This is the place to stay near Playa del Carmen (20 min by bike, 45 min by foot). The Hotel is located in a safe and cozy residential neighbourhood (Playacar).

The rooms are clean, equipped with a flat screen tv, an ipod stereo and a large bathroom.

The beach is perfect! Chairs, beach umbreallas and beach service for drinks and meals made it all cumfy.

The service is exceptionnal! All waiters are polite, smiling and are very caring. We especially appreciated Reyes a waiter working at the breakfast restaurant and at the beach.

The food was great and fresh. The only negative point would be that we need to make reservations for every dinner of the week on the first day of our arrival... there was little flexibility.

Nevertheless, we will return for sure!

Hotel, grounds and beach are beautiful. One of the most impressive things at this resort are the people who work there. The staff cannot do enough for you and treat everyone with importance. The restaurants were wonderful, fish could have been better. We happened to be there at Superbowl and the staff did a great job of providing a great backdrop to the New York Giants WIN. We cannot wait to return.

The grounds are beautiful, the staff gracious and friendly and you can always find a place in the shade at the beach. Also the restaurants are beautifully decorated and play quiet classical music, usually live. Despite all the elegance, the local fish-, group shrimp, red snapper and others were the worst I've ever tasted in going to the Cancun area over 30 years. This was the case in all four restaurants. More bizarre, the Alaskan Salmon was superb. At minimum the quality of food varied widely.
It was always difficult getting a restaurant reservation at the time you wanted. Being on a waiting list was worthless. We were on the waiting list for five days for one restaurant, and it was given to person who arrived that day.
Though we were never told, they have a dress code and could refuse you for diner if you wore jeans, sneaks, or a shirt without a collar.
We've been to many placed in the Cancun area and playa del Carmen. This was the most disappointing experience and the Valentine Hotel nearby was far superior.
Last cautionary note, the Hideaway has two evening shows weekly, one was very good the other awful. The music was extremely loud and many guests avoided the entertainment for that reason.

We returned to the Royal Hideaway to escape the Canadian winter for a relaxing week in the sun, Jan 21-28. We loved it last year, and this year it was even better! They have implemented some upgrades (in the rooms: new showerheads, new flat screen tv's, new iPod docking stations; on the beach: new lounge chairs), and everything else was as great or better than last year. The food was excellent. This year we emailed the resort in advance and booked our restaurants to ensure we got the dining times we wanted. The beach was clean and beautiful, and never a problem getting a chair any time of day. The drinks are kept as full as you want them. But the best part for us, both last year and this year, was the staff. Everyone works so hard to help you enjoy your stay. We loved Veronica and Laura's smiling faces at breakfast and lunch. Isis made us feel special everytime she brought us drinks. Aileen, our villa's concierge, went out of her way to help us celebrate a birthday. Chris and Alex were busy all day helping everyone enjoy themselves at the beach. I can't imagine more friendly or accommodating service anywhere. We'll be back next year!