We travelled to El Dorado Seaside suites on the 4th to the 19th January from Birmingham Airport with Thompson.

What can I say? It was an amazing experience, for the minute we arrived we felt like Kings and Queens, the staff there are the most friendly, welcoming people I have ever met. This was my second time to Mexico, and I have been to Cuba before, but the staff at this resort are wonderful! They cannot do enough for you.

You have a personal concierge based outside of your room between 8-5pm and anything you want, and I mean anything just visit or phone them and they will bend over backwards to sort it for you. If you want your champagne on ice and Jacuzzi run for a certain time when you get back from the pool, they will do that for you. I was sick in my room toilet (too much tequila ;) ) and after cleaning it I could still smell it a little in the air, informed our concierge and 5 minutes later a little Mexican arrives at the door with a bottle of aromatherapy to spray the walls and air.

Food wise, most mornings we ate at the sanwichierie where they make you fresh omelettes if you want with your chosen ingredients in front of your eyes, extra cheese, wonderful!

At lunch we didn’t tend to move from our space round the activities pool, instead we would ask Lucy the pool waitress to order and bring our lunch, burgers/chips/burritos/pizza etc... Which she would do along with our drinks with no problem what so ever. We literally didn’t have to get off our sun beds which were in the water!! Lucy was amazing always with a smile on her face bringing us cocktails all day!

For tea time I would recommend the Italian or the Asian restaurant, special shout goes to Juan from the Asian restaurant, we loved him!

The best thing about the holiday was the entertainment staff. Fantastic Isay!!!! The beautiful Karen!!!! And Jonny!!!!!! We will miss these guys so much!! They were funny, up for a laugh and we thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment, water polo, beach volleyball, snorkelling, horseshoe, bowls on the beach, ping pong, darts, bingo, even the aqua aerobics is so funny and if you don’t want to be super boring all holiday just chat to these guys and they will make sure you have the best time!!

I would advise to book a massage (always ask for a free facial before booking which they will say yes to) And go down to the spa an hour before, use the steam and sauna rooms and also spend some time in the hydrotherapy plunge pools! They are an experience!!

We had a letter from Thompson before our holiday about the building work saying that it is minor...it is not minor at all! it is massive and very loud in the middle of the complex, however you only notice it if you are walking past, you cant hear or see it at the pools or restaurant, unless you get a room next to it, they I would be unhappy. It is due to be finished in a few months time... If you are in these rooms I would understand being unhappy, but if not and it affects you then you are just the kind of person that goes looking for complaints!

We had a swim up room number 3904....absolutely perfect spot right near the swim up bar. Not affected by the building work at all, sunshine in a morning which was great for recovering from the hangover before hitting the activities pool/beach area for the day. After the sunset at 5.30ish we would go back to the room and into the lazy river/bar/ and socialise with all other couples round that area doing similar thing. The river is slightly heated therefore its lovely to go in when the sun goes down, enjoy a few cocktails while your Jacuzzi runs in you room then jump straight in there!! Heaven!!

We ordered room service a few times throughout our stay, the food is not as good as the restaurants (obviously) but it is great and convenient, especially if you have had too many types of tequila the night before and fancy lounging on the swim up bar, order room service for breakfast and its here in half an hour!!

The only negative thing I have about this resort - is on check out, we needed to cash in a travellers cheque for £100 for the airport tax. The front desk reception was quite rude (the first time anyone was even slightly rude!) They said they could not do it because my partner’s signature on the traveller’s cheque did not match the one on his passport. The one on his passport he signed when he was 17 years old and he is now 26, so we tried to explain this is why they were different. He can sign exactly like the one on the cheque now. We had already cashed in over £1000 pounds worth of travellers cheques throughout the holiday, and never even asked for ID. We spoke to the front desk manager Gerardo (I think) who was also quite rude and said no!! They didn’t match so he couldn’t change it, he said the bank would not accept it and all the other money that we had changed he would now be charging the staff who had previously given us the money!!! In the end we had to withdraw money from the bank, luckily we had money in our bank which we got charged on. So be careful! Make sure your signature matches exactly even if you signed it 9 years ago! That was the only negative thing I have about the whole holiday.

I could go on and on about positive things of this resort and I would recommend it to anyone!!!!


Stephanie and Jamie, Nottingham, England.

