Excellence Playa Mujeres: Great vacation

Beautiful place. The staff is wonderful and very welcoming. The food is good but mildly inconsistent. It could be better. Be prepared that dress code is a very big thing at this resort. Casual elegance is what they call it. Everywhere for dinner besides the outside grills are dress code driven.

Excellence Oyster Bay: Work in progress

The layout of the resort is great. But for being less than 1 year its already in rough shape. Being a new resort the staff needs some training, they are slow and not enough staff on hand. For the most part food was very good. We had a private pool which got no sun. The water in our pool was very cold. We asked to be moved to another room, they moved us to building 2 the only one that got sun. If you are wanting a private pool request building 2 or do not bother.

Excellence El Carmen: 2nd time around

We had gone to this resort in January 2018 on the recommendation of our Travel Agent. We were not disappointed. We fell in love with everything this resort offered. So much that our group said let's go again next year! So we just returned from yet another fabulous trip. We had the honeymoon beachfront swimout rooms which were amazing. Plus the excellence club. What a memorable trip. The food was as fabulous as we remembered. Each restaurant was excellent. The service amazing. The Excel [... read more]lence Resort and their staff go out of their way to make sure everything is right if not better. We had so much fun! A top notch resort. We would highly recommend it.

Excellence El Carmen: Incredible place!

We loved this place sp much that this was a return visit! The layout, the staff, and the food and drink were the best! The beach was really lovely. We were able to take long walks and had so much fun jumping in the waves.

Excellence El Carmen: JD12

Nice big resort no more than a 4 star all of our stays were in 5 stars all they need to improve to a top resort would the following: pools are every where but they cater to the bottom floor seems like you are invading their privacy would need another main pool on each side of building 4 (just 1 main pool), Beds are unbelievable uncomfortable never slept so bad on any of my holidays, and food was just alright. We were there for New Year eves, they need to teach employees more English cause I am  [... read more]deadly allergic to seafood and they serve it to me on three different entree’s, on a good note the main managers were there that evening and moved us to a semi private restaurant where we were able to ordered anything on the menu. We were there to decide where to go for our 25th anniversary coming in April for 2 weeks and it was between here and Valentines in the Mayans . Valentines definitely won!!!

Excellence Punta Cana: Hotel full of Thieves

I unfortunately did not notice this until we had returned home and were unpacking, but we are missing $30 in cash and about $300 in the loss of my rose-gold bracelets. I am severely dismayed by this fact and have traced it back to the bracelet loss taking place on our last day. We had taken items from the safe as we were packing and ran down for lunch while housekeeping was in our room. I didnt check the items once we returned to the room. I cannot tell you how invasive and disgusting that i [... read more]s. I did some research after that and found over 800 reviews of people who have had items stolen at this resort. Yes, I read the reviews before hand, but they also have over 15000 reviews. Any thoughts I had about the resort prior to this are all gone. I will NEVER return to this resort and plan on telling every person I know about this and my experience. There are so many resorts at the same caliber in PC, chose another one.

Excellence Punta Cana: Most Excellente!

Excellence Punta Cana is a great resort; we were there mid-December for 1 week and I highly recommend. The resort is very clean and the people are very friendly and happy to help. Grounds are gorgeous. Rooms are awesome. The beach was full of seaweed which upset some people, but we tend to spend most of our time by the pool. Food was great, though the lobster was overcooked - we're not going for a culinary experience, it's more about the warmth and relaxation. We did the "Excellence Club" a [... read more]nd loved it. Some people don't feel it's worth the extra expense, to each their own. We like the added touches. They ask for your room number at the EC pool to ensure you're a part of the club -- the only thing is, they do this in the morning only. So by mid / late afternoon, people who are non-Excellence members make their way over and it's not monitored in the afternoon. There is a bit of a language barrier, but not enough to worry about in my opinion. Highly recommend this resort.

Excellence El Carmen: Great week and great resort!

