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 Catalonia Royal Tulum  Location: Beachfront - 45 minutes from Cancun Airport All-inclusive - 224 rooms Description from resort website: Previously the Copacabana - 5 restaurants - 4 bars - This resort offers supervised children's activities - Swimming pool. Paddling pool - Whirlpoo - Scuba-diving center - We care for our environment; therefore, the hotel was built thinking on an ecological concept. All of our rooms, public and entertainment areas are strategically located among native jungle trees, endemic plants, mangroves and natural cenotes (water springs) where a diverse variety of flora and fauna finds an unspoiled habitat.  ~ Reviews posted on this page — 12  Don't forget to send Debbie your review ~ Reader's Vacation Photos ~ 1,
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| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Matt ~ Toronto |
Slideshow links:
Lobby and room:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSTgadB4fok
Pool and restaurants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXjU5dvUEPo
Beach:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRCEZmNrfqQ
Xcaret and Tulum:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpTlXrak34M
My wife and I spent a week at the Catalonia Royal Tulum on Xpu Ha beach in early April, 2008. We have previously stayed at the Grand Coco Bay (when it was the Reef Coco Beach), the RIU Palace, and the Bahia Principe.
We picked the CRT because of the good reviews, its beach, and its small size. Our priority is to be at a comfortable, clean hotel where we can enjoy a beach holiday without being surrounded by a mass of humanity. The CRT fit the bill.
We booked through iTravel2000 and Sun Wing – first time for both – and everything went smoothly. I paid an extra $100 for reserved seating with more leg room and I would happily do it again.
We arrived at Cancun early in the morning and found that the route through customs had changed since we were last there 3 years ago – it’s now more modern but our success rate with the green light remains unblemished.
Transportation to the hotel was good; because of the way in which south-bound traffic on highway 307 has to make a u-turn to reach beach-side hotels, we were dropped off first (followed by guests going to the Barcelo and then Dreams Tulum).
Check-in was very quick, but because of our early arrival time, we were told a room would not be made available until 3:30 pm. No problem. We headed to the pool for lunch and a swim.
The lobby of the hotel is situated relatively close to highway 307, and a path or sacbe winds its way through a semi-natural rainforest setting in which the six guest room buildings sit. Between the last building and the pool is wilder mangrove. Overall it’s quite different from the landscaping of the other area hotels we’ve been to.
From a third-floor balcony it’s admittedly not much to look at, and the walk, depending on the time of day, can be hot and a bit of a chore. On the other hand there are times when the walk can be quite pleasant. At night they pipe in what I would term new age or relaxational music. And you’ll see more critters than you can shake a stick at. Aside from iguanas, which are a dime a dozen, during our stay we saw agouti, coatamundi, and what I think was a cormorant fishing rather successfully in the cenote.
I requested a quiet room on the third floor. After picking up the room keys I arrived to find the door open and a towel on the floor soaking up the condensation from the air conditioner that was dripping out of a light fixture (the same thing happened in the early hours on the day of our flight home). Back to the front desk and they offered us the choice of a junior suite close to the lobby or a room in the Agua building close to the pool. We chose the latter, which I think was the right decision for us. The trips from the beach/pool to room were as short as possible, which worked out well.
The room had two double beds, an ironing board and iron, a bathroom with a hairdryer and a large shower stall, a mini fridge and a safe. The use of the safe was included in the stay. The beds have the typical Mexican hardness to them – not like what we sleep on at home but I never have any trouble dozing off nor did I ever wake up anything other than refreshed.
The balcony, which had a telescoping towel rack, two chairs, and a table, looked out onto the mangrove, and had the teensiest bit of an ocean view in that you could see a small streak of blue off in the distance. To the best of my knowledge there are no true ocean front rooms in the traditional sense.
Thankfully the walls are of much sturdier stuff than those of the Grand Coco Bay; except for a few door slams and some kids having fun first thing in the morning, I was largely unaware of having neighbours. Nice.
Speaking of guests, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen so many generations on display at any one resort. They ranged from unknowingly lucky babies to cane-bearing grandparents, all having a good time frolicking in the pool or surf. In fact I saw more canes than I have ever seen elsewhere, and I commend those folks for showing the rest of us that the desire to travel can trump all else. The only thing in short supply was the obnoxious teenager; the few teens that were there were well-behaved.
Back at the room, the air conditioning had no trouble cooling down the air when we returned from a day out. When leaving in the morning, all valuables were locked up in the safe or in our luggage, and as a result we never experienced any problems with items going missing. I would leave a tip each day on top of the mini fridge, which resulted in it being stocked with two Dos Equis Clara, a Coke, Fanta Orange, Coke Light, Sprite, 3 bottles of water, and a yoghurt.
We never saw any towel art but that’s not essential. The room was generally made up later in the afternoon, and the service was perfect.
The pool is large and beautiful but be forewarned that all loungers under the palapas are gone before 8 am. The towel game is in full swing with many people reserving a spot at some ungodly hour and then not showing up until much later in the day. Guests are packed in pretty tight when everyone shows up; chances are you’ll be sitting close to someone you don’t know.
The towel hut had posted hours that weren’t strictly kept – they’re on Mexican time, doncha know - and I wondered if in part it was due to the habit of many guests to hold onto towels overnight or to switch them mid-day, with the lack of fresh towels in the end driving the hours of operation.
The Mariachi Bar is situated between the Alegria Spa and the hot tubs by the beach. We brought insulated mugs with us – they are also available in the lobby store – but eventually stopped using them, never finding the wait times to be as bad as we had previously read. Plus there were a couple of employees who would take drink orders in addition to picking up empty plastic glasses.
The bar has a drink menu - Banana Mamma, Tequila Sunrise, Margarita, Mojito, Daiquiri, etc - but never having strayed from it, I can’t comment on their ability to make anything else. They did have one tequila made from blue agave, and while better than the other tequilas on offer, it wasn’t exceptional.
The Palapa Restaurant is poolside and conveniently located for lunch, where a wide selection of food was available. To the left is a grill where pizza, burgers, and hot dogs, etc are made. Adjoining that is a salad bar (hint: guacamole is to be found here). Fronting the whole operation is the beverage area with self-serve soft drinks, beer, and wine.
I never touched the wine during our stay so I can’t vouch for or pan it. The beer is Dos Equis Ambar and Clara. Mexico needs much hoppier beers or Bavarian-style wheat beers.
To the right is a steam table full of hot foods and vegetables, and at the back of that rotisserie chicken is quartered and plated. Also in that area is the Mexican foods station.
There is a lot a seating under the huge palapa and the smoking section must be furthest from the beach as we were always seated beach-side. It was always very pleasant to get out of the hot sun and enjoy a meal with a cooling breeze coming off an ocean that was right there in full view.
Here’s a partial secret: plastic plates are set up to the left of the drink area for those who’d like a bite by the pool. On several occasions we enjoyed guac and chips this way.
The Animacion team is a fun group. Many are from Italy with a few Mexicans thrown in. They do a good job of entertaining the guests and encouraging participation, and crucially knowing how to differentiate between those who want to participate and those who don’t. The ladies of the troupe are very easy on the eyes, and as a whole they are a very professional group.
We are not nighttime show people, and besides we were offsite many nights, but to be honest I saw about 20 minutes of one show and it was perfectly awful. I trust that was an aberration.
Xpu Ha beach could very well be the best beach I’ve ever been on in Mexico. It is much like Coco Beach, or at least what that beach was three years ago when we were last there: soft white sand stretching off into the distance with a mere sprinkling of buildings.
Rustic shacks, many seemingly abandoned, are the most common structures found on Xpu Ha, with the only real functioning concerns being the CRT, the small hotel Al Cielo, and a couple of beach clubs. The old Club Maeva Tulum anchors the southern end and sits there abandoned, an all-inclusive ghost town.
In short the beach is largely empty and therefore the most un-Playacar of beaches. So I want to whisper this as quietly as humanly possible: Xpu Ha can support several more large hotels, and given the number that are popping up all along the coast, it is somewhat puzzling as to why this hasn’t yet happened. But I’m glad it hasn’t. Make sure you visit Xpu Ha to enjoy it in its current state while you can.
