The real deal on the Royal Porto Real

[GRASSYASS]

Just got back , need to catch up on some sleep and ill have some info put together later today. If you have any questions feel free. Some definite ups and downs with the Royal.By the way get ready, I can be looooong winded....

[memomuffin]

Damn, talk about a tease!!!

[GRASSYASS]

damn, talk about a quick response.... I will say that day 1 started out a tad rocky to say the least and I was one pissed off hombre .

[memomuffin]

Hey, I can't help it if I'm interested!
Alright, well at least you gave us a little bit and that will have to satisfy me for now. Get some rest, relax a bit, and then come back and give us the lowdown.

[ktowngirl]

let me guess. Timeshare?

[GRASSYASS]

Well looks like I have grown used to falling asleep with the sound of the waves crashing or perhaps it was the Tekillya but sleep just isn’t happening right now. So let me set this up a tad , this is our 3<SUP>rd</SUP> week in the Playa area in just over a year and a half and our 3<SUP>rd</SUP> AI. The others being the Iberostar Maya (amazing place but 20 minutes by cab to Playa) the Eldorado Royal which was also very nice but a tad dead at night and also a long cab ride to Playa, I will say the swim up casita was bad ass! ( by the way they definitely have the best food out of the 3)…So that’s were I draw the comparisons.
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Actually it wasn’t the Time Share Squad that caused the rocky start, they are actually quite easy to avoid. When you check in and receive your room assignment they ask you to stop off at a desk around the corner so they can explain the ins and outs of the resort, well we were beat and wanted to change after a long morning of travel so we blew them off . Turns out the so called info peeps are the time share squad, so blow that stop off and you have side stepped them….. for now.
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OK, day 1…..As everyone knows this place is in the right spot, walk out the door hang a right and less then 1 half block and BOOM right in the heart of the action. There isn’t another AI that has a better location…..So we walk in and instant happiness is upon you.
Very nice set up, wide open and of course there is that amazing looking Ocean that makes you just wanna blow off check in and jump in.
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Now back to the rocky start, we all have certain criteria we are looking for in a hotel/resort and for us it was # 1 location (which again simply can be beat) and #2 Ocean View room (not that we planned to stay in the room but as you know there is no ocean in Chicago and to be able to chill out on the balcony at night or whenever is a big plus to me)…..So off to check out our 1<SUP>st</SUP> floor room, walk in and DAMN NICE looking room and then I see the bed, actually lets make that beds..Hmmmm, that’s not what I booked, Im not 20 something here with my buds and the so called 2 double beds that are really single beds that I can barely sprawl out on myself let alone Mrs Grassyass (problem # uno ). Then I slide open the curtains and WOW what a view of the roped off construction (where the &@#! Is the ocean) ,so I walk out on the terrace (still no ocean) and I take a gander to the right (still no %$#@ ocean )and I walk about 10 feet into the grass and theres that amazing ocean (problem # 2) . “Excuse me Amigo, leave the bags on the cart, we are going to have a chat with Ms front desk assistant manager”..

So off to have a little chat and she tells me they are booked up and only double beds are left today but she can show us one more room. Well the agitation is setting in as when I spoke to Fun Jet to book this trip I was asked Double or King and guaranteed ocean view (which I insisted they put in writing to me and was put through to a manager that did just that). So off to see room # 2 , again gorgeous room 2 doubles and open the curtains and there is the street and a wonderful view of the Grand Porto (sarcasm) but this time if I lean way-way over that well built railing (again sarcasm) and cock my head to the left I can just see a tad bit of the blue. Off to the front desk yet again and its sorry Amigo but we are over booked (as I found out later this was a lie but the rooms view or king size beds were no better elsewhere ) , well im a tad annoyed to say the least and I tell her if you didn’t over book the Grand then upgrade those people for free maybe my &^%$ room would be available to which she replies they never do that (lied yet again). So ….would some extra $$$$ get me an upgrade, “all ocean fronts are booked but let me get the manager for you”……So out he comes and explains they have 2 classes of rooms, O fronts and O view and fronts are right on the water but the views are everything else . Well that’s all fine and dandy I explain but if you cant view the ocean from the room or balcony that’s not a ocean view now is it!!!! Him – but that’s what they are called , Me- Amigo look up at that chandelier hangin, do you see it? (yes)…. now if I call that an airplane does it make it an airplane ?????!!!!!! He just stares blank at me and kinda cocks his head like my dog does when I say something that gets her thinking……..After a long pause he tells me they have a group leaving tomorrow and he will try to get me a better room….IM PISSED!
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OK, off to the Fun Jett desk and they dance a bit and finally call for their manager to come from another hotel. I explain it all then I whip out my email from Fun Jett that says clear as day OCEAN VIEW and off he goes to chat to the manager of the Royal. 20 minutes later he gets back and tells me tomorrow they will get a better room for us so I reluctantly except my double infant beds and view of the Grand and walk off thinking tomorrow will be the same BS but im not going to let it ruin my trip although I am fricking torqued !
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On to the better part of day 1 ,by now its 4:30 and we change hit the pool/beach belly up to the bar were we meet some nice people and start popping many Tekillyas. Suddeny all is forgotten our buzz is on and we are in paradise. Next thing I know its 9pm Im hammered and we pop up to the room to change to meet some others we became friendly with and in the process of changing I apparently pass out cold and day 1 comes to an end….Day 2 coming soon….

