El Dorado Casitas Royale by Karisma

We did enjoy the time away. It is still a beautiful resort and the grounds are well kept. Staff was friendly and the restaurants were very helpful and concerned with my wife’s dietary restrictions. In most cases the restaurant staff offered the chef to prepare a meal to meet her dietary needs. Most of the restaurant’s menus have limited selections of main courses compared to the past (maybe four of five). The food was not near as delectable as the past. I considered it as just okay. Some restaurant menus have additional main courses for additional upcharge. Some of those upcharges for entrée were $100.00 USD each! Casitas were unmaintained and have the same furniture that we had ten years ago. The love seat had no padding left in the cushions and was difficult to get in and out of. It felt like you we sitting on the floor. In room dining chair cushions were thread bare and stained. Overall, the Casitas were in disrepair and unkept from leaking shower to lack of hot water and towels. Drapes were old and didn’t close completely. Washcloths and hand soap seemed hard to come by we had to request them twice. As to the check-in process we were encouraged to buy a timeshare which we declined. We were also told at check-in that management would not allow them do anything in celebration our anniversary because we did not provide them with our marriage license (been good to know before we went). Finally, the webpage app for the all-dinner reservations etc. has a lot to be desired and really is not user friendly and just annoying for a cell phone. At check-out the sales pitches started all over again to pre-pay your next vacation. Overall, I would say the resort has a long way to go to get back to a five-star status. It was nothing like what we experienced in the past visits. Most other guest that we spoke with that had previous visits felt the same way and they were told the same thing as us that the owners were trying to reduce cost. The value for the food and service is no longer there. The constant up selling was just overwhelming! I have much more to say but I think you get the idea.

En cuanto a las habitaciones, muy bonitas; nos encantó que hubiese jacuzzi dentro. Como detalle a mejorar, el refri bar no tenía chocolates, solo papas, cervezas y refrescos. El primer y segundo día desayunamos en el restaurante Market y el buffet estuvo increíble, al igual que el servicio. También visitamos para desayunar el restaurante Palm y estuvo bueno; sin embargo, el jugo de naranja no era natural y al solicitar un poco más de queso cottage el mesero nos comentó que ya no había más (cosa que en un hotel 4 Diamantes no debería suceder). Para el lunch fuimos al restaurante tailandés. Me gustó la temática del lugar, aunque la comida la calificaría con un 6/10. Lo único que realmente me gustó fue la entrada de camarones y el postre, que era un rollo de frutas. En cuanto al servicio, no fue ni bueno ni malo: únicamente nos sirvieron agua y no nos ofrecieron bebidas hasta que preguntamos. El mesero nos comentó que no era su función y que otro compañero pasaría a tomar la orden de bebidas. Por la noche cenamos en el restaurante italiano con reservación a las 9 p.m. Desde que llegamos, el mesero nos recibió con mala actitud y nos pidió ordenar todo de una vez porque el restaurante cerraba a las 10 p.m. y era lo único que podíamos pedir. Pedí una Coca-Cola de lata con un vaso con hielo y me dijeron que no era posible, ya que el capitán del restaurante había ordenado que todas las bebidas se sirvieran desde la barra, lo cual no tiene ningún sentido. La comida fue muy mala; de todo lo que pedí, solo me gustó el pollo a la parmesana. En cuanto a los postres, el crème brûlée estaba malísimo, al igual que los demás. Definitivamente no regresaría a este restaurante. Otra cosa a notar es que los carritos tardan muchísimo tiempo en pasar. Siempre tardábamos 15 o más minutos esperándolos. Si me tomé el tiempo de hacer este resumen de mi experiencia en el hotel fue por algo. Espero que se tome en cuenta y que, si llego a regresar algún día, esto no vuelva a suceder. As for the rooms, very nice; we stayed in room 626 and we loved having a jacuzzi inside. One detail to improve is that the minibar did not have chocolates or a variety of snacks—there were only chips, beers, and sodas. On the first and second day, we had breakfast at the Market restaurant and the buffet was incredible, with good service. We also had breakfast at the Palm restaurant and it was fine; however, the orange juice was not natural, and when we asked for a bit more cottage cheese, the waiter told us there was no more (something that should not happen in a 4-Diamond hotel). For lunch, we went to the Thai restaurant. I liked the theme of the place, although I would rate the food 6/10. The only things I really enjoyed were the shrimp starter and the dessert, which was a fruit roll. As for the service, it was neither good nor bad: they only served us water and did not offer drinks until we asked. The waiter told us it was not his responsibility and that another colleague would come to take the drink order. In the evening, we had dinner at the Italian restaurant with a reservation at 9 p.m. From the moment we arrived, the waiter greeted us with a bad attitude and asked us to order everything at once because the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. and that was all we could order. I asked for a canned Coca-Cola with a glass of ice, and they told me it was not possible since the restaurant captain had ordered that all drinks had to be served from the bar, which makes no sense. The food was very bad; out of everything I ordered, I only liked the chicken parmesan. As for the desserts, the crème brûlée was terrible, just like the others. I would definitely not return to this restaurant. Another thing to note is that the carts take a very long time to pass by. We always had to wait 15 minutes or more, and during vacation you don’t want to waste time waiting. If I took the time to write this summary of my experience at the hotel, it was for a reason. I hope it is taken into consideration and that, if I ever return someday, this does not happen again.

We’ve been back to the casitas for several years. We’ve had great butler service even if it’s just keeping us stocked with ice. They made special room decor to celebrate our anniversary from special chocolates and dessert shots. René and Miriam did a stellar job searching and sourcing Dr Pepper zero.

My husband and I had planned a trip to Cabo in September 2025, due to flights getting canceled we literally changed our destination in the airport, our travel agent suggested this resort. This ended up being the best decision! (God’s plan due to bad weather in Cabo) We had the best time! The resort was very low occupancy the first day but it picked up! We loved that the swim out rooms have a larger pool where we got to mingle with your neighbors! We meet some amazing people!! Our concierges Paula & Letty were FABULOUS!! Comfy bed, good bath products, nice closet, and a well stocked fridge. The service and food were both great as well! Only 2 small negatives and this is with any resort I’ve been to, the lighting in the room is horrible and they should put pictures of the food on the menus (it’s difficult to order without). Overall this was a great trip and would definitely consider a repeat trip here.

Positives - Great food great location and a fantastic member of staff Letty Patlan concierge a total gem who assisted us well beyond the call of duty. She was not our room concierge but despite that she assisted in issues we had even when she was off duty Negatives- the resort is empty approx 25% occupancy. Don’t know why but our experience may explain. Problems with room TV didn’t work took 5 calls to repair needed to access hotel information. Air con leak, flooded room call front desk 5 times no priority had to call Letty she was off duty and her influences got it repaired. Room flooded and clothes wet as closet was below Air con. We had to dry clothes in sun. Toilet constantly blocked and no flush for 14 days. Room drab and tired broken furniture and dirty in areas. Gardeners using petrol strimmer and blower around the pool for 3 days noise was deafening had to report why can’t it be done when no one at pool. Poolman pouring chemicals into pool while people in pool- sodium hypochlorite a dangerous chemical should not be used while people bathing. Mini bar (Water)not filled reported Room not made up reported. Beer barrel at pool was off almost sick. Bars and restaurants empty no atmosphere. Front desk avoid answering calls and don’t prioritise. As in the leak we had. We went to this resort as we had been there 11 years before and loved it. It has went backwards. I would be surprised if it survives much longer. Real management issues and lack of people willing to deal with problems with the exception of Letty the company could do well to promote this star as she has what it takes to manage issues and people.