“Soaked up the sun
Felt the breeze,
Melted in his arm
Tasted the sea”
Dione
Buying into vacation memberships
I hate being oversold and underwhelmed. Satisfaction is often determined by expectations. This return trip to our “home resort” at El Dorado Royale came with the expectation that as members of the Exotic Travelers Club we would be treated well, like Royales. The atmosphere and food were as outstanding as we remembered from our first visit in 2016. No doubt this resort has all the elements you need to connect, reconnect and bask in your relationship. If you’re not feeling the love, you might need to find a new mate. But from a membership perspective what we wanted to see was if our investment into the club was worth it?
El Dorado Royale (EDR) and El Dorado Casitas (EDC) are adult-only all-inclusive sister resorts that flow into one another on the expansive Karisma Resorts property. The resort chain has recently added Generations Riviera Maya a family-friendly option adjacent to the El Dorado complex. In the lush setting of Riviera Maya, with sensational food, beautiful views and the sand slipping through your bare feet, it is not hard to fall deeply, rekindle love and feel intensely consumed with one another.

Gourmet All-inclusive
What stood out for us on our first trip aside from the stunning tropical setting was the outstanding presentation of the delicious food. With nine restaurants to choose from the resort not only offers a variety of fare but also prides itself on being a gourmet all-inclusive. The dinner that sold us on joining the travel group was at Fuentes the culinary theatre. You can read about our first experience here. Our question going back for our second visit was would the trip live up to our first impression? Would our investment for becoming members be worthy of the rewards that we were promised?
Culinary Theater
Pre-arrival Check
Timing is everything and we picked the perfect time to jet. Not only would we be on site for the NYE celebration but we could decompress from the holiday stress. Our kids had two weeks off school for winter break, we spent the first week of that break with them doing all the holly jolly things for the season and by the second week, we were ready to pass the baton to the grandmas, recharge and shift focus from the magic of the season to the depths of our love. We were not alone in picking this travel week. The hotel was overbooked for the holiday per our attendant at check-in. Which made getting into the restaurants that require reservations tricky.
Tip #1 for traveling to these resorts is to try and reserve your tables prior to your arrival.
On-Boarding
We jumped right into vacation arriving in the late afternoon, we took some time to stroll around the property and re-familiarize ourselves with the layout. We returned to our room and got ready for an early dinner and our first night of entertainment. Every night comes with a theme and our first night was the Neon Night in the main pavilion. There were a lot of glow sticks, dancing, a rave feel if you will. At one point the predator came out of nowhere. It was a high-energy show with sexy dancers on stage, we warmed right up to our vacay with some cocktails. I started chatting with the other resort guests.

I like fucking tacos too, James
In the main pavilion where the late-night crowd congregates, after the show is done, they break out a street taco stand so you can soak up your drinks. The tacos are banging, we both remembered them and we were looking forward to revisiting this amenity. It was a long travel day but we found our second wind. James offered to go up to the bar to retrieve us a drink, I said yes I’ll take one.

When he came back after a beat and I was still sitting by a couple from MN hearing about their stay thus far, what restaurants they’d tried, what excursions they did, the usual small talk. Then, I noticed that the taco stand was out. By the time we made it over there, the tacos were gone. My disappointment turned into rage when I found out that my hubby had enjoyed himself a taco on his visit to the bar. When I asked him, why he hadn’t grabbed one for me? He said that I only asked for a drink. This led to a swift tongue lashing from his hangry wife. I could almost taste the cilantro and queso that was not to be had. I went through a series of questions about the things that I did for him over the last couple of weeks through the holiday season without him prompting me to.
- Did you ask me to buy your books to read for the vacation?
- Did you ask me to prepare appetizers for your family Christmas?
- Did you ask me to send parental instructions for our childcare to both grandmas along with the kid’s insurance cards and doctor’s contact information, so we could have a break?
- Did you ask me to book premium seats on the plane that allowed you extra legroom for your tall stature?
Considerate Marriage
Why is it that in these 14 years of marriage and 19 years of dating did I need to ask him to fulfill my needs, when I so readily anticipated his? It was a silly spat. The next morning, he redeemed himself. He told me to go find a beach cabana while he took care of all the arrangements for the remainder of our stay. I got to lounge on the shore and take in the first glimpse of the ocean while he handled our dinner reservations, booked us a spa package, arranged a snorkeling tour and even secured us a candlelit dinner on the beach. He was gone for nearly two hours but he sat with the Concierge instead of our Butler. I think that affected the engagement we had with the Butler from the remainder of the trip.
Tip #2 assert your member status upon arrival and utilize your butler to do the work of securing your vacation agenda

