Royalton Resorts Reviews 

We are currently back from what was supposed to be a relaxing holiday at the Royalton Punta Cana, and it turned out to be one of the worst experiences we’ve ever had. We travelled with TUI and have visited the Dominican Republic many times before, staying at Riu and Bahia resorts, but we have never experienced such lack of care, safety, or management as we did here.
From the moment we arrived, things went wrong. The fire alarm went off repeatedly through the night, keeping everyone awake, and it wasn’t repaired for several days. The swimming pools were filthy, with murky water and broken tiles, and even after multiple complaints nothing was done. One evening, my husband cut his foot on broken glass by the pool — other guests, not staff, came to help. Hours later the blood stains were still there. Shockingly, the hotel continues to serve drinks in glass containers around the pool and beach, despite this being a clear safety hazard.
The beach is nothing like the photos shown online or in TUI’s brochure. It’s covered in large sandbags, full of debris, and completely unsuitable for swimming. We had to walk to another hotel to enjoy the sea. Hygiene around the resort was also appalling — we saw glasses being washed by hand behind the bar instead of in proper machines, and often not even rinsed. No wonder so many people fell ill during their stay.
What made things worse was the total disregard from hotel management. Despite our repeated complaints, no manager came to see us. Staff at reception told us they “weren’t aware of any previous issues,” which is simply not true. The TUI representative on site defended the hotel instead of helping us, and the general manager should be ashamed for refusing to face guests and address such serious problems.
This was not just a disappointing holiday; it was a complete failure in safety, cleanliness, and customer care. We will never return to this resort and cannot recommend it to anyone. The lack of accountability and basic standards here is beyond unacceptable.

They catfish you on google maps with a central location and then your actual hotel is 45 mins away. I booked a suite in Montego Bay to only find out the actual hotel is 45 mins away in a different city. 2 google maps location but they only own one property in Jamaica. Shady Shady

I was very disappointed with the Royalton Splash in Punta Cana. Given the Royalton is a higher tier in the Marriott chain, I expected more than a 3 star service - I am a regular Marriott wherever I travel and this experience was just disappointing! While the staff were super-friendly and courteous, the issues were barely resolved- no ironing board in the rooms; only one power outlet by the sink; the sheets were damp (due to humidity) and though we had the fan and air-conditioning on it was still very warm in the room (my friend's room was MUCH cooler) - my aircon was not working working very well. The buttons on the phone in my room were broken so it was difficult to call for room service or guest service... The good thing was the shuttle between the other Royalton resorts which is where we spent most of our evenings as there was nothing happening at the Splash for entertainment... overall not much entertainment generally and the bars also closed fairly early at the Splash. The bartenders were clearly unhappy to work there as it was not easy getting service!

What I paid for and what was advertised was not what we received. We had so many issues that I will keep it to our top 3: our room, children’s pool and bars.

TLDR: I booked a diamond club presidential swim out to celebrate my anniversary. After traveling for 15 hours with a 1 and 3 year old, the room that I paid for was unavailable due to construction. Royalton never notified me of the construction or change in room prior to my arrival. My options at the hotel were: move to an “upgraded” room on the 5th floor that is 10-15 min further from the beach and not part of Diamond club, “voluntarily” downgrade my room to a non-swim out presidential closer to the beach, or decline to check in and leave. The children’s pool was unavailable for half our stay. Bars were consistently out of ingredients, including coconut, fresh fruit and rum. Yes, rum. Completely unacceptable for a “luxury all-inclusive” hotel.

Full story: I booked a stay at the Royalton St Lucia to celebrate my 10 year anniversary. I chose the presidential swim out as it provided easy access to the children’s pool, beach and restaurants. This is the only reason I chose Royalton, since I am traveling with a 1 and 3 year old. Prior to arriving, I was never notified that the hotel was under construction. 1 month prior to my arrival, I called the hotel to make sure that my booking was all set and was assured that my room would be available. “Your room is guaranteed” were the exact words spoken to me.

