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

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

17829 reviews

• 

  A wonderful stay that is made in many ways by the hospitality of the staff.

  We spent time in December on our 4th visit to Mexico and our first visit to this particular resort. I was a little apprehensive when I saw that one could not swim in the ocean but we absolutely loved our stay. The grounds are immaculate and the rooms, albeit a little dated, are spacious and clean. The staff at this resort are absolutely wonderful. Each and every one are very friendly and welcoming and in many ways it makes the resort feel like home away from home. As we were there over Christmas the Christmas Eve event was spectacular. The food, entertainment and decorations were amazing and we loved sitting outside at large tables sitting with strangers that became friends by the end of the evening. There are lots of activities that we took part in at the resort with our young adult children and they loved it. Can highly recommend.

  Jan 03, 2026
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  NOT SAFE for anyone with food allergies

  I write this in the Cancun airport after cutting our 7 day trip to El Dorado Royale short and heading home after 5 disappointing days. The TL;DR: do no come here if you or any of your traveling companions have food allergies. It is NOT SAFE. My family of 4 - my husband and I and two adult children traveled to El Dorado Royale for a family vacation. I did extensive research into the resort before we booked, specifically around food quality, preparation, and allergy safety, as my spouse has celiac disease and one of my children has a severe peanut allergy. The resort is said to be a gourmet dining experience, with a focus on fresh, local produce and 5-star chefs. We even contacted the resort (through a travel agent) to discuss our allergy concerns. We were repeatedly assured that the staff was well trained on allergy safety protocols, menu items were clearly marked, and our dietary restrictions would be noted with our room number to alert all staff and servers upon our arrival to any restaurant. This was entirely untrue. First, as many reviews explain, you need to make all dinner reservations as soon as you get here. I won’t belabor the point that reservations are hard to get, and when available, at 9 pm or later. I also won’t spend too much time on my opinion of the food overall. I will simply say in our experience and opinion, the food ranged from bad to inedible. The thing about that statement is that everyone has a different opinion on taste, variety, portion, etc. But opinions are irrelevant as to safety. Food allergies are either recognized and addressed or they are not. Every time we entered a restaurant, we were asked by the hostess about allergies, but never once did our server acknowledge the allergy, answer questions about the menu items, or even seem interested in assisting us. We were forced to eat a buffets twice - first at Chef’s Market. Nothing was marked with what it was, let alone what allergens might be present. The hostess stated that the only gluten containing food were the pizzas, which was clearly false as there were pastas, breads, cakes, etc. It was almost as if she through she could just declare items “gluten free” by fiat. It was at Chef’s Market where my adult daughter nearly ate peanut-containing food. Again, nothing is marked. It was sheer luck that she didn’t eat it, as it would have undoubtedly resulted in hospitalization or worse. Following that experience, we spoke to our concierge and were assured that we’d be well cared for moving forward. She’d “put notes in the system” and it wouldn’t happen again. She told us that at any future buffet, the hostess would walk us through to explain what each option was and whether it was safe. Needless to say, this never happened. The second buffet experience was on New Year’s Eve at a special event buffet at Cocotail. This was what ended up as our last night at the resort, and was in many ways our last straw. Again, very few things were marked, and shared serving utensils -or your hands - were the only way to take food. We opted to return to our rooms and eat granola bars we’d packed. Two other dinners were at ala cart restaurants. At both places, my husband was served gluten containing food. At the Mediterranean place (it weirdly appears to have the same name as the Italian place, but a different menu), when my husband ordered the only dessert option that allegedly didn’t contain gluten, he was served a small pie tart. When has asked “does this have gluten” that server snapped “well you ordered right?, so no!” What does that even mean? We ordered breakfast to the room a few times, and it was never correct. Once my husband ordered an omelet and was given a waffle. Again, there are ample reviews here on the food - cold, flavorless, bordering on inedible- so I won’t add to it. I will just say there’s nothing fresh available. The resort claims to grow organic fruits and veggies in a greenhouse on site, but we never saw a fresh veggie or piece of actual fruit anywhere. We ended up leaving 2 days early. This has to be the only all inclusive resort where people leave hungry. We all literally lost weight during our stay! It’s worth noting that the resort’s WiFi blocks TripAdvisor and Yelp. That’s quite a red flag in and of itself.