Courting
People tend to give guys a ton of leeway when it comes to consideration of their spouses. Complaints about these incidents are followed by comments like “that’s just men”, “they don’t think like us”, “we are moms, it’s in us to put others first” well I won’t settle for that. It won’t change if we just accept it as the norm. I go hard for my man and I want him to reciprocate, it’s not about the tacos.

It was about consideration. It was about him putting me at the top of his list, thinking and anticipating my needs prior to me verbalizing them. We are longing to be courted. I’ve heard many a friend complain about the complacency that seeps into marriage so innocently. And it’s not that we seize to love each other or have neglectful partners, it’s just easy to turn into lazy lovers.
Couples get caught up in the daily grind, spent from work and parenting. Before you know it, the relationship has shifted into autopilot. Attending to each other needs has taken a back seat. I know my husband cherishes me but it’s not always natural for him to express it.

Love in Paradise
That’s why millions of women marvel at reality dating shows like the Bachelor.
“And so, she sits marveling at the latest contestant on The Bachelor, wishing she were the one on the incredible date, on a tropical beach. Wishing she was getting dolled up and being passionately pursued by the man of her dreams. That’s what these vacations mean to me.
You don’t need to necessarily take her overseas to make her feel special enough to want to tangle in the sheets! It’s the depth of conversation over a dinner that you planned, it’s your hand on her back and a stroll in the sand. It’s the affirming words you say of why she worthy of that rose. It’s the feeling of being sought after that will never grow old!”
Dione

The breakdown of the membership, is it worth the investment?
I’m not that person at a five-star resort who still can’t be satisfied. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and a quick search on TripAdvisor will produce an overall score of 4.5 out of 5 for both EDC and EDR. The touchpoint for us was centered on the member experience and the fact that we paid a lump sum with the promise of exclusive savings, elevated benefits, and luxury amenities. We have taken advantage of the membership on several trips since we joined. We have been to Azul Negril, Nickelodeon Punta Cana and Azul Beach Resort in Riviera.
What does the Exotic Travelers Membership include?
- A discount of 50-60% of rack rates
- Private transfer to and from the airport
- 4 bottles of top-shelf liquor in your room
- 20% off spa, excursion and gift shop (We went scuba diving at El dorado Maroma on both visits.)
- Nightly desserts and shots in the room
- Wine and champagne in the room
- Price matching on booked trips
- Butler Service
- Late Checkout
- Member’s only gala dinner
- Premium Room Service Menu
- Free candlelit dinner
- Day Pass to another Karisma Resort

What wowed us on this visit:
- Phenomenal food at the following restaurants
- Wine Kitchen in Generations
- D’italia Villa ( I ordered the lobster soup, lasagna, and lamb)
- D’italia Casita
- The Culinary dinner at Fuentes is a superb dining experience
- The servers deliver the meals in a choreographed fashion with coordinated music. Each course is explained by the chef and paired can be paired with wines for an additional price.
- Room service was fast and James loved the breakfast burrito
- The entertainment is stimulating we loved the NYE beach party with fireworks. They played all the hits, the set-up was fabulous and we danced the night away near the stage.
- JoJos has swings and it seems to be the new hot spot. They play current music in the evening after dinner and although the restaurant is under construction they offer outdoor seating with great views of the ocean.
- Our couple’s massage started with a Mayan blessing and both therapists worked our muscles thouroughly.

