My girlfriend and I stayed here March 26th through Apr 2nd this year. We read all about the Royal Holiday Club offerings, about the attitude of the wait staff, the studio rooms being small, etc….. Well let me tell you we had a wonderful time. The food was great (although a limited selection) at both restaurants, The beach (about a 20 min van ride) was fantastic and secluded with good food and drink (again limited). The studio room was nice and comfortable. And all the staff and waiters were friendly and helpful. As for the tips: A few well placed pesos can go a long way. The bar tenders and waiters are just trying to make a living in the tourist service industry. The golf course was difficult and cost $180.usd prior to 1PM and $130.usd after. This price included all your drinks and eats during and after your round, all carts are GPS and the course is in great shape. HVR is on the 10th fairway and 15th green. Nice view! Dave & Kara, Bowie, Maryland

We ended up staying here by chance during the March break this year. Let us start by saying we tend to be more independent travellers, and this was thef irst time we actually did an entire week's worth of an all-inclusive type of vacation, so we obviously have no standard to compare to. However, we have visited other AI resorts on day trips, ( Palace, Iberostar, RUI,Sandals, etc) We had orginally booked our 1 BR timeshare at the Mayan Palace, ( (which was not AI) just outside of Playa Del Carmen, but were overwhelmed with the size and how busy the resort was , compared to how much smaller, quieter and peaceful it had been 5 years ago when we had last been there. We had booked the promo " timeshare" tour of HVR at the airport on our way in, and got a sunset cruise for 2 with lobster dinners for $64.00 US, which was a good deal . We had some problems getting there, as we were actually hijacked and taken to another similar named resort first... but we insisted on going to what we had booked and they eventually put us in a cab which brought us there. By then it was 11 AM and we were obviously late for our 9 AM breakfast meeting. The people at the resort who run the sales promotions were appalled at what had happened to us and refunded all the money we had paid, while still giving us the sunset cruise and dinner for free. Bonus! this gave us an excellent first impression of customer service, although it was probably just good business.- I think they were happy that we still showed up. Needless to say, we had breakfast, toured the resort, and found it to be the perfect kind of small, intimate resort that we prefer.
And that is the key to this place- it IS small, and you have to be able to amuse yourself, or you will definately not find it to your liking. Bring a book, your walkman, and if need be your computer and own DVD's to amuse yourself as there is nothing offered at the resort. There are no pool activities, no shows, no entertainment of any sort- for that you would have to either go in to Playa or Cancun itself. The service is laid back and very Mexican- nothing happens in a hurry, so if you are an "A" type it might not be to your liking unless you are trying to slow down the pace for a week. Everything was clean, and we thought it was well maintained overall.. We thought the room was nice, although a bit small ( we had a studio, and our window did open to the outside, although we did meet other poeople with inside rooms who did feel it was 'dungeonlike' ), but since they allowed us to move from the MP we felt that we should not be overly cirtical as they basically offered us what they had available.
We did have to purchase the AI plan, and felt that it was worth the money. However, I do agree with other traveller's comments that bit more variety in menus would have been appreciated. We found the overall quality of the food to be very good - they claimed it was gourmet, but for that distinction they have to work a bit harder( food & beverages/alchohol selection at RUI Palace RV and resorts of that qaulity still better by far, but then you also pay more, there ).The staff were always ready to try to honour any special request ( one morning we asked them to cook up some quaker oats we had brought with us, which they did). Unlike some other travellers here , we found the personnel to be very friendly and helpful.
I found it interesting that someone said they paid $ 10 for the van to take them to the beach club-we missed the shuttle as I was late coming back from a spa appointment, and I had to pay $ 25 US to get them to drive me one way ( my husband decided to stay by the pool up at the spa that day). Be warned that the shuttle only runs at specific times... both there and back. The beach is beautiful, but with the exception of about 2 small places everything else has been destroyed by recent hurricanes and not rebuilt, so there is really nothing to do there except swim & tan. There is small eating area, and I had no problem as they had my favorite lunch item of shrimp , so I have no complaints. My only reservation was the washrooms, which were out of commission- and had to be ' pail flushed'- they definately need to be attended to! Beware there are no change rooms on site that we could find.
My husband really enjoyed the salt water jacuussi pool and the pool upstairs by the dining room , although they could use more shade up there as it is sweltering during the day. I preferred the beach, although it was nice to come back and warm up in the salt water pool & heated chairs. after the beach which was cooler and very windy this year compared to previous years at this time.
The spa treatements I had were great, although pricewise they are about the same cost as here, so don't expect any bargains.( about $ 130 for an hour & half massage) Several people told me they went into town and found much cheapoer massages etc., but iIconfess i liked the ambiance at the spa itself, and I guess that is built into the price. Plus I could walk back to my room, or the pool, or wherever afterwards and continue relaxing, so for me it was worth it.
Overall, we feel we got our money's worth, and are already looking forward to coming again next year, although we will try to get a 1 BR room with a balcony rather than just a studio next time , as the studio room does become a bit cramped feeling after several days.