Karisma has done an amazing job of providing a beautiful environment nestled among palm trees and other flora. There are ample beach beds for afternoons lounging in either full sun or shade. For people looking to meet other vacationers, the resort provides an array of outdoor activities that seem to attract a significant amount of participation. Although our evening meals were quite enjoyable, the El Dorado has limited options for eating outdoors. For dinner the only truly outdoor restaurant is the roof top patio of the Asian restaurant. During the day you can choose to eat outside for breakfast and lunch, but the buffet selections are rather limited. We chose to eat at the picnic area on our last afternoon at the resort. The grill offered sandwiches with frozen chicken or fish patties. They also offered chips with nacho cheese and chili sauce. Although that might be tasty during football season in the States, I would have preferred fresh salsa and guacamole in the near 90 degree heat of the afternoon. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, and the accommodations are impeccable. I would not turn down an opportunity to visit this resort because of the food limitations, but I do think the El Dorado could improve its dining options.

Sara and I are regular travellers to the Caribbean, (see my profile) we always go for the last week in November/first week in December and celebrate our anniversary there....Our holiday stipulation is adults only all inclusive.....

We first went to Mexico some ten years ago, since then we’ve been to DR, Cuba (X3), Jamaica, Antigua, Bahamas and Grenada.
We book almost a year in advance and always upgrade the flight seats.
Flight out of LGW on time, the aircraft was an old FCA unit and was showing it’s age.. the seats in premium were rather hard but the IFE was OK, free drinks all the way, meals satisfactory and the 11 hour flight was soon over...

After clearing immigration and customs we then had about an hour wait for the rest of our coach transfer party, eventually setting off for the 90 minute drive.

EDSS was one of the first drop-offs and we were greeted by a cold cocktail and a towel before being taken to the meeting room for a brief welcome and check-in meeting. In the meantime our luggage was being taken to our room.....
We hadn’t booked a swim-up room but were in one of the blocks (38-41) – first floor, 3816.
Room well maintained, all the usual refinements including a large walk-in shower with powerful jets.
Large in-room double Jacuzzi tub., Flat screen TV with loads of channels (some *Adult* after 2200hrs)
One word of warning, we went out on our balcony, closing the door behind us to keep out any mozzies, and locked ourselves out!!! - called down to a passing porter who “rescued” us!
Maid service daily did a good job, always leaving plenty of towels and towel art, minibar stocked daily..

The resort itself is nicely-sized; you can walk the length of it in just ten mins or so at a slow pace, and mostly on the flat. Blocks 25-34 are nearer to the beach, but I would suspect the only the top floors have a sea view as the grounds are well cultivated with palm trees and vegetation, giving the whole area a “jungle” feel.

There are a couple of racoons who live in an area at the south of the resort, and a lizard about halfway along the main walkway who must be the most photographed lizard in the Caribbean!!
Other wildlife is pretty random, but I only saw ONE Cockroach in all my time there!

OK, so to the important stuff, Bars first....

As I mentioned earlier, the swim-up rooms on the ground floor have the lazy river running in front, with the swim-up bar halfway along. This bar also has a terrace area accessed from the dry side for just sitting and drinking, they also serve afternoon tea and cakes there.

The main bar area is towards the front of the resort, adjoining the courtyard restaurant (Sandwicherie).. further forwards in the same area is the Entertainment stage and it’s here that they show films at night...

There is another bar along to the right as you face the beach; it’s associated with the beach grill, opens at 1000, and closes at 5..

Far to the left, at the other end of the resort, is the bar by the lap pool, smaller and more intimate, opens at 1000 and closes at 2300..
There are also bars in the international restaurant and a Margarita bar in the Garden restaurant.
Most top-shelf liqueurs, with the notable exception of Baileys, but even MrsMg was happy with the replacement for once!!

House wines, Chilean Red which was perfectly OK, and they have a house Chardonnay which is drinkable, we didn’t feel the need to pay extra for anything off the wine list, which to be honest were VERY overpriced!

Which brings me on to the restaurants.....


Firstly, the Sandwicherie....

Situated on the ground floor alongside the main bar area...open for continental breakfast and lunch. As the name suggests, lunch of burritos, Tacos and a burger menu, pizzas and salads. Gets busy around 1300, but leave your name with the host and they’ll come and find you when they’ve got a table.


Next, Arrecifes..

