El Dorado Seaside Suites

Just returned from our first visit to Seaside Palms. We had a great visit. We took a private transfer from Cancun and it took just over an hour. We use Canada Transfers and have always had great service with them as well. Check in was quick. Maybe 10 minutes and we were on a golf cart to our room. My spouse has MS so we used the golf carts alot. All drivers were super friendly and helpful. We'd read that rooms were tired and dated. Are they super modern? Maybe not. It was clean. It was safe. Had a king bed, big tv and a whirlpool tub. Double sink in the bathroom. Nice big shower. We didn't feel we were missing out on anything. We had a swim out which was nice but... I don't know if we'd spend that extra again. We used it a couple of times but the pool was cold. We found all the pools were cold. Next time we would just book a ground floor room because of the mobility issues. Our favourite spot to hang out for the day was the beach near the Bar Frontera. I kept telling the bartender there he had the best office in the world. It was a little quieter down at that end of the resort and the water was often crystal clear. Lots of folks snorkeled either right there or out further. We could see the fish just as we waded in the water. Food. We find something we like a stick with it. So Seaside market for breakfast buffet. We did Arecifes restaurant 3 nights. Can't beat the sunsets. We did room service a few times and it was always about a 30 minute wait and food was good. We did the pub one night as well. No complaints about the food at all. What's the "bad" stuff. It's not all perfect. The resort is spread out. It's great for me as I love a good walk and the grounds here are beautiful. The golf carts were awesome but I didn't realize just how spread out things were before we arrived. This is going to seem really small but hopefully feedback for the resort. Please offer lids for the takeaway cups of coffee in the lobby. I'm an early riser so would often walk for an hour or so before my spouse was up. I'd then take two cups of coffee back to the room. No covers on the cups means a wet or burnt hand by the time I made the 8 minute walk back to the room. Seaside market was slightly understaffed while we were there. We'd have to wait sometimes 10-15 minutes before we were offered coffee. Not the employees fault at all. They HUSTLED and always did it with a smile on their face. It wasn't a huge deal, just an extra staff member or two would greatly improve the experience. I almost forgot to mention that we did the Sky massage. Wonderful experience that I would recommend to anyone. We would definitely consider going back to this resort and have no problem recommending it to anyone who asks.

We have just returned from an 11 night stay and we’d like to share with you our long but personal honest review. This was our 3rd visit and we can honestly say the grounds have always been well kept, the beach is amazing and the staff work SO hard to keep it this way! We had a beach front junior suite, on the palms side, dated, not to everyone’s expected 5* taste, but we didn’t mind this as you only really sleep there and it was cleaned with a stocked mini bar daily. Although hard to sleep with noisy air on and fridge. The area which has improved from our last couple of visits are the number of sun beds, as my husband would have to get up at 6am if we wanted one. From the patio, a small path led just a few yards away from the extended beach, now with plenty of sunbed’s and Bali beds, which meant we were always able to find something late into the morning. The first full day of our holiday, a new lunchtime eatery opened called KAAB which serves healthy/vegan options and is fantastic!! Everything is well presented and tastes delicious. I am a vegetarian and this was the best place for me to eat lunch. My husband thought the veggie burgers were great and he’s a meat eater, so please don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. If you want your meat fill every where else serves lots of this, including a beach BBQ literally a minute walk down the path from there, with a bar next to it to get a drink whilst you wait. We also loved the freshly made pizza’s, served for lunch, again next to the main beach bar for your beverage of choice whilst you wait. There can be a bit of a queue…everyday…but it’s obvious with this queue it’s worth the it. The morning of our first day, we met with our concierge and were able to book into the 2 restaurants that we were told needed reservations. We were able to book into the Klay Talay for our anniversary and into Mia Casa. We thought Klay Talay was disappointing, very bland, but they did present us with an anniversary cake to mark our special occasion, shame it didn’t taste as nice as it looked but was appreciated and a nice touch. Mia Casa the next evening was a lot better, tasty and served hot, but limited choice for vegetarians, as are most restaurants. Breakfast buffet at the Seaside Market for us was the best place to eat and open as late as 11.30am such a shame it’s only open for breakfast! We did try Driftwood one morning after a visit to the gym, we both ordered omelette’s, mine just with egg whites and spinach, but after a 30min wait, although warm, I had cheese in mine and had been made with yolks too, I didn’t complain as we felt we had been there long enough and although wrong, we still tipped, as we did every meal even if we were a little disappointed. There was a Mexican night on the beach which included a buffet and fire show. The fire show was excellent and I’m sure appreciated by all!! It was first come first served unless you reserved a table at an additional cost and the food didn’t get replenished, so we struggled to eat that evening and all restaurants were booked, even those you don’t have to. For the rest of our stay we found it hard to get in anywhere for an evening meal. We went to our concierge to express how frustrating it was to be told it’s either a 1hr 1/2 to 2 hr wait or they were fully booked with no availability but could see empty tables, so asked if we could book. But no, we couldn’t, not unless you were a member. These empty tablets were obviously allocated for members only. Now this is not advertised as a members resort but I think it’s slowing becoming one. We asked if we could book one of the restaurants you have to make a reservation for, but they also were fully booked for the rest of our stay. We ended up with room service on 2 occasions, which is very limited, especially if you are vegetarian, when it eventually turned up it was cold, but hubby really enjoyed his chicken burrito. We didn’t come on an all inclusive 5* holiday to eat in our room, we like to get dressed up and wanted this to be our date nights which we had missed out on this year due to a hard upsetting time and wanted our break to be special! Now I know some would say, chill go to the bar, have a drink and wait. I do like a cocktail or 2 but my husband doesn’t drink and I didn’t come on holiday to get drunk every night whilst waiting up to 2 hours or to be told there’s no availability. On our last evening we went to the only evening buffet, which on 2 evenings during our stay had been closed, to find it now has a menu with no vegetarian options. Yes you can help yourself to some salad, vegetables etc but no main to go with it. Our first visit for our honeymoon back in 2013 only served food as al-a carte with a choice of 7 restaurants. We didn’t miss a buffet option but we also never had these problems, maybe due to it being half the size, but this is not acceptable for the growing (no longer 5*) resort. So this is what has made the decision for us that we probably won’t return. We are very grateful to be able to save hard to come to Mexico and wouldn’t tell people not to come to this resort, but I would advise them on what to expect. If you decide to go, please don’t pay full price, make sure you get a good deal, we paid a good few thousand pounds to come here, enjoy the beach, grounds and hard working staff, be prepared to wait for evening meals and try and make the most of it….If you haven’t experienced an all inclusive before, I’m sure you’ll love it!! ……Yes I’m fully aware and fortunate to be given the birth name Karen 🤷🏼‍♀️

