6th Stay at The Royal (RPDC) - Feb 15-22, 2012

Y2YTraveller · 02-26-2012

We returned from our latest trip to The Royal Playa del Carmen four days ago and, as promised, here is another trip report. It's been 9 months since our last stay at the RPDC (trip report HERE), & it was definitely time to go back.

We once again left the rest of the tribe with Grandma for the week and jetted off to the Riviera Maya for another week of great memories at our favourite resort. The kids & grandparents were able to join us last October for a week in Los Cabos, and will be joining us in Puerto Vallarta next November, so they get their fair share of Mexico also. This is Mom & Dad's annual getaway & we look forward to it every year.

This year, we managed to get a direct flight on Air Miles via WestJet, non-stop from YVR to CUN. We arrived at around 5:20 pm and by the time we had cleared customs & collected our luggage, it was already dark.

We arrived at the Royal at around 8:00 or so. This year, we opted for the Ocean View suite instead of last year's Ocean Front. As usual, we checked in online 2 days prior - unfortunately, since we were arriving & leaving on a Wednesday, very few rooms were available in that category. We end up with Room 732, 2nd floor of the Uxmal Wing:

Here are the views from the balcony:

After settling into our room, we headed to Pelicano's for our customary first meal of the week. By the time we were finished eating, it was well past 10:00 and we were both ready to call it a fine end to a long day.

More to follow......

SharonD · 02-26-2012

Patiently waiting the next installment....!

Goodtobehere · 02-27-2012

Great start!!!

Y2YTraveller · 02-27-2012

February 16 was one of those mornings when you wake up, half-groggy, thinking that you're at home, then......

you're fully awake and you realise that it's your first full day of vacation at the Royal.

As the initial wave of euphoria settles into a sustained sense of general contentment, you open the drapes and look out the window to get that first full-daylight view of the Caribbean. That's the moment I grabbed my camera, headed out of the room onto the walkway along the north side of the building, and grabbed this shot:

At, this point, it was time to get up and head to breakfast at Spice. The Royal's buffet hasn't changed at all since our last trip report. I still enjoyed the sausages and chilaquiles. There is also a fair bit of day-to-day variety at breakfast, with items like Mexican beef tips, poblano strips & so forth appearing on different days. The made-to-order omelettes were also great.

On the way there, we encountered one of the Royal's long term residents:

We then took a late-morning stroll down 5th Avenue before returning to the Royal for a stint at the Lobby Bar to get re-acquainted with Señor Mojito, a good friend from our last trip

A late lunch at Spice again was followed by some time around Trade Winds bar. As you can see, the relaxation factor has now kicked in:

The hot sun and Señor Mojito helped that process along nicely. We sat around and watched the activities crew do their thing around the pool. At some point, I randomly aimed my camera at the corner of the Tulum building and grabbed this shot:

The architecture of this place is a real delight.

For the evening, we spent some time at the Mediterraneo bar over in the Chichen wing, still much quieter than the rest of the resort and apparently "undiscovered" by many guests. Our favourite RPDC restaurant, Maria Marie's, was closed this evening in favour of a special Mexican Night in the hotel's ballroom. This was quite well-done, with an excellent buffet, special decorations, mariachi, etc.

Once again, we had ended up eating very late. After a full day of drinking, it was time to call it quits for the night.

One note for anyone who has read our previous trip report - you'll be happy to hear that I managed to remain on my barstool throughout the entire week - no Crown Royal this time...

Day III coming up.....................

daydreamer · 02-27-2012

Great start, looking forward to more. The room looks gorgeous!

Y2YTraveller · 02-28-2012

Here's a few shots of the towel art which we received daily from our maid. As always, the quality of housekeeping & cleaning in every part of the Royal was top notch.

Back to the narrative when I have some more spare time....

Goodtobehere · 02-28-2012

Really enjoying your beautiful pictures!! Can't wait for more.

Y2YTraveller · 02-28-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goodtobehere

Really enjoying your beautiful pictures!! Can't wait for more.

Thanks!

Plenty more to come!

janied · 02-29-2012

Really enjoying your report and pics ... The Royal PDC is one of my favorites, too.

Y2YTraveller · 02-29-2012

February 17 was a perfect morning for the beach. After our usual buffet breakfast at Spice, we grabbed a couple of loungers and began taking in the sun accompanied by a stream of drinks. Service on the beach was excellent, and as with last year, we had no difficulty finding a pair of beach loungers after 11:00 am.

