ORIGINAL MESSAGE / QUESTION / TRIP REPORT:

Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) Posted By Gregory on 06-27-2003 6:49:45am Let me begin this review by telling all of you that I am an attorney in the travel industry- as such I travel alot and have learned to be very critical of hotels and what they have to offer. Arriving @ the hotel- we arrived @ around 10PM when nobody was around except for us and the front desk clerk. Our room was available, however $50 left by me on the counter in plain view of the clerk got us an upgrade from Garden view to Ocean view (room 411 very close to the beach) at no additional charge. The Room- First thing you do, walk in and take the comforter off- as by now you must have all seen the 20/20 special telling you exactly what to avoid in hotel rooms. That being said, the bathroom is absolutely huge, you could have a room-party right there. Ditto for the shower stall. Floors are tile throughout and in great condition. The king bed is definitely oversized, I am 6'5 and with my arms extended couldn't even touch the other side. Lot's of English TV channels though I doubt you will be watching much TV while you are there. Every room has a jacuzzi inside and outside balcony with chairs and hammock- all of which we put to good use. FOOD! Let me tell you that I am somewhat biased because I married an Italian with incredible cooking talents, so it's pretty hard to impress me, but the hotel did. Breakfast in the morning is great, either @ La Isla for a sit down or the steak-house for a buffet. We opted for the buffet as we didn't want to spend extra time @ the restaurant- instead figuring that our time was better spent at the pool. The other restaurants we had an opportunity to visit were the Mexican (great waiter with blond hair), Italian and the Steakhouse- not being big fish people we skipped the Japanese, but it looked like a good deal for those who went. All of the dinner menus offer plenty of choices, in excess of 10 entrees per night. Also offered is dinner on the beach for 2- we saw alot of people trying this one out- I guess that most of them were honeymooners. DRINKS! Never a problem here- the Mexican wine leaves a little bit to be desired so we stuck to the frozen drinks! I have to tell you that the main swim up bar in the big pool leaves a little to be desired in the way of service and quality of drinks made. We found that the best drinks were poured @ the bar near the Italian and Mexican restaurants. The great thing about hanging out at the pool during the day is waitress service- every 5 minutes the same waitress is doing a lap and asking if you need another drink. ENTERTAINMENT- Eh...don't expect a broadway show or Billy Joel. The live band is entertaining- but not really that great as far as cover-bands go. You will quickly find that El-Dorado is what you make of it- that you can just go to dinner or hang out with friends at the bar, or check out the band and nightly entertainment @ Guacamayas Bar...Believe me, you can't understand how great it is to walk around the property @ night and look up- you feel like you can just grab a star out of the sky because they are so close. Incidentals! BRING EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU WILL NEED! If you end up having to buy anything @ the resort store, the only store you can really access unless you go into Playa Del Carmen, you will get bent over and royally screwed. Examples, $30 for simple rubber flip flops, $28 for a bottle of Australian Gold (getting the picture yet). When you check in pray to god that they have not overbooked! We were fine on our trip, but the hotel clerk volunteered to me that they were overbooked by 40 rooms on the last day we were @ the hotel. It had to be a bummer for those checking in- especially the honeymooners. In Room AC- could be alot better- they have the wall mounted interior units and ours dribbled water all day and night- forcing us to keep changing the towel we placed under it. It's a trivial detail but one worth mentioning... I found that throwing the housekeeper $20 at the start of our trip made for an extremely clean room, complete with towels fashioned into all different shapes and flowers all over the room (individual flowers, not bouquets!). If you have a chance to check in @ night, the possibility of you throwing the clerk a few extra dollars for an upgrade is much better- especially if Omar is on duty.... The resort is truly sprawling, in fact so big that they take you and your luggage to the room in a golf cart- a nice touch.... Snorkeling is not too bad- they placed huge sandbags in the water about 10 yards offshore so as to prevent erosion from the considerable waves- these have in turn attracted alot of fish- as has the old pier near the outside bar- go about 6 pilings out and look under the pier, there are some really big fish inside just hanging out.... All in all, a great resort, close to the US and a wonderful staff- always smiling and looking to help....I would recommend this hotel to anyone looking to book in the area.... If you have any other questions feel free to email me....