The first half of the week at the CRT was of the red flag variety, providing a steady dose of crashing waves to play in. The flags changed to yellow mid-week, after which dense clouds of what I am told were angel fish came close to shore and swam along with guests.
The ocean floor is for the most part as sandy as the shore, with the slope being very gradual, making it great for kiddies and those who have difficulties getting into the water. When the water reaches about six feet there is a rocky section that may be exposed depending on the wind and wave action.
And unlike the pool, loungers on the beach can be found at any time, with the additional bonus of several hammocks being at your service. There are also a number of palapas and a good number of palms that provide much needed shade.
We were off-resort on a number of occasions and taxis were our mode of travel. The hotel offers several shuttles per day to and from Playa del Carmen – an extremely generous service given the multiple departures and returns - but we just decided that taxis would better fit our schedule.
The cost one-way to Playa del Carmen was generally 180 pesos (the peso at that time being roughly the equivalent of 10 Canadian cents). From the CRT to the Tulum ruins cost 260 pesos, the trip from the ruins to Tulum pueblo was 40 pesos, while the trip back to the CRT was 280 pesos.
By the way, Highway 307 is being expanded from the Bahia Principe all the way down to Tulum.
We had a lot of interesting conversations with the cab drivers, with them generally speaking English and we generally speaking Spanish (my wife is fluent, I am a slowly-improving hack). If I understood one driver correctly he said that there are 1,300 taxis in the PDC area and a cab license costs one million pesos, with the government providing help with the financing. From all appearances it is a good job to have, and one driver spoke very highly of the syndicate to which they all belong.
With respect to money, I used as I always do the bank machines in Playa. So I’m going to take this moment to once again nag Canadians to get a Scotiabank account. There are two Scotiabanks with machines in Playa and I did all my banking there, incurring the same fees I do at home – nada.
And of course I spent those pesos. The enrichment of Playa del Carmen via tourist dollars is quite striking. It would appear that many locals drive a shiny new car. And there are also a lot of new big box stores such a Mega, Wal-Mart, and Sam’s Club.
But the Cancun-ization of Quinta Avenida marches on, with original shops slowly being replaced by grander enterprises. This of course was predicted and is unstoppable, and while it may very well be argued that overall it is beneficial to the local populace, some of it really curls my toes (Starbucks? Haagen Dazs? At home, OK, but why in Playa?).
Even though we pay a lot to go to an all-inclusive, we generally try to eat some of our meals in Playa del Carmen. This trip was no exception.
But first, CRT dining.
The La Selva restaurant is located off the lobby and is an open-to-everyone buffet-style restaurant that is the main breakfast restaurant in the mornings and hosts dinner at night.
For breakfast a typical North American breakfast was available: scrambled eggs, hash browns, fruit, cereal, toast, bacon, pancakes, yummy French toast with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon, made to order omelets, they had it all. Add to that chilaquiles, frijoles negros, and those fruit-based blender drinks, and you could get happily fat pretty fast. I know I did.
For dinner there was pasta, chicken, beef, pork, Mexican delicacies, salads, breads, cheeses, and a whole lot of desserts. There’s something for everyone - one night they even had tacos al pastor, and while not as good as the street-side stuff, I give them full credit for at least trying.
There are also a number of a la carte restaurants for which you can reserve a table. We only went to Centenario, the Mexican restaurant, which is also off the lobby. I had sopa de lima to start and then duck in three mole sauces as a main. My wife had some sort of mixed salad to start and seafood fajitas as her main – it included a lot of tiny squids and octopi amongst other things.
I topped off my meal there with a banana-chocolate bombe and a Mexican coffee in a clay jug that had a many varieties of fruit stewed in it. I hadn’t thought I’d ordered it – there was some kind of mix up or misunderstanding – but I’m glad I got it, as it was delicious. In fact I found the regular coffee very good at the resort and I regret not bringing any home.
Although we never went, we heard from an Italian-American that the Italian restaurant, La Scala (La Palapa by day) was first-rate.
And a quick browse of the menu for The Terrace, the not-included outdoor steak and lobster restaurant adjoining La Selva, generally required an extra US $30 – 35 coughed up, with one plate coming in at $55.
In Playa del Carmen, we went to the much heralded HC de Monterrey for the first time, the location on Constituyentes, and had aracherra nacional. It was every bit as good as raved over in reviews. I would go back in a heartbeat.
We also ate at Ajua, which is a bit of a tradition for us, but I think that will be the last time I ever eat on or just-off Fifth. Yes the waiters are entertaining and we had good live music, but the cost vs quality of the food really disappointed me; I had a small rubbery lobster tail with four or five small rubbery shrimp for 350 pesos.
Thankfully we ended our dining expeditions with a stop at El Pastorcito on 30th street. I had gone by there previously on a walk from the Grand Coco Bay and had seen them setting up the trompo for the tacos al pastor. When I told our taxi driver where we were going he was practically salivating, saying that he goes there to eat. And we were not disappointed – the tacos al pastor were terrific. Another must-return place.
After five trips to the area – seven if you count stays in Cancun - we finally made it to Xcaret. I can’t add much that others haven’t already said, except that it’s fantastic and for all the people there it really doesn’t seem that crowded. And the night time show is exceptional.
Same thing for Tulum – first time there. Given the heat of the morning and the fact that we’d previously been to Chichen Itza, our tour of the site was relatively short, spending most of the time near the temple overlooking the ocean where the cool breeze acts as a restorative from the blistering heat of the rest of the site. Entrance is 48 pesos per person and 35 pesos for the privilege of using your camcorder. We didn’t hire a guide; we wanted to come and go on our own terms, and in the end our visit was relatively short but we feel we saw as much as we had wanted.
After Tulum we grabbed a cab to Tulum pueblo and ate lunch at El Mariachi (¡desde 1997!) on the main drag across the street from Don Cafetto. It’s a nice open-air place with a gravel floor, the type of place locals would eat – in fact a family sat a few tables away. My wife and I both had a gringa, which consisted of al pastor meat and melted cheese sandwiched between toasted tortillas – it was a great lunch.
After that it was another taxi ride back to the hotel for one last afternoon of sunning ourselves before our week was up.
In conclusion I would go back to the Catalonia Royal Tulum in a heartbeat, and would recommend it to anyone. My wife particularly liked the fact that the beach was free of wall-to-wall hotels, as in Playacer, and that it can be walked its whole length without constantly running into other people. She also felt the food was good and of variety, and I agree.
The Catalonia Royal Tulum is pleasantly designed and laid out, the rooms are clean, the pool is very nice, the beach is spectacular, and the employees are extremely friendly and hard working. The location is great and the price was reasonable. We had a great time.
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Robert |
My girlfriend and I were at the Catalonia Royal Tulum from April 1st to the 8th.
The place was clean, the food was incredible, the people were friendly, we liked it alot and will recommend it to everyone we know.
End of review... :-) But seriously... We really liked it!
For those of you who like more details...
The resort is about an hour bus drive from Cancun airport, and they can sell you Coronas for 3 USD each on the bus. Don't buy them at the airport!
We arrived late at night (around 9h30pm, local time) and the buffet was still open, which was good, since we were both starving. Our first impressions were good, the front desk staff was friendly and helpful, and they spoke much better english than we spoke spanish (our native
language is french)! The walk to the room was long, but that's
probably the only "problem" with the Catalonia Royal Tulum - it stretches from the 307 highway right to the beach. If I remember well, it's an 8-minute walk from one to the other. Our room was right in the middle, in the 4000's - there are 6 units, 3 left and 3 right, we were in the second on the right.
The room itself was quite spacious, and had a very nice bathroom (my girlfriend wanted to take the shower back home with her). Everything was very clean. We had a TV, a mini-fridge which was refilled every day (and everything in it was free with our package) with soda, bottled water and a couple of beers. The room we had was on the ground floor, and since the balcony looks out on the "jungle" which composes the middle of the resort between the units, there is no real "view" to talk about. But it was clean, and quiet. There were two chairs, a table and a drying rack. The two double beds were quite comfortable, much more than most of the beds we've had in the past during such trips! No backache in the morning, yea! In our package, the safe was also included, and we made good use of it. One thing missing: an alarm clock! Bring your own...
