My beautiful new bride and I stayed at the Excellence Riviera Cancun(ERC) for our Honeymoon from June 15-22. Here's every bit of info I can remember to help anyone out that, like me, used these reviews maticulously to find the perfect spot: by the way, this place is it.
First of all, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS-when you get off the plane-whatever your means of transportation is(rental car, shuttle, taxi) There is a large group of timeshare sellers--they seem like their trying to help you get to where your going, but its not worth it--BELIEVE ME. They will offer you half price tickets to your excursions, but you can get just as good a deal through the hotel. So, what to do, just pass them up, say "no thank you" and proceed OUTSIDE---your shuttle driver will be there with a shirt on from the company and will escort you to where you need to go. By the way, even the shuttle company has a representative at the hotel that will try to get you to visit a timeshare(I'll get to that later)
Ok, so the trip from the airport is approximately 20 minutes or so-and you are driven through a security gate to the entrance of the lobby which is gorgeous. You also get to see for the first time just how massive the facility is. You are greeted with a cool towel and a host that already knows your name(bc the guard at the gate calls him and lets him know you're coming) Then almost immediately, the bellboy arrives to take your luggage(we had Jesus, who was extremely helpful. We upgraded to the Excellence Club, which I highly recommend just because you can't get an ocean view without it. So he walks in to the main registration lobby where there are a "few" people in line and Jesus lets us know that because we are part of the "club" that we get to go to a special registration place. He then proceeds to give us a quick tour of the place-just massive and beautiful-(and, of course, 2 glasses of champagne for the trip. When we arrived at the Excellence Club lobby, there was already a representative waiting for us and it took maybe 10 minutes to get us from there to our room. (Room 7059) Which is the swim up oceanfront. Here's my thoughts on this type of room; the size is the same as all other rooms although you have a really cool personal porch which is about 8 steps from a private calm pool. The ocean is beyond the pool, but I will admit you can't see it that well from the 1st floor rooms. So I guess its a catch-22. The 2nd-4th floors have a better view of the ocean-while the 1st floor rooms have the personal patio(with an outdoor jacuzzi tub) and quick access to the pool. Plus a waitress will come around and get drink orders frequently. So its up to you.
The pools are numerous and seem endless...there's alot of quiet ones and the main pool-the one by the Blue swim up bar, is the popular one. Complete with water volleyball(played by Mexican rules-which just means you can hit it yourself as many times as you want) They play Texas Hold 'em by the bar there,if thats your thing. Big props to Alfonso who is the activities coordinator and the dealer. He has rules when you play that you can't put your drink on the table, you can't say the "f" word and then he always picks a popularly said word like check, raise, or call. If you say or do any of these things, you get the nastiest shot of tequila you've ever had. Makes things interesting and fun! There is also a XXX channel in your room-Channel 38-and when you go all-in you have to say Channel 38 instead, or tequila shot for you! There are activities to do ALL DAY-anything from archery, ping pong, billiards, garneshing class, bingo, mexican bingo, american football(you'd be amazed how many people don't know the rules, unless you're from the UK then you're probably not amazed :) ), water aerobics, beach volleyball, scuba and snorkeling lessons...you name it. One downfall is that the nightlife is really low key, so if you're going for a massive party, this isn't the place for you. There is one bar, Alegria that is open until 1am. But remember, this was our honeymoon so we were content to be in the bed by 11.
The food is good, alot fancier than we had expected. We thought Spice(Asian) was the best, then Agave(Mexican), then Chez Isabelle(French)...but the steal of the trip is the 24hr room service...if you just need a burger or hot dog or pizza or quesadilla(which are soooo good) just pick up your phone and you'll have WHATEVER you want in less than an hour. One morning we ordered pancakes and bacon(so good) and they had forgotten the bacon, so like, 3 minutes later, a guy shows up with like 20 slices of bacon and is extremely apologetic. (Yes, the service here is unbelievable.)
Tipping wise, my advice, tip well early-we brought about a hundred dollars in ones and fives and just used them when necessary. Leave a 10 or so the first morning on your bed for the maid and you'll get a little cleaner of a room. We always left 4-6 bucks for tip on every meal..By all means, you dont have to tip, but the people so such an amazing job, they deserve it!
Ok, before I forget...if you are traveling for your honeymoon...and they will not tell you this on the phone...Call and tell them or whoever you booked your vacation with that it is your honeymoon. You get a cool banner on your door and the whole place(staff wise) knows its your honeymoon and you get little perks here and there....you get a VERY romantic and FREE dinner on the beach(regularly 220 USD) a free couples massage which is amazing(best one I've ever had-unless you're a massage snob, which some people are) + the aquamassage which is pretty cool-doesn't really do anything, but still cool to do once. BUT, here's the kicker!!!! You only get these things if you bring either a copy of your wedding invitation OR marriage certificate. They don't tell you these things until you get there...of course, who would bring those things with them.. We didn't but luckily had my dad scanned it and emailed it to us...
Last thing before i end this, about the time share.... in the main lobby, there are like 3 or 4 guys handling tours-the guy closest to the main door is the ONLY one who won't hassle you to do a timeshare...OR go outside to the place near the main pool that does the swim with dolphins thing and book with them bc they've got some cool things to do. But, let it be known that we didn't leave the hotel once and nor did we want to. The place is paradise and you WILL NOT want to leave. I hope this helps!!