Catalonia Royal Tulum Beach & Spa Resort

We just returned from the Catalonia. Our stay got the week was amazing, the staff was good, food was great, beach was heavenly, we would definitely return to this hotel, despite the weather reports of thunder and lighting it was sunny and beautiful every day we were there, so don’t let the weather stop you, the rain showers are very breif.

Located just near the beach-ocean (perfect location),the hotel is clean and provides u great hospitality.The staffs were very helpful. food was great(i mean it :))Overall experience was awesome.I'll recommend this hotel to every couple and families:). You wont regret,just be there:)

just got back from my second stay at the Royal Catalonia from 09/02 to 09/08 and it was amazing!My first trip was in the same week but in 2016 and with my husband, this time i was traveling solo for the first time in my life and it was amazing!
the consistency in the service in extraordinary!
Check in and check out:I arrived early but Amaury Gomez made sure my room was ready within an hour! The phone in the room wasn't working and Christian and the front desk took care of it immediately. I had a shuttle pick up at 2:10pm, asked for a late check out and Again Amaury arranged for me to check out at 1:30pm so i could make the most of my last day! thank you so much!
Room 6212 top floor last building close to the beach
Margarita took care of my room and satisfied all my needs, the room was always immaculate, had extra coffee and water just like i asked for!
FOOD: CHEF FERRAN FEU MY MOST SINCERE AND DEEPEST THANK YOU!!!!!
you made the impossible happen, the food was already amazing 2 years ago, and now it is extraordinary!!!! the quality in all the restaurants in the resort is outstanding.
plenty of choices to satisfy everyone, and never get bored
lots of healthy choices as well which is what sets the resort apart from the majority of all the other places i have visited.
The food along with the rest is one of the major reason why I went back.
I travelled around a lot and my husband is an Italian Executive chef and we know about good quality. Catalonia royal Tulum food in excellent!!
BLOVED lunch was amazing, refreshing, healthy, with lots of options. Claudio was my waiter and took excellent care of me.
SOUS CHEF EDUARDO FABILA thank you for an amazing dinner and for your time!
Terrina de Pato is a 5 star dish!! I was truly impressed
SERVICE:
Catalina, Esther, Fabiana and all the other hostesses remembered my Name, my room and my preferences within 24h as well as all the waiters Carlos and Sandy and Jose at the bar.
attention to details is what sets you apart from the other resorts.
MA LOO: to have a place like this on the beach is just amazing!!
Wilberth AKA Willy such a pleasant gentlemen, he remembered me form my previous stay and even my favorite smoothy pineapple,mango and fresh orange juice! delightful and refreshing we even joked to add it to the menu as the Michela!
LEONARDO: safety guard chief, to know that someone is there overlooking for your safety is reassuring, after all is the Caribbean sea, there are plenty of fishes swimming around.
SECURITY GUARDS: thanks for your work, to be able to take a walk on the beach empty handed, leave my bag behind knowing that nothing would happen to my personal belonging is priceless. that is true peace of mind!
THE BEACH:
to all the staff cleaning the beach tirelessly from the Sargassum thank you so much
regretfully that was the only down side of the vacation, but is not something you can control, and because of the location I was still able to enjoy long walk on the beach, surrounded by pure nature and silence.
ENTERTAINMENT:
there is a different show every night by the pool and disco available after by the reception
I love the fact that is not too loud since the resort itself is not a party destination like Cancun or Playa del Carmen.
ANIMATION
both the resort team and The Vera Club team are really nice.
I was traveling via Exepedia however they always asked politely if I wanted to enjoy the activities they were offering
VERA CLUB TEAM
Laura,Anna,Edoardo,Gerry,Lucio thank you for your company, but mostly thank you for understanding my need to relax and not imposing or insisting on anything.
NEGATIVE
for my personal taste I would lower the volume of the music by the pool or eliminate the music completely during the day in order to enjoy the sound of the surrounding nature. ALSO I would make it a rule to not allow guests to bring their personal speakers on the beach!! that is the only negative thing i have to say. to be on the beach and have to listed to someone else music blasting, instead of listening to the calm sound of the sea is disrespectful to other guests and I truly hope management will do something about that before it becomes an issue. After all people go on vacation to disconnect and listen to nature.

Again Thank you all for an amazing, incredible unforgettable vacation!
Sincerely Michela Graglia, New York.

First the bad, which they had no control over - Sargassum. Our primary reason to go to Tulum was to snorkel, and the Sargassum pretty much ruled this out. We were @ Cozumel a couple of months ago, and this stuff is pretty much everywhere in the Caribbean.

Now for the facility itself. We upgraded to the "privileged JR. Suit" level, and are not sure it was worth the extra $500 for the 10 days, but that is for you to judge. You do get a larger room, which was nice, but the other perks did not really excite us. 24Hr. room service was nice, but other than the privileged section of the beach, we didn't use many of the other perks. One of the perks that is often mentioned is that you can eat at BLOVED. Although we went there a couple of times, we actually found it to be our least favorite place to eat. Our favorite was "The Grill", as we love steaks. Most of the dining places had great service, and the food was about what we expected. Please note that if you go to the Asian restaurant,you should spray yourselves with bug spray, as there can be biting bugs. One thing they do not mention is that none of the restaurants have any AC. It can really get hot, so always ask to set under a fan.
Although this review has a bit of a "negative" sound to it, we did have a great time. The Large pool was great, and the staff try very hard to "keep things fun" around the pool. Would we go back, Sure!