The beach was as scenic as ever:

We decided to cool off with a mid-day mojito at the quiet and ever shady El Mediterraneo bar:

This was followed by some tequila shopping. We spent some very enjoyable time at Tequila Town on Constituyentes, across from the Gran Porto, sampling several fine añejos before settling on these two beauties for our duty-free allowance:

We then had a very late lunch at Pelicano's, where I took a couple of lazy shots from the table. This one was worth keeping:

Since our last visit to the Royal back in May 2011, a couple of small changes are noted.

First of all, I reported in last-year's TR that the numbering of the Ocean Front rooms in the Uxmal wing is reversed compared to the resort map (838 on the map was 835 in reality; 737 was really 736, etc.). This has now been corrected and the Ocean Front rooms in the Uxmal wing have been re-numbered to correspond with the map. So, our room last year (837) is now room 836.

Secondly, those familiar with the RPDC will remember the short, narrow passageway between the lobby building and the Tulum wing; this has now been given a name:

The evening involved a late dinner at our favourite RPDC restaurant, Maria Marie's. Dinner was preceeded by a lengthy stream of lemon drops at the Mediterraneo bar, followed by a couple of beachcombers at the Tequileria while we were waiting for our table. Maria Marie's doesn't take reservations, however when they are busy, guests are given a pager and invited to sit around the Tequileria while waiting for their tables.

We had been looking forward to this dinner since we left the Royal in May last year. Dinner was an exquisite affair which began with an appetiser of asparagus wrapped in ham, followed by a veal chop for myself and lamb chops for the Mrs. We were very well looked after by Carlos, the hotel sommelier, who has now become an old friend. He brought us a very special, full-bodied red from his personal collection, which was a sublime experience in itself. Virtually every meal that we have ever enjoyed at Maria Marie's has been a memorable affair, and this was no exception.

By the end of the meal, a steady stream of alcohol throughout the course of the day finally caught up with us. We were done, once again.....

Stay tuned for more....

janied · 03-01-2012

no more reservations at Maria Marie? how about at the other restaurants?

Did they ever fix the a/c at Spices? the last time we stayed there the a/c wasn't working, and it was so hot!

more, please!

Y2YTraveller · 03-01-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by janied

no more reservations at Maria Marie? how about at the other restaurants?

Did they ever fix the a/c at Spices? the last time we stayed there the a/c wasn't working, and it was so hot!

more, please!

The Chef's Plate still requires reservations (we didn't make it there this trip). As usual, those reservations should be made several days in advance.

We never found it too hot in Spice and ate there almost every morning. Can't say whether the the A/C is working or not, and it didn't seem as cool as other indoor areas such as the 24 Hour Lounge. I note from some TR's and Trip Advisor reviews that the complaints about the heat in Spice seem to come during the hotter months.

janied · 03-01-2012

Thank You!

now please continue with your report .......

Goodtobehere · 03-02-2012

...

Y2YTraveller · 03-02-2012

February 18 began as one of those hangover days that seem to be inevitable on our trips to Mexico..

As a result, this was definitely the most low-key day of our vacation.

We dragged ourselves out of bed a good deal later than usual and consumed copious quantities of fresh OJ at Spice. We spent the early part of the afternoon walking on 5th Avenue before heading back to the resort for a late lunch at El Mediterraneo, still the quietest restaurant at the RPDC.

A light, buffet lunch was followed by a quiet afternoon in the room, before we returned to El Mediterraneo for dinner. This time we stuck to beer while enjoying an excellent dinner. The menu at El Mediterraneo has gotten a bit more sophisticated since our last visit; I ended up having a chicken dish while the wife went with pasta.

Later that evening, it was time for our couple's massage - the staff from the hotel spa come to your room and make excellent use of the jacuzzi tub:

The massage begins in the jacuzzi tub using various aromatics; once that's done, you shower off and put on the robe & slippers - normally, they take you down to the beach for the remaining hour or so, however there was a wedding about to begin just a few feet away from the massage beds, so we requested to have them brought into our room to complete our massage. They had no difficulty accommodating us.

The total procedure was about 1.5 hours in length and was extremely relaxing. Once complete, we headed down to the lobby bar for some late drinks before calling it a night. Definitely a good day for two people who needed to take it easy!

Feb 19 coming up......

