The Royal Islander

Family of six with ages from 5 to 21. Preferred a suite instead of two hotel rooms. The accommodations were perfect for our needs. Olders in separate room with two double beds and youngers in murphy beds. We had our own quiet room overlooking the beach. Upside: get to have access to sister property (bigger and more amenities). It breaks up the days. Pools are nice. There are enough activities to stay busy. Youngers just enjoyed to pools. Beach is beautiful, but difficult to swim in ocean. Value is there for the rooms. Negotiate breakfast in with your room rate — well worth it. Eat later and use the kitchen for snacks until dinner. Also, we had tremendous Family time by ordering take out and eating in our room overlooking the beach, or on the beach. Downsides: changing rooms on a Saturday was a bummer but uneventful. It’s a timeshare, but so are most the hotels in Cancun. There is nothing within walking distance worth seeing. Be careful when you take a private taxi to «shop» in the tourist area. It’s a well organized plot by the driver and shop owners. Cancun is all about the $‘s. In general it’s about how much you’re willing to buy or give in tips. It gets old. Probably a one-​time eight day visit (worth it) for this Family, and moving on to somewhere (not in Mexico). Cancun is a beautiful, less expensive one-​time Caribbean vacation.

my 3^rd time at this location and im noticing bad signs.
1.- the hotel will be sold around 2022 so dont invest on it.
2.- lots of new hires and not trained well.
3.- the older staff is pleasant and very helpful, newer just seems not to care.
4.- Train your people better.
During this stay, we took side B of the villa and it was great. AC worked and TV worked. Bathrooms were clean.
We asked for more pillows and towels since we booked for 3 people and they only gave us for two. WE had to call 3 times to have someone come with them and We asked for a baby crib, they delivered it but it was so small that our 1 year old did not fit. well she did but could not move.
Getting breakfast: went to get scrambled eggs, the cook was sweating (normal) but then he grabs a paper towel, cleans his sweat, then crumbles it in his hands and after a few seconds cleans the pot that he is
going to cook the eggs with it. I was hell the F no. Then he grabs a dirty rag to clean the grill and wipes the pot with it. IM Fk this and walked away.
They get 3 starts because the buildings are maintained well and the pools are great. The beach sucks as its always hard and ruff. They keep loosing the beach to erosion.
Well service is great for the older employees but these new ones need better training.
PS: happy hour is every day at 3pm and 9pm. drinks are super, extremely watered down and lukewarm. Most drinks contain milk to make them like a shake and pour less alcohol.
Buy at duty free and then at their Market.

There are very many reasons to not stay at this resort. First, when we booked we booked at the hotel NOT the time share, however they baited and switched us, meaning, no hotel amenities. They also double booked our room, so one entire day we wasted switching rooms. When we arrived at our second room, it had not been cleaned yet, so we were in limbo FOR 3 HOURS. The resort is in no way an authentic mexican experience, and the room is more like the crappy first apartment you had out of college. There is also no hot tub here, in case you are looking for one. The gym and spa are closed on Saturdays. I think this is pretty much the lowest end place on the hotel zone. Stay anywhere else. The management doesn’t care anything about the quality of your stay.

We had an awesome stay at the RI.
We had a full villa and traveled as a group of 5. The rooms are VERY spacious and clean. We stayed on the 8^th floor. A full villa is pretty much a two bedroom condo. A has two queen beds, full bath, fridge, step out balcony. B has the full kitchen, dining/​living room, huuuge balcony, bedroom with king size bed and a full bath. Daily maid service except for Sunday. Views from the balconies are priceless. The cancun beach is beautiful. This was our 5^th time in Cancun and our first time at a Royal Resort. We were never approached to attend a timeshare presentation. I highly recommend this resort. Free parking. Rent a car and grocery shop.

Spent a week here as guests of friends at their condo. They’ve had it for almost 20 years and loved it so much they wanted to share the experience. It’s a beautiful resort, well-​kept beaches, pool area etc. They have wonderful restaurants, courteous staff and there’s a bus stop just down the road to explore cancun.
We would definitely stay again.

