El Dorado Royale Trip Report

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: Hi everybody - we just got back from a 7 night/8 day trip to the El Dorado Royale! We, too have read many of the horror posts on this resort and almost changed our plans, but didn't on the advice of our travel agent (and the couple of good reports we read on this board). : We were there from 7/27 to 8/3, so this is current information. : First and foremost, we NEVER lost power and we always had HOT water on demand! We stayed in one of their Junior Suites w/jacuzzi! The room was very clean and very cold upon arrival. The bathrooms are big and plenty of room for two people to shower together in the walk in shower. I thought it was great...yes, the floor gets wet, we just put a towel down. The jacuzzi worked fine, as did the ceiling fan. We were supposed to have a room with a kingsized bed but got doubles. We complained to the front desk and they asked us to wait one day. We decided not to pursue the matter as everything was working and the double beds were big enough (and we had two just in case housecleaning was not up to par). : The beds were unusually firm but surprisingly comfortable. we slept soundly and I never heard one complaint from anybody about the mattresses! The only other problem was when our upstairs neighbor drained his jacquzzi, the sound was very loud in our room from the glug, glug, glug of draining water. This only lasted for as long as it takes to drain the tub. We did hear from another couple who did not have hot water on one morning only. Housekeeping cleaned our romm every day at various times between 10AM and 3PM. : The grounds are immacculate! Pathways well lit at night. They are continuing to build new buildings on the extreme edges of the resort but there are NO heavy equipment such as bulldozers or cranes, etc, etc. We were never disturbed by construction sounds. There are high walls separating the construction areas from the rest of the resort...it is only there that I heard some hammering and one circular saw. : Every day groundkeepers were cleaning, maintaining, planting and pruning. To me this showed they cared about the appearance of the property! : Security was everywhere (especially at night) and they all had walkie-talkies! The entrance to the resort from the main highway is a very long, winding road through the JUNGLE. There is a piecemeal, temporary guard shack at the entrance and it was always manned by security with walkie-talkies and cell phones. They always recored each vehicle coming in and going out! I found this controlled access very reassuring. As we were leaving on 8/3, they were starting to build permanent entrance/guard shacks. : All the pools are open and clean. They have a unique saltwater pool on the beach. There is one pool in front of the Casitas (the honeymoon suites) that had a bartender every night we walked by. This pool and the Bar Las Guacamayas have neat swings for two that everybody was using. : As for entertainment, the Bar Las Guacamayas does have "disco", or what I would call dance music through large speakers placed againest the wall (and a couple of disco style lights for effect). You can dance there but the dance floor is beach and dancing is best done barefoot (this didn't seem to stop anybody from dancing, shoes were kicked off and dancing commenced!) and it is outdoors. There was live music about every other day (we saw mariachis). Out by the main pool there was live entertainment every night at 10PM except for Sunday night. We did not attend these so I cannot attest to how good they were. I heard mixed reviews from other couples, some very good, some unimpressed. schedules for live music and shows are posted. Keep in mind this is all outdoors...there are NO indoors disco or dance floor. : Drinks were good and in my opinion not watered down. Ask for the "Dorado", the house specialty frozen drink....very good! Some gentlemen did discover they don't stock bourbon and I know management is aware as I overheard the converstion to the bar manager. Management promised to address this issue. They do have Bacardi. Beer is SOL in bottle and Dos XX in both bottle and draft. I can confirm other reports that the keg beer is not refrigerated. I asked the bartender about this and pasteurization and ended up getting a demonstration of how their system works. : The keg does sit out, but the lines go from the keg into a cooler where it goes round and round and comes out the tap very cold. I don't think I got through the bartender my concerns about pasteurization but I can tell you the system is obviously designed to work this way. It was not a makeshift operation. And I saw the exact same configuration at two other bars in Cancun! I personally drank at least 8 (or was that 10) of these draft beers and they always looked, smelled, and tasted fine. I did not get sick! In the room I drank Sol from bottle by calling room service. : There were kayaks, paddle boats, snorkeling gear available. There were also inflated air mattresses of every shape and size for use in the pools. There were a number of people snorkling and kayaking. Many were swimming. The beach is rocky so aqua shoes are a must.....but I did witness some young couples barefoot out there walking on those very same rocks!!!! I did not see any scuba gear nor was that advertised. : Our room had a nice electronic safe that YOU set a four digit code to lock/unlock. This prevents anyone from the front desk from grabbing a key and getting into your safe. A nice touch! The safe held our camcorder, camera, money, passports, etc. : Spa is open and activities