El Dorado Casitas Royale by Karisma

We are currently on resort now. We arrived yesterday from Toronto with an all inclusive package booked through Air Canada. Wanted to pre warn all Canadians that might have booked this package if the hotel scam to try and get you to attend a high pressure presentation for time share. To keep it brief … our flight home leaves on Sunday Dec 14th at 22.10. Our airport pick up arranged through Air Canada is 7pm. We asked today about paying for a room extension or even to pay to be swapped to another room or to use a courtesy room as check out is 4pm. Here are the options given - 1) We must check out at 12 noon as hotel is full (it is not so many empty rooms). And stay on resort until 4pm after which time we must leave despite our transfer being at 7pm. We must pay for our own taxi to airport, despite having bought an all inclusive package with Air Canada. No room extension available even if we want to pay 2.) We can pay $400 usd for a room in the El dorado royale ( Oh I thought there were no rooms available) 3) We can pay $130 usd night fee to stay on resort from 4pm to 7pm 4.) OR we can attend a time share presentation for 2 hours at breakfast and then we can stay in our own casita room until 5pm free of charges. Plus we can have complimentary massages plus our dinner at Fuentes which is an extra cost would also be free. Hmmmm scam ??? In collusion with Air Canada? Not our fault our all inclusive flight is 22.10 ?? We have phoned air canada and they have said they cannot throw us off resort at 4pm. They are contacting an Air Canada Rep on resort for us. Hoping someone can help !! And no we don’t want to attend a presentation to just get a room extension until 5pm. We are prepared to pay. They were lying that there was no availability. And top it all I couldn’t get on Trip Advisor on the hotels wifi. I had to use a VPN. Beware all Air Canada passengers that have booked the same package with a late flight.

This resort is a shell of what is once was. I really don't think any maintenance or general upkeep has been done in many years and it shows. This was my 15th+ visit and will definitely be my last. We had a large water leak over our bed and in our closet that was a constant issue during our stay. Not one person on site, even my contacts that I emailed responded, so I'm posting this to make you aware. The evening it first happened we called FOUR TIMES to the front desk, and it took 3 HOURS to get dry pillows and towels. This resort was once pristine and serene, and you felt like you were in a little piece of heaven. It no longer feels like this in any aspect. Broken locks on doors in the room, the one in the shower kept falling off. The phone didn't work. The lamps didn't have shades, just a bulb. The water faucets are just about breaking off the sink. No seal in between the outside shower door, so bugs and water get in. We had constant water leaking into puddles out of our closet ceiling, so we couldn't put anything in it, the blanket on the top shelf was soaked through. The water leaking over our bed would drip down to the pillows, so we had to move the mattress back, changing out towels every couple hours. In the past the patios were kept up with sheers for privacy and covers on the plastic beds, but no more. They patios and roofs are very damaged and shabby. Housekeeping would take plates out of other rooms by us and leave them on the stairs, and we wake to the food everywhere and animals outside the doors. The dinner reservations were worse than normal, we were told that everything was booked upon arrival, but when we'd show up to restaurants in the evening, they'd be mostly empty and seat us. Kampai was good, but Wine kitchen beef was inedible. We also were able to squeeze in to the Italian, of which they make a huge fuss because now they only offer one option, but it was just okay. I will note that all our servers at our meals were fantastic and really went above and beyond for us. Several were old friends from past visits, and made sure we were taken care of. Alexis at Sante Fe breakfast, Eliezer at Kampai, Silverio at Italian Casitas and the staff at Wine Kitchen all should be noted. We only had four sets of loungers, two broken, at our Casita pool 29, so we did try Casita 28. Unfortunately, they now blast music from open to close and won't turn it down at all when the guests ask them. We had six people one day, four reading and two others, all asked for the music to be turned down, and he said he "was trying to get more people to his pool" They are also doing this at Gaviotas. Once our absolute favorite place to relax is now treated like an upkept, cheap drink stop. Plastic throw away cups, dirty loungers and zero vibe. They even took out the nice lighting and now longer switch it over with clean cushions and glassware for the evening. No live music to be found. This was such a great vibe of past visits, but they do nothing like this anymore. If you like coffee before 9 am, you must go to a restaurant. We were really excited about the coffee shop, but it doesn't open until 9, and some days they would be out of popular ingredients by 10. The coffee pots they sit around Health bar and Gaviotas were mostly empty when we tried that as well. There is the option to schedule with room service, but when we asked for 7:45 it showed up at 6:45am!! We remember the days of having the Casitas pool attendants that would refresh the white lounger covers and get you clean towels. Now it's just old and torn brown cushions and you have to hunt down towels. One day we had to use bath towels, as we tried everywhere with no luck for pool towels. We also remember the carts coming by with the 3pm treats, no more. Several of the bali beds along the beach are broken and roped off. They also don't offer the check-in amenities with the pillow menu or room spray choices. It was just a lot of little things that all add up to make it lose what we loved. The seasoned staff you can tell are getting frustrated that things aren't getting fixed, and they have to hear it from guests. I'm so glad we don't have a membership and are obligated to come back. This place needs a major overhaul. Special thank you to Luis Alberto who has been working in the front desk staff/Shuttle staff for many years, and he is an absolute delight. What a gem of an employee to this resort!

