Ocean Maya Royale, Riviera Maya

I'd like to share my insights on the positives, negatives, and neutral aspects of my recent stay at the Ocean Maya Royale in mid-April 2024. Additionally, I'll touch upon and clarify some points from the reviews I read beforehand, as I made an effort to go through almost all of them before and wanted to give updates on changes the hotel seemingly made in response to certain reviews. Preface: I speak a decent amount of Spanish since I spent 5 years living in Mexico whilst in my 20s I am now 37. I am female, travelled to the resort alone and am Canadian. I was a Pigram, which is what I was calling myself as a non-privilege holder. I added a print off picture I made for myself before the trip - it got used during but could add insight for you. I intended this to be a quick point form but to be comprehensive it ended up being longer than expected so I hope it answers any questions or gives insights youll find helpful. Apologies now if there are grammatical mistakes. Pros: *Biggest Positive- Ive been sober since May 10th, 2021 and I found the staff very understanding when I said I don't drink alcohol. The menus had a few non-alcoholic drink options (virgins) but It was actually a fellow guest who told me they had non-alcoholic Heineken 0.0 beer which means I could enjoy some less sugary drinks like Michelada or Ojo Rojo. I really appreciated that they had this option even if they never directly told me about it. *My room had 12 anti-theft hangers but I brought a few of my own since I knew there wasnt lots of clothing storage space and I like to hang my wet stuff in the shower. *Simple and fast drop-off and pick up with my luggage to and from my room. *Seaweed was cleaned off in front of the beach and was much better than adjoining beaches. I didnt find it smelled but thatd depend on the season. *Beach was sandy and a nice sandy slope to get into the ocean *Seemed to be a decent seating section for the Privileged people with a specific staff serving drinks and better beds made out of metal instead of plastic. Its on the North side of the larger pool only. *I found all the staff friendly but again I know they thought it was super cool that I spoke spanish, so that helped. *There are lots of activities all day that are posted by the pool or easy enough to check on the Ocean Maya Royale App. The day time animators are champions and the different nightly group shows keep things interesting. *They had lots of options for Teas if you're a tea drinker. Mikes coffee shop was my go-to. They have a single cup coffee maker in the room too. *Plugs are American style with one European outlet in the bathroom. There were lots of plugs beside the bed if you have a breathing machine or want to charge your phone. *House-keeping did a great job overall and I appreciated the extra non-alcoholic drinks in the mini-fridge in the room (no freezer). *Bathroom came with hairdryer, umbrella, clothing steamer and lots of little kit items such as razor, shower cap, shoe shine, lotion, mouth wash, sewing kit and other odds and ends which was a nice touch. The shower had shampoo/con mix and shower gel but I had brought my own. *Water pressure was fine and heated up after a few minutes. *I had a king size bed which was comfortable enough *I recently quit smoking (I know I'm quitting everything haha) so I appreciated that people werent smoking everywhere at the resort. *There were only a few times that I actually saw security guards but overall I felt safe. Con: *Biggest Con - Not accessible for individuals with mobility issues. Many steps throughout and while ramps are available in the lobby it would be a challenge. Ill note, for aesthetics I imagine, they dont have the different levels of flooring brightly identified so you do need to be watching where youre going. The biggest issue is the inability to enter the larger quieter pool since there isnt steps or hand railing to enter the pool. The Party pool with the swim-up bar has steps and a railing to enter the pool but doesnt have a railing down the stairs to even access the pool making it inaccessible. Very poor planning. Almost all the blocks I saw youd need to walk up at least 5 steps to even be on the main floor without a railing. Bathroom didnt have any grab bars anywhere either. This is even more true if a guest wanted to get to the ocean, the little golf cart can't actually take them so they wouldn't be able to enjoy the ocean. *No full length mirror - itd be nice to make sure I look nice. A mirror on the back of the door or closet would be ideal *Balcony door didnt lock properly. Not a big deal in my second floor unit since I wasn't on a corner unit but it would have sketched me out if my room had one of the adjoining balconies. Ill note, I checked out another guest's room and her balcony door was similarly broken. *The party pool had the chairs covered in towels as early as 6:30am. During check-in they say no saving but thats a total load of crap. Not a problem if youd like to be in the quieter area which is on the north side or end of the larger pool, however thats also the Privileged area so some seating is already reserved for them. All the activities take place at the smaller pool aka the party pool. *The hotel next door (BlueBay) had a mega party on Monday and Thursday which made it a bit challenging to sleep even without my block being 1 removed from the border. Not a huge issue for me but I could imagine it was super loud for the people right next to it. I heard some guests complained until they were moved to a different location. My guess is BlueBay held huge parties to make up for their Terrible beach. Id suggest anyone bring/pack earplugs just in case. *I know this hotel charges an arm and a