j&m,

I have a little comparison of the two. Sorry for the delayed response as I haven't read the boards since May 5th (we were in Punta Cana !! ).

I also have plenty of pics of the 2 resorts... http://photos.yahoo.com/jmrperotto

Jackie

My husband & I have been to both & loved both !! We were at Secrets Capri in May 2004 & we just returned 4 days ago (Jan 8-16, 2005) from Secrets Excellence.

SERVICE: Service @ both was great. We only encountered a very few not-so-pleasant employees. I tried to speak some of my very limited Spanish (3 yrs in high school & 2 semesters in college) when I could & they seemed to appreciate that.

ROOMS: The rooms @ both were great, too. We were in an Oceanfront (1st floor) room @ Capri & in a Swim Out (1st floor of course) room @ Excellence. All the rooms @ SERC have a 2 person in-room jacuzzi, where the rooms @ SC had a 1 person in-room jacuzzi. Our Swim Out room @ SERC also had a 2 person jacuzzi on the patio. Both rooms had double sinks & separate toilet & shower areas. They both had 4 poster beds & daily-stocked mini-fridges.

BEACH: The beach area @ SERC was alot bigger than SC. It was probably twice the depth, as well as alot wider due to the actual resort being larger. You could walk in both directions for a long way (it's about a 45 minute walk down to Puerto Morelos -- my husband walked home at a pretty quick pace from his scuba diving excursion). I preferred walking north past the Paradisus. At SC, we only walked south down as far as the Captain LaFitte hotel (maybe about a mile or so ?? ) & that was a nice walk. We really didn't notice much garbage on either beach. The sand was that nice soft white sand @ SERC & not quite as white or soft @ SC (probably brought in ?? ).

POOLS: The pools @ both resorts were spotless. There was just the one pool @ SC & the temperature was great, but we were there in May so it was hotter outside. The pools (lots of 'em !! ) @ SERC were very nice but COLD !! I'm a big fan of pools & have always been a big swimmer, but WOW, it was jolting !! The pool right in front of Bldg 7 was heated, though & very easy to get into. Maybe the other pools wouldn't feel as cold as it gets more into the summer months. We joked that they kept them cold on purpose to keep ppl out so they would stay cleaner !!

FOOD: The food @ SERC was very good, but we thought the food @ SC was excellent. We've been to the Caribbean/Mexico 18 times (14 of them @ all inclusives) and the food at Secrets Capri was our favorite of all of our trips !! (The head chef @ SERC now was the head chef @ SC when we were there last May. You'll see him at all times of day in all the restaurants checking things out.).

OVERALL: Having been to both & enjoyed both, I'd have to say that overall, if we were to return to one of them, we'd go back to Secrets Capri 1st. We just enjoyed the atmosphere better there. Also, on our last day @ SERC, a group of a few hundred people were checking in for a convention & were extremely loud & obnoxious (i.e. they had a table set up in DeMario's for about 40 of them & they were shouting back & forth to each other & shaking their rattles). I don't really blame them so much as Secrets. They advertise peace, tranquility & romance, & a convention hotel cannot achieve that -- you can't have it both ways !!

Well, I just got back from getting married at Secrets Excellence and we visited Capri last spring.

Honestly, I think Excellence was a little better. Not in the food or service department, but I just liked the lay out of the place better. It was bigger and more spread out. Each building had it's own pool, which was really nice. Some pools were loud with activities and some didn't even have music - so you could definitely find what you were looking for.

The spa was amazing too! I know Capri had one, but the one at Excellence is just much bigger and had more services.

There also seemed to be more of a nightlife at Excellence. I mean, neither place was crazy, but we found more to do in the evenings at Excellence.

I would recommend both places, but I just personally liked Excellence more.