Excellence El Carmen: Best resort ever. AMAZING

The hotel and rooms were so spacious and the staff were truly amazing people. Always asking and very helpful with anything we needed. The food and the 12 restaurants were so good, and we cant forget the sports bar wow the food was out of this world for a sports bar. The night entertainment and pool side shows were all amazing as well. We truly recommend this hotel and we will be going back. Thx again for your help. This is why we use tripcentral to book our holiday so I know I will never have [... read more] to worry about anything ever from the time I leave til the time we get back. Thank you o'Neil Graeme.

Excellence El Carmen: Would recommend

Great resort to consider! General guests are mature - not the place for party, which is ideal for a true relaxing vacation. No issues with food, some hit and misses (i.e. room service). Beach was wide and clean, great for long walks on the beach. Water was turquoise with Atlantic waves - great for swimming. Some seaweed but not an issue for us. Service was great, staff always making sure we are taken care of. Rooms are simply fantastic - would recommend to excellence club for superior rooms clo [... read more]ser to the beach. We stayed in an ocean front two story room with pool on our terrace..WOW! Standard rooms are great as well, most rooms have a view of the beach. No issues finding lounge chairs by the beach or pools. In fact, every building has their own swim pool in addition to the common main pool by the beach. Even though resort was at %95 capacity, it did not feel like it! No issues with finding towels. Drinks were solid. Grounds were well kept and groomed. Roaming flamingos closer to the back of the resort. Would highly recommend this resort!

Excellence Playa Mujeres: Top Notch Resort!

As usual, the room, service, and food were great - in general. We love this resort and after 25+ trips to the Carribean, this is the only resort I've EVER returned to (5 times now!). We've been to Sandals and Secrets and they don't compare to this resort. It truly is top notch! Our favourite restaurant is Basmati (Indian food) and Chez Isabelle (French). Swim up rooms are a must for us - so convenient! I highly recommend this resort, despite a few minor glitches to report though during ou [... read more]r week: 1) We arrived on April 11, 2019, and the resort was at full capacity so getting beds on the Excellence Club Beach was a 6:30am task for my hubby :). By 6:35am there were none left! This was the first time we'd experienced this. Usually, chairs are in abundance but not that week. Even the regular chairs on the Excellence Beach were completely taken by about 9am. 2) We had a swim up room in the Excellence Club in building #7. We had 3 different pool side concierges that week, 2 of which were "in training". The service level was mediocre in comparison to other visits to this resort (we always get this room type). We are used to the concierge coming over to our room as soon as he sees us on our deck in the morning to lay the towels on our sunbed. These gentlemen were 50% of the time, not in their tiki hut at all, or the other 50% of the time not paying attention (either on their phones, or looking down at something) so we had to go over and ask them repeatedly to "make our bed". This occurred several times during the week. We also left our wet towels at the end of our deck so they could pick them up and typically they would do so very quickly and replace wet towels on the bed mid-day. Not these fellows. They simply were not attentive like the previous 4 trips. We were constantly having to ask for towels/service from them. 3) Food at the new Magna was ok but needs some refining. Our "lobster vol au vent" pastry was so over-baked, it was hard like a rock and inedible. A la carte breakfast was just ok, nothing special enough to repeat. Service was slow. 4) The service at Toscana for dinner was horrendous. So slow it took over 2 hours to serve us a simple dinner. We thought perhaps it was just a fluke but our friends went there a few nights after us and the same thing happened to them. Service was awful and VERY slow. This restaurant needs to be under new management because someone doesn't know what they are doing (especially when you compare to other restaurants in the resort).

Excellence Oyster Bay: Amazing Resort. Very Safe and friendly.

I now have a new standard in resorts. EOB is new, clean, well laid out, and the staff are eager to help in any way. The food at the Grill, Lobster House and Spice were great with fast service, and the Kitchen buffet was always changing. I enjoyed my morning café latte from the coffee house, and enjoyed the ice cream after a hot walk on the beach where you see lots of aquatic life. Room service was tasty and convenient. The balcony was spacious and the lounge was so comfortable you could sl [... read more]eep on it no problem. The double bathtub that looks out onto the balcony and then the ocean was so relaxing with lots of bubble provided along with incense. The fridge was well stocked daily with water, soft drinks and juice. Along with the bottles of rum, vodka and beer, complete with snacks. I will be back!!

Excellence Oyster Bay: Totally secluded!

