So I originally planed to 4 nights at this hotel, but from the moment I checked in, my experience was horrible. I checking in, I had someone show me to my room. I thought they were a bell boy since they had a gift bag in their hand. He let himself in and gave me a tour of my room, and afterwards, he told me to have a seat at a table near by. Turns out he was trying to sell the hotels timeshare. After being jetlag and hungry, the last thing I wanted to hear was a sales pitch. It was just my daughter and I traveling and we felt very very uncomfortable having him in our room so late at night but no matter what we said, he would not leave. It took us an hour to finally convince him to go after we agreed to go to his presentation the next morning. The next morning came and my daughter and I wanted to explore the city. The seller saw us leaving the lobby and stopped us at the steps of the hotel. He became very aggressive in his sales pitch and asked us where we were going and why we were leaving prior to his presentation we had agreed to go to. We would take step to leave and he would follow suit and block our path. Soon his partner joined up with him and they would not let us leave the hotel property. We wasted another hour trying to leave. Feeling unsafe and uncomfortable after this, we immediately found another hotel to accommodate us on a short notice and checked out early from the Royal Islander. The receptionist told us to contact the travel agency to get a refund for the unused days. We contacted the agency and they called the hotel, and the staff told the agent that the hotel has a no refund policy on early check outs. That is different from what the hotel staff told us. Overall this is a horrible hotel and you will have a horrible experience. I forgot to mentioned, they make you deposit $300 to use at their restaurants and hotel store, but the receptionist told us it was optional to use the balance and whatever was left unused would be returned at the end of the visit. This was also untrue. I went to the restaurant located in the hotel and was told I had to use my balance until I no longer had any left. The server was very rude and uncaring. The food tasted awful as well.

Great hotel, excellent service, the staff is friendly and helpful. This location is also super quiet which was so nice! Our room had a beach front view with a balcony. 2 queens, a small fridge, toaster and coffee maker. Full bath and walk-in closet and safe. Plenty of drawers for clothes. Plenty of plugs for chargers. Our room was cleaned so nicely each day, so we left a good tip for the maid. There were 2 great places to eat, although the fancier one, El Matador required at least a 3 day prior reservation. The pool is large and kept very clean as are all the common areas. There are free pool noodle and towel rentals. As soon as a towel got pretty wet we could go exchange it for a new one whenever we needed. You can also rent (for a fee) some other items like boogie boards etc. The beach was INCREDIBLE! We've been to many beaches around the world and this is definitely in our top 3 favorites. The water is so warm and the water is clear as a bell. Interestingly though the Royal Cancun just a few miles away does NOT have the same beautiful beach front so be aware of that. We aren't huge eaters so we decided to save a ton of money, eat the free LARGE all you can eat breakfast and then later in the day we went to a local place to eat. Mr. Pompas is our favorite. Hacienda Sisal is awesome too! There is a free hotel bus that will take you to each of the resorts owned by Royal which are 3 total down the road. From those you can walk to some places to eat.. but we did take the local bus to get to larger markets. If you take the hotel bus to The Royal Sands, you can walk about 5 min down to the mall. Upstairs is a large grocery store. Hope this helps. We will definitely be visiting again.

The hotel is nice and the location is great, but we decided to stay here specifically to use the pool and the beach and they are so overcrowded that if you don't get a spot before 4:00 a.m. you won't get one at all for the day. There are signs saying that you can't stake out your territory with your belongings and then not be physically present for more than 60 minutes. However that is clearly not at all enforced because there are chairs with towels and no people all day long. It's really unfair to people who actually want to use the facilities. We asked the towel counter employees what time we had to get a spot if we wanted one, and they told us 3:00 a.m. That is beyond unreasonable. We won't be coming back to this hotel because they're obviously isn't enough space for all of the guests.

We had a great stay at this hotel. Rooms were big and spacious. Separate bedrooms. Balcony and kitchen, also microwave and fridge. Pool nice and warm. Lobby was clean and comfy. With couches to relax waiting for your Rooms.

Great location, bus stop just outside the hotel, several restaurants close by. Has grocery store on premises. Nice breakfast included. Spacious, clean, quiet, comfortable room. Room service every day. Our room was ocean front on the 8th floor with great views of the beach and ocean. Friendly, helpful staff. Nice swimming pool. I would go back again.

We booked the oceanfront room and the view was absolutely amazing! The breakfast staff were very friendly. The breakfast was really great offering a good selection of items. The room decor is dated and the bathroom is in need of renovations.

I had an ocean front room on the 8th floor with a beautiful view of the beach and ocean. Spacious, quiet room, comfortable bed. Friendly staff. Nice breakfast included. Bus stop close by. Grocery store on the premises.