Travel took roughly 15 hours including flights and driving to the resort. When we arrived at the resort, we are told that our presidential swim out is unavailable and that no other presidential swim outs are available. Instead I am offered 3 options:

1. An “upgrade” to a penthouse suite. I used quotes for “upgrade” because this was not an upgrade. My original room would have been a first floor swim out, 1 minute walk to the beach, pools and restaurants. The “upgrade” is a 5th floor, 10-15 minute walk to the beach, pools and restaurants. As a parent: balconies, stairs, elevators and long walks are everything I wanted to avoid on vacation. 3 days into our stay we were moved to a suite closer to the beach. However, the better “upgrade” had no AC and a leaking hot tub.
2. A “voluntary” downgrade to a presidential suite without a swim out. This downgrade did not include any compensation to offset the price difference. This would have put us closer to the beach but elevators and stairs were still involved. Construction was ongoing in the room below so my kids would not have been able to sleep if I chose this room.
3. Decline to check in, leave and possibly receive a refund. This is completely unacceptable. I refuse to do that to my kids. If it was just my wife and I, I would have left and stayed elsewhere on the island. If I chose to leave, Royalton would not have compensated my airfare or airport transfer.

Ultimately, we agreed to the “upgrade” to salvage our trip. My kids don’t need to suffer because Royalton decided to be deceitful. It is unacceptable to not inform your guests that construction is happening and that my booking will be unavailable. The lack of options available is unacceptable. I am even more upset at being lied to 1 month prior to my travel. I would have happily rescheduled my trip or stayed at a different Royalton property. Having to make this decision at a hotel lobby after 15 hours of travel is disgusting. I was forced to sign and accept the “upgrade” since I had nowhere else to go.

The children’s pool being unavailable was very inconvenient. I’m sure Royalton does not care that they made a 1 and 3 year old cry for 2 days.

The bars and restaurants were consistently out of ingredients. Half of the menu was unavailable. The last straw was being told that they were out of ingredients for piña coladas, out of Rum, and out of plantains. Baffling.

Other nuisances: Jet skis drifting into swimming areas and hitting people, hot tub having a leak and draining all water, random guys selling weed on the beach, no consistency in drinks with different restaurants having different names for the same drinks, 4 clogged toilets in the main lobby and room. I have more complaints but I’m tired of writing.

Cannot give a valid lower rating. But would like. To do so
Had minor fall needing 30 minutes medical attention for aboutv30 minutes
COST OVER 4000 DOLLARS BUT As already MENTIONED THE HOTEL DOCOR EMMPLOYED BY HOSPITAL
JUST THINK FOR THE TIME AND SKILL

My family and I booked a much-anticipated trip to the Royalton Bavaro in Punta Cana through Sunwing Vacations, but our experience was filled with issues from start to finish.

Prolonged and Chaotic Check-In:
Our arrival was met with an hour-long check-in, even with young, exhausted children. Staff showed little interest when my husband lost his wallet on the Sunwing shuttle (which we could still see driving away). No help was given by either Sunwing or the hotel, and we had to resolve this on our own.

Loyalty Status Ignored:
Despite being a Marriott Platinum Elite member and paying for an upgrade, my status and benefits weren’t honoured because we booked via Sunwing (never again! We booked with Sunwing because they had direct flights and this cost us our entire vacation - also their planes are awful, small cramped and "dark flights" meaning no wifi or even charging ports). This was very disappointing as recognition was one of our key reasons for choosing this property.

Dirty Rooms and Unpleasant Conditions:
Our initial room was dirty with a persistent mildew smell. Stairwells near our room constantly smelled of sewage, and basic amenities like hand soap took a full day and multiple requests to obtain.

Unhelpful and Rude Service:
Most staff were indifferent or outright rude. Requests for assistance were routinely dismissed unless directly escalated to a manager. The only visible priority from staff not in management was trying to upsell us on paid upgrades or timeshares.

Water Park Compensation Mishaps:
As a form of apology, we were given water park passes. However, miscommunication
meant we didn’t have the correct paperwork so we wasted an entire morning going just to be sent back and on the second morning, after another hour to get paperwork and wait for the shuttle, we arrived just to be told upon arrival that and our son was too short for the slides—afact not mentioned until after we arrived and leading to further tears and frustration.

