Buffet lines, sprawling resorts and endless paths that lead to multiple activities may be what some couples are looking for in a destination.
It isn’t the relaxing vacation everyone is looking for though, especially when you are traveling with your girlfriends or your husband.
Sometimes you just want a boutique experience on a gorgeous beach. You want a la carte dining with an all-inclusive price. Maybe you want a little something different offered as well, something maybe you haven’t seen anywhere else in Mexico. I found all of that at the Royal Hideaway Playacar.
I was tired. We’d been hotel hoping for a few days, and I’d just come off of an intense conference. I longed to be pampered and see a difference side of Mexico’s all-inclusive resort scene.
A sprawling resort was the last thing I wanted to see. I wanted comfy, cozy and a little bit of luxury.
Royal Hideaway Playacar, just down the beach from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, is a plantation style property tucked away from the sprawling resort scene. You can literally walk from the entrance of the building to the beach in five minute.
Don’t believe me? Watch this video as my friend Angie from AngieAway.com and I do just that.
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Royal Hideaway Playacar Rooms
Rooms are located in “villas,” with its own concierge to take care of you. When I needed to schedule an airport pick up from the hotel? My man William had it all taken care of for me.
Want to set up a special dinner? No need to go to the front desk. My personal concierge had it covered.
The beds are sumptuous and made it difficult to get out of bed to photograph the sunrise my first morning.
The bathrooms were at least double the size of my bathroom at home, complete with walk in shower and full tub. I’ve never spent so much time primping as I did for dinner those two nights during my stay! There is just something about white Italian marble that makes my heart go pitter-patter.
Dining Options at the Royal Hideaway
As for the food, well, you know how Mexico is known for those all-inclusive buffets? Yeah, Royal Hideaway Playacar doesn’t have any.
The most buffet you get is at breakfast and a salad bar at lunch, and even those aren’t your typical all-inclusive buffets.
Breakfast gives you a nice array of fruits, pastries and cereals, but you can order omelets and other speciality items cooked to order from your waiter. M
y favorite part of traveling is being able to get someone else to make me an omelet. I’m useless when it comes to making omelets, so it’s a luxury for me to be sure.
Dinners could be had at the Grill, which featured a variety of meats off the—you guessed it—grill. This was my favorite spot, and also where breakfast was served (although called The Deck during the day), as you could watch the moon rise over the ocean as you ate dinner (or the sun rise during breakfast).
Other speciality dining spots included Azia, Spices, Palazzo, and Las Ventanas.
Or you could book the chef’s table if you wanted something extra special. Just make sure you grab a reservation. These restaurants all fill up during high season.
Afternoon Tea at the Royal Hideaway Playacar
OK, so far you are thinking, “great, it’s an all-inclusive resort with a boutique style. That’s nice.” It is, but here is what made it a little more special to me. The Royal Hideaway Playacar serves afternoon tea on the veranda at 4pm every afternoon.
High tea. In Mexico. At an all-inclusive resort.
Even as I chatted to the PR gals from the property they admitted it was one of their favorite parts of the resort.
I sipped chilled champagne while I feasted on blackberry macarons and chocolate-covered strawberries. And yes, I drank tea.
Now you are thinking I’m crazy because Mexico is about a billion degrees in May. It’s true. It is hot and humid in the summer, but when you drink something hot your insides match your outside and you don’t feel so bad anymore.
So, a nice jasmine green tea, champagne and sweet treats while I looked over the property and on towards the beach was the perfect way to end the afternoon.
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The Royal Hideaway Playacar is not a sprawling resort. If I could bring my kids here I would as we don’t need massive properties with endless activities, although my boys certainly enjoy it. Alas, it is adults only.
I like the slower pace of this type of resort. I like the quiet nooks you can find. The hidden pool by the spa that no one knows about, and that one little extra amenity, afternoon tea, that make it different from the other resorts on the beach.
I’ll be back with my husband one of these days. If anyone wants to watch the boys for us, just give me a yell.
I visited the Royal Hideaway Playacar while traveling with Travelocity as a Gnational Gnomad ambassador. While I was under no obligation to cover this property on my own site, I wanted to share this unique property with you all. As always, my opinions are my own. When they aren’t you will be the first to know.