We spent a week over Christmas at this wonderful resort. Having vacationed at the Excellence Playa Mujeres in Mexico, our expectations were pretty high (we loved the Mexico property). El Carmen didn't disappoint. From the moment you arrive your pampering begins in this extremely clean and well maintained oasis. We stayed in a two storey roof-top room that has it's own private plunge pool. The upper deck as an outdoor shower, which is one thing done better in Mexico. The outdoor shower in Punta C [... read more]ana isn't private and you are on high display for all to see, unlike Mexico, where it is private. That, however, is pretty much where my criticism ends. Everything else - the food, the restaurants, beverage, and overall property, were nothing short of spectacular. One of the most outstanding qualities of this resort is the staff. From Galvan and Alvin at the martini bar, to Mildred and Carmen at the Excellence Club private beach area, and everyone in between, were happy and helpful and certainly elevated our experience. Very special recognition goes to Esperanza, the head concierge and Jose, the food and beverage manager, who both went above and beyond to ensure our every need was attended to. My wife is vegan, and sometimes food choice can be difficult at an all inclusive. However, a simple email to give advanced notice as to where we would dine, eliminated any concern about what would be available, and lead to a wonderful and relaxing dining experience every night. We chose the Excellence Club, which although there aren't as many perks as we found in Mexico, we still feel it is worth it. We stayed in building 7 and it had a wonderful view of the Ocean.

Excellence El Carmen: Excellente at Excellence el Carmen

Beautiful grounds, lovely staff, amazing food. We have no complaints - everything from check in to towel service to even the beach itself - all of it was carefully thought out and delivered with care.

Excellence Punta Cana: Beautiful resort with an amazing staff!

I went to Excellence Punta Cana during December 2018 for 6 days with my boyfriend, both in our mid 20s. It was our first all-inclusive experience, so our expectations were high based on reviews I've read on Trip Advisor. I highly suggest booking through Trip Central as they provide you the full package including support and shuttle service to and from the airport. Upon arrival at the PUJ airport, it took us a bit of time to find our rep since there were a lot of people with names on banners,  [... read more]so make sure you look for your airline rep (i.e. West Jet, Sungwing). They should have your name noted down, and he'll take you to your shuttle bus. We waited for about 10-15 minutes and off we went to stop by a few resorts. EPC was the last stop, so it took about 45 minutes to get to there from the airport. Once we got to EPC hotel, we were greeted with a glass of champagne and a debrief on our stay and some hotel policies with a little tour of the resort, and then final stop at our suite. We stayed at the Excellence Club Jr. Suite Swim Up View. Some highlights of the resort: - WiFi across the resort, even in the beach area - Service was amazing; all staff was approachable, friendly, and accommodating - Some good options for food; we enjoyed The Grill and Magna for dinner - Private beach felt exclusive and relaxing - We wanted an hour later check-out, which went smoothly with an Excellence Club perk - Full bottle top shelf liquors was amazing - Room service was fast and easy Some not so great: - Our room AC was terrible, so it made our clothes and sheets damped and humid - Entertainment; the shows felt repetitive after a few nights - Activity options were limited; there was a nice gym, basketball court and tennis court, but the bikes were only available during a certain period of time and the pool activities were also repetitive Overall, an amazing trip and highly recommended for first timers!

Excellence Punta Cana: Amazing Hotel

It was our second visit to the Dominican Republic and we decided to go with a more expensive hotel, which proved to be a very wise decision. Staff was much more friendly and pleasant. Pretty solid restaurants and beach.

Excellence Oyster Bay: Beautiful resort on your own private pinisula

The hotel itself is stunning. Because it is situated on a private beach you have no one trying to sell you things every 5 minutes like other resorts. We stayed in a beach house the views were amazing. Our air conditioner stopped working one day I called the front office and someone was there to fix it within a couple of hours. The food is by far the best we’ve had at an all inclusive. The staff is so friendly and accommodating we never ran into a person who wasn’t smiling or trying to please [... read more] us in some way. We were treated like royalty. The main pool is also the warmest main pool we have swam in in the Caribbean. It is a new resort that has some issues but with time I believe they will figure out want needs to be done so that things run smoother. One more thing we had the best couples massage that I’ve ever had. I usually am waiting for the massage to be over but this time wanted it to go on forever. Very relaxing!

