Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

We had a little hiccup with our room after a rainy night with our sink in the bathroom not draining. Immediately after we got off the phone with the concierge they sent someone who handled the issue right away and was very professional! The staff are absolutely what makes this place a five star property. We went to the spa twice for couples massage with stones requested Daphne and Jesse again because I swear they are healing angels! Happy we reserved the cabana facing the beach because there was an incredible breeze there and we met a beautiful iguana! Housekeeping was amazing as well as Trent, Chen, and oh gosh I forgot her name but she was a sweetheart. So happy that the ocean is right outside your room and the beach was completely private and safe. We are booking again for end of January this place is truly special and the people that work there are the true heart of the resort!

Where do I start?! Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, was simply amazing. From the stunning location and private plunge pool to the incredible amenities and overall sense of ultra-luxury, this property truly stands out. As beautiful as the resort is, however, what made our experience truly exceptional was the staff. A property can have every luxury imaginable, but it’s the people who ultimately make the experience—and the team at Dorado Beach went above and beyond to ensure our stay was nothing short of top-notch. A few individuals especially deserve recognition: Thalia and Eric from the Embajador Team – Thank you for your attentiveness, warmth, and commitment to making our stay special. Mike and Ricardo from the main pool team – Your exceptional service and hospitality made our time at the pool even more enjoyable. Valentino from the greeting team – From the moment we arrived, your warm welcome and genuine hospitality helped set the tone for an incredible stay. These individuals deserve the highest recognition for the level of service they provided. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and genuine desire to make guests feel cared for embody what you expect from the Ritz-Carlton name—and then some. Dorado Beach is undoubtedly a spectacular property, but its exceptional staff is what truly makes it unforgettable. We left feeling incredibly well cared for and already looking forward to the opportunity to return. Thank you to the entire Dorado Beach team for an amazing experience!

My experience with Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve was extremely disappointing. One of the biggest issues was the way the Encanto Beach Club was presented. The information made it seem like the beach club was part of the property, but it is actually a separate location and not part of the Ritz-Carlton Reserve. This was very misleading and created expectations that were not met. For a luxury property at this level, I expected much clearer and more accurate communication about what is actually included with the stay and what is not. I also had a very frustrating experience dealing with Hector, which made the situation even worse. I expected better customer service, transparency, and accountability from a property of this caliber. Unfortunately, this was one of my worst hotel experiences, and I would strongly recommend asking very specific questions about what facilities and beach clubs are actually part of the property before booking.

We're not usually people who stay put on a beach vacation, but this Ritz-Carlton might have changed that. We came for a work event and I completely understand why they return every year. It's gorgeous, the staff are warm and genuinely helpful, and it truly feels like the White Lotus of Puerto Rico. I didn't even mind the heat and very high humidity given the beautiful beach and clear water. We were greeted on arrival with warm towels and mango and coconut sorbet bars. Check-in was easy, and Stefanie walked us around the property on the way to our room and explained the amenities and daily perks, including coconut water (with or without rum), champagne time, rum tasting, and more ice cream. Gary got our bags to the room before we did and had them set up quickly into the walk-in closet. My only suggestion is to send the daily perks schedule by text or leave it in the room so guests don't miss anything. Some people at the event didn't know all these perks existed. At the beach, Jan, Marcus, Delvin, and Walter checked in often without ever hovering. It was low season and our event had bought out the hotel, so it was quiet, but the attention felt like just the right amount. Oquendo was a standout who kept the coconut waters, ice cream bars, and champagne coming. When he ran out of champagne, he went back inside to get us some. Klara at COA was also wonderful and made the rum tasting one of our highlights. We only tried the buffet options the event provided at COA, but everything was so good. The service was just as impressive. Plates and glasses were cleared quickly, the food and drinks stayed fully stocked, and someone was always nearby if we had questions. Every person we met at breakfast, lunch, and dinner was kind and attentive. My favorite was the jumbo prawns grilled outside, which were absolutely delicious. Our second floor room was stunning. It was spacious, with an outdoor terrace, an outdoor shower, and the most comfortable bed we've ever slept in. The small kitchen was fully stocked, with fresh fruit daily. One small request, add a line or dedicated spot to hang wet bathing suits. The spa is every bit as incredible as everyone says. Shannon and Stefanie were kind at check-in and check-out and showed me around. I booked the massage in the treehouse, and my therapist, Saleynna, has magical hands. Hearing the birds and feeling the breeze during the massage felt surreal. It was quiet that day, so I had the place almost to myself. This spa experience belongs on everyone's bucket list, and I'd absolutely come back.