Room for improvement
There seems to be a blurred lined between the concierge and butler service at this resort. The concierges are incentivized to get members to join and upgrade. They will act as butlers to achieve this goal. However, if the guests are not interested in the pitch or unwilling to sit through a meeting, they will quickly drop off on those services. Since James’ initial contact for our week’s agenda was with the concierge our butler fell short of his duties.
- Shuttle service was spotty at best
- NYE VIP table was not worth the money; our table was so far in the back and we were sandwiched between two elderly couples. We took our included bottle of champagne and sat with our neighbors from our building in a table they snagged.
- Most of the pools had no music or energy during the day
- Yoga is only offered at 8 am wish they had an afternoon option so you could sleep in and still get your stretch on.
- The house wine is undrinkable. They have placed a high emphasis on upgrading wine bottles at the restaurants.
Tip #3 Buy Duty-Free Wine before arriving.
Diluting Benefits and Member Discontent
As the Karisma brand grows some of the rewards promised to its members seem to be diminishing. In addition to the Exotic Travelers membership, we bought into the FlyBack program. The flyback program promised $1,000 reimbursements for the first ten years of membership for travel to the Karisma resorts. Unfortunately, many members have had to wait 9 months to a year to receive reimbursement if not denied the refund for miscellaneous loopholes in their submission. Many have cited that this seems to be an oversold Ponzi scheme. We have submitted our reimbursement and I will update this post with the response.
Both travel groups have formed Facebook Pages where members express dismay with the benefits promised. The major issues members are citing are listed here:
- A member discount is only at the promised rate during the big sales. Ex-black Friday
- Deposits for reservation has increased from $50 to $100 to now one-night rate
- New resorts opening will require an upgrade to use membership benefits
- Similar or better-discounted rates can be found on third-party travel sites as what members are paying.
- Privileges are being diluted. Ex- no reserved cabana beds any more for members.
Tip #4 If you are going to join a travel membership. Look before you leap. You do not have to sign right away. Do your research by joining the facebook group, checking tripadvisor reviews and see if the good outweighs the bad.
Owen
December 1, 2021 4:36 amDid you get your Flyback money?
Dione Laufenberg
February 14, 2022 9:09 amHi Owen,
Yes we have just received our 3rd fly back check! Make sure you keep your actual flight tickets and you have copies of what you send in. It takes several months.
Bernard Julien
February 20, 2023 4:32 pmWe joined the Flyback program in 2020. I would NOT recommend it to anybody anymore.
For our first request for payment, we contacted Flyback directly to inquire about the procedure. Everything went without a glitch, and we received a check within a couple of months..
However on the second year, they refused to pay. The thing i, when we contacted Flyback to ask the procedure to follow for our first trip, they failed to mention that we had to notify them of receipt of payment within 30 days (during the phone call or in the email that they sent us). Of course we did not notify them since we did not know that we had to do it. Consequently they refused payment for the second year of the contract.
When we tried to resolve the issue, they simply told us that we should have read the contract more carefully. (We signed almost 3 years before our first trip, so who would remember?) When we told them that we did call them to inquire about the procedure, and that they had not mentioned the 30 days, they kind of said that this was not their problem.
So stay away from Flyback, and you will be happier!
Dione Laufenberg
February 26, 2023 3:39 pmHi Bernard,
They certainly put that policy in place to have an out and I agree with you that is a shady clause.
I think to use the membership to your advantage, you have to be really conscious of all the fine print. We have had problems with some discount redemptions when we booked under promotions and we have started keeping track of every conversation/agent we talk to during booking and flyback conversations. I recommend keeping a copy of your plane tickets and to take screenshot when you send in your requirements for the Flyback payments.
We thought that notifying them of the electronic deposit was goofy and so it stuck out in our mind to remember to do it each time. At this point we have broken even hoping to get one or two more in. Also hopefully you are able to travel more frequently so it stays front of mind and you get ahead of what you pay to get in. We haven’t gone to the update meetings on our last two previous trips but I feel we probably need to on the next trip to see if any other changes will effect our travels.
Beth
November 13, 2022 6:56 amWould you be willing to share how much you paid to become a member?
