Royal Solaris Caribe Hotel

As a owner of a timeshare at Royal Solaris for the last six years, the service, attitudes,food and pure enjoyment gets better each year. When my wife and I depart from our vacation there we are already planning for the next year. We have made several friends during our stays and each year it just gets better. Thank you Royal Solaris. Bob Novelli

My boyfriend and I went to Cancun last year in June. I was a little hesitant about going to Mexico but I had the best time ever. Cancun was absolutely beautiful. The Royal Solaris was absolutely amazing. The staff was so friendly and happy all the time. Granted if you have a bad attitude and you treat them bad and you are a tightwad you are not going to have a good time. The food was great. The maids were very nice they would always make us swans out of towels. The only complaint I have is The one night it rained soooo hard and it was very windy, the next morning I awoke to find there was about three inches of water on the floor. But they apologized and were very courteous to clean it up. If you can't have a good time here I can't possibly understand how you can have a good time anywhere.

This was my first time in Cancun and I loved the Royal Solaris. The staff was wonderful, drinks good, great bartenders, lovely pool and the pool bar was excellent. They had shows everynight and also everynight they would take you on a bus to a club for only $20 and that included an open bar. The clubs in Cancun are priceless! I thought the food was good. I enjoyed the Italian Restaurant and even the buffets were good. I think they have something for everyone if you aren't that picky of an eater. I had no complaints. Our room was great too. We stayed in the Royal Tower which is about 2 years newer than the other and the air conditoner worked great and our bed was huge with a little eatery area and the bathroom was nice as well. I read other reviews and I'm sorry to hear some were disappointed. I thought it was a wonderful experience for an all inclusive resort and the staff was so friendly and helpful to us. The only annoying part were the peddlers on the beach and at the flea market but that isn't anything to do with the hotel. They really make sure to keep you satisfied and saved us from purchasing a trip that was a scam from a man on the beach. They threw him off the property. So, its nice that they keep people off the property unless they are guests of course. I found that helpful because the people down there can be pushy. I totally recommend staying there. We plan on going back again and you will meet some great people from all over the world as well.

I have been to cancun before and have stayed in the Palace resorts and the Omni. But the Royal Solaris was so far the best one of them all. Food: Always fresh and good variety. Room: Unfortunately I had a lagoon view, but I never really spent time in the room anyway. Weather: 85 degrees everyday~ NO RAIN! Construction: There was some going on, but not to a point where it was an inconvenience. Sports & Entertainment Staff: This is really what won my vote for an Excellent rating. The nightly shows and daily poolside activities were by far the best I've ever seen. The staff performing the shows were great (especially the girls). A special thank you to Armando, Kish, and especially Robin!!

I have been to Cancun 7 times and have never had so many problems as I had staying at the Royal Solaris. They call it a 5 apple and golden apple resort and I beg to differ. When we get there the whole lobby area and lobby bar are being renovated the entire week that we were there. A horrible paint odor (or something) throughout the air. One on the rooms from our group started pouring water from the ceiling and down the walls. Needless to say a couple of us were sick the whole week because of the moisture in the rooms. The pool area was nice but the water was freezing. So didn't get to enjoy it as much as we would have like. There was constant hammering going on in the lobby, so while you were trying to enjoy breakfast there was constant noise. One of the couples in our group were awoken to this hammering noise every night at 8 AM. That comes early when you have been out all night. The food was ok and the drinks you just had to tell them to make them strong. We had a balcony room (tipped the guy at the front desk) but woke up one afternoon from a nap with a worker looking into our room. So they continued to work on our balcony for 3 days (should have saved the $50). Only one of the hot tubs was working, so the one that was needless to say was crowded all the time. So what I have come to realize is that is a nice place if you are out all week hanging by the pool. But if you happen to go and it's raining at all you will see the true age of the resort. VERY out dated compared to other places that I have stayed that didn't get a better rating thru Apple Vacations.

