Here is a tour of El Dorado Seaside Suites:
Chris and Tracy visited El Dorado Seaside Suites and shared their review.
In December 2018, we traveled to El Dorado Seaside Suites in
Riviera Maya. The hour and twenty minute drive was quickly erased from
our memories when we arrived on the site of this gorgeous resort. We
were greeted with champagne and were welcomed to check in. After a quick
stop at the lobby to get registered, we were taken to our room by the
bellhop. The room was spectacular and better than we imagined. We
couldn't wait to better get acquainted with this resort. But
first....food. After a long travel day, we were famished. Here's where
it is helpful to know about the layout of the resort.
The
resort is divided into three sections: the lobby, the older section
(Sensimar), and the newer section (Seaside). There is actually a fourth
au-natural section, but most visitors don't have access to that section.
There are shuttles that arrive approximately every 10 minutes that can
take you to each section as the resort is rather spread out.
The lobby contains the registration desk, a gift shop, a mezcal bar (Mezcalitos), and three restaurants:
1) Seaside Market--buffet, open for 3 meals per day,
2) Klay Talay--Asian reservation-required, open for dinner only
3) Mia Casa Dorado--Italian, open for dinner only
There is live music at Mezcalitos on Fridays and Saturdays, but typically the lobby section of the resort is quieter.
The
older section (Sensimar) is extensive and includes the majority of the
resort's features. The guest rooms are divided amongst many buildings
and some have private pools. In addition to the private pools, there is
one main pool. There are some activities (pool volleyball, bingo,
trivia, etc.) during the day that happen at the main pool. There are
also many Bali beds around the pool and near the pool on the beach. The
beach is relatively small but does have a couple dozen lounge chairs, a
volleyball/soccer court, and is the location for some of the daily
activities. There are many restaurants in this section:
1) La Carreta--Mexican, open for dinner only
2) Mia Casa Sensimar--Italian, open for dinner only
3) The Culinarium--Latin Fusion, open for 3 meals per day
4) Gourmet Pub--World Cuisine, open for dinner only
5) Arrecifes--International, open for 3 meals per day
6) Beach Barbeque--buffet, open for breakfast and lunch
7) Sandwicherie--burgers, pizza, salads, open for breakfast and lunch
On
the Sensimar side, there are a few bars, including a swim up bar from
Arrecifes to the main pool. One of the bars (Guacamayas) is open until
2am and is the host of some late night activities including a "white
party". There is also a performance area called the Picadilly Circus
that hosts some of the evening shows.
Finally,
the newer section (Seaside) has only one building and all rooms have
pool balconies (like seriously pools on the balconies) and overlook the
large pool for that side of the resort. There is a swim up bar and a
restaurant:
1) Driftwood (like 2 restaurants in one, a buffet and a table service, but is only open for lunch)
There
are activities that take place near the pool/restaurant area of this
side of the resort. There is sand and a view of the water, but no access
to swim in the ocean from the Seaside section of the resort. There are
plenty of pool area chairs and some Bali beach beds, but the beds were
always occupied. There is a bar (Kanaloa) on the 4th floor of the resort
where there is a pool table, live music, and other activities. On the
Seaside side of the resort, there is a recreation area called "Plaza de
las Palmeras" that includes a bocce court, hammocks, and is occasionally
set up for evening shows.
This takes me
back to our opinions and specifically the original topic....food. We
stayed on the Seaside section of the resort and found it a bit
frustrating that there were no restaurants open for breakfast or dinner
on that side. As many of the restaurants are only open for a short time
at dinner, we also found there to be a relatively long (45 minute) wait
when we went at peak dinner time--any time after 7pm. We would probably
recommend that if you arrive hungry, you either a) order room service
and then unpack a bit or b) take a shuttle to the Seaside
Market--buffet. Overall, we would say that the food was tasty, but not
always convenient for when/where we wanted to eat. After we figured
things out a bit, it became much more enjoyable. We appreciated that the
resort is very eco-friendly and accommodating to people with food
allergies/aversions.
Other than the food
aspect, here are some of our thoughts. The shows were impressive (we saw
the fire show and the circus) and the special evenings are spectacular.
(The Mexican night was very elaborate and they had different foods to
try, a mariachi performance, and local vendors selling homemade items.)
The shuttles which come "every 10 minutes" were not always as prompt as
we Midwesterners would have liked. We had a room with a pool balcony and
found that it was waaay too cold to swim in that pool. There was no sun
that reached the pool balcony, so it was much better to just go to the
main pool. We only saw 3 or 4 couples enjoying their pool balconies the
entire week we were there, to give you an idea. The spa seemed nice,
although we chose not to partake other than a quick trip to the doctor
who is stationed there. He seemed very competent, if you're a klutz like
me and need to know these things. Finally, we felt a bit nickeled and
dimed at this resort. We don't have a lot of experience at
all-inclusives, so maybe it was just us, but we felt like we were
constantly being asked to pay for upgrades to our trip even though we
had already paid a good deal of money. If you want certain craft beers,
wines, special dinners, high end meals, or even seats for some of their
evening events, you need to pay extra. In addition, there is a timeshare
part of this resort so presentation attendance will likely be offered
to you and members will have access to invite-only events and locales.
Both extra payments and the special treatment of members were sources of
frustration for us. Again, after figuring out how the resort is
arranged and how it works, we had a much more enjoyable time and
honestly spent our final few days at Sensimar where there seemed to be
more action and access to restaurants.
When
your final day arrives, you should call a bellhop to come pick up you
and your luggage and take you to the lobby. Our checkout consisted of
paying 20 pesos per night (although if you pay in US dollars it was
about $1.50 per night...much higher than the exchange rate) and
completing a short survey.
The shortened version of our impression of the resort:
1) Resort is gorgeous, eco-friendly, and accommodating to those with dietary needs.
2) Seaside room is gorgeous, but pool balcony is basically useless. (We have a differing opinion on this. The balcony pool is one of my favorite things about this resort. - Angie)
3)
Resort is spread out with the majority of the restaurants on the
Sensimar side. Shuttles somewhat regularly will take you between the
sections of the resort.
4) Some extra expenses and special treatments for members should be anticipated.
5) Restaurants are busy between 7-9pm, so plan to visit during off-peak times unless you are okay with a wait.
Overall,
we enjoyed our stay at El Dorado Seaside Suites, but wish we would have
known some of the info that we listed here in this review prior to our
visit. That would have allowed us to start enjoying the resort right
away, as opposed to getting acclimated to the setup during the first few
days.
