Note: The trip was taken back in May ’07 and the review was written shortly after. So certain things mentioned in the following review might or might not have changed since.
It was our first visit to El Dorado Royale, and we had booked an Exotic Club member to receive half-off discount.
Upon arrival, it felt like every staff at the resort had come out to greet us and we were given glasses of champagne and cool towels prior to taking us into the Exotic Club concierge area for check-in. We had arrived at 1:30pm and the room was not ready as expected, as such we were instructed to grab lunch at a restaurant of our choice. Upon returning to the concierge area, the actual check-in process was where the pain began; Between the concierge and the very talkative Loma representative – apparently we “had” talk to him to setup the return transportation — took over 30 minutes. Since we’ve been on the road since 4 in the morning, we were in no mood for chitchat and consciously agreed to a tour (aka timeshare presentation) during this never-ending process fully intending to cancel so we can make the bad man stop! Enough is enough. Strike one.
By dinner on the first night, we’ve planned out our week and subsequently called our “personal concierge” (I will keep her name to myself unless you ask but it does rhyme with Charmin) to cancel the tour appointment. We are still amazed at how bad news always manages to travel at the speed of light because by the next morning, it had seemed like anyone that had anything to do with the Exotic Club had received the memo and either we assigned to give dirty looks or worst – another concierge asked why we cancelled and even offered to increase the gift from $100 to $150. Oh, have I mentioned our once friendly “Charmin” is not so friendly anymore?! While we certainly love free money, we have simply been through enough timeshare presentations to know it will not be worth the frustrations. Strike two.
The resort is huge. So why walk if you can catch a golf cart (aka limo to the locals)? I can answer that. You have to walk because it is next to impossible to catch a golf cart when you need one. We had called the front-desk one evening asking for a ride to Kampai (we were in building 44 and Kampai is deep into Casita territory easily a mile away) and were told to wait at the various designated “cart stops.”
The limo system goes something like this:
- The limos run every 20 minutes.
- There is a limo responsible for the Casita side and one for the poor side
- In order to get from one zone to the next you must wait for a transfer behind the lobby.
So, if my math is right, you can potentially wait 20+ minutes on one side, and then potentially wait yet another 20+ at zone-transfer to get to the Casita side. The wait aside, the worst part was that it appeared like there is a cart for every staff but yet we, the paying customers, can’t catch a ride. Unless you’re checking in/out, good luck waiting. Worst of all, to rub it in our faces, we couldn’t even walk in peace without encountering a golf cart every few seconds coming in every directions. It’s instinct to yield to moving vehicles…very annoying. Strike three.
In terms of food and drinks, everything was pretty good. The latter being the best; they offer top shelf liquors with Don Julio leading the charge. However corners were cut in the food department and did not always live up to “gourmet” as touted. If you like seafood, you will do great. If not or just want a change of pace, you will be out of luck — beef items are of low quality cuts even when labeled as “certified angus”. The burgers – I know, I know, what the heck were we doing eating burgers at a Mexican resort – were over-processed frozen patties. Lastly, may be we’re being overly critical, but I will give a prize to anyone that can tell me why my dinner came on a bed of powered-made mash potatoes?! Strike out.
We really wanted and hoped to fall in love with the resort as many reviewers have. It felt like the resort is trying to be something it is not, or at least not yet. Unless changes are made, we do not plan to return and can’t whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone else. Please feel free to email if you have questions or would like clarification on anything.
