Sweet Vacation Spot, Feb5-10th My wife and I Loved Ocean Maya Royale.

Our service was top notch, we ate at all the restaurants, pool side grill, buffets and never felt like we were being neglected on service. Jorge in the mexican resaurant was my favorite waiter, he was very friendly and made our experience quite enjoyable!

All of the entertainment staff and especialy Amy did a great job, From pool and beach volley ball, to crazy games and the evening shows, they really bring life to the resort.

We did not go on alot of excursions but when we did Luis Gamboa with Lomas travel did an excellent job I always felt safe and on time. He gave us many Ideas and the ones we chose were a blast, I look forward to doing more when we come back.

The beach was not as nice as I expected due to the most recent Hurricane, We were a short walk (10min) from the lagoon where the underground river meets the ocean and it was a very pretty sight to see.

I felt all the Bartenders did a great job keeping up with making all of the complicated drink requests, from shots, to fu fu drinks to cerveza's, Impresive to say the least.

In our opinion we felt for the money this trip was a 10 out of 10. We have spent more and got alot less.

I, like many others, was a little nervous after reading some of the reviews. My husband and I had a fabulous time. I truly think there are some people that can't be pleased! We ate at the buffet for every breakfast and lunch and then tried each of the 3 restaurants...all had there on perks and all were great. No, food is not always going to be the perfect temperature at a buffet...you try cooking for 100's of people!!! The entertainment was fun...I can honestly say the Madonna show was MUCH better then the super bowl halftime show. If you are so pampered (LAZY) that you need to be waited on hand and foot, then spend 3x as much at Sandals and leave us to our fun at Ocean Maya Royale. We didn't do privilege and with the exception of the beds that isolate in the special area, didn't see a need. I can't WAIT to return!!!!!

We stayed for 2 weeks from 26th Jan. The hotel is a 45 min transfer from the airport and check in was smooth and fast. The grounds are exceptionally clean and well maintained, beautifully landscaped, with lots of cute coatis and lizards, neither of which bothered us. We had some difficulty finding our building even with the map given to us, but that may be as we were tired after the long flight. Room was clean and exactly as in the pictures on the website, bed very comfortable and air con very effective. Only negative was that the shower door leaked and soaked the bathroom. Bring mosquito spray and turn the air con right down - or the mosquitos will attack you all night!!!

Food was fantastic, vast range in buffet restaurant at breakfast, lunch and dinner, beautifully presented and well stocked, amazing salads and fruit selection. The Mexican restaurant was nice, the Italian fantastic and the Oriental amazing, do try the tepanyaki table.

The staff are first class at the resort, exceptionally friendly and helpful. You can see that so many truly love what they do. They don't solicit tips, but we tipped 20 or 50 pesos to those who gave outstanding service. Taxi drivers and coach drivers expect tips and ask for them!

The pool areas are clean and the toilets regularly cleaned and checked by the maids. The entertainment pool was lively, but you can get peace and quiet at the larger pool. There were plenty of sunbeds on the beach and by the pool, unfortunately lots of people reserved them and then sauntered down at midday, but when we arrived at the pool at 10am-ish there were still plenty left.

The beach was small and the water a bit murky, but we swam anyway and it was lovely. The beach at Tulum is breathtaking, white sand and clear light blue seas. The beach at Playa Del Carmen was fantastic too. We took the free hotel shuttle to Playa del Carmen, but didn't enjoy the town, off the main street the vendors were a bit seedy and the souvenirs we found were mass produced and over priced.

We would recommend the hotel, fantastic value for money and we really enjoyed our stay.

I had a great week with 3 other girlfriends, week of Feb. 5 - 12th. I had been to this resort two years ago when it was still a family resort. Now it's 'adults only' and it's great! Check in wasn't the fastest, but it was accurate. We had to wait for our room, but it was ready by 1:30, and by that time we'd spend a few hours poolside after enjoying a delicious lunch from the pool buffet.

Accommodations: Rooms are decent size, newly updated, and immaculate. Each has a little deck/balcony with two chairs, and all the amenities you'd expect. Face clothes are hard to come by, but we had loads of larger towels.

Grounds: Very well maintained and clean. Lots of walking and that's a good thing with all the good food.

Food: Excellent! Main buffet & pool buffet both had a variety of items each day. There are the standby's... fresh bread that is out of this world, fresh guacamole, chips, and salsa, fruit etc.... Mornings offered great omelettes and many interesting Mexican dishes. Lunch always a choice of a few meats - fish, chicken & pork...sometimes even buffalo chicken wings. Dinner buffet was good, and the a la cartes were all excellent. The most disappointing was the Mexican restaurant. It was good, but nothing to write home about. The Italian had a few excellent pasta dishes - cooked perfectly to a la dente. I do not like mushy pasta! We did try a seafood casserole that was a little odd... pretty much shrimp in tomato sauce and too salty. Everything else was great.

We went to the Japanese restaurant twice - one with regular seating, the other at the tapenaki table and both were very good. Suffice to say we all came home in tighter clothes. Moises made sure we were looked after with seating and greeting, and Benjamin was an excellent server... so gracious. Thank you boys!

Bars: Havier at the pool bar is a genius with margherita's and all were attentive and did their best to keep up with the crowds. I think the longest I ever had to wait was maybe 5 minutes and that was the exception.

The entertainment staff was a lot of fun. The evening shows were a bit of a joke. It's dancing and lipsinking and not very good at that. The dancing outside after the show was fun though. So nice to dance outside in fresh air instead of a dark stinky disco.

Ricardo, aka 'Sexy Boy' was their ringleader ... very sociable and interacted with all the guests constantly... not in a pushy way either. Suzanne was also very social and friendly. We did participate in a few aquatics classes, and afternoon games, and everything was done in a fun way.

The activity hut also housed a lending library... always good to know you can find another paperback on a lazy holiday.

I think Ocean Maya is very close to their 5 star rating... I'd still rank it as a 4.5... better communication in some of the areas would be helpful... many struggle with even basic English. Bottom line we had a great holiday and I'd certainly keep this resort in mind if I was to go back to Mexico.