This is my eighth stay at an all-inclusive and this resort ranks in the tops for sure! Keeping in mind that there is a worldwide pandemic that is keeping people from traveling so I will do my best to factor that in to my review and offer what those at the resort has said is DIFFERENT now vs. the past (And hopefully all the things will come back soon!)

Upon arrival the check-in was quick and easy. The only extra charge for the 5 night stay was a daily cleaning fee (More about this later) that I believe equated to around $35 upon checkout. The check-in area is mask required and their are shields between you and the agent and the whole process is done on a sanitized tablet.

Once checked in a golf cart will take you to your room with your luggage and that's where the amazingness begins!

The hotel is split (by a nude beach resort in the middle) into two sides. The PALMS side, which is villas and more apartment style buildings. The palms side has pools, a swim up bar and waterfront restaurants along with the SWING BAR. The swing bar is the night life. Open until 1-2am and has a live DJ each night that you can request whatever you'd like! The bar has a good selection of booze. Nothing amazing but at least Johnny walker Black is there. The other side is the INFINITY side which are the two high rise buildings all facing the ocean.

We booked an Oceanfront Swim-out POOL room on the infinity side. If you get just a swim out suite you will be on floors 2-6 (6 might be reserved for bigger suites) if you book a swim out POOL room like we did, your sliding door goes into the MAIN pool with the swim up bar which has a normal selection of booze and tap beer. They have a big speaker that plays random pop hits. Behind the swim up bar is a restaurant (and a bar that is not open due to Covid) that has really good food. I did the salmon and mahi mahi (Catch of the day) and it was amazing.

Breakfast has a buffet but with the pandemic they did it very well. Still has all the amenities (cheeses, donuts, breads, bacon, cereal, omelette bar, hasbrowns etc.) it's just you cannot grab them yourself. They are behind a sneeze guard and one of many employees will grab you what you like to your fill. The omelette bar is delicious!

Lunch can be one of many restaurants, seaside grills or room service. We honestly just did room service for lunch because our room was right in the pool. Poolside burger or the "Chicken Fried Burrito" (A chicken burrito that is then breaded and fried) was the perfect thing for a long day of cocktails. If you DO go to lunch by the pool make sure you bring a shirt, shoes and a towel. They will not just let you hop out the pool and eat at the tables.

Dinner is where this resort shines (Besides the staff which I'll talk about soon). They have the typical resort fair. Italian, Mexican, Asian, a pub-n-grill etc. The Asian restaurant was so good we went twice! Get the pad Thai, sushi, spring rolls and crispy Thai shrimp. SO GOOD! The Brisket sliders at the PUB are also amazing along with the chicken parm at Italian!

Each day you will have to make reservations for dinner. You can either stop at the concierge which will be very close to your room OR if you make friends with them they will take reservations over the phone.

Some things to keep in mind about this resort:
1. It is WINDY all the time. Now some don't like wind, but even in February when it's in the low to mid 80s that sun is HOT so a breeze is nice. But it can actually get pretty high winds in the swim up bar on the infinity side. I loved it, my wife wished it was more calm.
2. They... clean.... CONSTANTLY. The "Cleaning Fee" when you check in is well spent. The oceanside bathrooms are cleaned AT LEAST every 30 min if not more. The walkways are constantly swept. Tables are cleaned over and over. They take Covid very seriously.
3. Speaking of Covid you need to have a mask in all common areas, hallways and on the golf carts. All staff are in masks and face shields 24/7 and ask you have a mask when not eating, drinking, on the beach or in the pool. If you go to the night life concerts or swing bar you don't need a mask either.
4. It is a HUGE resort that is split into two sides by another resort. You will either want your walking shoes or wait every 10min for a new shuttle. They say the shuttles run every 10min from morning until 11pm. They run more than that as we never waited more than 5min and after 11pm at the swing bar they will just radio you a designated cart driver. A cart can be radioed for you by anyone with a walkie-talkie 24/7.

Now onto what I think is DIFFERENT with Covid and how it will most likely be worse/better when things ease up.
1. Activities are not what they could be. Many resorts have lotteria at the swim up bar and an activities host. They don't have this due to covid.
2. Some smaller breakfast/lunch restaurants are closed for now. (We heard tale of the best burger in the world, but that restaurant was closed for our stay)
3. Some bars are also either limited hours or closed too. Not to worry, each night the swing bar had people in it but it was never crowded and always had enough seats.
4. The party atmosphere the infinity side is known for is muted. When we were here at the end of February they said they were at 30-40% capacity. We still met some amazing people, drunk people and quiet people, just not as many as typical.