Checked on 10/2/22...Whoever stated this hotel is "5 star" quality is either a liar, inside employee or never experienced a five star hotel. Two star at best. Room is an outdated. The mattress feels like I'm sleeping on Flintstone bed. Lamp shades are dirty. Appliances are rusty. Edge of Murphy bed mattress edges are dirty. Tub doesn't drain properly. Stuck here for 6 days. Never again!

Good value, especially the breakfast for $7 (if booked with room). Options for dining are limited but you also get access to the facilities and restaurants at their sister-, posher, resort down the road, for which shuttles are available every hour. I would've given Service rive 5 stars too were it not for the fact that the drinks are overpriced and under-alcoholed. The staff themselves were as good and friendly as any.

Worst hotel ever! It was a violation of my privacy. I arrived late for checkout, the reception boy told me for checkout delay they will charge me 100 dollars per hour. This hotel charges like 190 dollars per day, so I don’t understand how could it be, and I was not informed about this kind of penalty. But they will be nice with me they won’t charge me anything because they already took my luggage out, I was in shock and I asked him again what do you mean you took me luggage out?! I never in my life heard any case like this. And it was true they packaged my stuff and they just throw me out of the room. Imagine it one old man touched all my underwear, I still feel disgusting about it and all my things. I feel treated like trash, it was incredible! They violent my privacy and they told me that room was assigned to a partner. The hotel facilities are old nothing extraordinary, nothing good for recommendations. I was so angry, I forgot to take some photos of my luggage, they put a wipe for hotel’s clearance with me shoes, what a amazing!

The rooms are great, and most of the staff. But the weird looks you get when you don’t tip each and every staff member makes you really uncomfortable. They don’t accommodate people well like back in the states. It was fun but I’ll be staying elsewhere next trip out here.

It's a fine resort with amazing rooms, a big pool, and great drinks. 2 bedrooms get the most amazing ocean view. The resort is on a beach and has plenty of beach and poolside seating. Guests have access to the other 2 Royal resorts. Only 2 minor complaints- no jacuzzi and not enough food options. However this is all largely moot as the resort will close for renovations in summer 2023.

Upon booking the room, I was promised a first floor room on the beach. I was told that during the stay, I might have to move rooms incase the owners of the time share came, which we were fine with. Well, when we checked into the hotel, I was given a room on SEVENTH floor. The good news is that is was facing the beach otherwise I would have left the facility due to the girls absolute rude attitude that helped us check-in. I told her I was promised a 1st floor room, she literally couldn't have cared less. She pretended to call someone and double check *insert rolling eyes emoji" and then told me "well you saw me call and we don't have that room available" she didn't even pretend to care. Took off 1 star for her. The other star I deducted was for the food at the restaurant. The breakfast is $25 per person and it's a super basic regular hotel breakfast + chilaquiles. Def not worth $25 per person at all. The lunch / dinner was super basic, not horrible, but not great either. I'm really glad we didn't do the all inclusive. Other than that, the service for towels, service at the bar, maid service was great and everyone else was polite and helpful. The room was also spacious - we got the room with 2 queen beds and it was plenty spacious for 2 adults. Just be aware if they tell you you'll get a room on the 1st floor on the beachfront, it's probably a lie.

We had 2 rooms. One was fantastic the other left a little to be desired. The staff was incredible. Nacho was the best concierge hands down. Relaxing resort vibe.

I stayed here for my 30th birthday. It’s a quiet hotel mostly old people stay here. The cheeseburger was good and the breakfast. I tasted better margaritas. I think this the biggest hotel I stayed at or maybe about the same compared to the one I stayed in Vegas it’s right by the beach and they have a pool victor the door bell man that works at night he would always see me in the morning waiting for transportation for my excursions I asked him one day what’s a good one to do for my birthday i showed him xcaret plus he said he recommends it especially for my birthday and said he wishes to go one day he told me the hotel is closing next month and going to get laid off which is sad he kept me company while waiting for my transportation to the airport

We have been going here 20 years and it is the highlight of our year each time. The Royal Islander is everything you could want in your beach vacation: the hotel has its own private beach, a huge pool with a swim up bar, multiple restaurants, a concierge to help you plan excursions (not that we ever did anything but lie on the beach, but you could if you wanted to) and most importantly, an incredible staff. We have even gotten to know some of the staff over the years and they remember our family. It is completely different from any other resort stay I've had, it truly feels like I am going to some second home when I am there. Edit - IDK what reviewers are saying it is far away from everything. At this resort you are literally on the hotel zone strip, there are nothing but restaurants and spas around you, and more restaurants, malls, and nightlife are just a bus ride away. You don't even need a taxi, you can take the bus up and down the hotel zone for some pesos. If you want to get out to the pyramids or other sites, the concierge will help you plan a trip to get there.

