El Dorado Royale a Spa Resort by Karisma - Adults

Just got back from a wonderful week at this lovely resort! Pros- there are many great pools! We found our favorite by far was on the far El Dorado Royale side by the Mexican restaurant. Great shuttle service! We really loved our room in building 5400! Maid service was always done well. Our concierge- Tony, took care of all reservations and got us times we wanted. Day trip to Maroma beach was well worth it and included! Short bus ride (15 min tops) and an amazing white sand beach with turquoise water. 2 hour catamaran boat ride and snorkeling included plus drinks on the boat. Lovely meal on the beach too! I love that none of this cost us extra! Best food- breakfast at the Mexican restaurant by far! Sit down breakfast- delicious! Sami was the best server! Fantastic! Best lunch place- place on beach on far side of El Dorado Royale. Try the tiki sandwich- yum! Our favorite dinner places were the Italian and Wine Kitchen ( that one was at Generations). At the Italian Oscar was a FABULOUS server! Try the beef filet and salmon. Their seafood soup was outstanding too! Don't miss out on their chocolate cake- to die for! At the Wine Kitchen we had the fillet mignon and it was delicious! Very cool atmosphere! Shout out to Caroline who also worked in the concierge office near building 5400. She knows her stuff!! She set up our shuttle home with no problems. The Health bar is a must! We enjoyed their milkshakes daily and would sit on the swinging bench right across on the beach. Cons-the beach. You just can't swim there. But, once you get past seeing the big cement blocks and one part that smells stinky from seaweed- you get past this. Lack of signs- it took us about 5 days to really figure things out as far as where things were and what activities were going on. The app you download is kind of helpful. not great though. They did offer an included bike tour which might have been helpful because they take you around and show you all three resorts- but I really didn't want to wear a helmet on such hot days so we passed. Very rude bartender at Generations by swim up bar. Wish I had his name! Entertainment- it was mid. The first night we were there the main act was really good- wish I could remember their name. Another night there was a great band in the disco area after the main act. The Dreams show was really good! But, overall the entertainment was so so. We love to try new resorts all the time and would recommend this one!

We stayed at Eldorado Royale Feb 28- March 5th and wanted to share an honest review. Overall, the resort itself was beautiful — very clean, well maintained, and the food quality was actually great for most of the trip. The staff were friendly sometimes and the property had a really relaxing atmosphere. For the majority of our stay, everything felt like the kind of vacation you hope for when booking an all-inclusive. 🌴☀️ Unfortunately, things took a serious turn near the end of our trip. On the second-to-last day, we contracted salmonella, which quickly ruined the remainder of the vacation and made the trip home extremely difficult. Getting sick while traveling is bad enough, but foodborne illness at a resort is especially concerning. While the resort itself has many positives, situations like this shouldn’t happen at a place serving hundreds of guests every day. Proper food safety protocols and staff accountability are essential at any all-inclusive resort. I truly hope management takes issues like this seriously and reviews their food handling procedures so other guests don’t have to go through the same experience. The resort has a lot of potential and many good aspects, but guest health and safety should always come first. I’d strongly encourage management to improve oversight and food safety practices moving forward. ⚠️ Just sharing this so other travelers stay informed and so the resort hopefully takes steps to prevent this from happening again.

