Hi Kay,
We had a wonderful time. The weather was gorgeous and the ports were interesting and exotic. I've been on several Caribbean cruises but this was my first in Europe. Traveling with Europeans is definitely a different experience. Fewer lines at the buffet, for example! The ship was lovely and staff very friendly.

Thanks for the t-shirts, but honestly, the photo of the couple and the sunset was too cheesy for my taste - especially traveling with my sister. Might I suggest a more generic print and perhaps a large tank that one could use as a pool-side cover-up instead?

Thanks so much,
Carol Petrov / 5/26/07 / Silver Springs, MD / RCCL, Splendour of the Seas

Katie,

The El Dorado Royale was absolutely wonderful....our rooms were great and the service fantastic! Food delicious!!! Except for a few problems with the wedding coordinators, which we were told are not part of the El Dorado but with LoMas Travel, our stay here could not have been better. and Tanya's wedding was perfect - the El Dorado staff did a wonderful job.
One suggestion....let travlers know to go directly to Amex or Travel Impressions outside (airport) and not get sucked into the onslaught of vendors as you are looking for your transport.
Thank you

Alana Daggett / 6/5/07/ Poughkeepsie, NY / El Dorado Royale, Mexico

Hi Katie-

We had no issues with the flights, transfers or room. There were no mix ups or conflicts between what we paid for and what we received. What I expected to get, we got. There wasn't any misrepresentation. So...I feel Elite Travel did everything I would expect from a travel agent (except one thing, which I will mention last).

The El Dorado wasn't everything I would have liked. They were not very accommodating on minor issues...but over 5 days, those issues build up. It took 30 minutes to check in because the front desk kept answering the phone. The only sports bar on site wouldn't change the channel for the guys who wanted to watch the NBA finals so they had to go back to the room. They overcharged us in the gift shop and they said the item was marked wrong...and charged us the higher price. I told the concierge but didn't even get an apology...let alone anything else. The golf carts that are needed to take you to and from your hotel room don't have their own path. They practically run you over. Being 18 weeks pregnant...this was not appreciated. There is no shopping or shuttle to shopping offered by the hotel. The only shuttle there is runs once a day...at 6pm! So, you have to take a taxi into Playa de Carmen. The beach was very small and the only water activities offered were ones you would have to pay for. All the floors are marble...even in the hotel rooms, so you had to lay your towels down not to slip. Again, being pregnant...this was awful. Our next door neighbor slipped and fell...and the hotel charged THEM for the repairs!

And I think the worse thing was the dinner reservations. No one tells you to make ALL your dinner reservations in advance. I wish we were told this by Elite. You need reservations to eat at all but 3 of the restuarants. So...guess which ones we HAD to eat at? It was horrible. Even 24 hrs notice wasn't enough to get a time.

We had a good time because we were with friends, but I would not recommend this place to anyone who has resort expectations. It was more like a rude cruise ship; Stuck with what they have to offer, and not polite when there's an issue. I also wouldn't recommend this to anyone who wants to leave the grounds. I would recommend staying closer to town.

Laurie & Gerardo Leal / 6/6/07 / Chesterfield, VA / El Dorado Royale, Mexico

Katie, It was a little hot and humid, but the resort was wonderful. Tanya had some interesting experiences with the wedding planner, but the wedding was beautiful. The minister they had spoke perfect English and was absolutely wonderful. She did not have to read anything, but said everything directly to Clay and Tanya. It was so romantic and moving. The beach site was wonderful. Some of the other beach locations were less than ideal because of the large sand bags offshore to prevent beach erosion. The food at the reception was fabulous and more than we anticipated. The waiters were attentive and entertaining. We did have to do some work for the table decorations. Tanya's mom and I went to Playa shopping and had a great time to get table decorations which were going to be exorbitant in price ($80 per table!). Tanya also asked for a stick to hit the piñata, but they refused. She got so mad (this was the day of the wedding and you should not mess with a nervous bride) that she went out and ripped up a stake holding some landscaping for the piñata stick!!!

The only travel problem I think anyone had was with Nathan and Elisha. They traveled on Spirit air lines who lost their luggage. It was delivered on Friday (they arrived on Thursday). They were just a little nervous. The flights for everyone else seemed to be great.

We were booked for an oceanfront room, but something was amiss and they offered us a bottom room with the lazy river right outside the back of the room which we absolutely loved. The rooms were all fabulous, clean, spacious, and well appointed. There was enough hot water for a wonderful bath or shower. Some people complained that we were not all together in one area. Some complained that we were on the opposite end of the resort from Clay and Tanya, but I loved the separation from the louder areas.

The food at the restaurants was always great. We had the rehearsal dinner at Cocatel, which was a bit noisy, but we wanted AC (and needed it). The service at Cocatel was "European" and slow, but the food was good. Fuentes had a great breakfast spread. We loved the custom made omelets. However, it is important to make reservations early. Most of us could not get reservations at a lot of the restaurants requiring them. We used the gym which was adequate for us and air conditioned (thank goodness). We didn't use the spa this time so I can't comment on that.

