Royal Hideaway questions

[Guire]

Hi all,

Thanks for the website, I feel like this is the place to get some answers! Couple of questions about Royal Hideaway. I am a total travel Newb and am pretty clueless.

• Is transportation provided to the resort from/to the airport? If so, is there a gimmick? If not what are prices for the trips?
• I understand that travel time to the resort is 40+ min, is getting through customs a hassle? I will be traveling on a Monday and Thursday.
• Will Cell phones work?
• We are only staying three nights and have heard the food is wonderful, what would be the top three places to eat. (Must have seafood) And also is there an offsite place to have a really nice dinner? (Hey, it’s my birthday I want to splurge!) Or am I better off staying at the resort?
• I have heard different things about upgrades for honeymooners. How common is the upgrade? (As in we’ve been married 2 years and this will be our honeymoon. Our first was cancelled due to the events of September 11<SUP>th</SUP> 2001)
• We would also like to visit some Mayan ruins, any suggestions? Rent a car? Tour bus, and to where? Prices would be good too.

Thanks!

[Shammy]

Originally Posted by Guire

Hi all,

Thanks for the website, I feel like this is the place to get some answers! Couple of questions about Royal Hideaway. I am a total travel Newb and am pretty clueless.

• Is transportation provided to the resort from/to the airport? If so, is there a gimmick? If not what are prices for the trips?
• I understand that travel time to the resort is 40+ min, is getting through customs a hassle? I will be traveling on a Monday and Thursday.
• Will Cell phones work?
• We are only staying three nights and have heard the food is wonderful, what would be the top three places to eat. (Must have seafood) And also is there an offsite place to have a really nice dinner? (Hey, it’s my birthday I want to splurge!) Or am I better off staying at the resort?
• I have heard different things about upgrades for honeymooners. How common is the upgrade? (As in we’ve been married 2 years and this will be our honeymoon. Our first was cancelled due to the events of September 11<SUP>th</SUP> 2001)
• We would also like to visit some Mayan ruins, any suggestions? Rent a car? Tour bus, and to where? Prices would be good too.

Thanks!

Congrats on your honeymoon! (and sorry about the 9/11 thing...terrible and tragic..live right outside the city, lost my brother in law and numerous friends )

Anyway....Answers..........

1) Usually, transportation is included if you book a package through a vacation company, such as Apple, Funjet, GoGo or whomever. No, there is no gimmick.
You get off the plane, get your bags, and get on a bus or in a van and off ya go to the hotel. It's that simple. Tip the bus driver, that's the only gimmick.

If you don't book through a vacation company and say, book directly through the hotel, then transportation would most likely not be included.

You can opt for private transfers (meaning no one else in the vehicle and makes no stops at other resorts) that you would hire yourself. They range in price so you would have to shop around.

2) The RH is not 40 minutes from the airport, 25-30 maybe, it's in Playacar. But that's if you don't stop to drop other travelers off at their respective hotels. When you take the transfer that is included, you never know how many stops you will, or will not make so you never really know how long it will take you to get to the hotel.

3) Getting through customs is a piece of cake. Getting through immigration is a but more difficult only because it can be time consuming. But since you are traveling on a Monday, that is one of the slower days so it shouldn't be too big of an issue. If you take a charter flight, it will take longer as that terminal is a tad more crowded. The scheduled air terminal (US Air, American, Continental) is normally less crowded and easier to get through.

3) Cell phones? Depends on what kind you have. Call your company and ask what the deal is. If not, you can rent a cell phone (but it's better to be unreachable on your honeymoon )

4) For your birthday, I highly suggest you go OFF the resort and into town, which is close by. There are some FABULOUS restaurants. Try the Blue Lobster for seafood, it's on 5th Ave (the main drag). Just take a ride in before dinner time and walk around. You can pick a spot to have dinner at and most all the restaurants have the menus displayed for you to see before you sit down.

5) This is what you get for a honeymoon:

Honeymooners-Bottle of champagne upon arrival, special turn down service, VIP cocktail invitation and room upgrade (based on availability)

There are several different packages that you can book at the RH as well. There's a Royal Romance package, a Relaxation package, a Luxury package....all with different inclusions such as free massages and facials to a lobster dinner on the beach. It costs a bit more to book one of the packages but if it's something that you would like, it might be worth it. The honeymoon stuff is free but you do need to bring proof of marraige. You might also need to write ahead to let them know why you are celebrating you honeymoon so long after the wedding (don't think this should be a problem though, considering the circumstances).

6) Ruins...there is Tulum, Coba, Chichen Itza....the owners of this site, James and Anna do tours and do them nicely I might add. You can contact them for all info about booking a tour to the ruins. Driving a car is an art form in the Mayan Riviera so you might want to let someone else do the driving.

Hope that helped!

[Guire]

Thanks Shammy!
I really appreciate it! less to worry about now WOOT!