As RCI members this was the only hotel available during spring break. I didn't want to be in Cancun with the rowdy crowd so Playa seemed a better pick. I was nervous because it is not on the beach. We were picked up at our hotel in Cancun where we arrived the night before. The shuttle was free to the hotel but is not on the way back. We were pleased when we saw the lobby. It is open and truly unique. You will also notice the mayan style pyramid spa. Our room was wonderful. We had a one bedroom with a pull out sofa for our teenage daughter. Two double beds in the room for myself, husband and son. The room was large and well furnished. We loved the verandah and front balcony. We actually spent some time in our hotel room and usually never do because they are so small or unclean.

They drive you to the beach with a shuttle van which is a 20 minute ride. It goes by quickly and the beach is very private with your much hoped for white sand with clear blue water. We had the all-inclusive and enjoyed lots of food anytime we wanted. There isn't anything to do at the beach but swim, walk, eat and tan. Both our children enjoyed it and weren't bored. We would go to the pool at the hotel afterwards to hang out till dinner and eat there in our cover-ups, very nice to not have to get dressed if you didn't want to. Our 5 yr. old could swim while waiting for dinner and sat down at the last minute to eat. Great for moms who want to relax while the kids swim... you eat. At breakfast my son made friends with the turtles and iguanas by the golf course lake and we always enjoyed the food.

Walking to town was nice and we went several times. It's about 15 mins. We liked feeling that we could come and go and not be stuck at some huge hotel. I really liked the area and town. We found a dive shop there right next to the public beach, can't remember the name. Julio was our dive master and there were only the 3 of us on the boat. I wasn't expecting much, not like Cozumel anyway but it was a good dive. He took us to Tortugas and we sure saw lots of them. About 6 or 7. I touched 2 and they seemed so docile. One big turtle just let me rub his shell for quite a while. We went on a reef after that and saw tons of fish, schools of grunts, eels, a huge crab etc.

We rented a car for 2 days and wished we had added a day. They packed us a lunch that we put in a cheap styrofoam cooler we bought at the super. We drove to Tulum, Akumal (visit Yal-Ku lagoon here) and snorkeled in Dos Ojos cenotes (north of and cheaper than Hidden Worlds cenotes). At Dos Ojos check out Yibran Aragon, tell him we said Hi! (Sherrie Hellickson and family from Houston) He has a little hut there where he can download the pictures he takes of you and your family snorkeling or diving. He also guides the dive trips.

I have to mention the spa. Although we paid nothing for any spa treatments, just using what was free as part of our all-inclusive was fantastic! Everynight I would go to the sauna, steam room , thalsso therapy pool etc. to relax and unwind. My husband who is not usually into jacuzzi's and such even enjoyed it. My 16 yr. old climbed the rock wall and we all loved the restaurant on top. Do take advantage of it.

We would go back and loved the quiet atmosphere, spa and town close by. Nothing is perfect but we felt this was close enough for us.

My husband and I stayed here on our honeymoon and absolutely loved this place! The hotel and spa were amazingly beautiful. The staff was very friendly and courteous. We were here for a week and loved every minute of the quiet and relaxation. The rooms were very clean. It is in walking distance to town or you can catch a cab. The food was wonderful! We are planning on going back on our fifth anniversary!