Without a doubt this is one of the classiest and best all inclusives out there. Just read the reviews, it's all true.

Only downside was the mosquitoes, which even with repellant spray were a nuisance, particuularly at night. The hotel management did their best in attempting to treat the shrubbery around the grounds during the evenings to try to kill as many as they could. Bit of a losing battle really!!

Nonetheless, still a great place to have a vacation.

My husband and I spent a relaxing week at Excellence.
We booked an Ocean view room (NON Excellence) and were happy with the room. We had a wonderful view of the ocean and the main pool. We would sit on our balcony and listen to the band in the afternoons.
We spent most of our time at the beach relaxing. The water was warm and did have some sea grass.
The pools were beautiful. Plenty of chairs availible both at the pool and the beach. Rafts were hard to get.
We ate at all of the restaraunts. We thought the food was good, but not great.
We did enjoy many alcoholic beverages! I noticed that if you order a drink you do need to request the brand of alcohol you want, otherwise your drink is made with cheap stuff.

The staff is wonderful. We did tip at meals, room service, drink service and to the gardeners (they work hard and the grounds look beautiful).

There wasn't too much going on at night. Some shows but for the most part kind of quiet.
We didn't book any excursions through the hotel. We did walk the 2 miles to Puerto Moroles along the beach which was beautiful. We then went to Cancun for the afternoon and got a taxi back.

This hotel was very nice. We had a great time and were very relaxed. Best things about this hotel were the staff, room service, the rooms and the beach.

A few small things we noticed. Beer glasses sat outside our room for a few days and were not picked up. Our mini fridge was not stocked every day. Food was not great, we have travelled a lot and had high expectations. Room was cleaned daily, but sand did pile up on the floor. It would have been nice if they swept it up daily.
These are only small things that did not change our holiday.
Overall we had a wonderful time and were very happy with our choice of hotel.

My goodness. I don't even know where to start. This place was just amazing. I was worried since I was looking at photos every single day that I'd ruin it for myself. But seeing ERC in person FINALLY after months of waiting was like a dream. It's a little overwhelming at first cause it was so grand. But it's so peaceful and everyone on staff is so friendly. I don't think 1 staff member ever passed us by without saying hola to us :)

We had a junior suite ocean view room, club. It was so nice, clean and bug free. We had turn down service every night except when we turned them away because we were still in the room.

The food. Oh the food. Breakfast. The buffet is so big they use both Barcelona and Tuscana for laying out the food. We only found the second half the next day after I was looking for french toast and muffins. Oh boy did I hit the jackpot. They have EVERYTHING. I mean where else will you find 10 different freshly squeezed juices. I'm not even going to list the items cause it's everything....

Lunch at the grill was wonderful with the beach breeze coming thru and the birds with all the adorable songs they sing. The buffet lunch at Barcleona was great too. The waiters were super and it was nice to be in some air conditioning sometimes! I even asked one to teach me how they folded the napkins and he waited till I could do it too :)

Dinner was great every place we went. We went to the 2 theme nights as well so even with 8 days we didn't have time for Oregano and Spice. Chez Isabelle was our favorite and we were going to pass on it cause we weren't familiar with French food and weren't to sure. But it was amazing, cozy, fun and yummy. The chocolate cake here is better than Godiva!

The pools were wonderful and never crowded. We stayed at the Excellence pool by Building 8 near the beach and our room. Amable near this pool was the sweetest thing ever. She asked our names and always greeted us we she saw us over and over again. She gave us the biggest hugs when leaving.

The beach was great too. The water was perfect temperature and like I said earlier in the forums with beach shoes you don't care about the few rocks you need to get past to get in. The water was always calm and refreshing and we loved it. There were less fish in it than in akumal which i was happy but hubby wasn't! He didn't get to snorkel really like in akumal but we did manage to have some fish fun. We brought some bread from the lunch buffet (Barcelona) to the piers and they would come quickly once they realize it was food:)

Our wedding. Everything we wanted. Romantic, happy, perfect. We asked for the minister not to use the microphone so it would be even more private. We had it on the piers which was decorated and the perfect spot for our wedding. It was breezy and shaded by the papala and we loved it :) The wedding coordinators were very friendly and willing to do anything you requested.