Excellence Punta Cana: Beautiful Grounds

Clean grounds, great weather and not too big so easy to get around. Always chairs available on the beach and by the pools so no need to wake up extra early. Food was just ok and wine/liquors selection was not very good. Coffee shop was the perfect place for a morning latte or ice cream in the afternoon. There was 2 resort cats that would let you pet them especially if you have treats for them.

Excellence El Carmen: Excellence El Carmen was excellente!

Just returned home from a wonderful week holiday at the Excellence El Carmen with three couples. We have travelled to a lot of all inclusives resorts and by far this one was superior! Staff and service was excellent. Food was delicious, plentiful and there were so many options of a la carte restaurants to choose from. No reservations required and we had no problems at all getting into all the restaurants. Plenty of towels and beach & pool chairs available. Tipping was welcomed but you did  [... read more]not feel if you did not tip all the time that service would be compromised. Entertainment was very good and offered something for everyone every night. The karoke night was so much fun. This resort was top notch! I highly recommend this resort! We will return :)

Excellence El Carmen: Very Clean and modern Resort.

Was there from Nov 23- 30th 2018. The resort is very clean and very modern. The restaurants are all very good, the Grill and the Mexican were our favourites, but all were good. The main buffet is only open for breakfast and lunch which was a little bit of a surprise. We always like to have the buffet to fall back on in case the resturants are not very good. They do have a Sports Bar that has more of a North American flare to it, Chicken wings and things along that line. The resort is out [... read more] in the middle of nowhere so it is a bit of a bumpy, exhaust-filled ride to do anything, the excursions were not good at all and this was the consensus of all the people we talked to. We had a room with the private rooftop plunge pool and seating area, great for morning or late evening swims and sunbathing. The room itself was small but you are hardly in it so that was not an issue. the swinout rooms on the bottom floors are wide open for people to see directly into them as they are walking by, so if you like privacy I would recommend the 3rd floor with the rooftop plunge pool, these ae only available in the buildings near the ocean and they afford you beutiful views. Every building has its own pool, but the fun is at the main pool, that is were freindships are made so go and meet people there:) Over all a very nice "quiet" vacation. Not our best but not our worst either.

Excellence El Carmen: Amazing Experience!

This was the nicest resort we have stayed at to date! Swim up rooms are beautiful and luxurious and the service throughout the resort was outstanding. 24 hour room service was perfect when we arrived late due to delayed flight. Hotel was 86% full but there seemed to be ample amenities such as beach loungers and huts for the number of people. This resort had a more serene, spa like vibe than others which made it perfect for two parents looking to relax. We would go back again.

Excellence Oyster Bay: Really nice

Great service. Amazing beach. Really nice hotel. I would highly recommended this resort. We love Jamaica. The sand is white and wonderful to walk on. 5 star hotel. Good for couples. Lots of honeymooners. Only 39 minutes from the airport. The food was outstanding

Excellence Playa Mujeres: Not so 'Excellence': Instead an unaccommodating, poor experience

