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El Dorado Royale Traveler Review :: "El Dorado Royale is awesome!"

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Summary of All Property Reviews Ratings based on answers from a total of 40 reviews (All Reviews) 10 is best 1 is worst
Feature	Ranking	Feature	Ranking
Cleanliness of Property	8.97	Quality of Property	8.22
Privacy & Quietness	8.57	Quality of Service	7.70
Courtesy & Hospitality of Staff	8.43	Accuracy of Website (marketing hype) VS. Actual Experience	7.08
Food and Dining Experience	7.12	Price/Value of Property	7.12
Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property)	8.85	Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach)	6.55
Total Property Score: 7.86 | Average Star Rating: 3.85 out of 5

• 65% (26 visitors of 40) said they would go back to El Dorado Royale again.
• 68% (27 visitors of 40) said they would recommend El Dorado Royale to friends.

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We stayed for 8 nights/9 days and wished we had stayed longer!I’ll give a description of the resort first, and then I’ll tell you what we did each day and give you tips (excursions, etc.).

The resort:
The resort has 6 restaurants (7 if you count the cookout at the pool for lunch and dinner), 24 hour room service, 6 bars (several swim-ups), 7 fresh water pools and a salt water one that the ocean feeds), a spa, an entertainment schedule, and includes free excursions to Playa del Carmen and Cancun (for shopping). They will also take you to clubs in Cancun for $40, and it includes all your drinks and transportation. You have to visit the swing bar (bar with swings not swapping partners). That’s where the party and entertainment is at night. During the day, the main pool has volleyball, aerobics, and other activities. Wednesday is Mexican Fiesta night, and they have a HUGE Mexican buffet and entertainment. Parts of the beach are rocky, so bring water shoes.
The room:
We stayed in an oceanfront room. Our room had a HUGE shower, tile floor, king bed, and a Jacuzzi tub near the window. There was also a porch with a really comfortable hammock that was great for napping together.
The restaurants:
You can make reservations 2 days in advance starting at 9 am. Request your free candlelight dinner on the beach if you’re on your honeymoon or anniversary. It was amazing. The 24 hour room service food was also great (I highly recommend the pasta dish).

La Isla (no reservations required): Great food! You can eat there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is located at the main pool and changes its menu every day or two.

Beach Snack Bar (no reservations required): They say it’s a snack bar, but it serves buffet breakfast with made to order omelets (we did this every morning) and lunch. It is way more than a snack bar, and has very fast service!

Italian, reservations required): Great food! Dinner only.

Mexican, reservations required): We didn’t eat there but heard good things about it.

Oriental, reservations required): This was our second favorite at the resort. Awesome food. Make sure you order appetizers, soup, rice, and a main dish.

Steak House (reservations required): This was our favorite, to die for beef tenderloin and ribeye! The cheesecake dessert was also great.

Pool Grill: They don’t advertise this, but they cook burgers, chicken, and hotdogs at the pool for lunch. They also have a buffet with grill there for dinner where they will grill you ribs (super yummy), chicken, fish, and flank steak. Awesome food, and very fast service.

Nightlife:
You have to visit the main bar. It’s also known as the swing bar because it has lots of swings around it. They have a great live band there each night that takes requests. They also do entertainment shows each night there. The best nights are the ones where they get guests on stage. I’d tell you more, but Fernando (the head of entertainment and also known as Sexy Fernando) says that what you do in Mexico stays in Mexico. Also watch out for Fernando’s tequila shots where he gets up on the bar, and pours it in your mouth. Jose is the best bartender in the resort. Tell him Kelly and Jason from Atlanta sent you (he may not remember us, but who knows!) They also do excursions to clubs in Cancun, but we didn’t do any of them. The main bar closes at 2 am.

Our Trip Day by Day:

Day One:
They upgraded our garden room for an oceanfront for $160 for the whole 9 days. What a deal! I booked the candlelight beach dinner for the next night. We went to the room and unpacked. We ate at the buffet by the pool. The ribs, chicken, and steak were awesome, and they also had salad, rice, and several other side dishes. We ended up at the swing bar for a few hours.

