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

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

17838 reviews

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  Beautiful Resort, Disappointing Front-End Service

  Resort Overview: The resort itself is attractive and very clean. Rooms are spacious, well maintained, and comfortable. Some rooms are renovated while others are not, but overall room quality was good. Property Layout & Transportation: The resort is very large with little to no signage, making it difficult to navigate. Golf cart shuttles are often full and drivers do not stop at designated pick-up areas, which makes getting around the property frustrating. Food & Dining: Breakfast: Excellent buffet with a wide variety of options. Lunch: Very good selection throughout the resort with options to suit most tastes. Dinner: Disappointing. The only buffet is located at a sister resort, which is inconvenient. All à la carte restaurants require reservations, and despite booking on our first day, the earliest available dining times were after 8:30 p.m. À la carte food was average at best. Pool & Amenities: The pool area is great, and service at the pool and pool bar was outstanding. However, there are not enough loungers available. Too much space is taken up by cabanas, leaving limited seating unless guests pay extra to rent one for the day. Service (Major Concern): Service at the front desk, from Lomas Hospitality, and from the concierge was poor. From arrival onward, staff were unhelpful and failed to provide basic, important information. Lomas staff were consistently unaccommodating and at times rude. The concierge, who is supposed to provide resort orientation and information, was not available until the second-to-last day of our stay. For a large group, this lack of communication significantly impacted the experience. These departments play a critical role in guest satisfaction, and they fell well short. Overall Impression: The resort itself is nice, and the service staff in restaurants and at the pool were excellent. Unfortunately, the lack of support and professionalism at the front desk, concierge, and with Lomas Hospitality negatively affected the overall stay.

  Jan 21, 2026
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  Everything was wonderful except the concierge could have been more helpful. It would have saved us a lot of time in grie

  We spent 5 days Jan 12 -17th 2026. It is a beautiful and clean property. The food was very good. The rooms were spacious, the bed was very comfortable. The shower was amazing with great water pressure. Our waiter Antonio was amazing. They kept our refrigerator stocked with the items we preferred. The housekeeper we had was excellent. I had two instances where I had to call maintenance and they sent somebody within 30 minutes and remedied the situation quickly. The maintenance people were extremely friendly. The issue I had with this property is upon arrival after a long day of traveling, the check-in seemed lengthy. They sent us to the concierge because you have to make reservations for most places that you eat. The concierge was not helpful at all. Nothing was explained. We were a couple days into the vacation and didn't even know that there was an app you could use. We just had a lot of confusion during the trip and talked with other travelers who felt the same way. The initial day we spent quite a bit of time with them but they really didn't tell us anything. This area could greatly improve. The concierge needs to come up with a streamline way to explain the property and how everything works. It's worth stating again how wonderful our waiter Antonio was. He really made the restaurant experience delightful. He is such a wonderful person. My advice to future travelers is to really research how the property works so you don't have any confusion when you get there.

  Jan 20, 2026
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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