El Dorado Casitas Royale Catamarán, Cenote & More Inclusive

The sea is the worst in Cancun. Not only because of zargasos but also for rocks in the middle of it. It ruins the entire perception of cancun. A part from that “small detail” the staff was perfect, food and drinks good. We found a cucaracha under our bed... we were at las casitas.

Good bye EDR! This is my last trip to a once thriving and beautiful resort. The split from Karisma has really taken a toll on the hotel. Occupancy is low and there is a malaise from many of the overspread staff who were once known for the response ‘excellente’! While still beautiful—the maintenance is not what it once was. Restaurants are closed on alternate days and the food quality varies a lot based on location and day. Hopefully, they survive their current situation.

This was our second trip to this resort and several things have changed since 2019. We usually like to alternate between pool days and beach days. There is no longer any beach area where you can get into the ocean. It was washed away in a storm. There are some nice sandy areas where you can sit and look at the ocean. But the view isn’t great due to the large pylons that have been placed to reduce erosion. I certainly understand that, but the view was a bit disappointing. They offer an excursion to Maroma Beach which was included in our price. At Maroma Beach we could get into the ocean, sit in lounge chairs under a palm tree and relax. The food and drinks were still included, and it was delicious. This was a nice day and satisfied our craving for a true “beach day”. Be sure to ask about this because they didn’t tell us about that at checkin or with our concierge. The food and drinks at El Dorado are still the best we have had at any Mexican all-inclusive property. We especially enjoyed the Fuentes Dinner Theater. Get the wine pairing!! The food at La Isla but the pool was amazing too. Don’t miss out on the tacos there. So delicious! We did a couples massage and hydrotherapy one day. It was amazing. My therapist was Angie and she was so good. We had a swim out room and it was really nice to be able to walk out and get right in the “lazy river.” (It doesn’t have any current like a true lazy river). From there we could walk through the water over to the Fuentes pool and belly up to the bar. We were a bit apprehensive about the swim out room..would we like our neighbors? But it was really quiet and we were not disturbed at all. There seems to be a real lack of staffing. At checkin, there were only 2 staff to help. At one point the line to check in was at least 8 people deep, they waited at least 30 minutes. They really need to be more efficient with that. There was NO wait staff to bring drinks or food at the pool. You have to get into the water and go to the swim up bar, or walk somewhere else. That’s a big disappointment compared to our previous trip. Also it seemed like a long wait for a golf cart to shuttle us to the other side. We just ended up walking. We heard from members that there’s new management and things haven’t really settled down since the new folks took over. I hope they improve the staffing…the service was not nearly as good as in the past or at other resorts we have been.

Unfortunately, I am back home after spending a glorious 10 days at EDR. The weather was hot and perfect and the pools were very clean but warm. The great Butler team of Hugo and David was excellent. They are friendly, efficient and never missed a beat of meeting our needs. The members only beach beds were fabulous with great service from Guillermo, Claudia, Jose and Gabriel. They’re always so friendly and take very good care of us. I was worried about the menu change at Kampai, but I thought the food was very good. I miss the sushi, but you can go to Jade if you want sushi. Also, there was a big menu change at Rincon. I never really enjoyed the menu before but the meal that we had one evening with the new Rincon menu was absolutely fabulous. Excellent in fact. We had two wonderful meals at The Wine Kitchen. They have an excellent small beef fillet and all the food is prepared very beautifully and delicious. Overall, it was a 10+ vacation once we walked in the door. But trying to get there is still a maddening experience to try to get reservations and then get them confirmed and all the other steps that were so easy when the website worked. However, overall, the 10 days there were very very positive! It’s still my favorite place to be. I

This is the 9th time we have been to this specific resort and still can’t get enough of it. Not only are the Casitas a taste of pure paradise but the workers make all the difference in your experience at the resort. Benjamin Bautista was our bartender all week at the swim up bar and just made our week fantastic with his attentiveness and excellent bartending skills. If you are looking for an excellent masseuse, Joanna at the Spa Casitas is top notch. I spent 5 1/2 hours in the spa this week getting multiple massages and she can do anything from an extremely relaxing massage to a very firm deep tissue massage. The food is fantastic and even highly recommend Jade at Generations right next door for dinner. You can’t go wrong staying at this hotel.

This is my honest opinion, we haven't been to EDR for 3yrs so decided to have another 2 week vacation as we love feel of the place even though our last visit was a tad disappointing due to the level of food not being to good and the little extras that made EDR stand out from the rest was slowley being taken away..... On arrival no welcome home no cold chilled towels, a sparkling drink given when you checked in.. We was taken to out room by Macaroni nice funny guy.. Room was clean bed comfy and mini bar full with the usual however no little extras that used to be in the fridge (chocolate or banana chips).. Room service menue had been cut by half, the toiletries where cheap used to be Nayspar.. The cosmetic box had a plastic shower cap sanitary bag and small shoe cleaning block.. Many cut backs as far as the room facilities go... Rooms need a doing up not changed since we started comming in 2020 very outdated.. The sliding door was broken on many of the rooms with make shift a lock attached.. Booked all our meals for the first week only availability was 8;30 onwards hence missed most of the evening entertainment... Food in most of the restaurants was substand.. The Italian on royal side was just unpalatable used to be one of our favourites...Cocotal now only serves breakfast no buffet lunch no evening meals.. On a Tuesday most of the restaurants close this caused total mayhem, guests being placed out side on makeshift tables felt sorry for the staff.. Drinks - if you don't ask for top brands you get the cheap Mexican brands.. Grounds are still as beautiful as ever, staff are amazing all of them, our bar man Miguel ( section 28) was amazing and feilex at casita Italian always made our evening fun...They used to be a guy going along the front from one casita to another serving burgers that's now gone.. During the afternoon the beach butler would come round with a cooler box with cold towel water ect that's gone.. All the little special additions no longer apparent shame.. Having spoken to members and repeat guests who have all mentioned bring back JoJos it was the best please just loved spending the evening chating and laughing with other guests.. I hate to write the review but I had to be trueful.. 11 times we have been to EDR so it shows how much it stood out from the rest..... I belive the Martinez family have taken back control hence come on family get this resort back to the level it was..... Coffee machine taken away so you have to buy Starbucks at a very hefty price (NOT A GOOD CALL) All my previous reviews on EDR are glowing however this last vist shocked me and my partner.. I am ever hopeful that things will be resolved ASAP