Nice resort! Staff at the resort are friendly and hard working. They are constantly fixing, painting, cleaning and working to keep up the resort. Anyone that can’t appreciate should stay elsewhere. We spent 5 days on the beach, and although we’re not the regulars that are there every year, the staff still paid attention to us. The banana monkey is a hit! We ordered tacos on the beach a couple of times, and the tacos was great, however they messed our order up the second time. It’s so far away that it’s hard to correct it quickly, so that was the only downfall. Played ping pong with beers yesterday and had our fair share of them. The weather was humid, so the beers were flowing. Can’t wait to go back and relax!

If you can afford to go elsewhere in Cancun, pay the extra $ and go! My girlfriends and I were NOT impressed with our 3 night stay here.
This hotel is in the hotel zone but fairly far from downtown Cancun, which is where the party scene is. Downtown is about a 20 minute bus ride from here. The hotel itself is located at the top of a hill, so you’d need to take a 5 minute walk down to the main road to catch the bus.
The only reason why my girlfriends and I ended up here is because this was one of the very few hotels in Cancun that offered two-​bedroom suites. There were 6 of us altogether and we did not want to be separated into different hotel rooms. Once we got our room #, it took us FOREVER to find our room! It’s so confusing to find your room! Generally with hotels, the first # in your room # is the floor it’s on, right? Not with this hotel! And what didn’t help was that even though the guy at the front desk gave us a map and drew directions to our room, he transposed one of the #‘s and we were led in the wrong direction! So frustrating!
The most ANNOYING part of this stay was the fact that we had to move into a new hotel room for our 3^rd night. The timeshare owner of our first room was coming that weekend and needed their room so we ended up staying in two different hotel rooms over our 3 night stay. WTF!
The suite itself was pretty outdated but it had all the amenities we needed. A full kitchen, a mini fridge in each bedroom, a living room and a huge balcony that faced the ocean.
There is also a mini-​mart on the first floor near the lobby, but they won’t take cash. In fact, the restaurants wont take cash or credit card either. You need to pay with your room key and then they put it on your room bill, which is super ANNOYING!
I am definitely staying elsewhere on my next trip to Cancun.

This place isn’t the best resort to stay in Cancun. There are many things in this hotel that will surprise you (i.e. things that you would expect to find in a standard hotel).
First of all, they do not provide a new set of soap or shampoo every day. You kind of expected to use the same ones everyday. Second, they do not clean your room on Sundays since the employees need to rest as well (management could have rotated the resting days for existing employees). Third, coffee isn’t provided to the rooms everyday. Apparently, they only provide coffee on your first day. We challenged the management that of we check out the next day, and check in the very moment, they will provide coffee. This honestly makes no sense. Fourth, their pool side restaurant menu isn’t complete. I would expect more standard mexican food, but all they have are standard americanized food. Not to mention that their fish isn’t fresh at all.
There are positive things in this hotel. For example, they have a grass tennis court and a nice pool. They are also located by the beach so the view is pretty.
My conclusion is that I do not recommend this place in Cancun

I have been visiting the Royal Resorts for the past 7 years because my mother in law has a timeshare here so we get pretty good deals. I usually stay at the Royal Sands a few blocks up on the strip but this was my second time at the Islander.
This resort is located on top of a steep hill so if you are taking the main bus on the road, there is a lot of walking involved. Many tourists take cabs/​shuttles which take you up the hill but you can save a lot of money by taking the buses on the main street (right now, $ 2 USD gets two people on one way). You basically walk between two jungles and one fences in local mexicans. In the night time, this walk may not seem safe.
You must put a deposit on hold but this deposit is technically your spending cash at the resort properties. You don’t need physical cash/​card with you, your room key will be your debit card during this trip. If you go over your «deposit» limit, you must put another deposit at the front desk.
The hotel lobby has a market where you can pretty much buy food to cook in your room (if you have the kitchen side). The souvenir store is in Royal Carribean which is connected to this hotel so you can walk over. The spa is located in the Royal Sands which you can take the Royal Shuttle that runs every hour for free.
The room itself is quite outdated. It gives off a 1999 feel. If you aren’t staying with your timeshare week, you will get the «B» side which provides two double beds and no kitchen. We tried to update to a king bed but they said no rooms offer that except for the «A» side which is usually occupied by the timeshare holder for that week. Front desk insisted we would fit on the double bed together but me being 5“9 and my boyfriend being 6“2, that didn’t quite work out.
Getting to the beach is a mission here has there is many levels depending on which side you are staying on. Elevator is outdated so I was always scared to get on them. The beach is beautiful after you figure out how to get there through their many walkways/​hallways/​stairs and they do have a bar on the beach so you don’t have to leave to get a drink.
Happy hour by the pool begins at 3pm. The bar by the restaurant has a happy hour from 9pm-​10pm for those pregaming before they hit the clubs.
We stay here for the convenience, more so the Royal Sands where you can access the hotel from the street and access the beach just by walking from the pool, no complication like this hotel. If we could get this deal staying at a much newer resort, I would totally do so. However, the Royal Resorts do have great hospitality so I really don’t mind staying here if I am saving money and use it on other things in Mexico.

