We booked the El Dorado Royale (Casita section) for January 2011. We wanted a really relaxing break so opted for a 5 star all inclusive on the Riviera maya. We were treating ourselves so chose to book the ground floor of a Casita in the quieter section of the hotel. On arrival we were taken to our casita reception area in a buggy to check in and were given Champagne. We were then taken to our Casita.
For every 12 Casita’s there was a swimming pool. Guests could use any of the 13 pools on the complex but often used ones nearest their accommodation. Our pool was usually quiet and it had a swim up bar.
The casitas can just be seen behind the bar.
We were in the pelicanos bar section. The Barman was very attentive and regularly came round to ask what we wanted. Sometimes he would just come with a drink if we were on the beach. Often he would write our names on our vodka mudslides in chocolate sauce.
As you can see the curtains used to make RM swimwear were not stolen from PN
There was also a young man who came around regularly offering water, sandwiches, books, fruit and lollies.
Staff in general were all polite and had a happy outlook probably when they weren’t always feeling it.
The beach was just across a pathway and Casita guests could use the shaded beds.
Our Casitas were lovely. We had a Jacuzzi, an indoor and outdoor shower, good air conditioning.
This is our balcony area
They were cleaned daily and the mini bar was restocked with drinks and snacks. (Sol beer, pepsi and 7 up) you could choose what you wanted. Each night we had turndown service and a chocolate left on our bed.You could also choose a pillow and a fragrance from a menu. One night RM answered the door and said not to bother but tipped and said we will have the chocolate. After that we got 1 chocolate each left every night. We also had a variety of towel animals left in our room.
It was a big complex. We walked everywhere as we seriously needed the exercise after the lovely food. You could wait for a golf buggy to get around.
Food wise, I didn’t take many pictures but the food was amazing IMO. There were 7 restaurants; La Fondue was all Fondues unsurprisingly. We never tried this because I don’t eat cheese. It always looked like a lovely relaxing place to go and I think RM would have liked it. Fuentes was advertised as Mexican style but we only ate here once and were disappointed. It was buffet style and not to my taste as much as some of the others. Cocotal was excellent for breakfast and I believe Fuentes was similar so people tended to go to the closest. They were buffet style but omelettes pancakes and waffles were made to order and there was a chocolate fountain. You could also have made to order breakfast at the Asian style restaurant Kampi and La Isla. Both were excellent.
In the evenings we ate a lot at D’Italia which was really good. Also at the Kampi. You had to book for these but got priority if in a Casita. (There did seem to be a bit of a hotel class system going on). There was also JoJos which did a similar menu at lunch and dinner. We had lunch there a couple of times which was good. In addition there was a burger stall which parked by the pools over lunch and a health bar which served healthy lunches and smoothies. Also a place which served pizza’s and burgers open for lunches and a Mexican place which was good.
Drinks were all good, you could get premium brands at no extra cost, some wines and lobster was not included but that’s about all.
The Martini bar was excellent, very luxurious. Pistachios and bar snacks always available. We spent the one rainy day quite happily in here working down the list of Martinis.
There were a few bars dotted around. The entertainment was mainly in the swing bar. We didn’t see much so can’t comment but they had Michael Jackson tributes and similar which people who went enjoyed. We prefered to sample and enjoy local traditions such as the Mexican Flag beverage or a Miami Vice.
There was a bit of a hard sell on timeshare as the Concierge based in our reception was on commission but I think he realised that we didn’t have the kind of money required so didn’t hassle us too much
Iguanas basked around all over the place and there was a croc out back in the swamps. We saw a raccoon and lots of colourful birds
This is the view from the reception. some Casitas had a lazy river leading to the pools
Home 
Mon Oct 24, 2011 8:20 pm
Washed down with high quality Bucks fizz. Hmmm 
