Royal Mayan

Boulevard Kukulcan Retorno Gucumatz
Lote 49 Int. 4 Segunda Etapa
Cancun 77500
Mexico

Description: 200 rooms

"The Royal Mayan is nice!"
We exchanged into the Royal Mayan thru Interval. This hotel has some of the most scenic ocean views I've ever seen. Breathtaking! The LaPalapa restaurant on the grounds is excellent, however, eat at the CAPTAIN'S COVE across the street (also owned by Royal Resorts) at your own risk! My husband and my brother both suffered "Montezuma's revenge" from eating there the second night we were in Cancun. My husband then found out from some golfing buddies they were also sick! My husband ended up having to go to the doctor. The Royal Mayan was extremely solicitous when we called them about his condition. They could not have been more accommodating, even escorting him to the Royal Caribbean next door for the doctor's visit and paying for the visit as well as our meal at Captain's Cove.

Otherwise, we had a wonderful villa, clean, roomy with all the usual timeshare plusses. Staff could not have been more pleasant. This is our third visit and even though our trip was cut short because of hurrican Wilma (darn you Wilma!), we will return to Cancun!

"WOW...Paradise in Mexico"
Just returned from a week stay Aug. 27th through Sept. 3. This was one of the best places I have ever stayed. Went with a group of six friends. Plenty of room in the villas. They were immaculate, and Martina, our maid, kept everything in top shape, hard to do for a group of six guys. The murphy beds were nice, and easy to stow away during the day.

The grounds are well kept. Every morning we watched with awe at how meticulous the grounds crew cared for the place.

The Palapa restaurant was our favorite. Try the fajitas and the Chicken lime soup. The Monday night Mexican buffet/dinner show is a MUST, ( oh the beef tips were soooooo good). Margaritas included for about $20.00. All of the food there was very good and extremely reasonable. My partner and I spent a total of $500.00 for the week between food, drink, mini-mart, etc. for both of us, and we only ate off-site one dinner and one lunch!
No digestive problems with water or food, fruit/salad for any of us.

The mini-mart is well stocked and the prices are reasonable. Some items are a little more than you would pay in the U.S., some are cheaper. They have gallon jugs of bottled water for about $1.80. There is also two convenience stores across the street. It depends on how much food you want in your villa and whether you intend on cooking at all while there as to whether it makes sense to go into town for a trip to Wal-Mart.

The beach is of course gorgeous, but the waves can be a little rough with the rocks. Of course this was early in the week with the after effects of Katrina still reaching as far south as Cancun. Take some good water shoes and you will be okay.


We had a lagoon view from our balcony and loved the sunsets each night.

The karoake at the Carribbean was alot of fun.

The staff treated us with warmth, dignity and like family from the moment we arrived until the last day when each ended their goodbye with "see you next year." Although we were not owners, no pressure to purchase a time-share. These places really do sell themselves. We were given the information on purchases of the new Royal Haciendas being built in Playa del Carmen, and that was it. Spent 1 hour with our personal concierage at lunch, on their tab, and one hour taking a virtual tour and getting information. I say getting information because that was how it came across, we were asking questions, no pressure from them.

All in all, top-notch. You cannot go wrong with the Royals. I will most definitely stay there again. We are already planning our trip for next year.

"Great Resort!"
This was our first time in Cancun and to the Royal Mayan. Here are my notes:

- The Royal Mayan had the best exchange rates, with no commission, that we could find. We actually exchanged money at the airport in Los Angeles believing that the hotel would try to rip us off. After arriving and comparing other rates that we saw at the airports in Mexico City and Cancun, as well as around the town of Cancun, the Royal Mayan had the best rate!

- Their on-site grocery store is well stocked and reasonably priced! We trekked out all the way to and from Wal-Mart on the non-air-conditioned bus just to later realize that we could have purchased the same items for roughly the same amount on-site. The savings of merely a few pesos was not worth the time and energy (not to mention the sweat, even at night!) to go all the way to out to Wal-Mart. Besides, they are typically so busy the wait in any of the 20ish lines at Wal-Mart was over 15 minutes.