After getting our luggage (they were delivered to the room) we went back to the front to eat at the main buffet (La Selva). My girlfriend eats about anything, but I don't. I'm quite difficult with food, and sometimes that get to be a hassle, believe me! But at that resort, I always had many choices of things to my taste, and everything was really
(really!) good. We sampled the drinks at the Las Maragaritas bar, and went to sleep.
The restaurants we had were a little different from what is described in earlier reviews. We had a Mexican restaurant, (Centenario) and the noon buffet at the beach (La Palapa) doubles (in fact, triples) as a grill (Royal Grill) and an italian restaurant (Toscana) depending on which day of the week. We had to make reservations for those three, which we did on the first morning we were there. There is also another restaurant (Terrace Grill) which wasn't included in our package - it was relatively expensive, and when making reservations, you had to choose at that moment what you wanted to eat.... which could be a couple of days later.
Royal Grill: Being right next to the beach (which you can't see because it's dark, but you can hear it!) it makes for a wonderful setting. Food was good - we've had better, but still very good. We still talk about the mexican bread we had, a very strange recipe that tasted sooo good!!
Centenario (Mexican): I took Pollo Pibil (chicken pibil) and my better half got herself some Tequila shrimp. As I told you, I'm quite difficult with food, but that was incredibly good! I ate everything, and I'd still eat some more right now. My girlfriend's dish was very good too, but not enough food in her plate I'm afraid... Five shrimp, Tequila or not, is not enough. The La Selva buffet took care of that.
Toscana (Italian): Even better than the Royal Grill! We were sitting right next to the beach, close enough that my glasses were getting dirty from ocean spray while we ate! :-)
We always took our breakfast at LaSelva (La Palapa buffet serves a continental breakfast too) and there is a wide variety of things to eat
- pancakes, eggs, fresh fruit, cereal, etc. During the day we mostly
ate at La Palapa near the beach and pool, and while the menu offering was different from LaSelva, the food was very good too. La Palapa offers hamburgers and hotdogs too, which were very popular.
The pool area: Pool is huge, and if you want to get a chair, you have to get up early to go put your towel on some, because at 7h30 in the morning, there are none left available... Nobody on the chairs, but towels everywhere, same applies to the beach, but you can still get some very nice places during the day, as the beach area is quite spacious.
The entertainment staff is using the microphone profusely, and please, somebody, bring some new tunes to the DJ! My brain has blocked that tune so I can't remember what it was, but it was played in a loop I'm sure! Still they are friendly, and when they ask you to come play with them and you say "No thanks", they don't insist, which is good. There are activities for all tastes, whether it's exercise, spanish lessons, drinking contests, soccer, volleyball (beach and pool), or simply baking in the sun. I can understand Tracey (February 2008) who found that it could be less than relaxing, but still, I've been able to read and relax without problems. There is only one pool, but it's very large, so you can be at the quiet end and enjoy the weather.
There are three spas - they were renovating the pergolas over the first two while we were there, so sometimes there were only two available at a time. At the end of our week all three were open. One is almost cold, the middle one was very comfortable, and the third one was a real one, at around 100 degrees - if not more. We chose that one most of the time, but after getting a few sunburns, the middle one was better! :-) They are located in front of the beach, that makes really great pictures (and memories)...
We went shopping at Playa del Carmen, and bought a few things on Quita Avenida (Fifth avenue) which is the local tourist trap. B-A-R-G-A-I-N, else you'll buy T-shirts at 70 USD a piece... (yes, seventy US dollars). They are hungry, and they want your attention...
We rented a car for one day to get to see Cancun. A little less than 90$ for the car, 20 USD to the local police to forget that we were going at 66 km/h in a 60 km/h zone (or pay 100 USD at the local police station while they hold your licence). Driving the Riviera Maya is an exercise in patience, as the speed limit on the 307 easily goes from 100 km/h to 40 km/h then back to 60 km/h - all in the same 1000 feet. If you rent a car, drive the limit, even though the locals speed by you at double the limit. They don't have bright rental company stickers on their front bumpers..
Oh yeah... don't believe the weather channel! The Servicio Meteorologico Nacional warned us of thunderstorms every single day we were there, and.. well, we got nasty sunburns, solar cream or not. We got two drops of rain one day (I got them both) and a 5-minute rain while we were in Playa del Carmen - but it was so refreshing we didn't mind at all! To know the weather, stick your nose out. If you get wet, either it rains or the sprinklers are working. I guess it's hard to get good "pronostico" on an ocean's front...
Try the dark beer, it's really good, the blonde is also very good.
Avoid the wines like the plague (both of them)! The white wine is known here as "regular unleaded", and the red wine is.. well, worst.
All in all, we really liked the place, and would send close family there. We're talking about going back ourselves with the kids eventually...
Thanks for reading that far, and thanks for all the previous reviewers!
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Sharone |
My husband and I, sister, brother-in-law, daughter and son-in-law spent a week at the Catalonia from Feb 6 to 13. The place was so clean with awesome views from the balcony. My sister and daughter had side views from their balcony but we had a straight view to the ocean and pool. The rooms were so clean and we got the cutest towel decorations daily. One on the bed and one in the bathroom. Room 447 has to be the best at the resort. The food was good. We didn't know that you need to make your ala carte reservations asap so we missed out on those restaurants for the first 5 days but the buffet was good anyway. The best tour to take is the Coba Ruins. You get to go to a Mayan village and swim in a cenote. It was an awsome tour that I would recommend to anyone. Our daughter wanted to do the dolphin swim down at Aventuras but was told by the booking company in the lobby that it was full for the day so we walked down to Aventuras to see the other people and when we got there they had room for her to do the swim. In fact since she was a walk up they gave her an upgraded swim for the same price as the cheapest one. That maybe the best way to swim with the dolphins, walk down to the marina and if they have space they give you a good deal just to fill it up. I would recommend the resort to any age group. This was our first all inclusive stay and we would do it again.
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Tracey |
Myself, and two other girls just returned from 7 days at the Catalonia Royal Tulum and liked it. I always turn to these reviews prior to booking a vacation, and was not at all disappointed with our vacation.
We departed out of Montreal on February 14th with Air Transat (yuck) - and our flight was delayed over two hours. Other than the crappy airplane food (chinese), and the drunk people on the flight - we were very anxious to arrive.
Arrival:
Upon arrival to the airport, we were dying for a drink, outside of the cancun airport there was a canteen that sold Corona and Water etc…. We knew that it was a long drive to the resort, so we chose a 6 pack of cans of Corona and 3 bottles of water. The price……. $45.00 U.S. (don't worry we didn't buy them)! Save it because there is beer for sale on the bus for $3.00 each which is a nice way to pass the 90 minute drive to the resort.
Check in:
Went smoothly, they took us to our room right away, we rented a safe for $5.00 a day, and out luggage arrived shortly after us. We were hungry, and went to the 24 hr snack bar for a drink and a plate of nachos. It was 11:00 pm by this time and we were just anxious to head off to bed awaiting the morning sun!
The Rooms
No problems at all. They beds are very hard, but we aren't hard to please. The fridge was stocked every day with pop, beer, chips, chocolate bars and nice towel art on the bed. Mind you we always left the maid $3.00 us for her efforts!
The Food - overall was Ok -
Not great but just ok.
The typical buffets at the resort - things you aren't sure of what they are, but then again - these people are cooking for 1000 people at a time.
Lots of fresh fruit, nachos, guacamole, and fresh salsa!
The Mexican Restaurant - Very disappointed. The meal was awful but the staff was friendly.
The Japanese - Ok. Stir fry, spring rolls,
The Gourmet - Excellent! The best meal of the week and the service was amazing. We had to take the bus over to the Coba resort for this one, as well as the Japanese.
This resort is HUGE!!!
Stay away from the main Pool if you are looking for a relaxing time. It is noisy, the entertainment staff always yelling into a microphone, and heavy, heavy drinkers in this area.
We preferred the smaller pool near the grill restaurant which was much more relaxing!
Day Trips!
Check out Xel Ha! It is only a 5 minute cab ride, $10.00 us for the cab, and much cheaper than one of the Hotel planned trips. We paid an extra $100.00 on top of our $75.00 entrance fee to swim with the dolphins! An experience of a lifetime. You can't miss that. But watch out for the prices on the pictures they will try to sell you. 20.00 a piece!