[ktowngirl]

So you mean don't expect one of those nice king beds in the picture unless we get our wallet out? That will start off the vacation on a bad note for sure. We are going for my husbands 40th birthday and did put in a request for king bed with pool view on the 3rd floor. I read in another post you might see the ocean if you get one of those rooms. Sorry to hear your intro was not great. Hope to hear more happy times ahead.

[GRASSYASS]

yes thats what i mean, the King is not no matter what you think guaranteed....by the way, the entire time we were there every single time we passed the front desk there were people pissed off and bitching not only about the ocean views and the beds but about the construction noise (EVERY TIME!).The least they could do is let people know in advance that they have construction going and in my opinion offer a discount.
At that point the ole bait and switch was all i could think when it came to the ocean views.....
I have much more to go and will get to day two, I will say that as annoyed as I was I was just as happy later on so dont go changing your plans just yet......with that said the only way to guarantee a good ocean view is to book an ocean front, they are right on the ocean and very nice. If I had to guess I would say there are probably 25 true ocean view rooms tops...By the way when the fun jet manager and hotel manager got involved I was asked if I had Ocean View in writing (to their shock...I DID!)

[ktowngirl]

oh well I guess we will just have to keep our fingers crossed for a king bed. I can't wait to hear about the tequila bar.

[maas1114]

Can't wait for the next installment....as I'm writing my report, I'm reading yours.

[GRASSYASS]

Hey Maas,
looks like you guys had a great time, im a big fan of the Iberostar resorts as we spent a week at the maya and were really just blown away, they do it right there and on a grand scale . The first day I spent most of the time with my jaw dropped as they didnt spare a dime or thought putting that place together, truely amazing ! If the maya was in the heart of Playa Del they would surely crush the competition . The fat cat looked like a blast, we did the F1 Offshore and it was a great way to spend the day , ill write more about that in another post...

[Shammy]

Wow...not really sure what to comment on but........

Room requests - this means bedding type (king/doubles), view, location, floor, room number, smoking/non smoking - you get the idea...is NEVER guaranteed, not by ANY hotel. If someone "guaranteed" you a king bed, they were doing it on their own, that guarantee did not come from the hotel. During the booking process, we do ask if someone wants a king bed or two doubles, and we will then comment the reservation as such, but that's not a guarantee by any means. You said you booked with Funjet - did you use a travel agent who booked you with Funjet or did you book yourself with Funjet directly? A knowledgeable agent would have/should have made a point to tell you that requests are not guaranteed as they are based upon availability at the time of check in. Maybe if you were aware of this, you wouldn't have been so "fricking torqued" during the check in process. That's never a good start to a vacation!

I will agree that the "Royal ocean view jr. suite" room description at the RPR is misleading because it doesn't apply to all the rooms other than the oceanFRONT rooms yet all are listed that way. They really should change this to "Royal jr. suite" and if you get one with an ocean view, you lucked out. But if you don't, at least you didn't check in thinking you were going to have a pefect ocean view room. I don't know who provided you with a written guarantee that you would have an ocean view room but that person should be fired - there is no way they could ensure this would be the case and bottom line, they lied. There is no place for deception in this business.

But much of the vacation experience is about expectations too. If you go thinking everything is going to be perfect and you're going to have all that you imagined waiting for you when you arrive - you've set yourself up for disappointment as this rarely happens. If you go thinking that you'll roll with it, if there's an issue to be dealt with, you'll deal as best as you can yet not allow it to ruin your good time, not even for an hour, you have a more realistic expectation.

[barbara1]

I'm surprised to be reading your comments...All I have ever heard lately is the opposite. Also, read the reviews on tripadvisor.com the reviews are very good there as well..

[sleeperbee]

OK, I'm new around here but gotta pipe in on this one. We're getting ready for our 1st PDC trip but have spent a fair amount of time on the Pacific/Baja coast.

We've got quite used to operating on "Manana Time" and know what to expect in Mexico. Not a derogatory remark, but those folks used to hotels in Chicago, Las Vegas, San Diego, etc, really need to need to relax, slow down a bit, and have another cerveza. The 120 MPH American type-A personalities usually self-implode within a day or two.

Read some of the anal-retentive "me-me-me" trip reports on tripadvisor.com sometime - a few bugs in the room, one warm beer, a brief rainstorm, and people are going ballistic and threatening to call their congressman!

Most every problem we've encountered have been easily solved with a relaxed attitude and a smile (and sometimes a dead president or two...)

I too would have turned down the 1st room offered, but would have happily taken the 2nd room with the possibility of getting a different room the next day. I'm on vacation and try not to worked up over minor details - I've got a job at home that let's me do that on a daily basis! We just seem to morph into the "deal with it/get over it/get on with it" attitude whenever we get to Mexico.

Grassyass, sorry you had problems (most vacations have at least one or two). This by no means a personal attack, and hopefully you still had a great time!


Sleeperbee

[Dijo]

but it sounds like things "picked up for you".