My wife and I enjoyed the Excellence from June 15th - June 20th. Here is a quick account of our thoughts about the property:

Welcome Greeting: As others have mentioned, the drive up to the resort doesn't come close to giving you an idea as to what you are about to see. The bellman and his staff made our arrival a breeze with our bags and offering a cool towel. The front desk took approx. 5 minutes to check us in which was good.

Rooms: We enjoyed the Jr. Swim-up Suite (room 6036) and were pleased to find the rooms large and welcoming. The showers are great along with the indoor and outdoor jacuzzi's which are very relaxing. Being on the ocean you will find the rooms a bit humid and somewhat "musty".....this is the beach afterall, so no issues with this. The "X" box is nice for depositing any leftover foods if you want to remove from the room or the bed. The beds are harder than one would normally find in the states. After a few cocktails we didn't notice a thing.

Beach: The beach has a good width and the water warm. Never wore any water shoes and did not have a problem with rocks. The chaise lounges/palapas do start running out after 10am or so, very easy to secure them with a towel early on or meet some friends who will save them (many thanks to our English friends!). The service on the beach was really great. Inocente, our waiter, was prompt and always willing to give us new drink ideas (Cheers to the Sexy Banana!). He did have a knack for hitting on the wife but was really quite funny and hard-working.

Restaurants:
Agave (Mexican): good food, nothing spectacular here. We had fajitas, tacos and enchiladas. Standard stuff but good.

Spice (Chinese/Thai): really hyped by alot of people staying on the property. The service was good. Probably more fun when you have a group of 8 to enjoy the hibachi grills. The chicken Pad Thai was quite good.

Toscana (Italian): We found this restaurant really good. Enjoyed the dijon steak and caprese appetizer.

Chez Isabelle (French): Loved this one! The service was great and the food above average. The Chateaubriand is excellent.

Lobster House: fun atmosphere, that's about it. The lobster was alittle chewy but not bad. Had it steamed with garlic butter...heavy on the garlic.

Lunch was a mix of Oregano (pizza) and the Grill (assorted). Both were good, simple foods that hit the spot.

Spa:
The wife and I enjoyed an ocean-side couples massage in the evening around 7pm on our first evening. No looking back after this! Great stuff!

The Crowd:
The week we happened to be there seemed to have a large European contingent on their holiday and a few American's here and there. I had read several reviews mentioning "loud Americans" and vice versa, not really the case though. This place is really chill. The Blue Bar in the main pool will get roudy with the in-pool shots of tequila....what else would one expect? Other than that, my wife and I were fortunate to meet a large English group and thoroughly enjoyed their company by the beach, at the bars, and over dinners. Cheers to the Pompey!

We both left for our honeymoon hoping we could forget about the world behind.......the Excellence provided us a perfect atmosphere to do so and we were thrilled with our experience.

Where to start! This was the very best vacation ever and I have been to many all inclusive resorts. The service and rooms were perfect. We went for a wedding and I saw 4 rooms and they were all great rooms. I can't say enough about the pools and the beach. This is a must for a romantic weekend or for a wk stay. The club and shows were great! You can either party non-stop or relax. I am going again next year, that is a must for my family and I because we all loved it.

My wife and I stayed at the Excellence Riviera Cancun from January 11- January 15, 2008 and I’m happy to pass along our impressions:

•The trip itself from NJ was uneventful. I must say that American Express handled things very nicely and when we got off the plan and went through customs we went right to their counter. They literally walked us to the van that took us to the resort. As you have read here before, time share sellers will try and pull you aside and, not to be rude, but you should just walk right past them to your transportation

•It’s about a half hour ride to the resort from the airport. The drive up the hotel provides no clue to the beauty inside

•Once you get to the resort, they are waiting for you with open arms, a cool towel for your face/neck, and a glass of champagne once you walk into the expansive lobby. This greeting is a harbinger of the way you’ll be treated in general at Excellence, which is very, very good

•More on the staff: They can’t do enough for you, really. Everyone who walks past you has a smile and a hello. One time we asked a head waiter at a restaurant about a different restaurant. He literally walked us over and introduced us to the staff at that restaurant and didn’t leave until he was sure we were seated and comfortable. This was the consistent level of service we experienced

•Speaking of food, it was generally quite good. Breakfast was an expansive buffet with omelets, cereal, bagels and muffins—you name it. There are a number of restaurants at Excellence. Thai/Chinese, Steak and seafood, pizza, Italian, French, Mexican, and the food is good—not great—at all of them

•The grounds, however, are great, not just good. Beautifully landscaped and meticulously clean and maintained. Nary a candy bar wrapper to be found! Thatched roof abound and the spa looks like some sort of Roman structure. The lighting at night is incredibly romantic. Wherever you walk, there are fountains and lovely accents. We were in SPA building 2, second floor, and had a wonderful view of the resort. Day or night, it was a beautiful view but at night it was just magical

•If you are looking to relax in a lovely environment, this is the place. If you are looking for exciting nightlife as well…it is not. The shows and singers border on comical. We literally laughed at their amateurish quality. Of course, a few pina coladas they were more tolerable

•I would highly recommend the Excellence to anyone wishing to relax and enjoy themselves for, say 4-7 days. Shorter than that and you’ll feel you didn’t get enough. More than that might be a bit too sedate. Wonderful place, though

My husband and I (ages 26 and 30) had the most incredible honeymoon last year. The staff welcomed us with a cool towel and glass of champagne. We stayed in the honeymoon suite which was totally lavish! The nearby Junior Suites in the Excellence Club portion of the hotel, however, had many of the same amenities and are well worth the extra money. We had 24-hour access to our own club (with other Excellence Club guests) with snacks, top-shelf liquor, internet, and newspapers. We also had our own portion of the beach with food & drink service by the ocean, as well as our own pool with a swim-up bar. The room was amazing, very clean, very nicely decorated, huge beautiful bathroom and walk-in shower. For the honeymooners (my husband's personal favorite) they have a delivery box for room service, so that you don't even need to open the door!! The staff was incredible and felt like friends by the time our vacation ended. The food was delicious and we never ate the same thing twice. If you have time & interest, we would recommend the scuba diving trip...it was really amazing.