El Dorado Casitas Royale, a Spa Resort by Karisma

We loved the rooms and the friendly staff. Maritza and Fabio were the BEST, they worked hard to make our stay perfect. The food was good and lots to choose from, the Mexican restaurant was our favorite. The only thing I wasn't thrilled about was how spread out the restaurants are from the Casitas. But we caught a ride on the shuttle's.

We had the best time. Now it wasn’t perfect because of covid, a tropical storm and a hurricane. They did a wonderful job of cleaning up and repairing all the damage. Some of the restaurants were closed because of low occupancy but the ones that were open were great. Our butlers Alexis and Enrique made sure our time there was excellent. They did a great job of making sure we were very well taken care of. I would recommend this place to anyone. We love it there. Can’t wait to go back!!!

Due to the price I paid, which was one of the most expensive options of all inclusive resorts in the area, I had to rate the resort as average. For the status level of the resort and luxury price range for Casitas, expectations were higher. Pros: Smaller pool areas versus only a large pool option like some resorts was nice especially during a pandemic Consistent outstanding culinary experiences at all restaurants (which I have not experienced even at the highest rated all inclusive resorts) Room service was average but with so many restaurant experiences that did not matter. Customer service was outstanding when you gave ample tips Complimentary bike tour was a great way to understand the resort at the start of your trip Bar tenders and drinks were all great, especially loved the bars with specialty cocktail menus to try something new Restaurant protocols for COVID were well thought through Free use of Bali beds Nice to have option to go over to Generations resort area with their incredible pool Cons: Beach, I knew not to expect a beautiful swimable beach from other reviews but wanted to emphasize this for people looking at this resort. In a 6 day stay I was in 2 private pool casitas rooms that both had multiple ceiling leaks (prior to Gamma and Delta) Very little sense of urgency to the leaks Requirement that you have to be in the room in order to receive bottled waters was unacceptable for a quality resort such as this. We wasted hours and hours waiting because when we left and came back to no bottled waters they stated "we have to be there to receive them." We did not have a bottled water delivery come under 90 min. wait. The room styles are unique but the quality of the rooms need significant maintenance attention, and this was the highest levels of rooms between section 31 and 32 for the two rooms we had to stay in due to leaks. Red paint on patio bled the entire time so we constantly had red fee, floor, towels, etc. with red paint on them. Maintenance did not fix this. Golf carts did not run on schedule and the "wait time" listed at each stop was never correct, yes it was fine to walk but sometimes you don't want to plan 30 min. in advance for golf cart ride to get to dinner for example in the rain TOO MUCH FOCUS ON SALES PRESENTATIONS, including when we were moving from one leaky room within 24 hours of arrival being asked with our luggage in hand "I will get you a free massage if you attend the presentation" - One "No" at arrival should terminate all other requests to attend the presentations ***None of my review comments were as a result of Gamma or Delta. These are all independent of the weather which the resort can't control.***