Pros: Service was great! All staff were wonderful and helpful. Our Casitas Pool bar was excellent and we never had problems getting a chair. The grounds are beautiful, well kept. There are so many different animals on the grounds to enjoy. Our Casita room was good, large, clean. The coffee shop has awesome coffee. Cons: THE FOOD IS TERRIBLE. And we are not picky eaters. But 70% of the food we got at any restaurant was just gross. We were in a group of 6 and everyone felt the same. Also annoying was the fact that the only real supper buffet is at Generations which has a poor selection. You HAD to make reservations for your weeks worth of restaurants when you arrived, which is annoying. I don't know what is good and where I want to eat. The Concierge is mostly useless. I wish they had a decent App that you could just make reservations with instead of wasting time with the Concierge. We only had our mini bar restocked twice, only after we complained several times. The beach (or lack of) is a site for sore eyes. There is no view, it is literally rocks and these ugly concrete barriers. If you want a nice beach, STAY AWAY from this resort. And lastly, there is no signage, the resort is spread out and there is no signs to direct you to the restaurant or pool or bar you want to go to. There is very few signs on the actuals restaurants/bars themselves. Adding to this is the fact that the paths around the resort are poorly lit at night, you cannot find anything. We had no idea what activities were going on at the resort, there is one small bulletin board tucked behind a ping pong table at the Royale pool, who is going to see that. We found it on the last day. We still had a nice enough time, but we will not be back and will most definitely not recommend this place to others.

Decent dinner reservations are impossible. They cut availability and prioritize slots to “members”. We won’t return

We just returned from our fourth visit to El Dorado (1 at royale and 3 at Casitas). This year we were in the 2700 building of Casitas, on the second floor. We are not members. PRO: The resort is beautiful and well maintained on the exterior with gardens and grounds that never fail to impress. The pools were clean and all the chairs were recovered daily. My husband enjoyed the pickleball courts everyday. Our casitas was quiet and lovely although others were much more lively. You could pick your experience. The food is good , if a little inconsistent at times. IE; Kampai was amazing one day and the next my pad thai was more like spaghetti with tomato sauce. We are frequent AI travelers so we know what to expect on the food. The Generations restaurants were all very good, Santa Fe for breakfast was also excellent. The staff is always impressive and we noted that there are many who have been there for years. Our bartenders Issac and Eduardo were great and professional, the housekeeper, Erika, who did our room daily was outstanding. Celestino at Cocotal breakfast was also excellent. Our Concierges Aida and Shelvy were very attentive and helpful with any problem right away. I notice they are always trying new things as far as food options and things around the resort. I loved the fresh bread man at breakfast . The taco bar near the Gravitas bar was popular. Also the coffee and ice cream shop in the same location. CONS: The Casitas are in desperate need of an update. They are dark and shabby. The roof thatching is very damaged. The pool bars, while clean, are cracked as well as the pool tiling. I notice that the Royale section is in the process of being updated so I hope Casitas is next. I have an injury that makes me a little mobility challenged right now. The golf carts are not a reliable option, so be aware. Also , many stairs everywhere. The steep steps at Casitas rooms are painted black (difficult for the vision impaired) and can be slippery in the rain. We celebrated a milestone anniversary while here and noted that all the little touches and such that we experienced in the past are gone. No fruit or champagne in the room. We were offered spa packages that we were expected to pay for. We were offered dinner on the beach. Been there before and there was not really anything to replace it. Even the door banner had to be asked for. Also, no special anniversary breakfast in the room (although we could have just called room service ourselves). The resort was far more crowded then we usually experience. We travel the same week every year. This was evident in the incredibly crowded main pool area. It was most evident at Cocotal breakfast. We are early risers in general so we did not have to wait to get in. However the food was often in need of refreshing and was not done in a timely manner. While I saw dining room managers, There did not seem to be a food manager to let the kitchen staff know to fill the empty egg/bacon/ guacamole etc. In fact, I saw guest approach the kitchen door to ask for the bowls to be refilled. The crepe station and omelet station often did not have a staff person right away. In general , it remains one of our favorite resorts and I note that things that were a problem in the past have been resolved so I expect we may go back soo.