02-26-2012	#1 (permalink)
Y2YTraveller life=playa Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 611	6th Stay at The Royal (RPDC) - Feb 15-22, 2012 We returned from our latest trip to The Royal Playa del Carmen four days ago and, as promised, here is another trip report. It's been 9 months since our last stay at the RPDC (trip report HERE), & it was definitely time to go back. We once again left the rest of the tribe with Grandma for the week and jetted off to the Riviera Maya for another week of great memories at our favourite resort. The kids & grandparents were able to join us last October for a week in Los Cabos, and will be joining us in Puerto Vallarta next November, so they get their fair share of Mexico also. This is Mom & Dad's annual getaway & we look forward to it every year. This year, we managed to get a direct flight on Air Miles via WestJet, non-stop from YVR to CUN. We arrived at around 5:20 pm and by the time we had cleared customs & collected our luggage, it was already dark. We arrived at the Royal at around 8:00 or so. This year, we opted for the Ocean View suite instead of last year's Ocean Front. As usual, we checked in online 2 days prior - unfortunately, since we were arriving & leaving on a Wednesday, very few rooms were available in that category. We end up with Room 732, 2nd floor of the Uxmal Wing: Here are the views from the balcony: After settling into our room, we headed to Pelicano's for our customary first meal of the week. By the time we were finished eating, it was well past 10:00 and we were both ready to call it a fine end to a long day. More to follow...... Last edited by Y2YTraveller; 12-20-2012 at 04:08 PM..

02-27-2012	#4 (permalink)
Y2YTraveller life=playa Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 611	Day II February 16 was one of those mornings when you wake up, half-groggy, thinking that you're at home, then...... you're fully awake and you realise that it's your first full day of vacation at the Royal. As the initial wave of euphoria settles into a sustained sense of general contentment, you open the drapes and look out the window to get that first full-daylight view of the Caribbean. That's the moment I grabbed my camera, headed out of the room onto the walkway along the north side of the building, and grabbed this shot: At, this point, it was time to get up and head to breakfast at Spice. The Royal's buffet hasn't changed at all since our last trip report. I still enjoyed the sausages and chilaquiles. There is also a fair bit of day-to-day variety at breakfast, with items like Mexican beef tips, poblano strips & so forth appearing on different days. The made-to-order omelettes were also great. On the way there, we encountered one of the Royal's long term residents: We then took a late-morning stroll down 5th Avenue before returning to the Royal for a stint at the Lobby Bar to get re-acquainted with Señor Mojito, a good friend from our last trip A late lunch at Spice again was followed by some time around Trade Winds bar. As you can see, the relaxation factor has now kicked in: The hot sun and Señor Mojito helped that process along nicely. We sat around and watched the activities crew do their thing around the pool. At some point, I randomly aimed my camera at the corner of the Tulum building and grabbed this shot: The architecture of this place is a real delight. For the evening, we spent some time at the Mediterraneo bar over in the Chichen wing, still much quieter than the rest of the resort and apparently "undiscovered" by many guests. Our favourite RPDC restaurant, Maria Marie's, was closed this evening in favour of a special Mexican Night in the hotel's ballroom. This was quite well-done, with an excellent buffet, special decorations, mariachi, etc. Once again, we had ended up eating very late. After a full day of drinking, it was time to call it quits for the night. One note for anyone who has read our previous trip report - you'll be happy to hear that I managed to remain on my barstool throughout the entire week - no Crown Royal this time... Day III coming up..................... __________________ to our 2nd stay at the GPR and 9th trip to Playa. to our 8th visit to the Royal and 10th stay in Playa! Royal Playa del Carmen: May 2006, Apr 2007, Jan-Feb 2008, Feb 2009, May 2011, Feb 2012, Mar 2013 & Jun 2014 Gran Porto Real: Feb 2010 & Mar 2014 *Playa Grande, Cabo San Lucas:* Nov 2009 & Oct 2011 *Pueblo Bonito Mazatlan:* Dec 2010 Marival Resort, Nuevo Vallarta: Nov 2012 Last edited by Y2YTraveller; 01-16-2013 at 11:13 PM..

02-28-2012	#6 (permalink)
Y2YTraveller life=playa Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 611	Towel Art Here's a few shots of the towel art which we received daily from our maid. As always, the quality of housekeeping & cleaning in every part of the Royal was top notch. Back to the narrative when I have some more spare time.... Last edited by Y2YTraveller; 12-20-2012 at 04:09 PM..

