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

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

17824 reviews

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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
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  Poor

  Currently staying at this hotel. Arrived on the 16th Dec, leaving tomorrow. I'll start by saying this. If you're thinking of booking a holiday here, please look again ! This place is billed as a 5 star resort. It's never that ! Rooms dated, service at certain bars and restaurants appalling ! Sunbeds dilapidated, the list goes on unfortunately. Also, please don't be fooled by staff offering a tour with the offer of a free massage, this is nothing more than a time share promotion. Thankfully we were pre warned and declined. Entertainment ! We were told there would be Christmas Carol singers. I'm still waiting to hear them. The Christmas eve entertainment finished at 9pm with a karaoke bar full of drunks to follow that. All inclusive all day drinking and sunshine don't mix here. We witnessed a full scale brawl mid afternoon by a pool. Room service food tray has just been picked up now, from 2 nights ago ! I was woken by an animal attacking the leftovers at 4am this morning. I could go on ! This is our first visit to Mexico, we travel far and wide for our holidays, and have enjoyed 5 star hotels worldwide, unfortunately we won't be returning here. Either its just sheer bad luck or this is the normal for this resort, either way its unacceptable and the management team must take full responsibility. Good luck to anyone staying here in the near future.

  Dec 28, 2025
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  Yearly trip to the El Dorado Royale

  I do a yearly trip to the Royale. It is part of my membership with my travel club and I go to the Royale and the Seaside Palms. It is a larger resort, but they have good access and transportation to all the restaurants which are all amazing the personal service this year was amazing. When we checked in at the Exotic office, I met a very amazing young lady by the name of Ivonne!!! She started off my holiday on a very happy note. And continued to help me and answer my questions throughout our stay The other staff member that made our stay amazing are Alfredo Macuil Cortes, Jacob Espejel and Israel Kuyoc. They went out of their way to be helpful and make our vacation perfect.

  Dec 27, 2025
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  Excellent food, friendly staff and strong value at El Dorado Royale - disappointing beachfront notwithstanding

  Stayed at this resort in mid-December 2025 with my GF for a week. Overall, an excellent resort. Rooms were decent-sized and the fridges were restocked with pop, water and beer daily. Food was really good (apart from the lacklustre Chef's Market buffet in the all-ages Generations resort attached). The Fuentes dinner cooking show was top-notch albeit a little pricey extra to the all-inclusive nature of the resort. Pools were well-kept, service throughout the resort was very friendly, and the More Exclusive excursion to Maroma Beach and the catamaran/snorkeling adventure were an added bonus. As an adults-only resort, it was generally quiet and the resort was kept very clean and maintained throughout. Only one word of caution, and it certainly was not a significant one to us: the beach at El Dorado Royale was largely unusable since there were large concrete blocks that looked like Brutalist building across the length of the water to protect the beach from erosion. While they were undoubtedly functional, they were rather unsightly and made swimming right off the beach at this resort virtually impossible - the included trip to the lovely Maroma Beach (5-10 minute drive) made up for the lack of ocean water access at the resort. All in all, we really enjoyed this resort, especially the variety and quality of the food and the friendliness of the staff. For the modest price of the all-inclusive week in December ($1740 CAD p/p including return airfare from YYZ to Cancun), we felt the resort was a really good value.

  Dec 22, 2025