Hi Mitch,

We had an awesome time at The Royal Playa del Carmen.  Our only complaint was that we should have made the trip longer.  Maybe not two weeks, but ten days would probably be great.  As soon as you feel comfortable and relaxed, it is time to go home.  The resort was outstanding, best food of all of the places that we have stayed.   We ate at Pelicano's right on the beach each morning -as we are early risers, we had the place to ourselves most of the time, with incredible service I might add. 

We walked up and down the beach and the beach quality went down immediately south of where we stayed, as a matter of fact, the sister resort had a horrible beach front.  We would definitely stay here again or if we were choosing something else, either north or way south in playacar.  Staying in the town was  a great idea.  Just being able to walk out and go to the stores or the local bars was nice.  We enjoyed the Blue Parrot which was two blocks down and had a live band with tables right on the beach.  The pool area was nice and the suntan lotion, magazine, cool towel cart was a welcome extra.  Drink service at the pool was also outstanding.  Another feature I appreciated was that there was an outdoor hottub, which was nice when it was later in the day and the breeze was coming in off the ocean - other places we've stayed had jacuzzi's, but never with hot water.

Our room the first night was just okay (522), but the location they switched us to was awesome (836).  The view was outstanding, we loved laying in the hammock on  the balcony.  Something to note for future clients, the corner rooms on the beachfront have smaller balconies, they are not covered and the do not have hammocks - so although this was our original choice we ended up being much happier with a middle room (I really was looking forward to the hammock, so I would have been really disappointed).     The gym was a nice size, although it was often crowded in the morning and you sometimes had to wait for a treadmill or elliptical machine - it was really a matter of timing your visit.  Everyone recieved one free massage - and Pat took ours- it said it was just okay, but he is extremely  spoiled when it comes to massages.  The spa prices were a bit over the top - I chose not to use any of the services and leave that stuff for home, but I believe the rest of the folks in our party may have. 

Other things to note:  Outstanding service everywhere, top shelf alcohol at all the bars and restaurants, good food at the Chef's Plate (not at home gourmet though- so people shouldn't expect that), room service with the box so that you never have to open your door was also nice, cell phone service did not exist for me even though my carrier said it would (T-Mobile) but the wireless internet at the resort worked well most of the time so we were glad we took the labtop that fit easily into the safe.

The area has been really built up since our last visit, but still beats Cancun without a question. 

I hope I am not rambling too much, just thought it might be helpful to have additional information for your other clients.  Thank you for all your help.  You will always be the first person that we call when we want to plan a trip and we wil be sure to recommend you to others.  We want to pre-plan a trip to Hawaii for our 50th birthdays - not too far away- 3 years.  Have you been to Hawaii at all???  We will probably be visiting Mexico again, before we make it to Hawaii!  Please feel free to share my e-mail address with anyone who is considering the Royal and would like more info.  Thanks again and we will be in touch soon.  Enjoy your summer!!!

Patty