This is a beautiful, well maintained resort, overall great service but there were several issues with our experience that were less than 5 star. About 2 weeks before our stay we received a questionnaire from the hotel, this included “magical moments”, dietary restrictions and other information so the hotel can help you plan. We shared a lot of information about our trip (celebrating our 5 year anniversary, wanting nature experiences and in-room camping for our son, interest in private dining, family photoshoot, etc…) Several days after completing the questionnaire, a member of the guest experience team reached out and it was as if they never saw the answers to our questionnaire and re-asked if we needed transportation to/from airport and if so for flight information. This was re-provided. I also reiterated several things from the questionnaire that were most important to us including a family photoshoot, catamaran, and in room camping experience for our son. They ignored the in-room camping request and CCed the concierge to help for the other two requests. Had to send two follow-ups to the concierge and finally received pricing. Decided to book the photoshoot but never received a response back on availability until after we arrived and I asked our butler to escalate. Guest Experience team never addressed our in-room camping request (I know it’s offered at some but not all Ritz properties, but I at least would have an appreciated a “no” we can’t accommodate that vs being ignored in multiple emails or an alternative fun kids experience that they could accommodate). We arrived at the hotel and had a great check-in experience and our butler (Siarah) was very responsive to requests for sand toys and dinner reservations. There was a cake and lemonade waiting for us in our room to celebrate our anniversary and sandals, beach bags and hats. It really was an incredible room. We chose a second floor room on the west side and in building 5 we were close to the pool and restaurants and couldn’t have picked a better location on property. It was great waking up to palm trees and we loved the outdoor shower and massive bath tub. Our understanding was the there was about 4 individuals that were part of our butler team and that were part of the text chat who would support us from 9am-9pm. However it was frustrating that requests like extra ice and towels at turndown required a nightly follow-up. We never received a confirmation from the Guest Experience Team for our car service to the airport, so I checked with front desk and they had it booked for an hour later than we’d requested. I asked for it to be adjusted but received a confirmation email from car service for the wrong time. I followed up twice more with the butler team and ultimately it was corrected by the time we departed. We only met two of people on the butler team, and the second was as we were checking out. The first night at COA my husband inquired about a few items on the menu and the waiter generously brought out a free appetizer of one of the things my husband didn’t pick and specifically said it was on the house yet we were charged $37 dollars. We had a similar billing issue at COA a few days later when they charged us $13 for French fries that should have been included in our son’s children’s meal per their menu. The restaurant issues continued at Positivo when the waiter reconfirmed our dietary restrictions from the questionnaire and yet brought out my husbands appetizer covered in cilantro which was on the list and specifically discussed with the waiter before hand. The waiter acknowledged Cilantro shouldn’t be on there but did not offer to bring it back to the kitchen. My husband complained because why ask on a questionnaire or reconfirm while we were ordering if you weren’t going to take dietary restrictions or preferences seriously and waiter admitted his mistake and offered a free cocktail, my husband picked off the cilantro. The food was delicious at both restaurants, but we were disappointed with these experiences especially at this price point. Several restaurants onsite were closed during our stay, apparently Monday and Tuesday nights have limited dining options. We decided to eat off property two nights and appreciated recommendations from the bellman team. We were disappointed that restaurants onsite did not have more Puerto Rican/ Caribbean influence. I also had high hopes that as a Ritz Carlton Reserve that we’d had more nature experiences for our son, like their kids ambassadors of the environment program but nothing was shared before/during our stay. Siarah did let us know where there may be turtles on property and our son enjoyed checking on them and seeing lizards throughout the property. The only kids thing offered before our trip was to book time for our son at their kids club (seemed more like a daycare) which Guest Experience shared the wrong link to. When I did finally reach the kids club team I found out it was $180 for a partial day and needed to be booked well in advance. Only one day if our stay was even available and didn’t work for our schedule. I had asked our butler team mid stay again about the in-room camping or something special we could coordinate for our son, and though they did have a teddy bear, cookies, lemonade and a dessert voucher left at turndown mid-stay I was a disappointed because I had been prepared to splurge on a special experience for him. Hotel photographer did a great job and quick to provide photos. My husband loved his treehouse massage experience, and felt the spa and staff were excellent. Everyone we interacted with was super nice and playful with our son. We enjoyed the water park (unfortunately only open one day of our stay) and pool staff was great. Housekeeping/turndown service did a great job as well, but we felt like there was a miscommunication between them and our butler team since we did have to ask every night for the same things. We enjoyed the free coffee and muffins in the Livingston library every morning and meeting some of the people who live in the residences there and at Cocina Gourmet. Overall it is a stunningly beautiful resort and service mostly great but some requests were ignored or had to be followed up on more times than I’d expect for a hotel of this caliber.