Review of the Royal Solaris, Los Cabos. By P. Miller. January 16-24, 2012.
Our flight was great. We left and arrived on time! We left the snow, -25 degrees celcius, and, just a few hours later, were basking in the very warm sun. We had a charter flight with Sunwing, very good service, direct flight was just over 4 hours.
We arrived at the Los Cabos airport. ADVICE: After customs, Just walk through the airport. Don't stop, smile, or be polite in any way. They, ( those timeshare sharks ) will try to fool you..."I am with your tour group...your transport was cancelled..." And on and on...just ignore them all and walk out of the airport. If you look into their eyes you can see..."fresh meat! ". In my case, Sunwing was just outside the airport doors. We boarded the bus and within a few minutes were on our way to the resort.
Now to the Royal Solaris! I had asked for a main floor room with a king size bed...and I got ... a main floor room with a king size bed. As well, I had a great view of the pool, recreation area and beach / sunrise as well as steps away from everything! The bed was hard and I asked for a topper. The hotel staff brought one, which didn't help much. I have never known a soft bed in Mexico, so I don't expect it. We checked in very quickly. We were in our room in mere minutes.
I found the layout of the resort a little confusing (even with the map they provided). The restaurants were hard to find. Breakfast at one, lunch at a different one, supper at yet another one. If you wanted to do one of the two a la carts, they were by the pool. You had to phone the main lobby at 9 am, or forget it. The main supper buffet was (generally) by the lobby and that is where the evening entertainment (generally)was. If you are a time share member, your meals were (generally) in a different place. Twice I tried to book the Mexican A La Cart, and both times I was told that it was closed for the evening. I guess you can understand my confusion.
On day 2, we were brought a chilled bottle of champaign, (not ordered) with compliments. I still don't know why, but it was so nice.
The room (136) was large, comfortable and well set-up. It was kept spotless, the fridge well stocked ( 4 large water, 4 beer, various soft drinks), the coffee pot was ready daily, with 2 packets of coffee, cups and all the amenities. The maid service was impeccable. I found no bugs or other irritants. They supply shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. There is also a hair dryer, which I didn't use. They washed down the patio each day as well. I did detect a faint odr of sewage in the bathroom, not enough to spoil anything.
Timeshare sharks... Not at all what I expected. Granted, at the airport they were relentless, but I had no issues at the hotel. I had heard others talk about their problems, but we had none ourselves. I talked to some people who owned time shares there. Generally, they seemed to like it. Not a lot of complaints. You get a lot of "perks" if you want to go through their presentation. I wasn't interested and didn't want to waste my (and their) time.
Food. Not the best, but not the worst. You won't starve, but it was not the greatest either. I did appreciate the Mexican style food, and I liked the fact that they did not over-spice it. If you are looking for top quality, please don't come here. It is OK, but that is about it. After a few days, it became repetitive, but there is a fair selection of fruits and veggies. If you are a carnivore, you won't like it. I ate at the cafeteria once, didn't like it, got heart burn and said to myself "not again"! my husband liked their nachos (without the yellow stuff they call cheese sauce) and tried (just once) the hot dog.
Drinks: I have to say that I am not the best judge. But, from my experience...not bad, not great. Lots of different drinks, not the highest in liquor content, not the best of brands, but good tasting, cool, and very welcoming. For me, the lower liquor content just meant that I could enjoy more drinks and not worry about the affects. The wait staff( Ramone, in particular) was great and I really don't know what else is important. But...if you want the best brands..sorry, you won't get it here. Some people asked for brands they like; my husband likes a particular brand of rum. He had no problem asking for it, and getting it. Also, the dark beer is quite tasty. If you want more liquor, just ask for a double and they will supply it without question. Just, please, don't be rude about it.
The entertainment crew was alright. They organized many activities during the day. They always had a beach volleyball game on the go, or water aerobics, poker, bingo or whatever. People seemed to enjoy their efforts. The evening entertainment was, for the most part, good. While we were there, they had 4 live shows, one movie and one karaoke night. I did enjoy the mariachi band...so lively and entertaining. I wish they would have entertained more often. They had a "tikki" night and a caribbean night, ( for members and paying guests), but I just didn't feel like paying an extra $45 or $55 per person for the experience.
Tipping. I believe that you should tip in the local currency. We got pesos before we left home. We tipped our maid daily. Also, we tipped the wait staff now and then. Usually a 20 peso note. I don't think it affected the service,but I felt it was courtesy.
My husband is a "walker" and he really enjoyed the long, flat, rock-free beach. The surf is quite beautiful, but dangerous. I agree that swimming on this beach is not a good thing, but I saw many people, including young children enjoying the shallow water. I counted at least 34 vendors on the beach in front of our resort at one time. Our resort is roped in, and guarded (for the most part), and the vendors seldom venture in. I think the penalties would be high. A quick "no, graceus" was enough. My husband paced out the distance from the wall of the resort to the hard beach. About 115 yards of soft, clean sand.
I do like to jump in the pool during the day, but I thought this pool was a little too cool. The air temperature (at this time of the year) is cool enough that you should bring a sweater, at least for mornings and evenings. I didn't and I wished I would have. We had high clouds for the most part, and average daytime temperatures of mid 70s ( about 24 Celsius). Personally, I would have liked it warmer.
Our room was not far from the kid's area. It looks like a lot of fun. Water slides, climbing apparatus, and stuff. There were a few kids and families enjoying themselves. I think the kids would have more fun here than at the main pool because of all the stuff they can do. As well, the main pool is quite deep, ( at least 4.5 ft.), just a bit much for the little ones. There is a small area of the main pool that is very shallow that the small kids enjoyed.
On Sunday we walked to the Estuary ( thank you to all who advised me on the forum). We went to the shopping area, (about a 15 minute walk), crossed the street, and went into the Estuary and returned via the beach. It was a pleasant Sunday walk. Many families were there enjoying the meandering trail. On another day we took a public bus. We missed our stop and we were on the bus for about an hour before we realized that we were hopelessly lost. A very kind man told us to get off the bus and catch one back. We were a little worried but the returning bus eventually came. I would definitely recommend that you take a cab, or walk or, if you take the bus, be very sure that you know where you are going. We went to the Mega store a few times. A pleasant walk of about 10 minutes. There is also a Starbucks there for Internet access.
This was our first time to the Royal Solaris and Los Cabos. We haven't decided whether or not we will return, but if we do, it would be in February or March. January is just a little too cool for me. I loved the sunrises and the quiet laid-back atmosphere. We don't do the tours or buy souvenirs, but we would have liked a main market area to walk about. The place was friendly and we felt safe and welcomed wherever we went. We loved the beach. We would have liked a better quality and choice of food and drink at the resort.
If you have any questions, please email me and I will try to answer them. I may not be the best to ask, as I have only been there once, though.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