- Coffee. If you love to have your regular cup of coffee in the morning, I suggest packing your own. The coffee in Cancun that we found was no where near "good." There is a coffee machine in the room, so just pack a few filters and some coffee in ziploc. Or if you're an instant coffee kinda person, bring your own instant! After two seperate purchases of really bad coffee we gave up. And the coffee in their restaurants also was not very good.

- Bartolo's Pizza is GREAT and the price is right! We ordered Domino's the first night. For a large one-topping pizza (10 slices) and a 2ltr of Coke Light and the cost was over $22USD. Later in the week we ordered Bartolos (their onsite pizza service) and it was amazingly good! For a large three-topping pizza (12 slices) and a 2ltr our cost was a little less than $15USD.

- The breakfast buffet offered at La Veranda at the Royal Sands (their sister resort) is great. It's very American (eggs, sausage, potatoes, bagels, etc.) with an excellent waffle and omelette bar. It also offers a few very good "mexican" choices. The cost is about $10USD per person. However, if you want to eat for free then definatley take advantage of the "sales pitch" which typically lasts about 30 minutes if you don't ask too many questions. It's worth it.

- The breakfast buffet at Tradewinds at the Royal Carribean (neighboring sister resort) is not as great as La Veranda, but still good.

- Lunch time options... La Palapa at the Royal Mayan is very good and reasonably priced. La Palapa at the Royal Sands is also good, but the menu options at the Mayan are definately tastier. We gave up early to look for authenic Mexican food in Cancun. It's very touristy, and very American. The hotel offered some very good choices, though, and La Veranda, at the Royal Sands, offered a FABULOUS tortilla soup.

- Take a look at the The SPA if you are interested in a treatment. Prices are good and their "specials" are well discounted. Much better prices for similiar services that you'd find at a SPA anywhere Southern California (in my opinion).

- The rooms are spacious and comfortable. The beds are no where near being 5 stars, as they are very hard and not very comfortable. But you get over it once you relax in the pool :)

- The bathrooms need some help. Again, no where near 5 stars. However, if you're one who like good water pressure, I truly believe that no where else on earth will you find water pressure like at the Mayan. It will practicaly knock you over if you don't hold on for dear life or adjust the guages.

- The "personal concierge" that you're assigned once you arrive comes in handy every now and again if you have questions. However, they start off wanting to get your vacation "scheduled" (ie. tours, etc.). This is all stuff that you can do yourself if you choose down by the pool at the Thomas Moore travel booth, or inside the lobby (lower level) at the Thomas Moore desk. They'll cost a pretty penny, but if you really want to go somewhere check here first. All of their tours are specifically for Royal Resorts guests only so you don't waste time going from Hotel to Hotel to pick people up.

- Chichenitza Tours... it's worth going at least once in your lifetime. Take at least 3 bottles of frozen water (for two people), lots of sunblock, a visor, a backpack (no shoulder bags), comfy shoes - and bug repellent. Don't forget the bug repellent. And if at all possible, leave smaller children at home - anybody younger than say 10 will probably rather be at the pool. It's very hot, you do a lot of walking, and a lot of listening. Again, to young children this can become very boring. Definately climb to the top of the pyramid. Though it may be a bit scary to come down, if you do so slowly and carefully, you'll be fine. The feeling of accomplishment once you arrive at the top and the view is worth it! The lunch buffet on this tour is not very good. I recommend ordering Bartolo's Pizza once you arrive back at the resort. It's a great reward after a long day!

- Happy Hour prices are great! The drinks are good. You can swim right up to the bar from one of the pools :)

- Don't forget to sign out some of the pool noodles from the towel room. These make relaxing in the pool a wonderful experience.

Well, these were a few of the things that came to mind right now. Overall, without question, my husband and I recommend this resort and will definately return to the Royal Resorts one day!