Just back from a ten day holiday at the Riviera Maya. The Royal Tulum is a lovely adults-only resort (for once, it was great to leave the kids behind and have "me time" with my friends, and don't "suffer" anybody else's kids antics. The only downside was, as the resort is aimed at couples and "love", we found it difficult to meet single people there. Pity!)

Stunning settings, lovely white sand beach (shame about the "sargazo", the alga that floods in, but the staff tried really hard to clean it away daily), and nice pool to chill out.
I read another reviewer complaining about the lack of "marine life and corals" by the hotel and that they had to go snorkelling somewhere else (?) I think these people were basically blind, because I spent hours there snorkelling, watching the sting rays that rest at the bottom, in the sand, below our feet, and plenty of tropical fish at the corals there, inside the restricted swimming area, marked with buoys, and the adjacent areas, which could also be visited with the kayaks and paddling boards free to rent at the scuba hut by the beach. All the snorkelling gear is also free if you don't bring your own. Juan, Natalia, Erica and all the staff there were very nice and helpful. I ended up doing the Padi Open Water Diver course, with the practice dives at the hotel pool, where it was also possible to do a "try scuba" dive for beginners. The scuba places for the course were amazing, with turtles, barracudas, rays, loads of tropical fish at the corals. The captains and staff on the scuba boats were also very helpful.
We also arranged a tour with Juan to swim with turtles, snorkel in the amazing cenote "Dos ojos", and visit the Mayan ruins of Tulum, and another day we went to the must-do whale shark swim, my absolute favourite trip of the holiday.
Don't be tempted by the multiple "swim with dolphins" activities offered in the area, which I think is a bit cruel and sad for these lovely animals, and go with the sharks and manta rays instead in open water in the ocean. Really well worth it.

Other trips we did included a visit to the natural reserve Sian Kaan and the "Mayan massage" with the bouncy, long trip on a SUV, and the popular visit to Chichen Itza, that in our case included a visit to the Cenote Maya, and amazing cave we reached descending with ropes from the opening in the ceiling. There are zip lines in there to have fun splashing in too. We arranged both trips with the travel agent in the hotel lobby, as well a VIP pass to see the CocoBongo show in Playa del Carmen.

The same reviewer that complained about the lack of fish by the beach also complained of the "long trek" to get there. I don't know if they were disabled or what, because I wouldn't call that trek "so long they had to take all their gear to the beach for the whole day so they would not return to their rooms." The walk was on a paved path, surrounded by jungle and wild life, with the noisy coatis and singing birds, plenty of iguanas, and tiny little jumpy lizards, that made the walks really lovely.

The staff at the hotel was always very helpful and polite, and the cleaners always left and amazing new animal design made with towels and a few flower petals on the bed. We loved coming back to our room to find the elephants, bears, swans, etc waiting for us everyday, wondering what would come next. We want to thank Paula for her kindness, and all the others (I don't remember their names, sorry), and also the waiters, like Sandy at the breakfast buffet, who would always go the extra mile to get me a chocolate drink from another place. All these people were so nice day after day, it was unbelievable.
There is a variety of restaurants and buffets at the resort, and in general, all the food is really good. We specially like the wontons at the Asian restaurant.

Inside the resort you could enjoy a show called Rauxa, quite funny and cheeky, with a delicious 4 course gourmet meal.
There were entertainers and activities at the hotel, which I really can't comment on as I didn't get involved, other than the paellas by the sea. I didn't go to the gym (busy as I was with the rays and the snorkelling) nor the spa, but my friend really enjoyed her massage.

All in all, I highly recommend this hotel, and I hope I come back one day.

This is my 2nd time in Catalonia and again I am very impressed with the service and installations. Good restaurants. The Italian is great and Luis de waiter is the best. I used the Exclusive Travel section and the customer service, in special Alex and David, is the best of the best.
I have plans to come back again with some friends.
Oh,, the beach is so clean and beautiful.
Love IT!!!

It was one of the most amazing resorts, I've ever visited. It was gorgeous and really gave you the vacation feel that I was seeking. Being a single woman there however was interesting... The resort was def more suited for couples, and if you're looking to mingle and flirt, it's doubtful that you get that on the resort here. I was told that a better nightlife could be sought ought at Playa del Carmen but I never got a chance to visit.
The food was good but I thought the alcohol and drinks there all tasted a lil off to me. That could be because I was getting sick while I was there but it was interesting. The food was plentiful and definitely varied but it wasn't amazing, but I enjoyed it.
Monkeys and darkness was prevalent at night.
The 'timeshare-like' sellers are good at their job, so be careful if you can be sold easily the idea of always vacationing.