Now onto the staff. Everyone is friendly, smiling (I think, under their mask) and helpful. My wife and I DO tip each drink and for housekeeping/room service and it does seem very appreciated.

I would like to call out a few that stood out!
1. Claudia - Our Concierge. She was very sweet and friendly and even let me play her favorite music in the pool every time she walked by. Very helpful with reservations and communication was spot on!
2. Tiburicio (spelling?) - Swim-up bartender. Tiburicio always had a great shot to make us, always made our drinks perfect and consistent and even made us a shot that tasted like a chocolate covered strawberry which was AMAZING! Very attentive and professional. And offered up some great songs for us to play on our vacation.
3. Alicia! - Our swim out waitress (You can go to the swim up bar or stay by your room and still get service!) Alicia was our BUDDY on this trip. Always with a smile, some dance moves and great service. She was always checking in on us before our drinks were empty. Very great person and excellent service.
4. Damian - Swim up bartender - When Tiburicio was doing something else Damian always gave us great songs to play and made the drinks just as well!
5. Maria - Swim out waitress. When Alicia was on lunch or on the beach she was always there when we needed her!

Lastly, just some tips and tricks from our experience:
1. Bring a Yeti type drink glass. The ice stays cold, less trips to the bar and your experience will be better for it!
2. If you leave a couple dollars in your fridge and write down what you want they will do their best to accommodate you! (We LOVED the little chocolate bars they put in there so had them fill that up and with BEER!)
3. Get extra TOWELS! Coming in from the swim out is SLIPPERY in your room. Very easily you will bust your stuff. Lay a towel right at the entrance so your first step is dry an steady (But that first step also reminds your future "Tipsy" self to be careful).
4. The restaurants are all mainly set up as 4-6 course meals. So if you normally just order a salad and a main course you will not be full. Each portion is smaller so you can sample more. But don't be afraid to just order multiple of what you like. Our 2nd night of the Asian restaurant was just pad thai and multiple sushi!
5. This is an hour or more from the air port so know that. If you're hungry, grab something at the airport, if you have to pee, do it at the airport!
6. Finally if you have a Bluetooth speaker and like new music do what we do. Open up your music streaming service of choice and then ask the staff you interact with mostly what songs THEY love and then play them. 99% of the time it's excellent music, they appreciate it and remember you AND then save that song to a "Vacation Playlist" so you always have those songs to remember your trip. We've done this for the last 6 trips and now have a whole playlist of about 80 songs and each song reminds us of our trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic. (Also, the WIFI is very good and fast. Some dead spots, but in our rooms and main areas it's excellent)
7. The Infinity side is amazing but you chase the sun. In the main pool the LEFT side (If you're looking at the hotel from the ocean) has all the sun while the rest is shady and throughout the day the sun shifts to the right side. So if you love sun and want to just stay in a chair or in the water you will have to move throughout the day. The swim up bar is ALWAYS in the shade as it's covered. You can just step back 10 ft from the bar and be in the sun, but if you wanna be belly up you will not get tan.

You will not be disappointed in El Dorado Seaside Suites and it will get even better as the world opens back up! ENJOY!

Best food we had in Mexico all inclusive. Great chicken/pineapple wrap from beach bbq for lunch. Many shrimp dishes. Best desserts in Mexico too! Creme brûlée at Asian restaurant and tiramisu at Italian were our favorites. Like real heavy cream, try the chocolate mezcal after dinner drink at Mezcalitos bar in lobby. I was also a fan of the pear mezcal drink, order mas fuerte (extra strong). Very clean property, far less crowded than a normal winter season. Easy on site covid test at no cost. WIFI worked great all over property including in room and on beach. Made using their app easier. Used app to preview restaurants menu. And with menu on app you never need a menu which is touched by all diners. They still have paper menu if you don’t have a smart phone or didn’t bring it with you. Thanks to Lizabeth for on beach drink service. We were in the Bali bed at the far south end away from all others. She still made the long trek past many other empty Bali beds to see if we needed drinks. And thanks to Tomas, beach concierge, who had our Bali bed set up for us daily prior to our arrival. He never stopped moving, making sure beach was in great shape. We were not overly concerned about covid when deciding to travel, but it did weigh on our minds. Glad it didn’t stop us from going. Great experience, lower prices and far less people. If you’re on the fence about going, my advise is Just Do It! The entire staff is great and take great pride in keep everything clean and sanitized. We would’ve stayed another week and returned again next month if we didn’t need to go back to work!

We had a great time! The staff was very friendly. We loved the beach and the Bali beds! We were on the 2nd floor Infinity side with a swim out room. The food was really good! Klay Talay was our favorite. We definitely will be back!