All in all, a nice resort, nice beach close to the Akumel side, but the red flag was up all week. The Ocean can be very very rough so I wouldn't suggest small children swimming in there. But nice fish right off the beach for snorkelling, bring your underwater camera. Definitely would go back, although I never go to the same place twice. The world is far too big of a place to keep going back to the same place over and over again! CHEERS!
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Sue |
We just returned on Feb. 3rd from a week at the Royal Catalonia Tulum and we really loved it.
I had scrutinized all of the previous reviews and had prepared myself for things to be "on the watch for", but after having spent a week there, I really believe that your experience will have a LOT to do with luck and your expectations.
We had hardly a problem compared to the very few who noted problems with this hotel or their rooms. I can only imagine that it was luck.
Upon Arrival - We were the only group in our van checking into the hotel. (3 of us). They had welcome drinks and a 'cold washcloth' to wash up with and cool off from the ride. Our room was ready and we left the luggage for the bellboy and went to find our room. I had asked for a room away from the Entertainment as we have a 6 year old son and didn't want him to be awakened with loud music etc.
We were given a room in the middle of the three sections of buildings. It was just perfect as it was half way between the lobby/buffet restaurant and the beach and pool area. It was a ground floor room and was just great. We have stayed at true 5 star hotels and though this was by no means, "opulent", it was very nice and everything was in great shape with lots of little things you don't always see at 3-4 star all inclusives.
There were plenty of towels, the showers were huge, with plenty of hot water and there were comp. Bottles of shampoo, shower gel, body lotion etc... Everything in the room is tile/stone flooring and it is REALLY SLIPPERY when WET! Be really careful when you get out of the shower...we threw extra towels down, just to be on the safe side....Don't forget if you come in with a wet bathing suit from the pool/beach, it's going to be slippery if your 6 year old drips on the FLOOR! :-)
The A/C worked great and there was a fan too, but we enjoyed opening the slider and (we did have a screen door on ours) and getting the fresh air and listening to the wildlife outside the doors. The birds in the morning are just beautiful and really make you wish for Sping to come in New England!
The beds are really hard! The good news is that you'll be glad to get up early and start your day. You'll also be really glad when you get home to your OWN bed! We've stayed in Mexico 5 times and all of the beds are hard. Unfortunately, that was the worst thing, but we still slept fine and also napped at the pool and beach during the day, so got plenty of rest. Our TV didn't have a remote, so after asking for one for a couple of days at the front desk, we finally got one. It wasn't a big deal to us, but if it is to you, you just have to "stay on them" for stuff like that so that you get what you need. Truly though, that was the only thing we really needed to even inquire about. Though we were on the first floor, we felt our things were safe. Our slider locked fine and we just kept the safe locked and secured. We had no problem with anything missing. This is one of the safest resorts that I've been to.
The Pool is absolutely gorgeous. During the day they played soft music most of the time which was a nice change from some resorts that play loud hip hop that is really not relaxing. They did play some louder music when the Activity crew were doing activities, but it doesn't last long and provides a lot of entertainment. The chaises have really nice cushions on them and they are really comfortable. There are lots of 5 star hotels that don't even have those! The bar is a little slow at the pool, but the bartenders are friendly. There are three Jacuzzis and depending on the day, there was usually at least one that was warm, if not hot. The other two were cold or Luke warm and you could tell which one was the hot one of the day....it was full!
The Beach is gorgeous and raked each morning. It is true that the chaises are hard to get at the pool and at the beach, mostly the one's in the shade as there isn't much and the sun is very hot!
The best bet is to get up early and go down with your towels or magazines/books to save your chaises. 7 AM to 7:30 isprobably early enough....Also, make sure you use plenty of block the first day or two until you get a base tan. There are some hammocks in the shade that are really great. There is a volleyball net and a lot of organized play and pick up games. The boogie boarding is really fun as there are some good waves. Right off the beach there is a reef to the left of the swimming area. My son and I swam out and snokeled on them and were amazed at the variety of fish in a small area so close to the beach! I heard from a local that there is an even better one a hundred yards to the right of the resort up the beach, so you could try that also.
There was a woman taking drink orders on the beach, we were usually sure to have a dollar or two for her and she would always come back by. That was a nice treat too!
The food - The food is great. I love to eat and am somewhat picky, but I always found something i really liked and it was not bland as a lot of buffet food is. There is definitely some repitition of foods, but overall there is a great selection and everything is so good. I gained 5 pounds! The fruits are amazing - tropical and fresh and the bread is baked each day. There is a huge variety of breads, as well a selection of 2 soups for each meal and pizza at lunch. The desserts were to die for. Usually they are more "European" and dry cakes etc., but these were excellent!
(See the part where I gained 5 lbs.) There is a huge salad bar...(where I should have been...) and the cooks are really willing to give you what you want, so don't hesitiate to ask if you want pasta wwith alfredo instead of the tomato sauce that is out. There were shrimp cocktails, obviously a lot of authentic mexican food/snacks available and I overdosed on the BEST guacamole all week. The service is Fair in the restaurants, but the best part is that it's a buffet. They are quick to seat you and once seated, you can get anything you need yourself. I was waiting my first day or two for someone to bring me coffee, but once I found I could get it myself, I did! No problem! If there was something we needed at the table, you could get it if you asked. And some days we did have good service and our drink orders were served to us.
Don't bother going to the Grill restaurant - the prev. reviews were right - it was slow and not great food. You're much better off at the buffet! We didn't try any other a la carte restaurants as we were so happy at the buffet!
The walkways are beautiful through the middle of the resort which is the jungle area. It was fun to see iguanas, birds, fish etc. along the walkway. They have soft music playing and I have to say it all lends itself to relaxing you from the moment you arrive.
I also went to the spa for a massage - one hour with Carmen. Amazing! They give you a robe and sandals to use and full use of the spa tubs, steam room, and sauna as well as a beautiful relaxation room. It is really worth the money if you can splurge!
There is internet access for $5 for a half an hour. There isn't usually a long wait. The keyboard is similar to the one's in the U.S., but there are some tricky things you need to learn. Don't hesitate to ask someone if you aren't sure about something.
I was able to check email, news etc...
My son spent some time at the Kids Club. He loved being there, but also loved being with us too, so was back and forth. Selene, the girl that runs it is just great and this is the first place that I've felt was safe enough to leave our son with anyone. He is also old enough now that we felt better about it too, but the club is really fun for the kids and Selene does a great job keeping them busy and juggling many languages.
We got a great deal on this hotel, but I wouldn't have been upset if we paid more as we were really happy with it! We would definitely go back again!
If you want to email me with questions, feel free:
home@provalu.com
You'll be glad you picked Catalonia Royal Tulum!
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Carolyn |
This was my 12th trip to the resort Catalonia Royal Tulum formally (Copacabana) We had a great time and it was fun to put some faces to those that I had communicated with via e-mail for tips on the resort. Our trip was April 30th to May 18th. This was a best friends get away. So we had a nice long trip.
You will love the beach I think it is one of the best in the area. It is great, white sand that does not get hot on your feet. And the entrance to the sea is not rocky at all. There are many lounges located in the sun and under palapa (grass huts) and allot of shade also under the palms and many hammocks also.The area has a nice long beach for walks. If you go to the the Catalonia royal tulum site on trip advisor and look just under the rating area there are many candid pictures of the resort that others have posted. I will add my pictures as soon as I can get them up. I seem to be technically challenged lately. We prefer to stay in building 5 or 6 all the rooms are set back from the beach so there are NO beach front rooms. They are 3 stories in each building. Building 1-2 closest to the lobby, 3-4 (Non Smoking) middle, 5-6 closest to the beach and pool. There are no elevators so if you have a problem climbing stairs I would ask for the first floor.