Que Paso!!!! If anyone was more nervous about going to Cancun, it was me. After reading all of the reviews, I was very weary about traveling to Mexico. I visited the hotel from Nov 23-30, and had the best vacation of my life. I would recommend Cancun to everyone, and highly recommend staying at Royal Solaris. All hotel staff made the vacation a wonderful experience. The workers were very helpful and always all smiles. The Entertainment Team was great - and really kept the atmosphere very fun and exciting. The shows that they put on every night were great - I definetly recommend seeing some of the nightly shows. As for food, my family and I enjoyed all of our meals. You couldn't go hungry at the hotel with so many restaurants and snack bars. The environment is very safe as well. As for the drinks, of course, they are watered down a bit, but that is expected. You don't want to get smashed in the first 2 hours at the pool. You can always do shots, and they play a crazy game of tequila volleyball! I definitely recommend taking part in the activities they hold at the pool. You always have more fun being involved and everyone is very nice and there for a good time. I recommend going to Xel-Ha/Tulum from the FunJet vacation desk on the all day trip. Great snorkeling and swimming with dolphins! So, for all of you looking for somewhere to stay in Cancun - Royal Solaris certainly is one of the best. Great for kids and adults alike. A great experience that we can't wait to do again! Loved it!!!

We just returned today from the Royal Solarius and we were very apprehensive with this hotel considering all the negative reviews. Since we already booked and paid for the tour about one month before hand, there was nothing we could do get out of the deal, especially since we heard of an awesome last minute deal at the Oasis Cancun! Outside: The entrance was nice, indicative a 4 star hotel (out tour operator, Signature Vacations rated it a 4.5/5 stars. It was more like a 4 star. But, the make-shift hotel lobby was awful. Inside: wow, major construction. The reception desk was very crowded. It looked like a run-down lobby. But, that s understandable. Attitude: I could understand how some people would say that the staff have a bad attitude. I found that if we treated the staff with an upbeat attitude, we would get better service. It probably worked in our favour that we were Canadians. We heard that Canadians are different than Americans in behaviour. Any ways, we got along well. Service: There was no noticeable difference in tipping vs nontipping. Our hotel has tipping included. It is not really necessary to tip them for everything, except to the bell boy for hauling your luggage to other building next door. We asked for a few minor repairs to be looked at like the bathroom shower tap leaking onto the floor. Nobody bothered to repair anything. Food: It is not logical to go to Cancun and NOT do all-inclusive (at least for Canadians). The cost of a dinner is around $25 USD + drinks/person. Add lunch and/or breaksfast, you will soon realize it is better bang for your $ to go all-inclusive. Of course, you can always eat at McDonalds. Overall, the food was satisfactory to fully satisfactory, even with the buffet. The buffet in the Royal Tower was very good. For breakfast, the buffet area is separated into 2 parts: inside and the solarium area. Choose the latter. Food is better and there is someone to make the eggs, omelette, or pancakes to your liking. Bacon was often over-fried and way too crispy. There was fresh fruit, typically papaya, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon (seeded) and pineapple (not the season so it s not ripe). Mexican fruit and veggies as a whole don t have a lot of flavour. I don t know why. They have twice a week by the pool in the Caribe tower an outdoor barbeque with steaks, pork, and chicken. Don t miss this one. The individual restaurants are worth going to. The food is a little higher quality and the service is great. Everything was clean. There was no problem with dirty water or any of the fruit or vegetables. The seafood was good too, especially the tuna. However, they need to use more raw garlic in all their dishes. Food lacked flavour for the most part. Late night snack bar was pretty much a joke. Sandwiches and hot dogs served after 1 AM. Beer only, and pop were served as well (outside in the main entrance to the hotel area). Drinks: Definitely water downed. Ask for doubles. Nobody is going to get you drinks by the poolside or drinks. Just bear this in mind. Good selection of local stuff. Entertainment: Someone reported the entertainment a bit cheesey. Not so inside, outside by the pool, yes. But, this is not surprising since this is a hotel for families. In the evening prior to the entertainment in the auditorium, you had a buffet dinner. Nice. Rooms: Well, not 5 star by any means. The a/c units were often too cold and the settings that actually WORKED were either ON or OFF. Or Low, High. There was no warm setting that functioned. This is apparently common in most hotels under 5 stars. We didn t use the A/C too much except in the day and to reduce the 96-100% humidity at night. It s cool at night at this time of year. The rooms were all musty and yucky. The humidity never got below 72% in our rooms (we took a temperature and humidity gauge). You had to crank up the a/c to make it comfortable but cold. We changed towers due to construction noise and the A/C duct under our beds that vibrated and made a lot of noise. This was covered by the tile. Not acceptable. But, the semi-private patio and view was awesome. The washrooms were functional. We had hot and cold running water. We could drink the water from the tap, so the sign said. We never did. Some bathrooms had soap dispensers, others did not. A very small bar of soap was given to wash your hands. The king size beds were the most comfortable and the double beds were reasonable. The tv had about 6 satellite channels. One included CNN in Spanish. HBO, Nickelodeon, and CBS were a few other ones. Reception was frequently poor. All the tv s were set to have high contrast. We don t know why. Timeshare: There were some time share people around but they were not pushy as in some hotels. Most don t really sell time share but a membership in RCI. We didn t get involved or go to the seminars but it was similar to a timeshare. Other: Weather was so so. Not as sunny as we would've liked. The wind was nasty. The water was too cool for our liking, but we are warm blooded people. They have several gift shops where you can buy incidentals, shirts and souvenirs. The prices were not outrageous as suspected either. If you can t go to downtown then go there. They have a great gym including shower and locker change area. When we checked out we had to surrender our bracelet The staff were fine, we did hear a lot, and I mean a lot of complaints due to construction noise and just people (guests) having a bad attitude. So, if you come across with a bad attitude, well One fella who was a member of RCI said it was cheaper to take a flight and hotel package then to book through RCI, which he had to several months in advance. If you wish at a GENUINE 5.0 star all-inclusive hotel and wish to pay about $2-300 USD more then stay at the Grand Oasis. That hotel is awesome. If you can go for a last minute deal, go with Oasis Cancun (Signature 3.5 star rated) and pay $481 US for one weeks all-inclusive from Vancouver. Now, what a steal! Would we return again? If, and a big IF, if we would return to Cancun, we would stay in the Mayan area. This hotel, when completed will have a 4.0 rating, imho. Make no mistake about the rating system used in this hotel. It is not a 5 star hotel according to Canadian Standards! But, ratings are subjective. Signature Vacation advises it is a 4.5. I find the US ratings tend to be inflated. We won t be staying in the Royal Solarius again. But, it was a great experience. I do miss their beds though ;-) Special thanks goes to Hui! A great gal and thanks for all the advice you gave us on the last day.

