El Dorado Casitas Royale by Karisma

My wife and I stayed at El Dorado Casitas for our honeymoon through my parents Saphire Elite membership, which includes benefits and credits for their adult children. We even noted ahead of time that my wife had not changed her last name yet. That small detail set off the first of many issues. Arrival and Check In Check in was disorganized from the moment we arrived. We were moved around, waited far too long, and eventually sat in a crowded room where multiple groups were being processed at once. When we were finally called, the first question we got was whether we had our marriage license with us. This requirement had never been mentioned. They told us we would only receive half of the Elite benefits unless we provided proof immediately and wouldn’t accept if I provided a copy by the next day. I do not travel with my marriage license, but after digging through old emails, I found a scanned copy. Only then did they proceed. By the time we finished, we had been at the resort for more than an hour, luggage arrived an hour after the promised ten minutes, and the butler we were told would check in with us never showed. We were just left wondering what to do. Membership Benefits The printed benefits list looks great on paper. It promises a premium arrival, aromatherapy, pillow menus, premium toiletries, laundry service, hydrotherapy access, spa treatments, premium bar selections, upgraded dining, and more. Almost none of that happened. The premium arrival described on the sheet could not have been farther from reality. Our check in felt like the lowest tier version, not anything close to an Elite experience. Credits At check in, the staff described the credits as “cash” and even asked how we wanted them broken up. We never received them. Each day we asked and were given a new version of the same answer. They are on the way. The butler will bring them later. Check with concierge. No one ever delivered anything. Because of this, we delayed excursions, thinking the credits would show up. They never did. We ended up booking none. By mid week, we figured we would at least apply the credits to other charges as it was described to us. That never happened either. At checkout, we were treated as if we were trying to claim something that did not exist and got the run around all over again. Reservations and Butlers No reservations on day one at check in. Our butler never arrived the first day to help with reservations. Concierge told us check in should have handled it. They had not. It was a little after five, and they said reservations cannot be made after five. After pushing, they offered us a seating at six. The restaurant we were told we couldn’t get a reservation to ended up being half empty. The rest of the week was more of the same. Multiple butlers, no communication between them, and the same questions repeated every day felt more like herding cats. Room Service and Room Condition We did room service for breakfast most days. Only worked after figuring out the web app. It was slow but will eventually show up. We were never able to reach anyone by phone. Calls rang without an answer or put on hold til we got disconnected. The jacuzzi tub in our room was never properly cleaned. We mentioned it multiple times. Everyone said they would take care of it. Nothing changed. The tub had visible scum and looked like it had been rinsed, not washed. The premium bar selections also did not match what we chose pre arrival. Food D’Italia Our first night there was fine, mostly because we were starving after hours of travel. The menu layout is confusing and unlabeled. Portions were small and the service felt rushed. The second visit was rough. They didn’t have enough menus for the restaurant. A special was pushed on us that turned out to be shrimp fettuccine Alfredo with poorly peeled shrimp. Drinks only arrive after asking multiple times. We ordered lamb ratatouille and beef short rib. Both came out as the same short rib stew served in different dishes. Fuente - Omakase The early sashimi and nigiri were nicely presented and tasted clean. After that, things drifted. Service was very nice, wine pairings were tasty, and the chef did a great job presenting, all be it, not always factually correct. We were told fried rice and coconut shrimp were traditional Japanese cuisine. Hibachi was described more like American Benihana than actual Japanese hibachi. None of it tasted bad, just seemed a little culturally confused, and oversold for the omakase price. Wine Kitchen Best meal of the trip. Great service, good pacing, tasty food. Jade The tuna sashimi was good. The shrimp nigiri was an overcooked piece of cocktail shrimp tied to rice. The menu leaned heavily into a pan Asian theme that didn’t fully land. Lunch Lunches near buildings 31 and 32 were very reliably good. Bali Beds and Beach Once found, the Bali beds were great and beach service was excellent. Some beds had ants. Chair saving was the bigger problem. Guests would claim spots early and not return for hours. Spa The spa was genuinely excellent. My wife’s massage with Paulina was a highlight. The hydrotherapy circuit was nice, though would have liked to know our “elite membership” also gave us access to this. Golf Cart Highway Golf carts fly by constantly. The beachfront path is beautiful, but you spend most of the walk dodging carts, which makes it feel rushed instead of relaxing. Checkout Checkout echoed the rest of the week. We were told to complete a pre checkout at the lounge with help from our PM butler. I messaged him, no response. We eventually found the lounge by asking a bartender. When we asked again about the credits, staff acted confused and treated us as if we were trying to claim something we were not entitled to. We were told to return at eight the next morning so our butler would have the credits for us. The next morning, after no word from our butler. We went in and waited almost an hour while they looked into it. Then we were told to go next door to collect the credits. The office was locked. We returned. Then we were told we needed to be bussed across the resort to receive them. These were simple paper vouchers no one could produce. After a week of this, we gave up and decided to just pay the full amount. We asked for an early shuttle. We got the usual yes of course. At the front, no one knew anything. We paid for a taxi and left. What Worked • Beach service and Bali beds • The spa • Wine Kitchen • Lunch near buildings 31 and 32 • When something worked, it was enjoyable What Didn’t • Disorganized check in • Surprise marriage license requirement • Credits promised but never delivered • No communication between butlers • Reservations not handled • Jacuzzi never properly cleaned • Benefits unclear and inconsistently honored • Golf cart traffic along the beach path • Checkout confusion • First and last days essentially wasted Overall This was our honeymoon. The spa, the beach, and the Wine Kitchen were bright spots. But most of the stay was overshadowed by miscommunication, lack of follow through, and a pattern of being told things would happen and then nothing happening. It also felt like the polished experience only exists for people they hope to sell memberships to. If you already have a membership, you end up chasing every benefit you are supposed to receive.

