El Dorado Seaside Suites Adult Only All Inclusive, Playa del Carmen Centro

I have been to Mexicos Riviera Maya before and had a wonderful stay at another resort. So naturally I thought this resort would be the same....it was not! We stayed there from 11/30/08 to 12/05/08. There was construction going on the whole entire time that you could hear from all over the resort, especially on the beach. The construction went on from 6 a.m to 6 p.m. everyday. Then there was a generator on the beach that ran each day pumping sand to create a sand bar where a man stood out in the ocean all day blowing on a whistle until 5p.m. The beach is horrible. I wouldn't even really call it a beach, the "sand" consist of mostly busted up coral and rocks which is almost impossible to walk on without hurting yourself. The beach itself is so small that you can barely find a place to set up for the day unless you set an alarm for about 6:30 and run out and lay all your things on either a bed (which are usually always already taken) or a chaise lounge. Also, there was at least one wedding a day if not two that they would close down 1/4 of the beach each day in the morning till evening, so a 1/4 of the tiny beach was not even available to the guests. I didn't realize that the beach was also "clothing optional" so unless you want to watch nude people your whole vacation then think twice about going there. There is no freshwater in your hotel room. Our showers were salt water as well as the faucet from the sink. Not that you can use the water to even brush your teeth but at least you would think you wouldn't have salt water showers. Our toilet didn't flush half the time it was "fixed" for about a half a day and was not flushing properly the rest of the time. Our TV was broken for a day and we got locked out of our room. Which trying to get someone to come and help you is a feat in itself. No one there knows anything or knows who might know anything. On another note, the food and drinks were horrible. You can only get one kind of beer and it's only tap. There are only two wines you get a red and a white and if you want another kind you have to pay for the bottle which the cheapest bottle was about 55.00 US dollars. They say they have premium liquor but when you ask for certain drinks they don't have the liquor to make it. They only will make a list of drinks that they provide to you at the bar. The food is horrible, gourmet, I don't think so. None of the descriptions of food were actually the food you got. We had lobster bisque.....it was not even lobster it was crab and full of shell........yes crunchy shell crab bisque. Scallops......their idea of scallops are tiny little shrimp like you get in can and canned tuna. There are 5 restaurants and only 4 were open. We had to eat breakfast and lunch at the same place for 5 days because the other restaurants were only open for dinner. The menu choices are very limited especially at lunch and breakfast, so if you don't want to eat the same thing day in and out, don't stay here. We also were solicited every day about every thirty minutes to have a massage on the beach and then were solicited to purchase a spa package. Very annoying! Which the spa area looked so dirty I was afraid to use any of the facilities. Also, were solicited to attend a "tour" of the facility. They gave us a 100 dollar voucher to attend. It was for a time share and they don't take no for answer very well. I am on vacation....not there to be solicited 24/7. The staff was nice sometimes and rude and un-knowledgeable most of the time. You could not pay me to come back to this resort. Which they gave us 1,150.00 dollars in free voucher to use or give to some else (I could never put someone through the agony of this place). It was more like a nightmare than a vacation and especially for the money that was paid for this vacation.

My husband and I came to El Dorado to celebrate our 20th anniversary. This place was excellent place to relax for a week. The staff was always accommodating and ready to help. Dinner no longer requires reservations and that is a real plus. They do ask for a semi-formal attire for dinner but most folks are casual without being tacky. The food was very good, we were able to eat at all the restaurants and didn't find one we didn't like. The portions are small but we were never hungry. We liked that this resort is small, under 200 rooms and no kids. The beach beds are very comfy and better than I expected. The evening activities were ok, but we didn't expect a Vegas show. We took advantage of the "collectivo" vans to travel to Talume and Playa del Carmem. The vans are easy to use, clean, safe and cheap. I read some very negative reviews and just didn't find any problems (ok you have to pay for internet, but who wants to spend time on the computer anyway?)