This was a beautiful resort as part of the Royal Resort series located directly next to the Royal Caribbean. The Royal Islander is home to Paco’s Tacos which is, you guessed it, a restaurant for tacos. But of course they have so much more than that. In completing it’s Royal Resort experience, they have much the same amenities that the other resorts have. I think the best thing about the Royal Islander is that it is less busy than most of the other resorts. It’s also one of the newer resorts as well so many of the buildings are brand spanking new and extra clean.
They are the primary resorts in charge of the sea turtle conservation. They start by making sure the sea turtle eggs are buried in safe locations and when they hatch they deliver them out during the night avoiding day predators. They usually start this at around 8:30pm to 9pm along the beach. You should take part in this unique opportunity!

Best vacation ever. Everything is positive from the staff to the location. Five stars all the way.

Lots of activities such as beach and pool volleyball. The food was delicious and the service was great! Beautiful water front and it is conveniently located by two other royal resorts, making food options endless! I love all of the royal resorts in cancun!

Oh man guys — it’s a good thing I don’t have a choice when I travel to Cancun, these reviews would’ve made me think I was headed for hell.
It’s not hell, I assure you. In fact, based on my travels to this particular place (4 times over the past 10 years) I can vouch for the standard of service and will tell you a bit about the experience.
(And when I say «don’t have a choice» — I mean, my dad and his wife have a timeshare in the Royal Resorts, so this is where we go because we want to hang out with them, share their villa, and do family time. No muss, no fuss, no making plans — we know our destination is the Royal Resorts, and I am just fine with that.
On our most recent stay (April 2015) — we spent 7 nights at the Islander. I was after a very chill 7 days and this is exactly what I got. I arrived on Saturday and didn’t really leave until the following Saturday. I didn’t have to think about where I was going, how I would get there, what I would wear (bathing suit, sundress, sandals, fini), who might be there, or anything. I basically downloaded «Girl on the Train,» put on a bathing suit every day, swam with my toddler in the pool and sat under a palapa. I couldn’t be happier.
We had the whole villa (my parents with the Master Suite) and my husband, son and I in the «lockoff» hotel style room. When staying with a group this size it’s great to be able to share the common areas (balcony/​terrace, kitchen, dining, living room) but still have your own bathrooms, bedrooms, closets, entryways, etc. The lockoff units (which can often be found for quite cheap on booking sites) are totally fine, but very basic. If you can, try to get the villa with the larger social areas (preferably on the ocean, best view!), it’s a bit more relaxing. However if you’re on a budget the lockoff rooms are totally adequate, comfortable and clean. Just remember to bring toiletries (not provided) or you’ll need to purchase some in the market.
The resort is «cashless.» This means you’ll get a card at check-​in and you’ll charge everything to that card and pay at the end. I really like this, but reading the reviews I get the vibe that some do not. I did not really think about it – I hate carrying cash, and being able to use the card for everything at the resort (spa, meals, market, laundry, gym, etc) means I don’t need to worry or carry my wallet so I just locked it up in the safe and used my card all week. Trust me, it’s really fine. You can always check your balance with the front desk if you’re worried about going over your budget. It’s always less than I think it is going to be after all that eating and drinking (and spa going, yay!). I also prefer this type of resort rather than an «all-​inclusive» because they usually use cheap alcohol and cheap food, and I’d rather just pay for the upgrades I want rather than try to «get my money’s worth.» That would be stressful — I do not want stressful! I want peace.
I found the staff to be lovely, always. Protip — if you tip early (you also do this on your card) and WELL, they will really take care of you. If you don’t, you’ll get fine service too. My guy gave me a hug when I left! My dad said I’m too nice, but honestly — that guy is running back and forth in the sand providing me with lime daiquiris and bushwhackers, I think he’s earned that and more. Be kind, be generous and be respectful. They are staff, not slaves. They are professionals and they should be treated as such. Watching some of the guest behavior it made me think people should have to take an etiquette class before leaving the country. Sheesh. Anyway, I was cool with the staff — not once was there an issue, and they were quick to help with anything along the way. 3 cheers!
You can arrange private or shared transportation through Thomas Moore (from the Cancun airport). It’s easy and also done via your room, so you’ll just pay all at the end. It’s very simple and convenient. The cost for a shared roundtrip ride (shuttle) is just $ 25/​pp. Private transport is more (inquire for details) — it can all be booked via the Royal Resorts website and they’ll send a confirmation.
There’s a laundry and gym on site. You can take the shuttle to the spa at the Royal Sands (about 20 minutes). The pools are nice and kept clean. The beach is gorgeous, but the water is rough — so if you really like to swim, the pool is the best bet.
Happy Hour starts at 3pm, but I never figured out what the deals were. I just wanted to participate and be festive when everyone started chiming «HAPPY HOUR!.» So I did. I suggest you do the same. There are many places to grab drinks.
One towel per guest, checked out at the sports desks.
As a Royal Resorts guest you can utilize (and charge) any of the amenities at the Royal Islander, Carribbean and Sands. Kind of nice to get a change of pace, head to another pool, go to a restaurant at the Sands (Sisal is good!), etc.
So yes overall — it’s good. It’s vacation. Enjoy.

