Hideaway at Royalton Riviera Cancun

Have just arrived back home after staying at the Hideaway Royalton Hotel, Riviera Maya and had to give a great review of our experience there. We nearly changed our holiday due to all the bad reviews that we had read and so glad that we didn’t! I don’t know where theses people stayed, who wrote such bad review, as it certainly wasn’t what we experienced! The hotel was great from start to finish. Our room was big , clean and serviced every day. We had a mini bar that was stocked with coke, water, beer and snacks and all free. Bottles of water were also left in our room everyday. We had plenty of towels. The shower was always lovely and hot. The food in the hotel was amazing, so much choice in the buffet restaurant! Every type of food you could imagine and good quality. We were served most days by Paco and Juan , who were brilliant. There were also many restaurants to eat at in the evening which were easy to get into if you just booked in an hour before. On an evening we always had a drink at the bar in the lobby and had a great laugh with Cassi and Nellie the bartenders. All the drinks were premium alcohol. The only one problem was that sun loungers were hard to find unless you got up very early and put a towel on them! There was always plenty of entertainment and many pool areas to sit by so you could always manage to find somewhere. The staff were always eager to please. We loved our stay and would definately stay at the Royalton again.

Given the claims this 5-star, luxury resort's website made, particularly in its advertising of the Diamond Club upgraded amenities, we were looking forward to our stay. Unfortunately, this is not what we experienced. This was unlike any 5-star service I'd ever received and it left me shocked that the resort is even designated as a 5-star resort. This is all my personal opinion based on my experiences at the resort January 15-21, 2023. I hope that this detailed feedback helps prevent future guests from the same disappointment and allows the resort reevaluate its services. Demographics: Four women ages 26-32 celebrating two birthdays Accommodations: Luxury Suite Swim Out Diamond Club The Good: The resort is located far beyond two security gates, I felt safe here. The grounds are lush and well-kept, and the outdoor and common spaces were always clean. The resort is about 7 miles for the airport, a convenient and quick drive compared to many of the other Riviera Maya resorts I've been to that take ~45 minutes to travel to. The best part about this resort was the drinks. They have a large menu, ingredients (juices and herbs) were fresh, and liquor was top shelf (for the most part). If you're a beer drinker, they keep a great variety compared to other resorts I've stayed at. Coors, Tecate, Dos XX Amber, Dos XX Lager, Sol, and Heineken were always available. The house wines and champagnes were okay - but the mixed drinks were the way to go (mango margarita and bloody Cesar were my favorites). All of the restaurants have great decor and aesthetics. The main areas are very new and updated (the rooms are not), but the layout is cruise ship-like. The food was 4-star at best at all of the restaurants. Higher-end meat (steak) and certain seafoods (lobster) are not included on any menu, but can be purchased pending availability. We had the buffet dinner our first night and it included a variety of delicious international dishes, but found that breakfast had limited options and it was the same every day. I received two spa services and was pleased with both. I received a moisturizing scrub and message one day, and a hot stone massage on another. Very relaxing and my body felt great afterward. The entertainment is great and the main lobby area is booming at night. There are nice in-resort shops and a casino, too. Upon check-in, they will asked if we were celebrating anything. We informed two birthdays, and they put banner on our door and provided in-room dessert for the occasion free of charge. There are 3 dogs that live on the beach and love to visit the guests! The Bad: This is 100% a family resort. Even if you stay at the Hideaway (Adult’s Only), there will be strollers and kids everywhere. I really wish I would have realized this prior to booking. This was not the traditional “Adult’s Only” experience I was used to. The resort was also extremely overcrowded. I’ve been to Cancun resorts on Spring Break and not been to a resort this crowded, and this is in the middle of January. They accommodate a lot of large groups. Just in 6 days we were there in the middle of winter, 3 weddings took place. My suspicion… perhaps Marriott cardholders are getting great deals to stay here? Either way, it’s definitely contributing to the apparent understaffing issues observed during my stay. The Culinary Experience is advertised, but no longer available. Room service was a solid 2/5. Very limited menu, poor quality upon arrival, but portions were good and it’s available 24/7. They also advertise upgraded room service options for Diamond Club, but I didn’t notice a difference in quality at all. Breakfast offered one additional option, and dinner three plus a dessert. It was underwhelming, to say the least. There is only one buffet for the resort so be prepared for crowds and chaos. There were kids serving themselves in buffet lines, food trays frequently empty, and the lines were long. The Hydrotherapy was a major letdown! I look forward to hydrotherapy at every spa I go to, and since this would be one of my first indoor, I was excited. Hydrotherapy is included with purchased spa services, and Diamond Club members get one free visit per stay. The first letdown was that the steam room was not working and couldn’t be used. Second was that this is fully guided. You can not go off and use the facility at your leisure. You are assigned a “valet” and they send you to different stations on a set timeline. In addition to this, during one of my sessions there were 20 people in the space, but only 18 “stations” in the pool. It became loud, rushed, and certain areas were skipped. The Ugly: As soon as we (a group of 4) arrived at the private Diamond Club check-in, we were informed that our pre-selected 2-queen suite was not available and we were being placed in a 1-king suite with a pullout couch. Two guests had to sleep uncomfortably on that all week. There were also no linens in the room for this bed, and turndown service did not come that night, so we had to call and request bedding. The service was disgraceful. Being Diamond Club, we expected to receive daily housekeeping and nightly turndown service. We never received both, and daily housekeeping did not service our room 3 days of our stay. 2 nights, turndown service was missed. On several occasions, we had to call and request towels or robes because the room was prepared for just two people, and had to request bottled water because the mini fridge was not restocked. When housekeeping/turndown did take place, things were oddly missed: dirty glasses would be left behind, garbage cans were left without bags in them, pillows were left without pillowcases. On day 3 I informed the concierge in the Diamond Club Lounge of the issues experienced. On day 4, I informed our daytime butler. Day 5, I informed our afternoon butler. On none of these occasions was the problem resolved or an apology verbalized, so by day 6 we gave up. The staff here has a tip culture like any I’ve seen at an all-inclusive resort. If you tipped the pool attendant, he’d physically remove people’s belongings from their pool chairs if they were gone for more than an hour and give those chairs to the tipper. He carried around a clipboard to track it all. The Hideaway Diamond Club pool was extremely crowded every day, so we’d get there early to get chairs. When leaving the chairs for a meal, we’d have to inform the pool attendant we would be leaving for a bit just so he wouldn’t give our chairs away! It was absurd. At that same pool, lunch was served one day without silverware. Guests were told that there were no forks available, although salad was served. Perhaps the most outrageous this experienced was at Hunter’s steakhouse on night 4. We had an 8 o’clock reservation, and upon entry, a waiter very loudly barked/growled at us as we walked through the restaurant, awkwardly drawing the attention of other guests. Caught off guard, we questioned this among ourselves. The same waiter was assigned our server. When placing my steak on the table, he once again barked/growled loudly and laughed. This occurred once more as we left our table and was one of the most inappropriate and humiliating public experiences I’ve had. Among other minor inconveniences, there were also broken elevators and items unavailable from several restaurant menus. Overall, this was definitely not a 5-star, luxury stay or experience. This was more like a 4-star resort and I give it a 3/5. I will continue to return to the Cancun area, but will surely not be returning to the Royalton Riviera Cancun.

