this was my 8th time to visit cancun and i must tell you, i will never stay anywhere else, the royal cancun goes above and beyond the call of duty...it was the cleanest, brightest, most up to date resort in the cancun area, if i couls rate this hotel, i would give it a 10 plus. there was not one thing overlooked, from the rooms all the way to the beaches absolutely FABULOUS!!! we traveled with 12 friends and we were all treated like royalty. i suggest you have as much fun outside as you can because once you get into your room and snuggle up into that cushy pillow top bed with the 12 dream pillows and roses all over it.....ur done!!!!! your have to fight yourself to get out of it.....oh!!! yeah!! the food was excellant, try maria marie and order the fillet, best you'll ever taste and i'm from texas! in a hurry, try spice for the yummiest buffet you will ever have as well.
add 5 days of sunshine and you cant beat this vacation anywhere in the world....cancun rocks and so does the royal cancun.....

The royal was a dream! The bed was to die for and we had all the comforts of home including wireless internet.
The Royal took my breath away in terms of beauty, and service. I went expecting the worse and was prepared from everything I had heard but was blown away by the professionalism and service. I ordered things not on the room service menu and they were brought to us in the middle of the night arranged beautifully. There were always plenty of cabanas available and the beach was beautiful. My favorite restaurant was Maria Marie's. We even ordered seconds on our Filet Mignon/Lamb chops since the portions were small! Our waiter Alex brought them to us with a smile! Over all this is a great hotel if you are looking for comfort, luxury and amazing service.
We will DEFINITELY go back to the Royal. We are already Cancun dreaming once again...

After careful research (on TripAdvisor of course!), we chose the Royal Cancun for our first vacation in Mexico. The hotels web site clearly positions this property as five star luxury, and the majority of the TripAdvisor reviews are very favorable. Our experience at the Royal was a big disappointment to be honest - the resort does not compare to five star experiences that you will find at the Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons resorts. Yes, we realize there is a price difference, however the Royal bills itself as five star. In an attempt to be as objective as possible, our feedback on key aspects we think others would be interested in:

Check in - the online check in process is a nice feature. We wish more resorts would offer this. The technology is amazing - you get to see a floorplan and views from each room so that you can make your desired selection. We did arrive before the 3:00 check-in time and our room was not ready. Beware - if you do check in early, you will likely be handed off to someone in their timeshare department. They take a soft sell approach at first, then become much more aggressive if you attend the breakfast presentation. We simply did not show up (it takes an act of God to cancel once they have you inked in their book).

Rooms - the rooms are very nice and spacious. Our only comment on the rooms is that the floors are slick tile throughout the room - just be careful after taking a shower or bath. The bed was comfortable as well. Note - while the web site portrays ocean view vs. ocean front rooms, in reality they are all ocean front. I believe there are differences however in the amenities provided based on the room type you select.

Pool / Beach - the pool is very nice and large. Yes, you have to get up and mark your spot at 6:00 a.m., but that is no different at any major beach resort. The beach is not very usable at all. Unfortunate side effect of the hurricane a few years ago - beautiful to look at, but swimming isn't practical.

Dining - there are a number of dining options at the resort. Ironically we found the low-end buffet (Spice) to have the best food. The other restaurants are OK - don't expect five-star dining here. One note of caution - the Chef's Table is touted at their high-end restaurant and only has two seating options (6 and 9 p.m.). It literally is a single table seating probably 20-25 people. The concept of communal dining at a high end restaurant is not appropriate. As couples were escorted to the table, everyone had the look of shock on their faces - expecting a romantic (likely last night of the vacation) meal, but ending up with 20 other people they don't know.

Staff - we found the staff to be mixed. Some were completely indifferent and could care less, others were very gracious and provided outstanding service (we tipped that group), and the last bunch were clearly going over the top hoping for a tip.

Lastly, a note on Cancun in general. The hotels and resorts are jam packed next to each other. There are some further away from the airport which seemed to be more secluded. We may try one of those next time. Also, it is very humid - try to go during the peak season (unfortunately) when the weather is more mild.

My new wife and I stayed at The Royal from June 14-21. We were on our honeymoon and couldn't have had a better time. When we arrived the staff was there to do anything for us possible. The restaurants were awesome. We tried them all and every single one was great. We would finish one drink and they would be there to take another order. You don't have to tip at all but we did anyway because the staff deserve it. They work extremely hard to do anything for you. We didn't see any change in service when people didn't tip either. The room was amazing. We stayed in the Royal Corner Suite #432 and it was great. The beds were awesome and the maidservice was my favorite. The turndown service was a very nice thing to walk into the room to after a nice dinner. The sports and entertainment staff is the BEST ever. They work sooo hard to put things together for the resort from games in and around the pool during the day to the shows every night. Those guys practically live there to keep the place exciting. We went to eat dinner one night and walked by the theater area and they just invited us in to a gala that they were having and we had another VERY nice dinner with 5-6 courses just out of the blue. If you're into it the entertainment guys had VIP wrist bands and tour buses after some of the shows to go to Coco Bongo and drink all you want. But we didn't take part because we were enjoying the resort as it was. I won't go into much more detail because all I need to say is that the beach is the best on the stip by farrr. And the Royal is excellent in every aspect. I can't wait to go back. I miss it already.