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What It's Like To Vacation In Mexico Right Now - Royal Hideaway Playacar 2021

May 3, 2021

Imagine this… no screaming kids, a relaxing infinity pool, unlimited drinks, unlimited gourmet food, good music, and breathtaking views! That’s Royal Hideaway Playacar – an all-inclusive, adults-only Barcelo Resort! Wait, it gets even better! Their room keys are bracelets, so you don’t even need to carry anything around with you. Just bring yourself and let Royal Hideaway Playacar really make you feel like royalty! They really set the stage for what it’s like to vacation in Mexico right now!

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The moment I walked onto the property, I was greeted with hand sanitizer. Yep, there’s still Coronavirus lurking around so safety first! Then a drink was handed to me as we sat to check in. Seeing everyone in masks with happy smiling eyes put me right at ease. The drink helped as well. Then, as we started to make our way to our villa, the views just took my breath away!

A little backstory – This trip was an interesting one. My friend and I had chosen to take advantage of the crazy budget deals that were going on to entice people to travel. At this time, we needed a negative Covid-19 test to enter back into the United States and it was always on my friend’s and my mind. Although, I had a free pass because I had recently recovered from Covid back in January. To travel Internationally right now, I just needed my positive test and a letter from the Health Dept giving me clearance to travel after quarantine. Still, there was a bit of nerves because my friend still had to test negative to get back.

Another sip of champagne put my mind at ease and reminded me to stay in the moment. I was about to experience paradise itself!

It finally hit me that I was in Mexico… and according to the valet, we had the whole place to ourselves! We were two of only 15 people on the resort! I didn’t realize what that would mean until I slipped on my bikini and made my way out to the pool. It was deserted. And mind you, we flew in by 1pm so we arrived at the resort by about 2pm. There weren’t even towels around to reserve any seats!

We quickly became friends with the resort staff as they were the only ones around to talk to and they were also excited to talk to fun people. I loved it though because we were able to just all chill and chat after not having seen any new people in ages because of the Pandemic. ( Shoutout to Mercedes, Alfonso, Carlos, Arantza, Daniel, Genaro, and Javier !!! Miss you guys!!! ) The first few days flew by filled with laughs and lots and lots of dancing! Thanks again guys for putting up with my always asking for Carol G and Bad Bunny babayyyyy. What I really appreciated from the staff, is that I genuinely felt that we were friends. Everyone was always quick to assist and answer any questions we may have had. They also did this for my birthday!!!!!!!!!

I really felt like spoiled royalty when I would be able to constantly change seats if I wanted to. If you’ve been to resorts before, you know that you usually have to put a towel down just to get a seat next to the pool – let alone get a seat! Since it was rather empty, we usually had most of the pool to ourselves.

The cabanas were also always open for us to enter. Then there was the beach, that was so long that it didn’t matter if anyone else was down there, there was plenty of space to forget they were there! It worked out great those first few days because some people would be in town, others would be on the bike tour of the ruins down the street, others would be eating while we were tanning, and when we did cross paths with someone they were usually going the opposite direction.

The weekend brought in some more people and we were able to chat about our experiences poolside or after dinner during the live entertainment. Some people were nervous about Covid-19 so they were moving to resorts that had beach access if you were to contract the virus. Resorts were doing all kinds of things to keep people feeling safe knowing they had a back up plan if they were to come in contact with the virus. Royal Hideaway did a great job of offering convenient testing by appointment on property. They also had a villa ready in case anyone contracted the virus, but in our time there, no one tested positive.

Yet another reason why Royal Hideaway seemed to attract avid travelers who liked it there so much they usually came back! There was only one couple out of the dozen or so we ended up talking to over our stay that had not been to that resort before. After meeting them all, I felt like I was officially part of the royalty of the resort while we chatted about when we would all be back next!

The only time I realized we were probably up to 30 people over the weekend was during dinner. It was safely socially distanced, but those of you that follow me know I like to stay and eat for a while as I try as much of the food as I can. I saw a few rounds of people come through every time I ate dinner but otherwise even with the increase in people there was always a seat available at the pool which they said was rare!

Talking to the other people at the resort, the resort workers, and actually getting off property and going into town really helped us overcome any hesitations we had to see what Mexico had to offer. We found ourselves going into town exploring more and more.

Then, of all things, our flights got delayed due to bad weather! Can you believe it! All this anxiety about Covid-19 and it was the weather we had to worry about. We took advantage of the extra couple of days and stayed with a friend in Merida. On the drive down, we stopped at Chichen Itza and had one of those one-in-a-lifetime experiences. So all in all, I am so happy we chose Royal Hideaway Playacar as our Mexico vacation destination! Thanks again to all the staff and I hope you make it there and have as great of an experience as I did!

LOCATION

This quaint resort is located in the gated community of Playacar in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I suggest using a shuttle to get there because it is about an hour away from Cancun’s Airport and you could use the air conditioning! Once you are there, Playa Del Carmen’s Center is in walking or biking distance. The main shopping center, Fifth Avenue, is about a 15 minute walk or a 5 minute bike ride. If you don’t feel comfortable going into the city, there is plenty to do inside the gated walls of Playacar itself – including a shopping center right across the street from Royal Hideaway’s entrance.