We just returned from Seaside Palms and had a great time. We almost didn't come due to Storm Sara but we came anyway and glad we did. Only Sunday and Wednesday afternoon were impacted by rain. The positives: 1. The beach was probably the best of the Karisma/Exotic/Prestige resorts we have been to except maybe for Jamaica. We were also impressed by all the beach norishment they are doing. Virtually no seaweed in November. Beach is high on the list for us 2. The beach butlers and service was one of the better as well. Drinks orders came across all the time and the beach butler would meet us and make up our beds on the beach in the morning 3. Lot's of choice of restaurants. It was almost like El Dorado Royale with choices. We ate lunch every day on the patio outside the buffet restaurant where they also cooked pizza, burgers, nachos and tacos outside 4. Room was good size and everything worked as expected. We mentioned about the hot water and next day it was addressed 5. We did try the spa and enjoyed the visit for a massage. Very similar experience to the other resorts 6. We knew the resort was big to get to all the restaurants but the golf carts came around pretty frequently so we really had no issue getting the places over at the Seaside Suites. Some improvement opportunities: 1. We stayed in a luxury junior suite. The room comfort was fine and clean but the rooms are dark and dated. Also has a big Jacuzzi tub in the room which honestly we didn't want to use. I know it would be expensive but I think if they could freshen up the rooms it would help. They for sure don't feel like 4 or 5 star rooms from a luxury feel. 2. When butlers came by they did as we needed but we didn't see them so much and not the last day at checkout. We also are used to them give us their whatsapp to message for items needed in the room or reservations. This could be improved 3. The food quality was "ok" in the restaurants. We all found something we liked but again I would not call the food quality "gourmet". We went to Asian twice, Italian once, and Mediterranean once but did not like the choices at the Mediterranean. Not sure why but we didn't really care for the house wines they served. We usually find the house wines to be acceptable for us.