Dione Laufenberg
January 12, 2023 8:05 amHi Beth,
We became members 8 years ago and we bought the flyback program as well 10-12k.
Brian
April 5, 2023 8:52 amMy wife and I just became Ruby members last week. This was a second stay at EDR and this last trip at EDC. We went through the “sales pitch” the first trip, but I didn’t really pay much attention to it, as that was our first vacation and did not know if we were vacation people. Anyway, on this last trip, we realized that we are vacation people, plus old enough to where we can travel more. My buyers remorse is this – We got 25 years without flyback (heard too many bad things about that program), so this is just the stay at the resorts, some sort of hotel exchanges and then the perks at the Karisma resorts. This was $23k. Scary amount, but we decided that we would travel at least once a year, that probably averages $6k each trip. So, in my mind, 8 trips and then we will be actually taking 1/2 price vacations. Now our contract is for 25 years, Unlimited nights. Is that what it was for you when you first joined? I have heard of some members stating that they get so many weeks (60, 100 and 120 is what I saw). Did Exotic (Prestige I think Exotic and Prestige go hand in hand) change their process, or did we get in on a special that they had at that time? I’ve been through our documents several times now, and cannot find anything that limits the member to X number of weeks throughout the contract. During the presentation, both the sales woman and the manager stated several times that we can use it numerous times during the year and that we could even book up to 5 accommodations at the same resorts or separate resorts at the same time for family and friends. Is that how your membership works? This is not a “dread” if not the way it works, it would just be a nice perk for family reunion type trips.
Sorry for the long reply.
Dione Laufenberg
May 12, 2023 11:15 amHi Brian,
We just returned from Nickelodeon. We listened to the update meeting and I guess they did change the membership structure. We bought 28 weeks and the flyback program.
We have gotten probably 5 flyback checks so it did pay for itself.
I question if our rate is truly 50% off. They definitely are putting more effort into getting new members than they are rewarding existing members in my opinion. They wanted us to upgrade to the next level and we would then covert to 10 or 25 years unlimited weeks. They said people were hoarding the weeks so they change it to encourage members to share their weeks with family.
I do believe you will be able to book multiple rooms and certainly use more than one week a year. We have done that before.
Richard
February 20, 2023 3:59 pmHello. We were in Mexico this past week and stayed at the Margaritaville Island Reserve Cancun all inclusive by Karisma. On our last day we attended the sales pitch to become a club member of Prestige Travel (10 year Sapphire plan) in addition to the Flyback plan offering $2,000 back on flights to their Karisma Resorts. We thought it a no brainer since we travel every winter at a cost of $5,000, in 10 years we’ll have recouped our investment. I didn’t realize until after they had our money that Flyback is a separate company from Prestige Travel. We must wait a full year before we can take advantage of the $2,000 rebate benefit. After reading all the negative reviews about the Flyback program I wonder if we’ll ever receive even our first rebate whenever it is we use it. I’d be surprised that Prestige Travel would continue to associate with Flyback if they were as sketchy a company as the reviews seem to suggest. What do you think. Do you think we made a really bad move. Thanks.
Dione Laufenberg
February 26, 2023 3:47 pmHi Richard,
We also had buyers remorse and spent time on that initial trip googling and panicking that we may have fell for a scam. Flyback is a separate entity but I believe at this point we have gotten 3 checks so we have broken even.
A couple things to consider:
1. Keep your plane tickets and make a copy of them when you get home.
2. Keep a folder with your emails of submissions, who you talked to if you had to follow up or ask for help.
3. Send them an email when you receive the reimbursement or you can’t submit the next year.
Also I would keep track of by screenshot any promo you book your trip under if there is a spa credit or resort credit. If you book over the phone write down who you talked to. Good Luck, in order to get your moneys worth you have to work their system. We’ve always had to follow up on when it the check was coming but it is legit in that people get the payments. You can also join the prestige members facebook page where there are fair reviews from members and plenty have cited getting checks from flyback.
Amy
September 11, 2023 6:48 pmIs there a specific number of days you are required to stay at the resort to qualify you flight for a flyback submission?
Dione Laufenberg
October 3, 2023 8:41 amI am not 100% sure probably depends on your specific contract. We typically do a week.