  Jan 01, 2026
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  Awful food, rude service, unsafe for allergens, overall incredibly miserable experience

  i am genuinely shocked that anyone can come to this resort and leave without feeling like they’re miserable the entire time. First, you can’t make dinner reservations in advance, which means you’re likely to not be able to make a reservation for your first day, and the rest of your days will likely be at odd times (my family eats around 6pm most nights and the earliest reservations we could get for every restaurant were around 9pm). I could look past this if the food was anything but awful, but I quite honestly was not served one thing I would ever want to eat again. The Mediterranean restaurant (which is one of the most recommend on the property) was so bad that I couldn’t even be angry, just incredibly disappointed. Throughout my family we ordered much of the menu, and specifically the Rishita soup, Falafel, and Apple turnover were of the worst food i’ve ever eaten. The soup tasted like straight saltwater, and the falafel wasn’t even clearly made of chickpeas. The closest thing I can compare it to would be three sad looking fried balls of mashed potatoes (served luke warm at best), with a small pile of plain shredded lettuce, and three pieces of stale pita. The apple turnover tasted like applesauce that had been sitting out for days, but I will say the ice cream it was served with was fine. Also, our waiter here was almost the rudest we encountered on the property, and he often gave us sarcastic and cruel spirited responses to questions regarding allergens within the food. We have also tried the health bar for lunch time snacks, la isla for lunch, santa fe for dinner, and the chef market for dinner. The health bar was flavorless and sad tasting, especially considering we were hoping for it to showcase some of the fresh fruit that the resort claims to grow, la isla was fine if you don’t mind soggy nachos and an overcooked burger, and santa fe was probably the best of the dinners we had, despite the fact two members of our family received basically burnt steaks. The chefs market was among the most upsetting to our family. We have one member who is gluten free and one member with a severe peanut allergy. After confirming with the hostess that there were no peanuts in the restaurant, and only the pizza had gluten in it, we set off with high hopes. After making a loop around the buffet, almost every item was mislabeled which made it incredibly difficult to discern what we we’re grabbing, and most of the pots were empty or cold. The gluten-free member of our family saw many other items clearly with gluten in them that were not labeled (such as pastas and other dishes) and the member of our family with a peanut allergy was seconds from eating a prepackaged peanut dessert before one of the other members of our family convinced her to look up its ingredients online. The room service is also incredibly inconsistent, often arriving late, with the wrong food items, or just being canceled all together with no explanation. If you do manage to receive food from room service, get ready for it to be cold and flavorless no matter what you try to order. We also received a meat burger when one of our family members ordered the vegetarian portobello mushroom burger, so be careful if you are vegetarian or vegan coming here. As for activities to do at the resort, there’s almost nothing to do but drink. If you arrive early enough you may be able to grab a chair by a pool, but (especially if you’re not a member of the resort) you will most likely not be able to find a chair on the beach available. I will say that a positive of this resort is the endless stream of alcohol, you can’t really walk more then five steps without walking into another bar. If your plan is to be drunk this whole trip, you might not even care about how awful the food is. But if you plan on traveling as a family, or just don’t want to spend thousands of dollars to be blacked out for a week, you are unlikely to have an enjoyable experience. This was my families first time ever traveling together, and our first time at an all-inclusive resort, so I do recognize that maybe our expectations were too high. But for a resort that prides itself on having high quality food and a kind, welcoming atmosphere, I seriously could not identify a single moment where this felt accurate for our trip. My family spent the entire time wishing we were back home in the freezing cold snow, because at least then we wouldn’t be going to sleep with empty stomachs. I write this not as an argument against the people who enjoyed their time at the resort, as clearly there are many people who do, but as a warning to others who don’t spend this type of money easily that there are most likely better options for you and your family.

  Dec 31, 2025
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  El Dorado Royale: Wonderful staff and grounds at a large resort

