April 11 - 18 2015, me, my wife and our 4 friends had a wonderful opportunity to stay at the Ocean May Royale. We booked our trip through Expedia. We flew United out of Dulles International (Virginia), to Cancun via United Airlines. All went well with the flight. Once in Cancun, we unfortunately got caught up with the Time Share hype that goes on near the exit at the airport. Best Day Transportation was responsible for transport from the airport to Ocean Maya Royale and did a lousy shop of providing information on our pick up. luckily during the annoying sales pitch about a time share, the sales person informed us where Best Day parks their van. The only good on this one was that we were the only passengers at the airport, so we had a direct ride to the resort.
Once at the resort, we were met with an option for either Mimosa's or Bloody Mary's. The registration process was excellent. Even though we were early for our room, the reception team worked to find a room that was ready earlier than the 3 pm check-in time. They also considered our room request for something located in a more secluded spot within the resort (definitely try to get something in the 18 thru 20 building area).
The rooms are a bit dated, but comfortable. We had a sofa in our room that was stained and worn. A simple upholstery shampooing would have solved that issue.
IMPORTANT ISSUE: We were directed that the expectation at the resort was NOT to put toilet paper down the toilet. This means placing all soiled TP in the trash can, NOT the toilet. You'll notice trashcans strategically placed in all toilet stalls in the resort. THAT was a tough expectation, not to say a Stinky one.
5 restaurants are available at the resort. Our favorite and in our opinion the best food and service was at La Hacienda. This is the buffet restaurant that provided an amazing variety of foods during our week there. The service there was fantastic starting with the hostess Marta who always met us with a sweet smile. Vicente was the most amazing server of them all. His bright personality and service made each morning and afternoon a joy for us.
The Pool area had some issues. Most days ALL lounge chairs are taken the moment the sun comes up. The "party pool" with the swim up bar is an area we stayed away from. Just too loud and rowdy for us and as other have mentioned in other reviews, it's strange how you see so many people drinking yet NEVER getting out of the pool to pee. the main pool was always a comfortable place to spend time MINUS the fact of never having available chairs. We found loungers in the beach area adjacent to the pool area that ended up being the place to park daily. We were blessed with having Ana Iris who was our poolside bar waitress who always checked on us for our drink needs. She was great. She always came with a smile and quick turnaround with our drinks.
The beach was a complete disappointment during our stay. Seaweed was a major issue and made using the beach a non-event. They would haul away truck loads of seaweed daily.
The resort did a wonderful job of providing nightly entertainment that was of good quality and always included the resort members. Quality music and quality shows.
The lobby bar was a nightly gathering place of the resort patrons and allowed for a comfortable "happy hour" type setting. The bartenders are great!
Best Day Travel, our arrival and departure service was a complete disappointment. We got sucked in to taking the Silver Shopping tour that was sponsored by the Best Day. This was supposed to provide an opportunity to go to "the" quality Silver and Gold jewelry shopping opportunity in the area. It was a total rip off. the jewelry there looked like something out of a 1930's Estate Sale. Stuff ones grandmother would wear (sorry to all the grandmother's out there).
The other big disappointment was the fact that Best Day Travel showed up 40 minutes late for our departure pick up. That caused us to panic through our check-in at the Cancun airport (They were calling our flight while we were still in the check-in line). I think Expedia packages them in as part of their travel package, but if you have other options, I would take them. Not impressed with them at all.
Summary:
Smaller size made it more personal of a resort versus larger resorts we have stayed in the past. Great staff made the stay extra special. Don't be afraid to tip your servers. They will show their appreciation.
We MISS Vicente!