SCENE

I felt very safe even though we were in the midst of a pandemic. Hand sanitizer was everywhere. Restaurant menus and the daily Royal Journal were all digital to cut down on contact. (Check them out here… ) Besides everyone wearing masks, it was pretty much business as usual! They did an amazing job of bringing a taste of normalcy to my day to day life on the resort. There were still plenty of socially distanced activities going on like water aerobics, entertainment, and bike tours of the nearby ruins to keep you busy.

Rooms

The rooms look exactly like the pictures on the website. They’re spaciously laid out with patios so there’s plenty of space for down time. The bathroom is it’s own room with a separate door for the toilet. They provide you with a medley of L’Occtaine products, slippers, and robes. The rain shower and huge bathtub make you feel like you’re in a spa instead of the bathroom. The beds are so soft and comfortable that it was hard to get out of them in the morning. The thought of coffee on the patio while the birds were chirping, is enough to get you out of bed to watch the resort come to life.

Pools

They have four big pools to get your tan on. There’s the Infinity Pool that’s beachside, making you feel like you’re one with the ocean. There’s also a couple of bubble tubs there to lounge in. The Main Pool has shelves so you can do half in and half out of the water. It’s a bit behind the action in case you don’t want to partake in the poolside activities. There’s also a covered Hot Tub next to the Main Pool which is great for late night dips. Then, there are two Relaxation Pools. They are both the same style with a shallow area to lay in, a bubble tub, and a hot tub.

Property

The quiet property is covered with beautiful flowers and secluded nooks to hide away in. There’s tables and chairs, benches, and even hidden little grottoes. The walkway is set up so that it twists and turns with the villas branching off, some with little bridges leading into the open-aired lobbies. The only after dinner spot at this time was at the Sports Bar Allegria but that was plenty to keep us busy with Tequilla Crema (You have to try it! It’s just like Baileys but better.), pool tables, and games.

The Grill – The steakhouse in the Main Building. This is usually everyone’s favorite restaurant experience while at all inclusives and it was delicious, but honestly, the other nights WERE JUST as good! So I highly recommend going to every different restaurant! Don’t miss out on these amazing menus! That being said, my steak was perfection!

Azia – Thai cuisine in the lower level of the Main Building. This night was my first experience dining at Royal Hideaway and it blew me away. I am not a big seafood person, but their seafood was so fresh that I couldn’t stop eating! We literally ate appetizers for an hour before we moved on to the main course!

Palazzo – Italian cuisine on the top floor of the Main Building. They had a violinist playing this night that really just added to the experience. Usually Italian portions are just too much for me, but here, they portion everything perfectly. I was able to share, and enjoy, about 5 courses with my friend until we couldn’t eat anymore.

Ventanas – Mediterranean cuisine in the Main Building. The piano player coupled with the ocean waves was just a memory I’ll never forget. This menu was a great mix of light foods that really captured the Mediterranean theme! I couldn’t stop eating octopus this trip! I highly recommend it!

Spices – Mexican Caribbean cuisine beachside. There was a guitar player singing that night and he really gave us a taste of Mexico. The food was amazing and when I asked for spicy I really got SPICY! I’m obsessed with their secret habanero sauce!

The Deck – Breakfast, lunch, and snacks beachside. I usually don’t get hungry until later in the day do their mix of breakfast and lunch was perfect for me. Sometimes I would have a chicken quesadilla, while other times I’d go all in on the Divorced Eggs! Oh, and they always remembered me and would bring me that habanero sauce!

Room Service – Don’t forget about this gourmet experience! They have fois gras eggs bennedict!

Drinks – When they say all inclusive, they mean all inclusive here. We were drinking everything from top shelf mezcal to Mexican wine! The bartenders and servers were all very knowledgeable and knew all kinds of cocktails and how to make them well! (Unlike the one time in Jamaica I ordered a dirty martini and they put pickle juice in it instead of olive juice because they didn’t know what a dirty martini was.) I had no idea they had vineyards in Mexico. You definitely have to buy a bottle just to try it! We don’t get any imported to Ohio and they explained to me that with all the taxing and shipping it would not be worth it to ship so they just keep all the wine to themselves. I would too! It was so good!

Set up your dinner reservation with your concierge in advance so you don’t have to schedule anything else for the day.
Take the bike tour! You get to see the main highlights of Playa Del Carmen, the hidden Mayan Ruins, the neighborhood of Playacar, and it gets you out of your comfort zone to get out and explore even more on your own.
Spend some time inside the Mayan Ruins. It’s best with your tour guide to learn the history, but it’s also cool to explore on your own. Hug a tree of life for an energy boost!
Try something new like scuba diving. The guys come around and give you a sample of scuba in the pool!
Try some new food! With their Michelin Star Chef’s menu, everything is good, trust me!
Take advantage of the shopping right next door. The shops inside are locally owned and the owners are really nice! If there’s something specific you’re looking for they are more than happy to help order it in for you.
Take a right when you walk out onto the beach and go all the way down. It gets really secluded and the water is shallower and less choppy. There’s even a sandbar about twenty feet out that we discovered while watching the prehistoric sized pelicans.