The walk to the lobby is not that long it only takes about 10-12 min to do the walk from building 5 or 6. I am not sure why but many travel agents do not tell you that it is about an hour and 15 from Cancun airport, and it can be even longer if you take a group transfer (they stop and let off people at resorts along the way) Enjoy the scenery and you can get a flavor or the area as you head down the coast. As I go on and on now for the food part. We did like all the buffets that we went to at night there was always something that we liked and they offer a different kind of food each night. There is also a children's section. There was a nice salad bar, Fresh baked pizza every night and great dessert table. For the ala carts you do have to make reservations Jayme is usually there or her helper from 8am to 11am I think you can make all your reservation at once if you want. The tickets that they give you are for the whole family not just one person. I can never figure out this system some tour groups such as Apple vacations give you so many and another group may give you another amount. Who knows I would just ask Jayme if she can accommodate you with an extra one if you need them. It just depends on how busy the resort is though. There is a extra pay restaurant also but I have not gone to it. The Ala carts were great also they now have the Mexican, Caribbean, Royal Steak, and the Vegetarian. The Buffet and the Mexican are always open. What they do with the other 3 ala cart's is they rotate using the Lunch Palapa one night one then one night the other. At the Mexican I had the 3 taco plate and was overwhelmed with the amount of food on my plate but it was very good, Linda had the Chicken dish many said that the Tequila shrimp was good also. At the Caribbean I had the fish dish and it was great Linda had a chicken dish that had 2 half breast of chicken in a great sauce. At the new royal steak (included) not the pay one. I had the t-bone steak it was thin but it was tender and tasty We did go twice but I forgot what Linda had. ask for rare if you have the steak they cook steak well done in Mexico almost no matter what. I do not know why it is just the way they like to eat meat. And the new vegetarian I had the spicy spaghetti (but it was NOT spicy) It was good but ask for the spaghetti not al dente I also ate there again and had the risotto it was creamy and Linda had the ricotta cheese wrapped in pasta what was really filo twice and loved it.
The lunch area always seem to have 2 fresh soups and salad bar, with many dressings to choose from. Many hot dishes and veggies and a nice grill area also (on the smoking side). Look for it, there was always a roasted meat and when we were there was a selection of fresh fish, chicken, pork chops, hamburgers or hot dogs that they grill in front of you. On the other side there is a Mexican selection that changed daily also. They also have a good selection of fresh baked breads. And a soft Ice Cream machine on each side. By the Ice Cream machine there is also a selection of desserts and fresh fruit. The breakfast buffet is located at the lobby And you have so many choices it is elaborate and you can have fresh made omelets, or have them cook you your eggs if you are so inclined any way you want them. Also pancakes, French toast, and Belgian waffles. The bread and danish selections are baked right there in there brick oven. The coffee and tea was good also. But remember in Mexico they only use powdered decaf. Many juices to choose from one side has juices in cooler machines and on the other side there is fresh made juices. Beware of the Dark green one's they could be Cactus or spinach. But the others are GREAT. You can go all out and have a big breakfast or just juice and fruit or yogurt. They also have a selection of hot and cold cereal. There is also a continental breakfast set up in the lunch palapa for those who get up later.
ROOMS
They have a great hair dryer in the bathroom that worked well. And a good makeup mirror. One sink and a huge shower. Our water pressure and the amount of HOT water was good also when we were there this May. They do have very small bottles of shampoo and conditioner but you can pack your own in your checked bags but I would make sure they were in a zip bag just in case those guys who do the bags at the airport throw the bags around like they did ours. Also they have a small lotion but I still would bring the kind you are use to. There Was a problem with the A/C in mid. April there was a main pipe that broke underground so they first had to find the broken area and work like mad to repair it. But we had to turn ours up in our room in building 6 it was to cold. There is a list of beverages that on the mini fridge that the maids are to stock. But what we did when we needed more Coke Light (Diet Coke) We took a pad of stick ups and tried to write a note to ask for more (Mas Coke light) Some times it worked some times not. So if we would see the maid or the cart we would just ask or take a few more. Most of the maids do not speak English. Also they now have coffee pots in all the rooms. They are just getting use to stocking the coffee so if you have a problem with not getting the coffee write a note there also. I think that if you call house keeping on the phone they can get you some more. I know that the manager of house keeping does speak English. But it may be in Mexican time. . Some rooms were having trouble with the key cards not working for their rooms, with the humidity starting to rise they would sometimes go blank. So if this just happens to you there is a phone in the lobby of each building on the first floor. I forgot the front desk # but I do know that the bellman's number is 7111 so you can call them and explain that you are locked out and you need help right now. They will answer in Spanish but just speak in English and they will understand you The same for the front desk. All at the front desk and the bellman do speak English. We did have fun towel art almost every day and fresh flowers it just depends on the maid and how busy they are. We do tip them about 2 dollars a day. Our room was always perfect. Check to see if you have a mattress pad on the bed ALL beds in Mexico are hard no matter where we have been and it does help. There was also an Iron and Ironing board and a umbrella in the closet.
One thing I would do is take along a Glad air freshener to plug in. You are in a humid area and it sure helps the room smell nice when you come in. There are not that many plugs in the room so we also take along an extension cord so you can plug in things like your camera or your I pod to charge the battery or if you have children what ever hand games they have. Just makes it easier. Do make sure before you leave your room that the safe is locked and that you have the key and keep all valuables and passport in it when not in your room, and the patio door also. Some of the entrance doors are starting to swell because of the humidity so after you close the door check the handle to make sure it is locked .
Entertainment
Shows are entertaining they are put on by the staff some are funny and some are beautiful. If you have kids some of the guys can be a bit off color. If you have children with you the best couple show may not be the most appropriate to take them to. They do have Michael Jackson impersonator sometimes, and sometimes a Mexican dance troop come in. And if you happen to be there with children when they do the lion king show the staff will dress up the kids and let them be in the show. Take your camera parents. When you get there ask Ricky or Val or any of the entertainment staff (they are out at the pool about 10 AM) what shows they have planned for your week. They do many activities around the pool. Dance lessons, Spanish lessons, Beach and pool volleyball, pool basket ball, ping pong, Dart contests, some days Bingo, and depending on the day some kind of other contests. They also have a big chess set to the back of the bar and in front of the whirlpool. The whirlpool is nice they over look the beach. There are three and seem to be at different temps. There is also a Dive shop that is by the beach. I have a list of prices if you need them. Ask for Enrique he is the one who gave me the list as of May 07. They also can help you out where you get your towels. Do not loose your towel or your card !.
Internet and phone calls home.
I would suggest NOT to call from your room. First there is a hefty connect charge then the time charge. You do not want a big surprise at check out. There is a phone in the lobby by the bathroom and by the towel area at the pool. You will need to buy a phone card to make them work that is right next to the phone.
There are also 2 computer they are now located in back of the area that you meet your trip coordinator. Apple tours etc. I think that you have to check with the front desk to use them the cost was 5 USD for 30 min when we were there. There is a sign on the wall telling you how to use them and how to get to the @ sign. The Mexican key boards are set up different then here in the USA. So if you have and underscore like I do in your e-mail address you will have to ask at the front desk how to do that also.
Taxi's, Collectivos, and the now free ride to Playa Del Carmen
Taxi's Always ask the price before you get in. There is a list of prices near the bellman station. Collectivos (white van's) they will take you up and down the coast to many of the areas that you may want to go to. But they will only drop you off on the highway, unless you are going into Playa then the shopping area 5th Ave. is a just a few blocks away they will cost you about 2 dollars each way. But BE real careful coming back they will let you off across the street from the resort and the traffic is bad. They now have a free shuttle that takes you to Playa also. only one bus I think right now that runs at 4pm and it comes back at 11 pm...in high season they will have 2 times 9AM to 3:30pm and 4PM to 10:30PM.
The Spa and Gym
The Gym is included in your stay and they now have a great trainer that will help you out with the equipment or help with a work out plan for you if you are so inclined. And all the equipment is only a year old and it looks out over the pool and is all A/C. The Spa I will be posting some pictures of this area soon. What a beautiful and well appointed area this is. You can ask the receptionist to give you a tour of the area. She will also give you a list of the charges for the treatments. We have enjoyed the many of the different treatments that they have to offer. They do have one side for the ladies and one side for the guys. If you purchase a treatment you have the use of the spa for the whole day. They have a nice dressing area with robes, towels, and and lockers. After your treatment there is a nice relaxing area that they serve and assortment of teas or water if you want. There are many big lounge chairs to accommodate you also. After your treatment they have a big whirlpool, sauna, or a steam room that you can use. And if you want to take a shower afterwards they have a nice shower area with all the amenities that you might need right in the shower on the wall. If you would like to have a massage with your sweetie they have a couples room where you can have one at the same time. There is also a whirlpool tub in the room. So it is nice and private. You will never think that it is so big behind the walls so I would at least take a tour.
