Park Royal Cancun

The pictures are gratifying but don't be deceived.

Punti positivi: After a recent stay at the Park Royal, I would recommend looking elsewhere for your stay in Cancun, especially if you're hoping to visit their "spa"- there isn't one. There's a Fitness Center with a man apparently available for massages but definitely nothing fancy- I'm not even sure where the room for massages was located within the Fitness Center. That being said, there were a lot of things that were pretty unclear and confusing. I have stayed in different parts of Mexico and at a number of resorts, varying in price range and this was definitely not the least expensive place that I have stayed at that definitely had the least amount of amenities. It can be pretty chilly at times during the winter months (even in Mexico!) so we were surprised that there was no hot tub. There were two small pools but they weren't heated, so between that and the lack of what we thought would be an actual spa (the website would have you believe that there was a pretty extensive one) we were surprised about how unaccomodating the front desk staff was. When we asked for recommendations for a spa we could cab or walk to, they had no recommendations and sent us out the door telling us to "try the hotel next door", which turned out to not allow non-guests to even book an appointment at their spa. I have never had a concierge not even ask a co-worker if they didn't have a recommendation, let alone not offer to call and book something for you since it isn't available. The restaurant staff and really all the staff sans the front desk were very polite and helpful; I think that's why it was so surprising when even getting change was an issue at the desk. We decided to do do our own research and found our own spa and a couple of restaurants to get off the resort via Trip Advisor since the front desk seemed pretty inept at helping with that sort of thing. There is only one non-buffet, reservation only situation that's a little difficult to get a spot at but decent. Overall the food wasn't the best I've had at an all-inclusive but it was not the worst. Do not expect to order guacamole and chips poolside- they aren't set up for it. If you're a fan of Mimosas unfortunately this isn't the place for you, either. They have a choice of white or red but that's the end of their wine "selection". The beds are incredibly firm, which can be a positive or negative depending on your preference. Also not a negative but just an FYI- the water is a super wavy, beautiful and clear and fun to wade into. For snorkeling you can get a really great tour over protected reefs via Aqua World that's completely reasonably priced. The hotel actually said that snorkeling was included when we booked but it turned out that was only true if you sat through a Time Share presentation which for us wasn't worth it, we just paid for the experience and it was a lot of fun. Summary? Spend a little more and get a lot more seemed to be the lesson we learned for All Inclusives in Cancun.