People ask me which El Dorado is the good one, and the honest answer is that they are all good, they are just good at different things. I have stayed at all five of the El Dorado resorts in the Riviera Maya, some of them more than once, and the differences between them are bigger than the shared name suggests. Picking wrong is how you end up on a beach you do not like or in a crowd you did not want.
Here is what I actually tell people.
What All the El Dorado Resorts Have in Common
Every one of them is adults only, eighteen and over. They all sit along the Riviera Maya south of Cancun. They all run on the More Inclusive concept, and the short version is that the food is a genuine reason to go rather than something you tolerate.
There is also a sale on right now for winter and spring travel next year, and it comes with a stack of extras: roundtrip airport transfers, a catamaran and reef snorkel outing, a wave runner adventure at Maroma Beach, the Aqua Nick water park on stays of three nights or more, and a cenote and ecotourism ranch experience. Come to me for it rather than booking it yourself. Same price, and you get me for the year it takes to plan and the week you are actually there.
El Dorado Royale
Royale is the big one, and big is the point. It is spread out enough that you never feel like you are on top of anybody, which after a few days matters more than people expect. The food and the service are excellent. The entertainment in the evening is genuinely good, not the sort that sends you to bed early out of self defense.
It is also the one I send younger couples to, and it hosts a lot of destination weddings for exactly that reason.
The beach is the thing I set expectations on. It is not the reason you come to Royale, and I would rather tell you that here than have you discover it on day one. If the beach is your whole vacation, keep reading, because Maroma is your answer. If it is one of several things you want, you are fine, and Royale guests can spend the day at El Dorado Maroma’s beach whenever they want to.
On rooms: none of them look at a parking lot or a service area. Every view is garden or pool at minimum. The beachfront rooms have been updated. The Luxury Junior Suites are a little dated but perfectly nice, and I have stayed in them myself. I usually do not think they are worth a thousand dollars more than the alternative.
I was upgraded to the Presidential Suite Cobá on my last stay, which I am still not over.
El Dorado Casitas Royale
Casitas is the upgraded section of the same property, and it is a step up in both experience and price. You are not choosing between two resorts here so much as choosing which part of one to sleep in.
What you get for the difference is a quieter, more private corner of the property and butler service. Alvaro and Benji are the two I have had, and they are the reason people rebook. Staff do move around, so I cannot promise you those two by name, but the standard there is high.
The other thing Casitas buys you is the widest restaurant access of the group. You can eat at Casitas, at Generations, and at Royale. If you are the kind of traveler who gets restless eating in the same handful of places for a week, that alone can decide it.
El Dorado Maroma
Maroma is my favorite, and I should tell you I am not neutral about it. Latitude 21 Travel was named on that beach. That is where the idea for this agency came from, so when I say I have been countless times, I mean it.
It is small, around a hundred rooms, and quiet in a way the others are not. The beach has been rated one of the top ten in the world and it earns that. Sargassum is always the question with this coast, and Maroma has a net, and January into spring is typically the clear stretch.
It is also close. About forty five minutes from Cancun airport, and my last private transfer was thirty five, which is a real gift at the end of a travel day.
The Mi Hotelito beachfront rooms put you steps from the sand with the Bar 24 swim-up bar right there. On the food: Mio is the Italian and the beef carpaccio is the thing to order, the Caribbean Grill is where you go for seafood and the coconut shrimp specifically, and Lima Limon lets you eat lunch on the beach without changing out of your swimsuit. Rick’s has live shows and a dance floor if your bedtime is later than mine.
Two names worth knowing: Clemente and Renee behind Bar 24, who learned our drinks before we ordered them, and Diego, who runs the beach.
One more thing that does not get enough credit. Marina Maroma is two hundred yards down the beach, so deep-sea fishing, parasailing and snorkeling tours are a walk, not a bus ride that eats a day.
A client of mine took her first big trip here after a Celiac diagnosis and was braced for a difficult week. She did not get sick once, and one of the servers knew what Celiac disease was without being told. She and her husband had never asked to return to a resort before that trip.
The Palafitos: Overwater Bungalows at El Dorado Maroma
This is the part I should have led with. El Dorado Maroma has the Palafitos, thirty overwater bungalows built out over the Caribbean. They opened in 2016 as the first overwater bungalows in Mexico, so no, you do not have to fly to Bora Bora for this.
I have stayed in them. Each one has a glass floor panel so you can watch the water under your feet, a private plunge pool, a butler, an outdoor shower, and a ladder off your own deck straight down into the sea. Two adults per bungalow, eighteen and over, no exceptions.
One honest note, because I would rather you hear it from me. The plunge pool is a plunge pool. It is for cooling off with a drink in your hand, not for swimming laps. Nobody has ever been disappointed by the glass floor.
Overwater bungalows are still uncommon in Mexico, and the Palafitos are most of the reason people book Maroma without shopping around. For a sense of how long I have been coming back here, I have photographs of that same water from before the Palafitos were built.
El Dorado Seaside Suites and El Dorado Seaside Palms
These two sit next door to each other and share amenities, so I treat them as one decision with two answers. They are further down the coast, so build a good hour and a half into your travel day and do not be surprised by it.
Suites is the newer of the two and has just reopened after a renovation. It is built up rather than out, six floors with a pool on each one. That is either a selling point or a surprise depending on what you pictured, because it means the swim-out rooms are not all connected to one big main pool the way they are elsewhere.
Palms is the one I prefer. It is not as new, but it is laid out much more like Royale, spread out enough to breathe. The snorkeling straight off the beach is the best of the group. It is also coral, so bring water shoes and do not learn that the hard way.
Travelling With Kids: Generations Riviera Maya
Every El Dorado is adults only, so if you have children with you, Generations Riviera Maya is the answer. It sits in the same family of resorts, I have stayed there too, and it means a multi-generational group can travel together without anybody compromising.
So Which El Dorado Resort Should You Book?
If the beach is the whole point, Maroma. If you want space, energy and good evenings, Royale. If you want Royale with a butler and more places to eat, Casitas. If you want quiet snorkeling and do not mind a longer transfer, Palms. If you are bringing kids, Generations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, all five are adults only with a minimum age of eighteen. If you are travelling with children, Generations Riviera Maya is the family property in the same group.
Casitas is the upgraded section of the same property, not a separate resort. It costs more and it adds butler service, a quieter setting, and restaurant access across Casitas, Generations and Royale.
El Dorado Maroma, and it is not close. Its beach has been rated among the top ten in the world. El Dorado Royale’s beach is the weakest of the group, though Royale guests can use Maroma’s beach for the day.
Yes. The Palafitos at El Dorado Maroma opened in 2016 as the first overwater bungalows in Mexico, thirty of them built over the Caribbean. They are adults only, two guests per bungalow, with a glass floor panel, a private plunge pool and a ladder down into the sea.
El Dorado Maroma is about forty five minutes. El Dorado Royale and Casitas Royale are a similar short run. Seaside Suites and Seaside Palms are further south, so allow a good hour and a half.
No. All five are eighteen and over. Families should look at Generations Riviera Maya, which sits alongside them and shares the same all-inclusive concept.
It is the all-inclusive concept these resorts run on, and in practice it means the dining is a reason to book rather than something you put up with. Current promotions add extras like airport transfers and excursions.
El Dorado Royale. It is the largest and most spread out of the group, it hosts a lot of weddings, and its evening entertainment suits a younger crowd.
Ready to Pick Your El Dorado?
Tell me what matters most to you, the beach, the food, the quiet, or the party, and I will tell you which of these five you actually want. There is a sale running for winter and spring travel, so this is a good moment to ask. Call me at 800-838-1830 or start below.