My wife and I returned yesterday after staying for 1 week May 3 to May 10 celebrating our 29 anniversary. I read many reviews,forums etc. and being the skeptical person I am I can truly say that I do not have even one minor complaint about our stay at this resort. This our first all inclusive and we have traveled in past on vacations a average of 5 trips per year for our 28 years( not counting many weekends of short trips) so we have experienced the good,the bad and ugly( sorry Clint) . First off no rain and few if any clouds. That means make sure you bring and use a good sunscreen and as the pools are saltwater you will burn fast and severly. The fact it was breezy every afternoon made you feel like you weren,t getting burnt. Based on previous reviewers and truly thank you all we requested a room away from the construction. Via e mail I was advised this had been done as they stated though that their was no or little construction going on more on that later. I am not one to organize my thoughts categorically so if I jump around mea cupla to all. We were assigned romm 8159 which is furthest away from the construction and facing the Blue Poll ( swim up bar main pool) with the full ocean view beyond. Stunning. We went for the dual level and we really did not use the rooftop pool etc. area except to occasionaly look put from. My wife used the main balcony area much more. The pool itself received a lot of sun and was a great place to dry clothes. The pool is itself a mini pool, not deep with two return jets for circulation. In addition there are these two waterfall like protrusions that creates a nice effect. The stairs are slippery as they are marble ALWAYS use the handrail. The room itself is amazing. It is not huge but comfortably large with a terrific shower room and a great jacuzzi tub that fills up quite fast. It is a tiled shower with a overhead and a handheld that easily accomadates 2 people. The bvaglia bath products are terric, a comb,razor is included in case. Mirrors can be rotated out towards the living sleeping area if needed. We found the beds very comfortable no problems and as they are new they are quite high off the ground. The TV is about a 42 HD and they place a floor to ceiliing mirror on the a diagonally opposite wall allowing you to look at it from bed on one's right side. There are a fair selection of channels but hey you are not here to watch TV too much. Their is Sony clock radio with a I POD dick which played great. Warning the alarm setting is tuff to figure out, trust me I spent around 20 minutes at 5:30 AM our first day trying to undo my wife's setting it night before accidentally. There are two convenient reading lights plus a real nice full counter area right behind the bed good for storage etc. During the day near the bar pool there is music, sometimes a band and normal not spring break bar pool noise. Every day it quieted bown by a latest 6 so it was never an issue . We ate at Barcelona (Mediteranean), Toscano (Italian) twice, Agave (Mexican),Lobster House, Chez Isabelle ( French ), We missed Spice , Flavor Mart( tapas type) and Grill which another couple had previousy eaten in and didn't like.The service,atmospher, and especially the food were amazingly great. The only one we were a little disappointed in was Lobster perhaps because it was grilled. Be aware they truly only serve lobster. I love wines know a fair enough about them and can state the house wines are quite good and being that the wine list is fairly expensive you will not be disappointed. We had quite a bit of the Champagne which was uite good,not sweet . If you like peach be sure to have a Bellini by the pool . It is fun to try each drink of the day or let the terrific bartenders surprise you. The main bar in the buiding you check in one fl below reminded me of the Overlook Bar in the Shining( I missed you Jack). The buffet breakfast is to die for , and lunches also great. The entertainment is surprisingly pretty good, we frankly didn't attend too many but the singers were quite good. The river type pools are wonderful, you can easily spend a whole day doing nothing other than lying in your chair moving to the water and back again
then grabing your float( if you were fortunate to get one) . Seriously getting a float should not be a competition why not just purchase a bunch more. Before I forget we used room service a lot and the box that food can be delivered into and old dishes etc. removed from is ingenious. If you don't need a setup then ask to have food left in box,it's locked from outside . We loved putting finished dishes in and you can safely leave tips their for this service. Also you have no food smell in room for dishes so I don't understand what is problem if not removed immediately. The staff work harder than any place we have ever been . Hands down and I am sure some people do not tip. I firmly beleive in tipping well which we did on all occasions which is the best way to show your appreciation for their efforts. I hope they can retain a lot of the staff as when we asked all said they felt this was the best place they had ever worked in. We loved the beach especially my wife as it was practically empty. I presume the little bit of sea grass scares people away but a couple steps thru it and the water is gorgeous so do not let that deter anyone. The last few days there was only a trace of seaweed. You can now go on a wave runner boat straight accross ti Isla De Mujeres from the beach and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes, very fast and fun. You can then snorkel and later shop downtown which we liked better than Playa De Carmen. A word of warning. When you exit out of the Cancun Airport there are a number of white uniformed workers who bear government issued cards . You are led to beleive that they represent the Mexican Gov;t Tourist Industry but are no more than time share salespeople. yes you may get a free trip , say to Xel Ha or the like , but you will waste a whole day and despite promises and arrangements they may not take you back to the resort as stated as resort not in Hotel Zone. The Excellence club is really not too much in play. Yes they have this special room but it is no big deal. You can access a computer there but the internet was down 2 of the 3 days we wanted to use it. The beach area that says Excellence Club Members only is ignored as there is no way to know who is and who isn't anyway. You can request premium brands which on occasion my wife asked for Grey Goose with no problem but all we stated was we were Club excellence , no pass or ID needed. And no braclets on you wrists . There are 3 gates , the last spefically for the resort so I do not think that you can have friends etc. visit if not registered. They appear to be very strict (good) about this. No reservation are taken or needed and except for Friday when the resort seemed less crowded we had one restaurant per nite closed. A suggestion would be to have them advise a week's schedule so one can plan accordingly to avoid missing a particular wedding. If you are still reading this I hope you took numerous breaks and had nothing better to do. You will enjoy yourself. In terms of the construction issues it is as you arrive on the right hand side The best way to describe where the buildings are situated is to envision standing in the lobby and they start outside on your right in a one building per from 1 to 6 forming a half circle around the spa. You then have 3 buildings 7 and 8 in 2 clusters some 5 sories and some 2. These head towards the middle of the complex and the beach.2 Bldg 9's is as stated alone and to the left of the lobby , We did not have a lookover from a5 story but I noticed that this appears to be the case in 8. Again we didn't use the mini pool area too much so either way for us no big deal. We rarely if ever go back to the same hotel/resort but are planning on with this place. Worth every penny and you become humble when you see how genuinely happy the staff is from enjoying their hard work. As Jorge said to me after we thanked him at Toscana on our last meal quote Thank you for coming here as I would not have a job to help feed my family unquote Kind of helps put things a little in perspective