On the ground floor, next to the Sandwicherie, indoors.. breakfast, lunch and dinner... billed as “International cuisine” – we actually only ate there twice for dinner and once for lunch, nothing wrong with either meal, but we simply found that over the two weeks that we developed our favourites..... one of which was :


Klay Talay

The Oriental – Upstairs, above Arrecifes... great food here if you like your Chinese.. they also brought out the occasional “chef’s treat” such as tuna Carpaccio or other sushi bits as tasters between courses, we liked the service here, very friendly.. another of our favourites was:


Vida

The garden Grill and Margarita lounge, open for Breakfast, lunch and dinner... we absolutely loved this place!! – a great menu at all mealtimes, my fave was the Caribbean take on Prawn cocktail, but I also loved their BBQ chicken with blue cheese, MRSMG liked the salad bar, great steaks at night and the “Surf and Turf” was worth paying the few more pounds for. They did us proud on our anniversary evening dinner with a special cake!!


Mia Casa

The Italian, behind the reception area, near the Lap pool and it’s bar...
All in all another favourite of ours, dinner only, my wife likes her Italian food and we had some great evenings here.. all the usual stuff on the menu, alright, not probably the most authentic, but still enjoyable. Alongside is :-


La Carreta

The Mexican restaurant, not one of our favourites, to be honest we were a little disappointed, finding the service a bit dour and the food a little bland on the two evenings that we went... perhaps it’s a taste thing, others that we met really enjoyed it...one more to mention..


The Beach Grill

Open for lunches, Burgers, grilled meats and fish (catch of the day), salad bar, baked potatoes, fries etc. – we did a couple of lunches here, but mostly preferred to have a more formal lunch...

There’s also a man on the walkway at the back of the beach at lunchtimes with a trolley and he serves Tacos...

All in all we found most of the food to be either good or Very good, there were one or two meals that we didn’t like but that’s bound to happen over two weeks... you certainly won’t go hungry!!


Service,

again mostly good or very good, we tipped when we’d had excellent service.

We “tested” room service one night after we’d met a bunch of Scandinavians who were in party mood – we ordered pizzas, toasted sandwiches and bottles of cava for ten of us, it phased them out that we ordered it to be brought to the bar area at 0200, but they duly delivered and we all ate and drank!!

So much for eating and drinking, what about the beach?


Slightly disappointed with the beach, hurricanes have taken their toll, eroding a lot of the sand away, but the resort is doing it’s best to rebuild the area, the best bit of beach is towards the south end (turn right). There are loads of beach loungers and four poster beds and the sun is out from about 0700 through till about 1630 at this time of year..There are a few rocks in the water which makes it a bit difficult to walk out, but after the first twenty feet or so it’s easier and the sand doesn’t really slope away..

Plenty of snorkelling to be done, there is a daily supervised swim out to see the coral...
There are also loads of fish that will swim around your legs, bumping into you, wanting to be fed – smuggle some bread out from the restaurant! Also, watch out for the Barracuda, he’s friendly!!

There are other free non-motorised water sports, kayaks, dinghys etc and for a few dollars more the locals will offer Ski jets and speedboat trips.
Waited- on service for drinks starts at about 10 am and carries on through the day.

One nice thing about the beach was the absence of beach vendors trying to sell you stuff all day.


Pools

Two main pools, the large irregular-shaped activities pool alongside the Arrecife restaurant – the usual activities here, with the usual music all day, swim up bar and poolside games... OK if that’s your thing...

The Lap pool,
at the North end of the resort, quieter, loads of Four poster beds and a Jacuzzi alongside, drinks service from the adjacent bar...
And, of course, the “lazy river” with it’s “halfway house” swim up bar...


Spa

I treated MrsMg to a couple of treatments for our anniversary... she came back to me after a massage, manicure and pedicure and announced that it was one of the best spa experiences ever!!

I certainly felt a good vibe as I dropped her off...


Activities

Loads going on all day!! From 1000 till late in the day, there’s all sorts, from Snorkelling, Kayaking, massage lessons, dance lessons, Spanish lessons, volleyball, football, bingo(!), quizzes and other stuff to keep you amused if you need it.....otherwise, just chill and read a book....

Evening entertainment, usually a Band, later a DJ, or Karaoke, one night turned over to a Mayan festival night, with dinner for everyone on the beach (but most of the restaurants were open as well)


Excursions

We didn’t do any this time, we’ve done them before and all we wanted was a lazy time on the beach.. BUT, the resort is handy for all the important stuff, Tulum, X-Caret, X-Plor, Xe-La and Cozumel....
We toyed with the idea of a night out at Coco Bongos in Cancun, but we couldn’t be bothered with the travelling there and back – there is a Coco Bongo in Puerto Aventuras though...


