Upon arrival you can't help but notice how beautiful everything is everywhere. The landscaping is well kept along with every other aspect of the resort. As far as cleanliness goes, they were by far the cleanest place I have stayed at yet. There is a reason that they stay so clean. That do not allow people to eat next to the pool, which I am glad for. There are messy people who don't clean up (and i can be one of those, especially on vacation) and there are birds that will swarm you if you have food laying out.
Rooms: were excellent. we had a swim-up jr jacuzzi suite and it completely satisfied our needs. the swim up area was great to be able to go outside and hang out in the water and take the lazy river to the pool for a drink. the jacuzzi tub in the room was great, the jets are very powerful and very relaxing. the bed was comfortable and the canopy around it was nice. the tv had mostly english channels which was great for when you wanted to catch a movie late a night. the bathroom was great. walk-in shower with bench and a shower head that adjusted for my extra tall husband.
the food: woow....... i wasn't expecting to like much of anything but i ventured out there and ending up loving everything i tried. the restraunts do not require reservations which is great for people who don't plan ahead like us, after all i do that enough for work. :) they had snacky food like burgers and hotdogs as well as gourmet food that was plated very nice and delicious. each restraunt offered different types of food and we tried them all and were completely satisfied.
the drinks: since we are a young couple this part was important to us. my husband wanted budlite but they didn't have it on tap so he got used to the dos equix that was provided and added a few limes, which started to taste good after a day or so... :0 the mixed and frozen drinks were awesome. i tried lots of things and loved it all. the martini bar by the lobby was really nice and had any top shelf liquor imaginable. the other bars had entertainment going on most nights which was nice.
roomservice- i enjoyed everything that i got! they were usually very quick!
the beach- we only hung out there one day because we were at the pool most of the time. it does have the sand bags but it did not effect me either way. it definitly helps to keep the ocean waves down though. you can go inbetween them and snorkel if you want and there were lots of fish.
there are many pools to go to and they were all very clean and easy to access. often times the beds were taken but you could wait just a few minutes and someone would get up. they also had activities going on for people to get involved in.
the staff: very friendly and also willing to help however. if you need directions, a shuttle to get somewhere far away, or anything else you need.
we were by far very pleased with everything at this resort as well as everyone that we hung out with and met while we were there.
bring your comfy shoes though because it is pretty far from one end to the other if you plan to walk rather than take a shuttle (golf cart).
also, definitly do the candlelite dinner on the beach.
the SPA is very awesome as well. we did a couples massage on the beach and it was wonderful.. they were all so well.

The El Dorado Royale was exactly what it says on the tin! Fantastic!! We stayed in a swim up casita and it was heaven!!
Our lazy river let us bob along to our private swim up pool bar with extra comfy beds and very friendly bar staff that cater to every whim...not to forget the fab four poster double beds on the beach that are a very shady welcome from the heat of the day!!
The room was lovely, the king size bed always made perfect with little animal towels and fresh flowers!! The jacuzzi bath in the room was well used and the turn down service at night was made that extra special with aromatherapy oil burners lit in the jacuzzi bath area!! The outdoor shower was also a lovely treat and a great novelty. The staff were brilliant and nothing was too much trouble, always friendly and smiling.
The food was out of this world, we even went to the fondue restaurant and had a really good night, it is in a tree house!! We had a lovely white chocolate fondue for desert and it was yummy!
We loved the idea of the candlelit dinner on the beach with lobster so just to make sure we had it as room service as well as on the beach! It was very romantic and they decorated our room and even threw in a bottle of champagne!! Heaven, thanks go to all the staff for making a fantastic holiday a dream!!! They have just built a new swim up casita block and the upstairs rooms also have a little infinity pool! If you are going to go on this holiday book a swim up casita they are awesome!!

Just returned from a very relaxing stay at the El Dorado. We stayed at the Iberostar hotels for the past three years and have loved it! The El Dorado is a very nice resort. It is very big, but it's deceiving. You could walk from one end to the other or you could just as easily have the concierge call a golf cart to get you around from place to place.

If you are fortunate enough to stay in a Casita, you definitely should do it. Each section of the Casita's has it's own pool and beach butler which is great. Jesus was ours and he could get you just about anything you wanted. We had nachos and an awesome pizza that he brought to us so we didn't have to go up to a restaurant for lunch. He also came by every day with sandwiches and some of the best ice cream I've ever had. Casita guests have a great concierge service. There are small buildings along the back roadway behind that Casitas with several conceirge personel. They are wonderful and can do just about anything you need. They call every day to check on you and ask about your room, etc.

A few dollars goes a long way. Other guests who weren't staying in the Casita section were not offered Corona beer and were even told they don't have it. We had it. We even had Budweiser on ice!

The resort is very layed back. If you are looking for gala shows at night or a great nightlife scene. This is not the place for you. The rooms are amazing, very romantic, outdoor shower is awesome! But the nightlife is pretty much non-existent. The drinks are fair if that unless you request a top shelf brand liquor for it. The martini bar has good cocktails. Once a week at El Fuentes restaurant they have "red carpet night". There is a live band and an acrobat show that was really cool. That night for us was the most fun of all and by far the most entertaining.

The food was ok. I think it really depends on what you order. I think lunch and breakfast at any of the restaurants was always good. The dinners did not blow me away, but again, that's my opinion. I'm not a picky eater, just wasn't overly thrilled with some of the choices I made I guess.

Room service is available 24 hours. It was decent but there is a limited selection.

