El Dorado Seaside Palms - Adults Only

“A good visit but not great”

This was our 4th visit to the resort we had an overall good experience this time it has become more busy over the last few years issues we have experienced this time having arrived on a Monday we found it impossible to to obtain reservations for the restaurants on the first week and were told by o… more

This was our 4th visit to the resort we had an overall good experience this time it has become more busy over the last few years issues we have experienced this time having arrived on a Monday we found it impossible to to obtain reservations for the restaurants on the first week and were told by our concierge this was due to the 100% occupancy rate that week after some discussion we managed to obtain a 09:30 slot at the Italian later in the week however we went to the restaurant early and were accommodating. We were told bookings opened on a Friday each week so when we went on the Friday to book the following week we were informed it had opened on a Thursday and again there was limited availability. In all the resorts we have visited the sunbed situation here around the pool was mad having a touch of jet lag we were awake at 06:00 for the first few days and were surprised to see beds taken before this basically if you are not up and around by half 6 then all beds were taken we were also surprised to see some beds reserved with towels and left empty most of the day there is no management of this really there should be a procedure to removed towels after a reasonable period of time . That’s the bad bits out of the way sunbeds on the beach were available most of the time the grounds and outside areas are excellent and kept in great condition . The restaurants and food again was excellent special mention the the cullinarium the Asian at a cost of 50 US for tui visitors but worth it and the Italian the manager in the Italian was excellent and managed to get us all on a number of occasions early special shout out to the entertainment team Jose Jesus and Erik in the cullinarium . The standard of rooms was good and kept spotless by our attendant Christian the second week seemed much more relaxed and were told the occupancy had significantly reduced it seems the resort struggled slightly when its full . Overall I would recommend this resort with a few minor tweaks it could easily get back to its exceptional standard we have experienced in the past

less

“15 years of El Dorado loyalty is done after another disappointing visit.”

We have enjoyed the amazing hospitality of our Mexican friends for over 20 years. We became members of El Dorado resorts (Karisma) 15 years ago and other than Covid have visited these resorts at least once a year. For 10 years they continued to be AMAZINGLY EXCEPTIONAL, especially the food. You wou… more

We have enjoyed the amazing hospitality of our Mexican friends for over 20 years. We became members of El Dorado resorts (Karisma) 15 years ago and other than Covid have visited these resorts at least once a year. For 10 years they continued to be AMAZINGLY EXCEPTIONAL, especially the food. You would be hard pressed to find a mediocre meal. After 8 days at Palms we were hard pressed to find a meal that was above mediocre. Even the members dinner and the moonlight dinner were mediocre at best. These resorts used to brand themselves as “Gourmet Inclusive “, now they’ve replaced the amazing meals with “More Inclusive “ trips off the resort. THE AWSOME The staff are always amazing doing their best to deliver 5* service at a 3* resort. Grounds are as usual spectacular. Had wonderful massages in the jungle rooms, those are new. Housekeeping was fantastic, thank you Maribel Carrisosa for your wonderful service. Our butler Arturo was wonderful and has definitely met the historic quality of service that Hector set back in 2014. Our beach server Veronica was always very friendly and did a great job of keeping us lubricated. So many other staff were wonderful, friendly and did a great job. Kaab vegan restaurant Bibimbap was so delicious, best meal I had. Chicken skewers at Frontera and ceviche at Driftwood were very good. THE CRAPPY Our Presidential Suite had old stained furniture, cheap plastic table on the terrace. Outdoor table and chairs are coming apart, rotten wood with surface broken and peeling off. For the 1st time in 20 years the bed was uncomfortable with crappy pillows. Dinners were completely lacking in flavour and vegetables. A tasteless piece of meat on a tablespoon of mashed potato gruel with a 2” piece of carrot sliced into 4 pieces but you only got 3 of them. My wife’s teriyaki beef was beef pieces with no teriyaki sauce. Breakfast eggs served with 1 piece of bacon and 2 tater tots. Eggs Benedict served on a transparent piece of ham, not pemeal bacon and the “Hollandaise” sauce was something unrecognizable. Paid for a Moonlight dinner, ceviche was mostly chopped tomatoes and onion, lobster bisque was inedible and smelled like old rotten lobster, stuffed chicken was tasteless but did come with 2 tablespoons of potato gruel and 2 carrots. Members dinner started with cold balls of something, a nice soup that was almost hot, over cooked lobster tail and a piece of beef tenderloin that was baked in the oven with no spices, no searing just a bland hunk of beef on a bed of more potato gruel, 1/2 a Brussels sprout and 2 carrots. Coq Au Vin at Culinarium was grey and had my wife violently ill 2 hours later, not an alcohol challenge as she’s not a big drinker. Beach is significantly deteriorated from hurricanes. One of our favourite restaurants had the roof half peeled off by a hurricane years ago. It still sits there with half the roof gone. The Mexican restaurant was also closed and menu moved to Driftwood. Seriously a 5* resort would never leave buildings half broken and closed for YEARS. It’s so unfortunate that a chain of resorts with so much potential is slowly drifting into mediocrity because Management has decided to put profits over quality. So easy to fix, REPAIR YOUR BUILDINGS, serve fresh vegetables with every meal not powdered potato gruel and a boiled carrot. I’m not a big complainer over minor things, you can see I’ve reviewed this chain of resorts many times over the past 15 YEARS. Last year at Royale the food was also disappointing so we tried Palms for the SIXTH time only to find the same thing.

less

“Disappointing”

My wife and I spent two weeks at this resort. The room was very nice and the staff very, very good. Having said that there were lots of things wrong. The food was repetitive and in the non buffet restaurants really quite poor. The Italian and cullinarium were particularly bad. There is no large l… more

My wife and I spent two weeks at this resort. The room was very nice and the staff very, very good. Having said that there were lots of things wrong. The food was repetitive and in the non buffet restaurants really quite poor. The Italian and cullinarium were particularly bad. There is no large lagoon pool, only small ones with swim up bars full of noisy uncouth people shouting at each other. There is no lobby bar, only small bars scattered around the resort. The worst thing is that there is insufficient comfortable seating at any of them. On evenings with entertainment they put folding seats out in rows with no tables, laid out like a school assembly. There is no way we would return or recommend it to anyone.

less