El Dorado Maroma, a Spa Resort by Karisma

We stayed 7 nights in one of the Palafito suite-overwater bungalow. The suite is beautifully designed, ours an even-numbered unit (ex: 1614) had a west-facing terrace, so we were shaded in the morning (with sun in the afternoon) and had a great view of the sunset. During your stay at the palafitos, guests are assigned to butlers--a team of two, one with a 7 am-3 pm shift (the day butler), and the other with a 3 pm-11 pm shift (the night butler). Our day butler, Alex, checked us in and then provided a nice tour of the room and amenities on-site, which gave a great overview of resort. The big selling point in our opinion is exclusive all-inclusive access to the Palafitos restaurant, which is right nearby the palafito suites. The food and the service here is extraordinary; some of best food we've ever had (and we both live in New York and often dine at some of very best restaurant in the cities). This was the only restaurant we ate at during our stay, as to eat elsewhere is, in our opinion, a waste of a meal (NOT because the other restaurants are bad, but the food at the palafito restaurant is certainly gourmet cruise, and a tier above anywhere else on the resort). We had great service throughout out many meals at the restaurant; servers Alexis, Miguel, Martiniano and Amado were excellent. Amado, particularly, was really attentive. The runners Jesus and Andres were so great. The other nice thing about the palafitos is that guest get an exclusive beach-front space with bali-beds and loungers with butler service. Daisy, the beach butler and Felipe, beach bartender are so attentive and helpful. Made relaxing at the beach even better! We'll definitely go back.

My wife and I just returned from six days/nights at the El Dorado Maroma by Karisma. It was a slightly belated anniversary celebration and we chose this resort from the El Dorado chain based on the intimacy of this specific resort and the beach. We were more than surprised by the resort and its staff. They exceeded our expectations. Not many times in my life have I been somewhere that all the employees were happy to be there. That included the gardeners to maids, chefs to waiters, spa employees to groundskeepers. You name it, they were smiling, said hello, and understood that your individual experience was the most important part of their jobs. The beach/entertainment staff were awesome. Big shout-out to Grisel, Omar, Alex, and Lairbag who were a blast to hang out with. They were always "on", engaging in getting guests to beach volleyball, water volleyball, contests, aerobics, yoga, etc. Definitely made the trip more engaging and fun. Manuel at the beach was extremely cool. He was always moving quickly, ready to take your order, remembered my wife and my name and had us laughing with his lively humor. We loved Oscar and Chepita at the Peruvian as well as Theresita as a host. Augustin was the master tequila taster/sommelier and was a pleasure to chat with if you get the opportunity. Rene, Raul, and Rigaberto as bartenders (We didn't visit all bars, so hopefully I don't hurt anyone's feelings by not mentioning them.).