My husband and I stayed there for a week and it was absolutely amazing. Jacqueline checked us in with a warm welcome and very informative. Mirell, the hostess at various of the restaurants was very kind and made our stay even better. Thank you for all the experiences at your hotel. It was our first time in Mexico and we will definatley be back!

Nos encanto todo, muchas gracias! ‍

Awesome place. Great service, nice people and the prettiest beach I’ve ever seen! The food was really good at Beloved! We also loved the steaks at the Grill. We had room service and had the best cheeseburger!!There is a free show every night. My husband and I were so happy that I chose Catalonia. I read some bad reviews before going so we were a little apprehensive. We have been to a few all inclusive vacations and I was very impressed by the service at Catalonia. We were always greeted with a smile. I recommend staying on the ground floor as it feels like your in the jungle. We were assigned to the third floor and all we saw were the tops of trees but they happily let us choose another room. This is the most accommodating resort I’ve ever been to.

We stayed at the Catalonia Royal Tulum for 11 nights from the 5th August.
This was booked as a package holiday with First Choice so the transfer from the airport was all included.
When we arrived at reception we were greeted with a fruit cocktail and checked in quite quickly. We were also shown the various rooms and all inclusive upgrade options but as we were there for 11 nights we wanted to try all the other restaurants they had and not be tied to Bloved for the whole holiday so we declined. There was no hard sell on this by the receptionist. I did ask if we could upgrade for our last 2 nights though. He told me that normally they have a 4 night minimum for the upgrade option at US $ 20 per person per night. If we wanted to just do 2 nights we could but it would be US $ 35 per person per night so it made sense to go for 4 nights. In the end I decided not to take this option – it is there though if you want to go for it.

We were given our room key for block 4 and told our bags would meet us there in 2 minutes. As you leave reception, you cross a bridge over the cenote and come to the first 2 blocks which seem to be for the standard rooms. The next 2 blocks are standard and privileged and the last 2 blocks ( closest to the pool are for the exclusive traveller club and privileged again)

When I opened the door to our room, there was water coming out of the air con unit in the ceiling and the floor was flooded. The room smelled really damp as well. I called reception just as the bell boy arrived so I showed him. He called reception on the radio and said he was taking us to another room for that night. He took us back to a room in Block 1 on the ground floor which was ok but I wouldn’t want to spend 2 weeks in it ( I think it was maybe an emergency accommodation room). Within a minute of us getting into the room the manager called us and told us that we would be in that room just for the first night and if we could come to reception in the morning he would arrange a free upgrade to a privileged room (only a room upgrade ). We went to see him in the morning and he arranged for the bell boy to collect all our things after breakfast and take them to the new room which was 3112 in block 3 on the middle floor. I think the only difference was a large day bed but it was a nice room.
Very clean and bright with plenty of lighting. Mini bar with beer, soda, water, juice, crisps, oreo’s and nuts all restocked every day. There was also ample hanging space in the wardrobe and loads of hangers. The bathroom had a nice walk in shower and load of room around the sink for all your toiletries. I was very happy with how they sorted the room problem.

Restaurants
Buffet is open from 0700-1100 for breakfast and 1800-2230 for dinner.
They have loads of choice (maybe not as much as some of the larger chain resorts but then they are catering for probably 6 x as many people at those places)
We always had great food in the buffet and ate there every morning and at least 3 times on an evening just for convenience.

The lunch buffet is open from 1200-1530 and again always had a great choice. They have a chef who will cook fresh fish, chicken of beef for you as well as loads of other options. Full bar service in here as well.

Snack bar is open from 1200-1530 and is next to the pool bar. I ate here once when I was late back from the whale shark tour. I had a pizza which was ok. It was a real pizza and not just a frozen one cooked in an oven for 10 mins.

The following restaurants are all open from 1800-2230. One restaurant is closed each night.

Mexican restaurant was good. I ate here once. The food I had was very good and the service was great. This is the only fully air conditioned restaurant. It is also very popular so either arrive early or put your name on the list and get a drink at the bar.

Italian restaurant. I also ate here once. I found it average (to say that there are so many Italians there) I thought they would also have a pizza option here but they didn’t. There is plenty to chose from on the menu though.

Tapas restaurant is located next to the pool bar in the same area as the snack bar during the day time. This was one of our favourites. The ribs are amazing. The waiter advised us to pick 3 or 4 dishes each but they will bring you as many as you order.

Asian restaurant is located where the Tapas restaurant used to be (from past reviews I read) We didn’t eat here as it was next to the cenote and we are prone to getting bitten by mosquitos. I cant comment on whether there is a mosquito problem at this restaurant or not but we didn’t chance it.

Royal grill restaurant is located in the building by the pool that is the same one as the lunch buffet. We ate here 3 times and the steaks were always great. I had tenderloin twice as it was that good. One of the best steaks I have had.
This restaurant can be really busy one night (we had to wait 45 mins) and the next night be empty.