They are in the process as of our trip printing up all the new paper work for the resort. So if at check in they do not explain the details of the resort just ask. They will be glad to help you with how to book the ala carte's and the times of the buffets or any other questions that you may have. When we were there depending on the time of day they had someone who spoke English, French, Or Italian and of course Spanish. They also will change your US dollars or travelers checks and at our time it was 10 peso's per dollar and most likely will give you since you are in there country Mexican money back it just depends on what they have on hand. The resort was also in the process of having the robes imprinted with the new logo for the rooms. There is also room service that is at an extra charge. There was a short menu in the room. They also have an area in the lobby that is called CATA Tours and Sophie she also speaks many languages or her helper would be glad to assist you for any tours that you might want to go on. They are both very informative about the area.
I am sure that you may have a few more questions for me if so please write to me and I will send you a list of tips that I just updated last week. It will have also the e-mails if you need to try to get a special room. They will do there best to help out but can not guarantee the room that you want. Or for Jayme who is in charge of the guest relation if you have a special occasion that you are celebrating while you are there. She can also help you if you are planning a wedding at the resort.
Well this has gotten long. Below is my e-mail and I will do my best to help with questions that you may have or if you would like to request The list of tips.
carolyn_gustafson@sbcglobal.net
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Roxanne ~ Gatineau Quebec |
We stayed at the Catalonia Royal Tulum from April 6th to April 13th 2007. My husband and I purchased our trip from Go Travel Direct who was selling a package called "Riviera Maya 5-star Wild Card". We were advised by the Go Travel rep that we would find out which 5-star hotel we would be staying at once we got off the plane. When asked which hotels were part of the "Wild Card" deal, the rep told us it could be any 5-star hotel situated on the Mayan Riviera.
We booked our trip to depart from the Ottawa Airport and we were advised 1 week prior to our departure that the destination was no longer available from Ottawa but that we could still depart from Montreal on the same day but a later time. We decided since it was so short notice and vitually all the all inclusive vacation packages were sold out, we would travel to Cancun from Montreal - we did however manage to get a 100$ credit per person for the change in departure city.
Upon our arrival in Montreal we headed to the Zoom Airline gate and noticed that the checkin staff had not yet arrived. They recommend we arrive 3 hours in advance, but 2 1/2 hours before take off the Zoom Airline staff had not yet arrived. They finally arrived but for some reason, unknown to us at the time, we were made to wait another 1/2 hour before they started checking people in, then we found out that the flight was delayed 3 hours - our plane was still in New York (that's what they told us at the time) and in order to compensate for the delay they gave us a whole 10$ meal ticket (wow how generous - not). Once the prescribed boarding time had arrived we were once again advised that the flight was delayed yet another hour. Then once again just before boarding they decided to change our boarding gate and upon arriving at the new gate the flight was once again delayed another hour. So instead of leaving at 10:45 am we left at 3:30pm. You can imagine how fed up we were.
Once we actually got on the plane, the pilot advised us that the reason our flight was delayed was that a plane that was to fly out of New York for a transatlantic flight had mechnical problems. Therefore they sent our plane on that flight and WE had to wait for the plane to be repaired - lucky us (I guess we weren't as important as those individuals flying to the transatlantic destination)
At least our flight was uneventful but due to the lengthy delays we arrived in Cancun at 8:00pm instead of 3:00pm - we lost a half day of trip. Once we got to the Cancun Airport we found out that we were staying at the Catalonia Royal Tulum. In our opinion it wasn't a 5 star resort but more like a 4 star resort but we decided to stay and hope for the best.
Rooms:
The rooms were nice, clean and comfortable but they do smell a little musty - but its a humid climate - so we weren't to surprised. The shower was nice and huge but the air conditionning worked sporadically - and the temperature was really hot so it did get difficult to sleep. Housekeeping was fine. The refrigerator was always replenished with water and soft drinks but it did sometimes freeze the water and soft drinks?
A safe is provided free of charge, but you need to ask the front desk for the key/lock. You also need to ask for the remote control for the television - they don't leave them in the rooms - I guess people steal them? There's also a small clock radio (no CD player) and its actually glued to the desk - I guess people steal those also?
Restaurants and bars:
The food in the buffet was ok but if you didn't get there early - the food wasn't often replenished or it was replenished but is wasn't as well cooked - i.e the scrambled eggs were soggy after the first serving or the meat was under cooked.
The desserts were always amazing but once again you needed to get there early to ensure the good stuff was still available.
Waiters are only there to clean away your dirty dishes, if you want water, soft drinks, etc.. its self serve or unless you get a really nice waiter who is really service oriented he may offer the service but don't count on it. Don't look for seafood, it was non existant - fish was available.
We had our lunches at the beach buffet. It offered a salad bar, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled pork or chicken and desserts. Again, the trays often remained empty and weren't automatically replenished.
There were 5 à-la-carte restaurants but we were advised that we could only pick 2 during our 1 week stay and one of the à-la-carte restaurants we had to pay extra (30 to 60$ USD). We picked the Mexican restaurant which was probably our favorite of all the meals we had at the resort, the entrees were savoury and the main course was delicious. We also tried the Royal Steak and it was decent and different but nothing exceptional. The staff do their best and are very cordial but I believe they are under staffed and would need more training to be considered 5 star service.
The bars were OK and had a variety of mixed drinks and liqueurs, but again if you wanted something specific you needed to make sure to get there early because they aren't replenished either. Some of the main liqueurs were however missing from this supposed 5 star resort, no mexican bottled beer, no sparkling wine, no creme de menthe, etc. The line ups for the bar were often very long - sometimes waiting up to 15 minutes for a drink.
Pool and beach:
The beach is quite beautiful. You can take a nice long walk (15 minutes in both directions). There are plenty of beach chairs, palm trees for lots of shade and palapas but you need to get there early to ensure a place in the shade, otherwise you're stuck in the sun.
The pool was very nice and always clean. There were plenty of beach chairs and palapas around it too. There were also 3 hut tubs, 1 nice and hot, 1 luke warm and 1 was cold. The only down side was the fact that kids were always playing in the hot tubs so it was hard to sit and relax.
Overall review:
This is far from being a 5-star hotel and Go Travel Direct shouldn't be selling it as such. At the most, it's a 3.5-star. This was our second trip with Go Travel direct and once again they over rate their hotels. We will not be returning to this hotel and will NEVER deal with Go Travel again.
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Don ~ Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
Flight:
We flew out of Detroit, Michigan, on USA 3000 airlines on February 15/07, heading for Cancun, Mexico. We were delayed taking off because the plane needed to be de-iced (I don’t know why as there was no snow or freezing rain the night before).
Check In:
There were no delays at the reception counter and we were booked in and the luggage was sent to the room within fifteen minutes.
The Room:
The room was large and spacious with a balcony overlooking the eco-forest.
We saw iguanas and very small anole (common pet store chameleons) on the forest floor or in the trees. Birds were singing throughout the day. The closet was large with lots of hangers for our clothes. The bathroom and shower were larger than you would expect. Many people vacationing in the Caribbean complain of a musty smell in their rooms; we did not experience this. A bar fridge held bottled water and pop. The two double beds were very comfortable. Air conditioning worked well, even though we used it only two days. A coffee maker was available so you could brew your own and sit on your balcony and do what everyone should do on vacation…..relax! And I have to say the maid cleaned up the room very quickly and efficiently and left more time to my wife and myself to …..relax!
Grounds:
The rooms are laid out in six buildings, three along each side of the eco-walkway. We were located half way between the main lobby/breakfast/dining room and the beach/lunch room, in building “C” (on the ground floor and beside the complex entrance). It was an easy two minute walk each way. A pathway of interlocking stones joined the reception area to the beach, running through an eco-forest. This was particularly impressive at night as it was lighted at foot level for easy navigation to and from the dining room or the theatre.
