El Dorado Royale, a Spa Resort - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

17838 reviews

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  Returning After 20 Years: A Realistic Look at the Expanded El Dorado Royale

  My spouse and I first visited El Dorado Royale for our honeymoon in 2006. Returning in January 2026, we found the resort has significantly expanded with the addition of Casitas and Generations. While it is still a beautiful property, it is much less intimate than it used to be. The sheer size and layout now create some logistical frustrations that travelers should be aware of. The "More Inclusive" Perks (The Best Part!) Because this is a "More Inclusive" resort, you have access to incredible excursions that you can do as much as you want, provided there is availability. We wish we had known how much better Maroma was; we would have gone 3 or 4 times. • Maroma Beach: This is the highlight. A 15-minute coach bus takes you to a stunning sister property with a beautiful, swimmable beach. You must reserve this in advance as seats are limited. • Included at Maroma: You can book a free 3-hour catamaran and snorkel tour (gear included) at 9:30 AM or 1:30 PM, plus a free 15-minute Sea-Doo ride. • Other Activities: Separate from the beach trip, you can also book free horseback riding or a cenote visit. The Beach Reality: Read Before Booking If you are a "beach person" who wants to walk out of your room and swim in the ocean, book somewhere else. This resort absolutely does not have a swimmable beach. The entire shoreline is covered in massive concrete triangle blocks to prevent erosion. While there are some beds in the sand to lay on, the water access is completely blocked. If you're happy with pools and good food, and just want one or two scheduled beach days at Maroma, this might be for you. Liquor & Drinks We aren't fans of sugary drinks, so we appreciated the quality brands available if you know where to look. • Pool Bars: Serve Antiguo de Herradura, Flor de Caña, Beefeater, Tanqueray, Bombay, Stoli, and Jim Beam. • Other Bars: Outside of the pool area, you can find much better liquor, though it is often hidden so you have to ask for it. They have Don Julio Blanco and Reposado, 1924 Tequila, Hendrick’s, The Botanist, Grey Goose, Belvedere, Johnny Walker Black, and Maker’s Mark. * Other Drinks: Beer options include Dos Equis, Coors Light, Heineken, Sol, and Tecate. They also have Aperol available for spritzes. Dining & Logistical Frustrations The resort is massive. There are only two buffets: the Royale buffet is only open for breakfast. The only nightly buffet is at Generations. Because the resort is so spread out, you can't really walk to the other side; you have to wait for a golf cart. While the wait is often 15 minutes, we sometimes waited 20–30 minutes for a ride, followed by a 15-minute commute to dinner. • The Reservation System: This was a major downside. They make you sit with a concierge for almost an hour on your first morning. Even then, we didn't really get to "pick" our restaurants. Often, there was only one restaurant option and one time slot available per night. We wanted to eat at 7:00 PM, but were usually stuck with 8:30 PM or 9:00 PM. • Restaurant Scores: D’Italia Casitas (8/10), Rincon Mexicano (8/10), Kampai Thai (7.5/10), and Santa Fe Steakhouse (5/10). • Room Service (8/10): We waited anywhere from 30–60 minutes. The food was mostly hot, though it depended on the timing of the order. It covers basics like burgers, pizza, pasta, and wings. Room & Service The rooms are nice, but we had no hot water for a few days and toilet trouble. Management was not very responsive and did nothing for our anniversary despite being told three times. However, the daily staff (waiters, bartenders, and drivers) are all very kind and hardworking. Final Verdict We enjoyed the food and the staff, but next time we will book somewhere else that has an actual swimmable beach and doesn't require a frustrating dinner reservation system.

