We just returned from the Royal Caribbean and I want to let people know - this is the nicest place my wife and I have ever stayed!

If you have a family with 3 or more children or are traveling in a group with 5 or more, this is the way to go.

The villas are spacious, breathtaking and I seriously have never experienced anything like it.

My wife and I are not huge drinkers and I had the cheap food at the all inclusive resort so this is PERFECT! Drink what you want (only costs a $1 or $2 for drinks) eat where and what you want and have the convienence of a full kitchen in case your kids want some cereal or a can of chicken soup.

We ordered pizza (from the hotel) one evening when we were too tired to go out and it was great!

Some tips:

Get an ocean view, corner villa on the 4th floor. The 4th floor is level with the pools and restaurants (not so much walking) and it sits above the ocean for fantastic breezes and views during the day.

My whole family agreed that the villa was the best thing about our vacation and we took a tour everyday.

We were at the Royal Caribbean 4/6 - 4/12. We exchanged our time share through Interval International and were supposed to stay at the Royal Mayan. When we arrived, we were told there were no more 2 BR villas and were quickly moved over to the Caribbean- first floor, ocean front. We were very pleased. Our luggage was lost on the way to Cancun, but the front desk at the Mayan called several times to make sure it arrived.

The villa was spacious and clean. The decor, furniture, and were a little outdated but in excellent condition. The air conditioner was very loud. The grounds, lobby, and pool area were very clean. Daily maid service was a luxury. An on site grocery store was convenient. Our concierge was not pushy about timeshares and was very helpful in getting a reservation at Harry's (absolutely wonderful restaurant). Thomas Moore travel agency did a great job with airport transportation and coordinating trips to Tulum/Hel Xa, Isla de Mujares (sp?), and wave running. The teens enjoyed all the activities, although there were few teens at the resort.

We could easily catch a bus down the hill from the resort into the city or local restaurants.

Check out the Give a Toy, Get a Smile Program (check the Cancun forum) to bring toys for children in Cancun. There's a convenient drop-off place at Hard Rock Cafe on the Hotel Zone.

We stayed at the Royal Caribbean March 29 thru April 5th and absolutely loved the resort. We were in unit B906. Don't panic if you are up on one of the upper floors because we rarely waited for an elevator. The view from our large balcony was breathtaking. I believe the resort was full, but there was always plenty of room around the pool and our kids were practically the only ones in the pool most of the time. We enjoyed pool bingo, water aerobics and of course 1/2 price happy hour started at 3 pm and we enjoyed many varieties of tropical drinks (alcohol or non-alcohol). My son couldn't get enough of the Nachos Grande that he'd order poolside each day for a snack or lunch. It was so convenient to just use our room card to charge food/drinks/etc.
We ate off site most evenings at Margarittaville, Senor Frogs, Rainforest Cafe, Captain's Cove, Shrimp Bucket and a reservation specialist at the resort made these reservations for us each evening, so we didn't have to wait. My favorite meal was at Captain's Cove -- My husband and I ordered the seafood platter for two and it is awesome. Senor Frogs was a bit too much excitement for the kids and the food/service wasn't very good. The atmosphere is always fun at Margarittaville and there are some nice souvenier shops close by. My 13 year old daughter enjoyed shopping at La Isla Shopping Mall. We took the city bus most places and found it very convenient. One day we rented a car from the resort and drove to Xcaret to snorkel, float in the underground river and take in all the sites. The car they gave us was a piece of junk. I was so nervous driving to Xcaret because I had to punch the brakes to the floor for them to work. There was also a red light on the entire trip that may have signaled trouble with the engine or something, so I was worried we'd break down in the middle of nowhere. To make things worse, we ended up downtown Cancun on the drive home and drove thru some seedy parts of town because we missed "the hotel zone" sign to get us back to the beach. So we learned some lessons from that experience. Xcaret was worth visiting. We booked (on-line) the all-inclusive day with the kids (ages 9, 13) and had a delicious buffet lunch at La Pennisula. Take plenty of dollar bills would be a suggestion for tips and bus fare. We never exchanged much US money for Pesos. The bus fare for 4 people is $2.60, so we'd always give them $3.00. We took the Royal Shuttle to the Royal Sands one day and enjoyed that. There seemed to be more action at that pool/beach and more college age kids. I prefer the less crowded, more low-key Royal Caribbean. At both pools, there was no music and that is one thing I would have enjoyed. One thing we wish we would have done was paint a piece of pottery on site at the resort. Each of the Royal resorts have an area to do this and it's really inexpensive -- would have been a nice remembrance. We were so happy to get this timeshare trade to the Royal Caribbean -- it was awesome to trade a one bedroom (Orlando, FL) and get a 2 Bedroom Villa (1,400+ square feet) for $150.00 thru Interval International. It pays to Deposit early!!!

There really isn't much bad to say about the Royal Hotels. It was perfect for families, the food was great and the rooms very clean. That said, the time share pitch was more than I wanted to deal with. You are assigned a concierge who really is trying to sell you a unit. Ours ignored us when he figured out we weren't interested. This was good because he bugged me, but bad becasue we were on our own for reservations. The only other negative, the beds were very uncomfortable and the airconditioner loud. I didn't sleep well. The beach was pretty but too rocky for little kids to swim safely. Laurie