Discrimination:
I was refused service at the pizza window while others were served. As an East Indian guest, this felt targeted and deeply upsetting.

Electrical Fire & Major Safety Lapses:
The worst moment was an electrical fire in our room at night which left it full of smoke and ash. The hotel’s response was slow and dismissive, and only after we pushed where we moved to a clean, safe room.
We were offered compensation from management in exchange for signing a non disclosure which we refused.

We hoped for a relaxing, memorable family holiday, but instead spent our vacation dealing with poor room conditions, unresponsive staff, and safety concerns. Apart from two caring managers, almost every attempt at a solution required multiple escalations, and the hotel never truly rectified the situation.

Bottom Line: I cannot recommend the Royalton Bavaro based on our experience. We expected much more from a resort branded by Marriott—especially at this price point. If you value service, sanitation, and safety, think carefully before booking.

Fabulous resort catering for all ages at Riviera Royalton Cancun.

Staff were tremendous and the resort is very big split for families and adults.

I have been back five times and have to say it’s sensational.

I stayed at Royalton Negril, Autograph Collection in August 2025 with my family of 16. Last year this hotel was enjoyable, but this year it has become the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. I strongly advise all future travellers to avoid it.

Health and safety failures: My 88-year-old father was thrown from a wheelchair when it got stuck in a defective drain cover, leaving him with serious knee injuries. The nurse did little more than apply plasters, and management tried to make us sign a liability waiver instead of accepting responsibility. Nobody followed up, and management refused to meet with us. Cockroaches were seen in the property, and dirty dishes were left outside rooms for days, attracting rodents.

Restaurants and food: The resort advertises multiple dining options, but on most days only half the restaurants were open. Guests were forced into the buffet, which served repetitive, tasteless, recycled food. Breakfast was oily and uninspired. For an all-inclusive resort, this was unacceptable.

Basic services: Clean towels were difficult to obtain, bottled water frequently ran out, and room service often took more than an hour to arrive, despite the hotel clearly running at low occupancy.

Staff and management: Many staff were openly unhappy and spoke about their poor treatment by management, including unfulfilled commitments after last year’s strike over pay and conditions. Several said they are not even allowed to eat leftover food from the restaurants, which is both wasteful and demeaning. Morale was extremely low, and this spilled into rude and disinterested service.

Lack of compassion: My brother-in-law tragically died during an excursion arranged with the help of hotel staff. While it may not have been an official hotel activity, the involvement of staff makes the resort accountable. The most shocking part was the complete absence of basic humanity. There were no condolences, no card, no flowers, and no recognition whatsoever from management.

This resort is a disgrace to the Marriott brand. It is unsafe, unhygienic, and mismanaged. Guests are misled by glossy marketing, only to find closed restaurants, poor service, and staff who are mistreated behind the scenes.

If you value your money, safety, or your family’s wellbeing, do not book this hotel.

I booked a stay at Royalton Punta Cana, an Autograph Collection Resort (Marriott) expecting the luxury and service standards promised by Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Unfortunately, my experience was extremely disappointing.
• The assigned butler introduced himself once and was never available afterward.
• Food and beverage quality were far below Marriott standards, with limited variety and poor execution.
• Staff interactions often lacked courtesy and professionalism.
• Diamond Club benefits advertised (premium spirits, in-room bottle service) were either unavailable or never delivered.
• Room service was inconsistent, despite being marked as “completed” in their records.

When I escalated these issues, the resort’s representative acknowledged the failures but refused a refund. Instead, I was repeatedly offered Bonvoy points in small increments (10,000 at a time). This response was dismissive, demeaning, and unacceptable given the scope of service failures.

I have since escalated this case (#717666589) to Marriott Corporate, the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism, and ProConsumidor. I am also making this public to warn future travelers: do not expect the level of service advertised or the accountability that Marriott promises.

Until Marriott and Royalton address these issues, I cannot recommend this property.