At all the restaurants you are given a wine list where you can charge bottles of wine to your room. The house red that we were drinking in all the restaurants was a Spanish tempranillo and was fine. We did get a bottle of Malbec one night for US $ 25 which was also good.

Bars
All the restaurants have full bar service.

The lobby bar is a nice place to start the evening it is actually open from 0700-0200 hrs. Your drinks will come in a glass (rather than plastic) and there is also some entertainment around 2030 hrs for about an hour in the lobby as well (Mexican band, sax player, singer etc)

Beach bar serves great mixed juice drinks during the day.

Pool Bar is open from 1000-0200 hrs and is usually the best place to go on an evening. There is a show almost every night around the pool at 2130 hrs. ( I think there was only 1 night there wasn’t anything on) This is usually a singing / dancing show for about 30-45 mins and is always busy. On Wednesday night, after the show, they had a full on foam pool party with live DJ until midnight which was great even if you didn’t get in the water. (I read a review saying this hotel is dead on a night. I think they must have stopped at the lobby bar because it was a great night every night down by the pool)

There is also a disco open from 2230-0200 but we didn’t try that so I cant say if it was good or bad.

All the drinks were good. It isn’t obvious but there are 2 choices of beer. A regular Corona lager and also a darker beer which has a bit more flavour but you have to ask for the dark beer otherwise you will get regular corona.
All the cocktails are made fresh and usually come as smoothie type as they make them in a blender with ice but if you don’t want that kind just ask the waiter for it on the rocks and you will get a regular cocktail.
Don’t get hung up on premium / branded spirits. They have loads of choice and I even ended up finding a spiced rum I hadn’t had before. They were giving me Appleton Estate which is good but then they started to give me one called Flor de Cana which was better. They have loads of brands you will recognize and are all included. They do have a little shelf with some premium brands for the exclusive traveller club but I was never told I couldn’t have anything I asked for.

Pool / Beach

There are loads of beds / umbrellas around the pool but they do get taken quite quickly. Down on the beach there are loads of beds. Almost all in the shade but you can move them out into the sun wherever you want. There are also hammocks and great comfy large bean bags you can lounger around on.

We only noticed a couple of people smoking around the pool and on the beach and it wasn’t a problem at all. Most people tended to respect others and went out of the way to smoke.

We did not get any hassle from the exclusive traveller club time share guys. They are the ones in white and will all say hello but that was about it unless you engage with them.

There is a big Italian presence at the hotel. They have a travel club with brings about 2 coach loads each week. They have their own reps – Veraclub. They are there to look after their own guests so don’t be offended if they ignore you. You may get the odd hello from them but they know who their guest are and their job is to look after them.

Overall I had a great time at this hotel. It was adults only which was a bonus. All the staff were friendly and always introduced themselves at the restaurants.

Tips

There are notice boards at the entrance of each apartment block. These give you the info on which restaurants are closed each night and also what is going on around the hotel

Get out of the hotel and explore. You can get to Playa for 35 pesos each way in a collective or all the way to Tulum for 40 pesos.

Visit the Cenotes (but take bio degradable bug spray)

Do the whale shark tour – this is a once in a lifetime experience. You will see the largest fish in the world in its natural habitat.

If you want to scuba dive the cenote’s please contact Lara at Divers Underground. They are only 2 km up the road and offer first class diving tours.

We stayed beginning of July, upgraded to privalige package on arrival because seemed
Quite a good price for 10 days stay, nice area to chill and eat near the beach, food
Was really good & service was excellent in the privilege restaurant.
Our room was nice, but can’t compare to the room we would have got as we only booked a standard room when booking. Balconies are really private as to others can’t
See you from other rooms. Nice view in jungle area, wild life good to see outside your
Room.
I liked that you could eat dinner or lunch in the different restaurants, we enjoyed trying
The different restaurants, but the only problem is sometimes you do have to put your
Name on list & wait for a table. Service is good in most of them but found the steak restaurant although food was very good we had poor service both times we eat in there
Meaning our waiter seemed always in a rush and not at all friendly.
Lastly the beach, I must admit after viewing pictures of beach before when booking
I was disappointed with the big issue at the moment Seaweed, it did really smell at times, although we were able to go in sea , there was only one day the water looked
Clear, and of course the staff did their best in the current situation.
We really enjoyed our experience here and enjoyed the resort, the staff do a great job.
I must also add its a relaxing as you want or fun & games as well, nice reps about to
See if you want to join in on fun activities.
Would definitely like to return one day.

