palace resorts and royals resorts, which one is better?

[travelhome]

I always hear people praising Royal and Palace resorts.

Are these two resort groups similar in quality from vacationing point of view?

Palace resorts seems to be much cheaper. On ebay, you can buy it for $1 sometimes with 0 transfer fee. Royal resorts are >$1k

Does that mean Royals are better than Palace? Assuming more sort after means better vacation experience...

 

[Danette]

Palace

I am not familiar with the Royals. When DH and I stayed at the Spa Palace Aventura we were required to pay the all inclusive fee, which was pricey. Is this also required at the Royals?

 

[capjak]

Palace resorts requires you to purchase the all inclusive fee of appx $2000 per couple everytime you go. They are very nice but you can probably get a similar all inclusive fee without owning. Although Presidental suites are for owners only

Royal Resorts (islander/sands/carribean etc..) is a traditional TS, no all inclusive fee and is rated among the best in Mexico.

 

[pjrose]

If you join TUG you can read the reviews and look at the rankings. The Royals are always up on the top ten. Royals are not all inclusive - you can choose any of the reasonably priced restaurants on site, but you can also go to the many good restaurants in town without feeling you are wasting money you already spent for an AI.

The Royals are not available for dirt cheap prices on eBay, because they are high quality resorts with a high demand. If I ever see a Royal for $1K - or $2K or $3K - I will buy it immediately. Sometimes you can find them for $4-5K, often more than that. They are well run, well maintained, have a great staff, and are a very reputable company.

I know nothing about Palace Resorts, but if they're $1, maybe you are getting what you are paying for???

 

[laura1957]

Palace resorts are wonderful - but as a member of RCI I have both exchanged into and taken a last call and paid LESS for the AI fee than the member price I was quoted. There are some benefits not available as a nonmember but to me it would not be worth it. The Resorts themselves were fantastic - worth every penny of the AI.

 

[Kevin]

I always hear people praising Royal and Palace resorts.

Are these two resort groups similar in quality from vacationing point of view?

Palace resorts seems to be much cheaper. On ebay, you can buy it for $1 sometimes with 0 transfer fee. Royal resorts are >$1k

Does that mean Royals are better than Palace? Assuming more sort after means better vacation experience...

Mayan Palace / Grand Mayan or the All Inclusive Palace Resorts?

 

[Blondie]

Also be aware that some places in Mexico have the name "Royal" attached but are not part of the tri-Royals. One you want to avoid is the Royal Sunset and I think there may be another... these have a bad reputation. Also, the Palace is cheap to buy because it costs a good sum to stay there. I think there may be a transfer fee involved but am not sure. You can periodically stay there for a real deal. Hubby and I are going in Feb- used a cheapo SA trader I wanted to use up- to Aventura spa Palace for $1,200 total for 2 of us. Not bad for high season. This special was also available at Xhu Spa Palace and I know I did not spell that right. I would not have paid the
$2,400 which is the standard RCI cost, (or the $3,400 Orbitz charges) but for my cheap week/trade fee which was going to expire and $1,200 I think we will get our money's worth. I do hear from owners at these Palace resorts that if you don't go you don't pay the maint fee so that is nice. Personally I would never buy anything that was All Inclusive as we just prefer non AI joints...

 

[tonyg]

The other is the Royal Solaris. All inclusive is not a good way to go in Cancun IMHO, which has a lot of good restaurants. The Palaces are OK, I Guess, but I never stayed there- nor will I. There is another "palace" group- the Mayan Palaces, which are quite nice and also not AI. With the "Royal" and the "Mayan" and the "Palace", there is a lot of confusion- so it is best to ask about a resort by name.

 

[pjrose]

Non-Royals

Isn't there also one called "The Royal"?

The only real Royal Resorts are:
Club International de Cancun (AKA VCI)
The Royal Mayan
The Royal Caribbean
The Royal Islander
The Royal Sands and Spa
The Royal Haciendas

lots of info on royalresorts.com

 

[suekap]

Does RCI trade into any of the "real" royals?

 

[neash]

RCI trades into Royal Mayan.

 

[suekap]

Thank you, I will have to research that now.

 

[craigchams]

There is another "real" Royal Resorts in Cancun, it is there first and it is called
Club Internacional de Cancun. It is Going through a renovation right now and should be open in Dec.2008 or Jan. 2009. Here is a link to The real Royal Resorts web site: http://www.royalresorts.com/default.asp

 

[Larry]

There is another "real" Royal Resorts in Cancun, it is there first and it is called
Club Internacional de Cancun. It is Going through a renovation right now and should be open in Dec.2008 or Jan. 2009. Here is a link to The real Royal Resorts web site: http://www.royalresorts.com/default.asp

Club International as well as the Royal Mayan both trade with RCI as well as II.

 

[pjrose]

Isn't there also one called "The Royal"?

The only real Royal Resorts are:
Club International de Cancun (AKA VCI)
The Royal Mayan
The Royal Caribbean
The Royal Islander
The Royal Sands and Spa
The Royal Haciendas

There is another "real" Royal Resorts in Cancun, it is there first and it is called
Club Internacional de Cancun.

Yup - as listed above, though with a slight misspelling.

 

[MissTins]

The following 5 resorts are part of the "Real Resorts" chain:

ADULTS ONLY:
The Royal - Playa del Carmen
The Royal - Cancun

FAMILY RESORTS:
Gran Caribe Real Cancun
Gran Porto Real Playa del Carmen
Real Playa del Carmen

We stayed at "The Royal - Playa del Carmen" and can't say enough good things about it. We did not exchange into it, we just paid the going rate, but the service and resort FAR EXCEEDED my expectations.