  We traveled to this resort from Victoria, B.C., leaving December 7, 2025 and returned late December 17, 2025. We rate this 4.5 out of 5 stars. We would have rated it 5 stars but the lack of usable beach front [rocky, eroded, can't swim in ocean, and unsightly pillars to limit further erosion] caused us to select 4.5 stars. Arrival: Our arrival started with an issue, not the resort's fault, with the transfer agency [Otium] that did not show up to take us to the resort from the Cancun Airport. We called them but they refused. So, we took a cab [overcharged] which Otium finally reimbursed us on our last day. It troubled us throughout our stay - an irritation that should have been avoided. Because of their neglect, we booked the return transfer through Lomas Hospitality, the owners of this resort, and found them to be very efficient and professional. Unknown to us, they would have picked us up at the airport on our arrival if we had booked it with them instead of Otium. A great service and one we will use next time we visit. You live and learn. Room: We did not like the room assigned to us. We spoke with Luiz [assistant manager] who came to the room with housekeeping staff. He left and then called us an hour later - he was moving us in the morning to another room. He gave us a better swim up room close to the beach - it was perfect. Thank you, again, Luiz !! Water pressure was excellent, hot water on demand, lots of bottled water. Unfortunately, no welcome drink in the lobby, or fruit basket, chocolates or alcohol in the room as a welcome. There was beer in the mini-bar. Grounds: Very well maintained. Clean. Spotless. Well groomed. Lush. Spacious. Palm trees everywhere. Thriving plants. Green, healthy grass. Safe walkways free of debris. We walked the property from one end to the other along the main walkway parallel to the ocean at least twice per day - lots of steps enjoyed in the sunshine. We have no mobility issues and even used the great gym. Beautiful property - really loved it. It did rain and the walkways were not slippery when wet - thank you for the umbrella in the room. Drinks: Top shelf all-included. However, not every bar is stocked the same. Though it may not be your favorite Vodka or Rum - it is still brand name and very good. The drawback here is the mix. No Pepsi products. All Coke and Diet coke, which is fine BUT we would have preferred Zero Sugar Coke or Pepsi Zero [no diet aftertaste]. The real drawback here are the juices - the entire resort [except for the morning orange juice at the Cocatal Buffet] does not have freshly squeezed juices - they use a syrup that taste's like a chemical sugar - those drinks are not drinkable. Tried a "Sex On The Beach" but had to dump it down a sink. Tried a screw driver - terrible, dumped it. Settled on Captain Morgan's spiced rum [when in stock] or Baccardi spiced rum or Havana Club rum and regular Coke. Health Bar: A true gem of this resort. We stopped every morning on our walk for a protein shake, or Cozumel, or Bali, or.... Very tasty and blended fresh each time. Ala Cartes: Great options and very good quality. Delicious offerings at every single restaurant. We tried all of them except the Wine Market - ran out of days. Easily, the best meals at ala cartes we have tried at any all-inclusive resort. Buffets: The Cocatal [below the lobby] is just too busy. The lineups are long and just not worth the wait. Aside from the orange juice, skip it - the food was not great. You are better off going to the Chef's Market for buffet food - it was excellent. Better yet, go to Palms or Santa Fe for ala carte breakfast. Really good. The Pools: there a many pools. They are clean and all have a swim up bar. Lots of loungers and bali beds - no issue finding a spot. Drink service is plentiful. The Beach: Obviously not the resort's fault, but we love long walks on the beach. Just not possible here. Luckily, they have a short transfer by van to the Maroma Beach Club - fabulous beach with a very good buffet and drink service. One of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Great staff too. The Staff: This is where this resort truly shines. No request was too much. guests are assigned a concierge [easy to find] who tell you what you need to know about the resort and services and walk you through their "app" for the resort. At our initial room , we were assigned Silvia and she was extremely professional, knowledgeable and friendly. When our room was changed, we were assigned Sarah, who was also very, very helpful. To our surprise, Silvia stayed in touch with us. She texted us almost daily to see if we needed anything. She even came by our room as we were lounging in our swim-up pool just to see how we were and if we needed anything. She also discussed the membership they offer and the perks. We are planning a return trip and we plan to see her on our return about the membership. We met so many travelers who said this was their 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th visit. That says a lot and all pointed to the helpful staff that keep them returning. We simply cannot say enough about the staff and especially Silvia - she made us feel at home and truly cared about our experience. We had an issue with the housekeeper schedule and Silvia corrected it immediately. management is very fortunate to have someone like Silvia on its staff - it is people like her that make this resort a success. The concierge staff work as a team and are there to solve any issues one may have. WiFi: Very good throughout the resort. Conclusion: There are always issues with any destination. The beach is fine for lounging and relaxing. The ocean is not really usable for swimming, snorkeling or walking - but they have Maroma Beach which is very, very peaceful and beautiful. We will go back and look forward to see Silvia.

  Dec 28, 2025
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  Going downhill - staff seems aloof and often rude, and guest experience seems to not be of any importance anymore.

  Service has gotten terrible overall with only a few bright spots. There are a handful of team members who seem committed to providing a good guest experience but overall the staff acts rude, provide terrible service. Servers ignore customers, instead socializing with one another. We witnessed an entire restaurant being frustrated at not getting served in a timely fashion, a lot of food being sent back. Juan, the bartender; Angel the server at Habb were standouts as being extremely guest and service focused and they are both amazing! We witnessed the entertainment staff sending 5 people away who wanted to join the e beach volleyball game because they didn’t want to allow them to “sub in” and meanwhile the staff sat on their phones and chatting with each other instead of being inclusive to the guests who wanted to participate. It was very sad to watch. I’m not sure why staff is permitted to be outright rude to guests and there doesn’t seem to be much management presence on site, and not much care being placed on quality and consistency of food and service. The grounds overall are beautiful and well landscaped, but the property has deteriorated, as has the beach. Unfortunately, the best way to maintain the guest experience is through food and service and there seems to be no care placed on this. I would recommend people try other properties in the area.

  Dec 28, 2025