The Food:
The food quality was very good and lived up to the promising standards of the resort, however, many of the items lacked in variety which got repetitive after a few days of our stay. In the morning, La Selva buffet is open for breakfast where you can get an omelette, potato hash brown, bacon, fruits, desserts, sandwiches, and juices. Coffee and drinks are always offered by the waiters. Our personal favourite food place option is the Bloved restaurant for Privileged travellers located on the shore of the beach. The food there is really awesome with many delicious options, perfect plate presentation, a very aesthetic atmosphere, and incredible service. Shout out to the waiter Esteban for amazing service. I recommend trying the Gula-pancake, the shrimp wrapped in potato dish, and the ravioli. The Bloved/organic restaurant is the best out of all offered restaurants and I would eat there everyday. The lunch buffet near the pool area serves good food as well (photo attached for reference and description of food variety). For dinner, there were many restaurant options.
The steakhouse was not good. The appetizers were all right, the main course I ordered the T-bone steak which lacked salt and seasoning.
Tao Cat Japanese restaurant wasn’t too bad. The sushi had a white cream cheese looking substance as fillers in all their sushi, which was bad tasting, and I would question the safety of eating raw fish. For dessert, the green matcha lava cake was memorable.
The Organic restaurant/ Bloved, was the most amazing one, as I already mentioned the best place to eat, 100% would recommend.
The Mexican restaurant was the biggest disappointment of them all. The service was awful, the lady who served us had an attitude and asked us if we’re sure we want to have two main course dishes. That isn’t appropriate to ask someone, we can have as many main course dishes as we want it is an all-inclusive resort that we already paid for everything. Then the food. For the appetizer, I asked for Lime soup. The soup broth tasted and smelled like worn wet socks. Disgusting. My partner ordered chicken for the main course. It had a foul odour and tasted terrible like maybe it was the sauce or the meat itself I’m not sure but after one bite we declined to continue eating it. The worst of them all was the finger food burrito which contained the inedible shrimp tails. Once bit into the tails were noticed and spit out. That was disgusting we stood up and left to go eat at the buffet instead. Ironic that the worst restaurant in Mexico is the Mexican restaurant. I am usually in favour of Mexican cuisine and enjoy it, however, this restaurant deserves not even 1 star for its service and food. The restaurant also has a 1-hour waitlist which is super not worth it don’t even waste your time.

The Ocean:
We visited from the end of July to the beginning of August, and the seaweed algae were forming islands on the beach shore (photo for reference). The Sargazo (seaweed) was knee deep and above, the water was brown and the smell of decaying algae was terrible on the territory of the resort. The resort staff worked hard to remove it every day, and at some point travellers, themselves began cleaning the algae to help make a difference. Despite the territory with the seaweed being fairly large, if you walk about a kilometre to the left you would get cleaner water where the seaweed does not float in the water as much. That is where we spent half of our vacation swimming because the rest of the area was absolutely unbearably flooded with sargazo. This problem has unfortunately affected the whole Riviera Maya area and the resort tried their best to maintain a clear beach. This is nature after all so there is so much they can do to clean it. The beach overall was very clean with very nice chairs and good service. There are hammocks which are just incredible.

Service:
The service at this Catalonia location was very good no doubt. Comparing to Cuba or the other Catalonia location, the service here is definitely better no explicit complaints. However, there was one incident revolving around a scam. On the beach, there is a place where they offer scuba diving lessons, activities and tours. My partner indulged in the Scuba diving course and we also booked a 4-hour fishing trip. This is what was promised. The price for 145 USD included catching the fish plus a spot on the boat, and the price for 60 USD was to just book a place on the boat. Juan was the person responsible for this trip and told us that there is going to be involved in fishing, available snorkelling, tanning and relaxing opportunities, drink service, all on a 13-foot yacht. This is what really happens. We got picked up in the early morning and arrived to this crappy boat. There was a crew of 3 Mexicans and they tried to fit 8 more people onto this small boat. In the beginning, no safety measures were addressed, no life jackets were given out nor did they tell us where they are stored or if they had any at all. The man only told us that if we catch Mahi Mahi, Tuna, or some other fish we will have to let it go. For the rest of the time we spent on that stupid boat, my partner was not offered to hold to the rod and when there was a fish on the hook, the Mexican men themselves did everything didn’t even hand it over to us tourists. It felt like we were only taken on the boat to sit there and not do anything while watching them fish. The boat did not stop for the duration of the 4 hours so there was no snorkelling as promised. The drinks were not served just told that they are in the icebox. There was no tanning either as me and my partner sat on the upstairs side of the boat where we kept hitting our heads uncomfortably. After the scamming trip, we went back to Juan and complained about this situation. The least we hoped for is for them to return the 85 dollars we overpaid for the promised fishing. Do not purchase any excursions or trips from that place because it is most likely a scam or some unsafe unauthorized event. Instead of trying to save an extra buck and get scammed, just get your excursions from your travel company that are available in the lobby. Overall, the beach, restaurant and lobby service were really good and no other problems were encountered.

Entertainment:
In comparison to other resorts, this place lacked in entertainment. During the day there was volleyball, some pool lessons, agua gym, very basic yoga, and dance lessons. It wasn’t too bad but I personally wish they would be more enthusiastic and with more exciting activities. The animators who are supposed to talk and keep travellers entertained only or mostly spoke Italian and entertained only Italian speaking travellers. While playing volleyball or some tennis game I felt left out because only Italian was spoken around me and the animators did not make an effort to try to include other nationalities. During the night that is when it got really boring. There was an overpriced show called The Rauxa and sometimes during the night there was a pool show that was all right. There is a disco room but we did not visit it. Other than that there was no entertainment during the evening/night hours.