Things that I didn't care for very much was the wine selection. You can have house red or house white. It was good, but if you wanted a decent bottle of wine, it was an additional charge. So, we didn't go for that. The conceirge will give you coupons to use at the resort, but for things like couples massage, manicure, etc. the coupons don't work. Also at El Fuentes they offer a wine tasting and tequilla tasting. After you are tempted with all of the different wines they tell you it is $20 per person for a tasting. Same with tequilla. Then someone from the K Team annouced that it was free? So, I don't know.

The beach is in the process of being restored. Many people complained about the sand bags in the water, but eventually, the beach will be beautiful there. It's a work in progress. So give it time. For sitting on the beach in your own palapa with a drink in your hand...you still can't beat it. I could never get that here at home! There are nicer parts of the beach if you walk around and find the white sand and crystal clear water.

The pools...well there are so many people literally were playing a game to have a drink in every pool one afternoon. The main pool is a little bigger with a little bit of activities here and there. The "K Team" will never measure up to the Iberostar staff. They just don't seem to have the enthusiasm to motivate the guests very well. Because there are sooooo many pools, you don't really get a huge crowd around one area. I did see plenty of beach beds and chairs open at the resort that were not in the Casita section that were available. So, I don't know what people complained about there, but if you are willing to take a walk, you can find just about anything.

We booked our stay through Friends in Paradise. They were great. They also booked our transfers to the hotel and it was great! Lincoln Navigator, very comfy. They use Lomas Travel. There were a lot of others who rented timeshares for the week and saved a lot on their rooms. Check it out before you book. You can save up to 50% off your rooms if you go to their timeshare presentation. The presidential suites look divine!

Having stayed at the Iberostar Grand last year, anything from this point on will be hard measure up. The El Dorado is a nice resort with a lot to offer. If you are looking for a quiet relaxing vacation, look no further. This is it.

First I’ll say we truly enjoyed our stay at El Dorado Royale 7-7 thru 7-11-08. We stayed in an infinity pool casita (3115) to celebrate our 10 yr anniversary and it was nice and relaxing. The resort is beautiful and extremely well maintained. The staff we dealt with was wonderful and very helpful. I did tip when I felt the service warranted it but did not feel it was expected. It’s just common sense that if you make your bar tender happy they’ll make sure you’re happy also. These next comments are not negative but only points that will hopefully help others make the most of their trip.

Travel Arrangements - We got the best deal with Orbitz and did not have any problems. I suggest shopping around but stick with the major sites.

Casita vs. Jr. Suite – We had some friends stay in the swim up Jr. Suite so we experienced both sides. Both are nice but I highly recommend spending the extra money for the Casita’s. They are less crowded, less noisy, the rooms are a little larger and nicer and you get some added benefits like being able to make restaurant reservations. Also the beach beds are easier to get in the casitas because it’s less crowded. Even our fiends said they would upgrade to the Casita’s if they went back. Note that as you upgrade to the different Casita’s (regular – swim up – infinity) you move further away from the main part of the resort and most the restaurants. Shuttles run until 11 pm but it can be a long walk if you have to go from one end to the other as we did on occasion.

Restaurants - We only ate at few of the restaurants and honestly I think it depends on your individual taste. We’re not gourmet people so the fancy food was a little lost on us. But for the most part everything we tried was good. This time of year I suggest sticking with the air conditioned restaurants if you can for dinner. For breakfast I suggest Cocotal or Fuentes and on Wednesday nights you should go to Fuentes for the Red Carpet show (get there early – by 6:30 if you can). Room service was also good. We did not like La Fondue. If you’re like us be prepared to try different foods, some you’ll like some you won’t. If you don’t like it just order something else.

Beach – If you like to swim in the surf this is not the place for you at this time. In the water it’s mostly rocky and not easy to walk out. They’re working on a 5 yr plan to rebuild the beaches since hurricane Wilma really beat the place up. The large sand bags (or whales) are part of that effort and they’re really not that bad to look at. So if you’re just going to layout on the beach and look at the beautiful water then this place is great.

Shuttle service within the resort – This resort is huge! We were in the far end Casita’s and if you don’t catch a shuttle it can be a long hot walk, day or night, especially if you’re dressed for dinner. Fortunately you can stop at the bars along the way to get a refill on your favorite beverage. I would suggest they improve the shuttle service to make it more frequent and run later. Basically if there’s a bar open the shuttles should still be running. We did notice that on Thursday as the place became more crowded for the weekend the shuttles were more frequent which was good.

Suggestions / Tips – The mango margarita’s are very very good! In your room be careful if the floors are wet. Also keep the cabinet door open in front of the refrigerator. It allows air to circulate and the fridge will keep things colder. We don’t drink champagne so we used the champagne bucket to put beer in and got ice at the bar to ice it down with. Stay in the Casitas if you can. If you’re going with another couple consider getting the two bedroom presidential suites. They’re a little more expensive than two casita’s would be but they are exceptional and you get even more benefits.

We had time to kill on our last day so we went to the Travel Club tour to get the credit on our current stay. It took about 2 hours and we got to go into the Presidential suites. It is a sales pitch like a timeshare but it’s for a travel club membership. The base price for the gold membership was 30k (yes that’s thousand and it’s not peso’s). We left as soon as we could but still saved some money.

Again we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would go back. It’s a great couples get away if you’re celebrating something special. Nothing is ever perfect though so just relax and adjust to make the best of the experience.