Royal Isabela

I have been coming here since it first opened. It has not been the same since the hurricane. The owners never put the needed money back into it. But this last visit the rooms have really degraded. In my 5 day stay I could not get an operating safe. I also had a door that you could not lock; not a great combo. I was told I could put my valuables with security but that would have been an effort. There is a lot of walking required when staying here. In the room the shower leaked a lot constantly. There are 2 TV's one did not have a remote that you need to operate the TV the other was locked on one channel. Bathroom is big but the towels are small. There are beach towels in the room but none at the pool. For service to the room was about 50/50 for ice request. We took to getting our own. I had wash cloths the first day but could never get another fresh one. The room ran out of TP. Floors need to be redone, Outside cushions need to be replaced, some lights did not work. I tried to speak to Maria the hotel Manager. She was not there when I check out and did not return my call. The restaurant was very good. Allow an hour for breakfast regardless of the number of people sitting. If you want a quicker breakfast there is a grill by the pro shop that is quick and good. Staff at the restaurant is very good. Raymond and Sofie took good care of us. The golf course is stunning the best design in the Caribbean. About 80% of what it was upkeep wise pre hurricane. Before the hurricane it was one of the best courses in the world and a well kept secret. I paid about $750 per night. If everything was 5 star the casitas would be worth twice that. At this time they probably are not worth the 750. I know the place recently changed hands and plans probably are not finalize on how to make the resort profitable. But things like refreshing the casitas and restoring the golf course have to be done regardless of any future design. There is no evidence of any money having been put into the place. I will be back but I hope to see some changes and would love to hear the plans the new owner are making.

Incredibly beautiful property with gorgeous views from all over. The casitas are spacious, well maintained and have incredible bathrooms. Rooms have a plunge pool on the deck and a huge shower that opens onto the deck which we loved Soft drinks, water and beer were restocked daily in our room for free The service at the restaurant can be a bit slow, but the food is very good and reasonably priced for a resort of this caliber There are several pools around the property and one tennis court. The golf course also has great views on many holes and some fun layouts. It was not in tip top shape, but we rarely saw another group when playing so it’s a fun resort course for players of all levels The only drawback here is that the beach is a bit of a trek Overall this is a very lovely, relaxing and enjoyable hotel for couples

Great scenery, wonderful food, very pleasant staff, somewhat remote. There is no beach to use. Property desperately needs investment. Beautiful golf course but POORLY maintained. Real golfers will be disappointed Rooms are nice but not receiving needed maintenance. Fixtures broken, amenities unavailable. Could be spectacular. Wait to see what new owners do.

I have visited royal Isabela twice before. Once in 2015 and once in 2020. We live in San Juan and we came back for a short rest. We don’t play golf but yet love to use the plunge pool in our cabana and eat at the restaurant. We came for our third time now. For being a five star hotel and paying a hefty amount for the night they really need a lot of work. It has definitely deteriorated. First, the welcoming staff isn’t the friendliest. Very strict on check in (room wasn’t ready before 4pm when you could barely see people) check out had to be at 11. No welcome drink. We get to our villa and it’s as pretty as always. Foliage has grown a lot more in the private pool area. We were in #12 and the view was great and very private. But The casita itself was more run down. The sofas a bit old. The floors need a polish. The beds have no lush comforter. Just a thin old school blanket. Bath Towels lacking in quality, small and thin. Pool towels are super thin. Bathroom shower and handles have water calcification. Bath products and amenities lack. Only shampoo and conditioner. No body wash. Just a tiny round bar of soap. One little cream and one little mouthwash on the sink. The casita is very dark at night. The lamps are not enough. Doors of the casitas bolts are very hard to open and close. Rusted. Housekeeping and general staff was great. Very Attentive. We would call for ice or pick up or anything else and they would come pretty fast. No fitness center. It’s better to not have anything at all! Treadmill and some weights in a tiny room in the pro shop. Restaurant staff very nice and food very good except for the stray cats hanging around. Food came out in a timely manner and the setting is beautiful. The restaurant is privately owned. So when you go check out they send you to the restaurant to pay your bill. So whats the point in charging it on the room? You barely see anyone else but yet they tell you that they are sold out if you’d like to choose your own casita. If you’re coming for the beautiful scenery, playing golf, and the private casita and you don’t mind paying the hefty five star resort price then this is the place. But if you don’t play golf, expect high end amenities, nice kept villas, and five star treatment, this is not the place for you.

