Your First Adventure with me is to El Dorado Casitas Royale, Riviera Maya Mexico

Welcome my fellow Luxury Travelers, friends, colleagues, clients and future clients. After much delay, hesitation and utter procrastination I am finally joining the nation of BLOGenstein. I hope to excite and perhaps motivate you to travel by sharing my many travels to Luxurious Hotels, Resorts and Villas both near and far. I hope you find my Blog, pictures and reviews compelling enough to visit the many amazing places that offer a slice of heaven, away from the daily hustle and bustle of life. With just a little planning even those of us with the most modest of budgets can more than just travel. You can travel to world class destinations and resorts and be treated like kings and queens during your stay. I encourage you to share my love for the finer things in life, don't you deserve it?

Last week I had the privilege of being invited to tour all of the Karisma Luxury Resorts in the Riviera Maya as well as a few others I arranged to see on my own. So as to not bombard my readers with 10 different hotels/videos/albums all at once I am going to review each hotel separately over the course of the next few weeks. 

I am going to start with my host resort The El Dorado Casitas Royale. I have traveled 5 times now to the Mexican Riviera and seen just about every 4 and 5 star hotel in the area. Many have been impressive and definitely upped the ante and standard by which I judge other hotels in the Caribbean and Latin America. I have to say I have been impressed yet again and have a new favorite resort with the El Dorado Casitas Royale. I can see why it was chosen as one of Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Top 100 Hotels in the World and a AAA Four Diamond Resort. The resort is snuggled along the beach in a separate, private area within the larger El Dorado Royale Resort Complex on Mexico's Riviera Maya. El Dorado Casitas Royale is an adult's only resort with an impressive selection of amenities and services making this an unmatchable destination for romantic escapes, weddings, honeymoons, and anniversaries.

Karisma Resorts signature concept is the Gourmet-Inclusive Vacation. I can attest to the fact that they live up to the name in not just the Cuisine but the service and spirit as a whole. From the moment we stepped out of the Airport and were taken to the Lincoln Navigator awaiting us (not standard for transfers but can be arranged on request) I had a feeling I was going to like this place. After a short 30 minute drive we arrived at the main lobby of the El Dorado Royale and greeted with chilled towels and champagne and were told a Golf Cart would be taking us to the separate check in facility for the El Dorado Casitas Royale. On que about 5 mins later our Golf Cart arrived and whisked us over to the Casitas Check-In. The resort is fairly spead out and from the other lobby was a good 5 minutes by Golf Cart. For those that don't like walking you might want to either wait for one to drive by or call for a golf cart pickup when headed to the Royale Main Section but it wasn't that bad a walk really. Check-in was fairly standard and fast and we received a quick map tour of where our room was and restaurants/bars/pools/etc. So far the resort seemed very well maintained, great landscaping, lobbies, and friendly staff but the best was yet to come. The architectural style of the buildings and restaurants I would say is a rustic meets contemporary chic. White walls, thatched roofs and exposed logs stained a reddish brown. I had seen pictures of the suite that awaited me but the pictures did it NO justice at all. Take a look at the short walk through video and you'll see what I mean. Not only was the suite HUGE, it had tall cathedral ceilings, a huge and very comfy bed, a Jacuzzi with views of the ocean, a big balcony with a day bed and table and chairs and amazing views also, a table inside with fruit basket and champagne, a big flatscreen TV, and a fully stocked mini-bar with 4 types of beer, 4 types of soda, pretzels, candy bars and bottled water. Then there was the large size bathroom with 2 showers, one large one inside and the "Aguas De Amor" outdoor one. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed showering outside with the sun shining, palm trees swaying and wind blowing. You really don't know what you're missing showering indoors until you take a Aguas De Amor shower. By the way, this was the entry-level room type at El Dorado Casitas Royale. There are rooms with everything this one has, but bigger and with either swim-up rooms or an infinity pool on the terrace/balcony and your own personal little villa building. 

