El Dorado Maroma — Hotel in Quintana Roo

We stayed at Maroma for 6 nights in June to celebrate both mine & my husband’s birthdays and a late anniversary celebration (we are still here). I booked directly through their website, having reached out via the “contact us” email to ask some questions on the honeymoon villa (Alejandro is who helped me). ||We had private airport transfers via Lomas, which was worth the upgrade charge ($140).||Villa: Check in was a breeze, we met our concierge (Elizabeth) who helped us with booking our dinners while we waited for our room to be ready. It took a bit (we arrived around 1 and our room wasn’t ready until 3:15 or so), so she also showed us to a restaurant for lunch. We were booked into a garden honeymoon villa and wound up in 888 (Casa del Patron), which, to me, is probably the best villa on property. It was right behind the main pool with ocean views from our balconies. Close to everything and a gorgeous villa to stay in - we loved the outdoor shower and the bed was SO comfortable.||Beach: the beach is beautiful, probably one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Yes, the sargassum is an issue but the workers are out suuuper early in the morning cleaning everything and really working hard to keep the resort & beach immaculate. ||Activities: The resort is small with a relaxed feel, quiet, dies down by 930 or so… but if you’re looking for something to do, there is always something. Marco is great about going around at the pool to tell you about the days activities, but the schedule on the app (really a website) also lays everything out. ||Pool: There weren’t issues getting pool chairs with umbrellas (or a pool bed) at any time of day. ||Food: The food is probably the best I’ve ever had at an AI - it’s not “Americanized” food. It’s just really good food, prepared correctly, and I also love that you can get REAL Mexican food & flavors. (Don’t skip the Fiesta night! The performers are so talented & the food was unreal!) We could easily get reservations at any restaurant we wanted and we tried every spot for breakfast & lunch. The wait staff at every restaurant and at every meal is phenomenal - they are also great with recommendations for your meal. ||Drinks: The bartenders & pool/beach servers are fantastic, never felt like drinks were watered down at all. Make sure you bring some peanut butter for Felipe’s shots! Also loved Carlos! ||Excursions: we did the catamaran snorkeling excursion included in the “more inclusive”. Check in is in a large structure behind Starbucks/next to Lima Limon on the other side of the rope barrier. It was a really great time, we saw so many fish and a sea turtle at the reef. ||Spa: Bryan from the spa team was giving neck & shoulder massages around the pool and was offering us a special if we booked an early morning time (which works for us). We did a 50 min couples relaxation massage with Marlena & Eduardo and it was amazing. We also loved the relaxation room after. Next time we will plan for more spa services. ||Tipping: controversial, I know - but we are tippers. The level of service is so high that I never got the sense the service would be “worse” if we didn’t tip but they were definitely grateful for tips. ||Membership: we did do the presentation/tour re: membership. We received dinner for 2 at Palafitos (amazing) and $100 towards our spa appt. We had breakfast at Palafitos with our “tour guide” (salesman) and honestly enjoyed him. It didn’t feel super pushy at all, and we did wind up signing up for a super basic package. My advice is to hold out for what you’re really comfortable spending and with the bonuses you’re really interested in. Really not a bad experience but definitely not the 90 mins they’ll tell you it is, I think we were 4+ hrs. ||Cons: legitimately the only “con” is that I wish there was an easy, pick up & go lunch spot besides the taqueria (which is soooo good but a little bit away from the main pool). Something to easily get burgers, nachos, maybe a salad bar without needing to go sit at a restaurant. Another option would be easy pool food service (there is a beach lunch option, but I think it needs to be booked in advance). Because our villa was so close to the main pool, we would just order room service and sit on our patio to eat. ||Overall: we will be back and are talking about making it a tradition for us. You can tell that so many people are repeat customers and it’s easy to...

Perfect, warm, salt water, white sand beach!! Chairs are easy to find and the hammocks out in the water are dreamy. We went the first week of October between two hurricanes and when it was forecast to rain every day, and yet we had beautiful weather almost the entire time with a couple short storms that blew out as quickly as they blew in. The beach is very private with only employees and resort stayers on it - so no salesmen wandering around like you might find at the party beaches in Cancun.

The people are lovely. Rene at the beach bar is the king of hospitality - no one could do it better. I actually want to come back some day just to visit with him - he is salt the of the earth and so conscientious! Angel made our breakfast and lunches so enjoyable with his humor and generosity. We only saw Eli briefly a couple times, but I know she worked hard in the background to make everything run smoothly for us from airport to departure. The staff is constantly buzzing around cleaning, landscaping, and building improvements - which is noisy at times, but better than the alternative I suppose.

The restaurants were pretty decent - I didn't have anything amazing but it was all good to OK. They are working very hard to try to create a menu that works for everyone, with vegetarian, gluten free, and similar offerings, and they are very careful with allergies as well. They will also be happy to make you something off menu to fit your diet. At every meal we were served a starter - sweet breads and jams for breakfast, chips and dips for lunch, etc., which was really fun. The bar was full and plentiful, and the only improvements I would make to the bar is to offer coconut water, ginger beer or at least ginger ale, and add an IPA beer offering. I was really impressed with the bar offerings in general.