Other comments:
The pool area was very nicely made and there was always a drink service available.
The spa was extraordinary with the calm atmosphere and the red infrared light. Very worth it.
The weather was amazing every day.
The coffee at the buffet was good but the tea was very cheap and did not taste that good
The drinking water everywhere gave us a difficult time to get used to because of the unpleasant taste.
The natural setting of the resort and the cute coati animals were super cute.
The room was cleaned well every day and the mini fridge was always refilled.
The rooms were amazing, big and clean with a walk-in shower as well as a king size bed and all the necessary amenities.
In the rooms, I personally really enjoyed the number of lamps. The cute lamps made the room feel cozy and homey as well as the complimentary robe and slippers were super cool.
The 24-hour food room services were super worth it. They have really good food and prepared meals available at any time of the day.

Wonderful Hotel so very friendly, very helpful amd polite staff. Very relaxed and clean. Consierge & reception staff excellent beautiful location.
Made our honeymoon that much more special, we have some fabulous memories and would go again tomorrow.
Thank you all at Catalonia Royal Tulum.

This year we decided to go to Catalonia Royal Tulum for our summer vacation and came back very happy!

First of all, right upon arrival we met our old friend Amaury Gomez, whom we knew from the Catalonia Privileged Maroma, where he worked until last year. Amaury, who is now in charge of Reception Department, together with Christian and Isabel worked hard placing our company of 4 couples in the same building and even on the same floor. It was Building 6, closest to the beach and the restaurants located there. Thank you very much!

We must say that the hotels main asset, together with the great beach and nice food, is their staff members. There we met Lina Bernall, Director of Food and Beverages Department and Marta, her Assistant, whom we also knew from Catalonia Playa Maroma. Ladies, you are running your Department very efficiently!

All of the restaurants very good, but we did have our preferred place, and it was the steak house, Royal Grill. Hello to Flaviano, Luceri, Gabriel, Catalina, Carlos, Gustavo, Sandy! My advise to the visitors - Do not miss the Sorrento. I do not know why they call it a snack bar, when their menu is as good as in some fine Dining Restaurants! I am not going to list the menu, but it has very nice food, freshly prepared just for you! It is a little gem that not many people know, going instead to a La Palapa buffet for lunch. There we met with Amado, Alejandro and other fine and friendly people. Thank you, guys!

La Selva, the main buffet, was our destination for breakfast. We enjoyed the variety of tropical fruits and juices there. The friendly smiles of Mirell, Eduardo, Carlos and Sandy you will later see at the La Palapa, where they move to serve Lunch. The Ossobuco at La Toscana was also great!

The juice bar MaLoo is located right on the beach and Wilberth is managing the place just right!

As you can see, our main appreciation goes to the people, but the beach at Catalonia Royal Tulum is great and this year we spent more time in the water than ever. The water was so-o-o warm that we could go in around 9 am and stay until 8 pm. The water is clean ad the white sand goes all the way in! Yes, there were seaweeds, but the beach is cleaned daily in non-stop manner. Some days even management team and some guests were contributing to the cleaning, which was an example of a great team work!

The rooms are very spacious and clean. We had no problems with any of cleaning workers. Nothing went missing, and even my wallet that I left in the open was placed to the night stand next to my bed intact by the cleaning lady. My request for extra water was filled daily without any additional reminders.

The entertainment team indulged us with the Trio of classical singers - they were great!

One additional thing about this Hotel - Walking in the mangrove forest is much better than walking in the concrete jungle! Some days we were up early and the quietness of the place was amazing, jus some little animals running across the walkway.

The visitors are from the USA, Canada, Italy, France, Scotland, England, Germany – this is a very international place!

Thank you to Miguel Gomez from the Guest Services Department, who approached us several times during our stay, asking if we needed anything extra. Thank you, Cinthya Esparza, your concerns for our stay are greatly appreciated! Hello, Ita!

OK, I got to stop now, but we hope to go there again, very soon, hoping to see all of our good friends and some of the guests from this year. And YES, we recommend this place!

My husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary at the Catalonia Royal Tulum, and it was a wonderful experience. We chose the Honeymoon Privilege room which upgraded us to the privileged amenities. I've seen other reviews that said the upgrade was not worth it, but we are glad we chose to do it, it gave everything just a little something extra special. The resort was very clean, and well maintained. Our room was very nice, the only exception being the mattress, not a horrible one, but not the best, either. The food, for the most part, was excellent. We especially liked the buffet for breakfast and dinner. Lots of variety. Lots of fresh fruit. The service everywhere was fantastic. All the staff we encountered was very friendly and helpful. Many spoke multiple languages, mostly Spanish, English, and Italian. We were very appreciative of this, since we speak English, and our Spanish is limited. The pool is very nice, as was the beach area. The seaweed was heavy most of the time that that we were there, the staff worked at removing it from the beach, but it's an almost impossible task with the amount that is coming in. We found this to be the case everywhere we went except for Isla Mujeres, there was very little seaweed there.
Included in the Honeymoon package was a private dinner on the beach and a couples massage. We loved both of these experiences. The dinner was very romantic, and the food was excellent. The massage was very relaxing, and included time in the spa before hand. Very nice! The ladies who gave the massages were very professional and did a really good job.
The location of the resort is beautiful. It is conveniently located between Cancun and Tulum, so it is easy access to most of the touristy things to do in the area. Our favorites were the ruins and the Gran Cenote at Tulum, and driving back to Cancun and catching the ferry to Isla Mujeres.
The only negative thing I can say about the Catalonia Royal is that it is not a smoke free resort. That being said, there was no smoking inside, but it was permitted outside, and we felt should have been limited to certain areas, definitely not on the beautiful walkway to the beach.
Overall, this is a fabulous resort, we would come back (and hope to get to), and have already been recommending it to friends.

