El Dorado Royale, a Spa Resort - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

17650 reviews

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  Ok resort but not at par with others in this price range

  We stayed in room 1724 from January 11-18, 2025. We booked a beachfront Jr suite, I'm not completely sure this qualified as beachfront, but it was very close to the beach and pool, so we were happy. Once checked in, we discovered the building had no hot water, we had friends in the building as well, and none of our 4 rooms had it. We reported it to the concierge and the front desk, the issue was never resolved. The safe did not work in our room, again we reported it and it was never resolved. We did receive messages telling us our issues had been fixed but that was never the case. The property is quite large, they do offer golf carts to take you around, we opted to walk everywhere, but the golf carts drive very fast and stop for no one so it was a bit tricky getting around. The behavior of the golf carts actually became a running joke in our group! The property is quite pretty with the natural foliage and landscape though you can see it's age. Our building had been newly renovated so that was nice, but we had no jacuzzi as was listed on our booking so that was disappointing. We found the food to be less that appealing. Kampai was the only saving grace. All food was served luke warm at best, lack of flavor, and our group found Rincon to be inedible. The pools are fun and numerous, getting a chair at the main pool is near impossible. The staff suggested getting down to the pool at 7 to put towels out and save seats, so obviously the issue won't be resolved, but there were always chairs at Fuentes pool. The staff at Fuentes pool is very attentive as well. Overall, if you're looking at a resort in this price range, there are better options. We don't see ourselves going back here again, and that's not how we typically feel at the end of an AI vacation.

  Jan 20, 2025
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  Major Disappointment, Look Elsewhere

  We were extremely disappointed - The marketing does not match the reality. Rooms are quite basic not luxury at all. Each of our rooms had various issues - no hot water, a broken phone, poor internet. They limt access to dinner with a near impossible reservation system and friendly concierge will just say “use the app” which doesn't help at all. No hot tubs, plain pools, No swimmable beach area, No convenient grab-go food/coffee access. Limited convenience a/o gist show had insane markups (($51 Usd sunscreen) The only positive were staff were very pleasant. And its Cancun so landscape and weather were nice but please don't waste money here. It is run in a “factory tourist mill approach” - skip it

  Jan 19, 2025
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  We Will Not Be Back

  We’ve stayed in many all-inclusives across the Caribbean, and we’re writing this review with that experience in mind. Off the top, unless you opt to stay in the Casita section (at a higher cost), this resort is definitely not a 5-star property. We’d rate it a 3-star max. Upon our mid-afternoon arrival, we were not offered any cold drinks or food, nor did we receive any orientation to the property. Our room keys were issued by the front desk, along with a brief mention of the resort’s app to book a la carte restaurants. This was a far cry from the warm welcomes and thorough introductions we’ve experienced elsewhere. We were here when the property first opened about 20 years ago. Back then, it was much smaller and had an amazing adults-only vibe. Unfortunately, it seems that as the resort has grown quite large, it has lost much of the personal, intimate feel it once had. It’s now run down in many areas although the food was excellent as were the bulk of the staff members. We booked through Air Canada Vacations and were initially assigned to Room 204, which was supposed to be a swim-up oceanfront suite. However, this room faces directly into the Health Bar, which wasn’t exactly the tropical paradise we envisioned. We asked if it was possible to switch rooms, understanding it might not be feasible. We were told that we could move the following day to another building with the same class of room. We packed up our belongings and were issued new room keys, only to find out the new room had been double-booked with another couple. After sorting out the confusion, we were relocated, but the process took nearly half a day. The resort’s app is not user-friendly, making it more of a hassle than a helpful tool. Another notable issue was the golf carts. This resort is massive, and while golf cart shuttles are offered, they drive way too fast—particularly at night. It became a constant challenge to navigate the property without having to jump out of the way to avoid being run over. We also had several maintenance issues in our room. The furniture was worn and stained, both in the room and around the resort. The dual sinks in our room drained very slowly, the room safe malfunctioned (it took two days to get repaired), and one of our swim-up pool lounge chairs was broken and unusable. It took multiple calls and two days to have it replaced. Overall, while the resort offers a lot of amenities, it’s clear that maintenance and guest experience have taken a backseat to the sheer size of the property. If you're looking for a luxurious, 5-star experience, we’d recommend looking elsewhere unless you’re willing to splurge on a Casita room.

  Jan 17, 2025
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  Our second visit!

  This was our second visit and did not disappoint! The grounds are fantastic and very well kept. The service is unbeatable, the variety of drinks is amazing. The food portions are small so would recommend ordering two lots of everything! The entertainment is what makes the place, the main show is superb and great fun however the ‘live DJ’ has really gone downhill, on our first visit there was another stage where a live DJ would take place until 1am with everyone up dancing. Unfortunately, the hotel now has a big projector screen displaying sports, and no live DJ just the same playlist every night. We didn’t realise it was NFL play offs which meant the evenings were spoilt by everyone standing around what they now call the ‘sports bar’ resulting in zero atmosphere! Some Americans even asked the band to turn their music down so they could listen to the game! We ended up going to bed most nights around 10.30pm. It’s a real shame as the resort needs to cater for everyone, having the sports showing elsewhere would have made it a 10/10 holiday for us. The other bar closed at 11pm which meant there was no other option available. We love this resort and will definitely return hoping they see this review and change the evening entertainment. P.S you will need to tip for every drink made and every meal (even breakfast) if you want continuous good service. One waiter even got funny with us when we didn’t tip at the cafe by the main pool, which was surprising to us considering how much we spent on the holiday. That aside, thank you again for a wonderful holiday! We will be returning.

  Jan 16, 2025
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  Very mixed

  The property was beautiful, the staff were wonderful (particularly Ernesto)and the food was very good and the spa massage was great. I was in building 17 and had no hot water, I was promised I would be moved the day after check in and it took 2 nights to move me. Never received bar soap in the first room, washcloths, water or chips in the first room. The BIG issue was we used the dinner reservation app within 15 minutes of check-in and every restaurant was booked for dinner our entire 4 night's stay. This made waiting around to be at the mercy of each restaurant, each night to try and get in somewhere. This was very stressful to us.

  Jan 16, 2025