02-29-2012	#10 (permalink)
Y2YTraveller life=playa Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 611	Day III February 17 was a perfect morning for the beach. After our usual buffet breakfast at Spice, we grabbed a couple of loungers and began taking in the sun accompanied by a stream of drinks. Service on the beach was excellent, and as with last year, we had no difficulty finding a pair of beach loungers after 11:00 am. The beach was as scenic as ever: We decided to cool off with a mid-day mojito at the quiet and ever shady El Mediterraneo bar: This was followed by some tequila shopping. We spent some very enjoyable time at Tequila Town on Constituyentes, across from the Gran Porto, sampling several fine añejos before settling on these two beauties for our duty-free allowance: We then had a very late lunch at Pelicano's, where I took a couple of lazy shots from the table. This one was worth keeping: Since our last visit to the Royal back in May 2011, a couple of small changes are noted. First of all, I reported in last-year's TR that the numbering of the Ocean Front rooms in the Uxmal wing is reversed compared to the resort map (838 on the map was 835 in reality; 737 was really 736, etc.). This has now been corrected and the Ocean Front rooms in the Uxmal wing have been re-numbered to correspond with the map. So, our room last year (837) is now room 836. Secondly, those familiar with the RPDC will remember the short, narrow passageway between the lobby building and the Tulum wing; this has now been given a name: The evening involved a late dinner at our favourite RPDC restaurant, Maria Marie's. Dinner was preceeded by a lengthy stream of lemon drops at the Mediterraneo bar, followed by a couple of beachcombers at the Tequileria while we were waiting for our table. Maria Marie's doesn't take reservations, however when they are busy, guests are given a pager and invited to sit around the Tequileria while waiting for their tables. We had been looking forward to this dinner since we left the Royal in May last year. Dinner was an exquisite affair which began with an appetiser of asparagus wrapped in ham, followed by a veal chop for myself and lamb chops for the Mrs. We were very well looked after by Carlos, the hotel sommelier, who has now become an old friend. He brought us a very special, full-bodied red from his personal collection, which was a sublime experience in itself. Virtually every meal that we have ever enjoyed at Maria Marie's has been a memorable affair, and this was no exception. By the end of the meal, a steady stream of alcohol throughout the course of the day finally caught up with us. We were done, once again..... Stay tuned for more.... Last edited by Y2YTraveller; 12-20-2012 at 04:10 PM..

03-02-2012	#14 (permalink)
Goodtobehere way into it Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 162	... ...

02-26-2012	#2 (permalink)
SharonD life=playa Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 730	Patiently waiting the next installment....!

02-27-2012	#3 (permalink)
Goodtobehere way into it Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 162	Great start!!!

02-27-2012	#5 (permalink)
daydreamer reposado Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Fairless Hills, PA Posts: 1,105	Great start, looking forward to more. The room looks gorgeous!

02-28-2012	#7 (permalink)
Goodtobehere way into it Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia Posts: 162	Really enjoying your beautiful pictures!! Can't wait for more.

02-29-2012	#9 (permalink)
janied reposado Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 1,027	Really enjoying your report and pics ... The Royal PDC is one of my favorites, too.

03-01-2012	#11 (permalink)
janied reposado Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 1,027	no more reservations at Maria Marie? how about at the other restaurants? Did they ever fix the a/c at Spices? the last time we stayed there the a/c wasn't working, and it was so hot! more, please!

03-01-2012	#13 (permalink)
janied reposado Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 1,027	Thank You! now please continue with your report .......

03-02-2012	#15 (permalink)
Y2YTraveller life=playa Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 611	Day IV February 18 began as one of those hangover days that seem to be inevitable on our trips to Mexico.. As a result, this was definitely the most low-key day of our vacation. We dragged ourselves out of bed a good deal later than usual and consumed copious quantities of fresh OJ at Spice. We spent the early part of the afternoon walking on 5th Avenue before heading back to the resort for a late lunch at El Mediterraneo, still the quietest restaurant at the RPDC. A light, buffet lunch was followed by a quiet afternoon in the room, before we returned to El Mediterraneo for dinner. This time we stuck to beer while enjoying an excellent dinner. The menu at El Mediterraneo has gotten a bit more sophisticated since our last visit; I ended up having a chicken dish while the wife went with pasta. Later that evening, it was time for our couple's massage - the staff from the hotel spa come to your room and make excellent use of the jacuzzi tub: The massage begins in the jacuzzi tub using various aromatics; once that's done, you shower off and put on the robe & slippers - normally, they take you down to the beach for the remaining hour or so, however there was a wedding about to begin just a few feet away from the massage beds, so we requested to have them brought into our room to complete our massage. They had no difficulty accommodating us. The total procedure was about 1.5 hours in length and was extremely relaxing. Once complete, we headed down to the lobby bar for some late drinks before calling it a night. Definitely a good day for two people who needed to take it easy! Feb 19 coming up...... Last edited by Y2YTraveller; 12-20-2012 at 04:11 PM..

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