advertised. We did not avail ourselves of these amenities but we heard from ohters who had oil massages. One lady was not impressed with her massage but that was the only complaint I heard. They did have daily, instructor-led land and pool aerobics! They also had pottery painting! : They have three restraunts, not five. The La Isla is the main one and is open 24 hours, however, the cooks don't report for work until 7 AM so if you go before then, you are limited to juice, coffee, fresh fruit (watermelon, cantalope, honeydew, and pineapple), assorted mexican pastries, yogurt, and cereal. The other two are speciality restaurants, one mexican and other Italian. We ate at all three and found the food very good to excellent. I love hot and spicy mexican food and this was not. So if you wnat to sample some excellent mexican dishes without melting the enamel off your teeth, this is the place to go! The specialty restaurants require reservations and only serve at 6:30 and 8:30. They also have special lobster nights that are outstanding! There is something for everyone, even burgers at La Isla. However, ther is no ketchup (go figure). : We signed up for the Chichen Itza tour at the Royale for $144 ($72 each). You can get cheaper tours in Cancun...I saw some advertised at $35 US). We booked ours thru Lomas at the Royale for convenience only...they pick you up and drop you off right there! It was money well spent but was an 11 hour round trip. The guided tour was outstanding and explained do's and don'ts on the drive up there (on a big air conditioned bus with a bathroom). You get to see the countryside, drive through mayan villages and see how they live, rest stops and one quick shopping stop at a roadside stand. Not bad. we did the included Aktun Chen cave tour that comes with your packgae resort. This was nice, but very warm in the cave and alot of bending & stooping to get thru it. At the end of the cave tour, you can relax at an outdoor cafe for water & snacks, then down the trail to the spider monkees that are so cute. These monkees are friendly and they bring out boas (big snakes) if you want one around your shoulders. We did the free shuttle to Cancun twice. They drop you off in the hotel zone at Pat O'briens around 11Am and pick you up there at 5PM. Its very easy to take the local bus to the flea market for good deals on souveniers. Be prepared to haggle on the price as they will come down when you head for the door. The malls in the hotele zone are not cheap. : Everybody takes US dollars but remember, they only give change in Pseos, period. This fact is advertised everywhere yet I saw many Americans get upset when they got change in Peso's. Even the Royale gives you change in Peso's upon checkout so keep this in mind. : The only complaints about the Royale I had or heard of were very minor. On checkout, several people were quite upset about getting change back in Peso's and were quick to point out one female front desk person who gave the wrong change. I personally believe this was a case of miscommunication due to the language barrier and the need to convert dollars to pesos to dollars. I didn't have a problem but you do have to be careful. They all have calculators and showed me the numbers they punch in to convert. It was all on the up and up. And yes, my change was in Pesos. My biggest gripe was the $5 US surcharge they put on long distance calls made from your room. Rather steep. I quickly learned to use the pay phone in Cancun and the two at the Royale to use my AT&T calling card to bypass that surcharge. If you call from your room, which is easy, be prepared for the $5 per call charge and AT&T cards don't work...so I have no idea how much my one call will be as I billed it to a credit card. : So, would I do it all over again? Yes! In a heartbeat! The service was great (especially Andreas and Jorge in the specialty restuarants), the staff is really eager to assist, they did bend over backward to see that we were having a good time, and the food was excellent. The bartenders (sorry, I didn't get their names) at the swim up bar make a killer bloody mary and even knew how to make a colorado bulldog. : Remember, the Royale is isolated and secluded as advertised. If you are single and looking for the singles scene, this is not the place to go. If you want to dance all night in an air conditioned disco on a real dance floor with loud music, don't go. If you want to chase girls/guys or be chased, don't go (or do this in Cancun). However, if you want to spend quality time with your significant other in a relaxed, quiet, romantic atmosphere at YOUR pace, then this IS the place to go. It is PERFECT for honeymooners! We saw couples snuggled intimately in the pools for moonlight swims and security kept a discreet distance! I believe everybody there was a couple and they were having a good time. This is a new place so there are no crowds, no lines, and beach chairs were always available. Guys don't have to worry about their girls getting hit on by drunks when they are in the restroom. Girls, there were women of all shapes and sizes in every kind of swimsuit imaginable so don't worry if you are : not a supermodel, you will fit in. We always felt safe and welcome. And wait till you see the stars in a night sky that is not light polluted! I wish I had taken my binoculars....if you live in an urban area, be prepared to be amazed! I estimate that at least 95% of the guests there were American. : Thats enough rambling for now. If you have a specific question, feel free to write and I will answer as best I can. Paul

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