We had a great family holiday here and the hotel was perfect for us. The hotel is relatively small and set apart from any close neighbours. A beautiful path winds its way down to the beach and pool area through a rainforest and mangrove area. The sandy white beach is lovely with plenty of sun loungers and shade provided by coconut palms.

The staff were generally very attentive and helpful, the event guys were engaging, friendly and tried there best to get guests involved. Drinks were quickly delivered from the beach bar or staff regularly did the rounds taking orders from the beach and pool areas.Great mix of nationalities mainly Italian, American, British and other Europeans.

Food was generally good especially from the buffet areas. Good choice of cuisine available at the different restaurants. Favourite was the steak house.

The staff from prodive were excellent at providing water sports and arranging our diving at the sister Catolonia hotels at port Aventuras.

A big thank you to all the staff at the hotel for making our holiday so memorable.

For those who want to visit Chichen itza, book a taxi with the front of house guys. We travelled In a luxury 4 by 4 for 3500 Mexican pesos. Around £140 for a family of four.

It‘s been the second time that we have visited this Hotel within two years.
Actually it’s the first time that we have ever visited a hotel a second time - and this within 2 years?
I mean this should actually be credit enough but enclosed some more details:
the hotel is not that crowded like others. It’s a pretty small hotel in a maganable size.
The whole area is built into a small jungle perfect located between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, easy to reach all top sightseeing adventures nearby. Everything is very clean and proper. The food was awesome and different restaurants give more variety. The rooms were always tied up and super clean.
The beach counts to the best I have ever seen. Unfortunately we had a lot of weed at the beach at this time - but that’s up to the nature. However some machines to get rid of the weed more quickly would improve the situation for sure (note to the top management).

To sum up, it’s a top hotel we would absolutely recommend to others.
However the difference to all other top hotels is based on the personell.
The whole staff was so imaginable friendly and nice. Especially our hosts Rosa, Eric, Ana, Hector, Pamela as well as the waiter Amado and our breakfast cook Antonia made our Holidays so amazingly special. Thank you all for this amazing 2 weeks - for the second time :-)

All the best and see you soon,
Birgit & Patrick from Austria

This is our 2nd time returning to this property - and the first time we have ever re-visited a hotel in our travels. Both years we had upgraded our visit to the Privileged level and believe it is worth the bump up in price. You get access to a special area of the beach along with beachfront cocktail service and also to the Bloved restaurant which, as seafood lovers, we dined at three times a day - every day. You also have access to some upgraded liquor options which is nice too. Unlike some other areas like Cancun, what makes Xpu-Ha special is the fact that the beach is only about a mile long - which means you take a walk, you aren't confronted with big hotel after big hotel - it feels like a really special place. When we visited last year, the beach was beautiful. This year, there was an influx of seaweed - can't control mother nature and that will probably change soon. The pool area is really nice as well. There are no ocean front rooms at this property which is fine with us as each room views the mangrove forest which is beautiful. We'd hang out on our patio every afternoon and take advantage of the lush green views before heading to dinner. This is truly a relaxing place. If I had any areas of improvement for the hotel I would say that the front desk staff isn't as friendly and welcoming as I would expect, especially considering service levels in other areas of the hotel. They also have a level of guest experience above Privileged which is called Excellence. The experience for those guests is even more elevated but sometimes you need to dodge the staff wanting to speak to you about the package and offerings. This is all well and good if you are interested in staying multiple times across Catalonia resorts but I just don't want to be sold to while on vacation. Overall, this place is a great stay and we would certainly consider a future visit. Recommendation for summer visitors: bring bug spray for the evenings.

Had a fantastic stay at this hotel we upgraded to the privilege and were not disappointed. All the staff are fantastic always smiling and very helpful the Beloved restaurant has some fantastic food and the lounge area was simply the best just sit there and watch the world go by I would highly recommend this hotel and I hope to return next year. The grounds are well manicured the beach well looks after unfortunately there was a lot of sargassum this year but that is not the hotels fault that is Mother Nature I felt sorry for the hotel staff having to wheelbarrow it away every morning a thankless task as it would return again the next day all the restaurants are of a high standard the rooms are very nice and kept well by the cleaning staff all in all they really look after this place and the guests.

