We stayed at the El Dorado Royale for 2 weeks and it was only after booking that we discovered my parents had been the previous year, and a friend had her honeymoon there – and both highly recommended it.
On arrival, we were offered sparkling wine and check in was sorted out quickly and efficiently. We were offered an upgrade to the Casitas rooms but we felt the price was extortionate for the upgrade so we stayed with our standard room (block 16, ground floor).
The room was lovely, very clean and comfortable. Plenty of storage space and there was also a coffee maker and mini bar. Plenty of bottled water was left each day. The bathroom had a huge walk in shower. The only thing we found a bit odd was the lights in the bathroom which were on motion detector, but went off again very quickly sometimes. One thing I didn’t immediately notice was that the flex on the hairdryer in the bathroom retracts into the handle. At first I thought it was just very short!
The grounds are very well maintained and because of the size of the hotel, there are golf carts running around the resort with regular stops to take you from one end to the other. While moving around the hotel, watch out for the iguanas. There are loads around, and they might be in the flower beds, on the grass or wandering around by the pool. Harmless but some of them are quite big!
The choice of bars and restaurants was fantastic although unless you’re in the casitas rooms, you can’t book in advance. We made a point of going to our chosen restaurant early, putting our name on the list and then going to wait in the bar. All restaurants, except the fondue restaurant, have a bar very nearby and either give you a pager or come and find you when your table is read.
We had breakfast in either Cocotal (the most extensive buffet including sparkling wine, vodka and a chocolate fountain, plus a menu to order from), Fuentes (smaller buffet) or La Isla (more limited buffet and menu). You can also get takeaway coffee in the mornings from La Isla.
Lunch: Most are open for lunch, including a pizzeria and Mexican (although the Mexican was only open on our 2nd week and during the 1st week, some items from the menu were available from the pizzeria).
Dinner: We tried all the restaurants several times each and found them all to be very good, both the food and service. The exception was the fondue restaurant which is OK for a change but nothing great. We had a really long wait for a table, there is no bar nearby and we were only offered one drink. The Italian, in particular, is very popular but a 2nd Italian restaurant opened at the far end of the Casitas area while we were there. We found the service in Kampai, the oriental, to be a bit slow the first time but much improved on our second visit. Cocotal had a bit of a flat atmosphere in the evening, and definitely felt more like a hotel dining room than a restaurant. Jo Jos was also very good and very popular. Overall, I’d have to say this is the best food I’ve had in an All Inclusive hotel, and I’ve been to quite a few!
Extras: While we found the hotel to be good value for the price we paid, we did think the extras were very overpriced. This includes the spa treatments, romantic dinner on the beach and also lobster from the tank in Jo-Jos. The lobster in particular was way more expensive than you would pay in a good seafood restaurant in the USA.
Sunbeds: This is the only complaint I had about the hotel – the lack of sunbeds. Around both pools they have these big double beds like 4 posters with net curtains around them. People tended to get up and reserve these very early, but because they are shady, they also reserved a couple of sunbeds to move into the sun. This meant there weren’t really enough to go around by the pool. Even when there are spare sunbeds, there’s no space for them! We didn’t get a spot by the pool the whole 2 weeks and went on the beach but it was also difficult getting an umbrella because they were taken early as well. Further along in the casitas area there was loads of space as these weren’t being fully utilised. Anyone can use the bars and pools in the casitas area but you can’t use their sunbeds if you don’t have a casitas room. They have different coloured pool towels so the attendants will know! As has already been commented on in previous reviews, the beach isn't that great. They've had to put the big boulders in to protect the beach and it does somewhat spoil it, but needs must!
Plenty of regular activities take place around the pool by the Fuentes restaurant and also stuff on the beach like volleyball. No pressure to take part but the activities are there if you want them.
Apart from the problem over lack of sunbeds, we found the hotel to be fantastic, and particularly loved the different towel sculptures left in our room every day.