This is our second time to this resort and loved it both times. The staff is amazing (especially our bartender Manuel), the rooms are great, beach is beautiful, food was good and the overall experience is excellent. We’ve sent multiple friends to the Casitas as well and they’ve all raved about the place! 10/10

This is our 2nd visit to El Dorado Casitas Royale and I'm still impressed with the level of service and the beautiful grounds. We've stayed at El Dorado Royale many times, but Casitas is just a little bit nicer in my opinion. We've been coming to the El Dorado resorts since 2020 and have never been disappointed. This visit the resort was busier than all other times we've been there, making it a little more difficult to make dinner reservations, but always got a reservation to the restaurants we wanted. Dinner service was slower than in previous visits, but the wait staff made sure our drinks were full while we waited. We used the "More Inclusive" options that the resort offers. The catamaran ride with snorkelling at Maroma was absolutely amazing. After getting off of the catamaran they have an amazing buffet. The following day we visited the Nickelodeon Water Park. Our adults only visit to Nickelodeon was great!! Most of the kids are in the play areas more appropriate for their ages, leaving the big water slides almost completely empty. We never waited more than 3 people to ride any slide. Food and drinks also provided at Nickelodeon. If you go to El Dorado Royale, make sure to find an amazing bartender named Emanuel. He was our bartender in section 30 of Casitas. We were actually staying in section 29 but had friends in section 30. Manuel was super friendly, great to chat with, always smiling and kept the drinks flowing!!! Thanks Manuel!!!

We go to this resort a couple times a year. It is beautiful and clean but definitely needs updating. The rooms are out dated. We had no hot water in the room but we did in the outside shower which was fine with me. Every reservation we wanted they did not have the time slot we wanted… waited almost 2 hours for our lunch at Kompai. Every restaurant we ate at the food is not hot and the meat quality was not good. The service is phenomenal that is why we continue to go back, Jhonny is fantastic! He makes our entire trip, he’s sweet, funny, kind and nice to talk to. He goes above and beyond to make your vacation wonderful. He really made us feel like family, we will continue to frequent the resort because of him and the fantastic service.

When I arrived I was told my room was damaged and I was downgraded. Turned out to be a blessing as my original room would have been along the main walkway beachside and likely noisy. They did give me a 250.00 credit to use in the spa. The concierge service was top notch! The resort itself is beautiful! The food was ok (great presentation but many meals were somewhat lacking in quality). The procedures to book things was lacking and a bit confusing. The activities made me feel like herded cattle (stand here, go there, do this, sign here, pay this). The spa was nice and my massage was wonderful aside from the ticking clock on the wall. Two places I visited on the resort had chirping smoke detectors the entire week (Santa Fe restaurant and gift shop in main lobby). Coffee was hard to come by early in the morning so I suggest calling room service the night before and scheduling to have coffee delivered to your room in the mornings. What stood out the most was the service. Every single staff member was thoughtful, pleasant, accommodating and always smiling! Overall I think it was a fun time but I certainly would not recommend for a romantic getaway.