El Dorado Casitas Royale by Karisma

There are pros and cons to this resort and I will try to be as fair as possible but it is a long review. The resort is made up of the Royal and Casitas (adults) and Generations (Family...which the kids are not allowed to come over to the others). The resort is a long way in from the highway but is not deep itself but really long, great for long walks along the beach. TRANSPORTATION It started rocky with the private transfer from Lomas...the driver seemed distracted and drifted and swerved on the highway, I was so glad when we got there even going the wrong way on a one way street (the guest in the front seat was petrified). Throughout the resort even though there are lots of carts it can be hit or miss and keep an eye out, pathways are narrow and they go fast. Drivers are friendly and make short work of the long resort. Sometimes they don't stop with no real pattern they follow, just wave them down and ask them to take you where you want to go, most times they are accommodating. GROUNDS Beautiful but confusing. It usually takes about 1 to 2 days for me to figure out the layout of a resort....this one took about 6 days. Your little brochure map (also an app but can be hit or miss) won't help and there is little to no on-site signage...even when you get to your destination, are you really there? You will get lost...you will need to ask for directions! The grounds are very well taken care of with no garbage laying around. We went there knowing the beach is not good, destroyed by a hurricane years ago but is still walkable with a couple of small swimming and snorkeling spots. We ran out of time but we would have walked further, since the beaches are Federally owned it belongs to the people. To the north you can walk to Puerto Morelos for snorkeling and to the south is the Valentin Resort with a nice beach area. AMENITIES We had the Maroma Beach Catamaran Snorkel tour, Aqua Nick water park (lazy rivers and water slides), Bike Tour (suggest you do this first to orient yourself with the resort, you may get to see the alligator) and an onsite Cenote with rescue animals ALL included! We played a lot of pickleball at the nice courts. You can play all day if you bring your own paddles and balls....if not you must wait till 9am for staff to bring equipment. I would suggest to bring your own as there's is not good quality and gets too hot later in the morning (go for 8am). There is all skill levels and people looking to play, we were giving lessons to many people. ROOM Absolutely fantastic. We had a few issues (patio door lock broken, safe went down twice which were a fixed quickly and an leak from a torrential rain storm) but so beautiful. Spacious, clean, pleasing to the eyes and soul with indoor and outdoor showers, jacuzzi tub and an unbelievably comfortable bed....probably the best I have ever slept on that was not my own. We had a swim up Casita that was to die for! PEOPLE Almost everyone was friendly, can't be perfect...that goes for guests and staff. There was a fight on the resort and security was slow to respond. Mainly Canadian and U.S. guests and nobody talked politics....AWESOME! FOOD This is where it goes really bad. The food was something that people raved about and was supposed to be amazing....NOT. Very hard to get into many restaurants especially early evenings (preference goes to members) so expect late evening time slots that's even if you can get in. Our first reservation we showed up at 7:10 for a 7:30 and they looked at us like we had 2 heads as it was closed for a private event. Since there are no dinner buffets on the property we were lucky that there was a Mexican Day of the Dead Festival going on with food tables. Unfortunately for me the first pork Taco was all fat and almost lost my cookies, needless to say I was done for the evening. The rest of the restaurants we could get into were okay but would quickly run out of certain foods (if you fine bacon for breakfast...take it and run!) I had a beef bowl at "Jade" that was fatty and the meat that was there was dry and stringy and got stuck in my teeth to the point I could no longer eat because it hurt my gums too much. After a half an hour of flossing back at the room I got most of it out. The best restaurants were the Italian and Kick's (Beachside Burgers and pulled pork) great food and service which was also lacking at the other restaurants (very slow). The other thing is that they kept the restaurants (all) very, very cold to the point the food went cold quickly, people were putting napkins on their necks to stop the draft, glasses fogging up all while the staff at the front seating people were wearing jackets. We did finally complain to the resort along with many others and that issue was adjusted. I will go out on a limb and provide them an excuse (although they did not acknowledge this). It is there slow season so limited staff and food...BUT...many guests were last minute additions since there vacation was cut short due to Hurricane Mellissa in Jamaica. I think they and other resorts got caught with their pants down. On a positive note there is also 2 Ice cream stations on site, one is also a coffee shop and that is located on the beach half way through the Casitas (try the cheese ice cream...kinda good, kinda weird ENTERTAINMENT Smaller scale than most large resorts. Mainly music. The main entertainment place "Guacamayas" had live bands including "Dana Kennedy" which is a must see. She has an amazing voice and had everyone up singing and dancing...Electric! We probably did more dancing this time than all of our other vacations combined. The circus show was great too, it was edgy for us adults! DRINKS They were good although I do not drink much and with that it would be nice to have drink menus since I don't know all the neat things to try. You are supposed to scan a QR code that gives you access to drink menus through their google drive...I am still awaiting on approval. MEMBERS We did take the "Marketing" tour, one hour of no pressure they say. Technically it's not a time share (no maintenance fees) and is not necessarily a bad thing but expect 2.5 hours and be passed off to about 5 different people. There are perks to being members but we did say no as it was not us and do not want to feel obligated to go back to El Dorado properties. We did get 2 - 50min massages which was really nice (not worth the actual price especially for what they pay the masseuse) FINAL TAKE If we were to find a great price we may go back to give the resort a second chance (me more so than my wife). For what we paid for this resort (Toooo Much!!) and the expectations especially with the food, this was one of our least favorite resorts. Between trying to book restaurants that were just okay (I am not an upscale fine dining person), the lack of communication where one person says one thing and another says something completely different and the lack of directional signage it made what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation very frustrating. The resort needs to understand it's harder to change poor first impressions rather than making it easier from the start and we were definitely not the only ones...it was a common complaint that the resort turned a deaf ear to. It was a very rocky start (like the beach) and did get better but not enough, too little too late. You may have a different experience but we heard a lot of grumbling and complaints especially from existing members.

