Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Review of El Dorado Royale

As a Vacation & Cruise Specialist, I am very critical of most hotels and resorts. I purposely didn’t check any reviews of the El Dorado Royale before we stayed there so that I could make a completely unbiased opinion of the resort, since that is what my clients would expect of me.

We stayed at the El Dorado Resort from 9/2-9/6/08. Knowing it was and deluxe, adults only, all inclusive resort, I was looking at this property with my honeymooners and destination wedding couples in mind. The first word to describe my opinion of the El Dorado Royale was WOW- I was impressed and I am hard to please. There were a couple of minor points that I thought could use improvement and I explained them later on in the review but I would not hesitate to send my clients to this resort.

Here is my very long and detailed review:

We pulled up the resort and the drive from the main road is about a 5 minutes. The resort itself is located directly on the beach (unlike some other resorts in the Riviera Maya that are built further back into the tropical gardens and further from the beach). One of the first things that I noticed about the lobby is that it was air conditioned-a nice break from the heat and humidity of early September.

We were given an oceanfront junior suite in building 3. Since I was there as part of the Gourmet Inclusive Specialist program, I really was hoping for one of the Casita Suites but the junior suite was perfectly located for us and was a great room. We had a tour of the property before we got to our room and we really got to see how spread out the property is. Our room was in the middle of the resort, not far from the Casitas section and not too far from the main lobby.

The king sized canopy bed was extremely comfortable- and I am very picky about a good mattress. There was plenty of drawer space, TV in an armoire, table and chairs and the famous in room Jacuzzi tub which overlooked the beach with a huge window in front of it. We only had neighbors for a short time on one side of us so it was actually quite private, although I am not sure how comfortable I would be knowing that my neighbors might be able to sneak a peak if they really wanted to. I did leave the curtains closed a bit to make the Jacuzzi area a bit more private. The balcony had a table and chairs but the chairs could have used padded cushions to make them comfortable. The bathroom was spacious and had more than ample room for all of our toiletries. The sink was a bit high (and I am 5’7” tall- so this might be an issue for very short people and the make up mirror would have been perfect if we were 6’6” tall but other than that, no complaints about the bathroom. It had a huge shower with a seat (or marble bench) in it for sitting and shaving your legs, or, what I used it for- to hold the shampoo and toiletries.

When we arrived the bed was made with a towel swan and rose petals on top. On another day, after returning from the beach, the curtains were all drawn around the bed and it was filled with rose petals. This resort is the perfect backdrop for romance!

Food is always a big part of an all inclusive resort. I was told by one client that the food was too gourmet for her husband’s taste so I was very curious about the food at the El Dorado Royale. Our first experience with dining at the resort was at JoJo’s, a casual beach side restaurant open for lunch and dinner. After our property tour on the first day, we were hungry but didn’t want anything too heavy since it was already after 3pm. We were escorted to a table overlooking the ocean and were given menus. It was a pretty extensive menu for just a snack and I over heard other guests ordering multiple dishes (appetizer, salad, main course). I ordered a chicken Caesar salad and my husband ordered 2 appetizers. I was expecting a salad like you would get in a Fridays, Applebees, or local American diner. What I got was a bit more unique-and then I understood why the other guests were ordering multiple courses. Let me try to explain my beautifully presented chicken Caesar salad. First, if you look at your index finger and then picture 2 pieces of chicken, each about the size of your index finger, artfully arranged on the plate. In the middle was a decorate piece of romaine lettuce rolled up and tied with a decorative and edible piece of vegetable, and drizzled with dressing. That was it! I told the waiter that I think the dish put in front of me was the wrong order and he assured me that it was indeed a chicken Caesar salad. After my 4 bites of food and a good chuckle, I went to the salad bar and filled a plate with some salad and bread and was fine until dinner. Now we understood why other guests were ordering multiple course meals!

Although I am not a gourmet, and I am perfectly fine with most food, I do have to say that the food was EXCELLENT. Our favorite restaurants were the Italian restaurant and Caracol for dinner (both were air conditioned and right near the lobby). The Asian restaurant was great as well. We were not thrilled with the fondue restaurant but that was more that I don’t particularly care for fondue (too cheesy for my taste) but the dessert was great. Carocol for breakfast was great. They have a small but very fresh and appetizing buffet or you can order off the menu. We also ate at La Isla restaurant for breakfast a few mornings as well. JoJo’s was great for lunch and there was a burger and pizza restaurant behind La Isla pool which was perfect for lunch. This is my take on the portion sizes- yes, they are small but if you want more- order multiple portions. The wait staff will bring you whatever you want.