I just got back (today!) from a 5 day/4 night trip out to Cancun staying at the Royal Solaris hotel. I went with 8 friends, so this was in no way a family trip for us. I read the reviews on this site previously to the trip and just reread them to see how far off some people were. I either went to a differnt hotel than some of these people or the place has really changed in the last few weeks (unlikely). Here's my findings... Pool: During the stay, the weather was quite nice, so the majority of the time during the day was spent by the pool. The pool is nice and they do a decent job of keeping things orderly. The worst part of the pool was the constant attacks by flocks of seagulls trying to steal food from plates. If you aren't hovering over your plate, they will actually swoop in and steal food off of your plate right in front of you. They seem to like buns and fries the most... Keep something handy to swat at them. They have regular pool entertainment throughout the day. I found the hosts to be really annoying but that kind of stuff isn't my thing. A lot of people did enjoy the goofy games and the lame "Follow the leader, leader, leader" song that they played every 5 mins. Drinks: You can't taste ANY alchohol unless it's a double. Makes me wonder if the bottles are pre-watered-down. The glasses are REALLY small but that seems to be the norm in Cancun, so I will not fault them on this. Doubles or beer will lead to the quickest buzz. Otherwise you will wind up drinking 10+ drinks before you feel anything. Food: This is the thing that irked me to most. If there's one thing to slam this hotel on, it is DEFINITELY the food. This was such a huge disappointment to me that I would not recommend this place strictly on the poor quality of the food. Breakfast seems to be just about the best meal of the day, as was mentioned in another review. There are lots of choices and most things look safe to eat. The cereal was very very very bland and stale. It made no diference what brand or box you pick. Maybe it has something to do with the humidity in Mexico... who knows. During the day, they have two poolside buffets that serve burgers, nasty hotdogs, odd looking pizza, greasy cold fries, and popcorn served with a spaghetti spoon (?). The best thing there was the burgers and was my main meal throughout the stay. What a ripoff for an all inclusive trip. It'll be weeks before I eat another burger again, if ever! Also, be prepared to be attacked by seagulls as you eat. Also, these shut down at about 5-6pm, so get there in time since they get broken down VERY quickly. Also open during the day is a sit down style of buffet where they seat you at tables just north of the pool. The food there was pretty mediocre. The tacos are the best thing off the buffet, everything else was pretty bad. One visit we ordered off the menu. I had the tlalpena soup which was decent but the fajitas which were quite dry. However, the staff is very attentive and quick to bring anything you ask for. These guys definitely work their butts off and deserve a tip. There's more formal Italian restaurant on the south side of the hotel that had quite a long wait to get a table. The food was bad here as well. Hmmm... This seems to be a common theme... Anyway, the minestrone soup was the absolute worst I've ever had, the salads are basically three small leaves of iceberg lettuce, and the filet was actually three tenderloin medallions doused with sauce next to mashed potatoes served in portions the size of a walnut. This place serves food in tapas sized portions. Order several things or be prepared to be hungry when you're done! The large restaurant used for breakfast is also used for dinner. However, this was only open ONE NIGHT out of the 4 that we stayed. I can't comment on the food in there since I never got to eat there, but I'm sure it was lousy just like the rest. Late night eating - this is a joke! After the restaurants close at about 10pm, you gotta wait until about 12am for the lobby "restaurant" to open. This "restaurant" is actually a cart that sits outside the front door. They serve these horrible looking hotdogs and premade shrinkwrapped >>>TUNA<<< sandwiches. The dogs are the type that you see in the local convenient store spinning on the rollers. After the store can't sell them for a few days, they must ship them via mule down to the Royal Solaris to be served at the lobby "restaurant". Keep unperishable snacks/food in your room for late night eating. There is a Papa John's Pizza a few km north of the hotel, maybe this would be a good option. Staff: Everyone was fairly helpful and we didn't have any bad expereinces. Thumbs up to the staff! Nightlife access: Grab the hotel shuttle that leaves at 11pm or just grab a bus that whizzes by every few minutes. The bus only costs 6 pesos per person which equals roughly 65 cents US. If you live dangerously and like to get swindled, grab a Taxi! If you do a taxi, make sure to negotiate BEFORE you get in and clarify that the price is for everyone and not per person. Beach: The sand is amazing! There are some large rocks just under the water at the shallow water, so it's way too easy to stub a toe when a wave knocks into you. The waves can pack quite a punch, so some people are better off sticking to the pool. Be prepared to be frequented by peddlers selling chains, bags, etc. Most will leave you alone though. Rooms: The rooms were decent and the staff did a nice job cleaning the rooms. My only complaint is that the only three prong grounded outlet was in the bathroom. Overall, I would rate this hotel as "just ok". The staff was friendly and helpful, the grounds were clean, and the pool area was nice. The drinks were ok as long as you doubled it up. The bananna daiquiri's were very good! The food was just plain abysmal and because of this fact alone, I will not be returning here if I can help it. I don't expect to have 1st rate food everywhere in an all inclusive resort, but a meal at the local old country buffet puts the Solaris's food to shame.

