It's a lovely old place to stay. The staff is courteous and helpful. It feels safe and it was fairly quiet but for the gulls who make a fuss all night. My room was fairly small, but the bathroom was large enough. I had some trouble with hot water, and because of the heat it was troublesome to sleep. There's no AC, which makes sense given the location, but if you are staying in summer hopefully they can start providing some fans to create airflow. The bed wasn't terribly comfortable. The room was otherwise very clean and room service did a great job on my second day.
If you plan to travel by rail or bus, this is a fantastic place to stay. I needed to be at Heathrow early on a Sunday morning and that's difficult from most cities. The Royal is directly across from the train station and the bus depot making it very convenient. It's a lovely walk to downtown and there's a shopping center next door, as well.