I make no bones about it, my FAVORITE place in Mexico is Excellence Playa Mujeres. It’s not like I’ve been EVERYWHERE or am even well traveled, but I do like the Riviera Maya…and I do love EPM. That said, I always hope for a different view once a year or so…

I’ve also been to Hyatt Zilara, Live Aqua, Valentin Imperial, and Gran Caribe Real. They were all good for different reasons.

This time around it was El Dorado Maroma.

Originally, I had planned to go to El Dorado Royale, but the more I heard about the size and how spread out it was, the more I got cold feet. Maroma was excellent for a three night trip. This review will include a lot of comparisons to other resorts, sometimes making it seem like I’m being unfavorable to EDM. I’m not. I liked it a lot. There are just certain things that I like better at other places.

This was my second trip to Mexico in the time of COVID. It had a few more hoops to go through than the first… but still worth it. I drove to Houston the night before so that my sister from another mister and I could fly out together the next morning. I got a great direct flight on United First Class. The lounge at IAH was relatively crowded, but still nicer than having to wait in the airport itself.


We landed in Cancun about noon and were at the resort around one, thanks to Kalido for being on time and whisking us off to paradise.

The resort does not have one of those grand entryways as one of the larger, newer resorts… no magnificent entry to sweep you in, but it was lovely. Drinks were still offered as we were waiting, and checkin was smooth. The room assigned to us was not quite ready yet. Initially, I was slightly disappointed to find our swim up was in building 12. Through my research, I had learned that was away from most of the the heart of the resort, but a swim up is a swim up, right? (Eventually, I changed my tune on that. I LOVED the room we were in for the most part…)

Since our room wasn’t quite ready we went of to lunch at Papitos… recently reopened, recently remodeled. We had to wait a bit for a seat because we wanted to sit outside where we could see the water, but it was no problem at all. The FOOD at Maroma is amazing. Really, truly the best I’ve had at any all inclusive anywhere I think. (Live Aqua was pretty good, too… I’d need to have them side by side). Lunch was just a snack to begin…and who doesn’t like a snack with a view?

The water is ALMOST that perfect turquoise of the hotel zone, and it’s crystal clear. It is VERY shallow for a long way out, however… and the barriers put there to prevent erosion do take away slightly from the overall beauty of the beach. Maroma is also home to the only overwater rooms in Rivera Maya as of right now.

Then it was time for our room… I was NOT prepared… Oh my goodness! It was HUGE! It was a swimout in building 12 with two living rooms, three flat screen TV’s, a full kitchen, two full bathrooms, including one with an outdoor shower… It was MASSIVE… (Room 1207). I didn’t take pictures of the room until we were leaving, so it’s a little bit messy, but I do have a video of the whole thing, too. (I don’t pay for the upgrade on WordPress for videos, but I’d be happy to share…) It even had something of an ocean view.

We unpacked and enjoyed a little bit of the afternoon in the swim up before heading out for Mexican fiesta night. Being at building 12 IS a little secluded, so no one came by to offer drinks while we were in the pool. I made my way over to Bar 24. It’s kind of odd that there are no bars anywhere except as swim ups in the two pools, so if you want to get a drink but aren’t in the pool, you kind of just have to hover there and wait for one. Getting water is a little difficult, too. They only have glass bottles of water, and until we made it clear that we drank A LOT of water, they were really stingy with them. There were only about four bottles in the room, and they were only 16 oz each. It was about 4 o’clock in the evening by this time, and I also couldn’t find any clean beach towels anywhere. All of the boxes were empty. Again, this was different than EPM had been in the past. Still, I eventually found someone who would bring the towels to us, so that was fantastic.

I started taking my Yeti to the bar and filling it with water and bringing the drink in a plastic cup back to the room. If I went again, I’d bring two Yetis. we ordered a room service snack while getting ready. It came hot and fresh! Sadly, however, the only liquor in the room is beer. Anything else, you have to be a member or pay for. They won’t deliver mimosas or anything like that.

It also is a little odd that there’s no place to really grab a snack during the day. You can order room service to your room or go to a restaurant… that’s it. You don’t always want to get out of the pool, dry off, sit down and do a whole meal, so that was a bigger drawback to me than I expected.

As a whole, the place is not nearly as dressy as the other resorts I’ve been to. That’s either good or bad depending on how you look at it! Still, we did put on dresses… and off we went to fiesta night.

There were a few vendors set up around the main pool, and then you climb the stairs to the Caribbean Grill. They had some Mayan dancers and a big buffet. It was really hot in the room, and I was a little surprised that the buffet was set up in the midst of COVID. You had to wear masks while getting food. The food was fantastic. EDM is a very small resort, and I have attended the BIG Mexican fiesta night at Excellence Playa Mujeres before. Although there weren’t nearly as many selections at EDM, and the entertainment wasn’t quite the same spectacle, the flavors and the authenticity of the food was just as good.

Now, normally, I’d spend time describing each day and everything that we did in detail… but with only two full days there… with each being a repeat of the last, there isn’t a whole lot of reason for more than one blog…. so I’m mixing it all in one… Plus, EDM is definitely not a big night life place. I knew this going in, and that was fine with me. They only do live music a few times a week and there is nothing like a martini bar or anything to go to to hang out. It’s definitely about good ol’ R and R.

We went back to the room and had a few minor maintenance problems, the light in the closet wouldn’t turn off. (They never really could fix that), and the AC wasn’t working, but that was fixed within about two hours, so not bad. After such a long day, we were ready for an early night.