  Jan 17, 2026
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  You Do Not Get What You Pay For

  The property was absolutely beautiful. Our bartender, Clemente, and the shuttle drivers made things especially fun. However, for the price, there were a good deal of "misses". I was very clear in making my arrangements (much in advance as I was attending a wedding) that I required two beds. Upon arrival, Maria informed that although the request was in the system, it is "simply a request". She stated that the hotel "makes no promises", and no rooms with two beds are available. After every bit of twenty minutes, thankfully I was provided with a room (1015) with two beds. I was not informed of the concierge service and was given a map that was so small it was difficult to read. After several days, I stopped in to see a concierge to make arrangements for dinner two days in advance. Much to my disappointment, the only availability at any of the restaurants on a Monday was 8:45PM or 9PM. As a result, I never experienced any of the finer restaurants for dinner. My next experience with the concierge was less than impressive. I called for assistance in making arrangements to check out and schedule a shuttle to assist with bags and drive me to the lobby. I was told that I needed to pre check out at the desk, make arrangements with the Bell Captain for the shuttle, see the staff in blue to arrange for a ride to the airport, and check out again at the desk on the day I was leaving. After several days, I met a guest who forwarded me a QR code that described the restaurants, outlined their menus, detailed activities, etc. I could not find this information on the website or otherwise. The coffee pot in the room had to be replaced, the air conditioning could not be adjusted to a higher temperature, drain flies surrounded the bathroom sinks, and coffee and creamers were provided with no stirrers. Lastly, for some reason, on the last day, my room was not cleaned. I went to the front desk to report that it was not a problem and request two clean towels and coffee creamers. It became a huge deal and took multiple phone calls to make this happen. I provided my cell phone number and requested a call from a manager, that has yet to take place.

  Jan 16, 2026
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  Beautiful Property. Horrible Management.

  Travel to and from hotel a nightmare. 3 hours from getting through customs to arrive at airport. 8:25 departure from hotel and finally left at 9:30 leaving 3 of our party standing in front of lobby and having to pay extra for limo (even though seats were available on our van!!) Property beautiful but... No access to water (Rocks & Boulders). Beach VERY average. Concierge not helpful only interested in selling. If property at all busy, IMPOSSIBLE to get dinner reservations before 8:45pm. One bar with a TV, opens at 5 or 6pm. Awful to watch a sporting event. Very limited seating and all views of TV ore obstructed. It's a shame because a beautiful property with many good qualities. Only come if you don't want a nice beach, don't want to watch any sporting events, and like to eat a late dinner.

  Jan 15, 2026
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  Serious issues and inconsistent service

  Unfortunately, our stay was far below what we expected from a hotel of this level. We experienced the disappearance of items from our room, a very serious issue that was not satisfactorily clarified by the hotel management. This situation caused significant inconvenience and greatly affected our sense of security during the stay. In addition, the concierge service was poor and unhelpful. We received little to no information about the hotel’s facilities, restaurant reservations, or available services. Even the guest app — an essential tool for reservations and information — was only discovered on our second-to-last day through other guests, not through the hotel staff. As positive points, the restaurant staff were polite and attentive, and the food quality was very good, which helped partially offset an otherwise disappointing experience. Overall, the experience was well below the expected standard and value for money. Based on our experience, I would not recommend staying at this hotel.

  Jan 14, 2026
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  Not 5* but still good

