El Dorado Casitas Royale by Karisma

If you are considering visiting this resort, PLEASE read this post for your sake BEFORE you book! I have been a “Diamond Member” with Exotic Travelers Club for 23 years. We have bought into their member program and have enjoyed the locations over the years. On the trip I am currently on, that has all changed. We have been told we will not be granted the benefits of our membership, which we have paid over $50k in for the 23 years, because we booked the reservation on the wrong site. We booked on Lomashospitality.com vs Exotictravelers.com. For context, they are the same company. The complete lack of customer service and rudeness about the situation has been astonishing and very concerning. There has been a clear change in this resort's customer service focus. So consider this before you book anything with Lomas or Exotic – if they treat a 23-year customer this way – how will they treat you? Last item, SAY AWAY from their member presentations and offers – clearly the benefits are worthless.

Our stay was defined by the truly outstanding service. The staff is incredibly friendly, and it’s clear this is a great place to work—many employees have been here for years, which speaks volumes about the establishment. A special shout-out to Benjamin, David, and Reina (our concierge) for making our stay so seamless. The Culinary Experience: The food was world-class across the board. Top Highlights: The beef curry at Jade was perhaps the best I’ve ever had. Fuentes offered an incredible dining experience paired with a phenomenal guitarist—well worth the extra cost. Casual Eats: We loved the burgers at Kick, fresh tacos at The Spot, and the smoothies at the Health Bar. Note for Improvement: The Santa Fe Grill was maybe the only slight outlier; it could probably benefit from a menu refresh and a more intimate, dimmed ambiance. Rooms & Activities: The rooms were spotless and very comfortable. We also took full advantage of the activities. Having been on several catamaran snorkeling tours before, I was impressed by the one at Maroma Beach—it was the perfect length and we saw plenty of fish and even a big sea turtle. The ranch and cenote excursion was also fun. The nightly entertainment was enjoyable - my wife loved the circus show. Minor Suggestions for Management: While I appreciate the health-conscious initiative regarding salt and pepper, they can be quite hard to find at breakfast. Having a few more shakers available would be welcome. The "morning towel reserve" was also a bit of a challenge. We encountered guests claiming entire rows of loungers early and never using them, which made it difficult for others to find a spot. Adding a few more chairs or enforcing more actively a courtesy policy for unoccupied towels would definitely improve the guest experience. Overall, these are really minor points in an otherwise perfect stay. A huge thank you to the wonderful team!

Another awesome vacation at El Dorado Casitas! We stayed 11 days and enjoyed every minute! Our butlers Pablo and Fernando were attentive and very helpful! The food was excellent as usual. Our favorite was D’Italia Casitas with Jade a close 2nd. Our favorite waiter was Wilbert at La Isla. We enjoyed massages by Regina and Janeth. Contributed to our relaxation! We went to the top of Generations to see the eclipse of the moon-Blood Moon. Amazing! Members for 17 years- loving it!

Service is great & resort is beautiful!! This is the 10th time my husband & I have visited here & the 2nd time we brought these particular friends. We all had a great time relaxing together! Wilma was a fantastic concierge who went above & beyond for the four of us. She stopped by the pool at least 2x a day to check to make sure we had everything we needed (waters, chips, Bueno bars) and just was so helpful. Our dinner reservations were made & while we did have some over at Generations at 8pm, we went earlier & were seated right away. Luis at Sante Fe remembered that I wanted a cappuccino & my hubby & bestie both wanted watermelon juice. Rodrigo at D’Italia Casitas brought us some delicious pasta that wasn’t on the menu & was a pleasure. Manuel was our pool bartender for most of the week & kept our cups filled. On his day off, Randy filled in and was fantastic! Cornilio cleaned our rooms each day while we lounged by the pool! It really is the people that make this place; from the servers to all the gardeners, cleaners, cooks & so many people we don’t see. Are there some glitches sometimes? Sure, but if you ask nicely 9/10 someone can & will go above & beyond to help you.

This is a difficult review for me to write. This is a very special resort for my wife and me because we got married here 15 years ago. This is probably the 5th or 6th review I've written, and the only one that wasn't 5 stars. There is a very specific reason for that, which I will explain shortly. This was the 6th time we've been to this resort. I first want to say that l'm like everyone else. I read the reviews prior to coming here to get a sense of how people are experiencing this resort just before we arrive. After returning home, I will say one thing - IF YOU HAVE BOOKED OR ARE THINKING ABOUT IT, DO NOT WORRY, THIS RESORT IS FABULOUS. For the first time ever, the reviews had me concerned, but now I really can't understand the negative reviews. I'd assume it's very anecdotal. Did everything work perfectly for us? No. But we had a great time. We were a group of 14 people in the 30 section. The rooms were as great as always. People complain they are a bit dated. Maybe, but they're still great. The outdoor shower is worth price of admission by itself! Bed was comfortable. Air conditioner worked great. Food at the restaurants was generally very good. We did the Fuentes dinner theater twice. It's great every time. Other favorites were the Casitas Italian restaurant and Kampai. Room service is a means to an end, so to speak. Low quality, but it puts something in your belly. It's very easy to book ahead of time through the resort website. So, what was my reason for not giving it 5 stars? Tipping, plain and simple. I'm an American. I tip. I always have. I generally bring a few hundred dollars to tip. I tip housekeeping every day. I'll tip our swim up bar bartender. I'll tip the waiter at dinner. This time, though, I forgot small bills. All I had were 20s. I'm not tipping $20 every time I tip. There were three separate times where I, or someone else in our party, did not tip. The employee was deliberately not quiet when he (always a guy) called us names, like the Spanish word for a-hole. Never before has tipping been an expectation, or, more specifically, an obvious expectation. There are tip jars all over the place. If I'm not mistaken, tips are supposed to be included in the all-inclusive deal. I see non-Americans complain all the time about how the Americans are always tipping. I don't agree with the complaint, but I can understand their point of view. El Dorado Casitas/Royale management, you need to clarify your position on tipping ASAP. I went through several hundred dollars tipping just to be called an a$$hole for not tipping once. Anyways, we still love this resort and I'm sure we'll be back within the next 5 years.