We have visited 3 Royalton Resort Properties.
1- Punta Cana
1- Costa Rica
1- Cancun

I feel overall between the 3 locations food has been overall consistently good/decent. No major complaints.

Wait staff at Royalton Bavaro in Punta Cana has been the BEST, and the butlers were amazing. I would go back to this resort for sure! The beach, pools and really everything was GREAT!

Wait staff at Planet Hollywood in Costa Rica were very poor, overall bad service/attention to guests and would not go back to that resort, along with the poor beach experience.

Wait staff at Royalton Riviera Cancun was hit and miss, overall a 3/5, but would.return to this resort for the beach and pools.

We stayed at the all-inclusive Royalton Negril in Jamaica for 2 weeks in July 2025.

As a UK family group of 13, the Royalton Negril was recommended to the family as the ideal hotel for our vacation, having enjoyed a previous stay in 2022.

TUI Platinum Hotel
Several weeks prior to departure (and having already paid) TUI had advised us that the hotel was no longer a TUI Platinum hotel - but were unable to explain why - and no alternative Platinum status hotels were offered as a replacement alternative.

Upon arrival at the hotel, it was clear that no demonstrable updates or upgrades had taken place at the facility as unlike the prior visit it looked less distinguished and slightly tardy.

Rooms
3 out of the 5 family rooms had to be changed at the beginning of the stay due to the strong smell of damp that greeted members of the party when entering - and throughout the night. We had to wait several days for these transfers to take place.

Dining
There were long queues on occasion for the main buffet restaurant - which served food that was surprisingly devoid of the eagerly anticipated Caribbean seasoned experience.

With the exception of Hunters Steakhouse, the other restaurants visited (Calypso Caribbean and the Italian restaurant by the main pool) served a variety of dishes that the majority of the party found to be unexpectedly bland and disappointing.

Accident - NDA’s and Waivers
During the first week of the stay, a young child in our party suffered a severe cut to their foot from a broken tile in the main pool. Despite the nearby poolside team offering immediate assistance, the child had to attend the local hospital for stitches and additional medication. Despite the broken pool tile being the cause of the accident, the hotel did not cover the cost of the child’s taxi to or from the hospital and the TUI representative was not advised of the matter at the time. It was only when the child’s father reached out to the TUI representative to lodge a complaint, that matters got escalated to the hotel senior management.

However, in order to gain an apology and progress the matter further in the form of a compensatory arrangement, the hotel repeatedly requested the father sign a NDA / Waiver form prohibiting any future public or social media inference to the pool accident and hotel liability. This was not signed due to the unethical nature of the request.

The child’s parents have heard nothing since departing the hotel and now intend to escalate the matter.

Queues
Poolside kiosks that provided jerk chicken, beef burgers and patties, had a tendancy to be quite slow and have long queues in the unprotected sweltering heat - with food sometimes running out by the time you got to the front.

Don’t get me wrong, there are LOTS of things good and great with the hotel such as the staff, the beach, the swim up rooms and upgraded suites in block 2 or the Hideaway for example, and the views - but based on the previous 2022 experience, it is well in need of the recently advised room and facility upgrades due to take place later this year.

Purchased a timeshare and they ripped us off big time. They did not do what they promised and the site that they gave us to book was not the sight they presented in the presentation. Do not purchase from these people. They tell you that you cannot use the timeshare for 30-60 days and this is outside of the cancellation period, they took double of what they should have been taking out of my account, they are rude and nasty and do not answer calls or emails, the list goes on. Very bad experience and I will not recommend them.

Me and my family recently had a 2 week holiday at this hotel which was great. We checked out Monday 23rd June.

On the transfer bus I realised I had left my Rolex watch in the bathroom I reported this straight away to a TUI rep who rang the hotel to inform them.I have since been told the watch was not in the room
We was on the phone to hector in customer care he said he was in the room with security and the watch was not there .

