Royalton Splash Riviera Cancun

As a couple, we have recently stayed tor 2 weeks holiday at the Royalton Splash in Cancun having managed to secure a transfer after only one day stay at its sister hotel, the Royalton CHIC Cancun which was just absolutely horrendous and met none of our expectations, and wouldn't recommend that resort to anyone. As such, we remained open-minded in this new location in order to enjoy our holiday. We generally had a really good time and met some lovely people during our stay, we noted the following: POSITIVES: ● The Staff - Our Diamond club butlers (Clarissa and Jhonny) were amazing and were the highlight of our trip and made our holiday what it was, without them, it may well have been a different outcome. Both were phenomenal, really friendly, always attentive, genuinely checking on our well-being personally on a daily basis, (not just a quick hello in passing), always keeping us well informed of everything happening on the resort, and overall facilitated anything we asked for, always going the extra mile to ensure we were well taken care of. Clarissa in particular informed us that it is her wish to now progress to the wedding / group sections of the company/resort which we feel she would be absolutely perfect for and an absolute asset to those teams. Likewise, the majority of the staff were all very friendly and worked very hard, despite being very busy, and we had no issues with any of them. Management need to recognise this more. ● Our Room – We had updraged to the DC presidential suite and we were very impressed with the room size, overall cleanliness and view. ● Was great for Kids – Not that we had kids with us, but overall our grandchildren would have loved this resort with the huge water park, lazy rivers, kids' club, and activities, which kept the children entertained throughout the day. ● Entertainment - The daily evening shows were a nice touch, creative and entertaining, but got quite repetitive being there for 2 weeks. Entertainment and activities were engaging around the pool areas. ● Airport Transfer - Location of the resort to the airport was around 30 minutes, perfect if you have kids or had a long flight. NEGATIVES: ■ Food Quality – Whilst it was mainly edible, it largely depended on what chef was working to get consistency across the board. The food vans were good but you had to be there early before queues formed as they cook to order, nothing is prepared in advance and therefore you had to wait for long periods before being served, or indeed the food ran out if large orders were made. Parenting issue really, but frustrating to see some children eating directly from the buffet trays with their hands, with staff doing little or nothing to intervene if seen. The Ice Cream cafe had the same issue as the food vans, dont get there before the queues formed, you dont get any due to greedy customers! Again, there were no Diamond Club preferences on being served at any of these areas, which could easily result in non-DC customers wiping out all the free coffee/ice cream first etc. ■ Diamond Club. Nice big comfortable lounge, but otherwise probably not worth the money to upgrade to at this resort, as reality is, you dont get any benefits really different to other users of the resort and under-delivers in too many areas compared to other Royalton resorts we have visited. They also spent too long pushing the PRIME experience which was not wanted, yet they continued to push it on us, even down to leaving notes in our room! We daily witnessed, and often reported non-diamond club users regularly using diamond club pools, reserving their sun beds, and getting drinks for others (non DC) with nothing in place to stop it happening, this prevented DC members getting full use of their DC upgrade and missing out on beds and queuing for drinks. Nothing was done to rectify this whilst we were there. Bars in general - far too many people getting drinks in their own personal massive drinks containers which takes the servers an age to do and delayed the overall service. Saying that, the drinks were being served in plastic 'glasses' that looked unappealing and like that had been used by children on the beach to build sand castles with! ■ Excursions - The in-house company they use NEXUS bank on the fact that you’re stuck at the location once you’re checked in, and it really shows with the cost of the excursions. All very expensive! If you can find cheaper alternatives before you get there do so. Again, no discounts given for DC customers. ■ Over-Crowded – If you are looking for a relaxing experience then this is not the resort to choose. It is a child resort and the pools (including the DC bar pool) often resemble play parks, with more children in the pool bars than adults! The sheer number of people at the resort makes it feel chaotic and appeared too full for what they could physically manage with what very-stretched "stressed" staffing levels they had. Butlers were trying to manage up to 20 rooms each (ours were amazing), restaurant staff were attempting to do everything from trying to take orders, do drinks, clear tables, serve food and everything else themselves, therefore, a large table of 12 - 20+ people, could easily take all their attention, whilst our table of 2 were kept waiting for ages. We had similar experiences across the coffee shop, check in, being served at the bar, activities etc. ■ Sunbeds - Being reserved at 0600 and then not turning up for literally hours later (midday plus) was just so frustrating, particularly for families with young children who struggled to get near the pools due to selfish parents with 'entitled' teenagers hogging them all. This needs addressing by the management staff! ■ The Beach, whilst it has white sands, it is far from the picture-postcard, crystal clear Carribean waters that you are expecting. Sea was brown, rough and red flags flew daily. During our stay there was lots of seaweed beng washed up daily which left a pungent smell across the resort, which, whilst trying to be managed by a man on a tractor at all hours was still very apparent.

Romeo in the Italian was amazing so attentive and friendly! Angel on breakfast in Rio is brilliant always smiling and so friendly and helpful

Very very energetic, hospitable, accommodating, and most importantly a great chef. The show was amazing. I hope he gets promoted to head chef

I honestly don’t even know where to start. Let me just say this, don’t bother with the butler service. It was completely useless. Everything we asked for, things that are standard at other resorts, they either couldn’t or wouldn’t do. The upgrade ended up being a waste. From the moment we arrived, it was one issue after another. On day one alone, we needed four or five repairs. • The shower smelled like sewage and had to be flushed. • The room phone didn’t work. • The sink wasn’t draining. • The door lock battery died, and we got locked out of our room. The entire property is overcrowded, making even basic things, like getting dinner reservations, way more stressful than they should be. As for the food? Whether buffet or restaurant, it was extremely salty. I understand Cancun leans into the party vibe, but this felt excessive. The building design also leaves a lot to be desired. The hallways are hollow, so all the noise from outside travels straight into your room. On top of that, there’s only one set of elevators serving what feels like five buildings. Be ready to wait. Restaurants: • Taj was okay. • The Steakhouse was subpar. • Cave had excellent service, but the food was just mediocre. Kids: • The kids really enjoyed the pools, splash pad, and slides. • The daily shows were a nice touch, creative and entertaining. • But again, there were too many people crammed into small spaces, making it feel chaotic. Not Baby-Friendly, at all: This was by far the most disappointing part. The resort did nothing to support families with babies. • No tubs, no sterilizers, no bottle warmers. • The floor in the swim-up rooms was slippery and unsafe for crawlers. • There were no safety reinforcements or thoughtful accommodations for babies. If you’re traveling with a baby, do yourself a favor and skip this place. Instead, book Family Selection at Grand Palladium in Playa del Carmen. It was a completely different experience, with tubs, sterilizers, baby food included in the all-inclusive plan, and nannies available for more than just four hours. Disappointing Compared to Royalton St. Lucia: We had an amazing stay there. The butler service was thoughtful and responsive, which made us think this property might match or even exceed that experience. Unfortunately, it fell short on every level. Excursion Warning: We booked a tour through the Nexus service in the hotel lobby, and it was terrible. We ended the trip two hours early. They took us to a dirty site they called a cenote, and we spent the first hour listening to a sales pitch for insurance and add-ons. Everyone in the group was frustrated, a complete rip-off. Bottom line: This place is overcrowded, and it shows, in the slow, stretched-thin service, the stressed staff, and the underwhelming experience. I would not recommend it, especially if you’re bringing a baby or expecting anything close to a luxury stay.

Antonio was our pool bartender. He took marvelous care of us. We went through him for everything. He knew exactly what we wanted.