leg for any bodily fluid on any of their sheets/linens which I can totally understand and support them throwing them out HOWEVER this meant I was incredibly paranoid Id start my period while there which meant nightly I slept with a pad, underwear and shorts on just incase. I think their policy of charging people for accidental bio-products is outrageous and the fee should already be calculated in the price for the off chance a woman's body reacts to travel unannounced. *The massage staff and other sellers bothered me several times a day which is extremely annoying when youre trying to relax. Nothing like trying to read with people constantly trying to sell you stuff. *There are sellers that dont seem affiliated with the hotel selling drugs (alongside hats, knick-knacks, watches, etc.) right beside the towel hut. Its clear the staff know theyre selling drugs but they still let them hang out there which is clearly on the property. *I hate that hotels charge essentially the price of two people for 1 person to stay. It costs me $3000 (flights, transport and hotel) for the week. If I were two people it would have cost $4000 ($2000 each) So it cost me $1000 more to just be there alone. Neutral Observations: *I didnt go for the food because I know these hotels are feeding a large amount of people and need to make the food fit many types of people. I wouldnt write-home about the food nor did it make me sick, which for me was the most important. I also am careful when eating food thats been made for the masses, for example, I put lime on mostly everything and I wont eat anything not cooked that I cant put lime on to kill bacteria. They do ask at every restaurant if you have food allergies. *Having an idea of the different Blocks ahead of time could be beneficial depending on what you like. My block 34 was decent. Pros and cons being closer to the pool vs. the main lobby. It depends on your sleeping patterns. For example, if you smoke, you might want to be closer to the smoking hut but if you want to wear nice high heels to supper (note: ground is a bit uneven/fake cobblestone) you might want to be closer to the lobby since most of the restaurants are up there. Pros and Cons just like noise but convenience of being on the main walking path. I was only in my room to sleep, shower and change to an ocean view upgrade wouldnt have been a waste of money for me. *There seemed to be 3 colour bands when I was there. Privilege is all black, green seemed to have been purchased through a 3rd party site like Expedia/Booking.com which seemed to have a few coupons and maybe could reserve but it wasnt clear. Mine was blue which was through Air Canada Vacations and I had zero perks aka pilgrim. To me, paying the extra few hundred bucks to be privileged would not have been worth it. I think itd be worth it if you were in a big group and wanted to be sure to book the restaurants ahead of time. *Id guess at a normal relaxed stride without any walk disabilities, itd take me 10 minutes to walk from the pool to the main lobby. *I brought my own refillable water container which made it easy to fill up at the bar or any location. They had water stations everywhere. I also brought a little Mio Squirt (flavoured liquid) to add to my water so I could keep it a bit interesting while ensuring I drank lots of water. Game changer and better than a plastic water bottle in the sun all day. *Going for supper anywhere but the buffet (or Yookoso) was first come first serve for me (pilgrim) but since I was alone it was never a problem and I went to eat around 6 once they opened. *At 5:30pm that day you can line up to reserve a table at the Yookoso Teppanyaki restaurant for time slots later in the night. First opening is at 6. It sat 10 cramped in with 4 main stations which rotate every half hour it seemed. I went twice since I enjoyed that I got to meet new people which for a sober single person can be challenging at times. The food was the same both times. This was the only A La Cart that I liked. Ill note that they charge people for the imported beer and sake there but they didnt make it clear when offering it. There was only a little sign that not all the clients could actually see. *I had lunch everyday at le Charos which is beside the pool. Its all like appetisers so Id get two orders of tacos which would be 6 little tacos. I never made it up to the main lobby for lunch since it was inconvenient to go all that way. *The hotel is quiet after the 9:30pm show ends. This can be good and bad depending on what you like. *There isnt a dance club/disco *Id guess the average age of guests was 45. *I brought Pesos along with USD since at times I prefer to tip in Pesos to ensure theyre not getting screwed on exchange rate. *There is a fee the hotel charges at check-in which now I cant remember what its for or exactly how much it was but I think it was about 25$ USD. I dont agree with the hotels making charges after the fact since it seems shady that this price isnt already embedded in the hotel fee as some sort of tax. *I had a friend bring me from the airport so I was able to avoid the timeshare people and other sharks Ive heard theyre relentless even leaving a note by your room for a coupon but really its just them trying to sell you stuff. *It might be an adult only resort but its definitely conversative. Id wander off to the end of the resort (south) to sunbathe my headlights. Yes, there were some thong style bottoms though. *If youre wanting to do excursions and actually explore the area while doing some relaxing Id suggest going for a Min of 10 days. *I didnt pay the Visi-tax when at the airport/online and I was never asked nor saw signs for it on my way out. This has nothing to do with the hotel btw.