We went to the hotel for a large wedding. There were many highs and many lows. It was our first all-inclusive experience. For the price we expected excellence! The hotel is definitely beautiful and perfect for a specific type of travel. If you want to do nothing, lay on the beach, drink a beer, and be with your significant other or another couple it's perfect. But, if you wish to explore or have a cultural experience, it's not for you. The Wedding: The couple getting married had SO much trouble with the hotel!!! I would definitely NOT recommend it if you want a hassle free wedding. I cannot stress how many problems they had--constantly over the entire six-eight months. There were 4-5 weddings in the 4 days we were there. Nothing was personalized. In the end it was beautiful, but getting there wasn't easy. I got married 6 mo ago in Mexico and our hotel made everything happen without extra charges and without hassle. EDSS was the opposite. Everything came with an extra charge--even if they didn't need it. They tried to charge them for a minister, even though they had brought their own. There was very bad communication with the wedding coordinator. I think the hotel really took advantage of having everyone there and charging for everything, even though it was an all inclusive. Our friends actually considered changing hotels about 2 mo before, but because it was a holiday weekend everything was already booked in the area and they had around 80 guests. FYI--There is a nude beach next door and many at our hotel went topless. That's fine, except when during the ceremony the guests have to stare at large ladies and their large breasts sitting 20 feet away. Luckily the photographer avoided them. It was a tad tacky on the guests behalf. One particular, but by no means only, story of the hotel--the hotel is 18 and over. The groom has a sister who is 16. Of course they got the sister cleared way in advance otherwise they wouldn't have booked the hotel. The family got rerouted and then stuck in Mexico City for a day and a half. When his parents, siblings, and grandma got to EDSS late the nigth before the wedding, they were told that they'd have to find somewhere else to stay. By tthis point they had already missed the rehearsal dinner. The family had been traveling for 2 days and wearing the same clothes. They were frustrated and told they had to go somewhere else--the groom's family! After some serious "discussions" it was resolved, but their room was downgraded. Things like that just shouldn't happen! The Hotel: Beautiful grounds and ocean! Rooms were lovely. But, had cheap sheets and uncomfortable beds (too soft for me). I actually woke up with a back cramp for 2 days. They gave us water and soda in our rooms every day. The tubs were awesome as was the room service! The restaurants overall were great, but the inability to get reservations was frustrating. Go to Vida, it is good and it's the only place where dinner reservations aren't necessary a month in advance. I'd seriously considering booking in advance or be ok with eating at 9:30 pm. If you don't get up and on the beach by 8 am you can forget getting one of the lovely beach beds. The activities that the hotel offers are not very serious. I went to yoga and it was about 30 minutes of stretching your arms. We tried to go snorkeling but the guide never showed up. That was it for us. Some of the people we were with did the water aerobics and thought it was fun. The hotel also isn't very good about giving guests information. One couple wanted to go to Tulum on a Sunday. The hotel said they couldn't do it on Sundays. But, they didn't tell them that they could take a cab or get a collectivo for $2 and $4 for entry. Once they found out, they were quite frustrated. I would not recommend it for groups or weddings.

My husband and I went to El Dorado Seasides suites this past July of 2006. You could not ask for a better place to vacation and this hotel is in the forbes 500 as a top ten hotel in 2006. I must have read 1,000 reviews about this hotel and some of them scared me. When I arrived I was in heaven, the hotel had everything you could ask for. The staff was incredible and always ready to help. The beaches were amazing, I couldn't figure out what people were complaining about. The restaurants were wonderful, the Mexican food and the Asian food were excellent. I wish they had an Asian restaurant like this were I live. The mood in all these restaurants were so romantic. The Italina restaurant isn't exactly italin, there is no pasta or any italian dishes. Order as many dishes as you want, I think my husband and I had four deserts one night. The room service is wonderful for those late nights. The bar is great and open until 3am. So take it from me don't freak out you will have a great time. Do you really think Forbes would put in there top 10 if you were going to have a bad experience...I think not! I have some advice on saving your dollar when your out there. My husband and I wanted to go on excursions during our stay, but didn't want to spend tons of money. We wanted to go to Tulum to visit the ruins and the excursion desk at the hotel wanted to charge us $38.00us per person. So we decided to walk to the entrance of the hotel and caught a collectivo van (these are publice transportation vans that take the locals and vacationers to where they need to go), you definitely need to speak a little bit of spanish but it's worth it. Well it cost us $3.00us each to go roundtrip to Tulum. Then on Sundays Tulum is free admission. So we saved $70.00us. If you decide to do this, make sure the van has stickers in the front winshield. This is the best way to go. Also, try and visit ISLA MUJERES, this island is absolutely beautiful. You can rent a golf cart for $45.00 for the day or a mo-ped for $25.00, then just drive around the island and explore. You will never see water this clear,the water is like bottle water with a tint of green. Well have fun and don't listen to all that crap people are putting out there. If you demand perfection this is the place to be.

