sha

Hi Everyone. My husband and I just returned from the Royal Hideaway in Playacar and Grand Coral Beach in Cancun. I just want to share some observations. The Royal Hideaway is lovely and upscale. The staff is extremely friendly and welcoming as they are all over the Yucatan. Our big disappointment was in the food. Choices were fine for breakfast and lunch. Quality was OK. Emphasis seemed to be more about presentation than quality in their dinners. We didn't have one entree that was really good. One meal that my husband ordered went completely uneaten. There was a minute amount of meat relative to the fat on his steak. Desserts, again, were beautifully presented but tasteless and tiny. We're not foodies but certainly enjoy going out for good meals. If they can improve their meal service this place will be great. That's the only issue preventing us from rebooking next year. I hope this is helpful.

eileen

Have to say, yours is the first negative review I have ever seen about the food at RH. When we were there it was superb. I hope it is not going downhill, I have been telling everyone what a fabulous value I think it is!

kelliegirl

Yikes, I second that. I'm very close to booking our honeymoon at this resort in June and am a little nervous to read this review. Did you eat at different restaurants each time with the exact same result for dinner??

sha

Hi Kellie:

I can't speak for the food in the past but we were totally unimpressed last week. We had dinner in Ventanas and in Palazzo. The settings were very romantic, especially Palazzo. The main courses and desserts were not even up to expectations at a mediocre restaurant. Spices, for breakfast and lunch was fine. Ventanas for breakfast was very nice and had a variety of nice choices. Dinner was the problem. I'm sorry to disappoint you but I wish that we had been better informed.

kelliegirl

OK. Last question: How many nights were you at the RH? Just wondering if they had a bad chef that week, or a bad batch of food that came in...

Blair9535

Kellie..my fiance and I went to RH the last weekend of May.The food was great for an all-inclusive. Breakfast and lunch were great and as far as dinner goes..after a couple of glasses of wine or a great drink in the phenominal outdoor terrace bar..well, food may not be your top priority..lol.I can eat great here ...and in Mexico I want to eat great too but that is NOT my top priority. Everyone's taste is different and RH is a tasteful place all the way around..I can almost promise you you arent gonna find food that good in any other all-inclusive.Its the only AI in Mexico to be listed as a leading small hotel of the world. I am telling you..you cant go wrong here...and Im fairly picky about where I stay a lot of the time. You will be on your honeymoon....its goona be hard to find ANYWHERE that doesnt have at least a few iffy reviews.Have fun!

Docstukj

Okay, Okay, hold up one minute. I just booked my honey in mid June at RH and one of the main reasons for doing so was for the quality of the food. My fiance and I like to eat and reading sha's reveiw has me a bit worried to say the least. I've heard nothing but great things about the food. Say it aint so, say it aint so

Little_Man

I think the operative phrase here is "great for an Al"...
If you really want great food, stay at a place like the Ritz or JW Marriott or LeMeridien, and enjoy a lot of excellent restaurants in downtown Cancun and at the hotels...

Percy

You are never going to please everyone.

I went and ate in some of the "great" restaurants in Cancun.
We were a group of six and three did not like "anything "we had and just grumbled most of the time.
We stayed at very nice AI in Cancun but still went out to eat in downtown Cancun about 4 times during the week.

So these three "grumblers" headed for the AI when we got back to our resort.!!
Another time we were in Cuba and we decided to go out for Lobsters..so we booked this beautiful restaurant perched on a hilltop , with a ocean view so great, if you had eyes like a hawk , you could probably see Florida.
How was the meal.....terrific!
Did everybody like it?
Nope...there were grumblers in our group of 7, "the lobster was not good", "it was over priced", " the service was slow." and on and on the grumbling went...My wife and I enjoyed the lobster, the service , the price and the view.!!!!.Si did four other.
So that was 5 against 2!!!

So you see how easy you can get two different points of view about food, service or what ever.
I am sure that "sha" gives an accurate account of your experience.
And I like to hear when people say something negative here and there because wea all perk up our ears and it makes us think a bit..that everything is not always rosy.
If I was booked for the Royal Hideaway again in June..I would certainly not cancel.
This is a lovely place.
Percy

eileen

For Frankie -- I have been to both the Royal Hideaway and the Ritz Jamaica and I can tell you the food was better at RH, but this was two years ago.

kelliegirl

Good point made by a few of you. I was thinking about all of this research last night.

I've learned a TON from these boards (and tripadvisor.com) about what places have "pros" and which ones have "cons" and keeping our expectations realistic.

All in all, I imagine each person's experience will be different, (including the food!) but if the resort is an overall thumbs up then we're going to try with all we can to afford the place.

Now... if we can't make it work financially, is there a runner up for great beach and somewhat posh surroundings for a honeymoon??

Docstukj

I agree with Percy. I think it is all a matter of perspective. I was just hoping the quality of food and service has not diminished over the past couple of years at the RH. I'm excited about the trip and I will probably continue to read reviews on this site and others (tripadvisor.com) until our honeymoon in mid June.