El Dorado Casitas Royale by Karisma

This was our 5th or 6th time at this resort and, again, it did not disappoint! We love this resort and the people who work here! The resort is beautiful and the workers are constantly keeping it beautiful! The beach is not the best and you really can't go into the water due to the massive amount of seaweed, but that is the not resorts fault. They work endlessly to get rid of it, but it is an endless battle! There were plenty of pools to cool off in, so it was not a problem for us. The resort does require a lot of walking, but that was a good thing after eating and drinking so much! (and they do have shuttles) All of the food we had here was so good! The only one we really didn't like was the Mexican Restaurant (Rincon). Kampai was our favorite, as always, followed by Sante Fe and D'Italia. We also did the sunset dinner cruise at Maroma and it was amazing! But what really makes this resort stand out are the employees. They are always so courteous and always greet you with a smile. They are all amazing and went out of their way to make our vacation wonderful, but a few really stood out for us this trip. 1. Emiliano - he was our concierge in Bldg. 32 and he was AMAZING! He made our trip so special and was always checking on us to make sure we had everything we needed. If we needed something in our room it was always there when we returned. He made all of our dinner reservations and we never had a problem with anything! He even remembered us immediately from our last trip as soon as he saw us, which really was special! 2. Benjamin - He was our bartender at the pool bar and always kept us well hydrated! We always ordered mini-beers and he made his with Baileys (which was so good!). One day he didn't have any Baileys and later that day we were at lunch behind the bar and he appeared with 2 mini-beers! He said he got some Baileys from Sante Fe so he could make them for us! Now that is service way above and beyond and very appreciated! You don't get that kind of service in the U.S.! 3. Tony - We had a question about our membership and some of the changes and he was very knowledgeable and very helpful. He made us feel better about our membership. 4. El Fredo - He wasn't our butler this year, but we've had him in the past and when he saw us walking he immediately came up to us to say hi! Now I'm sure he sees many, many people but to recognize us after over a year, that was impressive! It really made us feel special :-) This is why we can't wait to return. The employees really make this resort top notch. They are so dedicated to making your vacation special. There are only 2 suggestions I have for a better experience: - Please upgrade your house wine! I am not a wine snob, but I could only barely drink the Chardonnay and the Merlot and to buy a better bottle was very expensive! It would be nice to have a better brand of wine. - It would also be nice if there were more cardio equipment in the Fitness Center. There are only a few treadmills and 1 bike. If you didn't get there early, they were usually in use. By the way, the cold towels were wonderful! Other than those 2 suggestions, this resort is amazing and we can't wait to return! So don't listen to the bad reviews. This place is great and you will have a wonderful time!

Just got back from another amazing vacation at this resort. So relaxing with everything taken care of. The people and service are amazing here. Special shout out to our butlers Claudio and Paul who were amazing. Clean rooms, great food especially Italian Casitas and beautiful resort areas to enjoy. Thanks and see you next year!

I would have given 5 stars because we had a great holiday. However, the casitas were in a poor state of repair . We wasted the first day of our holiday re- packing and changing rooms due to the very noisy repairs going on to the thatched roof and the whole wooden structure of the stairs in the two casitas next door. There was remedial work going on in many places. Perhaps it’s finished now. The suites were very tired looking with worn taps and mirrors. We paid a premium price but the quality didn’t match the price. However, the layout was great, very spacious and the view from the balcony was lovely. The bed was enormous and soooo comfortable. I am an insomniac but I slept so well for the whole 2 weeks. Loved the outside shower and the hot tub. We enjoyed the breeze on the beach but the outlook was spoilt by the very many ugly giant concrete water breakers , which are there to slow down coastal erosion. There’s also a massive problem with seaweed which has a team working every day to keep it under control. The resort is doing its best. The food and restaurants and bars were absolutely excellent. A good choice and always something new to try. Staff were friendly and helpful. We were confused about tipping - as it was supposed to be included in the all inclusive price. So we ended up feeling uncomfortable as so many guests were tipping with every drink they ordered. So clarification on what is expected would be most helpful. The resort is enormous- we did our 10 000 steps a day without even trying, just going to the different restaurants and to the entertainment in the evening . The entertainment was of a high standard with a couple of really good bands in the main entertainment area. There were also pop up singers in the bar near the coffee shop. The grounds and gardens were beautiful and very well maintained. The resort is quite noisy but you can always find somewhere tranquil to sit.

My wife and I recently took a quick one-week getaway and chose the Casitas for the swim-up room, bar access, and a chance to relax by the beach. We frequently travel to Cozumel for scuba diving and love the warm Caribbean water, but this year we opted for the Cancun side to avoid the extra flight. The resort itself is very spread out—nearly 3 miles from end to end—which I didn’t mind since I enjoy morning runs. The gym was decent and had everything I needed. They do offer electric carts for transportation, but availability was inconsistent. That said, if you don’t mind walking, it’s manageable—just be prepared, because getting to restaurants, pools, or the lobby always involves a bit of a trek. The food was excellent—honestly the best we’ve experienced at an all-inclusive resort. While it’s not the best food we’ve ever had overall, it exceeded expectations for this type of setting. Service can be slow and restaurant reservations fill up quickly, but we were able to work around it. The beach, however, was disappointing. While there is sand, it’s not very swimmable due to concrete barriers and a shallow rocky reef, making it difficult to get beyond shin-deep water. The wind was our second biggest issue—not something the hotel can control, but it was constant and made the weather feel cooler than expected. If you enjoy a steady breeze, you may not mind it, but for us it took away from the experience. We did go scuba diving, which required a shuttle to Maroma Beach. Maroma itself is beautiful, but the water was surprisingly cold during our visit. The diving was decent, but nowhere near the level of Cozumel. The strong winds created rough seas—my wife even felt seasick despite using a patch—and getting in and out of the boat was challenging, even for us as an active couple. We skipped the catamaran excursion, but many guests reported getting seasick due to the conditions. The biggest issue—for us and many other guests—was the pool temperature. The pools were extremely cold, to the point where hardly anyone was swimming. You’d see hundreds of people gathered around the main pool, but only a handful actually in the water. Even guests coming from much colder climates weren’t willing to get in. This was consistent across all pools and really impacted our ability to enjoy the resort. Overall, the hotel is beautiful, the food is great, and the staff is wonderful. However, due to the constant wind and the unusably cold pools, we wouldn’t return.

We had a great time at the Casitas!! The rooms were clean, and quiet, the staff did a great job everyday keeping them that way, fully stocked mini fridge. The food was good with many different options for a wide variety of tastes, no one went hungry. Many gluten free options as well. The shows were fun, the entertainment was really well done, and actually could have had more of the bands and less dj for my liking. The beach is where it starts to lose it for me though, if you are a beach lover this is not the place for you imo., not many places to access the water if thats your thing. Overall impressions, the staff were amazing, our pool bartender Juan was great all week, everyone was friendly, from the groundskeepers to the bartenders, across the board really. We had a few issues with our casita and they made sure to remedy them immediately. If you are looking for a nice place, with good food and decent entertainment options i would definitely recommend.