Would Not Go Back Again or Recommend
This was our second visit to this property(we stayed in a montevista villa) and we have recommended not only the resort but the restaurant T.Cooks, to friends and family for years. The grounds were beautiful yet again on this visit but other than that, I don't have much else positive to say about our latest experience and we will not be returning. We only spent one night as the hotel was closer to the airport than was the resort where we spent the rest of our long weekend. We also don't care for the spa (overpriced/small and I had - honestly - a horrible facial that I should never have been charged for on our last visit) or the pool (it is very tiny for a hotel pool and very crowded) at the Royal Palms so we really were just there for cocktails, dinner and a what turned out to be non-existent breakfast before flying out the next morning. The problems were, as follows: room temperature - half of the AC vents had been closed in our unit and it was 78 degrees upon arrival in the room, it took over 6 hours for us to get it 74 and that was once we figured out some of the vents were closed; the toilet did not flush properly in our room; in-room dining pages were missing so I called housekeeping to ask them to send up replacements as we would be ordering breakfast in the morning before our flight, after one housekeeping visit and two phone calls with an offer of 'reading us the entire in-room dining menu' because there were apparently no pages to be found for the information booklet, we politely declined; the patio door was broken and there was no way to secure it - as the locks to the french doors on the back of the unit were not very secure, we were concerned about our belongings when we went out for dinner; T. Cooks - loved it in the past but the food was mediocre at best this time, my husband's lobster bisque was lukewarm, his pasta not very good and my sole entree was completely devoid of flavor (and note I have loved this restaurant in the past); also regarding T.Cooks, our waiter was overwrought - although pleasant - and had too many tables and although we had reservations and the restaurant was by no means crowded and my husband and I were dressed quite nicely, we were seated in the farthest corner of the room where I faced the wall; it took several minutes for my husband to get hot water for his shower at 6 AM; I called twice to order a pot of coffee & dry toast - once at 5:53 AM and was told by the front desk clerk that 'he isn't in yet' (meaning the room service attendant) and that I should call back at 6 - I then called back at 6:07 AM and got the front desk clerk again who told me 'he's not answering his phone' but that he would radio 'him' and get him to call us, the phone then rang at 6:16 which by that point was too late because while our initial plan was to leave the resort at 7 AM, we were ready to bolt by 6:30 because the service, by this point, was laughable; and finally, when we checked out, I had to have them redo the bill because we were credited a $100 resort credit, per our Platinum Am Ex Fine Hotels & Resorts perks, and also when asked by the desk clerk if I was sure to get our complimentary breakfast, compliments of Am Ex again, I had to remind him that we were never about to reach room service and by the time they called, it was too late! For a hotel with business travelers who oftentimes have early flights, the room service issue in the morning was the final straw for my husband, who travels extensively for business. Suffice it to say, it was not a good experience and I am also going to be reviewing it with Platinum Am Ex because with this service and these issues, they should not be recommending it to anyone.