Went to Royal Solaris 11-08 thru 11-11-2002. Was somewhat nervous after reading very mixed reviews about RS hotel. I wanted to write a review when I got back to alieviate some of the concerns others may have had from reading the same reviews I did. Arrived at hotel and were told our room was ready...take elevator up to 8th floor, room was NOT ready...back down to front desk (Royal Tower). We were told, no 2 dbls available in either tower (Royal or Caribe), we'd have to wait for original room. After much pleading, and about 20 minutes, we were given a room in Caribe Tower, 5th floor. Room was very nice...2 dbls, large room, separate sitting area. Lagoon view, not ocean view, but right outside out door was the open walkway with an absolutely stunning view of the ocean. Had option to move the next night to an OV room, but elected not to since view was great from current room. (Room #2529) Caribe Tower pool area is very quiet, but bartenders were good, people said they made better drinks than the Royal Tower pool bartenders. Royal Tower pool is the main one, very busy. It was not uncommon to wait in line behind 3-5 people to get drinks at the pool bar. Also the bartenders were not as attentive and friendly as those at hotels visited prior in Mexico. I did not like the small drink glasses used, and would've preferred them using disposable ones. The drink sizes were small, and you were limited to 2 per guest at a time...which was unfortunate if you were with another guest because you each got one small drink (less than 5 oz) each before you needed to go back in line to get another one---you want to spend your vacation on the beach, not waiting in line! Housekeeping was excellent...our room was cleaned well daily. The food was fine...Veneto was very good (Italian a la carte), Marco Polo was so-so. Service at Veneto was superb. The buffets, although small in size, were actually above average, although service was less than average. As a general rule, the service in the restaurants was 4-5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being best). We did not see the entertainment offered nightly, and so I can't give any info here. The beach was nice, beautiful but somewhat rocky. Since I have't been to Cancun prior, I do not know if this is common to Cancun or if Hurricane Isiadore caused this. The beach chairs were the long molded-type, so get two towels right away to use when you flip over to sun your back! All in all, the hotel was decent, a fair value for the price I paid. However, next Cancun visit I would make these changes: 1. Stay further north on the hotel zone...it was a 30 minute bus trip from Royal Solaris to the Forum area. Not a big deal, but would've been nice to walk to some locations. 2. Definitely stay in Caribe tower...Royal Tower is more "modernized" but Caribe is hacienda-style and our room was great. 3. Eat in a la carte restaurants. Cancun was a very different experience than other trips to Mexican destinations, but a great place to visit...nightlife is absolutely incredible. Enjoy!

