Excellence Punta Cana Luxury Adults Only - All Inclusive

This was a great relaxing trip. The hotel staff was really friendly and there was never a wait for any of the restaurants. The food was overall very good at all the restaurants. My favorite was the French restaurant, Chez Isabelle for dinner. For lunch, The Grill was yummy. Breakfast was good at the Lobster House but room service breakfast not so good. Also,if you eat at the Lobster House for dinner don't expect Maine lobster. I really did not like it at all but I'm a lobster snob. The service was impeccable at the hotel. We never had to wait for a drink and they don't expect tips but it is always nice to do so. The entertainment in the evening was a little cheesy but fun nevertheless. The only negative is the hotel is really far from the airport and the roads were horrible (beware if you get carsick). Also the hotel bed was super uncomfortable but you're not there very much anyway. The hotel itself is kind of old and we had to get our screen door fixed but they did it immediately. Also, buy stuff at the shops by the beach because the hotel shops will rip you off (payed $20 for suntan oil). The pool was a lot of fun and the food was yummy so although this hotel is on the more expensive side it is worth every penny for what you get. I highly recommend this hotel if you want a fun, relaxing trip to get away from it all and eat some delicious food.

The resort is well designed and kept up neat and clean. restaurants and bars offer a decent selection and will leave you happy during your trip. The cuisine will get a little old, as the menues do not change; since there are 8 restaurants, this only becomes a challange after the first week... Our treatments at the spa was excellent (massages) and certainly are noteworthy. The pools is nice and very clean. we had a swim up suite that was a real treat. If you like more action, gowith the garden views, as the swim up suits are abutt the second, quiter pool (we loved that!) The activities coordinator what not very motivating. Even though a number of daily events were organized and presented in the nightly menu, the execution of these events was a little lame...

Dolphin Island is a must, just make sure to book the one that is about a one and half hours away and only tues, thurs, leaves 12:10 back 6:00, 30.00 dvd is great for take home pics. Also the quad trip to the cave and beach was pretty good,but again get the right one as above, because the other quad trip was awful as other guests found out. Spa is also great, couples hot stone massage, about 215.00 but worth it. The pool or should I say pools are beautiful, it gets really hot so we set our alarm for 4am daily to put out towels and a paper or bottles of water to get pool chairs and a covered chair or bed, you can just go right back to bed, and really worth it as people burned to a crisp everywhere!!! 30 lotion all day will get anyone brown and save alot of pain as your in the sun all day. Room service food and out door grills are great for lunch and tuscana, spice was best dinner, seafoood was not good anywhere. Buy sun dresses ect at mini mart! they will barter too. If beach venders or people in town sell, they will give in to your price when you walk away! Excellence club worth it but average food, you can take your premium liqour home, 3 liters each, on your last day and women can buy cuban cigars, just put them in the bottom of your purse for travel, buy cigs before you go,or duty free in punta cana airport 25.00 for a carton if you arrive in the day or on your way home and that is also how many you can take home so dont bring home more than a carton. The property is stunnung, great shows, sax music and dance club, casino is fun and staff is very sweet but hardly speak any english!! rooms very nice, some show wear but why complain about that, get rooms on second or third levels there swim ups are not that nice at all!! we found a few cockroaches and so did others and little tiny flies or misquitos leave nasty bites so get spray for eve. time. coco loco in the coconut is fun drink and the dirty monkey. Tons of folks here as we were because of mexico problems but said they have been to excellence mujures cancun and service was better but food the same, I think food had alot to be desired but what a beautiful hotel, grounds with flamings,parrots, nice beach but no safe water to swim in. So might go back had an awsome time and really would recomend it. I just think for the money I would have liked a pretty ocean to swim in but the the pools are so great and you get to make great friends that way too. It may sound crazy to have to save chairs but that is the way it is and your on vacation so, go back to bed youll thank yourself later and plenty of girl shopping right on the resort and cool tank tops dresses beautiful sandals swim suits ect. at the mini mart, bella blue has copy channel handbags and jewelry which are really pretty, the 1st jewelry store has some great silver chains and bracelets for men about 200.00 nice stuff, and womens jewlery really nice just not real gem stone- wont find that anywhere except larimar which is only mined there, beautiful, but only buy on the resort or nice place, beach vendors? spent over 800.00 just on stuff, great fun. If you can, book activities for early in the stay and relax later. Also check weather as this is rainy season and it poured for half the last two days , not fun. Bring lots of dollar bills for staff tips, it really makes their day and they show their appreciation - it comes back to you!! Not a waste of money, will never regret it. After all NOTHING is perfect.

