Original Message:
Re: Royal Mayan vs the Royal Haciendas in Playa Del Carmen (by Cathy H.):
I stayed at Royal Islander 4/20-4/25/07 (which is in complex of Royal Mayan). On 4/24, we rented a car and went down to Playa to check out city and to look at Royal Hacienda. I hadn't been to Playa in 15 years, and was told that it was much changed and bigger. True - te city is bigger - an even bigger dump. There is one street in the whole city where you will feel safe - it is a fancy shopping/dining area. Other than that, I was scared DRIVING thru the town, much less getting out of the car and walking. Then we stopped by RH on our way back to Cancun. The outside of resort is faux painted in BRIGHT colors (orange, yellow) and the inside is brightly colored as well. Both my husband and I and a visitor from our Cancun resort all agreed we thought it was very tacky and none of us liked this place like we liked the Royal resorts in Cancun. They do have a nice restaurant (all windows overlooking gulf) that seemed nice, and you can see Cozumel from the beach and restaurant. Also, the Royal Hacienda is about a mile or so north of Playa - resorts along this route are all very private and surrounded by the "jungle" on both sides. And before I forget to mention, Royal Hacienda is still under construction - it was about half done in April.