We stayed at the El Dorado Seaside Palms. Premium Block D on their site map. Hotel is Tired, Dated & Jaded. We paid for the premium upgrade package, absolutely pointless. The rooms are worse than the Junior garden suites, which were nearly £250 cheaper per person, the 'exclusive' premium pool is tired with lots of stains and broken tiles. It was also not 'exclusive' just about anybody was using it, only once, were people asked to leave when it got ridiculously busy. The premium upgrade was supposed to include its own restaurant, this was not open (I know the roof was damaged) but if the upgrade is not available then we should not be charged. Oh and to top it all, for the privilege of wearing the premium band, if you lose it you will be charged $100. A replacement band costs $3 or $4 at most. The Premium block is 6 floors high, this is not stated on TUI's brochures or website. Hence why we had to change from room 408 to 206, my wife is afraid of heights and could not walk onto the 4th floor balcony. The building itself looks and feels older with broken floor and stair tiles. There was a lift, which worked ok. The rooms we were given need a serious upgrade (Not just a lick of paint) Rooms 205 to 605 and rooms 206 to 606 were being painted after we were asked to move out of room 206 because of maintenance issues (Leak in roof so we were told.) We were moved next door to room 207. There are issues with damp and not simply because we switched the air conditioning off as it was so loud, there are problems of damp in the whole block. I lived in the Caribbean for a while, never had problems of wet floors if you turn off the air conditioning and open the patio doors during the day! Floors got so wet they were dangerous to walk on, especially at night!. The shower, when taps are turned on, some of the water comes out of the shower head, the rest just squirts out of the tap area. We did always get hot water even during busy times. Didn't try the Jacuzzi, just looks old and faded. Oh, the TV worked ok, the fridge was cold (good) and a little noisy. (restocked most days to be fair!) Patio door lock was broken when we arrived first night. The phone to reception to tell them did not work in fact it didn't work in all 3 rooms! Coffee machine was not working, eventually it was replaced. Bathrobes not supplied until day 3 after we had asked a couple of times. Eventually after asking, a kettle was also provided. In the course of our two week stay, not one single turndown service, minor observation but you are supposed to be a 5 star resort. At Check Out -- You tried to charge us for Laundry service for the leak and damp in room 206, even after you had agreed they would be F.O.C and all the bills were settled and paid for the night before we checked out. We were then made to sign a document before we were allowed to get on the coach (I know it was something to do with the laundry) that's all we had time to read in the few seconds before the coach left. (we had been standing in the foyer talking to other guests for at least half an hour, why they made us sign it seconds before leaving only they know why). Concierge - Lady beginning with M (sorry i cannot recall her name) in the welcome lounge basically tried to lecture me in front of TUI reps about the air conditioning and damp - it was our fault apparently! Sorry, there are damp issues with the rooms in the premium section, we were not the only ones complaining! Restaurants - We had no trouble booking tables in the Ala Carte restaurants via the concierge, all of which were nice, but the Japanese outshone all others. There are several walk up restaurants, (not always open) a couple of times we went at about 7.30pm, to be told it would be an hour and a half wait when you can see that tables are free is not on. (apparently saved for members!) Then told if you arrive a bit later, we can fit you in, to then be told, sorry no more tables tonight at 8.45pm is not acceptable. We loved the Sandwicherie, only open for lunch and late afternoon.Good quality food, but just not enough people serving, 40 minutes standing in line for a pizza and 20mins for a burger is not good. (I know they are cooked fresh, but very slow, needs a cook and a server at least, the staff that were there were working tirelessly!) Staff - apart from some concierge staff and a couple on reception, were absolutely brilliant! even the gardeners are happy to converse, always a smile and greeting, some tried to teach us basic Spanish, was lovely and helped create a nice relaxed atmosphere. Entertainment - There was plenty of things to do during the day, just not many options in the evenings. The Karaoke and Silent Disco was fun, the shows were fine, but fairly short. Just about everything closes by 10.30pm or 11.00pm, so party animals, probably not for you. Oh, don't bother taking any tennis rackets at the moment the tennis court has been damaged by all the recent wet weather. Overall. - we have had a good holiday because of the majority of your staff and the lovely new friends we have met. But as a '5 star resort' you are not! Far from it. Tired, Dated and Jaded. A lot of our complaints are probably small things and inconsequential on their own, there were other things! however one can get to bogged down with the negatives. It certainly was not all doom and gloom, staff were lovely, fabulous views and beaches, premium drinks if you ask for them by name......But when we take the experience as a whole, felt like a real let down. For us, it was supposed to be the holiday of a decade. Sadly, it just wasn't. The premier upgrade was pointless and a complete waste of money.

One of my friends convinced me to come here instead of stay in the hotel Zone and we definitely love it!! This is my new favorite place. Everything is so beyond beautiful, the staff really want you to relax and take care of you, and I really had so much fun I had to recognize some of our favorites staff at the resort: Luis (number 1), Abraham, Maria, Benjamin, Luana and Carlos! Luis made our trip so much fun!! I don’t even want to come if he is not here!!! They are the entertainment team and are SO GOOD. I want to say that you should try to get Ana as the Butler! She would find us anywhere on the resort and ask us questions and confirm what we wanted to help us. She found us a truly amazing itinerary! I used to stay in the “hotel zone” 2 times a year but NEVER again! I will always come back here at least 2-3 times a year !!!!