The hotel grounds are lovely, and the rooms are spacious and the beach is nice soft sand. That's where the good stuff ends. There are not nearly enough loungers on the massive beach (maybe this is a by-law?) Stressful trying to get a spot instead of being relaxed on vacation. There are no staff clearing chairs, so towels lay out all day so you aren't sure chairs are reserved or abandoned. The WORST is how the staff handle "situations". We were 9 people celebrating a friend's birthday. On [... read more]e dinner at the Lobster House we were told to be quiet. We had just raised glasses to honour our friend. No obscenities, just happy chatter amongst nine people. A staff member told us in an unfriendly tone that we were "annoying the guests" meaning the table right beside us. They moved them and the staff told us again to be quiet. We literally would have had to be silent or whisper. This restaurant is outdoors, was NOT full, and we were not being obnoxious (trust me, we CAN turn it up if we want to)! The second time I reminded the staff that we too were paying guests. The next night the hotel said they couldn't sit a table of nine - that there was no room in any restaurant. However we could "easily sit as two tables of 4 and 5 in any restaurant." After several of us spoke to staff, they finally gave us a table for nine in Toscana and it was fine. We didn't seem to "annoy any guests". Once 3 of us went into the cafe for to-go coffees. We had towels wrapped around ourselves (we were NOT wet and dripping water). While in line, a staff told us we had to leave. Stunned we asked why and she said there is a dress code. We simply didn't know there was one in the cafe. We apologized and asked if we could order 3 coffees and wait outside. "No. You are annoying the guests without cover ups, you have to leave." How about just a friendly "oh ladies, you need to wear cover ups in here." and when we offer the solution of waiting outside, realizing that is an easy, peaceful resolution? There are more incidences but I won't bore you. We were only there for 3 nights. We aren't disrespectful guests. We all travel a lot and have never had this type of treatment. We got talking to another group of people who were having similar experiences and never coming back. We will not be back. We will not recommend this place. We were a group of mostly couples there for a few days (a break from our kids!), yet the trip was tainted by the rudeness and lack of consideration from the staff for THESE guests. Clearly they are not empowered to problem solve or be accommodating to all guests and the manner with which they chose to engage with us every time, was unacceptable.

