El Dorado Casitas Royale

Highway 307, running from the Cancun airport south to the Riviera Maya, cuts a straight path through scruffy landscape. It is hard to imagine the great contrast that waits at two all-inclusive Karisma resorts, El Dorado Royale and El Dorado Maroma, just 20 and 40 minutes away respectively.

Less than a half-hour after checking through customs, we passed through El Dorado Royale’s gate and headed down a lush, two-lane jungle road.

An AAA Four Diamond Award winner, El Dorado Royale is ideal for those who want luxury, quiet activities and privacy, all in a big resort setting.

El Dorado Royale stretches along a mile of Punta Brava Beach and is so large (there are 639 rooms) that golf carts regularly traverse the property, from rooms to restaurants to the spa and beach. There are also bicycles for those who like to exercise getting around.

Despite the size of El Dorado Royale (450 acres, 10 restaurants and cafes, 15 bars, and 13 swimming pools), the winding lanes, the landscaping, the distance between the various buildings and the no-children policy create a sense of being in a small, unhurried place.

When we arrived from the airport, we were greeted at the reception lobby and taken by golf cart to the Casitas section, a super luxurious sub-unit nearly a half-mile from the main lobby of El Dorado Royale.