El Dorado Casitas Royale, a Spa Resort - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9880 reviews

• 

  Elegant stay, comfortable place

  We have never stayed here before, we were invited by friends that were members. We stayed in the 3200 rooms area/pool 32, our room was very spacious, always clean, and a wonderful outdoor private shower. The swim up bar right outside our room was great and we had a wonderful and very friendly and knowledgeable bartender his name was Alberto and really made our trip a lot of fun.

  Jan 15, 2025
• 

  Disappointing

  I'll start with the caveat that we went to Secrets Akumal last year and that was the absolute nicest and best all-inclusive resort we've ever experienced. Because of that, our expectations were very high. And, to be completely honest, we were disappointed in almost all areas. The only area that was not disappointing was the friendliness of the staff. Every single staff member we encountered was kind. They clearly all work hard and have best intentions. The disappointments were all other areas, therefore. Arrival We were exhausted when we arrived and were told to sit and wait until a golf cart would come to get us. That was fine to wait but it would have been nice to have been greeted with a cold drink (most other all-inclusive resorts do this) or have been escorted somewhere nice. Instead, we sat near a bunch of loud smokers and waited. This is a huge resort, as other reviewers have stated, and you need to go to all of them to experience the different restaurants. It's either a lot of walking - which was fine to us - or a ton of golf carts. They are everywhere and not well lit and sometimes move very fast. I'm honestly shocked we didn't get hit by one while we were there. We were then taken to the Casitas Lounge. Exhausted and already disappointed in the experience so far, it was frustrating to be told to go to one desk for one person to help us and then be told to get up and move down for someone else to help us. We spend about 45 minutes getting things like reservations for the dinner theater and a couples' massage for my birthday. Only later did we find out that they never actually made the spa reservation and we had to do it all over again. We arrived early so were told we would need to wait for our room. That was fine but it would have been nice to have been driven somewhere for a snack, a drink, or even an orientation of the grounds. We wandered around a while lost and finally gave up and found a bali bed to nap on until our room was ready. Dining and Drinks Food was mediocre at best - sometimes even less than mediocre - bland and boring. It was frustrating to deal with the reservation system. Our first night we were so tired we just wanted to eat and go to bed but we couldn't get a reservation until late at night. Drinks weren't all that great - my husband was disappointed that he could only get Coors Light at a couple different bars (no restaurants carried it). I was hoping for something a bit more fresh than jugs of mix for things like pina coladas. Accommodations We paid more to stay in one of the ground-floor casitas so we could have the "lazy river" to a pool. Besides for the fact that the pools were all freezing cold (not the fault of the resort - just cooler weather), I did like the idea of this. However, the one we stayed at had some local stray cats that used the area as a litter box. We were there for a week and their feces were never removed. The room itself was also a disappointment. They are quite outdated and run down. While the bathroom had been updated sometime in the last decade, it was pretty beaten up. The sink I used had many cracks in it that collected grime. The faucets were all broken and corroded. The toilet never flushed properly and we could not get any hot water in the sinks or indoor shower at any point in the week. I called the front desk and they said they were working on it but it never was fixed. Thank goodness for the outdoor shower that was attached or we would never have had a warm shower all week. We got room service a few times (see above comment re: reservations), and had to call repeatedly to get the dishes removed. One of the housekeeping staff moved plates outside for someone to pick up and they sat there for two days before removed - not before the animals got to them, though. Pools and Beach I liked the fact that there were many different pools - some quieter than others so you could get away from the pretty heavy-duty party crowd. I also liked that you had free access to the many bali beds on the beach. We could always find one. There wasn't any service to the beds but we didn't mind walking to a close bar when needed. We aren't huge beach goers so we didn't mind that there wasn't a ton of beach. But that was clear from earlier reviews. Resort and Grounds I was very frustrated that they allowed people to smoke everywhere on the grounds. While there are clear signs and specified areas for smoking, the guests ignored them and no one told them otherwise. The grounds otherwise were beautiful and very well maintained. Again, the staff were kind and generous. I do not blame them for any of these pieces above. These are management and owner issues that should be addressed. I hope this review is helpful to someone else who might want to choose somewhere else to spend thousands of dollars.

  Jan 12, 2025
• 

  A lovely resort but they have many issues and simply no idea how to look after customers. We won’t recommend or go back

  The resort is lovely, beautifully kept and spacious. But …. The restaurants are all inside except the pizza place in the evenings and the air conditioning is fierce set at 16°c. The Italian in The Royale section is probably the worst and they even offer shawls! The food is cold as a result. Sante Fe probably has the poorest food. Breakfast is limited across the resort. Overall it is very good however. If you are a group, we were a party of 6, you have to book well in advance but the booking system once you arrive at the restaurant often gets it wrong and we were turned away on more than 1 occasion. Really disappointing given the online function seems so good. The worst for us was arriving to find the 3 swim up casitas we had booked were not available at all for the duration despite booking directly and paying some 6 months before. We were offered an “upgrade” to family area which is clearly not what we wanted given we had booked an adult only resort. Long story short we had an awful first night in temporary rooms, offered an “apology voucher” which we had to spend in the hotel and given the next category of room down after arguing for hours and hours with the general manager with the promise that we could claim the room category difference back on departure. Sadly that was a lie just to keep us quiet. We were made to sign a document to accept the original apology which apparently removes their full liability despite being told the opposite. So in short, we had an OK holiday in a lovely place but are out of pocket and still being lied to today. A lovely resort, good food and the staff are friendly but approach with caution is my advice. Any issues simply aren’t dealt with openly and fairly.

  Jan 09, 2025
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  Great resort!

  We’ve been going to EDCR for New Years for the last 12 years and this was certainly one of the best trips we’ve had. Casita butlers Hector & Miriam could not have been better! They took care of our every need and went well beyond the norm to make our stay very memorable! Kudos to both! Although Karen and Claudio were not our butlers, they also helped us in every way possible because of our previous relationships with them. Section 32 bartender Alberto and beach butler Alberto were both fantastic in keeping us ‘hydrated’ every day, making sure to take orders from our room pool or wherever we were. Room service for coffee and lunch was tremendous as well. We cannot speak highly enough about the staff at EDCR, including concierge Emi. Thank you!

  Jan 06, 2025
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  Home away from home!

  We spent 12 days at Casitas and absolutely loved it! We had a first floor swim up in building 32. So easy to get to the pool and into the room throughout the day. We had Alberto and Alberto as our bartender and beach butler. Both always had a smile on their face and a friendly greeting. Butlers Miriam and Hector made sure we had an amazing trip. They were super communicative and helped us with anything we needed. Which for us, wasn't very much! The food is definitely above and beyond what we've had at other resorts. We were able to do Chef's Table at Italia Casitas. It's an extra charge but well worth it. We had 5 dishes made just for us and paired perfectly by the sommelier Fabiola. We were excited to see our favorite waiter Jairo! Always great to see him. And now made a new friend in Oscar on our last night. Definitely recommend Casitas if you are looking for a relaxing vacation. Not once did we leave the resort. We were perfectly happy relaxing by the pool or on a bali bed on the beach.

  Jan 03, 2025