Royalton splash Cancun

Stayed at Royalton St.Lucia. From June 24th -July 1, 2025. It was God AWFUL. Was not provided anything we paid for on the trip. Do not waste your time or money. The worse stay ever. No customer service. No one cared to make anything right. No power in room. No AC and they kept saying no other room’s available. Elevator was out. No reservations to eat at the restaurants were honored. No of the amenities were provided as a diamond club member. I HATE THEM.

Royalton Riviera Cancun we stayed here on the 11th of June 2025 we found the resort tired and in need of a facelift. The rooms were tired the furnishings were not updated. The à la carte restaurants were hit and miss often the delivery of food was not acceptable over seasoned under or overcooked. The staff were not attentive and you could tell that there was just looking to get the shift over with.
The hotel itself had lots going on. There was a variety of pools and sun bathing areas that were kept clean and tidy. The beach was covered in seaweed which left the water a brown colour. I know this is nothing to do with the hotel but it was just a little bit of a let down for us we did however book a catamaran tour through the hotel we waited around after messaging them and we were left behind. we took a later schedule trip that apparently they had upgraded which was not true but we had a good time there overall especially seeing the beautiful peppermint ocean of Cancun itself.
all in all I’d say the hotel is a 3+ star not a five style luxury as they are saying daily over the TV

A True Review of Royalton Splash – Cancun

Check In and Check Out

Ensure that you are queuing in the correct lane otherwise you will be the last person to be served. There is no clear distinction between check -in and out queues at the reception and staff is pretending they’re busy and can’t see you – they’re oblivious to the fact you’re travelling with kids and been first in line. If you’re being billed for additional services to your hotel room, cross check your bill and ensure you have written confirmation of any ad-on’s as hotel will bill you for good and services you never received or inflate the one you have. That said the coach pick up will not take you onboard unless you have written confirmation – a ticket confirming check-out.

Restaurants

Hotel have number of restaurants you can pre-book for dining 2 days in advance. The authenticity of the cuisine served in each is questionable. You may be better off in the buffet dining area which offers variety of different foods; the service and table attentiveness is very good.

Bars

Serve number of alcoholic drinks although soft drinks selection is very poor. The pool bar’s run-out of clean glasses very often so is good to have your own top up cup.

Staff

Combination of all - attentive and not so much so; there is a vide expectation to tip, so if you want a good service have bunch of $1 in your pocket. On that note, staff is counting their tips in front of you very often especially in the bar and coffee shop area.

IMPORTANT – BE AWARE OF MISS-SELING

There are a bunch of random hotel representatives in the lobby area who will offer you upgrading to so called ‘Diamond Club’. Be aware as what they’re selling you doesn’t really exist and only sounds good. They will promise you butler services, access to VIP areas with better choice of alcohol and food selection as well access to variety of hotels worldwide and discounted flights – they’ll even give you free 7-day stay in your next holiday destination. This is all lies – food in VIP area is the same as in the ordinary buffet in fact Diamond Club breakfast area has fewer selection of food than the main restaurant but expectation for tipping higher. There are better choices of alcohol in Diamond Club but if mixing with soft drinks is more diluted. The access to range of hotels as per advertise is overinflated and you will benefit from them only if signing up for a 10-year membership – do your numbers in such a long membership you have already paid for it 3 times plus. The discounted flights only work if you are coming from North America which have favourable flight prices regardless of you being part of the scheme. What nobody is telling you is that you have 5-days cooling off period and you’ll lose your deposit if cancelled regardless of it being within cancellation period. The deposit is being charged in two set of payments for that reason, as so-called administrative fees are part of it and are no refundable “no matter what”. In fact, you may end up with outstanding bill to pay as they will charge you $150 per person per day for being part of Diamond Club. On that note, when cancelling you will be made to sign agreement of not disclosure; you’re not allowed to speak to anyone about your experience with the Diamond Club, especially the media, write negative feedback or claim anything with your bank. Failure of adhering to it will result with you being responsible for paying FULL outstanding amount on the package you have selected (thousands of $$$) and prosecuted. PLEASE google search DIAMOND CLUB or PRIME membership Royalton Hotels and read it before signing anything – this is an ongoing SCAM many have fallen victims of.