Excellence Oyster Bay: Relaxing resort

We had a lovely 10 days vacation at Excellence Oyster Bay. I think that some of the reviews are not fair. This is a new resort so some ‘hiccups’ are expected and this is Jamaica and everything goes by ‘Jamaica time’. People are very friendly and more laid-back than Mexico. So what if you are waiting for 2 hours at the restaurants? Are you in any rush? Just enjoy your vacation and take it a little bit slower than your daily routine. The setting of the hotel is gorgeous, on a private peni [... read more]nsula, close to the Montego Bay airport, with a beautiful view of the port where you can enjoy, couple of times a week, large cruise ships anchoring there. They are building another Excellence resort next door (not sure which one Beloved or Finest) and the construction is not impacting the existing resort – not noticeable. We were spending our 22nd anniversary there and I sent an email to the Concierge prior to our arrival to inform them. I cannot thank enough to Derise Forbes and her team for the way we were welcomed and for the smooth check-in. Nice decorations were waiting for us on the bed, cold champagne and cake in the room. We swap a vodka bottle for tequila. ROOMS – the rooms are huge, with a California king size bed, a little firm but comfortable. The sitting area is larger than any other resort we’ve been to. We traveled a lot to 5* hotels and resorts, including other E resorts. We asked for a room with a nice view of the sea. We were in building 7 (in front of EC beach area), 2nd floor EC. The terrace is huge and there are 2 separate large beds with 2 Muskoka chairs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t enjoy the terrace too much because of the mosquitoes and I will explain below. The rooms are serviced twice a day and you can add to your file the time when you would like the room to be cleaned. The bed sheets were changed every 2-3 days. We ordered room service one night and it arrived after 40 minutes. In the same time, our friends waited the same amount of time to be seated at the Lobster House. Nothing special in the room service menu, too much fast food like. Another morning we ordered the romantic breakfast with champagne, it came on time however they missed the cutleries. The breakfast was good. RESTAURANTS – we liked all the restaurants. We haven’t tried the Lobster House for dinner again because of the mosquitoes. They do have the coil mosquito repellent and they can put it under your table, just ask for it. The rib-eye steak was good everywhere. We went twice to the Chez Isabelle, 2nd time for our romantic dinner. We simply loved having breakfast at the Magna restaurant EC, the best French-press coffee, the best service and the best view. The dinner was very good there as well. We liked the menu and the service at the Grill. We went twice to the Spice restaurant, first time to Hibachi. We did not enjoy Hibachi but we liked the food at the regular Spice restaurant. The girls at the Aroma Café are very nice and they make good coffee. We had jerk chicken almost every day for lunch. Please do not forget to tip the cook – poor him BBQing in that heat. I loved the pasta made fresh at the Kitchen Table restaurant. BEACH – you can take a nice walk around the property however the beach is very narrow, almost non-existent in front of the main pool. There is a nice size beach at the EC. The water is mixed, patches of nice sand with patches of seaweeds and algae so not very good for swimming. There are many people along the beach cleaning it up all day long. You can do snorkeling between the main pool area and EC beach area. Blowfish, clownfish, barracuda, black sea urchins, stingrays etc. Be careful with the jelly fish and sea urchins. We saw a white sea urchin right on the beach, closer to the main pool area. Sunbeds, umbrellas and sun huts / palapas everywhere on the beach and at the main pool. The main pool is big, and it has a large jacuzzi in each corner. There are floaters and we never had an issue obtaining one. People from the Concierge service come regularly around to ask you for drinks and/or food. EC has its own pool much smaller and quieter. In general, this is a quiet resort. While we were there, it was around 70% full. ENTERTAINMENT – We were not able to stay at the nightly shows as much as we wanted to because of the mosquitoes but there are good shows and good music bands every night. Jazz band, International band, Michael Jackson show, African show, disco fever show etc. Every Wednesday at noon they have an Aquatic show by the main pool, synchronised swimming – excellente!! MOSQUITOES – this is a problem and not sure if it could be fixed. The resort is surrounded by mangroves and swamps. If you are prone to insect bites, like me, your trip could be a challenge. I knew about the mosquito problem and I came prepared. Repellent 50% DEET – 3 sprays, Off clip-on, taken vit B1 a month before the trip and during the trip, essential oils that repel insects, ultrasound insect repellent for the room and I asked the hotel to fumigate our room every day. After-bite, hydrocortisone cream, fast-aid cream. With all of these I had around 20 bites. My husband, on the other hand, not prone to mosquito bites had only a few and he also used all the above. We did not have a problem with the mosquitoes in the room but we could not open the balcony door. They spray the rooms and all areas every morning and they are very diligent (fyi they get the same bites as we get) however there are days, especially when there is no wind, when the mosquitoes are more aggressive. SPA – as part of our EC package we had included the use of the hydrotherapy facilities at the Mille Spa. We had a lot of fun and we also got a very good head and neck massage. I went back for an anti-oxidant wrap and it was amazing! Thank you Ambretta! We really enjoyed our time there and the services are very good starting with our housekeeper. Prince and his team at the EC beach area are amazing. They learned our favorite drinks and they were waiting for us every morning with a cold drink and our favourite sunbed arranged with towels. They knew our schedule and our habits and tried to make the holiday a paradise for us. We didn’t have to lift a finger. They used to work as butlers at other Jamaican resorts, so they understand what a guest wants during the holiday. Concierge called us every day to ask us if everything is okay and if we needed anything. You can always see the managers walking around the resort so if you have any complaint, I am sure they will look into it. We did tip as in any other resort. They work really hard. Our travel agent told us that you need to write a note if you would like to give away your clothes or other things to the resort staff, even when you leave the resort. Otherwise those things will go to the lost and found as they are not allowed to pass the main gate without a written note. Thank you to all the bartenders, waiters and personnel of the resort making a very nice vacation for us (sorry for not remembering all your names)!

Excellence Riviera Cancun: FANTASTIC!

This hotel is extremely clean and the employees are friendly and very hard working. Everyone is there to make you happy. The layout and the beauty of the hotel is that you can party at the party pool or lazily swim or float around the lazy river. It's up to you. They had excellent entertainment and the day of the dead and Hallowe'en were exceptional. Live bands of various music. The food is amazing and we loved the French, the Grill and the Lobster house. The food is fresh and a huge vari [... read more]ety. I have an MSG allergy and they were fantastic about making sure I didn't get exposed. Margherita in Aroma makes the best cappuccinos around. This is our 2nd visit and we would definitely go again. It was my sister's birthday and her and her husband's 25th anniversary. They did amazing dinners for us, sang, had balloons and really made the celebrations special. THANK YOU!!!!! My only complaint is that the A/C was way too cold in the room and didn't seem to change no matter the setting. We didn't want to change rooms so didn't say anything until we checked out.