The hotel and facilities were amazing and we would definitely go back We booked a sea view casitas suite, which to be honest, I would not waste your money on the upgrade - they have no different view than the standard rooms and they are not much different other than detached The only issue we encountered were the pool management around the casita as taking cash from guests in the neighbouring hotel to use the pool and bar which we had paid extra for so we may as well have paid less and stayed in the el dorado Royale next door - we did complain to our concierge but it didn’t seem to make any difference The restaurants and bar were great with a huge selection and we ran out of says to visit them all Overall most staff could not do enough to make your stay memorable and we will deffo go back but maybe not pay for so many extras as not sure they were worth it

We stayed for one week having booked through Tui. Overall, we thought the holiday was excellent value and had a good time and will definitely return to Mexico. Here is our review of what was great and what could have been better. Grounds - The grounds are beautiful and it is clear so much care goes into the upkeep. From the seafront walk from Royale to Generations to the surrounding grounds, it’s a great place to spend time outdoors. Some really cool wildlife too - lots of Iguanas, Racoons, etc. Spa - Outside sky massage at the Casistas spa. Worth every penny (which, given you don’t spend anything much when here anyway, is fine!). Food - Yes the portions are not huge but it’s all inclusive, just order more. All the food was presented and tasted excellent. The quality of the meat and all other ingredients was very good. Highlights for us were the Mexican and the Thai also the breakfast buffet was fantastic - so much choice including cooking stations. Drinks - Premium brand spirits, generous measures, places to get them all over the resort. Stocked and daily replenished mini bar in the room also. Pool - Large, clean, warm enough (once you get used to it!!) and good swim up bars. Entertainment / Activities - Really varied from physical exercise based, food based, drink based (eg cocktail tasting). The three or four guys running this poolside are great ambassadors for the hotel. We really enjoyed the cycle tour too. Room - Our room was pretty basic but it was clean, big enough and the housekeeping service did a great job. However, some things could have been a bit better. Staff - Many of the staff were so friendly, however, many were also not very interested at all and some (older gentleman server in the italian restaurant) just plain curt and rude. Tips did seem to buy more smiles but the smiles should come first. Concierge - This system is so inefficient for booking things. There are so many of these yet there was always a queue outside to get in and reserve meal times. Many places were booked up until late yet had plenty of tables when we arrived. it would be much more cost effective and a better experience to allow Spa and Restauraunt booking on the App and perhaps also show real time queue times and busyness of the eateries. Snacks - It would have been great to have somewhere doing small snacks and ice cream for example as part of the package. If you wanted a snack in the day you were limited to another full meal or room service both of which seemed a bit excessive. Pool - There is only one of the pools at Royale which is in the sun for most of the day and the beds get reserved early so make sure you are on this on your way to breakfast. There is apparently a policy of reserved but vacant beds being reclaimed at 10am but this was not enforced at all - it would be better to do this. One good point, towels are provided (this wasn’t clear when we booked). Weddings- the resort can be taken over a bit by large wedding groups. If

I visited in February 2024 for a trip to celebrate my birthday. I had an unfortunate and dangerous experience that was entirely mishandled by the resort. On my second to last night, the glass door to the bathroom in my room detached from the door hinge and completely shattered. I was standing in the bathroom sink area when this happened so the door hit my head on the way down- luckily I was able to move my hand to block it and move out of the way. However, if a small child or a shorter person had been there they would have been seriously injured, as the door was extremely heavy and broke into thousands of pieces. I understand the resort did not intend for this to happen. However, the negligence of the glass door not being securely attached to the hinge created an extremely dangerous situation. I got a single “it was an accident, sorry” from one of the people who came by to help clean up and that was it. I was not offered any type of compensation for this extremely scary and hazardous experience. If I was a manager at a resort and this happened to one of my guests, I would be absolutely mortified and would have without a doubt offered at least some sort of refund. They claimed they did not have another room to move me to for that night, but “they would check” and get back to me the following day for the next night. It is surprising to me that in the entire three-resort property there was not a single other available room. Regardless, the following day was my last night there and my actual birthday, so I had multiple activities planned. I did not have the time to wait for them to decide if they had another room and then go through the inconvenience to pack and unpack into a new room for the one night I had left. I had a scrape and bruise on my head and cuts that were bleeding on my hands and feet from the broken glass. They brought by a lifeguard to bandage me and asked if I wanted to see a doctor, which I declined. The person I was sharing a room with is a Physician Assistant so she was able to assess the situation. Luckily my injuries were minor, and this is not my issue as I declined further medical attention. However, I am highly disappointed and appalled that I paid for a luxury resort and was not refunded for any portion of my stay. This situation is absolutely unacceptable and does not showcase the company’s dedication to their guests’ safety or satisfaction.