Day Two:
We ate breakfast at the beach restaurant. We sat at the beach and then went to the pool. Even though we wanted to go on excursions, we booked them the next day because we wanted an entire day where we didn’t have to think. We had our candlelight dinner that night and ate crab stuffed Mahi-mahi and beef tenderloin; both were great. Eating on the beach by candlelight was amazing.
Day Three:
We started the day with a couples massage at a cabana just off the beach ($85 for an hour). Then we moved to the pool and beach. We booked our excursions to Xcaret and Chichen-Itza (see below for more info). The rest of the day we laid at the main pool all day. I painted a bowl; there is a man at the pool who sells pottery and paints designs on it for you to finish painting. He brings them back the next day. We went shopping in Playa del Carmen that night.
Day Four:
We went on the Chichen- limo package to Chichen-Itza booked through Lomas Travel in the lobby. We paid around $73 each, and it included transportation on a really nice bus, breakfast, lunch (a buffet with entertainment), as well as drinks and beer while you’re on the bus. You also get to see a Mayan house and village. The 2 ½ hour trip did not feel that long because the guides are awesome, and the bus (with bathroom) is very nice. Bring LOTS of film and some money to shop. You stop at a place that has great prices. Climb the big pyramid; it is worth it! This is a great trip full of history. That night we went to the Mexican Fiesta at the resort. It had a live band and the food was great.
Day Five:
We laid around at the resort all day. That night we ate at the oriental restaurant. It has an awesome atmosphere and great food. We spent the rest of the night at the main bar (swing bar).

Day Six:
We went on an excursion to Xcaret (through Lomas Travel again). It has everything: an underground river to snorkel in, we swam with the dolphins ($115 each but WELL worth the price; you even get to ride on their noses), sea turtles, butterfly sanctuary, pumas, jaguars, wild bird aviary, aquarium, and the best night show in the area (200 performers). We highly recommend this trip. It was around $70 each. You don’t get back till late, but we did fit in a few drinks at the bar.
Day Seven:
We laid around the resort. We alternated between the main pool and the beach. I went for a swim and took some pictures in the salt-water pool. There are lots of fish in it. Saturday is lobster night, and we ate at the Italian restaurant and had our lobster with pasta. Big surprise, we ended the night partying at the main bar.
Day Eight:
We once again laid around the resort. Can you tell that we loved it? Jason played pool volleyball and loved it. At some point we managed to pack for our trip back. We ate a late dinner at the Italian restaurant after splitting some room service pasta. We spent our last night closing down (you guessed it) the swing bar.
Day Nine:
We said our goodbyes and spent some time at the pool. Our trip back was upgraded to 1st class for $50 each and was well worth it.
Tips:
-Bring lots of American small bills for tips and shopping
-If you want a spot on the beach, set your alarm and throw some towels on your chairs
-Tip for great service ($2 for breakfast and lunch, $4 for dinner, $2 here and there for drinks)
-Wear comfortable shoes for excursions
-Bring your own mask and snorkel for the resort and to save $ on excursions
-Bring water shoes for rocky parts of the beach
-Bring lots of sunscreen; it’s really expensive ($20) in Mexico
-Xcaret and Chichen-Itza are awesome excursions

Property Review
10 is best 1 is worst

Would you stay at this property again?: ... Yes
Would you recommend this property to your friends?: ... No
In your opinion, how would you classify the "style" of this property: ... Family Oriented
Possible Anwswers: Family Oriented, Couples Oriented, Mixed/Diverse in a Good Way, Mixed/Diverse in a Bad Way

• Cleanliness of Property: ... 9
• Quality of Property: ... 9
• Privacy and Quietness: ... 9
• Quality of Service: ... 10
• Courtesy and Hospitality of Staff: ... 10
• Accuracy of Website VS. Actual Experience: ... 10
  
• Food and Dining Experience: ... 10
• Price/Value of Property: ... 10
  
• Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property): ... 10
• Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach): ... 5

Destination/Island Review
10 is best 1 is worst

Would you visit this destination/island again?: ... Yes
Would you recommend this destination/island to your friends?: ... No

• Cleanliness of Destination/Island: ... 10
• Options of Activities in the Area: ... 10
• Ease of Transportation (air, taxi, bus, shuttle): ... 10
• Quality of Beaches in the Area: ... 8
• Courtesy & Hospitality of Locals: ... 10
• Safety Factor (Did you feel safe in the Area): ... 9
  
• Local Restaurant Experience/Options: ... 10
• Price/Value of Destination (Does your dollar stretch?): ... 9
  

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