Then there was the 24 hour Room Service. Can you say "Weight Gain"? I have to admit I tried just about 60% of the menu while I was there for 4 days and had not one thing I didn't enjoy. Some favorites were the Steak Sandwich, Cheeseburger, Chicken Taquitos, Creme Brulee and Fried Ice Cream. I also have to say that even the Room Service Cuisine had an attention to detail and presentation not commonly found at All-Inclusive resorts. 








The day after arriving we were lucky to enjoy a wedding cake tasting (see pics) although the sugar high made me forget which of the 8 types was my favorite. Lets just say that it was hard to go wrong with any of them.

We also were privy to a formal wine tasting courtesy of the Resort Sommelier of the 8 different house wines each paired with a different gourmet bite. 
 After the wine tasting we were treated to an amazing private dinner for our group. I can't begin to tell you how much care and detail goes into every dish. Only the freshest ingredients are used, many of which are grown on site at the Resort Greenhouse. The Greenhouse is a world class operation that grows enough produce to supply all of Karisma's Resorts with many of the vegetables and herbs used daily. On two different nights we stayed on resort we experienced two of the options available for nightly entertainment. One was the Martini Bar that had over 40 different types of Martini's (kudo's to the Chocolate Martini). It had a classy lounge atmosphere, perfect for having great conversation over some great cocktails. The other was the nightly entertainment at the Guacamaya's Bar. Most resorts have nightly entertainment that varies from mildly fun to extremely corny, the El Dorado was definitely amongst the best I have experienced. The house band playing at the resort was as good as any I've seen anywhere with a wide range of music from Whitney Houston to AeroSmith. A few times I actually thought it was a DJ playing they were so good with their covers.

 That night was also Casino night and the entertainment staff kept us very entertained while we pretended to gamble our play money away and we were able to "buy" a tequila bottle with our "winnings". Unlike many resorts where after 7-8pm its a ghost town, the party here was happening until at least 12 midnight when I just had to call it a day (but the guests seemed ready to party till the wee hours). There was a palpable feeling of FUN that many places seem to not be able to channel but El Dorado captured with no problem. Many upscale resorts suffer from being beautiful but boring, not so with this resort. However, if going into "town" (In this case Playa Del Carmen) is your thing, the resort provides free transportation to and from several times a week (with reservations). 






For you foodies, the property offers dining in over five distinctive a’ la Carte restaurants. You may choose between international cuisine at the main restaurant El Cocotal, Italian fare at D'Italia, Gourmet Mexican at La Carreta, Fondue at Le Fondue, creative pan-Asian dishes at Kampai or specially prepared grilled fare at Jo Jo's Seaside Caribbean Grill. There are also 3 Gourmet Corners (mini-restaurants), a Pizzeria, Healthy Bar and Mexican Grill. Let's not forget the premium brand alcohol served at 10 different bars including the specialty Martini Bar and 8 different house wines. You simply will not go hungry or want for anything as they have just about every kind of cuisine covered.

Capuccino Corn Chowder with Basil Oil

Spinach and Avocado Salad

Honestly I could write a book about this resort but let me leave you with some last highlights. 13 Pools, Beach Beds for every single Room, Beach and Pool Butlers that will cater to your whims without leaving the water or beach, International cable, DVD players in each room (you can check out movies from the concierge), a Concierge for every 30 rooms to tend to your every need and staff that cannot be more friendly, helpful and genuine. I have found a new favorite resort not just in the Riviera Maya but in my top 5 of all Mexico and the Caribbean.

Feel free to ask me any questions and I have some more slideshows and videos in the works. Please subscribe to the Blog and learn about all the top resorts in the Caribbean and Latin America from a 14 year Travel Veteran.


See you on the beach!
D. Omar Solis
  LTC
Luxury Travel Concierge
305-520-9714

Casitas Infinity Pool Suite

Enough Beach Palapas for every room

Casita Suite

Casita Suite Jacuzzi (Oceanview behind curtain)

Casita Suite

Fruit Platter and Champagne

Casita Suites Building

Beach Bed