Cancun is beautiful and definitely a paradise and the Caribbean Sea is breathtaking!! But, as much as I hate to say it, I am glad we did not pay for this trip, and we will definitely not go back. We did witness some pretty primitive plumbing plus a lot of underdevelopment and poor workmanship in this city. It is also a traveler's nightmare to go out of and back into the US (a lot of paperwork, questions and baggage searches). Plus, all the people in this Mexican city (from the airport, to the hotels, to the shops) are like a bunch of vultures...all competing and doing everything they can to get your money and pretending to be your best buddy. It is sometimes very hard to communicate if you do not know Spanish and it is extremely easy to get ripped off if you are not careful. We carried all of our valuables and important belongings inside a beach bag when we went down to the pool and beach...therefore, only one of us swam at a time in order to guard this bag, as we were not comfortable with the room safe nor the lobby safe to part company with our items. Our hotel was nice on the outside grounds and in the lobby, but it was old and the rooms looked okay, but all the rooms and halls smelled like a basement with a sewage odor problem. The bathroom inside the room had two sewers for drainage (in case you get water on the floor during a shower) which I had to cover with towels to help hide the smell, but the air coming from the air conditioner had the smell too...raunchy, moldy, damp, sewage smell....we could barely breathe...and I have to wash the clean clothes as well as the dirty ones we brought back, in order to get rid of this odor. (We talked to other visitors in Cancun...and they say this seems to be a problem in other hotels as well.) The a/c barely worked too. We had to request a fan or we would have never been able to sleep in the humid heat. We did have a nice view however, and a balcony with a sliding patio door to the room....but, if you shut off the a/c and kept the door open, the sea air made everything in the room wet and you would slide on the tile floor. We were offered another room, but after talking with other guests it would not have helped. The food buffets were very good, but nothing tasted like authentic Mexican cooking...we have better here in the states. We drank more than our share (and everyone else's) of: margaritas, pina coladas, rum and coke, and tequila on the rocks and never once even felt a bit of a buzz...you get the flavor of the drink, but the alcohol we believe is only water. It was a true experience and we did get to relax and enjoy the beautiful beach, the magnificent pools and each other....but I am positive that we had enough of Mexico on this trip.