El Dorado Seaside Palms, By Karisma

We went to Seaside Palms the week of April 19, we were two couples. We had booked a beachfront suite, when we arrived we were told we had been "upgraded" at no cost to the premier building. When we first went to the room the only "view" we had was of the top of palm trees from the third floor of this building, as we had paid extra for the beachfront we were not happy. We were then offered two rooms on the 6th floor with an amazing view. However they charged us approx $350 CDN for the room for the week. They said that even with a beachfront suite we weren't guaranteed a view?? Not sure how a beachfront suite wouldn't have a view. Just a heads up as we had read that you don't always get the room category you booked. After about another two hours we were able to get in our rooms. The room was very spacious, the bathrooms are huge, separate shower and a lounging tub, there was heat pump for the AC the room was always cool, small mini fridge, coffee maker, tons of closet space. The balcony had two chairs and a day bed overlooking the Privlege pool and pool bar. The grounds are spectacular I have never been to a resort so lush, there are fully grown palm trees everywhere, a beautiful orchid garden and greenery everywhere, there are coatis, two sweet kitties, some reptiles and many beautiful birds. I truly can't express how beautiful the property is. The beach, well we knew going in that it wasn't your typical mile long white sand beach but we truly enjoyed the beach everyday. We always found chairs, one of us would go down before breakfast sometimes around 8 am and grab a few, there were always bali beds available. The first few days their was very little sargassum the last few it came with a vengence but the staff worked so hard everyday to clear it we could get in the water, the water is only waist deep but it was beautiful and warm, there are some rocky areas but we found spots to walk in with no water shoes. The fish swimming around you everyday was very cool. The food was amazing, I can't imagine how can anyone can say they can't find anything to eat. We ate at Arecffes buffet for breakfast every day but one, There was always lots to eat, the omeletes were great and the taco bar was amazing. One morning we ate off the menu at the Culinarium, the menu was good and everyone was happy with their meal. We ate at the beach barbecue daily, the pizza was our favorite, the burgers and the burritos delicious as well. and having Guacamayas bar right there was perfect, my only complaint would be that there was not enough seating outside the bar area, just the swings, a little hard to eat on a swing. We also went to the barbecue on the other end of the beach for lunch one day, chicken, ribs, burgers etc, When we first arrived we could not get any reservations to any of the restaurants until 930 pm on our second last night. So for dinners we ate at the Gourmet Pub two nights, We ate at the Mexican night and at the Seaside Suites Italian dinner one night. On our last night we ate at Mia Casa, we walked over around 7pm and the host got us a table right away, that was definitely the highlight, Beautiful restaurant and great food and drinks. You must go to Mescalitos for the "flower pot" drink. The staff is amazing, I don't think there was one person I could say never smiled or said Hola when you saw them. Overall we had an amazing trip and it really felt safe and a bit like home there, other than the room glitch we have no complaints. I think we will be back.

I cannot understand anyone giving this resort anything but 5 star. The staff, the resort and the food are excellent. The staff are all very friendly and will do anything to help. Everyone greets you. I went for early morning walks as the staff were coming on duty and every one said 'hola'. The grounds are beautiful, so well maintained and full of wildlife. The food is great. You can have a la carte or buffet food for breakfast, lunch or dinner and there is so much choice and a high standard. Loved the vegan restaurant. We had room service a couple of times when we were going out early and the food and presentation were perfect. On arriving I was disappointed that there was only a coffee machine and no way of making tea, so I asked for a kettle and one was promptly delivered. The room only has coffee mate so I was getting milk from the restaurants but when I had forgotten we ordered room service just for a pot of tea and it was delivered! Exceptional service. Elli (hope that's right, a mayan chap in the Arrecife restaurant) was very special and spent time to chat with us. That is the difference with this resort - you feel the staff have time for you. I have read a lot of reviews about lack of sunbeds but I can't understand this, if we rolled up at midday there was a bed. Only tiny complaint is that the beds could be more comfortable but all in all this is minor when you consider what is on offer here. The staff deliver drinks to the beach constantly even though it's always only a short walk to a bar. The guys that clear the sargassum work so hard all day! There are plenty of activities to keep you occupied if you feel the need. We went on a Tui 5 star holiday last year and this place is on another level. The room was cleaned to a high standard every day and Azul also added extra touches like putting all our bathroom items on a towel to keep everything neat and tidy and we had a lovely dinosaur on the bed on our last day! Thanks go to everyone at El Dorado Seaside Palms for making this a perfect holiday.