  We went there from December 26th to January 2nd. It's not a 5-star, but I would still recommend it. There is so much activity, and it'S one of the cleanest resorts I have ever been to. Activities: The best part of this resort is all of the activities. We did riffle shooting with Dulce, which was so great! We did archery, tequila, and Mezcal tasting. There is a foam party, beach, and water volleyball. You have pickleball and tennis. My favorite activity was the bike tour with Eduardo in the morning. I recommend it early in your stay because he shows you around the 3 resorts and you can ask all of your questions. The other thing that we didn't get to do because we weren't prepared was the bike tour in the jungle. Bring an old pair of shoes and a lot of bug spray for it. Looks really fun! More inclusive: If you have the more inclusive option, I recommend taking advantage of it. We went on a catamaran at Maroma Beach. You leave the resort at 8:30 and only come back at 5. They lend you towels with a deposit of 10$. I would advise you to bring one from the hotel because the towel place closes at 4:30. So if you do the catamaran in the afternoon, you might come back too late. Once you get there, there is an excellent buffet and bar. You get to enjoy the beach all day. It was pouring rain, and I even needed to come back earlier because a storm was beginning. They lend you the snorkeling equipment. We were able to see a lot of fish and a turtle. You get to visit two spots. There is an open bar on the catamaran. It's really a fun party to be at even. I also heard good comments on the aqua park in the Nickelodeon section. Rooms: We were in building 51. The rooms were fine and very clean. We had a hammock, a sofa, and two chairs outside. The fridge was refilled every day with water and beer. Towels were changed every day also. Nothing to say about the housekeeping. It was always clean. We had a problem with our safe, and 10 minutes later, security was there to help us. Pools: There are so many pools with bars. The only problem is that there are not enough chairs, and they do not have the space to add more. People were putting their towels on the floor. First time seeing this in my life. Some pools are more relaxing than others. You get to choose whether you want a more party vibe or just to relax in the water. Beach: Yes, the beach is kinda destroyed. But honestly, it's not that bad. You can't have a long walk on the beach like in other places, but the resort is so big that you can have a 40-minute walk there. Bring your snorkeling equipment! There are so many fish to see. I would recommend water shoes for this beach. The water was really hot for December. We spent more time swimming there than at the pools. Food: The food was sometimes excellent, sometimes very boring. If you can, skip the buffet at night. First of all, you need to walk 20 minutes to get there if you can't have a shuttle. When we got there, the food was empty and tasted like nothing. Really thw worst food on the resort. Indian → very good. Very spicy! You can ask for a small portion of everything on the menu to taste it all. It was so fun! But our server never came back for dessert? This was weird. Kampai: Very good Thai food. Excellent soup and sushi. We recommend it! Nothing to say about it. Italia: MUST DO. The mushroom risotto was excellent. You can't skip this one. Mexican: We did it for breakfast and for dinner. Breakfast was always good. You had a small pastry, and I always had the omelette and fruit plate. Very good place to have breakfast with the server Sami. Dinner was kind of disappointing. I had higher expectations for the food. It was dry and didn't taste a lot. What made the night more fun was our server Sheila. Such a sweetheart. Santa Fe: We had the best server. I can't remember his name... The food was okay, but there is better steak in another restaurant, which is weird because it'S the steakhouse. You can get tacos at the Spot places. The restaurant La Isla was not very good. The best lunch place is by the beach! A sandwich with pork and a roasted pineapple. There is also a place to go get ice cream during the day on the casita side. The health bar has very good smoothies and juices. Service: The service was fine. We had a good concierge to make all of our restaurant reservations. Check-in and check-out were fast. When we had a problem with our safe, it got resolved very fast as well. There is no one on the beach to help you set up like the other El Dorados that we did. One very weird thing is that it happened more than once that servers didn't want to make us a latte after dinner. We were 7 people, so we had 2 different tables. Sometimes one table was able to get some, and the other table was told that they don't have any?? Even in bars where we could see the machine, and the day before we had one, but another day they don't want to do it. Bars: You have so many choices. I had the best service at the Sling bar. Ask for a rainbow shot! The parties are at the bar next to where the shows are. There is also a small snack place that opens after. We never got to go to a show because all of our dinners were at 8, and the shows are at 9-9:30. NYE: They will try to sell you a table, but there is no point in it. The show is still accessible for everyone, and the bars are as well. You just buy to be able tos it somewhere. We didn't care, we danced all night and had good drinks. No fireworks, but very good music and entertainment. Cons: My negative point is that the only buffet at night is really small. We had to wait 1 hour to get in, and we ended up eating almost nothing because there was nothing left. This is not normal. I heard people trying to get in a la carte restaurant because the buffet was full. It doesn't make sense at all. Then the chairs, every chair was taken by 8 am. People were sitting on the floor or directly on the beach. They don't put enough chairs, and there are still plenty of places to add more. My last comment is that there is no snack bar just to grab something and leave. You need to be seated and serve like any restaurant. I wish there were a snack bar where I could grab something and leave. The service is so slow, lunch takes at least an hour every time.

  Jan 14, 2026