Stayed at this Hotel for two weeks.
The service was excellent, all staff very helpful and pleasant. Lovely beech with plenty of sun beds and large cushions to relax on. Drinks are provided on the beech along with various sport activities. Kayaks
are free to use. Food and entertainment are plenty full.
I would recommend this Hotel for those not wanting to adventure out everyday, as everything you need is here.

What a beautiful resort with great people helping you out. The room was really great and the beach was out of this world. Food was good for the most part. Enough choices. Looking forward to going back.

This is my 6th tropical vacation and for the money spent this is by far the best one if you are looking for a nice vacation for two. I would give this place more than 5 stars if I could. Pros and Cons below.

Pros: amazing beach with crystal clear water, jungle- I never stayed with a jungle like place while still having a beach, food was great everywhere we ate, bloved was amazing- best view for breakfast (ask for outdoor table), pool life was awesome- lots of chairs with umbrellas which is a must (recommend that you leave towels down before going to breakfast), coaties all over the bridge area- very friendly and got great pictures, did not meet one staff person that was not amazing, they placed a sign on the door for our anniversary without us asking and had a fruit platter in the room, this is the most important for me, they had name brand liquor, you could ask for sky vodka instead of island vodka, makes such a difference. I am sure i am missing other things i just cant think of at the time.

Cons: No swim up pool BUT it really isn't an issue, there was a bar within 20 feet on both sides and they have workers coming around asking you what you want. This should not be a negative, seaweed in the water but this is a problem all over the place around the area not just this resort. The workers were out there working so hard to clear the beach and they did an amazing job, some of the workers pushed a bit hard for the tours but in a nice way, they were funny and trying to give you the best pitch possible. We did not go on the tour and they took no for an answer but we were asked each day. Honestly is worth looking into if you want to return to the same place, we like jumping around.

Overall: 5 stars, amazing location, resort, staff, food, and booze. The room was very clean, they restock the fridge with soda, water, beer, snacks, etc. I would totally stay here again if I was to travel back to Tulum. Bring singles for tips, it goes a long way. As long as you are not looking for a rich persons vacation for this price, you will have an amazing time.

Hope you have as good of a time as I did.

We enjoyed our stay. The rooms were kept very clean. The bed was great and we liked picking our own pillows. The food was ok, the buffet food was dry. The best restaurant was the Asian. Everyone that we met that worked at the resort were friendly and always greeted us in passing. We want to come back and stay longer.

I've been in different hotels of different countries but your hotel is the best one that I've ever seen before .The most important and great thing of your hotel is your staff,really hard workers.special thanks to director Lina, I've never seen a director like her before. She works with her staff and does everything to keep her clients happy. Thanks for the coco that you arranged supervisor Martha, she is very friendly with her staff and she is really hard worker and chill . The other supervisors arent like Martha they should be like her they should be more friendly with staff and should have smile on their faces for clients !! We would like to thank Manuel, Alonzo, Amado, Amira, Ester and Fatima for the great service . A big thanks to housekeeping lady Ludy ! Special thanks to receptionists Jesus, Isabel, Arturo and Amaury,I had a great welcome from Jesus and Isabel.We will surely come back next year!and guys promise I'll bring for all of you special chocolates✌✌

Overall I really loved staying here. The resort is beautiful. The builders clearly left as much of the natural jungle surroundings as possible. While walking to your room, you walk along pathways that take you through thick beautiful jungle full of palms, cacti, and small friendly animals. You really feel like you are in the middle of the jungle while sitting on your balcony. Bring bug spray! The pool is huge and beaches are beautiful. There are lots of shaded areas, chairs, hammocks and bean bags to lounge on. There is a lot of seaweed on the beach but they clean it throughout the day. The staff is friendly and accommodating. The bartender and wait staff were all very friendly and easy to strike up a conversation with.

The food left something to be desired. The service everywhere was fantastic, but the food was just not what I imagined it would be. Many dishes were bland, while others were just bad. I will say that the breakfast buffet and desserts were consistently very good. Everything was hit or miss, especially at the sit down restaurants. I would also suggest skipping room service. There isn't much offered and what is offered isn't that great.

The nightlife is pretty chill. They have shows, bands, and other forms of entertainment each night, however, I wouldn't suggest this resort to a group unless you are looking to relax. If you are looking for a bumping nightlife then I would look for a different resort. The majority of the guest are coupled up. Great resort to relax at, not the best resort to party at.

The fact that this resort is adults only is fantastic. No kids screaming by the pool!

This is a perfect adult only resort that has a very romantic feel. Great location if you are wanting to visit the Ruins. The staff is very friendly. I will be considering the same resort if we return to the Tulum area. The beach and pool is beautiful. Alot of foliage between the main lobby and the pool and beach area, making it a nice escape into the tropics. It was raining during our 4 day vacation, so we did not get to take advantage of any of the water sports. I am sure it would have all been perfect if the weather was cooperating. We knew going in that June is the start of the rain season... But you dont plan a wedding around a honey moon. We will return in the winter months to see the sun!