EL Dorado Seaside Palms you did it again !!! Absolutely incredible resort !! beach front ground floor Palms side stay !! our room was spotless clean !! IF your looking for that resort tropical feel it’s the Palms side. our cleaners daily left wonderful decorations on our bed ! I cannot say enough about the grounds of this resort fully mature coconut grove .. gives visitors an escape from the sun when needed !! beach beds all included we got one right out front daily !! We are beach people not pool people so it was a wonderful part of the beach for swimming daily .. although the pools are amazing we just love the ocean … Food - was amazing at all buffets good change up Mexican fiesta , fire shows buffet and reg buffet bbq on beach was amazing and fresh .. Asian restaurant and Mexican were just okay-need a little work on the restaurants the other food was amazing so don’t panic if you can’t get reservations food is better in buffet or beach bbq .. Entertainment - was fantastic immerse yourself in it all and just have fun dance even when you don’t dance just do it !! Friends - shout out to all the Canadian’s, UK, USA it’s what it’s all about meet everyone from everywhere !! Immerse yourself in to all the things you would normally not do !! EL Dorado you do it so well !! Private beach no public leaves you feeling extremely safe .. never have to worry about that at this resort theft is not a thing very safe Thank you Eldorado again for another incredible trip see you again in a year

Third stay, bang on as always. Luis and Jose were great members of the day entertainment team The food was excellent, plenty of choice and everything was very fresh Rooms were super clean, fridges stocked everyday. We had a very minor problem in our room with our shower head - it was sorted within an hour Very good gym, well stocked and clean - advertised as open 7-7 but is accessible all the time

A peaceful, relaxing location with very friendly staff, very lovely gardens Rooms clean and well maintained, large bathroom and plenty of storage space. ( only a coffee machine, no kettle) Our room was above a swim up bar so was very noisy if you wanted to sit on your balcony , but was quieter after the bar closed at 6pm ( also the loud ‘hum’ from jacuzzi baths in adjoining rooms was noticeable) My main issues were with the restaurants; we were never able to book a speciality restaurant ( unless we wanted to eat at 9pm) which meant we were left with the buffet or the pub, neither of which were particularly ‘bad’ just not at all inspiring snd unfortunately, the food was at best, tepid. Choice of dessert was basically cake or mousse in some format, no fresh fruit or ice cream, ever There was just no ‘wow’ factor for me and to be honest, it’ll probably be the reason we won’t return to the hotel ( having said that, both the BBQ and the Mexican night were perfectly executed, a lot of very hard work to set them up) I think maybe there were insufficient waiting staff? teas and coffees at breakfast were not part of the buffet service so you were often half way through your breakfast before getting a drink, which is no criticism of the staff, who were on the go the whole time. Bizarrely, there was no salt or pepper on the tables and often wasn’t forthcoming if requested While we were staying, there was an inordinate amount of weed in the sea but there were men working the whole day keeping the beach and swimming area as accessible as possible; the downside to that being the constant movement of a JCB on the beach…..but you can’t have it bothways! and there were so many beach beds, bali beds, hammocks, you wouid always find somewhere to sit Lots of positive aspects to the hotel but not enough to make me return I don’t think, really only because of the average food ( again, not a criticism of the chefs, who will be working within constraints but having experienced far superior buffet food at less expensive hotels in Mexico we were disappointed)