El Dorado Seaside Suites

2nd time we stayed at this property, and already looking to book again. We stayed May 1st - May 10th in a Junior Suite. Had emailed the Resort ahead of time to set up transportation and ask for a room within a certain section. Within 10 minutes of finding our Lomas rep at the airport we were already in the shuttle and heading to the Resort. At check-in, the desk person mentioned the room location request and we were put in that section. We had room 3816. The a/c worked great. No issues with hot water or pressure. Room cleaned by Nicolas, who did a great job. Our bartender, Miguel at the swim up pool in our section was so nice. Always a smile and a great drink maker. Ivan, covered for a day and he was also fabulous. We had a great mix of people in the pool everyday. Enjoyed the Bali beds near the pool or the beach every day. Only a couple of them near the pool, but so many at the beach to choose from. Restaurants: Arrecifes- Julian was our waiter in the morning for breakfast. He was very nice. Asked for him every time. Great food. We had Margarita as our waitress for a dinner there one night. Had her last year and asked for her again this year. She is so nice. Hugged her on the way out. Klay Talay- Darwin was our waiter. Very friendly. Food was delicious. He suggested some dishes and was able to have them made without veggies, to our liking. Tequila tasting- Jesus was great. Loved this activity. He was very knowledgeable. Free excursion to Maroma beach for the day. BEAUTIFUL! Beach waiter was great Downside- the APP. Never accurate. Best bet is to walk around and find out what is open.

The hotel site itself is absolutely beautiful! It’s massive but the beach was a massive let down. It’s very rocky and the seaweed was disappointing though they did try and clear it. We didn’t find that they truthfully listed the amount of restaurants and bars on their website. For example only 2 À la carts were available some nights as others were “shut”. Booking through TUI also meant u had to pay for the Asian restaurant and excursions while others had it for free which was weird considering it is a TUI Blue hotel. There was also only about 2-3 bars open in the evening which non of them had an atmosphere. Also watch out for the “Shopping trip” which is offered and advertised. It’s basically a massive tourist trap and you are forced to look round a jewellery shop for about an hour and a half with one sales man per couple and felt like the hotel had set it up with the jewellery company to scam tourists. The food and drinks was good quality and overall it was a pleasant stay but I don’t think I would return to the hotel itself .

Stayed from April 25 to May 3rd. Seemed like it was slow season so resort was quiet which did make me wonder how things would change during peak season. Reservation and Check In * booked directly with the hotel and chose the swim up room. I reached out a couple of times with questions and the response was quick and helpful. * I had read on other TripAdvisor reviews that restaurant reservations could be difficult to get so I reached out to guest services before my stay. * I tried to book them with Ruben in guest services and he said concierge would do upon arrival. I requested that a meeting be set up so I could meet with concierge upon arrival and Ruben never answered. Disappointing! * we arrived around 11am and no wait at check in. We were prepared to not have access to a room right away due to our early arrival. It did however seem like our room was ready but they could not give us the key until 3pm. * we were prepared with a change of clothes, so no big deal, but were a bit mystified why we could not have room access early if the room was ready. Room * we were in a swim up room on the premium section (104) * our view was the concrete wall of the villa on the other side of the pool. Disappointing! * room service was ok, usually was pretty quick. My wife loves chips and guacamoli (go figure!) but not on the menu. One day said no problem and we got it, next day "not on the menu" and did not arrive. Disappointing! * room was showing its age - a few floor tiles cracked and the couch needed to be replaced. * be prepared for cold showers!! A couple of times we ran the hot water for about 20 minutes and it got to warm but never hot. Unacceptable! * on account of the lack of hot water we never tried the jacuzzi tub. Restaurants * back to the reservations... at about noon on April 25 we met with concierge to make reservations for the 3 reservation required restaurants. * A cancellation at the Asian restaurant gave us a 6:30 reservation on April 25. The only reservation for the Italian was 9pm on May 1st and the only reservation for the Mexican was 9:30pm on May 2nd. * so 7 day wait for 9pm at Italian and 8 day wait for 9:30pm at Mexican. Quite simply unacceptable and it was slow season! More availability must be somehow offered. Showed up at 8pm at the Italian and they took us early and we no-showed at the Mexican. * since it was slow season it seemed like many restaurants were closed and we never knew what was going to be open. On the night of the fire show, the only thing open if you didn't attend the show was the pub and that was really poor. * Restaurant scores: *** Culinarium (3/5) - decent option for both breakfast and dinner. *** Mia Casa (3/5) - just OK. Expected more from a reservation required spot. *** Klay Talay (5/5) - excellent Asian food. *** Trattoria (4/5) - one night excellent and the second time really poor. *** Seaside Market (2/5) - buffet for breakfast and dinner was really poor. The egg station at breakfast was the only reason for a 2. Slow season so items were not consistently replenished and were not fresh. The waffles and pancakes had clearly been sitting for some time - Yikes! Very little fresh fruit available. *** Gourmet Pub (1/5) - not gourmet at all. Avoid! Pools * we spent our time at the main pool on the Suites side. * never had an issue with getting a spot we liked and we got there as late as 9am a couple of days. Slow season for us so busy season might be different. * loungers were just ok and getting fresh towels never a problem. * a few loose pool tiles on the deck make it important to take care when walking around * drink service was ok although we stopped ordering from one server due to a lack of tequila in the margaritas. Bar service was quick and friendly. Overall, it was just okay. The resort is showing its age and the service was very inconsistent. The restaurant reservation situation alone is a reason not to return. Price point quite high so didn't feel it was good value. Unless the price drops significantly we will not be back.

The ground this hotel is on is beautiful but we had so many issues with room service not turning up and then to be told i didnt book room service (which i did through the app) We had water bottles practically that us at 10.30 pm because none was left in the room. The tui blue app was so wrong. Half the restaurants were closed or no room as you had to make a reservation or pay extra. The food was average to say the least. Some of the staff were lovely but others not so nice. Was celebrating our wedding anniversary that I emailed about before we went and spent most of the day trying to find out if we could have a barley bed for the day. They was not enough sun beds unless you get up at stupid time in morning to put your towel out.

I stayed one week 5/5 to 5/12. The grounds are beautiful. Highlights: Room had a jacuzzi tub although I’m not sure if all rooms do. Food was fabulous at most meals. I did not eat at all the restaurants. I did notice fruit essentially available at breakfast. Drinks and bartenders were great overall. Jesus did the flower pot drink activity which was fun. The brands of alcohol are not of the best quality but that’s most likely because I usually stay at TRS Yucatán but the solo price there was outrageous. I am so happy to have tried seaside Palms. Room service took about 35 minutes and food ok. I did not recommend the club sandwich. I will return.