Allie and Shain were scheduled to take the Bar Exam in August, and we had planned an amazing European trip for them for right after the exam. Then COVID happened, cancelling their trip and the exam. When the Bar was rescheduled for October, they contacted me to see if we could plan some kind of last-minute getaway to celebrate finally being done. We found a wonderful “escape” to Mexico with an oceanfront swim-up suite at the adults-only El Dorado Seaside Suites in the Mayan Riviera and, from the trip report below, I’d say the celebration vacation was a hit!
Best of all, they both recently found out they passed the Bar đ
Hi Ann! I’m so sorry for the delay in this reply, I just wanted to make sure I had enough time to appropriately review the whole experience. Overall, it was wonderful! There are hardly any, if there are any, cons to the experience.
The resort was very very interesting, the way they have it set up for the “Infinity” side and the “Palms” side. We ended up sticking solely to the beach on the Palms side because it is so so beautiful,
“the water was beyond perfect in that it felt like an actual bath and had really cool snorkeling spots and the beds were the perfect place to lounge.”
It’s kind of funny we realized we didn’t end up going in any of the pools at all other than the one attached to our room.
Other than the beach, Shain and I were both in agreement that the food and the service were beyond exceptional and definitely the highlights of the resort. We have both been to all-inclusives before and were expecting the standard type of foods, drink service, etc. that is not usually outstanding but “good enough.” However, we ended up trying all of the restaurants at the resort and struggled to think of which one we wanted to visit twice because they were all so unique and had incredibly delicious food.
The service of the staff was also superb. Everyone was extremely welcoming, friendly, and accommodating. We had a few small issues with our room, the safe broke a couple of times, etc. and they attended to us almost immediately. There was hardly, if ever, a time we were struggling to find somebody to help us and that was also including the shuttles around the resort which came regularly.
“Not only that, but the entire resort was extremely clean (which is something I tend to be acutely aware of) especially considering there was a hurricane the week before, there was hardly any indication of debris or trash, etc. anywhere. The rooms were also very very tidy and cleaned at least once a day.”
We ended up purchasing a spa day and an excursion to Cozumel, which were both easily the highlights of our trip aside from the day-to-day lounging.
“The spa was a promotional deal they were offering where we had a one-hour “water journey” in the spa which was surprisingly cool, then a 50-minute massage and a 30 minute facial on the beach which was this bungalow type of a structure built right along the water so we could hear the waves crashing while we were receiving our treatment.”
The price was very fair in relation to the level of the treatment and the experience overall. I would 100% recommend this experience to anybody visiting the resort, I honestly think it’s silly for anybody not to do it and tell them to make sure they choose the beach location because you can’t get a massage on the beach nearly anywhere else.
“As for Cozumel, I know this isn’t a resort-specific experience because we booked it through Amstar but this was also incredible and would 10/10 suggest it to anybody looking to do an excursion.”
Our day started at 7 am and we didn’t get back until 8 pm, but everything throughout the day was included and it was truthfully so cheap considering what was included. We had our own jeep to cruise around the entire island in and we ended up scuba diving which was amazing as neither of us had done that before, there was also a tequila tasting, a trip to a historic lighthouse and visit to a private beach club on one of the most beautiful beaches and a free lunch. All of the transportation was included on top of those activities so overall it was a no-brainer for us to book it.
The few things I would suggest to people who ask about the resort would be to definitely get to the Palms-side beach as the Infinity side beach is not as nice. We would also tell them that the first floor rooms are definitely more of the “party” rooms because they are attached to the main pool, so if you are looking for a more relaxing stay then book a room on a higher floor.
“Our room was amazing with an awesome view and much less rowdy than the activity on the first floor.”
Also, we decided it was definitely more of a couples resort, rather than a group-of-friends place to stay only because there wasn’t too much happening at night for activity despite how crazy it could get during the day. There was some entertainment like singers and musicians that were all actually extremely entertaining and talented, however, it wasn’t much of a “party” scene so much as a couples resort. This was perfectly fine for us and exactly what we were looking for, I just wouldn’t want people going to stay at the resort expecting to be a crazy/wild experience. Other than that there really is very little “negatives” to say.
“We cannot thank you enough for booking this for us, we know it was last minute and during a hectic time so we are very appreciative!! We look forward to booking more trips with you — hopefully all of this craziness is near ending and we can eventually book the Europe trip! đ”
Best,
Allie and Shain