The Resort was beautiful and the staff was overall, very friendly. The food was good and there were plenty of restaurants to choose from. The one thing that made our stay more enjoyable was definitly the staff. We did have the advantage that we also speak spanish, but I also noticed many of their employees spoke basic English. It is definitly better to speak Spanish but I never saw any tourist struggle with communicating UNLESS they were asking for something out of the ordinary that the staff couldn't understand. I noticed the staff was not disgruntedled with their employer. That is something I always inquire about with workers. None had any complaints which also reflects in their job performance. Happy employees work better which also makes me feel better that they are not getting exploited. We arrived at the airport and all the transportation companies are waiting for anyone that pre-booked their ride to their resorts. We used COCO Tours which Orbitz uses. They were not at their stand when we arrived but everyone else was. Someone did arrive shortly there after but they seemed to stuggle with who was doing what. The man that greeted us at the counter apparently wasnt even scheduled to work that day at the airport, he came to help us because the other tour workers told him someone needed COCO tours. He was there for something else and ended up taking care of us so we didnt have to wait for the late employee. The good thing was we were the only ones in the van so we went straight to the resort and didnt have to drop anyone else off. Excellence is really not locateed in Punta Cana, its located in Uvero Alto. Its approximately 1 hour from the airport. It takes long because the roads are small and a little bumpy. If it was a highway, it wouldnt take more thatn 20 minutes. The drive is not that bad. It goes rather quickly because you are looking at the scenery. At times the drive may seem desolate and there are no signs showing you are on right path, but it is the right way. One thing everyone should know about this resort is the intensity of the beach. It is not the typical beach you may get in the Bavaro area. This stretch of beach is very dangerous. You are not allowed to even go in the beach on 3/4 of the beach front, it is all RED flagged. There is an area in the far right with yellow flags that they consider safe to go in. Needless to say, my husband and another older gentelman got stuck in a rip tide and had to be rescued. My husband had a boogie board but the other man didnt. I was at the shore line when it happened. I was not impressed by their "emergency" protocols....which they dont have. There was a lone lifeguard who came to help. He had an old boogie board and a pair of flippers. He jumped in and swam to the man. My husband was bilingual so he was bale to help them communicate. I kept waiting to see the "other" hotel staff come to help during this dangerous situation but no one ever came. THere was a security guard in the area but he does not get involved. There was a wave runner sitting on the beach, which we thought was used for these situations. The lifeguard told my husband to stay behind while he got the other man out. My husband told him OK but to send someone else with the wave runner to get him. The lifeguard humbly replied that it DIDNT WORK! While on shore, I kept wondering why someone else didnt come to help or why no one took out the wave runner. When my husband told me about that, I couldnt believe how ill prepared they are for this exact situation which apparently happens often. They definitly need TWO lifeguards out there and the hotel needs to provide them with better equipment. The only positive part of the beach is that it looks beautiful and the sounds of the crashing waves is very relaxing. One last thing, if the hotel wants to continue being s 5 star (which I dont really think it is) they need to replace older looking fixtures. The bathroom fixture...

On the flight home, I heard others talking about other Punta Cana resorts -- inattentive staff, overpriced, etc. Excellence is probably one of the more expensive resorts, but worth it. The staff are unyieldingly attentive, friendly, and appear genuinely happy with their jobs. The lobby, restaurants, pools, beach and bars are all beautiful. Restaurant service is slow by U.S. standards, though I understand that our party size of 20 probably slowed things down as well. I would go back in a heartbeat!

Upon arrival, all new guests are welcomed with cold towels and a champagne toast. Everybody is very professional and they will do their best to accomodate you in any way possible. [...] at the front desk was awesome and very helpful!This is a well spread out property with a great main pool (huge!) and another great quieter pool with yet another bar. The alcoholic drinks were fantastic and quick to come around. The food was above average and excellently prepared and presented.We did not take part in many excursions because most of them involved 2+ hours bus rides from the hotel, but instead we relaxed by the ocean and the pools everyday and really enjoyed the experience.We vacationed at Secrets Capri (sister property in Playa del Carmen) last year and will definitely return to another property managed by the same group! Can't wait for the next trip!I would absolutely recommend this hotel to couples looking to vacation in the Domincan Republic. The staff and property are great! The best party are the miles of beach on each side of the resort with no other hotels to be found! So relaxing!

We traveled with 3 other couples and had a great time. I sent a request in advance asking for all our rooms to be in the same building which they honored. First floor rooms have a little patio space with a hammock which is nice. Spacious rooms. Restaurants were great and gave us no problems with a larger table. You are given a beeper if there is a wait and can drink at one of the bars. Loved Chez Isabelle, Spice, Toscana, and Agave. Good shows in the evening especially the Cirque de Soleil type show. Palapas are readily available by the pools and on the beach but you may need to stake them out by 8:30 am for larger groups like ours. Service was great especially with the flow of drinks by waiters while at the beach or poolside, even had personal pizza delivery service! Spa prices are quite cheap compared to other places I have been and easily booked just hours in advance, they have daily spa specials that I took advantage of. Would go again. Bring Off to keep away the mosquitos at night!

The one hour drive from the airport to the location was awful, I was nauseous to and from the airport as well as the one hour drive to the marina. I won't go back for that reason alone! Outside of the complex the island is so dirty, litter everywhere, but that's the governments fault no trash pickup outside of the city according to the locals. Also went deep sea fishing, I could deal with 8-10ft swells without a problem... oh caught 5 huge mahi mahi, Brought one back to the complex excellence, head chief prepared it, three different dishes all superb that very same day!

We had a great time at the hotel. There are a few things that can be upgraded at the hotel (ie. Rooms and some facilities) but overall it was wonderful. We would recommend going. The service was top notch and the staff were fabulous.

Resort was fantastic overall. Small things we noticed were the beds were a bit hard and after a week we could tell it in our backs! Staff was incredible! Tip them a couple of bucks and they will take even better care of you! You will want to tip anyway, I'm a relatively rich guy with my money and I spent most of what I brought on tips!