Positives : 1). Let’s start with our room- we had the presidential suite: number 20. It’s the largest and has a walk out balcony that ends cliff side and has lounge chairs with a view of the beach below. The walk in showers are fantastic. The oversized private hot tub is great . The grounds are nothing short of phenomenal. By far the nicest in all of Isabella. Sunsets galore and ocean views that go on for miles. 2.) This casa is very private- (and has the only real private walkout deck terrace of any room on the property). Your private grounds around suite 20 are ….Absolutely stunning— Wild birds, hermit crabs, iguanas. All Pristinely maintained and what you would expect at a golf resort. It’s like you have a slice of the rainforest in your backyard. In summary : If you want to come here stay in 20 and not interact with anyone, order room service and hang out at your 1000 sq ft suite, take dips in your private hot tub and then wash off with open doors to the nature under a rain head shower …..then this place is phenomenal. I would come again, but only under these circumstances. Let’s first note that I read all the reviews on the property before I booked here. I chalked the negative ones up to just “temperamental guests”….. Unfortunately, I was proven wrong. During our stay I tried to continue to tell myself that this is island life”, “things here are on island time” ….”they probably have a hard time with retaining of employees” (among other excuses). —— But then I came to realize, I’m still paying 1000$ usd a night to stay here plus meals…That being the case - it’s not acceptable at any level. I’m tired of making excuses for bad service in the service industry and continually lowering my expectations so as not to ever get upset. Now, we get to the issues this property has. (Individually they are small but when you encounter one after the next over a week it ends up in this big and mainly frustrating review.) Negatives: 1.) Child friendly!?!: (why ? …. this is a golf resort and has no childcare or child amenities.) What I encountered is the opposite of my expectations. parents bring their children here by the heard. We couldn’t seem to get away from crying babies at dinner every night. This isn’t acceptable when we paid over 100$-250$ for two people at each sitting to eat. Yet Management just accepts this !?!? Night 1: we had to watch a father change a dirty diaper on the golf course in front of our ocean view at dinner! Yumm! Night 2: we had to move tables to escape the same crying infant. Take your crying baby back to the room! Annoying ! Night 3: we had to ask for another table to make sure not to sit next to the same baby at diner (again crying). And yet again… the father proceeded to change the diaper again on a communal sofa right behind us at the restaurant. Situations like this are not stellar experiences while eating lobster and steaks by the ocean. I would expect this type of behavior at a Sandals Resort but not her

Royal Isabela is breathtakingly beautiful, but my experience trying to plan a wedding there has been HORRIBLE. I filled out the online inquiry form multiple times and never got a response. I called the office and was told they were "in transition" and so I should wait a few weeks to hear from a guy named Eugenio Matas. I was given his email and he responded to me asking how many people I was expecting. He didn't answer any of my initial questions or congratulate me on my engagement. After I told him how many people we expected, he ignored my email for over a month even while I sent follow ups. He only responded after I called he front desk asking if he still worked there. Shockingly, he wanted to know if I could meet that exact same day, as if I should rearrange my entire schedule after being ignored for a month. Because I was so curious about the venue, I did. We scheduled a phone call to discuss wedding packages (I still had zero information - no brochures, menus, prices, etc.). I sent him a list of questions I had and a link to photos from a previous wedding there that I was hoping mine would mirror. I called multiple times at the scheduled time and got no answer. I left a message for him at the front desk and he never got back to me. I emailed him asking if he was having trouble reaching me and gave him my number again. Still, no response or apology. The level of unprofessionalism and unresponsiveness I have received from Eugenio is shocking for what is supposed to be a luxury resort. Please don't waste your time trying to plan an event here or working with him.

Great place and location. Very peaceful, good looking areas and cabins. Breakfast was good. Steak and fish were bland. Coffee was not good. “Lenguitas de plátano” were stale. Improve the food quality.

I really want to write a glowing review, but it just wasn't what I expected. In fairness to Royal Isabela, I may have come in thinking it was a 5-star experience, more aligned with a luxury stay elsewhere in the Caribbean. I was expecting a much more service-oriented, guest-centered visit. Instead, I often felt we were staying at a resort that was closed for the season. Before we arrived, I emailed and called multiple times to get suggestions for transportation from SJU - there was never an answer or response (we ultimately rented a car). Once we got there, the business manager (I assume) who checked us in was very brief, not at all warm or welcoming (but not rude, either) - he offered very little guidance in terms of how to navigate the grounds and no suggestions for things to do on or off the property. The casita was as it appears in the pics - it's nice and clean - although ours had mostly a view of foliage, not water, which was a bit of a bummer. The casita offers bottled water but nothing else, no mini bar with snacks, which is kind of necessary given no shops are within walking distance and you're dependent on room service or the restaurant which doesn't offer snack-y things and can take more than an hour. We tried for two days to schedule facials or massages - we were able to connect with someone at the front desk for these but each time, we were told they would check availability and call us back - but we never received calls back, not even to say there was no availability. That was a bummer. One-on-one, most of the staff was lovely, but it was inconsistent and largely transactional. We did have some sweet cats hang out with us on our patio, that was nice. All in all, I wish we had stayed elsewhere, but maybe more than that wish that Royal Isabela would try harder to leverage its hard-working staff, beautiful grounds, and surrounding community to provide a stay worth $500+/night.

The Royal Isabela is perched on a high spot that allows it some beautiful windswept views. We stayed in Casita 17 and it was very private. We didn't hear a peep from anyone except occasionally we could hear the staff golf carts going by. We used the resort's pool only once and we were the only ones there for most of our time but a dad and a younger kid came after about an hour. We hiked down to the beach every day. It's about a 1/2 mile with a lot of steps. But this is no swimming beach. Very pretty but a hot hike down and back. Our only gripe was the food. I read a lot of great reviews about the restaurant but we were not impressed. Service was super slow...excrutiatingly so. The thing is there is no where else close by to eat. The town of Isabela is nothing special.So we ate most of our meals at the hotel. It was VERY expensive. Breakfast ran us about $70 and it was nothing great, In fact, we got a fruit plate one morning and I definitely could have put together a better fruit plate with what I could buy at a local grocery store in NJ. Overall, we'd recommend the Royal Isabela for a splurge.