We arrived at El Dorado Royale in the afternoon on October 30th. The line for immigration took about 30 – 40 minutes and then we retrieved our luggage. We got the red light going through customs, but it took only minutes to search our luggage. We then proceeded out of the airport and met our transportation (Lomas Travel). We received the Limo ride to the resort, which was nice, though the Limo had some wear and tear. Our Limo ride on the return trip to the airport was much nicer. The resort is 30 minutes from the airport and approximately a mile from the highway as it winds through the jungle.

We received a champagne welcome upon our arrival and were given a tour of the resort by golf cart. We then went to our room to unpack and relax. Our room was oceanfront and had a great view. We were in a non-smoking room which has about 30 units. It is very close to the lobby, La Isla, both the Italian and Mexican Restaurants, the snack bar, and the beach . We had a bottle of champagne waiting for us in our room also. The cable tv consisted of three HBO’s, two Cinemax, ESPN, Cable News, and then different channels in Spanish. The food and service from room service was good.

We enjoyed the beach and walking along the southern part away from the resort. We were able to find some larger shells in the water which made the kids happy upon our return. The beach in front of the resort is very sandy until you get to the water. Then you need some type of water shoes/sandals. There is a little bit of beach available for swimming at the resort, but not much. The saltwater pool was great, and the water circulates from the ocean through the pool and back to the ocean.

The swimming pool at La Isla was definitely the busiest as that is where all the activities are coordinated. There are five other pools that are very nice and quiet and just a great place to relax. However, the resort is not at all crowded and probably not more than 50 – 75 couples were there during our stay.

We ate at the Oriental Restaurant, which was excellent. The dinner on the beach for our anniversary was excellent, and the Mexican Fiesta on Friday night(s) was excellent and had great entertainment. La Isla for breakfast & lunch and, the snack bar/grille at the beach were good. The Italian Restaurant was okay, but most people could not really understand the menu and the food was not really on the same level as the other restaurants. Everything from the bread, to the appetizers, to the main course, were somewhat disappointing compared to the other meals we had enjoyed.

We took a day and rented a vehicle at the resort through Elite Car Rental, which is at the resort. Joy and I traveled to Tulum and enjoyed seeing the ruins. It is very hot so be prepared. They have a nice beach area that is very accessible. We traveled to Playa Del Carmen in the afternoon and did some shopping. The beach at Playa Del Carmen is very nice.

We also did the horseback tour at Maroma Beach which was awesome. They take you through the jungle on the horses all the way to the beach. There they have a restaurant and gift shop. They also offer ATV tours along with jet boats. The horseback tour then takes your for a swim in the ocean with the horses and then for a ride along the beach. Maroma Beach also has a couple of Piers where you can walk out and see the fish. The beach here is very nice and is only about 10 minutes from El Dorado Royale.

Sunday, November 3rd, ended our stay at EDR. We didn’t leave until noon so we enjoyed the morning at the resort. We received a limo ride back to the airport and got to the US Airways line with no hassle. Luckily, we were not flying American or Continental as their lines just stretched forever. Our luggage was not searched at customs and we went through security with no problem. However, before we boarded the plane, we were randomly selected to have our luggage searched.

That ended our trip to Cancun, and the El Dorado Royale. We enjoyed our stay at the resort. The staff truly worked hard at making our stay enjoyable, the grounds were nicely manicured, the pools were clean, the restaurants were good, and we enjoyed the beach.