My husband and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary at the Royal Hideaway and enjoyed our stay but I do not think this property is deserving of it's 5 diamond rating. It was our first time at an all inclusive and for an all inclusive I am told it is top notch but I thought the food was just average. Yes, there are multiple restaurants but it's basically just the same food done slightly differently in each place. The house wines were not drinkable so for an all inclusive I was still forced to pay for my drinks as I am a wine drinker; my husband, a vodka drinker, was far happier with his drink of choice as advertised 'top shelf alcohol'. The rooms were nicely appointed so no negatives to report there. Sadly, and this is not the hotel's fault, most of the beach has been eroded from the many storms, so the beach area is tiny and all the chairs are packed in to what little beach that is left. Very little room for privacy... And possibly not enough space for all the hotel guests; so everyone gets up super early to get chairs. DO NOT OVERSLEEP HERE, haha. It rained for much of the vacation and Playa has very little to offer other than touristy junk stores... While we had a nice time; we will not be returning to the Royal Hideaway.

We went to the Royal Hideaway for our honeymoon. The rooms, facilities, pool, restaurants, etc. were great and the service was fantastic. The food was delicious in all of the restaurants. However, you must make a dinner reservation for every night, or else your only other option is room service. The resort was very quiet and relaxing, so if you're looking for nightlife you must take a taxi into town (5 minutes away).

The only complaint I had about the resort was the beach. While the water was beautiful and the actual beach itself was nice, it was very difficult to swim there. There are large sandbag type things in the water to prevent beach erosion. The area in front of the sandbags is about knee deep, while the area directly beyond the sandbags is over your head. As a result, it was difficult to get back over the sandbags once you were out there and I observed one person that had to be rescued by the hotel staff. So, if you're a beach person and not a strong swimmer, this could be a deal breaker. Overall, I enjoyed my stay and would go there again except for the beach issue.

My wife and I along with our best friends decided it was time to return to The Royal Hideaway. We first visited the resort in 2000 and we thought it was spectacular back then. All I can say is that they have gotten better with age. We went back this year at the end of June to celebrate our 27th Anniversary and the 38th anniversary of our best friends. We were not disappointed. The service, the food, the relaxation were all absolutely fabulous. On the day of our anniversary we came back to our room from the pool and found the room decorated with balloons, towel sculptures and the most beautiful flower arrangement you can imagine. That night at Azia Restaurant we were seated in the private room (without requesting it) in honor of our anniversary. They go above and beyond at this resort to provide the best service and the best overall vacation for the money. I would highly recommend this resort to any and all couples looking for a romantic getaway. All of the restaurants are excellent and I love the fact that the nightime is quiet and relaxing. You won't come home from The Royal Hideaway and feel like you need a vacation from the vacation. If you have tried the rest now try the best!! You will not be disappointed with The Royal Hideaway.

I chose this hotel mainly due to the reviews on Tripadvisor. There are some obvious differences from the moment you arrive. The lobby is different from any I've seen at other all inclusives. You do not stand or sit at a desk but instead are directed to a sofa or comfy chair, your luggage already taken away by the bell boys. They bring you a cool, scented towel and a glass of champagne. You stay there and they bring everything to you to get you checked in.

As the bell boy brought us to your room, he pointed out where restaurants were, etc. We were on the second floor in building #24 closest to the pool and beach. The room had vaulted ceilings and a huge bathroom with a walk in closet complete with safe. There was a shower, jacuzzi tub and double marble sink. There were comfy robes and slippers in the closet. The rooms were cleaned at least twice a day, with turn down service at night which was a nice touch.

The pools were small but they didn't need to be bigger because it is a small hotel. We had no problem getting a seat by the pool every day and more than one day there were empty seats around the pool. The service was usually good by the pool and there was a very nice pool concierge who would come around and let you know about activities (salsa lessons, spanish lessons, yoga, pilates, etc) but was never pushy. One day we did have poor service around the pool, it was very busy that day (Saturday) and every seat was taken around the pools and there were only two waiters to serve all (including the folks on the beach). With that said, I've never received waiter service at any other all inclusive and the service was good except that day. They would bring lunch right to your lounge chair.

The service in the restaurants was wonderful. My favorite part was a waiter named Victor who responded to anything you asked for with , "Yes, of course". Our favorite meal was in Azia. It was declicious. I found the food to be good to fair - mostly it was a bit bland. Although as I said, the service was excellent and if you asked for more they were happy to oblige.

The cocktails were good, although you have to ask for the good liquor or they'll just use the crappy stuff. And, they have plenty of good liquor.

As many have mentioned, there is no night life. Although we were usually so full from dinner that one drink was all we had after dinner. The only bar open late is at the front of the property but if you go to the pool area the bar there is open because the restaurant is open. We would sit on the deck overlooking the water and the waiter from the restaurant would bring us drinks.

Skip the show! It was terrible, although the buffet was good (the only buffet offered is with the show as everything else is ala carte.)

We had an excellent couples massage in the spa.

We checked out the gym, 3 treadmills, an eliptical machine and weight machines.

If you are a beach person, this is not the place for you. The beach is small and full of sandbags to stop the erosion. It seems to be like that all up and down the beach. I'm a pool person so it was OK with me.