Hello Fellow Travelers! We have just returned from a truly romantic resort! Our stay was brief but lovely (8/1-8/4)! There are so many good reviews here that I will try to be brief and add some things that perhaps have not been mentioned in prior reviews.

First - please try to pre-arrange your transportation from Cancun airport! I can not stress this enough to avoid a hastle ( and getting ripped off) upon arrival on your vacation. It cost us $80 US one way for a cab to the resort (which is significantly increased since our last visit to Playa Del Carmen only a few months ago) - $30 taxi for return...hmmm something smells fishy there...however this is no reflection on the resort! Check the message boards here to find a reliable transport company if you do not wish to take shuttles that stop at many resorts along the way to yours.

OK - Now to the good stuff! We opted to spend the extra money and stay in the Casita section after reading all of your reviews (Thank You). Check-in was a breeze and we were taken by shuttle to the Casita check-in which was welcoming and very quick - yes champagne and cool towel. We arrived before check-in and our room was ready (Yea!!!). The shuttle wisked us over to the room, which was on the first floor in the 27 block. Well..I wasn't happy with the room (no view and a bit dark, next to a walk-way..hmmmm). All it took was a phone call and in an hour the conceirge arranged for our second floor room to be ready and available. We were allowed to stay in the first room until the new one was ready which allowed us to change clothes and freshen up...super! What a difference! If you truly want an ocean view with a breeze and PRIVACY please request a SECOND floor room you won't be dissappointed! Beach towels are in your room...as a matter of fact I have never seen a resort stock so many towels in a room before! Confortable bed, towel art, huge jacuzzi - the whole shabang - WOW!!

Use the aromatherapy during the turn down service..it really adds to the atmosphere at night! The outside shower is amazing in the evening - do NOT forget to look UP at night when rinsing off at night!! WOW!!!! Stars everywhere - GORGEOUS!!!

The Casita section itself is truly romantic. Very quiet with your every need met. Plentiful chairs, bar(s) within a seconds walk away from whereever you lounge for the day. The beach beds were always open as well . There was never a fight for a spot to be lazy and snuggle all day! Beach butlers were very attentive, drinks were great with top shelf alcohol. Someone offered a sandwhich and icecream during the afternoon right at your beach bed....can you say pampered?!

The beach is in a state of repair and yes there are BIG sand bags alond the water - however - people this is a GOOD thing! The water come in and forms small pools where you can actually see fish swimming along. Please wear water shoes as there are some sharp rocks aong the bottom. But the water is warm and turquoise - lovely!

Ok now to food- we found OUR experience to be hit or miss. I suggest leaving room service to "snacks only". The menu is extremely limited and not fantastic. The restaurants are really very good! Take the time to make dinner reservations with your concierge if in the Casita section and be open minded for new things. Dinner was always fantastic - Cocotal, Las Ilsa and Kampai were all great. If eating outdoors in the evening, spray a little bug repellant on your feet and legs ladies...it will avoid a litle smacking and itching during dinner..lol.

Lunch at the pizza/hamberger bar was mediocre but edible. Pizza was dry flat crust and not very good..the pita or wrap was much better. Try the Nachos - very good!

The only "line" I saw was to get into the Italian restaurant about 8pm. I did not hear one person complain about being refused or waiting to be seated.

Most people we spoke with were just overjoyed with their stay whether they were in the Casita section or not. Yes the regular part of the resort/pools/beach was a lot more crowded and a bit more active but as I said there was not a frown to be found!

The evening shows are quite entertaining - check out the "Fusion" show and the live band! The grounds are lit-up at night and a great way to have a romantc walk after dinner - although shuttle service is available.

Overall - you will not find better service anywhere from house keeping, bartending, concierge - there is not a thing they will not do for you to make your stay more enjoyable - and with a smile to boot! We tipped for all services however did not see many other do the same and everyone was attended to like royalty!

Enjoy your stay and be prepared to be pampered! Happy Travels!

Here is the deal.....

My wife and I stayed at EDR with another couple we were traveling with from 7/27 to 8/1. I was very nervous about the resort after reading all of the terrible reviews I saw here on TA.

We did not stay in a Casita but actually a garden view suite. We never felt like second class and never waited for a single meal. The food was outstanding everywhere we ate.

We never noticed any staff being rude nor did anyone expect a tip.

Our concierge did ask me about the time share but I simply said no and that was the end of it.

I was very worried about the beach since I love to snorkle. The whale humps were not nearly as bad as so many other people had made them out to be. In fact, right infront of JoJo's while snorkling I saw an octopus, moray eel, starfish, schools of parrot fish and so on. Without the humps making sort of a man-made coral I may never have seen this at all.

We never got to the pool any earlier than 8 or 9 AM and we always found a bed and lounger open.

The live bands at night were great as were the local shows. (Try the Scooby-Doo shots at the swing bar)

I really think that all of the bad reviews posted here are written by people who are just unhappy with their own lives. Sure this place is expensive, you get what you pay for.

We also did the Xel-Ha and Tulum excursion. Both were loads of fun but we did feel rushed at both stops. If you visit Tulum wear your swimming suite since there is the nicest beach you are likely to ever see in your life.

We also spent an afternoon in Playa Del Carmen to go shopping. You can catch a cab for $22 USD each way from EDR.

The spa was great, we did the "couples sunrise massage".

The jet skies were a blast but don't bother doing this if you don't have some goggles for you eyes as the salt water burns!

