This is a first for me. This is the first time I’ve added a place to my “Need-To-Go” travel list that I’ve already gone to. Don’t get me wrong, they’re some places that I would love to revisit. However, this place is a must return to for me. David and I were gifted the opportunity to visit one of the many resorts under the El Dorado Spa Resorts umbrella. Our resort was located in the Mexico state of Quintana Roo, and approximately 1 hour from the Cancun airport. This vast coastline hosts a multitude of resorts and spas.
The El Dorado Seaside Suites Resort is an all-inclusive, adults only intimate location that hugs the coast and is a perfect location to watch epic sunrises. This post will give you some helpful information if you are planning a stay at this resort, or a an all-inclusive resort in general.
Travel
Since I had flown into Mexico less than a year prior, I was familiar with where to go once we arrived at the Cancun airport. My best advice would be to go straight outside. Do not stop for information or help from the travel advisors within the airport near the exit. Although they are polite, their main objective is to sell you something. This could be a tour or some sort of excursion while visiting. Make sure you have the name of the transport company and your reservation / reference number available. It may prove helpful to have a translator app, ex. Google Translate, to assist with getting the transport squared away. However, the transport personnel are fluent in English so you shouldn’t have to worry about that, but knowing some Spanish may make things easier.
You can arrange to have private transportation from the airport to the resort. This will cost you more than a regular “shared” ride. If you’re travelling for a honeymoon or anniversary, then I say private is the way to go. If not, then a shared ride is fine. The only negative is you don’t know if you’ll be the first to be dropped off going to the resort or the last one to be picked up coming home from the resort. We were the last to get dropped off at our resort. We would’ve preferred to be one of the first since we were so tired from travelling all day. However, it was nice to have someone drive us to our destination, so no complaints here.
Tip 1: If you are prone to motion sickness, like I am, don’t forget to bring an anti-motion sickness medication that can last through the plane ride and the ride to the resort.
Room
Our room was very spacious. We slept on a king-size bed that was firm yet soft. Our room was equipped with a loveseat, coffee table, small desk table, tv, nightstands with drawers, and a jacuzzi tub. We didn’t use the tub, at least not for relaxing. Believe it or not, on Day 3 of our stay we washed a few clothing items in the jacuzzi tub. I used a Tide laundry detergent travel packet and it worked nicely to clean our bathing suits and a few shirts. The walk-in shower was also spacious with a removable shower head. We were allowed to choose the shower gel at the time of our check-in. My husband used this selected soap often. I brought my own soap and I preferred to use that. Our room included a spacious balcony that overlooked the ocean, but we also were located directly in front of one of the beachside restaurants. Although convenient, it wasn’t ideal when it came to being so close to the music from the restaurant being played throughout the day.
Tip 3: Bring sets of good quality earplugs. They can be helpful on the plane, but you might also need them once you arrive. From noisy neighbors to loud music from the entertainment venues, there can be a lot of distracting noise when it’s time to get some sleep.
Food and Entertainment
El Dorado boasts an all-inclusive array of restaurants. They have many of the popular cuisines that you can think of. My favorite places to eat were ones that had burgers and sandwiches (I know, I know, very American of me). The portion sizes are smaller than American appetizer and entrée sizes. This made ordering several things from the menu a necessary thing to do and it was very much encouraged. You would’ve thought that by our last night at the resort we would’ve been used to the portion sizes. However, David ordered a pasta dish that only had two raviolis on the plate. We couldn’t help but laugh. Many of the restaurants require you to abide by a dress code for dinners. The dress code wasn’t too restrictive, and I felt it was helpful. The alcoholic beverages left much to be desired. I ordered several drinks throughout our stay and not once did I feel that any of them were strong enough. If you don’t request a particular liquor available, the bartenders will give you one of the cheaper options that more than likely has a low alcohol percentage. This isn’t something they give you a heads up about, so aren’t you glad you read this post?
Tip 2: Become friendly with your dedicated concierge. This will help you when you want to make reservations for restaurants, spa treatments, and more.
A hiccup that happened several times was that our reservation wasn’t input correctly, or it wasn’t input at all. This wasn’t a big deal but was a bit of an annoyance while we tried to clear it up. One thing that I felt was lacking was an option for snacks. Of course, you could pop into the gift shop, but you would most likely pay approx. $8-10 for a candy bar. I knew there would be a markup in the gift shop, but I wasn’t expecting such a big one. Also, you must eat food from the restaurants at the restaurant. You can’t order food and then take it to your room. However, you can order room service. David ordered a chicken burrito one night through the resort app. The food arrived quickly, but David said the food left a lot to be desired. He didn’t finish his cheesecake, so I knew he must’ve been telling the truth.
Tip 4: It is “all-inclusive” which means you don’t have to provide a tip to your waiters or waitresses. However, we tipped several times because we felt like it. You are not obligated to tip for anything and no one will look down on you if you don’t.
One of the things that I enjoyed the most about El Dorado Resort was the app. If you book a stay with this resort chain, I recommend you download the app as soon as you arrive. It displayed the full list of activities for the day, current promotions, a virtual map, and much more. It was updated daily, and I never felt out-of-the-loop.
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