This is a 3 star property, but some things about it make it worth 4 stars. As long as you do your research and your expectations are not over the top you will have a lovely time as this is a must see resort. This is a long but detailed review.

Airport: Quick transfer from the plane to immigration to Decameron check-in to the bus after grabbing luggage. Random luggage check (press a button to have a light say go or to be checked). 1.5 hours to the resort, quick ride. When departing it's more annoying (you wait to slowly be directed into the airport as you are lined up outside the entrance) you have a good hour to explore the airport, make sure your luggage is NOT overweight, you will be charged.

Resort: Clean. Very nice landscaping. If you want to be close to everything, blocks 1-2. If you want newer rooms/accomodations/surroundings, blocks 3 upwards. Pool is quiet over there, more lively in blocks 1-2. Bar also closes at 10 PM, bars surrounding blocks 1-2 open until 12-1AM, disco open until 2 AM. Pretty lively on most nights, half tourists half locals. locals usually come on the weekends. They don't bother anyone, and despite other's reviews, they are not pushy. Remember, there is always the one jerk that ruins it for everyone, please don't let that cloud your judgement. Pools are always clean, public washrooms are also clean. Brush up on your spanish, front desk, servers, and bartenders are pretty much the only people somewhat guaranteed to speak english. Really cool 'mayan ruins' around the resort. No bug, pest, animal problems. Just don't lay stuff out on anything made out of wood. Didn't use the safe, nothing stolen (important items hidden in luggage). Tipping goes a long way for service, so please, tip appropriate people. Bathrooms clean, always had hot water, brush your teeth with bottled water. No problems with A/C or T.V. Lots of security everywhere. To get off the resort with transportation other than a tour or provided by the hotel requires you to sign a waiver. That's fine as I'm not an idiot and have knowledge of where and where not to go. Plan ahead.

Food: A-La-Cartes are the way to go. You have to wake up at 7AM or come by 3PM to try and make a reservation. Pretty tough, first come first serve. Great Mediterranean, Steakhouse, and Thai. Didn't get to try Mexican or Pastafari (which is Italian and Jamaican ?). Buffet had better selection on weekends, also try to split your time between the two buffets and some offer things on different days. Other than that, nothing spectacular. Snack bar open until 2AM (hot dogs, hamburgers, salad). To avoid an upset tummy, get Dukoral or don't eat the raw veggies/fruits. Nothing to do with contamination, I did not suffer anything and I ate salad the entire time.

Entertainment: Okay, entertaining enough. They make a good effort and the show isn't bad at all. Just remember you're not in Vegas. Disco plays a mixture of music, driven towards the Latin selections but where are you again? They also have pool tables there. This is the same place that holds the entertainment, it turns into a disco after the entertainment is over.

Beach: This is not the 'turquoise water, white sand' type of place. There are some places but they are not part of or close to the resort. However the beach (and sunsets) are beautiful in their own way. The beach is at low tide until midday and then fills up until the end of the day by sunset. The beach is better at the beach club, but be prepared to stay there for a good amount of time (from 9 am departure to 2pm return, and it's only a 10 min free bus ride. P.S. Lots of kids outside and some on the beach from the beach club. Bring treats or pencils etc.). Food, drinks, snacks, and major security are all provided for you. So are towels, beach chairs, and shade.

Pools: All great, and alot of them. All over.

Excursions: Went to Guatemala, felt a little rushed though the tour but was a wonderful experience. Be prepared to haggle near the end when going through the market place. Well worth the money. Hired a taxi to get off the resort and go to the mall, the Sona Rosa strip for drinks and food, and the next day to Acajutla for seafood. Safe but learn Spanish. We heard the excursions to the villages, volcanoes, and such were good as well.

The experience is different and you should be open minded. It's not that they're lacking anything, it's that tourism has not evolved as quickly as other countries but it is beautiful and fun none the less. They are still neck and neck with places I have been to elsewhere. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Happy travels!

First off, this is a truely beautiful resort, the grounds are superb, the pools excellent and the level of cleanleness the best I have seen in along time. BUT, and this may be a sesonal thing, be prepared to speak Spanish, vitualy none of the staff understand any English. If you have a complex problemto explain, find a bilingual Hispanic to help you.
However the biggest drawback is the food, not good, most of the people we spoke to agreed that 2 star rating would be generous.
The rooms are big and comfortable but storage is minimal and they use old-fashion keys, only one per room, which can be a real pain (if you want another they will charge you $$$).
Lovely though this place is we would not recomend it to anyone.

Dec. 20/11 just got back from El Salvador. This is the fifth RD Hotel I've stayed in.
---the customs check was over one hour
---the ride to the hotel was a little over two hours
---there is a tourist police on every bus trip
---clean room, grounds, eating areas, pool and beach
---only two seasons, dry and wet. Nov. to April is the dry season
---culture & crafts + thermal waters ($80) had the best lunch restaurant out of all the adventures we had. They talked about showing us one of the last Mayan homesteads but, they never showed it to us
---food is different so your stomach might take awhile to adjust to it, they use too much salt in their cooking
---400 employees at the hotel and only a small few can speak English, they so their best to be helpful
---the rum isn't watered down, the brand that they serve is extra light
---it's the only all inclusive resort in El Salvador
---

we stayed here 2 weeks in Feb 2009 and 2 weeks Feb 2011 we would recommend it to anyone wanting hot hot weather and down time. Tip take a simple blow up air mattress as chairs dont have pads. I just picked up one and left it there. You can take it iot the pool with you so its a real bonus. The restaurants are all super and we went to each one a few times as buffet for dinner is not my favorite. the steak at the steak house right on the water is hit and miss but being from Canada we are used to terrific beef.
Lots of pools and lots of chairs- you will never see them all full.
Side trips to Volcano lake and shopping trips to small towns are so worth the trip. Coffee is wonderful so buy some to take home.
Also buy some of the local crafts from the local people as they are just trying to make a living and things are really cheap.
The beach at the hotel is as you have heard not a great swimming beach but take a trip to the beach club- awesome beach and wave there. We went many times.
I am a runner and ran around the compound many times each morning before it got too hot. Small air conditioned gym has all you really need after all you are on vacation.
Our room was large and beds were comfortable.
It is a long way from the airport but staying for 2 weeks made that fine. I wouldnt like a one week with that drive as you would loose a lot of time.
Give it a try, you wont regret it.