Pros:- Clean hotel and nice pool, most of staff was helpful and nice, I wanted to watch football in my room and one of the workers in went the extra mile to get it working, so very thankful for that, Bar staff was brilliant and always put a smile on my face and made me feel welcome, Went and done a couple excursions and jetsking witch was fun and well organised. The beach was lovely and even some workers tried clearing the seaweed. Cons:- I personally thought that some of the staff didnt make the effort and felt quite left out on some occasions as an solo traveler, I also disliked being overcharged for a few items and a couple snacks at the stores you have within the hotel. The food also wasnt great and the service most days at the buffet after being sat down was non existent. Other then the cons, I had a pleasant time! 7.5/10

My 5th visit to OMR and it was wonderful. Pros - the staff are always amazing. Shout out to the Blue Team With all my love to Adela, Kenddell, Cheeky Baby, Jules, Alexander, Andrea and Greecia. Shout out to all the staff at the pool bar..Miguel, Eber, Johnny, etc....you are all wonderful! The servers in the Privilege restaurant, I cannot remember the names but Thank you for a memorable evening. The staff at the buffet...breakfast was always my favorite time of day and Thank you. Shout out to the most wonderful butlers....Brenda and Juan....big thank you and hugs. Beach was wonderful with warm sand and beautiful ocean. Privilege room was very cozy. Cons - I have to say my biggest issue is the food in the buffet not being labeled correctly. As a person with allergies, I am frequently at risk as the labels are often wrong. One night they had a roast beef under a cover but the label said salmon. Every day and every meal...the lables were a 50/50 chance. Entertainment at night is always so late...I mean the dancing and live music. It would be nice if once a week they would let go of the stage show and start the live music earlier. Suggest also, that instead of Karoke all the time, maybe a lip sync battle so that there is something for non singers. Overall....I love this resort and it really is about the staff and the beautiful location. We will be back!

We loved this resort! I have been here twice so far and we will be back. The resort isn't too big, but more than big enough, no little kids, nice pools amazing food and great service. The room was clean and tidy and we loved sitting on the balcony with a beverage after being at the beach for the day. They do their best to keep some of the beach clear of the ever present seaweed these days, and I was always able to pop in the ocean when I wanted to. I agree with some others that the heavy iron pot lids at the buffet are very odd and not user friendly, and another solution should be looked into - but the food is amazing:)

This was our first stay at an all-inclusive resort and let me tell you it was an amazing experience and far exceeded our expectations. We cautiously traveled to OMR based on the outstanding recommendation of a friend as they were planning their repeat visit to OMR within a six month timeframe. My wife and I were not sure what to expect, but the entire staff at OMR appeared to not want to be outdone by any other resort. The customer service from the entire staff from check-in to check-out was spot-on, they were attentive and when possible included a personal touch. I would be remiss if I did not mention the star of the resort, Mr. Kendal-icious from the blue team! This young man is a large reason this resort has so many loyal and repeat guests. His unique ability to connect with everyone at the resort (worldwide clientele) was quite impressive. His energy, ability to include everyone regardless of the activity, and most of all his genuine friendliness and kindness was quite remarkable. OMR would be wise to keep him as happy as he keeps their guests! There were other stars at the resort and I would also like to recognize them for their efforts here: the pool bar stars were Miguel and Ebher; Sports Bar star was Crostobel who learned how to make a "La Batanga" just for me and then never let a glass not be filled with one; others stars notably on the blue team were Andrea, Adela, Grecia, Jules, Alexander, and Margarita; Buffet staff star was Carla. The OMR room was comfortable, clean, and more than sufficient for the little amount of time we spent in it. OMR has so many activities and things to do throughout the day and evening that it was a non-issue for us. We will definitely be returning to OMR in the near future and look forward to seeing if the staff can top this amazing vacation with their limitless energy and enthusiasm.