The room was spacious and clean and very air conditioned. The products are LOVELY - honey is the second ingredient and they smell so good - shampoo, conditioner, soap, and lotion. They even had salts and bubble bath for the in-room tub. The only products I needed to bring from home were sunscreen and feminine products - as they don't even offer one emergency tampon in the bathroom. They do provide plenty of bottled water and 24/7 room service. While I liked having the really nice room, of course, with the plunge pool on the balcony, I'm not sure it is worth it because we hardly spent any time in the room. The grounds were so lovely with wildlife around, restaurants, bars, two gift shops, pools, and the BEACH!

A snorkeling trip on a catamaran was included with our "more inclusive" booking from Lomas, and it was the highlight of our (too short) trip. Edwardo and Zoe and team made it so fun and I felt very safe with them. I got to swim right above a huge turtle which was amazing.

I really appreciated that there were no hard upsells (offers, but no pressure) and no hidden costs. Our all inclusive was all inclusive- transportation to and from the airport, the food, the drinks, the boat trip, the room service, the day beds on the beach - all of it. Other than our daily tipping (in US cash which went over just fine), the only extra money we spent was at the gift shop. We would have made purchases at the spa if we had time - next time we will stay longer than 4 nights.

They had a lot of little free daily activities like salsa lessons or crafts which I did not participate in, but were offered if you are into that sort of thing.

This place felt very safe and the employees trustworthy, and the other travelers at this location were also for the most part lovely people to converse with. My biggest request for improvement would be to play either Latin, tropical, reggae, calypso or other types of vacation music, or even spa music, rather than American elevator music at the pool and in the bar. It doesn't feel right! Seriously though - that being my biggest complaint should tell you how wonderful of a stay this is. You will not regret visiting Maroma or booking...

We are delighted to have the opportunity to put into words all the gratitude that we feel towards El Dorado Maroma and its wonderful team. Starting with Antonia and Josselyn. From the moment we arrived we felt like our presence at the resort was welcome. We were treated like royalty right from the beginning. We were happily surprised that we would be allocated a personal concierge/butler for our stay. Josselyn and Antonia were always available for us and helped us find all the amenties we could take advantage of. She was always ready with a big smile and genuine interest in us not just as clients of the resort, but as individuals. We had not been expecting this high level of attention and we were not disappointed. It seemed like everything we could have thought of to tailor our trip for our own particular needs was already thought of by El Dorado Maroma.

The check in was seamless and courteous. The porter who took our bags was friendly and helpful. Our room (442) was a delight, overlooking the pool. I took advantage of the salsa lessons and aquafit which were part of the included perks. Being gifted with no rhythm and two left feet I have to thank Jerik for his endless patience and gentle way of helping me gain confidence until I was enjoying the process more than feeling self conscious.

One of the things that stands out to me at Maroma was how genuinely friendly and kind all the staff were. I mean ALL the staff. There was no occasion on which a staff person failed to greet me with a big smile and ask how I was. This made me feel wonderfully at ease and part of the family as I wandered around.

Our very first server was Alexander, who helped us choose our first delicious meal. He helped me articulate what I wanted in Spanish, as I am far from fluent but very eager to accept all the help I can get! We saw him again at the very end of our stay and he remembered us... even our names! As we left Pepito's that night we were greeted and welcomed by Kevin, who we saw on several occasions throughout our stay. He was full of energy and joy and encouraged us to take part in some of the entertainment events.

We moved to the Palafitos (1602) part way through our stay where we had a couple of different butlers who really raised our stay to the next level, Janet and Fernando. They anticipated our every need and even offered us delights that we hadn't thought of. How lovely it was to know that whatever we needed was at our fingertips. Nothing was too much trouble and we were always treated with utmost respect and a genuine smile.

We had lots of different servers during our visit and I will apologise to those whose names I fail to mention. It is by no means a slight on anyone. The service in the restaurants was some of the best we have enjoyed at a restaurant and have never encountered before at a resort. They all seemed to enjoy their jobs and were engaging and helpful at all times. We would like to say a special thank you to Marlene who served us with a smile on a very busy night at Mio. Also Leonardo, Daniel, Patricia, Julian, Randy and honestly, all the servers. None fell short and all made our restaurant visits a true pleasure. We spent a few days lounging at the Bali beds and the beach butlers, Rafael and Rene, added an extra level of pampering by bringing us a picnic and our favourite drinks. Checking in regularly so we never had to go and find someone if we wanted anything.

We also enjoyed a delightful morning in the Naay Spa. From the first moment you walk in, the soft scented air and calm environment begin to soothe. My husband had a relaxing massage from Marlen and I went for a much needed deep tissue massage by Whilmar. Both experiences were fantastic and we spent the remainder of the day in a bit of a dream state.

We are already planning our return trip. We have the faces of everyone at Maroma in our memories and are looking forward to seeing...