Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

We visited Dorado Beach Ritz Reserve for our anniversary in Aug of 2024. The property and room were breathtaking however the services did not live up to the price and expected quality of the stay. My husband and I were highly disappointed in the level of attention to detail and lack responsiveness shown by the ambassador team (Bulter Service). Many of our requests for assistance were not acknowledged or by the time they were acknowledged I had already completed the actions on my own. The ambassador team also did not follow through on many of the actions they recommended/offered. I also did not receive a full tour of the Dorado property and had no idea of all the amenities that were available to us such as the many restaurants that fall outside of the RITZ Reserve portion of the property and the water park and because of this I don’t feel as if we were able to maximize the full potential of our stay. I recommend that RITZ Reserve team provides full tours of the DORADO Property to all of their guests upon arrival (or at lease provide a full listing of amenities and restaurants) instead of limiting their guests too the few options made available to then within the RITZ Reserve boundary of the property.

The best vacation spot that I have ever visited. The beaches were clean. The food was excellent. The service was fantastic. We had breakfast at the main dining area and it was great. The Italian restaurant rivals the best in NYC. Love this place.

To say that this stay was among the best of my life is not an exaggeration. We have traveled extensively, usually staying in Bonvoy properties as we have Bonvoy Ambassador Elite status, and this is among the best places we've ever stayed. I loved how everything here was seamless - there is virtually no signage, with each space simply flowing to the next, and everything is nondescript - the buildings flow to the pools which flow to the restaurants which flow to the beach and so on, with almost no separation between them. (The pool between Positivo and Coa restaurants, in particular, is my favorite pool in the world, with shady spots, sunny spots, a soft granite edge to rest your arms on and look out over the ocean, and beautiful iguanas sunning themselves nearby.) The result is an experience that feels very upscale and luxurious without limitations. This feeling continues as a result of the extremely high level of service here - the on-call embajadors (ambassadors) are amazing, and it seems the sky is the limit as far as what one can request. Ours reached out to us proactively to make dinner reservations each night, then showed up exactly on time to drive us there in the golf cart and pick us up afterwards. One evening, we were discussing among ourselves while in the golf cart home from dinner our desire for additional room keys and popsicles, which were waiting for us at the arrival pavilion without us having to explicitly ask for them. We were able to request specific kinds of fruit for the room, and our need for sunscreen and aloe vera gel, and when one of our kids arrived wearing a Messi jersey, the embajador at arrivals gave us a soccer ball to use for the duration of our stay. When I mentioned my favorite colors, two baseball caps in those colors were given to me by a member of the front desk team. It feels like everyone is constantly looking for ways to delight guests at the very mention of a desire, whim or idea, which is incredible. I'm accustomed to Ritz hospitality and service but this was absolutely next-level amazing and deserving of the "reserve" designation - not to mention the beautiful location. When we encountered a few hiccups during our stay - pretty much none of them the hotel's fault - the hotel was nevertheless extremely gracious, accommodating and responsive in a way that not only helped me maintain my respect for the brand, but elevated it. Our experience was magical due to the service, care and kindness of the people who work here. Upon check-out, as we were driving away I felt emotional because I left with a feeling of having been so well cared-for. When I look at the price tag for a stay, it seems absurd, but to have experienced what that price tag entails, I now understand. The advertising is absolutely correct - you will arrive spellbound, and leave speechless. Thank you to each and every person we interacted with during our stay for your care and kindness towards our family. Several specific suggestions - 1) Book a tour to Frutos del Guacabo for a tour of the farm and a farm-to-table experience - this was recommended by the concierge, and it is an absolutely incredible tour with some of the most delicious food imaginable. The visit inspired me to pursue gardening at home and prepare food more consciously and creatively 2) Book professional photos with Anais of Beach Boho Films so that she can capture creative photos of your family at this extremely special, beautiful place - she was wonderful to work with, so kind, and captured terrific photos with complete respect for my goals for the finished product. (She also recommended Jou of Makeup by Jou to do my hair and makeup for the photos as I had requested - I adored her as well and she did a beautiful job.)

10/10 experience at Dorado Ritz-Reserve. My husband and I took our honeymoon at this resort and it was absolutely incredible. From the moment we arrived, we were treated like royalty. They upgraded us to a west side suite and it was everything. The rooms are amazing, with an outdoor shower which was my favorite part. The property is HUGE! Make sure you go on the tour and rent some bikes as well. It was a tropical paradise. Every single staff member we encountered was truly remarkable. Our ambassadors Trent and Chen made our honeymoon so amazing. Every restaurant was phenomenal, especially Positivo. We ate there twice! I really want to recognize the hard working, passionate, professional employees we had the pleasure of meeting over the 4 days we were there. I apologize in advance for those I forgot to mention. These people were the best part of Dorado Ritz-Reserve. I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the point now! I am counting down the days till I return to this magical place. Ryan- bellman Xavier- bellman Joan- bellman Victor- bellman Valentin- bellman Anaysha- pool host Joanne- pool server Bryan- pool server Ricardo- pool server Roberto- Coa bartender Mario- Coa bartender Tiffany- Coa breakfast server Trevor- guest services

Great Service but hidden costs/price gouging - beware! The good: - Service is fantastic and on par with expectations for a 5-star hotel. Butlers do a particularly good job making sure every need is attended to. - rooms are lovely, especially the outdoor shower in the beach kings. - beach is secluded and pristine - cold plunge and hot pools are very refreshing/relaxing - Restaurants owned by hotel are very good (but absurdly overpriced). -amenities at the spa are fantastic as is the setting - very nice gym facilities The bad: - death by hidden fees… they threw 150$ a night resort fee on the bill without telling us. They also charged 40$ a day for parking without telling us. We only paid 1000$ a night for our room.. a +15% hidden fee is just rude. Tell us upfront, don’t hide this stuff. This is why I will not come back. - the restaurants are truly price gouging. I live in manhattan and am rarely hit with sticker shock looking at prices.. but good lord are COA and Positivo absurdly overpriced (85$ for a don julio 1942! More expensive than any restaurant in manhattan). -Spa amenities were great, the massages themselves were below average. No matter what treatment you select, you will get a low pressure “relaxation massage”. I pinched a nerve in my neck and specifically asked for a deep tissue treatment. 400$ later I was frustrated and still in pain. - hot water in the bathrooms takes 15+ minutes to kick in. We would wake up in the morning and turn on our showers then go back to bed for 20 min to let it warm up. - restaurants not owned by hotel, like Encanto, should be avoided at all costs. Wait staff was outright rude. The manager took notice of our treatment and offered some compensation but we politely refused and simply will not return. Overall, this was a pretty good experience. When price adjusted, it falls into the 3-4 star bucket for me. We have stayed at many 5 star Caribbean resorts, and Dorado beach probably falls somewhere just below the middle in terms of value/experience.