I do want to comment about tipping. When we have been at other all inclusive resorts, we were told to NOT TIP. However, tipping was allowed and encouraged there. I wish we had know that and come prepared with smaller bills. It made things a little more expensive.

Playa del Carmen is a great little town. We loved it. The resort only offered shuttle service at 6 pm which filled up quickly. A group of us rented a van for $60 round trip to go to Playa because the shuttle was full. The restaurants at Playa were a little pricey, not air conditioned, but the food we had there was absolutely wonderful.

Overall, Joe and I would love to go back some day and stay in the Casitas. They were really nice.

Joseph & Barbara White / 6/5/07 / Lake Charles, LA / El Dorado Royale, Mexico

Katie, the trip was fantastic because we were traveling with wonderful
people. I also thought the facilities were remarkable. I must admit though
that the service was lacking. The staff just wasn't very accomodating on
certain things - such as getting enough water in the rooms, or even at the
restaurants for that matter. They refused to let groups push tables together
and if we had a group of 5 and a table only had 4 chairs, it was a
down-right argument to pull up an additional chair. Although the food
quality at most restaurants was good, the food service was extremely slow
and on occasion a waiter would make a snide comment in Spanish - not knowing
that part of our group spoke the language.

Again, it wasn't enough to dampen the mood of the weekend, but if you are
recommending the El Dorado as a top-of-the-line resort, you might rethink it
- particularly for a wedding. I hope Tanya tells you the horror stories of
dealing with them and their wedding coordinators, but if she doesn't please
know that they were relentlessly unaccomodating. I think Tanya still had a
good time, but that place should never be recommended to another potential
bride. Every small request she made was met with a "no" before the question
was hardly finished - and no alternative options were ever offered. I am
truly surpised that Tanya kept it together since they were clearly not
interested in making the process easy or fun, as it should have been.

Alright, that's enough from me. I hope you get accurate feedback from the
others as well so that you know more about that place. Again, I loved the
facilities and grounds, but the service was truly something to be desired.
Thanks!

Jill Cantrell / 6/7/07 / Dallas, TX / El Dorado Royale, Mexico

Hi Kay,

My trip was the most exciting thing I have ever done. I had so much fun and also relax, something that was well over due.

Hotel was great! Everybody was wonderful and friendly. I felt at home at all times. Thanks for all your help, you are a great travel agent. We plan on do other travels and our plan is to us you.

Thanks again for everything you done for us, you are greatly appreciated.

Michelle Davis / 5/29/07 / Cherokee Village, AR / Riu Paradise Island, Bahamas

Hi Tammy,

My apologies for the delay in responding. We’ve both been busy trying to catch up with all that we missed at work while on the honeymoon. To answer your question, we had a great time. More important, the assistance you and your team provided in helping us re-schedule everything at the last minute due to my lost passport was exceptional. I’m not exaggerating when I say that you saved the day!

If there is a testimonial section of the website or in your marketing materials let me know and I would be happy to include my thoughts.

Thanks again, Jason Cuevas / 5/15/07 / Atlanta, GA / Westin, St. John

Kay,

The trip was fantastic! We had an amazing time and everything went smoothly. Thank you so much for your help.

Annie & David Bennett / 5/26/07 / Alexandria, VA / RCCL Splendour of the Seas Europe

Tammy

It was excellent! The staff was so friendly and helpful with everything. It was a easy transfer from the airport to the resort which I was worried about. Back to the airport was even faster. I would recommend all my friends. It planned very well on Elite Travel's part. Hiram and I were happy with everything.

Jennifer Thibodeaux / 6/1/07 / Katy, TX / Breezes Runaway Bay, Jamaica

Dear Judy, DESTINATION WEDDING

Thanks for the welcome letter Our wedding and reception went perfectly and our honeymoon was FABULOUS!!! Thanks so much for all your hard work and great resort reccomendations. Everyone at the El Dorado was great and made us feel so special and welcome, we are sorry we had to leave. The food was excellent, the staff was great and we met alot of great people.

Thanks again,
Sherryl and David Reiss / 5/28/07 / Chicago, IL / El Dorado Royale, Mexico

Frank Thanks for the champagne that was very nice of you. We were moved to
the 10th floor after the first night so everything worked out well.
After looking Clearwater area we think your advice on the Marriott was
the best. Thanks for the wonderful first anniversary.

Gaidi & Julie Hartage / 5/26/07 / Farmington, CT / Marriott Sand Key, FL

Frank,

Sorry it has taken so long to get the review to you. We have been busy booking our return trip in December!

The resort is absolutly fabulous. It is just what we expected it to be. The staff is so nice and eager to help with any problem
that might arise. When we got to the resort, our room wasn't ready so we had to wait around for about 2 hours. They were very
accomodating. The food is wonderful. I am trying to think of something to complain about and the only thing I can think of is we
miss the free repeater massages. I know we have the couples rewards, but we miss the massage and t-shirts. It was a nice gift.
When we go back we will use our rewards points from this previous trip but it isn't enough for two massages. Couples is our
heaven-on-earth and will always be our "spot." Thank you for introducing CN to us.

