Spices

This resort is located in Playacar which has great beaches. The entire staff is awesome, and Brenda and Carlos do a great job with pool side entertainment. The food options are pretty good for an all inclusive. The pools are nice, but small so they heat up fast and can be quite warm. There are small relaxation pools around the property that are shaded and cooler. It’s a little dated, but not bad, and you can appreciate the elegant touches. There is very limited evening entertainment so it’s pretty quiet at night. If you’re looking for a party atmosphere or late nights, this isn’t the place for you, but if you want a nice relaxing and friendly resort, it’s a really good choice.

We are a senior couple who were looking just to relax and enjoy the sun, sand, and sea and each other's company. The sand and sea were beautiful and the sea warm. We liked that all dinners were a-la-carte, some with a supplemental buffet. The a-la-carte feature at breakfast and lunch, again with a buffet, was good for us. The quiet pools were much appreciated by us and on several days we were the only ones there. On several afternoons there were loungers available around the main pools. The hotel was not full, which probably accounted for the availability of loungers. We saw only a part of two evening shows and both were entertaining. The room size was good, was well cleaned and the bed was comfortable. We are considering returning in the New Year.

Very limited food at the 5 restaurants and no buffet as an all inclusive to give people choices. We were planning on going to another Barcelo resort but we were offered the royal hideaway I guess they are not doing that well. That’s why they are pushing people to go there

We recommend the Hotel Royal Hideaway Playacar. The beach zone is spectacular. Excellent customer service, animation team( Israel, Brenda and Carlos), foods and drinks. Spectacular and quiet place for enchanting vacations.

This was a good stay. Food and staff were exceptional. Simple and easy access to the beach, which was spectacular. Only complaint is we did not have a concierge, which made some things, like making restaurant reservations, difficult. Otherwise, everything was great.

I wanted to love this place so much but from the beginning the service was so poor. When we arrived we weren’t greeted at all and even though one of the receptionists was helping someone, the other one didn’t even look up at us once. After 30 minutes we were finally helped and checked into our room. Our AC was not working and we asked 3 times if it could be looked at or fixed. They said they would send someone, but never did. We slept that night in the heat and toughed it out. The next day we had to ask 3 more times to be switched to another room with working AC. The only room available was one with two beds but they said they would move us to a king bed when someone checked out. We never moved. So my husband and I spent our whole vacation sleeping on separate beds. Our room had bugs all over the bathroom because one of the windows was broken. When we called maintenance, they came and sprayed bug spray ALL OVER the bathroom. Nobody cleaned up the bugs or bug spray. We had to clean up so many dead bugs. It was disgusting. Overall the accommodations were so bad and we would never recommend anyone to stay here. If the staff where nicer or more attentive maybe. But they completely ignored us and made us feel like we were a bother.

September 2023 We have previously stayed at this resort 4 years ago and gave everything 5 stars. This is the reason we returned. This time, the resort has slipped, especially with the selection of food. I checked my previous review (on bottom) and was surprised how we raved about the food. The service is still great. The servers, bar tenders, and pool staff make sure you receive your food and drinks quickly. The drinks at all the bars have been very good. On this trip, our original room air conditioning was great, and then they decided to paint the adjoining room at 9pm. The smell was terrible and made sleeping in the room impossible. Walked up to the front desk because the operator didn't answer. They changed our room and said it was upgrade and had a better view. This room was much smaller with no view. Asked to speak with the manager and Loranna (sp ?) refused to speak with us after several requests. So we packed and changed rooms at 1030 pm. The next morning, I spoke with our concierge, Ricky, and he said to repack and he would get us moved to another room. RICKY IS THE BEST EMPLOYEE IN THE RESORT!!! Ricky made sure that we were happy and continued to check on us. The general manager did meet with us and I explained our issue to her. It was two days after the fact, and Ricky had already rectified our situation. As far as the food, the selection at breakfast and lunch are limited. After 3 days, you will be eating the same items. Everything there has been fine. The food for dinner has been hot and served quickly. However, it seems to be geared to maybe Europeans. There were a lot of items that we were not familiar with. Also, they do not have sides with your entrees. If you order fish, you will get a piece of fish. (Photos attached) They don't do turn down service anymore and we had the same issues with chairs at the pool on this visit. The beach was clean every day with no grass issues. Previous visit review: We have been to Cancun/ Riviera Maya numerous times and this place was the best. We had the cheapest room which was very nice, but absolutely no view. We had a jacuzzi tub in room. Just make sure to run it once to clean out the lines! The had daily turn down service. The included mini fridge is stocked daily. You can also make request for beverages. Make sure to use your concierge as soon as you get there to make dinner reservations. The Mexican, Mediterranean, and Spices were the best (especially the steak). The Japanese (Azia) was good and the Italian (Palazzo) was our least favorite. The Italian was nothing we are used to eating. (The chicken dish was not very good). The grounds are very nice and tended to daily. You will see lizards, Agouti, and a Falconer every day. The pools are very nice (little dated), but there is NOT a swim up bar. They will serve you around the pool. We had a great time and most was positive. The WORST part of the trip is the limited seats by the pools. I would arrive at the pool at 7:15 and almost all seats would have a book or something on them. The people would then arrive back at their seat around 930-1000. Too many people mad because they could have seat at pool and had to sit on beach. They do have lounge chairs on the beach. The staff is aware of problem and will allow you to take a seat if no one has been there for HOURS!! It is not a party place as most people are older and there's not really a late place to dance. Will definitely go back. The beach was wide and nice.

