I know it’s snowy and cold and you might be looking for a winter getaway. That was exactly how we thought we might feel in December when we booked our stay at the Royalton Chic Cancun last August. My husband and I have been to Cancun several times, but we had never stayed at an adults-only resort. In May we went to the Fiesta Americana as a family for our first all-inclusive experience. The Fiesta Americana is a fantastic place to go if brining the kids, because they have a free kids-club where your little ones can go if you need some adult time. It’s also within very close walking distance to all the nightlife, the shopping and the dock for the ferry that takes you to Isla Mujeres. The only thing the Fiesta lacks is a large beach area, and because of the rocks down there, you can’t walk or run the beach for miles like you can at the Royalton.
So here’s my honest review of the Royalton Chic. We picked this hotel after extensive research due to the location and price. For my husband and I for 6 nights and 7 days it was around $2300 for our stay.
We booked this hotel on Booking.com and added in the Diamond Club. Here’s what the Diamond Club promises:
Preferred room locations
Butler service
Private pool for Diamond Club™ guests
Nightly turndown service
Preferential reservations in à la carte restaurants
Exclusive beach area with dedicated bar and waiter service
Distinctive wrist bracelet
Personalized check-in and check-out at the lounge
Complimentary early check-in and late check-out (subject to availability)
Diamond Club™ Lounge private access
Selected premium drinks menu available in lounge (some restrictions apply)
Daily, continental breakfast service in lounge
Evening hors d'oeuvres and afternoon snacks including decadent desserts in lounge
Upgraded room service menu
Selection of pillows from The Royal Spa pillow menu
Upgraded robes and slippers in room
25% discount on spa treatments (some restrictions apply)
Selection of in-suite liquors (one bottle per week)
Hydrotherapy for 1 hour per day (based on availability)
Upgraded mini-bar restocked daily (according to consumption)
Complimentary access to the Level 18 Rooftop Cabana Lounge pool area and national drinks menu included
Now unfortunately, my husband had made a request to Booking.com to upgrade our room from a lagoon view to a beach view. When he did this, the Booking.com person took our Diamond Club off our reservation. So when we got to the hotel, we had to pay $500 to add it back in, which was insane. We chose to add it back on, because our friends we were traveling with had also purchased the Diamond Club. They had an ocean view and ended up paying less than us. Lesson learned, always double check and make sure you have your add-ons when booking through a third party site.
Since our friends had initially booked the Diamond Club they were assigned a butler (Javier was fantastic!) and so we shared their butler essentially. I would say the Diamond Club is worth it for that aspect alone. Your butler will text you daily with activities and make reservations for you at the restaurants, which are required (unless you take advantage of the buffet at night). With the Diamond Club you have a separate pool (and can use the main pool as well) access to premium alcohol, free-drinks at the rooftop bar, a less crowded chair and beach area and the Diamond Club lounge access that has it’s own bar and food items during the day. I will say, they never restocked our mini-bar in our room, we didn’t get turn-down service for the first three nights, we had to call to have our room cleaned the first few days, and there was no preferred room location. We did get to go to a private Diamond Club gala dinner that served steak and lobster, so I would say that this premium add-on is certainly worth it.
Now about the hotel. I loved all the activities the Royalton had to offer. There was always something to do. There was water aerobics in the morning or paddleboard yoga in the pool, they had beach volleyball and a variety of games at the pool during the day from competitions to Bingo. We never left the hotel for an excursion, because they have it all here. They do have vendors that sell tours and excursions that you can book as well as photographers who come around to offer to take photos you can buy or you can book a photoshoot. I also liked how there were vendors who walked up and down the beach offering things like fresh coconut water, beach cover-ups or hats and they were never pushy. The Mexican Police frequently patrolled the beach and also flew helicopters overhead. They are working very hard to secure the area and make it safe.
As far as food and alcohol go, there was plenty! In the morning we would hit up the buffet after securing our chairs on the beach. The staff is impeccable and would always bring you drinks or you could get your own at the mimosa/Bloody Mary bar. There is a wide selection of food at the breakfast buffet with separate items for vegan, gluten-free and vegetarians. They also took your temperature before coming in the breakfast room. For lunch they had a BBQ every day poolside or you could order from the food waiter. The drink waiter would come around frequently or we could hop in the pool and order from the swim up bar. We would frequently tip the staff and let me just say, if you take care of them then they will take care of you.
There is a variety of restaurants in the hotel - a steak house, a Mexican restaurant and an Asian Fusion. The steak house had the best food and servers in my opinion, but they were all good. I would say my favorite night was the Mexican Fiesta night where they had an enormous buffet outside and brought in local vendors and a mariachi band. Apparently they only have this once every two weeks, so if you can plan around this evening. After dinner each night there was always something going on at the third floor from a band to a silent disco and there would be staff there to get you on the floor dancing and having fun. If you got hungry you could order room service, which was also free, but room service stops serving drinks around 11.
As with any hotel, there is always bad reviews online which we filtered through before coming. Yes, the bar in the hotel lobby sometimes smelled like sewage as did the shower water. That can be typical in Mexico. The lagoon view wasn’t bad at all, so I had no issues with that. The elevators are extremely slow, but if you’re in the lobby you can just take the stairs to the second floor for breakfast or the third floor for dancing. You are about 5-10 minute walk to downtown. The hotel was pretty quiet at night so I think the rooms are insulated well. The turn-down service was inconsistent as was housekeeping, but if you put the sign on your door to refresh your room it wasn’t an issue. I also loved how the key card was the bracelet they give you upon check-in so you didn’t have to worry about keeping up with a key. This is also what distinguishes you from a regular guest to a Diamond Club.
The hotel does not offer a shuttle to and from the airport, but we’ve had great success with the Happy Shuttle and I highly recommend them. Don’t wait until you get to the airport to book your shuttle or you will over-pay.
The Royalton also has COVID testing on site so you’ll want to arrange that before you leave. It’s free if you stay more than 3 nights or $50 if you stay less. There are also various testing sites downtown.
I found the people staying at the Royalton a mix of ages from singles to couples to younger “kids.” The closer we got to Christmas the younger the crowd was. I definitely think anyone of any age group would have fun here and there is a lot to enjoy on the property from the fitness activities to lounging, eating and drinking or the nightlife.
So that’s my review of the Royalton. I hope you found it helpful or inspiring if you are thinking of an adults-only trip to Cancun this year! I will say I think the Fiesta was more strict on masking protocol for guests, but the staff at both hotels were masked up and taking all the proper precautions.
Oh, I also recommend the Splatter Experience! It was a lot of fun and you get to take a piece of Mexico home with you! I think it was an additional $36 pp.
Happy New Year and I hope you have lots of travels planned for 2022!