El Dorado Royale review - Overall we had a fantastic time, but wanted to give our perspective on some of the issues since Lomas taking over. We had many positives but also negatives, as with any resort. The resort is very beautiful, although it is quite spread out. We all felt they really need much better signage given how large the property is. Some of the restaurants are just hidden in the property, so you really have to know where you are going. We truly appreciated the incredible staff. There were so many wonderful employees that truly catered to us and made our stay very special. I do believe the employees are why they have many repeat guests. Check-in was smooth and efficient, and we were pleasantly surprised that our room was ready upon arrival. The grounds are beautifully maintained, and we loved the variety of pools and activities available. The activity coordinators did an excellent job. The golf carts are helpful for getting around from time to time, but they can also be a bit of a nuisance when you have to constantly move out of the way while walking around the resort. I had visited the resort previously for a conference, so I was familiar with its size. During that stay, all dining had been pre-arranged. This time, however, securing dinner reservations was our biggest frustration. I went to the concierge desk at least three times in unsuccessful attempts to book reservations. I had even contacted the resort before arrival and was assured it wouldn’t be an issue because we had a group of 8, but that was not the case. I spent a significant amount of time trying to arrange dining for our group. I was able to pre-book one reservation at Fuentes before our trip, which thankfully worked out. Even so, we felt the need to double-check that it was properly scheduled because when we would ask, no one could see if on our reservation, which seemed odd. We did this with the wine pairing, and the experience was really incredible, so I would definitely recommend if you have guests heading there. I felt the cost was worth it. My friend was having her birthday, and she said it was her best adult birthday ever! We were only able to confirm one additional reservation at Santa Fe. Otherwise, the only available dinner times were around 8:30–9:00 p.m., which simply does not work for our group. We even tried splitting into smaller groups, but accommodations still weren’t available. It shouldn’t be this difficult to secure dinner reservations, and it was frustrating to spend so much time trying to book something that never materialized. Availability seemed nonexistent throughout our entire stay. I would mention that when I was in the concierge lounge one day, I saw another couple's reservations on the desk all for 6:30 pm, and I inquired how they were able to secure those. They claimed that because it was only 2 guests, it was easier. So then I asked her to check for us 2 x 4, and still nothing until after 8:30. I can't figure out how they divide those up, other than we tried getting reservations upon arrival and they wouldn't let us, so then we had to wait until the concierge arrived the following day. The competition for pool chairs was another frustration. We ended up renting a Bali bed each day just to ensure we had seating by the pool, which was disappointing since it required an additional cost of $100/day, but I'll say it was worth it. The wait staff were just phenomenal, so we didn't mind splitting that cost between the couples. It's just not something we've ever needed to do elsewhere. The breakfast buffet was outstanding, with a wide variety of options. The breakfast tacos and omelets were especially delicious. Lunch options, including the pizza and tacos, were also very good. In fact, the pizza became one of our favorites, though unfortunately, we had to have it for dinner one night due to the lack of reservations elsewhere. Santa Fe, that we were able to get into was average. Some in our group enjoyed their meals, while others did not. Overall, we felt that other resorts we’ve visited have offered better and more diverse dinner options. Breakfast and lunch were great, but dinner fell short. The options felt lackluster compared to what we’ve experienced at other properties, which was disappointing. I had a massage, and one of my friends did as well. I had made a reservation for myself, but they apparently put me down for two and I didn't realize it. As such, I gave the other one to my friend to use. I should have noticed they put two on the receipt, but I missed that, and they said I had to either use it or I would still pay, so I didn't argue. As we were departing, we were encouraged to purchase another vacation package at a discounted rate. I thought this was interesting, because we were standing in line to check out and he was showing us options for a 30% discount. So in addition to the timeshare, you have to warn guests of this. Given the ongoing issues with restaurant availability, returning to this property would be difficult to justify. The grounds are great, service overall was exceptional. Our servers, bartenders, and room attendant were all outstanding. We truly couldn’t have asked for better service in those areas. In summary, the resort has a beautiful atmosphere and exceptional service. However, due to the dining challenges and lack of accessible pool seating, I would hesitate to recommend it until those issues are addressed. I was a little disappointed, as I've sent so many clients here through the years, but I think the changes with Lomas did not help.

Large soft big bed tables chairs couch Big jacuzzi tub High quality liquor selections Entertainment team was excellent Haybraham was friendly and good at organizing activities. Luis from entertainment team is very experienced and speaks English very well. Luis does a great job managing the gym and keeping it clean and well stocked! He organizes volleyball and other activities and is always smiling and helping everyone have fun!

Disappointing Stay – Serious Issues with Service, Safety & Value We stayed at El Dorado Royal for 10 days in February as a couple, and unfortunately our experience fell far short of expectations. The most significant issue throughout our stay was poor communication and unreliable service. Each block of rooms has a dedicated concierge, who is very pleasant but, in reality, completely ineffectual. Requests were either forgotten or took days to action. For example, we asked for extra pillows early in our stay — they still hadn’t arrived by the time we were about to leave. We also requested that pre-arranged room service (morning coffee) be discontinued, as I had brought my own coffee. Despite multiple conversations, this continued. There was also a serious safety issue. There was a large hole in the ground near one of the swimming pools, which I unfortunately fell into. There was no apology from management. The on-site medic charged US$150 simply to tell me to go to hospital. Four days later, the hole still had not been repaired and remained a risk to other guests. We raised our concerns with both the TUI representative and the chief concierge. The response was disappointing and lacked accountability. Adding to this, we were charged $170 for a Valentine’s meal that we were unable to attend because my husband became acutely unwell that day. We cancelled at the last minute due to illness, yet the charge was still applied. Given that we had only eaten within the hotel during our stay, this was particularly concerning. In terms of food generally, we found it underwhelming. It did not feel authentic Mexican, much of it was served tepid rather than properly hot, and overall it simply wasn’t that tasty. On more than one occasion we felt we could have made better ourselves at home — even something as basic as spaghetti bolognese was uninspiring. The ambience in most of the restaurants felt more like a canteen than a pleasant, relaxed dining experience. Room service options were limited, and none of the restaurants offered takeaway — even at breakfast, which felt unnecessarily restrictive. We also felt there was constant pressure to purchase additional services, particularly massages, which were extortionately priced. The more attractive Bali beds by the pool are not included — you have to rent them. Even the on-site Starbucks costs over £5 per coffee, which feels excessive at an all-inclusive resort. The main pool area was very noisy, with loud dance music and most organised activities concentrated there. If you’re looking for a peaceful atmosphere, this may not be the right fit. The resort’s booking system, which operates via a web-based page (rather than a proper app), was supposed to be used to book restaurants but simply did not work at all during our stay. This made dining arrangements unnecessarily frustrating. In addition, the system was restrictive — we were unable to download any content onto our iPad to watch on our return flight, which was inconvenient and disappointing. We also felt the marketing images on the website are not truly indicative of the current reality of the resort. Overall, this was not the luxury, seamless experience we were expecting. While the staff were generally polite, the lack of effective service, poor communication, unresolved safety concerns and poor management response made this a disappointing stay. This did not reflect the 5-star luxury experience the resort markets itself as.