I’m a beach lover in the mornings, and I like to get up for sunrise, so I was down on the beach by about 6:30 both of the full days that we were there. The beach is nice. There were a few reserved beds… but most were still open at 6:30. I did notice that beach service didn’t start until quite late, so if you don’t have water down there with you, it can be hard to come by unless you go to a restaurant or something like that. Again, they don’t bring you water in bottles, just in small plastic cups. I think it’s all about preserving the environment. The beach is expansive but somewhat barren. Still, it’s lovely. People say the seaweed is “bad.” I say it exists, but they do work to clean it up all day. Unlike the larger resorts that use tractors, this was just guys with wheelbarrows and shovels.

Since we were there for such a short time, we needed to get our COVID test that morning. We hadn’t been scheduled a time, but instead were told to show up at 9 AM, and didn’t get any instructions. Some of the people there had their passports, and we realized we would need those. Several were irate because they hadn’t gotten an email (which we hadn’t gotten either), and there were a few that weren’t on the list. The people who did the COVID test aren’t associated with the resort and many didn’t speak English very well (nor should they, they are in Mexico). Still, the communication difficulties made for a few uneasy moments. Ultimately, we got swabs in our nose and made our way to breakfast at Lima Limon.

I had been told to try the stuffed French toast and it didn’t disappoint. Servers came around with plates of pastries. I had a sparkling wine with just a touch of cranberry and all was right with the world. We went back and spent time splashing around in the VERY SHALLOW water. (Really, we walked a LONG way out, and it never got more than thigh deep. We went past about two rows of barriers), but it was an absolutely glorious day.

After beach time, we went back to the room for pool time and yet again ordered some room service. The chicken burrito and the quinoa salad were my favorites. Again, there was no service at the pool for drinks. Still, it kept me from getting too tipsy to enjoy dinner. I just finished what was left of the drink I picked up at the main pool bar on the way back…

Next, it was off to dinner a Mio’s for Italian. We got to watch some coati playing along the route… The Mexican and Japanese restaurants were both closed for remodeling while we were there, but for three nights, how many choices do you really need?

As far as dinner goes, the burrata and the risotto were definitely the standouts to me. The melon ravioli was also great. The house wines were just a merlot and a cabernet. I could tell the merlot I was being served was oxidized. I could have ordered a different bottle. Instead, I was a trooper. I kept drinking it until it was all gone (about a half a bottle), so that they would open another for me and I could see if I could tell if I was right. Ha! I was. The second bottle was much better…

Again, the resort was surprisingly casual to me. The dress code is similar to other resorts, but it is not enforced at all. It is not unusual to see men and women in board shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops at dinner. If that’s the kind of vibe you like with excellent food, this is the place for you.

So, it was early to bed and early to rise… If you’re starting to think this is just about food, you’d be right. It was solely a rest and relaxation quick three nights… Awoke the next morning for chilaquilles at Papitos before hanging out in the main pool for awhile. The swimups that I THOUGHT I wanted were right beside the main pool. There would be more socializing and action here, but the people at the pool said the the swimup “lazy river” wasn’t particularly usable because it had A LOT of bird poop in it. Good to know! Our pool was sparkling clean.

For lunch that afternoon we had booked the 2 for 1 special at Palafitos. SO WORTH IT! It’s just a little hike up the beach to the area of the over water bungalows. $50 was definitely worth it for the duck tacos alone! The appetizers, salads, and meal were all outstanding! And the views were phenomenal.

Back to our pool for the last bit of pool time.. We wandered by and found the famous “I Love El Dorado” sign in front of the spa and then spent a few more hours of peace and relaxation. When we got back to the room, our safe wasn’t working, just another weird glitch in the weekend, but they came by to fix it almost immediately. On our last afternoon there, I made sure that people knew we would be there, and a waiter from Lima Limon kept coming by to give us drink service, so that was great! We brought some floats, and it was so relaxing! I read almost an entire book!

Our final night we had a reservation at Lima Limon for Peruvian food, which neither of us have ever had. We were excited to try something new… but then when we looked at the menu, we realized it was entirely seafood. I WANT to love seafood… but just really don’t unless it’s cold. Heather likes seafood but not fish, and there was A LOT of fish on the menu, so we decided to spend out final night dining outside at Papitos again, and now enjoying sushi night. I’m glad we did! It was exceptional! The miso soup, the appetizers, all were terrific, and it was lovely to watch the sunset on the beach on the last night.

After dinner, we channeled our inner party animals (ha) and made it over to Rick’s bar on the 4th floor of the spa. It was pretty empty in there, but we still enjoyed a drink with Enrique and a look at the view. A band was going on at 9 o’clock, but we were tired and full… and the bar was pretty empty. Still, I’m glad we checked it out! It looks like it could be a really fun place!

Back in the room we reminisced on what a great time we had and started talking about our next trip! We double checked to make sure we had all of our forms together for the flight the next day and called it a night.

We really just enjoyed the room the next morning. We ordered room service breakfast one more time… (and they told us, an hour later, that we hadn’t ordered. It was a weird argument. Um… yes, we did… We called you, on the phone…) The breakfast was wonderful and so was the trip.



I truly, genuinely liked EDM a lot. It was small, quiet, laid back. It doesn’t have the level of pampering, service, or luxury that I get at Excellence, but it was friendly and sweet. I would definitely recommend it to other people, and I’m glad I had the chance to enjoy it with one of my dearest friends!