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - Ken Posted on: 10-04-2003 3:18:18pm ***ATTENTION KELLY- OR WHOEVER ELSE MAY HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED AT THE ELDORADO ROYALE!!! I just booked our wedding/honeymoon with the Casita Suite and was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about it!

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - Lori aka High Maintenance Posted on: 08-30-2003 4:36:27am Sassy,I may be high maintenance.But,calling it a 5 star resort which it was not.We had numerous repairs that needed to be done in our room-we stayed in the oceanfront room.Our room was on ground level and the doorwalls lock was broken and unlocked.I didn't feel safe to have our room open.We called to have that fixed,the jacuzzi tub had huge cracks where the jets so that wasn't working.Our hammock was missing hooks so we couldn't use that.We called down to the front desk to talk to the manager and they didn't know where he or she was.They got our money.Who cares! There was a stench walking around the grounds and I kept asking what that smell was....another couple said it was the sewer-how lovely!-Sassy,maybe you are used to this kind of treatment going on vacation.I am not.My husband and I work very hard to get away and expect to have things working in our room especially when they say the resort was remodaled just recentley.As for tipping I do tip the housekeeping daily.But,we were pestered everytime we were there.I have given up on Mexico-I have stayed at Cancun,Acapulco.Sassy,If you have read the recent trip reports.They feel the same way we do.So I am not alone.~Lori Special hotel and travel deals by TravelNow & CaribbeanMag.com Check rates and compare. Save up to 60%.

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - Lori Posted on: 08-29-2003 11:15:02am Well,Sassy I may be high maintenence.But,I expect a five star runned smoothly-We had a oceanfront room on the ground floor-The doorwall lock was broken,I didn't feel safe to have my room open at all times,The hammcock was broken,The jacuzzi in our room all the jets were cracked and not in working order.This is from a resort that was recentley remolded? We called to talk to the manager and it seemed they didn't know where he or she was. The beach was extremely rocky that you need water shoes.To go in.They had red flags posted on the beach at all times. When I go on vacation I do tip the housekeeping.But every other staff had their hand out. We choose never to go back to the Maya Riveria.We feel more at home in Jamaica or Aruba.

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - Sassy Posted on: 08-29-2003 9:56:34am Don't listen to Lori. Obviously she is high maintenanced. The resort was real nice and you can leave tips if you want, they don't expect it. We were there the beginning of Aug. No sand problems in the room whatsoever. The huge sandbags were out in the water so you can enjoy the beach and snorkle without getting beat to death. We bought time share and will definitly go back. I recommend tipping $1 here and there, especially the housekeeping. They take care of ya. If you want more advice, write me back.

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - KOZ Posted on: 08-19-2003 1:32:15pm Lori that bad huh? What exactly was the problem? Special hotel and travel deals by TravelNow & CaribbeanMag.com Check rates and compare. Save up to 60%.

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - KOZ Posted on: 08-19-2003 1:32:09pm Lori that bad huh? What exactly was the problem?

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - Lori Posted on: 08-08-2003 7:13:03am We just returned too and felt totally oppistite from the original poster-We have stayed at numerous AI resorts. And this one has got to be the worst! A hand out was wanted every step we took.The beach was plain awful. Huge sandbags that looked like beached whales. They provide bottle water in the hotel room refrig. We both got sick. We will never stay there again. We will stick to Jamaica or Aruba.

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - Angela Posted on: 07-19-2003 11:23:59am Do we need to bring bottled water? What other items do you recommend we bring? We are going Aug 1-8. Thank you in advance. Special hotel and travel deals by TravelNow & CaribbeanMag.com Check rates and compare. Save up to 60%.

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - Kelly Posted on: 07-13-2003 1:45:57pm My fiance and I are seriously considering booking our wedding at the El Dorado Royale in January. Was this the one you went to, or just the E.D? What would you recommend-an oceanfront room or a casita? Thanx a lot! Kelly

Re: Just returned from El D (19-25 JUNE) - tejas Posted on: 06-30-2003 4:19:49pm nice review, we will be going to el dorado royale next month and appreciate your comments. we will arrive early evening, so i hope they do not overbook and have our ocean front room for us. any other advice you can offer would be great