I did have another funny story about the food. One afternoon, after laying on the absolutely wonderful beach beds (more about that later), I wanted some ice cream. We walked over to JoJo’s and were told that there were no tables available at the moment but they expected some to clear in about 10-15 minutes. I said that I only wanted a bowl or cone of ice cream and could I just get it “to go”. The hostess gave us an odd look and said that they don’t serve ice cream like that but if we went to the bar, she would get us some. About 5 minutes later, she appeared with a bar glass full of chocolate ice cream (again artfully decorated with chocolate straws). That was all I wanted but the resort is so focused on gourmet and beautifully presented food, that just getting a bowl of ice cream wouldn’t do!

Drinks- you could get anything you wanted and as much as you wanted. I am not a big drinker so my brief run down on the beverage service: the mixed drinks that I had (ie: Miami Vice, Pina Coladas, etc) were fine. I mostly drank club soda and lime, throughout my stay. My only complaint- the only wine with dinner that is included is a chardonnay or a merlot. If you want a white zinfandel, for instance, or a different type of wine, you would need to buy the bottle.

Pools and beach- The pools were wonderful. We spent most of our time at La Isla pool with the swim up pool bar. The pool is large with a couple of fountains. Guests were bringing in lounge chairs to the shallow side of the pool to lay in the water. This is the quiet pool vs. Las Fuentes pool which is the main activity pool. We never saw any people or activities going on at Las Fuentes and since La Isla was closer to our room and the restaurants, we just parked ourselves there.

The BEST part of the pools, are the beach beds. Trust me when I tell you- I wanted to bring them home with me. They are basically a king sized mattress covered in vinyl with a round bolster and pillows. They sit on a wooden canopied frame with curtains all around that can be closed based on which way the sun is hitting. For people like me, who avoid the sun- I was in heaven. Since you only get 1 towel per person, I do recommend bringing towels from home with you so you have towels to lay on as well as towels to dry off with. These beach beds were all around the pools and on the beach as well.

The beach is probably one of the main drawbacks of the resort. Due to the beach erosion problem which effects many of the properties along the Riviera Maya, there were beach bags all along the beach. Unfortunately, the beach bags were not the most attractive to look at. You can swim around them to get to deeper water but they did ruin the beauty of the beach. The property has a gorgeous wedding gazebo overlooking the beach but it actually will overlook a lot of beach bags.

Entertainment- There were activities going on during the day like ping pong, beach and pool volleyball, ceramic painting, cooking lessons and more. The entertainment team went around looking for participants but we really just wanted to relax. The evening entertainment was moved since the main show lounge (near Las Fuentes restaurant) was closed for renovations. The shows were actually considerably better than at other all inclusive resorts. We are big cruise people and the entertainment can’t hold a candle to cruise ship entertainment but it was much better than anticipated and were well attended.

Guests- this is definitely a honeymoon resort although there was a pretty good mix of young and older couples. The week we were there was very non-American. We saw many couples from Great Britain and the rest of Europe. The Americans and Canadians were definitely in the minority this week.

We also toured El Dorado Maroma and El Dorado Seaside Suites. If you have any questions about any of the El Dorado Resorts, feel free to email me directly at mindy@myvacationlady.com.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Scotland Holiday Review

With Marc's permission, I am publishing his review of their customized trip to Scotland. This took a lot of planning and tweaking but I think it was well worth all the efforts as you can see.

Mindy,

I wanted to get back to you on what we thought of the trip and such.

Overall impression: This was a fantastic trip and I'm glad we did it. Would I do it again? Probably. I think I would wait until the Dollar got a little stronger, as it was expensive. Not necessarily the cost of the trip, but the "incidentals" cost. This was not unexpected, it's just that I did not realize how much everything added up until we got home and I looked at the credit card bills. :) Our itinerary was... perfect. Yes, perfect. This was an absolute perfect mix of distillery tours, site-seeing, castle-sleeping and driving. Neither Virginia nor myself found ourselves saying "Oh gee... another castle to look at..." The fact that we were able to drive ourselves around was a huge bonus as well, as it gave us more freedom in what we wanted to see (the tour notes proved to us were a huge help, too). The weather wasn't always cooperative (which was not unexpected), which was a downer sometimes. Some of the scenic drives we did weren't too much fun in the pouring rain and it's hard to take pictures when your wife is hudled under an umbrella with you, shielding your camera from the water. Not a huge deal though, because we knew the weather was going to be brisk and mostly rainy. We had 4 full days of sun which was more than I had anticipated, so I'm not complaining.

