El Dorado Casitas Royale: Riviera Maya, Mexico

This past November was my third trip to the El Dorado and probably my favorite. This time around I flew solo. Well, meaning I didn't have a roommate since my travel buddy Diana was off to her own fabulous trip to the Seychelles and Dubai this year and decided to forgo our annual Mexico trip. I still had the pleasure of vacationing with our other good friends and the (im)famous Aunt Cathy and her crew (love you, Aunt Cathy!)

This year I decided to YOLO and upgraded to a swim-up Casita (with butler) for my solo lounging. I fear I will never be able to vacation any other way. Here are some views of my fabulous room. Is it sad that I was ridiculously excited that I had my own Nespresso machine?

I never thought I'd be the kind of person that would want to go back to the same resort again and again, but here I am. It is really nice to go back to a place that you're familiar with, I already know the lay of the land and how things work before I arrive. I know what restaurants are my favorites and even within those restaurants which dishes are my favorite. There really is something to be said about decision fatigue and on these trips to the El Dorado I barely have to make any decisions and, well, it's amazing. Our friends Greg and Kim handle all of the dinner reservations (there's a large group of us, so it's best we make reservations), so really all I need to do is show up.

The resort is beautiful and pristine. A few years ago when we were here we were hit by a hurricane, and I was *amazed* at how quickly everything was cleaned up after the storm. Heck, they cleaned up a giant resort faster that I'd have cleaned up my own front yard.

The distance from end to end of the resort is measured out, so if you're one to go on a morning walk or run you'll easily be able track your distance as you go along the paved pathway with palm trees lining your way and the beach alongside you. I tried to make it a point this year to go for a walk every morning to get a some exercise in before I headed back to my room to order breakfast from room service and enjoy an espresso outside by my private pool. I love to have time to myself and to do some reading before meeting up with friends a little later in the day. There's also a gym on site which I have of course never used, but my friends have and they haven't had any complaints that I've heard!

The El Dorado has a wide range of cuisines to pick from every night, so if you're there for a week you can go to a different restaurant every night - there are definitely some that I love to repeat like their Asian restaurant Kampai. If you can, make reservations at their dinner theater Fuentes. It's a fun night out and it's worth the up charge and wine pairing.

This year we did two additional dining experiences that we hadn't done before. One night we had a private room for a chef's dinner and wine pairing at D'Italia and another night we had a large group at Santa Fe Grill and arranged to have an amazing private room with a grilled surf and turf dinner. Both of those dinners were so memorable and delicious! The pictures below are some of the courses from our chef's dinner at D'Italia. They were just as delicious as they were gorgeous.

Have I sold you on the El Dorado yet? No? Oh, did I mention that they have KITTENS? They're skittish, so if you're not a cat person, so worries, they won't bother you. They are so adorable to watch though!

And STARBUCKS!

There are also tons of things to do both on and off site if you prefer a more active vacation. Me, I was all about sleeping in, reading, and hanging at the pool this year. I did splurge for a spa experience this year and got the most amazing one hour massage - definitely check out their spa services! If you're in the Casitas, each section has their own pool that only the members of that section can go to, so if you don't want to be in a loud party atmosphere that's a good place for you to book. There are large pools in the middle of the property with more of a party atmosphere if that's more your vibe.

Some other things to know, the resort is a short (maybe 30 minute) car ride from the Cancun airport. While it is an all inclusive we do tip. We tip a few dollars for breakfast and lunch and more for dinner. The group of us tips our bartender at the pool about $20 a day for the group of us, and we also each tip housekeeping. I choose to tip housekeeping every day instead at the end of the week in case the person who has cleaned all week is off on the weekend. I tip my butler based on what I use them for. I generally don't need much from them (ice, more Nespresso, more snacks), so I make a judgement call on those. When we book a trip I just start to set aside $1 and $5 bills when I have them, by the time the trip rolls around I have more than enough for tips and it doesn't feel like I'm spending anything extra since I've been putting tip money aside for months.

Have I sold you? Reach out with any questions!

xoxo,

iamfunchris