TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I have to start by saying, I was so conflicted reading the reviews before I went. Tui need to make it clear that they occupy the Palms side. Having the names of each resort as "El Dorado Suites" and "Tui Blu Eldorado suites" adds to the confusion. Once you arrive everyone from bellboy to cleaners to reception staff to ground workers and waiters/waitresses, they could not be more friendly or more helpful. The room, yes a little dated, but exceptionally clean. Towels changed daily and more than enough for the two of us. The beds are enormous and very comfy. There was so much storage and a very large bathroom. The mini bar is stocked daily. The only disappointment was the water pressure in the shower. We booked a premier room (514) this gave us a pool exclusive to Premier guests with really comfy loungers and a swim up bar with the best staff ever!!! We had read the reviews about having to wait for hours to get served for dinner. I can only speak for us but we did not experience this. Yes when we went in were told there could be a wait, but we never waited more than 15 minutes at the bar of each restaurant. If they tell you it could be up to an hours wait, do not be put off, you wont wait very long. I think they air on the side of caution. There are only two restaurants to book the Italian and Asian, but they are both really good and worth booking. If you like wine, the Rose is awful, White acceptable with ice and the Red hit and miss. Maybe stick to the cocktails. The grounds are maintained to a very high standard and everywhere is very clean and tidy. The way the resort is set up sometimes it felt like we were the only ones there. The beach is beautiful and the sea was very warm. you will always find a sun bed and waiter service is a plus! One of my highlights was the Racoons on the resort. They are really friendly and will take food offered to them (very gentle) To sum up, do not be put off by negative reviews and TUI take note, I'm sure if I had read the reviews before booking, I wouldn't have bothered. You need to sell it as "The Palms"

I will say I may be writing this a bit late because I forgot to write about it, but this hotel is a go to and a must return. Food was excellent. First time getting a burrito with nothing on it (my fault because I didn’t tell him) however that was the most flavorful burrito I’ve ever had. My boy Angel who’s a bartender was our favorite person there! We definitely coming back the next time we come to Mexico.

We had an excellent stay for our wedding anniversary. We booked a garden room and were greeted most mornings with the wonderful family of Coati Mundi’s that live in the grounds. My wife enjoyed feeding them fruits from the breakfast buffet in particular. The location and grounds are beautiful, full of lush coconut and banana trees and amazing wildlife, we even saw a hummingbird on our final morning. Snorkelling by the beach was great, and we saw a few stingrays. We also enjoyed our meals, with one or two exceptions. We recommend La Caretta, Klay Talay and the Mexican spread available at the restaurant each day with fresh tacos. We thought Mia Casa was a bit overrated. Shout out to Domingo, the chef at the beach BBQ, who took great care in making sure my wife was able to enjoy a gluten free lunch. The food was excellent. And to Miguel, our housekeeper, who left everything spotless everyday and made brilliant towel animals. Top tips: 1.Be sure to grab drinks at the Mezcal bar at the top lobby. 2. Bring money for tips, we brought pesos and changed for smaller notes at reception, we were happy to tip and understand it’s the culture. 3. If you want a beach front palapa bed you need to be down at 7.30/8 am but there will always be space somewhere on the resort to chill out. 4. Try breakfast everywhere it’s offered, Seaside Market, the Pier, the Cullinarium etc. change things up. We really enjoyed our stay and felt welcome as a same sex couple, with the reception team and concierge treating us really well. Avoid the negative reviews, don’t let them put you off a beautiful resort in an incredible place. Embrace the different food options, it’s not the place to go if you want fries and ketchup!

Quite a good hotel, but with just changes, it could be better. Firstly, staff were excellent, very hard-working and attentive, always with an "Hola!" Hotel grounds very big, they had shuttles, requiring up to 10 min. wait. Landscaping well-tended, lush and beautiful. Rooms were fantastic-very large. Buildings were absolutely spotless, including those shared by a couple of restaurants. Beach and sea were gorgeous, with plentiful loungers. Some shore snorkeling was possible where there were some small patches of coral or rocks. Food was extremely good. It wasn't always hot, though, at Driftwood. Irritatingly, smoke detectors in every restaurant we visited were beeping, needing new batteries. Now we come to the bad stuff. We were told only 2 restaurants required reservations: Asian and Italian. Other restaurants were first come, first serve. In reality, those 2 restaurants were booked between 7 and 9 most days. When you got into the lineup for the other places, despite there being multiple empty tables, we were told there was nothing available until 9:30, unless we arrived before 6. We "heard" they were keeping tables for the privileged members. Quite frustrating. One day there was a Mexican show on the beach. Sounds ok, but was wearing clothes and shoes for a fancy dinner. Other restaurants were closed. There seemed to be an hour between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner where there was no food available anywhere. Ok unless you arrive then or come back from an excursion (which we did) No bar in our building after 4:30, except at the pool. Seems like there was one before, but it closed. Entertainment was frustrating. Normally, at a resort, I would enjoy yoga, aqua aerobics, Spanish lessons, and pool volleyball, daily, if possible. They no longer offer the lessons, there were almost never any announcements to say what activity was being offered next. There seemed to be no daily program posted either. I did have an app on my phone, but it was completely outdated, with incorrect information. It is possible that it was on the tv, although I did not turn it on til day 5 of 7, and then couldn't manage to open the tab. As a result, I was unable to do any of those activities in a whole week! There seemed little going on, except for some obnoxiously loud music poolside. Aside from these frustrations, it was a very good week. We had no Air Canada vacations rep and no orientation, which may have contributed to the issue. A better reservation system, more structured activities and small book with info about the resort in the room would have helped immeasurably.

We absolutely loved our stay here having been slightly worried due to the variety of previous reviews. We stayed for 10 nights. We had booked our own excursions to Tulum and also Chichen Itza and found the ‘free’ hotel ones book out quick and are only available at limited times so didn’t manage to get on these. We loved the staff- the entertainment team’s amazing energy and friendliness (thank you Benjamin, Angel, Jose, Maria, Alexandra and Luis). The golf cart drivers Jean Carlos and Pedro were hilarious. I loved the craft activities and trying water volleyball! And the Day of the Dead festivities and fire show were incredible. We didn’t go to any buffet options enjoying our breakfast in Driftwood every morning (thank you to Lorena, Ricardo, Wilbert and Roberto! We miss you and our lovely breakfasts!) We dined at the Mexican at least twice (thanks Antonio), the Japanese twice (no problem booking an early table a few days in advance), and twice at the pub (fab fish and chips!). We also had room service one night which was quick and great after a long 12 hour day trip! Our large and comfortable ground floor swim-up room was kept spotless with every day visits from housekeeping and mini bar and towels replenished daily too. The resort was well maintained and gardens, beach and communal areas tidy. There was some maintenance work being done but it wasn’t any louder than the Americans having fun at the swim up bar! I do want to mention Ricardo who wasn’t actually our concierge but we adopted him and he was polite and lovely every day we passed him on the way to breakfast, sorted out any questions and decorated the room for my husbands birthday. We have been home for a few weeks now and I still long for just another day here enjoying the food, sun and comfort!