Another amazing trip to Casitas. Pablo, our butler, did a great job. Concierge Angie was so helpful getting us what we needed. At the Palms, hostess Sarahi got us seated with the best, Eduardo. The fish tacos were so good, Shrimp burrito was a close 2nd. But we saved the best for last! Casitas d’Italiano never ceases to amaze. We asked for our favorite waiter, Edmar & we were not disappointed! He & Miguel filled our table with love & delicious food. The pastas were incredible, but we were blown away by the salmon, with crispy skin that tasted better than bacon! And speaking of bacon…the pork belly with pineapple sauce was a perfect blend. we wrapped up with the chocolate cake. Wow! The sprinkle of salt took it over the top! Decadent. Don’t miss this culinary experience when you visit El Dorado Royale or Casitas. You won’t be disappointed. For breakfast, hit the Palms, amazing view & great breakfast burrito. For a buffet breakfast, go to Chef’s Market in Generations. Better than the buffet in Royale. Less crowded if you don’t mind the families with kids. Can’t wait for our next trip.

Stayed for 11 days in Casitas and enjoyed every minute ! Pool was awesome , restaurants excellent , and concierge service was always there to help . Special shoutout to Wilma for her always trying to make each day better than the previous one ( which was hard to top) .. Julio ( and for the last two days Manuel) were excellent at the swim up bar …always ready to make whatever drink you wanted . The rooms are fantastic and we really enjoyed the Al a crate restaurants . A few upgrades to consider … 1 )Put some sports screens in the beach bar so Saturday and Sunday football can be watched . 2) In the main show theatre put some fans ( instead of the hanging birds) in the bar area and perhaps remove the large screen and put a few smaller screens so more broadcasts can be viewed at the same time . Small issues but would add to an already strong offering at the resort …. Larry and Wendy

Overall the staff and personnel at this place make it a wonderful experience. Everyone is offering help with getting around or planning local excursions or room service, etc. The grounds are kept very clean and there are options everywhere for food and drinks. We visited the animal sanctuary and learned a bit about the Mayans and the tour guides were super friendly and knowledgable. Overall the food and drinks were good, the casitas were very nice and updated and room, but the people who work there go above and beyond any normal expectations and it really makes for a pleasant and comfortable experience. We had no plans of visiting Cancun again but based on our experience we would definitely come back again. It's all inclusive but please bring cash for tips as they are well deserved.

Our personal concierge Wilma was outstanding. Made our stay a 10 out of 10. Bar tenders Julio and Manuel went out of their way to provide us a great experience at the swim up pool. Already booking for next trip.. All restaurants were first class, waiters remembered us from our previous trip.. All resort staff were super friendly and some went out of their way to help us..