Matthew & Catherine Forrister / 6/1/07 / Kennesaw, GA / Couples Negril, Jamaica

Hi Judy
The wedding was great, the honeymoon was fantastic but not long enough. Couples we loved it, the location was the best. The first two days we had room issues but they took care of them and things were great from then on. We will go back.
Mr. and Mrs Tyrone Neal

P.S. Elite's Level of service was top notch, at the airport and at hotel check in everything went very smooth. There were no problems not a one. we will use Elite for our next trip.

Tyrone & Alisa Neal / 5/7/07 / West Palm Beach, FL / Couples Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Hi Kay,

We had a great time. The weather didn't always cooperate, but hey, what are you going to do ? (Smile) As for the transfers, I only remember that we had to make it back to the airport on our own after the trip was over May 7th. Not arriving into Greece. The cover letter that I had from Central Holidays, marked ATHENS said that we would be greeted by a representative from Tour Greece holding a sign that reads CENTRAL HOLIDAYS. This was on our Athens information and instructions page. After a little over an hour of waiting,and making phone calls, two tired not so happy campers just got a cab to the Hotel. Thanasis from Tour Greece came over that evening to
talk with us and didn't understand why we had this cover letter in our package that said what it did, and no documentation in the office to pick us up. I guess we were not suppose to have that paper saying that we would be greeted,or someone just did not put it in the computer. I'm pretty sure that was the arragement. I only remember the air transfer from Crete being too expensive and we waited for that to come down in price. Regardless, we survived it.

Santorini was WONDERFUL! We both want to go back. Dana Villas was FANTASTIC! Recommend HIGHLY, but make sure people don't have leg and hip problems. There are A LOT fo steps to climb down and up again to go
anywhere. Mykonos was OK, and K Hotels I would NOT recommend to anyone. The beds were awful and the reception staff I found unfriendly and useless when it came to getting information.
>
Crete was a lot of fun. The Hotel He---- was OK. I would NOT recommend or go back to that one either. As for the food in the restaurant, I wish we would of passed. There were better restaurants and verities of food on the main street. Actually, we found a few on the beach that were better. (Think twice about pushing their meal package) If
you're American, it is money wasted. The food was bland and boring. We also notice there were a lot of
Families from England,Germany and maybe even Australia there. It was like being on a cruise ship that didn't
move without the casino and shows.

Athens was fun and interesting. I was amazed with all the scooters and how FAST they weave in and out of
traffic, (Scary) but, fun. Actually the cars are not that much different. Tail gating is an ART there. (LOL) The night before we were heading out of Greece, there was some sort of tournament and whoever won it,
there was havoc in the streets. Horns blowing,people yelling, fireworks (Which I did not see or know at the
time) just a lot of BOOMS. I was relieved to find out that it was sports related because the second day we
were in Athens there was a car bomb that went off and it had something to do with students protesting. We
could see the smoke from our balcony at the Polis Grand. It was not that far away, Maybe four or five
blocks away.

The Polis Grand was a pretty cool Hotel. Very clean and comfortable. I would HIGHLY recommend it. Great
location. Just don't send someone there that is too stuck up. The prostitutes wouldn't fly very well
being just two doors down. (LOL) Seriously! (LOL) I need to get going Kay. Once we have everything
downloaded onto the computer, I will send it to you (pictures) Have a safe and FUN trip back to Greece
when you go. Let me hear from you when you get back.

Michael & Beverly Seeback / 4/25/07 / Albuquerque, NM / Greece Package

Dear Kay,

A lot of these pictures are of the surrounding landscapes and sea, but that was the beatiful part... We had a nice time and I would highly recommend to anyone that is interested in a great vacation. Have a Great Day!

Carmen Bigelow / 4/26/07 / Franklin, TN / Dreams Los Cabos ( Photos under gallery on this site)

Tammy

Where to begin? The Wedding was tremendous. The Couples Resort could do no more for us. Every single guest in our party had only praise for the event. And you top it off Beautifully! The flowers are gorgeous,

Thank you,

Leslie and Grayson Hodge

Hodge Miller Wedding / March 2007 / Couples Ocho Rios / Raleigh, NC

Hi Katie-

Thank you very much for the email. My apologies for the delay in
replying but I've been very busy since returning from Mexico.

I had an excellent time. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was
fun. It was so nice to meet everyone and because there were only 30 or
so guests then I really did have a chance to meet them all!

The service that you set up for the flight and the transport to the
resort was great. Thanks so much for that! We had a little trouble
tracking down our personal concierge once we got to the resort. But Jen
and I managed to figure most things out on our own.

The resort was stunning! Our room was great and pretty close to the
beach. I'll send some photos once I download them from my camera.

Thanks again for everything.

Cheers,
Catonia Whalen & Jennifer Kesseler / 6/8/07 / New York, NY / El Dorado, Royale Wedding Cancun

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