We will probably never go back since we prefer to try new places and resorts but I would recommend EDR to anyone and I have no regrets about choosing this place for our Vacation!!!

This was our Honeymoon, we went for 14 days and travelled between 15th-29th July with First Choice.
Air line was very good and comfortable, cancun airport not so good, big ques on arrival for immigration and then lots of waiting about for luggage (there system is not so good)!

On arrival at EDR, first impressions WOW, its beautiful and smells gorgeous in the main lobby, we had very quick check in with glass of cold champers then whisked off to our Junior swim up suite in a golf cart whilst being given a small tour of the place and the main areas pointed out by the bell boy.

The room (block 52) was very spacious, big huge, comfortable bed, and nice double jacuzzi. The swim up was clean and lovely couldn't fault anything. The A/C was freezing which is so pleasant when coming in from the heat!

All the restaurants were first class, and we were treated so well by every member of staff!! I am an extremely fussy eater but there was always something I liked!!
Breakfast - we mainly eat at Fuentes (buffet) but tried them all, La Isla was good for pancakes and egg Benedict (a must try)!
Lunch - La Cabana pizzeria was our fav just because it was quick and easy. La Isla and JOJO's also good where you can get sandwiches/burgers/pitta breads etc as well as proper meals!!
Dinner - Kampai (asian) was our favorite, followed by Fondue (something different from the norm).
You will have to wait for dinner in Kampai, Fondue and D'Italia if you are after half 7, we did not find this a problem as they give you a bleeper and we went and relaxed in one of the bars until the table was ready, after all we are on holiday to relax!!!! Men please bring long trousers for the indoor restaurants or you won't get in!!!

Our favorite bar was the martini bar, very comfortable, good service and strong cocktails, they also have a pool table in here which was nice and a casino table early evening before 7, this was fun esp when its not you money your gambling with!!

I must stress that at no point during our 2 week stay did we ever feel like second class citizens because we were not in a casita, we felt like we were treated like royality! The only difference was they get to reserve tables and have to walk/take a cart a fair distance to get to anywhere as they are so far away. I personally was glad to be in a junior suite as we were close to the main activities pool, short walk to lobby and close to the restaurants!!! If i were to return I would be happy in a junior suite and would not feel the need to pay so much extra for a thatched roof on my building!!!!

The beach is not the best - not much space and rocky and the red flag is up most of the time for no swimming, not a problem for us as we prefer the pool, beach lovers don't go!!!

Fuentes Pool is the main activities pool and the entertainment staff work very hard so please join in with them, they do volley ball, water aerobics, crazy games, water polo, name that tune, bingo, dance lessons and loads more every day, so much fun but can get noisy here, there are lots of other quieter pools!!!

We did tip as did most people, the staff work so hard and are so polite they really do deserve their tips, the rep advised that 1-5 dollars was more that enough when you felt like it as any more the staff would not leave you alone, a little goes a long way though!!!

Overall, this was by far the best holiday we have ever had, its complete paradise and worth every penny, book it and go!!!

El dorado was nice but i'm not convinced it was worth the money.

Check-in: Good first impression, we helped ourselves to champagne and then were taken by buggy to the casitas check-in where we were offered cold towels.

Room: I stayed in casita section 30. The room was lovely. The only drawback was that the marble floor was chipped in several places and had not been filled in properly so if you walked around barefoot you could tell where attempts had been made to fill in the chips.

Restaurants: I'm a vegetarian. I found the breakfast and lunch choices good but was quite limited for dinner.

Kampai: They didn't have a single veggie choice on the dinner menu. I had to ask for the 'ten vegetables' dish to be served in a different sauce since it came with oyster sauce. Some people would say this isn't a big deal but it is if you're on holiday, you just want to order something without having to explain that you don't eat meat or fish.

El Cocotal & D'Italia - these had a good range of veggie choices but mains were mostly pasta.

Fondue - This was my favourite restaurant. The fondue was really nice.

La Isla- They did a really nice vegetable and goats cheese burrito for lunch.

La Cabana Pizzeria - I did not think that the pizza was very good here. They did a vegetable pizza but the vegetable combination used was pretty tasteless.

Fuentes - Went here for dinner, the food had no flavour at all, i sent my main course back to the kitchen. The waitor asked if there was anything he could do. I asked for extra bread and he failed to bring it. My husband said the meat was very ambiguous, i.e. he would not have known what the duck or pork were if he had blind tasted them.

Lunch: The resort could do with at least one extra restaurant being open for lunch. There can be long waiting times particularly on days when it has rained and everyone goes to lunch at the same time.

Bars: The bars were very nice. I liked the martini bar in particular. They have a pool table and live singing on some nights.

Concierges: We found them to be extremely annoying, they kept asking about what jobs we did just so they could work out if they could make any money out of us. All they did was try to sell us stuff and make us go to the timeshare presentation. After we refused, they kept putting notes under our door and then when we went to make restaurant reservations they infomed us that they had booked us in to go. We had to refuse yet again.

Wine: I found the house white (a Chilean Chardonnay) a very light, easy-drinking wine. It was very nice. However, the waitors in the restaurants (particularly D'Italia) kept trying to push people into buying bottles of wine. They would hand you the wine list when you sat down. We saw a couple who splashed out on a bottle and hardly drank it throughout the meal. They obviously hated it.

Spa people: They kept coming round they beach beds hassling poeple to go and get a massage in the spa. Very annoying.

Cleanliness: The resort was very clean, but we did see one cleaning lady washing her mop in the fountain by La Isla!?