The experience I had was outstanding! Complete privacy if that's your intention. We didnt have the package with all the perks and even then, we're totally stoked on making our way back to this level of luxury. I think my wife is already planning the next one!

Excellence Oyster Bay: Amazing resort

Our recent stay at Excellence Oyster Bay was wonderful. We were greeted at the hotel with a glass of champagne and a cool towel. Registration was easy, but we had to wait before accessing our room since we requested an upgrade to a room with private pool. While we waited, the receptionist escorted us to the dining room for the lunch buffet. We returned to the desk after lunch and our room still wasn’t ready. We wait at least another hour and a half before finally accessing our room. The re [... read more]ceptionist was very apologetic and courteous and explained that cleaning a room takes time. We understand that, but a 3 hour total wait for cleaning a room which had just been vacated is unreasonable. It would have been nice to have some sort of compensation for that. The room was wonderful. Everything you need: a pillow top kingsize bed, pillow menu, large TV, bathrobes and slippers, walk-in closet, laptop size safe with USB plug inside safe, iron, steamer, double sink, marble floors, double size rain shower, hairdryer, scale, and all the shampoo and stuff you need. There is a large living room (sliding divider) with L-shaped couch, desk, TV, rocking chair, two coffee tables. Adjacent to the patio doors is a square jacuzzi tub with towels, bath gel and incense. Our patio was very large with a double lounger bed, two chairs, another double lounger bed in private area next to jacuzzi. At the end of the deck, there was a 15ft. x 15ft. pool with walk-in stairs. Requesting the upgrade to a room with private pool was totally worth it for us. It was so nice to dip in the pool after a day at the beach or first thing before breakfast. There are 8 restaurants and 10 bars. We ate at all restaurants with exception to the sports bar. The food was excellent. The dishes are refined and prepared with fresh and local ingredients. I ate lobster 3 days in a row! It was unlimited! Chez Isabelle had a special dish of lobster thermidor and it was the best I have ever had! The steaks were pretty good too and the salads were creative and fresh. There is no buffet at night so people go to one of the 8 restaurants. No reservations required! Never any line ups! Service is impeccable. There is 24-hour room service with a fairly extensive menu. All included in your stay. The room is equipped with mini bar ( beer, juices, water, snacks) in addition to full-size bottles of vodka, rum, scotch whiskey). It also has a french press espresso coffee maker and they supply Blue Mountain coffee. The mini fridge is restocked daily but once we had to request additional water since we had used bottled water to make coffee. On a few occasions, we had to request creamer sachets for our coffee. I seems that the person in charge of restocking didn’t pay attention to that at all. On a few occasions, we thought the room could have been cleaned better. Sometimes the waist basket wasn’t emptied or the small hand towels weren’t replenished. The timing of the room cleaning was too late for our liking (3:30-4pm). We are usually back from the beach by then and like to shower and relax in the room before getting ready to go out for a drink and dinner. The staff (restaurants, bars, maids, concierge, receptionists, groundskeepers, etc.) was the most friendly staff we have ever encountered. Polite, serviable and never overbearing. Anything you need, they responded quickly. We had a concierge that checked in with us occasionally to see if everything was ok. The hotel has a games room (pool tables, ping pong, foosball, darts, checkers). From what we heard, it has a nice gym and spa but we didn’t go. They offer the regular activities like snorkeling, sailing, archery, aqua size, etc. The beach is clean, white powdery sand. If you go out about 30 feet, you will have sea grass but it’s no big deal. There are beach beds all over in addition to lounge chairs. There are plenty of canopies to hide from the hot sun or just cool down once and a while. Barmaids come to you. In addition to the beach, there are 3 very large pools. One is on the sky deck of one of the restaurants and it’s an infinity pool overlooking the ocean. Another one is heated and the other is regular temperature. At each corner of the pools, there are heated jacuzzis. The property is large and is on a double-gated peninsula. There are many areas to lie in the sun without being crowded like you sometimes are at other resorts. We have tried many hotel chains (RIU, Iberostar, Melia, etc.) and this is the first time at Excellence. The hotel is brand new and opened up only 10 months ago. It’s a great experience and one that we hope to repeat some day.