Firstly, we have been to Mexico 8 times, always staying previously at the Aventura Spa Hotel, near to Puerto Aventuras which is fabulous. The only reason we looked elsewhere, is that we felt Aventura needed a re-fit! We booked the Excellence as the reviews were so good on tripadvisor. We booked through Sovereign and although our on site rep was fantastic, upon arrival our transfer did not arrive, due to faults with the sovereign system not communicating with Mexico! Eventually we got it sorted out and arrived at the Hotel to find we had been given a twin room with 2 single beds and not a king size/four poster. Not ideal! Lovely room, brilliant views, but didn't want to sleep in a single each, as you cannot push them together - something to bear in mind! We were moved the next day to a swim up suite. Awesome again, literally come out of your room and step into a small pool that has 1 block of rooms facing onto it, but only 5 with swim up access. This was wonderful and a free upgrade, until we tried to sleep, as room service carts go past 24 hours a day, and also so do guests coming back rather noisily from the bars, along with the maid services! If you want to sleep and have a peaceful break, we recommend you don't choose a swim up/ground floor room! We spoke to our rep again and Sovereign and the Hotel agreed to upgrade us to the Excellence club for the rest of the holiday, we were then placed in block 9 (fantastic views with private concierge etc). Again the room was fabulous (they all are, it's just where you are on the ground floor etc). The spa is very good, not quite up to the level of the Palace resorts spa's yet, food was fantastic, 8 restaurants, but one closed each evening. The gym is great and all facilities are wonderful. We had the most relaxing and fantastic time! There are lots of building works around the Hotel, although you don't really notice them whilst sat on your sunloungers. The resort is being developed as the Excellence is the first hotel to be built along this peninsula. You also do travel through the Downtown part of the City on the way, but don't be disheartened as it's just a drive through and the Hotels when you arrive are fabulous.