Both days of our guided tours (Islay with Lamont and Speyside with Paul) were done VERY well. Lamont was a treasure trove of local information and a really funny guy. He brought us to the 4 distilleries that we wanted to see and let us set our own pace, which was very much appreciated. Our day with Paul was also equally enjoyable. While he had some ideas of where to take us (Culloden and the cairns and a few distilleries), he modified the day to take into account what we wanted to see and do. Capping off the day with Paul at a local pub was a great idea. We got to know him better and he's a really great guy. Having the owner of the company drive us around personally made us feel very good about our travel decision and gave us a feeling that we were special.

I had already told Paul (when he drove us around Speyside) that both Virginia and I were very happy with the package, but it bears reiteration. Please forward on my complete satisfaction to Liz and Paul. I cannot emphasize enough how much fun we had and how well put together this trip was.

Individual impressions: I wanted to give you specific feedback on the properties we stayed at as well as the activities we did.

Stonefield Castle - Very nice grounds and the hotel itself is great. The staff was very helpful and the bartender was very nice to us. The room was as expected and was very clean. The water pressure in the shower will blow you off your feet. :) My only problem with this property was the dining room. The food was very well presented and tasty and had a good combination of flavors; so kudos go to the Chef. The price was outrageous, however, and the service is better in McDonalds. I frequently had to get up and approach a server to get water or another glass of wine, or to request our dishes be cleared. The portions that we received were miniscule, even for European cuisine. Summary: great place to stay, go somewhere else to eat.

Harbour Inn (Islay) - Excellent accomodations and in a perfect location for strolling around the town (it's also right across the street from the Bowmore distillery!). Dinner here was also very well presented and the food was very tasty, and it was about half the price as the previous night. The dining room is a bit cramped, but no big deal. Both Virginia and I liked this property very much. I would stay here again and recommend it.

Lamont and Islay in general - I've already commented on Lamont... he's an asset and a perfect local guide. Islay is a great place to come out and do an overnight trip. I'm very glad we were steered away from staying the night in Port Ellen, as Bowmore is a very nice place to stay. Duffies Bar (in the Lochside Hotel in Bowmore) is also a very nice "locals bar" and they had an amazing array of whiskeys. Islay is a great place to drive around and take pictures and if you like the peaty scotch they make (like I do), it's pure heaven.

Dungallan House and Oban - Dungallen House is a wonderful B&B. The owners (Michael and Marion) were very personable and friendly and the room was fantastic (the bed was VERY comfortable). The cocktail lounge is staffed by Michael and he was able to give us tips on what to do in Oban. I would definitely stay here again and would recommend this property to others. As far as Oban goes, we only spent the day there, but managed to do some shopping and visit one or two local pubs. It's not a huge metropolitan area, but it's a very active area, with many restaurants and small shops, and fishing boats literally docking right by the seafood restaurants. I recommend eating at "Ee-Usk" (http://eeusk.com/) which has fantastic, fresh, right-off-the-boat seafood.

Onich Hotel and Fort William - They have free Internet access!! The only property we stayed at to offer it. The desk staff was fantastic and very friendly. They gave us ideas of where to go and what to see in Fort William and chatted with us about local things. The property itself is showing its age a bit, but it's still very nice. We were able to do our laundry there for no extra charge, which was great. We didn't eat there either night, as their dining room was closed because a private party had pretty much booked the entire hotel and they got the dining room. The bar there however is fantastic. The bar staff was very nice and when Virginia and I weren't playing cards at one of the tables, we were chatting with the bartenders, who were just as curious about Americans as we were of Scots. I even talked about Fantasy and Science Fiction authors with one of the guys. He also kept giving me extra shots. :) I would stay here again, but probably not two nights like I did this time. As far as Fort William goes, there's really not much to see. There's a small shopping area and some restaurants and a few local sights, but that's about it. We ate dinner one night at the Crannog Seafood Restaurant (http://www.oceanandoak.co.uk/), which is THE place to get fresh (literally) seafood in Fort William... IF you can get in. We got lucky.

Jacobite Steam Train - This was pretty neat, but it would have been a LOT better if we could have seen the scenery. The day we took the train it was pouring out for most of the morning and the train cars, since they're very old, kept steaming up, so nobody could see anything. The 2 hour trip up to Mallaig was basically just a random train ride, which was really too bad. I'm sure the experience would have been a lot better had the weather cooperated. Mallaig itself is a very small fishing town. There are many places to eat and a few shops and that's about it. The amount of time we spent there before getting on the train back (which was about 2.5 hours I think) is all you need to see the town and grab lunch. The train ride back was a little better, as it wasn't raining too much, just drizzling. I got some really good photos by sticking my head out the window (and getting a faceful of smoke). I would recommend this activity and both Virginia and I enjoyed it, weather nonwithstanding.