I stayed at the Royal Islander for my birthday. I enjoyed the location it was perfect. the beach and the pool was amazing. The rooms were actually very small I thought and the beds were old and lumpy. They give you a coffee maker and coffee filters, but NO coffee to make in your room. You have to walk all the way down to their lobby for a free coffee in the morning. Not an issue for me a non-​coffee drinker. but odd. Yet. we had an amazing view of the beach from our room, just beautiful.
Yes, they do make you charge your room card to pay for everything. That is a bit odd, even there is a little market store downstairs, it came in handy, they have all of the little things you might need, its also a grocery store. they will only take your room key to charge anything in the store too. The happy hour drinks were tasty and are really a great deal! I thought the bar was fantastic. The food was very good at this hotel too. There are nearby hotels too with amazing food. Everyone was very nice, all of the staff were friendly. I would probably suggest this hotel for a very decent price to a person visiting Cancun.

The positives: the beach is to die for, it’s exquisitely clean, the sand is soft, on the beach and in the ocean.
That’s about where it all ends. If you stay there and don’t eat or drink, you’ll be happy.
The negatives: the rooms are very clean and the housekeeping does a great job, but we had ants in the kitchen area. They sprayed once and they ants came back, they had to spray again… They were fast about sending someone but it was not effective.
The staff is very nice but EVERYONE expects a tip, it’s something that I’ve never experienced before, maybe it’s a cultural difference.
If they so much as give you directions and you don’t tip, they turn very sour and unhelpful, acting as if you’re bothering them.
The food is completely American, and mediocre at best. The food is WAY overpriced, even by American standards. With tip and tax, it’s a ripoff.
As for the drinks, they use the cheapest alcohol possible, and charge premium prices, expect a horrible headache the next day, no matter what mixed drink you have.
The 90 minute timeshare sales presentation was nearly 6 hours!!! We did get the $ 100 credit, but it was at their exchange rate, so it was closer to $ 80 and the 50% off trips were more like 30% off.
All they care about is SELLING YOU timeshares.
It was such a lukewarm experience, I could not recommend it in good faith.
Expect to pay what you would at a nice resort, do not expect any kind of price difference because it’s Mexico.
They also FORCE you to charge everything to the room, and they FORCE you to pay at their exchange rate, even though I specifically requested to pay in pesos, so I get my bank’s exchange rate. Very disappointing.

Worse hotel ever in cancun, worse food, found hair in my food so disgusting, we got to the room me and my husband the room wasn’t ready no one cleaned it, if you have a choice DO NOT PICK THIS HOTEL.