We stayed at the Hideway section for a complete week. Upon arrival we were told that no King size bed room is available, after having mentioned to the young girl greeting us she finally contact someone on the phone ( her supervisor) and a room with a king size bed was given to us. Once in the room, toilet area was really dirty, bed linens were disgusting and mattress was in a worst condition then once that we throw away. Called the front desk to ask for a room change and 1 hr later no one showed up, my wife went to the front desk had to get aggravated and the sent her back with a butler from another section to assess the problem. Once he arrived I asked him before entering the room to be honest and tell me if he would spend a night in that room, he walked in and took 1 second and he asked to have our room changed. I have stayed in real 5* resorts and no way a room in that condition would have been offered. We received a 2 double bad room which was okay but not a 5* luxury. Food is mediocre for Mexico. The buffet staff are really friendly but food are is not that clean and always repetitive food. Steak house is okay food wise but again seats/benches are rundown and need to be replaced. Old and dirty. Pool at the hideaway section is for smokers and all day long drinkers. Burgers at the pool were good. Henri the bartender does a great job satisfying everyone. Have to be at the pool before 7:00AM to reserve your spot. Poolside chairs aren’t comfortable and many of the mattresses have mold. The aluminum chairs in the pool are broken and damaged but still being offered to clients. Ceramic tiles in the pool are falling off. Beach is not nice at all, sea weeds are not picked up quickly saw the tractor once during our week. Took 2 trips to Isla Mujeres in order to swim in the sea. Really sad that our week was really not as comfortable as we would have liked it to be. We love visiting Mexico and we usually visit twice a year, but we will not be back or recommend this resort to anyone.