Stuart Castle - Wow. All I can say is... "Wow". This was absolutely THE best place we stayed in. I don't care what it cost me (well, I do know what it cost me, but I don't care), as it was worth it. Every. Single. Penny. If this isn't rated 5 stars, it should be. Our room was at the top of the West Tower (99 steps up a spiral staircase!) and there aren't any elevators, so we ended up re-packing one of our small suitcases with two days worth of items and just bringing that to our room. We also had a separate bathroom suite which was REALLY big. Caroline Stuart (hostess) is great and she is an absolute FANTASTIC cook. I hate to say it, but she's wasted as a castle steward (stewardess?). She should be head chef in a restautant somewhere collecting Rosettes. Virginia and I had an absolute blast at the castle and there was only one other couple there, so 4 people had the full run of the castle. Having an after-dinner drink in the Drawing Room and playing games in the game room was a lot of fun. I would absolutely stay here again and fully recommend the property.

Millennium Hotel - The Millenium Hotel I could tell was a "business travellers" hotel. I've stayed in enough of them to recognize their idiocincracies. That doesn't mean we had a bad time. We didn't. We actually had a very good time but the hotel is really geared towards the business traveller. Internet access was charged at a rate of 10 pounds ($20) for 4 hours of access, or you could use one of their hotel computers which you had to keep on feeding coins into every 10 minutes. The restaurant food (at The Brasserie) was typical hotel food and was disappointing. The location was great though. It's right in the middle of the downtown area and is a *perfect* base of operations for site-seeing and shopping. The property itself, while old, is well-maintained and the rooms were clean, if a bit small. We got a room right in the front on the 2nd floor overlooking George's Square which was fantastic. They also have a pretty good bar (with very good prices) and their spa prices aren't outrageous. I would stay there again and would even recommend the place, just don't bother with the food. There are waaaay too many other places to eat within walking distance.

Glasgow - Well worth the visit and probably is a good two days of activity (we only had a day). If you're ambitious, try eating your way through the downtown area. If you only have a short amount of time, concentrate on the shopping and things in the immediate area of George's Square. We unfortunately never got to see the Botanical Gardens or anything outside the immediate area (although we did do the hike up to St. Mungos and The Necropolis in the pouring rain). Forget a cab, just walk around. There's a lot of things to see and do and the architecture is a really odd mix of modern and Victorian. Glasgow should be on everyone's itinerary.

Air - The flight back was amazingly nice. The flight out there, since it's pretty much the only direct flight into Glasgow from the New York Metro region, is always packed solid (I found this out from one of the gate agents) and books well in advance. Heck... look where we ended up sitting (the last row in the airplane). I *may* connect somewhere if I do this again (not Heathrow, though).

People - Extremely friendly and very understanding of the Stupid Americans. We never met a nasty person and everyone we interacted with was extremely nice to us.

Driving - Not as bad as I thought it would be. It took a little getting used to, but I caught on quick. The maps provded were a huge help, but I went one step farther and purchased the maps for my GPS unit and brought the GPS with me to Scotland.

Sheep - There are a lot of sheep. Seriously. There are REALLY a lot of sheep.

I think that's all I can think of for the time being. I finally updated my blog with the remainder of my trip and you can point Paul & Co over there if you wish. There's nothing bad on there (not because I wouldn't put bad things on my web site, but because nothing bad happened during the trip).

Marc

Just back from the Riviera Maya

Hola!

We just returned from the Riviera Maya where we spent four nights at the El Dorado Royale and then 3 nights in the Gran Bahia Principe Coba.

We saw 13 hotels while we were down there so we really got to see a lot of the hotels that I have been recommending to my clients.

We saw all of the hotels in the Karisma chain:
El Dorado Royale, Maroma and Seaside and each are wonderful but very different personalities. Ask me which I think will be the best for you. Definitely a great choice for an adults only romantic vacation or honeymoon!
Azul Beach is a boutique family resort perfect for those relaxing vacations with the little ones.
Azul Sensatori is opening soon and all I can say is WOW. This property is going to give the Beaches chain a good run for their money.
Azul Fives is going to be all suites (up to 3 bedrooms) with service and amenities that are to die for.

We also saw:
Excellence Riviera Cancun- I agree with all of my clients. We loved it.
Iberostar Paraiso Grand- oh my goodness- elegance and butler service!
Iberostar Paraiso Maya and Lindo- loved them. Wave pool, lazy river, lots of fun and gorgeous beach
Iberostar Paraiso Del Mar and Beach- all part of the Iberostar chain and these 2 are a bit smaller and quieter but still great choices.
Barcelo Maya and Beach, Colonial and Tropical and the Barcelo Palace- wonderful beach, waterparks for the kids, great options for families!
Gran Bahia Principe Coba, Akumal and Tulum- very international, set into the jungle and great entertainment!

I'll try to get reviews out soon!

Now, unfortunately, it is back to reality.