Excellence Playa Mujeres: AWSOME RESORT

THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL AMAZING RESORT THE SERVICE IS IMPECABLE THE FOOD IS GREAT THE STAFF IS POLITE AND FRIENDLY THE ROOM ARE SUPER CLEAN AND COMFY I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS RESORT TO ANYONE I HAVE BEEN 2X AND I WOULD GO AGAIN I LOVE THIS RESORT EXCELLENCE PLAYA MUJERES

Excellence Punta Cana: Exceptional resort

This was our second visit to this resort and we found the renovations they did quite nice.Cushioned double lounges around the pool and facing the ocean were the best! A small outside hot tub was appreciated ,very soothing! I was a bit disappointed that the menus were changed but in all fairness it’s because my husband and I are not”foodies” who will try anything so not the resort’s fault.We always found something delicious to eat though.The new larger showers are great and more modern r [... read more]ainhead fixtures are nice but one end is open and with A/C on I was cold!haha.The pool was extended and a swim up bar put in which was great.I highly recommend this resort!

Excellence Punta Cana: Our Best Resort Yet

We loved our stay for 10 days at Excellence Punta Cana!!! At first sight, the lobby, pool and main buffet area were beautiful, topped only by the warmth & great service of the entire STAFF. The foods at all the many restaurants including the main buffet was great, our favourite being Chez Isobelle. The landscape & our Garden view room was exquisite and had great sleeps on our comfortable bed.

Excellence El Carmen: Excellence El Carmen

This was a top notch resort. there was only complaint is we were a group of friends and we all requested the rooms with the double beds. None of these rooms were available so we all had to share king beds.

Excellence Oyster Bay: Not a five star! Over priced!

Our room was very spacious! Housekeeping wasn't consistent. We had turn down service one night, slippers on the last night. Had to phone twice to get the room cleaned one day... apparently you need to tip daily for good service... not a the end of your stay. My husband waited for the bartender at the pool bar to restock glasses before he was served. Have never experienced this at a true 5*. Meals took 45 minutes to get.... Lobster was delicious!! I ordered a rib eye at  [... read more]"The Grill" that was mostly fat. It should not been served. It was, however, nicely seasoned. The resort was nowhere near full capacity, and we waited for a table most evenings. On a positive note! The buffet had a pasta chef that made the best white sauce I have every eaten!! Fresh parmesan, cream and white wine and perfectly spiced. Was eaten alive by mosquitoes. Bring Afterbite and repellant They sprayed Monday and by Friday we could not sit on our ground floor deck. Purchased a catamaran tour from the resort, not our tour operator (who was not there during posted hours), that was cancelled by the hotel after we had been on the road for 30 minutes! Apparently it was too many waves. My husband spent 45 minutes or more trying to get a refund from hotel staff.

Excellence El Carmen: Great Customer Service from Miranda Mawdsley

Miranda Mawdsley Customer Service Agent, Hamilton Ontario. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Miranda for arranging my booking to Excellence El Carmen, Punta Cana this past week, April 1, 2019. The hotel was exactly as she described; luxury accommodations, quality food, tremendous service from the resort staff and much more. The resort met all our expectations, so much so we’re going to book again with Miranda for the same time next year. I've used private travel agents  [... read more]in the past, but learned that all are not alike. Miranda's attention to detail, knowledge of the destination and understanding what my family wanted from this adventure made all the difference for us to enjoy our vacation. Job well done. Thanks Miranda for your advise and guidance. Regards, John Winter Port Dover, ON

Excellence El Carmen: Good time but was it Excellent?

hi, we have been travelling many years to all inclusive resorts and have been at the El Carmen when it first opened and again this past week. The resort itself is lovely, clean, spacious. Many restaurants to choose - food and service was a hit and miss. Service - hit and miss. We experienced great service one day and then no service at all the next - very inconsistent. Not a deal breaker for a return visit as long as I know what to expect. Front desk very nice and was able to accommodate r [... read more]oom request. I would recommend a swim out room. Do not choose building 6 as it is very noisy due to proximity to the nightly entertainment. Pool bar service is hit and miss, mainly a miss.. be ready to walk to the bar to get yourself a drink or go to the swim up. The sports bar has fries, wings, onion rings and burgers and has the best food. There is a food truck that is open from 6pm to midnight for burgers, fajitas, chili, fries and natchos.... they were yummy and a good snack to take back to the room. Room service was quick and food not bad - that was a success. We have been to Excellence Playa Mujeres, Mayan Riveria and Punta Cana. This resort although beautiful is in need of a few tweeks in order to be considered truly Excellent.

