Royal Stone International

We initially were interested in dealing with Royal Stone because they were advertising a very good price at the Home Show - a flat all-inclusive $/sqft (depending on the stone chosen). We were told this of course included everything: sink hole cutting, removal of the old countertop. After choosing the slab with Melissa in the showroom, there's now a charge for cutting the sink hole ($150, I believe) and $150 for removal and disposal of the old countertop - the person that told us this was all included at the Home Show was "new" and wrong. I also apparently wasn't able to use the sink I had already bought although no one was able to really explain why. Communication was a real issue. I ended up still going ahead with the countertop after some haggling since the total price was still not too bad and I just wanted to get it done after way too much back and forth. I had them come back a second time to measure because I had a feeling they had measured the right edge against the oven incorrectly (I was right).

The people that came to measure and the installers were punctual although their English was very limited. The space was left reasonably clean and they generally did a good job. The no name 18ga sink they provided for $200 was also better than expected. My only gripes were that one side of the countertop was of a larger depth than had been agreed upon, resulting in a 2" gap between the edge of the cabinet and the inside of the ogee edge. I also found out right after I started using the countertop that the granite had been really badly sealed (or not at all). Melissa was courteous and responsive and sent someone out to take a look and to apply more sealant. Of course, the person that came didn't bring any sealant! After another call, it was clear that they didn't have the time to send another person out to seal the countertop for some time. I ended up doing it myself and Melissa agreed to a small partial refund to address the other issue.

Overall, I was happy with the actual granite itself and the price. I would not say there was any intentional deception but there were far too many miscommunications. For those considering Royal, I recommend being very explicit regarding what you want and get *everything* in writing (ALL dimensions especially - double check their measurements yourself) and seal the countertop yourself before using it.