HOTEL

The hotel is claiming to be 3-years old but not sure how true that is, as is looking tired in places and this understatement. The overall facilities are great especially when related with keeping kids occupied – Royalton has the best Kids Club I have seen, and been around the block few times, pools, slides, lazy river, gym, football and basketball court - can’t fault any of it.

ENTRETAIMENT

There is something to do – see every night, for all ages. You’ll have movie night, magician night, karaoke, white disco, Mexican night and more, but if you’re staying for more than 7-nights the entertainment is repeated so you’ll see twice the same thing. The pool activities are good too, different pool has own activities and these are changing daily.

Contracted Cyclospora whilst at Royalton Splash cancun, which is bacterial infection caused by water contaminated with Faeces...... AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Second royalton I’ve been to, first in Grenada, now royalton riviera splash Cancun rooms good food mediocre, but you won’t starve, but trying to get served for drinks at any bar is a nightmare, unless you are an American!!!!! Vowed I’d never go to a royalton again after Grenada, but gave it the benefit of the doubt, but will never book another one ever again, been all over the world and stayed in RIU hotels, much better class of service, they don’t care if your American or any other nationality, don’t bother visiting this hotel, we had dirty cups at breakfast two days in a row , had to ask more than once for high chair every day , they sit you at a table then you have to ask for tea etc several times daily . Worst experience ever for lots of expense , gave one star because I had to, went for my daughters special birthday, wish I’d picked a different hotel. At breakfast today was horrendous,every day required a high chair for my 1 year old grandson, always have to ask several times , my son in law had to feed him in his arms , asked 4 different people for the chair, eventually complained to a manager, he disappeared, waited another couple of minutes, then 3 different people arrived and we ended up with 4 high chairs the second chair was placed at the side of the one my grandson was eventually sitting in the server just left it and walked away, my daughter had to move it because it was in the way, they were sniggering as they walked away absolutely disgusting service, hotel not bad , but the staff, especially Jonathan in the buffet restaurant and Beatriz at the dips pool bar are rude and unaccomadating ,in every aspect of the hotel none of them were a pleasure to be around , and it seemed we were a burden, they were stood laughing when we complained about the chair, will never stay at a royalton ever again , it’s the 2nd one and definitely the last…….. Don’t waste your money

Stayed at the royalton st lucia from 9th may to 19th may this year, was dissapointing as this hotel was not a 5* it was run down in certain areas, on arrival double booked didn't have my room ready took nearly 2 hours to find a temporary room which was inconvenient. The staff weren't very friendly, the service was bad. The food wasn't great nor in the so called top reastaunts, the sun loungers were grubby. Waited over half hour to get served at any bars. Overall was way over priced wouldn't return.

Royalton splash punta cana it's a beautiful resort, very well thought out and it has plenty to keep you occupied. A good selection of cafe's, bars, swimming pools and restaurants with a wide variety of cuisine's.
The vibe team do an amazing job.
We stayed in building 29 room 130 and opted for diamond club.
The room was cleaned every day and the mini bar was well stocked and topped up daily.
Our butlers Daniel and Sidney checked in with us every day, booking restaurants checking everything was okay in our room, sorting our welcome gifts and when my partner fell ill (kidney stones) they sourced what he needed in order for us to enjoy our holiday they really went above and beyond their Job Roles.
Margaretta who seemed to be everywhere (beans, social bar and other places inbetween was always very friendly and welcoming another one that went the extra mile to ensure we enjoyed our vacation.
Although we were at splash we frequently visited the Punta cana side, franchesco at Marche was a star always smiling, friendly and very accommodating.
Most of the staff were friendly and welcoming.
The beach is beautiful, however due to how we were treated there we visited it twice, The service at the Diamond club beach needs to be re-evaluated as we were invisible there. Even when queuing at the bar we were ignored while others were served straight away (this is where it loses a star)
I did think about bringing the grand children here next year but I've decided not to. There were a few issues that I fed back to the Butlers and they assured me the Managers had dealt with them. I would come back with my partner but I'd be very reluctant to bring my grand children here until I know the issues have been dealt with.