Entertainment:
The “animation” people worked very hard at keeping guests entertained. We have been to four different resorts in the Mexico/Caribbean area in the last six years and this was by far the best entertainment we’ve seen! They started in the morning with activities around the pool (Spanish language and dance lessons etc. as well as pool volley ball) and sand castle building for children and beach volley ball for adults. In the evening they moved to the covered theatre where they put on a different and elaborate performance each night. The costumes and lighting effects were the best we have ever seen.
After this everyone was invited to the discotheque.
Restaurants:
Both breakfast and supper was served in the same restaurant off the main lobby. Lunch was served near the beach with a breathtaking view of the ocean. There was more than you could try at one sitting. Be certain to try the fruit drinks (made to order) and sample the extensive fresh fruit section as well as the breads (you can slice your own).
Shopping:
For those who want to take an excursion into town, Playa Del Carmen is not far away, with a tourist district known as Fifth Avenue. It will take about two hours to walk the town. A cab will take you for $17.00 US or the front desk will arrange for you to take one of their mini vans for $2.00 US each way per person. A real bargain!
Tipping:
Let‘s not forget, those who work the hardest are paid the least. A little recognition to those who kept your room clean, stocked your fridge and served you at the restaurants and bars goes a long way! Staff was extremely helpful and eager to please.
Overall Impression:
Would I recommend this resort to others? The answer, without hesitation, is YES! The management and staff are ready and willing to cater to a broad range of people. In our weeks stay we mingled with guests who had small children less than one year of age, those in their mid twenties, those who were newlyweds (hello to Joan and Kevin from just outside of Detroit, on their honeymoon; hope you enjoyed your stay!) to those who were in their sixties. The food was delicious, the rooms were immaculate, the service prompt, the drinks made to your liking and the employees seemed genuinely happy. All the guests we talked to felt the same. This is an excellent place to spend a week of rest and relaxation.
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Paulette ~ Quebec |
We stayed at the Catalonia Royal Tulum from March 16th until March 23rd 2007. Sorry, but this will be a far from flattering review. I was travelling with three good friends. We bought our trip from Go Travel Direct who was selling a package called "Riviera Maya 5-star Wild Card". When one of our group booked our packages, the Go Travel rep told us that we would find out which 5-star hotel we would be directed to, once we got off the plane. When asked which hotels were part of the "Wild Card" deal, the rep told us it could be any 5-star hotel situated on the Mayan Riviera. When we found out we were headed to the old Copacabana, we were disappointed because we knew that this hotel was rated a 4-star by every other provider except Go Travel Direct who rates it as a 5-star. Three of us had been in the Mayan Riviera area before and had stayed at 4 and 4 1/2 star resorts so we figured that if it was anything like these, we'd do just fine. Were we in for a surprise! This is not even a 4-star if you ask me. We met up with the Go Travel Direct rep to try to switch hotels because of our insatisfaction, but she told us it was impossible. She was extremely rude and went so far as to say that if we accepted to take the risk in purchasing the Wild Card, we had just better live with it. We also found out from her, that everyone who had purchased this 5-star Wild Card had been brought to this hotel. So buyers beware, if you think you have a chance of getting an authentic 5-star hotel from this package, you'll be very disappointed.
Rooms:
The rooms were fine, clean and comfortable. The shower was nice and huge but the first few days, we had no hot water and the pressure was very low. We complained at the front desk but they didn't seem to be in any hurry to fix it. We had gotten there on Friday night and the problem wasn't fixed until Monday. Housekeeping was fine. Except for the first day (no drinking water in the refrigerator), the refrigerator was always replenished with water and soft drinks.
A safe is provided in your room at no extra charge. We were told that we were the only people to have a key and should we lose it, they would have to drill through the lock at a cost of 50$ US. There must have been a master key somewhere because when we decided to convert a few of our US$ into pesos at the front desk before going into Playa del Carmen, my friend and I both noticed that we had exactly 50$ US missing from each of our wallets. We had been careful to keep our wallets in the room safe at all times and hadn't been off the resort since our arrival. The few dollars we had spent up to then, were for tips. We reported the theft to a girl named Jeymy. We still don't know exactly what Jeymy's position is on the hotel staff, but we were always directed to her when asking to talk to hotel management. She took down our written complaint and then told us that hotel security would do an investigation of the theft. Right from the start, we knew that this would get us absolutely nowhere since she was telling us that no one could possibly get into our safe but us. We returned next morning to find out the results of the investigation and sure enough, the hotel couldn't possibly be held responsible. When we asked Jeymy what the next step was, she told us to file a complaint with the Ministerio Publico Turistico in Playa del Carmen. We then requested copies of the complaint forms we had filled out the day before, so we could bring them to the police in Playa del Carmen but Jeymy refused. We refused to take no for an answer so she finally agreed to send copies to our room that evening. Not suprisingly, no copies were sent. Next morning, we went back to see her and she told us she hadn't had time to make them. We then asked her for the address of the police station in Playa. Needless to say, Jeymy was not happy. I don't think she expected that we would go through with an official report but there was no way that we were going to let this hotel get away with stealing our money. She promised that the copies would be in our room that evening but again they weren't. We went down to the front desk to find out if Jeymy had maybe left them there, but she hadn't. The clerk made a phone call and told us that Jeymy would have them with her next morning. We went back to the front desk next morning only to find out that it was Jeymy's day off !!!!!!! We're sure this deceit was deliberate. We then hopped on the shuttle into Playa and filed an official report about the theft with the police. We know that this is not going to get our money back but we were determined to let Jeymy and the rest of the hotel staff know that we had gone through with it. We never spoke to Jeymy again before leaving the hotel but we made sure to leave copies of our reports at the front desk. So please beware of thefts during your stay !
Restaurants and bars:
The best meal at the main buffet was breakfast. The breads, omelettes and fruit juices were delicious. However, if you're a bacon fan, be at breakfast before 8 am. because once the tray's empty, they don't replenish. We found this to be the case with a lot of the foods. Trays remained empty for long periods of time and sometimes weren't replenished at all. The coffee was ok but don't expect the staff to serve you. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. It's available at one of the food counters and they even ran out of coffee a couple of times too. The staff doesn't always pick up your dirty dishes either. Half the time, we ended up putting them on unoccupied tables to get them out the way. At the dinner buffet, the variety of foods was very limited, trays were not replenished and service wasn't any better. Go eat early if you want more variety. You get your own wine and don't look for wine glasses. The only glasses available at the buffet were water glasses, most of them plastic. If you want your wine in a wine glass, pick up a glass of wine at the lobby bar before dinner and keep the glass with you for dinner time at the buffet. Don't look for seafood either. There were shrimp in the buffet the first night we got there but we never saw any the rest of the week.
We had most of our lunches at the beach buffet. It offered a salad bar, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled pork or chicken and desserts. Again, the trays often remained empty and weren't automatically replenished. Both buffets seemed to be understaffed and here, like the main buffet, dirty dishes weren't picked up and drinks were not served.
The à-la-carte restaurants: The vegetarian was the best, the mexican was ok and the caribean was not good. We were expecting to find seafood at the Caribean but no luck. They even have paella on the menu but when I asked what kinds of seafood were in it, I was informed that there wasn't any, just fish. The service in all these restaurants was very good. We never made it to "The Terrace" since you had to pay extra for the meals at this restaurant. The filet mignon went for 31$ US and the lobster tails went for 55$ US. After sampling the food at the other restaurants, we weren't taking any chances.
The lobby bar was nice and had a good variety of mixed drinks and liqueurs. The beach and pool bar had a good selection too. But if you wanted any of those mixed "slushy" drinks, you had to get there early because these machines weren't replenished either. Once they were empty (mid-afternoon), they remained empty. At one point, after serving us our drinks, the bartender was so bold as to point to the tip glass. Needless to say, he didn't get one.
Pool and beach:
The highlight of our trip was the beach. It's gorgeous. You can walk for a good 20 minutes in both directions. There are plenty of beach chairs and plenty of palapas and palm trees for lots of shade when you get tired of the sun. The sand was nice and soft and there wasn't a rock to be seen. The water was turquoise, clean and warm.
We didn't use the pool at all since we're all beach fans. However, I can tell you that the pool is huge and seemed to be very clean. There were plenty of beach chairs and palapas around it too.
