The Hotel
This place will always have a special place in my heart because it’s where I got married two weeks ago (more on destination wedding planning and a full review of the resort as an event venue in subsequent posts). In this post, I’ll limit it to the hotel review.
The Royal Suites is the adults-only 5-star hotel (subject to opinion) within the larger Grand Palladium Riviera Maya resort complex; and by complex, I mean small city because it is massive. In total, the resort is comprised of five different “hotels” – Kantenah, Colonial, White Sands, Riviera, and Royal Suites, all of which operate on all-inclusive plans and managed by the Ibiza based Palladium Hotel Group . As a guest of the Royal Suites, you can use all the facilities, restaurants, pools, and beaches around the resort complex. However, if you stay in one of the other four “hotels”, you will not have access to the special areas only for Royal Suites guests which includes the Royal Suites pool and lobby bar, Le Jardin restaurant, and the Royal Suites private beach lounge area.
Location
The Grand Palladium complex is located in Riviera Maya (the term for the coastline corridor just south of Cancun all the way down past Tulum, about 1.5 hours if you drove the whole thing). The closest town to the resort is Akumal, which is just between Playa del Carmen to the north and Tulum to the south. To get here, you’d fly into Cancun airport and take a taxi, shuttle, or car service – total time, just over an hour without traffic. I highly recommend AGI Tours for your transfer (http://agitours.com/) where you will be met at the airport by your private driver and driven to the hotel. The cost is less than a taxi and much more seamless as you’ll need to negotiate with taxi drivers and shuttles can make multiple stops and not much of a savings (if at all) unless traveling solo. Total round-trip transfer cost with AGI from CUN airport to the Royal Suites is $130 for 1-2 people, $150 for 3-4, and $170 for 5-6 and so on (in one car/van), plus 16% Mexico tourism tax.
The location is amazing as it’s centrally located to Riviera Maya’s most popular attractions: Tulum, Xcaret, Xel-ha, several well-known cenotes, Playa del Carmen (real nightlife), Rio Secreto, etc.
Resort Facilities
Pools all over the resort with the closest one in the Royal Suites area that adults-only. No swim-up bar here but waiter service and bar next to it. The swim-up bars are located at the main Riviera pool and the main Colonial pool.
Despite being next to the ocean, the resort is actually very jungle-y. There is a nice stretch of white sand beach but the majority of the property is built around a natural marshland. Sometimes there’s an unpleasant swampy smell but it’s hardly noticeable. When I did catch a whiff, it only reassured me that the resort is abiding by eco-friendly practices and intentionally not disturbing the natural habitat.
There are also a number of activities to participate in including archery, rifle shooting, fitness classes, themed parties, arts and crafts, tennis, soccer, etc. Of course a gym and spa, as well. The nightly shows were hilarious, and not in a funny way. Production value was amateur and super cheesy.
The nightclub (Sunset Blvd.) was sadly empty in the mid-week but picked up during the weekend. Crowd was a mix of Hispanic/American and music Latin/Top 40s/Hip Hop/House. A security guard checks to make sure everyone is over 18 but by the looks of it, most of the patrons had just barely made the cut.
Upgraded Amenities
As a Royal Suites guest, you get VIP treatment which is distinguished by the color bracelet you are given at check-in. Exclusive benefits:
- Dedicated Royal Suites transportation that you can call for anywhere around the resort (others have to wait at designated stops)
- Top shelf beverage selections at the Royal Suites exclusive bars and El Jardin (i.e. GREY GOOSE! whereas everywhere else is Stoli/Absolut)
- Lobster at any restaurant based on availability with no extra charge, including room service. I literally ate at least one, if not two, lobsters a day. They’re not juicy Maine lobsters but still pretty good if the chef doesn’t overcook it, whichyou there’s a 50/50 chance of.
- Room service at no extra charge – 24 hours a day. I obviously had lobster delivered one night just to do it, ate it, then went to Punta Emilia (the beachside seafood restaurant) and had another lobster plate at that dinner
- Preferential reservations at the resort restaurants when made at the Royal Suites lobby
Accommodations
As the bride and groom, we were given the option of the Junior Suite (90 available) or the Royal Mayan Suite (22 available). The Junior Suite rooms are located in several buildings and are quite spacious with Jacuzzi tubs on the patio/balcony. Tip: Ask for a top floor room not facing any structures so you have ultimate privacy and unobstructed views.
We opted for the Mayan Suite even though it seemed smaller and a bit outdated because it’s really unique as they are all standalone bungalows that sit along the canal. None of the rooms at the Royal Suites has an ocean view (a couple of the Junior Suite rooms have a sliver of ocean) but the hotel is just set too far back from the water.
One thing that I really disliked about the Mayan Suite was that the shower is outdoors. It sounded like a good idea until it was a little cold and rainy one day, super hot and humid another, and by the end of the week I had gotten eaten by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes were from an evening of drinks by the pool, but then I was scared to shower outside at night in case they were around so I had to use the handheld sprayer in the tub.
Food
Mediocre but not bad – just a step above a standard cruise. The buffets had a huge selection so you’ll find something you like (or just have the chef make you something at one of the create your own stations) but the majority of the hot food was like eating mouthfuls of salt, especially the paella. The desserts were presentable but tasted like stale cardboard. Thankfully, the average ice cream saved the day. The lady scooping wasn’t trying to give it up, though so you have to keep asking her to put more in your bowl/cone. Luckily, as a guest of the Royal Suites, you can dine at Le Jardin for breakfast and dinner and their food is decent, or order room service which is fun because you can be lazy. Plus, lobster everywhere makes it all better.
Some of the specialty a la carte dinner only restaurants were actually pretty good – Punta Emilia (the seafood one by the beach), El Dorado (the American steakhouse), and O’ Pavao (the Brazilian steakhouse). Chang Thai had a modern ambiance since it’d been remodeled recently but the food was lackluster, quite a departure from Thai food. We didn’t try any of the others but I heard similar hit and miss reviews from our wedding guests.
I’m being critically honest but keep in mind that you’re not at an authentic Thai restaurant or a high-end steakhouse where your surf and turf dinner and drinks could cost as much as your hotel night. You’re at an above average all-inclusive, in Mexico. So with that grain of salt (pun intended), I’m going to give the food a 3.75 out of 5. If this was Yelp in LA and I was paying for it, 2.5.
Overall
I wouldn’t call the Royal Suites a 5-star, more like a 4.5 just based on the guest rooms being a bit outdated and Le Jardin food could be improved but it’s a great value and worked out really well for my destination wedding. Rumor has it that a remodel is anticipated in 2017 which includes the guest rooms so that could take it back to a 5.