MissTins

 

[pammex]

I always hear people praising Royal and Palace resorts.

Are these two resort groups similar in quality from vacationing point of view?

Palace resorts seems to be much cheaper. On ebay, you can buy it for $1 sometimes with 0 transfer fee. Royal resorts are >$1k

Does that mean Royals are better than Palace? Assuming more sort after means better vacation experience...

Can you tell me how you are searching or where you are finding the Palace resorts AI on ebay? The only ones I ever see or pull up are rentals.....

All of these resorts I believe are very nice......I own at Mayan and have stayed at Palace, never stayed at one of the Royals but they get rave reviews on here...

 

[sne75]

Just got back from a week at The Royal Sands. Traded through II. Loved it. Went with my 2 year old, and my husband's brother, wife and their 3 year old. Great place with kids and an awesome location (right next to a great luxury mall, and a 2 min bus ride from La Isla, this amazing outdoor mall with an aquarium). Not all-inclusive, but we prefer it that way. Saved so much money.

 

[geoffb]

Club International as well as the Royal Mayan both trade with RCI as well as II.

As far as I know Club International is no longer affiliated with RCI after the membership renewal in 2007. It is only Interval now.

 

[Cyndi]

I bought an II trader simply to go to the famed Royals. We stayed in the Royal Caribbean and it was fine. It is clean and well maintained and the beach is nice, but I truly think these people are crazy. They are no where near as nice as the Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach or Emerald Bay or even the Rose. It just was not all that great.

Last year we stayed at the Aventura Palace and we LOVED that. I would go again in a heartbeat, but he AI thing is a drawback for me as I can never eat or drink the for the amount you have to pay. The food and service was wonderful but I never spend that much for a week when I pay as I go.

The Palace resorts are only Studios for the most part and have a 4 person max. So if you like the bigger unit and want to save money then The Royals are the way to go. The Royals are the nicest on AI in Cancun - but they are just NOT the best in timesharing and I don't understand how they rate so high every year.

 

[bonniedwan]

Blondie

Can you please tell me how you got such a great deal to Adventura Spa Palace for 2? My husband & I are Palace Premier Owners and cannot even get this rate. You can email me directly at bonniedwan@comcast.net I would love to know how this is true?

Thank you
Bonnie L. Johnston

Also be aware that some places in Mexico have the name "Royal" attached but are not part of the tri-Royals. One you want to avoid is the Royal Sunset and I think there may be another... these have a bad reputation. Also, the Palace is cheap to buy because it costs a good sum to stay there. I think there may be a transfer fee involved but am not sure. You can periodically stay there for a real deal. Hubby and I are going in Feb- used a cheapo SA trader I wanted to use up- to Aventura spa Palace for $1,200 total for 2 of us. Not bad for high season. This special was also available at Xhu Spa Palace and I know I did not spell that right. I would not have paid the
$2,400 which is the standard RCI cost, (or the $3,400 Orbitz charges) but for my cheap week/trade fee which was going to expire and $1,200 I think we will get our money's worth. I do hear from owners at these Palace resorts that if you don't go you don't pay the maint fee so that is nice. Personally I would never buy anything that was All Inclusive as we just prefer non AI joints...

 

[KarenLK]

Cyndi...did you mean the Royals are NON A-I?

 

[JEFF H]

We stayed in the Royal Caribbean and it was fine. It is clean and well maintained and the beach is nice, but I truly think these people are crazy. They are no where near as nice as the Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach or Emerald Bay or even the Rose. It just was not all that great.

Cyndi,
Putting it in perspective The Royal Carribean is a 20 year old resort and not really on Par with resort only a few years old.
The newer Royal Sands and newest Royal Haciendas would compare on par with the newer 5 star resorts.
I would rate the Carribean as a good solid timeshare resort but not 5 star by todays standards.
I put a premium on Ocean-View rooms and thats Where the Royal Carribean shines. The large 2-Br units with large ocean-view terrace with patio furniture makes them some of the best available in Timeshare.
The Large full American Kitchens are also above what 90% of the timeshare resorts in Mexico offer. Many people don't want to cook on Vacation but for the families that do this is another plus.
The Royals over the years have been family friendly with affordable resturants on-site. I have stayed at nicer resorts but their resturants were very high priced.

 

[robmharper]

Palace was most impressive

My family of 4 stayed in our first AI resort ever this year; Cancun Palace. It was beautiful and the poolside food was a tremendous bonus for our growing teens. It was great quality as well. The digs were top notch, albeit slippery marble floors. We took an included bus ride over to Moon Palace for the day and it was equally impressive and vastly expansive. We got a deal on the AI fees as they had a sale where kids under 12 were free and over 14 were $200. All said & done, we paid $1700 for the AI for the 4 of us and more than made up for ithe price. Did I mention that they included 2 excursions? We went to the Ruins one day and to the water slide resort the next - where food & drink were also included. We toured the Royal's and were equally impressed with what we could see, but for us, the AI made it the deal it was. The only weekpoint was the lack of entertainment on site.

 

[suekap]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself. We traded into Moon Palace for next August. We did not get as good a deal as you did. We didn't get any tours included. How did you get to tour the Royal resort? This will also be the first time we are staying at an AI. By any chance did you see the golf villas, that is where we will be staying.