Overall review:
This is far from being a 5-star hotel and Go Travel Direct shouldn't be selling it as such. At the most, it's a 3-star. We will never go back to this hotel and will never deal with Go Travel again. We could be wrong, but we get the feeling that the transition from Copacabana to Catalonia has not gone smoothly. This hotel has the potential to be a great one but right now, it's understaffed, service is poor and food variety is non existant.
| Catalonia Royal Tulum |
I always think it helps to know a little bit about who is reviewing. We are an older couple with adult children who did not come with us. We are well traveled-lots of trips to Europe etc, but I have not been in Mexico since I was a child and my husband has never been. We probably would qualify as "foodie"-though we do not have to have fancy food, but quality is important to us. I am in the salon/spa distribution business so am very picky about services.
I got this hotel stay on Skyauction--sort of by accident. I had never bid on anything before and was sort of interested in this place because it is environmental, so I decided to bid too low to win. Low and behold, I won. So I stipulated a holiday ( valentines day) thinking they would not have it available. They did and we were going.
I booked a direct and expensive flight to make sure we got there OK and booked a car from Thrifty so we could do day trips. Flight was fine and the Thrifty Car rental went well--even though I did not recognize the nice helpful lady as a timeshare saleswoman. She was nice about our no and we drove off, getting used to the topes and pulling over to the right to let people pass. It took a bit of doing.
We arrived at the hotel about 3 on February 7 and I asked for the manager , Yolanda, at the front desk. I had sent several e-mails with room requests and had not gotten an answer-I assumed because of the ownership change. She was lovely and , having dropped Carolyn Gustafson's name ( ;0) -she is an expert here on the hotel--Yolanda apologized very nicely by upgrading us to a superior. with a bit of sea view--in building 300 if you are interested--about halfway between the ocean and the main building . We liked this fine.
The room was very comfortable and the bed --though hard--was fine for sleeping . I laughed to see that they have added padding to the mattress--what it must have been before. The maid kept it beautifully clean and we tipped her generously --I believe in this because I don't believe they get enough credit. It's only a few dollars to us , but all the world to them. She responded by a new and pretty towel sculpture every day. We kept our passports and extra money in the safe and never had any problems.
The beach, as everyone says, is gorgeous-fun to walk . Lots of teeny children there and there were some days that they might not be able to swim in the ocean , as it was a bit rough, but the pool ( and there was a nice baby pool) was perfect.
Food was good. Breakfast was lavish because the resort has a lot of people from French Canada and Italy and they all ate different things--so different things were provided. Just about anything you can imagine. There was always a good grill cook for omlets and one for pancakes etc. Lunch was just fine . There was always a roast or roast chicken, hamburgers, pizza, salads , a grill cook for tacos, soft ice cream--not exciting stuff but not bad either. Later in the week the resort became very full and lunch lines occurred--we just ate earlier or later than 12 if we did not want to wait. We ate twice at the reservation restaurants ( would have liked to eat there more but only got 2 tickets while someone else got 3. I was a bit disappointed , but feel sure that had we asked, we could have gotten another--they were awfully accommodating) .
Mexican was good and interesting. Caribbean was fun too. We did not try the steak and lobster because we ate off site at Hezixho in Tulum for Valentine's Day. GREAT restaurant .
I had two services in the Spa. Do you remember that I said I am very picky when it comes to Spa services? Well I had a really wonderful deep tissue massage and a really good Mayan massage. I was quite impressed. They have a steam shower, a hot tub etc. Nice dressing rooms and a very nice open air Papua with loungers where they serve you water or green tea afterwards. Being in the industry, I asked why they didn't market the spa more and one of the two sisters that now have the place told me that they were just starting to build the spa image. .She said the new owners have a lot of plans for upgrading the former Copacabana and I could see that this was true , because later in the week there was a lot of management out looking into things.
Oh yes--the weather wasn't perfect , but we went to Tulum and Chichin-Iza and Playa for some shopping. The side streets are better than the main street of 5th.
We went to the shows often and were most impressed. They do a great job and the shows had way more personality than those on the Celebrity cruise we took. I particularly remember the girls dancing with lit candles on their heads in the Mexican Folklore show and the cute "borrowed " baby who was the baby lion king when that did the show. He or she didn't cry --just looked at all of us so seriously we had to laugh.
Oh, Drinks. I thought the beach bar drinks were probably more watered down because a falling down drunk would be a bit awkward in the pool or beach area. At the lobby bar, all you had to say was strong and the drink was. We drank less of the fancy mixed drinks and more basics and thought they were fine --though the fancy drinks were kind of fun.
A little tip goes a long way.
Altogether, we had a great time. We really loved the path through the resort. Some folks have complained, but I found it charming and loved seeing the small animals and birds. It was kind of a de-stressor to walk the Very few minutes to the beach of restaurant.. We actually though it was one of the best parts!
This is a great place to go . As my husband said, it has "Good Bones" and the upgrading that is being done will make it even better. Just do remember--you are in Mexico and everything won't be done fast or perfectly --but what the heck--you are on vacation!!!!!!!!
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Tony ~ Canada |
The first week of January 2007 we had a family reunion at Copacabana with our two children and their families, and stayed in three separate rooms. The quality of the hotel and the various amenities were comparable to those of other resorts in its category. The beach was quite nice and so was the pool. The food was average, but the wine tasted homemade. No beer in the room fridge, and tips were more or less required to get the fridge replenished with soda and water, and to get the room made up properly. The big complaint we have is that the cleaning staff routinely went through our suitcases (of course our valuables were in the safe). We became suspicious the second day after the room was made up, as my summer cotton pj’s which I wore the previous night were missing, so we set the outside zippers of our suitcases in a very specific position in order to be able to determine if they had been touched. Sure enough, after the room was made up the next day, the zippers were in a different position and the stuff inside was not exactly the way we had left it. The same happened for the remaining days of our stay. Our granddaughter had her favourite stuffed bear missing from her room, and our grandson had his earphones missing. We complained at the main desk about our missing items, but with no result. We made no accusations about the suitcases being opened, as we could provide no tangible proof of it, and as we thought it might actually be counterproductive, preferring to write instead to the hotel management after our return home. Which we did, about two weeks ago, but received no reply at all. Our recommendation: LOCK your suitcases when you leave your room. Or at least leave a sheet inside your suitcase, on top of the contents, saying (preferably in Spanish) “I’ll report you to the hotel management if you open this suitcase again!”
(By the way, nothing like this ever happened to us on previous vacations in Mexico or elsewhere in the Caribbeans or Europe.)
| Catalonia Royal Tulum | Bogdan ~ Romania |
-This resort was bought by Catalonia Resorts. The new name is Catalonia Royal Tulum. It's a 4 star hotel (don't pay more than 900 US dollars/person or 1000 Canadian dollars/person - taxes included for a 7 nights vacation!)
-There are 4 a la carte restaurants: Mexican, Vegetarian, Caribbean + Terrace (extra $)
-2 buffet restaurants: La Selva (breakfast and dinner - very good food), La Palapa (lunch - food is horrible)
- Each night "La Selva" restaurant has a theme: Parisian, Pescadores, World of Pasta, International, Mexicanos, etc.
-3 bars
-3 hot tubs (2 hot and 1 cold)
-Shows: "Mr.Catalonia", "Lion King", "Variety", "Black Light", "Men vs Women" etc..
-"the jungle" between hotels is amazing.
- drinks are average (how can you drink any frozen drinks without straws?) - ask for "Caipirinha" is really refreshing and good (Brazilian drink with lime, rum and sugar)
- room are large but smelly (we've checked 3 other rooms and all have the same wet towel smell)
- the shower is great!
- the glasses are decent size. No need to carry large cups.
- the beach is really nice and water was warm and crystal clear.
- the main pool is large but a little bit cold (normal for January).
- the entertainment team "animation" did a really good job.
- the drive to/from airport is 90 minutes!
- hotel exchange rate was: 1$ = 10 pesos.
- taxi to Playa del Carmen (one way) = 16 $
- it was no charge for the safe lock.
Top 3 best things:
1. the shower
2. the beach
3. "La Selva" buffet
Top 3 worst things:
1. the smell from the room
2. the drinks
3. the interlocking stones around the pool
Last updated:April 21, 2008