I was there with my husband and my parents for an anniversary trip in May '06. The place is very pretty and the beach bed are AWESOME...we napped in one every day around 3pm. The activities pool was very nice and I loved the shallow end where you could have your lounger right in the water. None of us really liked any of the food..we're from Chicago so maybe we're spoiled by good food. Each one of us ended up getting sick while we were there (travelers diarrhea). My Mom was sick 6 out of 7 days, I was sick one day, my Husband was sick 3 days and my Dad was sick for 4 days. We're sure it was from the food and we're sure others were sick as well since one of the gift shops was all sold out of Imodium. What does that tell you?!?!?! I enjoyed the nightly entertainment...it was just long enough to keep your interest without boring you. The wait staff in the guacamayas lounge was incredible. The restaurant staff in the Italian restaurant were good also. We never found the bikes that you could ride...where would you ride them anyway???? The champagne and welcome massage were a nice touch. We will not go back to Mexico, but I'm glad I experienced it once. We will stick with trips to Hawaii from now on.

This hotel was horrible!! First of all it took us about 45 minutes to check in, and then once that was over they said the many golf carts they used to take guests to their rooms were busy. That was a great treat in the 96 degree heat after traveling all day. Then every day we had to call to have our room cleaned. The food was just horrible!! Whenever you asked for your meat to be cooked a certain way it always came back way over done and tough. I mean you would expect to see a little pink when you order something rare right??? The front desk was so horrible and unorganized. Whenever we would have a question they would transfer us a million times and nobody could ever help us. Finally we walked up there because we wanted some answers and nobody claimed to have talked to us. FYI the beaches are full of seaweed and the sand is very rocky so bring some water shoes. The pictures they show online are very deciving. Not to mention the couple they show snorkling must be at a different resort because we never came close to seeing those kind of fish!! We went there on our honeymoon to relax and it was a real disaster. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone!

Beatiful resort, more cozy then Royale. Ambience is incredible. Beach is beautiful! Staff is awesome. A must do! went here for our Honeymoon. The room, the service and the food did not disappoint. Also talks of swim up suites. Can not wait to stay in one.

In June we experienced life like we had never before. We got married in June, flew on a place for the first time and went to Mexico for the first time. El Dorado was the best place I have EVER been in my life. My husband and I were treated as if we were king & queen of Tulum. It was so wonderful. The service was the best! Every where you turned there were employees catering to someone or passing by with a friendly 'hola'. I didn't really care for the food - I've never had true Mexican food only Tex-Mex. The drinks were world class. The rooms were cleaned daily - usually later in the day. We had an ocean front jacuzzi room - the jacuzzi was awesome. It was in the room - if you get a 2nd floor room it is on the balcony. I wish that our room was on the 2nd floor - there is a better view of the ocean - if you are on the bottom floor you have to look through the trees & wild life to see the ocean. Room service...OMG! The best I've ever seen. The grounds - this is an older resort so it has had a chance to grow...the plant life is so lush! There are two pools - one usally had a lot of things going on (younger crouds or more active people) the other pool was generally older people just relaxing. Tons of free activities at the resort - paddle boat, v-ball, snorkling, and more.

Great rooms, great food, great beach, and beach service, we went to El Dorado SS last November, just booked for this Nov. ...just can't stay away from this super property. We've been to Mexico many times (10) and are totally in-love with this part of the coast. So many other places are too windy, crowded, and lacking in ambiance. Half the time we (wife and I) danced the night away, great bars, unbelievable service ! Anna (at the front desk) is simply fantastic. I really want to keep this place a secret...but what the heck. The spa is the best in Mex.

We had a wonderful time at EDSS. The grounds are the most beautiful in the area and the food was first class. Since the reef is several yards off of the beach it breaks the waves making it an excellent place to snorket too. Worth the time and money!