The nighttime shows weren't anything spectacular but we still enjoyed sitting in the theater and having some drinks just to hangout. They have a band one multiple nights and they were pretty good. I believe they are from mexico city and had a very Cuban flair to them :) Plus they take requests and know how to play anything!

We only found the X-lounge 2 nights before leaving. It was so romantic and just a great special place. The music, stars and breeze were wonderful. Hubby even saw a shooting star!

Overall I have nothing but great things to say, wonderful memories and pictures. I thank everyone in the forums for all the warm thoughts and wishes and helping me out when I was nervous before going. My only wish was that I knew you all in my real life..

oh. Bring bug spray for the evenings. There are certain areas of the grounds that have some mosquitos.
FYI we saw them replacing the Tv's with flat panels in the Excellence club building we were in! And yes they were constantly painting and fixing and repairing things :)

First of all, I must start by saying that I did LOADS of research into this holiday, and reports of theft and recent negative reviews nearly put me off going and I almost changed my booking to another hotel. I am,however, very glad that I didn't! Flew with Thomson from England which was surprisingly fine!
Check in, however, did not start off too well! I was placed in block nine, which looked directly onto the construction. Believe me- it is not nice to look at and was very noisy- so I politely asked if I could be moved. Reception said no- they were fully booked ( which did not look the case to me) but said I could upgrade or wait four days.Eventually after MUCH persuasion on my part- they eventually let me move the next day. I get the feeling that they have had a lot of people complaining about block 9- but there is no way I was going to spend two weeks looking at a building site! Got moved to block five which was MUCH better- but a lot of noise from construction traffic ( I am surprised this hasn't been flagged up on reviews before as it starts at 6.00 in the morning!)
Anyway- apart from that rather negative start- the rest of the holiday was great! The pools are lovely- yes the pool bar area is a little noisy- but it's harmless fun. It is hardly club 18-30 Faliraki!If you want peace and quiet you can go to the spa pool where it is a lot more restful. There is plenty of shade for those who burn easily!
Restaurants are great- lovely meals and great quality. Portions not too big. Plenty for veggies too. My favourite was the Italian but they were all equally good. Weirdly enough- the Mexican food was very lacking in spice and heat! The salsa didn't even have any chilli in it.........(?)Breakfast is fine- a range of cereals, omelettes, fruits, breads etc. ( By the way- WHY do people have eyes bigger than their stomachs???Why get LOADS of food at breakfast time and then leave it untouched needing to be thrown away. I know it is A.I but seriously..........I hate greed!!!!!!!)
Room service was great- we didn't wait too long and it's great being able to put your dishes in the SECRETS box, which they regularly come along to empty.
The rooms were great! The shower was fantastic and the bed was fine. In our first room, despite me being very careful not to leave sweet wrappers/ coke cans out etc, there was an ARMY of ants invading us from the door to the sink- absolutely LOADS of them, but in the second room- block five , there was no problem at all.Strange! We locked everything away and didn't have any problems with theft.
When we arrived in our room, we had towel art and petals on the bed to celebrate out anniversary. There was also a bottle of sparkling wine and a champagne breakfast in bed the next day, which I thought was a lovely touch! There was a mini bar in the room stocked with cans of pop and sweets. A nice touch.Air conditioning was lovely.
There were plenty of activities during the day to keep you amused. My husband took part in a lot of beach "soccer" whilst I took part in drinking cocktails from the lounger! But there is something for everybody if you like to be entertained!They tell you what is going to be happening in a newsletter which you get in your room the night before.
In the evening, there is a range of bands etc. Harmless fun! The magician was brilliant! Loads of choice of drinks to keep you going!
For me the best part of this holiday was the staff. If you are sitting on your own somewhere they come over and ask if you want a drink or an icecream! They are just so friendly.Or if you are having a quiet glass of wine- they come over and top up your glass without having to ask.We did tip- we were happy too as the service was so great!
Overall- I would recommend this hotel if you want a bit of luxury in a nice hotel with friendly staff- just don't let them put you in block nine( LOL!!).