The hotel itself is beautiful and on a stunning beach. It’s a small resort but we found it quite difficult to navigate to start due to the lack of signage. The pools overlooking the beach are great, but as other reviewers have said, you have to get up early (I’m talking 6am or earlier!) to get one. A good 50% get reserved by concierge, but go unused for most of the day. The hotel either needs more beds, or a better system that means reserved beds don’t go unused. The smaller pools are good, but have lots of mosquitoes due to the greenery around them. Our room was great. Spacious and well furnished. Mini bar wasn’t very cold or well stocked, but useful to have. Air con was fine. It didn’t go lower than 23 degrees, but it was comfortable. In Europe, public buildings aren’t legally allowed the aircon lower than this anyway due to climate change. Food was a little hit or miss. We enjoyed the grill for breakfast and lunch. Spices was OK as was Palazzo, but the staff here were downright rude. We waited 35 mins to be seated despite empty tables and having a reservation. Drinks are good. Poolside service great. There is only one bar on the resort near the main building. This bar is largely empty though. We often wondered where everybody was each night. There is very little evening entertainment, so we guessed everyone goes to bed early and gets up early. All in all, a good resort if all you want to do is get up early and lay by the pool or beach and drink and eat. We stayed for a week, but 3 days would have been plenty due to lack of activities.

It was an outstanding time. We had a perfect five nights, overall the perfect getaway. Each restaurant got better and better. We loved the different pools and the location was truly special. We will definitely come back here. The weather was great except if you have a problem with Humidity avoid the end of August to mid September as it can be brutal.

Absolutely gorgeous abd classy property, plenty of gardens, private spaces and well-behaved clients. Fabulous cuisine, service and rooms. I loved seeing the agoutis, raccoons and iguanas on property. Everything os so tasteful and perfect.

Spices is the Mexican restaurant onsite for Royal Hideaway Resort, it is the fall back restaurant when the the other restaurant is full and you cannot get a reservation. But please don't get me wrong, the food is above average here plus the attentive service. The food is very traditional and authentic with grest presentations. You also have a bit of a view of the beach if you sit next to the window. There is a separate bar area if you just want to hang out and drink. I really enjoyed the mussels and the tacos.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Nut allergies beware!!The hostess asked if we had allergies when we entered the restaurant and we told her there was a nut allergy. When ordering the birria tacos, we were not cautioned that the tacos had nuts so we ate it and reacted. If the restaurant asks for allergies, they should tell us which food to avoid or mark it on the menu.The food was otherwise quite delicious.

Among the specialty restaurants offered by royal hideaway, I have to highlight this one, from the very attentive reception (the dress code is formal casual, you can enter with Bermuda shorts and a shirt or polo shirt and women are dressed, only bathing suits are not allowed ) The food, a fusion of typical Mexican with a gourmet touch, the portions are good. Splendid attention.We were fortunate to be attended by Arely (waitress) who helped us with all questions, as well as attention to detail.The food by chef Itzel was impeccable in terms of presentation and seasoning, a great experience. Thanks also to Captain Chantal for all the attention given.The food is DELICIOUS, both as a national and as a foreigner you will enjoy it very much. Ask for a recommendation if you don't know a dish. Get ready to try and I assure you you will be pleasantly surprised. The desserts were celebratory.