Good morning! If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen that I was in Mexico all week. Chris and I hadn't taken a true vacation all year long, so we planned this trip to have a relaxing (and romantic!) getaway. I wasn't planning to blog about the trip at all (in fact, I didn't even bring my blog camera) but so many of you guys commented/DMed/emailed and tweeted about our resort that I decided to do a full review on it. Our resort is PERFECT for anyone who is looking for a honeymoon destination or just wants a romantic getaway. We had the most amazing time!!
Even though Chris and I didn't take blog photos on the trip, we did take one Instagram a day, so here are some photos of outfits I wore (and you can see how pretty the beach is!):
Hello Molly dress, wearing size XS
Hello Molly dress, wearing size XS
ASOS swimsuit (wearing size US 4) // Topshop shorts (old)
L*Space one-piece swimsuit (wearing size US 4)
Hello Molly romper (wearing size XS, just FYI I had to criss-cross the straps and then tie them for it to fit properly)
Now for the review of the resort! We stayed at El Dorado Maroma in the Overwater Bungalows (also known as "Palafitos"). I did a TON of research on resorts in Mexico and I fell in love with El Dorado because of their overwater bungalows - typically, you can only find bungalows like these in the Maldives or Bora Bora, places that require nearly two days of travel to reach (and we didn't want to travel that far!). However, when we learned that El Dorado was in Mexico, had overwater bungalows and was only a three hour flight away, we were in! I'm inserting a few pictures of the overwater bungalows here so you can get a feel for what it looks like.
Here's my full review of El Dorado Maroma:
(P.S. This is NOT sponsored!)
Room: As I mentioned above, we stayed in one of the Overwater Bungalows (also known as "Palafitos"). The room was INSANE - it's over the water, and parts of the floor are see-through so you can see the crystal clear water and even fish and stingrays swimming underneath your feet! Our room had a fridge, dining table, desk, large TV (with Netflix!), jacuzzi bath tub, king size bed, lots of closet space, an indoor and outdoor shower, and a private infinity pool. It was also one of the most comfortable resort rooms I've ever stayed in - it was super clean, smelled amazing and the air conditioning worked great, not to mention that the bed was probably the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in in my entire life!!! One other really cool thing about the palafitos is that they each have a private dock with sun chairs, and a ladder leading straight to the ocean so you can snorkel right from your room (which we did). Each palafito is assigned a private butler - ours were Alma and Alan. We loved them!!! They did everything for us - booked our room service, our spa treatments, made our reservations for dinner and even escorted us to dinner every evening. The resort has a bunch of other rooms and accommodations on land, however we picked the resort solely for the palafitos, so I can't say how the other rooms are.
Beach: The beach at El Dorado Maroma was incredibly beautiful - fine, soft sand and crystal blue water. There are two beaches: one is a private beach (you have to make reservations for it) and Daisy (the beach butler) will bring you drinks, games, sunscreen and will even pack you a picnic lunch so that you can have a picnic on the beach. The other beach is public and you don't need reservations for that one. On the public beach side, there's a manmade island that you can walk to, and it has pretty palm trees and hammocks to lay out on. The only downside of the beach is that there are large, unsightly sand bags when you look out to sea (we even had a close-up view of the sand bags from our palafito). It does block out the view of the ocean a little bit, but I understand why the sand bags are necessary (to keep the current from eroding the beach and the overwater bungalows).
Pools: There are six different pools at El Dorado, all beautiful. Chris and I prefer the beach over the pool so we spent most of our time on the beach or on our private dock, however if you're a pool person, the pools are really nice. One day we did hang out at the "Mio" pool - they have a swim-up bar which was really nice!
Food: We have mixed reviews about the food! The resort is all-inclusive, so all food is included in the cost of your stay. We really loved some meals, and others not so much. There are six restaurants on the resort, including an Italian, Caribbean, Peruvian, Asian and a Mexican restaurant. Chris and I agreed that the best meal we had all week was on Friday night - they throw a huge Mexican Fiesta every Friday with buffet-style tables set up right next to the beach. The food was AMAZING, and there was tons of it! Guacamole, tacos, tortilla soup, quesadillas, street corn, you name it and they had it. Plus plenty of margaritas :D
Activities: There were a lot of activities to do at El Dorado - you could never be bored here! There's a yoga class every morning, and every day you will find cooking classes, dance classes, bingo, a magician act, etc. You can kayak or paddle board for free, right on the beach. If you want to book an excursion, they offer camel rides, swimming with dolphins, Mayan ruins, snorkeling, catamarans, and ATV riding. Chris and I booked a trip to the Tulum ruins and we had a lot of fun (just wear comfortable shoes!!!).
Spa: I looooove getting spa treatments, so Chris and I booked the "Recharge" package at the spa - it includes a 30-minute couples massage and 30-minute couples facial. The coolest part of the spa treatment was that we had it right over the ocean, so when you looked out of the windows all you could see was crystal blue water. I think Chris felt a little uncomfortable getting a massage, haha, but I was incredibly relaxed. I wouldn't say it was the best massage or facial I've ever gotten, but it was definitely relaxing.
Transportation: We flew into the Cancun airport (only a three hour flight from Charlotte), and from there it was a 40-minute ride from the airport to the resort. When you make your reservation with the hotel, you also give them your flight information and they take care of EVERYTHING! They had a car waiting for us at the airport with cold water bottles and beer for us :)
In conclusion, I would highly recommend El Dorado Maroma!! It would make the PERFECT place for a honeymoon, anniversary or just a romantic getaway. Almost every door of the overwater bungalows had signs like "Happy Honeymoon" or "Happy Anniversary." It is very romantic, so I personally think this resort would be best for couples rather than for a girls trip.
Let me know if you have questions in the comment section and I'll be sure to answer them! xoxo
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