Excellence Playa Mujeres was a great place to vacation. The food, drinks, hotel, staff, and beach were amazing and worth the money. The only complaint we had was the upgrade to the club member status with the jacuzzi on the balcony. The upgrades were a rose, fruit (3 apples) a day when you can have all the fruit you want at the restaurants, internet service which you can get at the main bldg (not advertised), cheap champagne and other alcohol which you can receive anywhere at the bars and though the staff at the rest. and beach and pool. Don't upgrade - you are throwing your money a way! There is not a difference if you stay in a regular room. What sells this place is the everything you get when you stay at the hotel anyway. The pools and restaurants were amazing. The entertainment is good but the hotel did not have entertainment every night during our stay. There is a bike tour that is free. Do not go on this unless you want to see 2 dogs being chained to a fence and other animals in dirty cages under bad conditions. I am sure PETA does not know about this situation. Don't get me wrong. This is a beautiful place to relax and vacation . Just don't upgrade to club member or go on the bike tour. Hope this helps! I wish someone had told us about these two hints with the reviews.

We stayed at the resort for just two nights as part of a trip that included time in Playa del Carmen and Tulum (late April 2008). As a result, it is difficult to review this resort and its food and service without comparing it to our other experiences on this trip. Overall, the resort itself is gorgeous and immaculately clean. I was very tempted to give the resort a 4-star review but in my opinion it has room for improvement when it comes to food and service.

First, the positives: The resort is far from the main Cancun hotel zone, which was a plus for us since we like to avoid ultra-touristy areas. Booked a rooftop terrace room and were very pleased that we did -- it was private, had its own dipping pool and great views of the sea. The room was large, had modern decor and a very comfy bed. The service was inconsistent, but on the positive side we had two wonderful concierges who greeted us by name, and a helpful bellboy who took us to our room and pointed out the restaurants, bars and other features along the way.
The drinks at the bars were great (with the exception of the wines, which were just OK).

On the negative side: I picked this resort in part because of the rave reviews people gave the food. It may be that I'm a food snob -- or maybe I just was spoiled by the food I had earlier on my trip -- but I didn't find the restaurants to be that great here. It could be that Excellence has wonderful food compared to other all inclusives, but it did stil seem less fresh and flavorfful than in other places we stayed. I had a risotto dish at the Barcelona restaurant which was so heavily salted that I had to send it back (the waiter looked at me like I was nuts!). We had lunch at the Grill once and were ignored by the maitre d' for several minutes, then he snapped at us when we very politely asked for a table for two. Several people complained of slow service at the Japanese restaurant -- I felt bad for the girl fixing the sushi as she was doing the best she could all alone. The service at the restaurants would probably seem better if the staff smiled a bit more. I always tried to be friendly and tip well (I noticed that a lot of other guests weren't tipping) but these guys did not seem as cheerful as other waiters I had in independent restaurants in Mexico.


The beach at the hotel is not anything to write home about. If you are more of a pool person you will find much to like here but the beach, while clean, did not have the clear light-blue waters of other beaches in the area.

Also, many other reviewers had noted that lounge chairs by the pools were plentiful -- not while I was there! The resort was full enough that all the desirable lounging spots were being "saved" by someone throwing a towel on them by 8 a.m. After finding nothing by the pools one morning we went out to the beach and got the last remaining spot at 8. There are some smaller pool areas by the individual buildings... ours was unusable due to the construction noise at the neighboring site.

I should note that the hotel clientele, while we were there, was mostly people in their 30s to 50s and almost entirely couples. While this was fine for my fiance and me, if you're single and looking to party this is not the place!

Overall, if you love all-inclusive hotels and you love being near Cancun this hotel may be a good choice for you. If you prefer a really nice beach and authentic Mexican food you would be better off somewhere else.