Excellence El Carmen: Romantic getaway

This hotel was absolutely fabulous. We had an amazing vacation and I loved our two story roof top with plunge pool suite. Incredibly private, I could enjoy sunbathing topless and what a breathtaking view! The food was ok, some good some bad but we never went hungry. And the liquor was top shelf. Even impressed with our well stocked mini bar. Cleanliness and luxury were very apparent here. Would of like to see more smiles and less co-worker conversations in front of clients though. It was [... read more] a bit unprofessional in any language. However, Alvin was amazing and we frequently sought him out for our evening cocktails. He was truly amazing and great attention to detail. Overall an amazing experience!!!

Excellence Punta Cana: Second time better than the first

I won't leave a long-winded review but will say that this was our second time going to this beautiful resort. We booked Excellence Club with private plunge pool and were in building 2. Our room was steps to the Excellence Club pool and we were super close to everything we needed or wanted. The beach is beautiful, yes there was some seaweed but the workers were out there raking it before anyone was usually up and it was well maintained. The water is a little rough and the riptide is definitel [... read more]y something to be cautious of. But we waded into the ocean and bobbed around for awhile and had a lot of fun. The restaurants were all amazing, the food was incredible and even more outstanding was the service. We wanted for absolutely nothing and have no negative thoughts on the resort at all. We will be back for a third visit in the near future!

Excellence El Carmen: Great resort; ok experience

Upon arrival, we upgraded to an Excellence Club swim out pool. The room was nice, well maintained, and clean. The balcony, pool, proximity to beach was great. Both the hotel and beach concierges were great and helpful. The service in the "not club level areas" was so-so; most staff were speaking very limited English, which was a communication barrier. The beach was the most amazing I've seen. Food and drinks was ok; some restaurant/bar better than others. Unfortunately, the plane was [... read more] delayed 7 hours on our first day because of a mechanical issue; which means we lost most of our first day (arrived at 5 pm instead of 10 am). And we had heavy rain 4 out of the 6 remaining days. With the humidity came A LOT of sand flies; I am covered with very itchy little bites on my legs, arms and back, still present and very painful even 5 days after our return. Upon our return, the food was limited in the airplane and we only had a few snack options since we were sitting in the back. First time with AirTransat and most likely our last time.

Excellence Oyster Bay: Highly Recommend

Just back from vacation and highly recommend this resort. Mid-size resort, gardens were well kept, beach area for Excellence Club members was well worth it, comfy beach loungers, very peaceful beach area, no vendors trying to sell trinkets which was a welcome relief. Breakfast and views at the exclusive Excellence Club restaurant every morning was the best. Overall food & service at the resort was very good. Room was very spacious, hot tub & comfy loungers on balcony, in room liquor selecti [... read more]on was excellent. Perfect adults only resort.

Excellence Oyster Bay: The property was very beautiful, the service good, however, the food was just okay.

This is a brand new resort that has just open last June 2018. The rooms, buildings, and grounds were very modern and beautiful. There is a restocked daily mini bar and a very nice pool bar. The food wasn't spectacular but was still good. This resort has very nice landscaping.They do have cheap snorkeling gear but there isn't much to see and paddle boards and kyacks but the you have to tip the guys to take you for a quick sail boat ride. The night entertainment was good. The beds were comfor [... read more]table and the rooms were spacious with 2 TVs and mini bar and double sink vanity. We had a garden view room (cheapest) and it still had a lovely view with a hot tub and lounger on the balcony. There are some even cheaper lagoon views which may be boring. We are bird watchers and there were many birds to be seen including the Vervain hummingbird and shorebirds.

Excellence Riviera Cancun: Why isn't this resort a 5*?

From the bellman and the front desk lady who greeted us by name on arrival with moist towels, cold champagne and warm smiles, to our lovely room with a long stem red rose on the bed and an ice bucket with more champagne and fruit, our stay was the BEST for quality of food, accommodation and service in over 35 years of travel to this area. I would feel confident in recommending it to anyone. All my room requests were met plus an emailed one for a possible close-to-the-beach location. Fabulous!

Excellence Playa Mujeres: Best. Resort. Ever!

Our second time and loved it even more. Truly a 10 out of 10. Great service, food, and heated pools. Also, every night has terrific entertainment, including a theatre with amazing shows (always plenty of very comfortable seating) and a large outdoor area with more entertainment before and after the main show.