Service & Guests

Our last experience of Mexico was 10 years ago and we had some rather poor memories – NOT, I hasten to add of the staff, who were all friendly, but of our fellow guests, some of who seemed to have left their manners at home and were inclined to treat their hosts as second class people.. Thankfully on this trip we saw little if any of that.. ALL the staff we encountered were polite and seemed happy in their work and the guests (mostly British and Canadian, with a smattering of Europeans) were also polite – overall a great atmosphere all over the resort!

A word about cleanliness, absolutely NO complaints... public areas tended hourly and stocked..staff in food areas wearing gloves, regular hand-washing and customers offered hand sanitizing gel at all restaurants...


Reps

We don’t “do” welcome meetings, but met our reps Jimmy and Savannah around the resort – we didn’t need to trouble them with anything (or indeed the “personal Concierges” that are assigned to each block) – clearly an indication of how much we enjoyed this holiday and the lack of problems that we had....


The Hidden Beach

To the North end of the resort, we found our way here on our second day as we were exploring....we walked to the side of the spa room at the end of the lap pool and found ourselves in a part of the resort that wasn’t on our map.....we were just sauntering around when we walked past a bloke with no clothes on, followed shortly by another, then another.. we realised what we had stumbled into, couldn’t find our way back, so headed for the beach area and headed south!

Walking past the security guard who was a bit amused at our presence....
Anyway, the “clothing optional” resort is under the same management, you can pay for a day pass to go there, or even “upgrade” your whole holiday... Members from Hidden beach can also use all the facilities at EDSS (clothed, of course!!)


The Building works

OK, so we weren’t told, but it’s common knowledge that there is a new block being built at the moment with a view to opening in the summer of 2013 It’s a five story block at the North end of the resort, behind the Vida Garden restaurant...Word is that it is being driven by a travel company and will be aimed mostly at UK guests....

There is some noise during the day, it certainly affected our lunch one day as there was a delivery of fresh concrete, the work goes on until seven or eight in the evening and the adjacent blocks (15, 16, 17, 18, 41and 40) will be most affected....They turn the walkway music up to offset the noise during the day...

When finished, there will be 100 more rooms, with another restaurant on the ground floor, I also believe that there is a new reception area being built and the present one will become another bar/restaurant..

Not sure how a high-rise will fit alongside the rest of the resort (which is all three stories), presumably some of the higher story rooms will be marketed as “Sea view” with a higher price tag... many folks who have been returning to the resort for years are afraid that the big increase in guest numbers will spoil the atmosphere that is somewhat unique about this resort...


SO, OVERALL

A great holiday!!!

As I said at the start, we’ve been to lots of places, up to now there’s been only one place that we’ve been back to, but EDSS is DEFINATELY on the “will return” list
Well done to all the Staff, I couldn’t single out one in particular, You’re all stars!!

Adios Amigos!!

(Any questions, feel free to ask)

ATB,J.

I went here with my partner and family, the main reason was to get married. We picked Mexico based on recommendations from friends. The hotel was booked and recommended via First Choice, you pick a hotel/holiday and then they add the wedding package of your choice on. May I recommend the basic wedding package as this is all you'll need! You can add the odd extras on with the wedding planner on-site who begins emailing you before you arrive and sends really helpful information. We got extra flowers and bows on the wedding chairs and 'upgraded' my bouquet to hold.

The hotel was lovely. 'Gourmet' inclusive is the way to go! Eating a la carte is one of my favourite things to do on holiday so not having a self-serve buffet (except at lunch on the beach) is brilliant. On our first day we had a meeting with the wedding co-ordinators and they were really down to earth and friendly. They helped me on the day of the wedding too and calmed my nerves! The wedding went very smoothly and the weather was perfect. We wed at 4pm and had photos (I recommend the photographer as it's a one-off day!)for 1 hour after. We then went straight onto our wedding meal so the timing worked well.

We picked the pier gazebo for the wedding which I was pleased with as it was the quietest venue and at 4pm not too many people around. Sunbathers nearby could stay but no new arrivals could enter the wedding area once it begun. The honeymoon breakfast was such a lovely feast too!

All in all the quality of this hotel was worth the trip. Every guest was treated top class and the service was supreme. I would definitely recommend it to couples and small groups - any higher than about 6 people, they struggle to fit you all on tables together in the evenings.