The front desk staff was rude, the food is Americanized & not seasoned, the balcony don’t even fit a chair and was disappointing!! The area was remote, the wall down the very steep hill was horrible to reach the bus stop and made getting around difficult as I recently had knee surgery. Would not allow my Uber to come pick me up, Try to force overpriced taxis only. I think something was slipped in my drink, my flight was to delayed to test upon returning home. I will never stay here again. And the pool is 1 level, which is not relaxing at all and is too far from the beach. Not friendly for walking limitations

We stayed for a week and had a great time. We had 4 generations and there was stuff to do for all of us. Karla with the adult activities went above and beyond with her attitude and enthusiasm. She welcome everyone with a smile and have the type of personality to encourage you throughout the activity. If you were not in attendance one day she always asked and encouraged you to be there next time. She remembers everyone names and make you feel like family! She made the trip 1000% more fun and enjoyable. Yazmin (?) with the child activities make sure they were fun and kept the kid’s attention. My son (5yr) had a great time. Fernando and Evias were also there to help with the different activities and the short interactions were pleasant and they always had a smile on! The resort were cleaned and the grounds were nicely kept. The pool was warmed and we enjoyed it daily. Some thing they could improve on would be food. There was limited options and the price seemed high for what you got. The quality wasn’t on par always either. Also many people would go out early morning to save a lounge near the pool and if you were late then you didn’t get one. Sometimes the lounges were saved and we never saw anyone sitting at them. It is hard but wish they monitor it some to make it more accessible for everyone to enjoy.

We stay at the stay at the Royal Sands but came for dinner at the Conquistador restaurant twice for dinner using the all-inclusive package. Easily the best restaurant in the Royal resort stable in Cancun. Getting reservations is a bit of a hassle though, it's that popular. Onion soup course is outstanding.

Our second stay at the Royal Islander. This is truly a 5 star resort. Our villa was spacious and very accommodating, well provisioned with cooking and dining ware if needed and a daily maid service that was top notch. The staff here is extremely friendly and accommodating willing to quickly fulfil your requests. The resort area includes a large pool area with a floating bar as well as a kiddie pool. Ample seating with shaded areas and umbrellas. There are daily activities for children as well as adults. The beach has suffered from recent storms and has been reduced significantly in size as has much of the beach area along the hotel zone. There are two restaurants on site with excellent chef creations. What I like most about this resort is it's laid back character, offering relaxation and an easy vacation lifestyle. We spent two weeks here and were sorry to leave.

A nice hotel with great value. The room is clean and spacious. The swimming pool is beautiful and the beach in front of the hotel is nice. The breakfast buffet has many options to try and staff are super friendly and helpful.

We really enjoyed our time here. It was very comfortable and the staff is great. Only complaint, and it's not a big deal is that the food at the restaurant is average at best. My kids and wife liked the pizza and wings the best out of what is available here. Great overall experience!

My family has been coming to The Royal Islander for 24 years. We love staying here and it’s been like a second home for me coming since I was 12 years old. It was nice being able to bring my daughter to the same room I used to stay when I was little. The staff is amazing and always there to help. The cleaning staff leaves your room nice and clean. The one thing is like to see is more restaurant options. I believe in the remodel next year this is coming but overall a great place to stay if you are traveling with a family.

Everything was great, beautiful view and great breakfast and dinner. The only thing negative was the front desk and them trying to get us to change rooms to a smaller room (a few days in) after we already booked, telling us the "owner", I'm assuming a timeshare, already booked our room. Don't let them bully you, we kept our beautiful room and view regardless.

We LOVED our time here! We felt so taken care of! Love the pool bar, wait staff, housekeeping, Happy Hr, Amazing massages, views, pool area. Everything is very clean & everyone is very friendly. Not over crowded either! Just wonderful!

We have been to the Royal Islander for last 16 years. We obviously love this place. The employees are the key to a great visit. It is so nice to see the same people working here every year. Our maid, Maria Angela Kauil is a shining example. Every encounter with her includes a very warm and happy smile. Maria has been our maid for 10 plus years. The employees at the Islander are their secret to success. Everyone goes beyond your expectations to insure a safe and fun vacation.

Gorgeous property, comfortable rooms, good restaurant choices on property and on their sister properties, which can be accessed by a free shuttle. We loved the pool and close access to a beach and could usually find lawn chairs. The only thing we didn't like was that they kept trying to sell us a time share, and they cater to the time share owners. At one point we tried booking a dinner reservation and they said time share owners got first priority for dinner reservations. They told us to check back at a certain time. When we did, the reservations were gone.

It's a perfect place for families. Rooms are large and the extra common area is very nice. Balcony nice size. Service staff is friendly, helpful, and overall great. Food is above average. Drinks are ok. Watch the pool drinks and do not pay for premium Tequila shots, the liquor used is the same as regular price. Happy hour is worth the wait for value. Do upgrade to beachfront, it is worth it. Due to hurricane there is no beach. One row of cabanas and water level is almost to the hotel. Very sad but nothing hotel can do.