rather the lack of one. When I arrived there were just 2 rows of lounge chairs in what seemed to be a narrow strip of beach. There were men working all day long to reclaim the beach. I must say, that after 2 days, so much had been reclaimed that the lines of chairs now increased to 5. It still isn't what it once was, but there is a lot of improvement, and given time, there will be much more.
The other changes were complete remodeling of 2 of the 5 restaurants - and the changes was wonderful. What were 2 outstanding restaurants now became world class ones. The decor, ambience, service, food and presentation were absolutely first rate.
The resort is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen and I would go back there in a heartbeat - but I would want to be assured that the beach has been restored.

I've been to RH 3 times and will go for a 4th in June. From all recent reports the beach is minimal and it has huge sandbags trying to protect what it does have. Have heard they are in the process of beach reclamation - but Mother Nature always has the upper hand. The water is that beautiful blue you can't believe is real. There IS fabulous snorkeling a short boat-ride away, but not right off the beach.

RH had great food, top shelf liquor and unsurpassed service. But if a fabulous beach is important I would keep looking.

In October I would never go anywhere with the possibility of a Hurricane happening I have cancelled a few trips. Even had to cancel Puerto Vallarta which hasn't had a hurricane in 65 yrs had one when we were going. The only place I would go to in Oct is Aruba.

Our family of 4 stayed there 6 years ago and it was incredible. We liked it so much that we never made it to Cancun and when I wanted to see other parts of the area, I had to drag them kicking and screaming. The resort seems to think of everything and they have so much variety in their food and entertainment that you never are bored. The water is great, however for better snorkeling we took the boat over to Cozumel. On the ferry over we bought tickets for a glass bottom boat snorkel trip which was good for our then 3 year old.

Plus with staying at the Royal Hideway, you can use the other allegro facilities which we did at Cozumel.

Our vacation at the Royal Hidway is family lore for cheapest vacation ever. We had booked 8 nights originally at the Allegro for $700 total for a family of 4 (entertainment card discount and no charge for the two kids). When we showed up, they had oversold the Allegro resort (which is next door) so they moved us over to the Royal Hideaway. Our vacation cost us only $87 a day total (all food entertainment, liquor, activities etc.) How could you not have a good time?

Now they don't allow children so our windfall could not happen. Enjoy.

People who are at the Royal Hideaway right now are reporting VERY bad beach conditions. Sandbags making it impossible to get easy access to the ocean and very little beach.