Excellenté

First of all, I want to say that I researched the Cancun forum on a daily basis for close to a month before I made my selection of Accommodations . On the top of my short list was the Ritz Carlton, but after I was told that they could not guarantee me a non-smoking room, my search began. At first I stayed clear of the All Inclusive, as we don’t drink, but after seeing the pictures of Excellence, I quickly changed my mind and have no regrets in doing so. When we arrived at the airport and walked past the time share hawkers (do not stop or make eye contact with them as we were told in advance by our limo driver) our driver, Primo was waiting for us with sign in hand. (Cancun Valet -http://www.cancunvalet.com).He whisked us away at once.
Primo spoke English very well, and gave us a rundown of the area on our way to EPM. Be aware that the area leading up to the resort is under construction, with a lot of unfinished high rises , road widening and just sheer poverty. I decided at this time I would not be renting a car, as their were many detours along the way. After passing through 3 sets of gates and security, we had arrived. This was at 11:00 a.m., and we were greeted warmly by the staff (Hi Ivan and Claudia) were given a beeper that would let us know when our room was ready. We walked down to The Grill, waited a short time For them to open, and just as we finished our lunch , it went off. We were taken on a quick tour on our way to building 7.

Room- We had a swim out room near the Miile Spa. The décor of the room is exactly like the pictures on the web sites. The beds are higher than normal, and being petite, I had to stand on the side rail to get in. A step stool would have been helpful : ) Maid service was daily, and turndown service every evening, with chocolates and an itinerary of the next days events. The robes were comfy and there were plenty of towels, wash cloths,Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Lotion and Bath and Shower Gel in larger than normal containers were provided, as well as a razor, sewing kit, q~tips, cotton balls, shower cap, comb, toothbrush and shoe brush .You could actually get away with not bringing any of your own. I read another review that stated they were Bvlgari, but I don’t believe that to be true. There is ample drawer space and a niche in the bathroom near the sinks to store your Health and Beauty Supplies. On the last day, I found a hair dryer in the bottom drawer that I had overlooked. The shower is spacious with a wonderful “rain shower” shower head and a hand held shower sprayer, whichever you prefer. There is, oddly enough, a window that looks out into the living area, so if you’re looking for privacy ….Duck. The Jacuzzi is awesome, but very slippery getting out because of the tile.
There is also a door near the front door of the room for your dirty room service dishes to be placed. I think this is a wonderful idea. There is nothing worse than being in a hotel and walking down the corridor and seeing room service dishes on the floor. The staff can retrieve the dishes from the outside, and not have to enter your room. The mini bar was stocked full with soda , beer ,water ,M&M’s ,Snickers Bar and two bags of peanuts. This was replenished daily.
Lanai-There is a bed outside that is very comfortable and also a table with 2 chairs and a small parsons table. On the grass, there are two lounge chairs that your pool towels are placed very early every morning.

Pool-We were at the end of the “Lazy River” right near the hammocks- Nice and quiet. The hammocks were very comfy, could fall asleep in them. The lounge beds were very comfortable as well, with or without the palapa. The service we received, daily ,from Manuel was excellent. He remembered our names, and kept us in Coca~Cola without the ice cubes ever melting. Didn’t go to the main pool to swim, as this seemed to be the louder, more “happening” place to be. Took a walk on the beach, was very pretty, sand was very thick
Looked like it was wider than the pictures I saw of other beaches in Cancun proper. Plenty of chairs and palapas and what seemed to be a never ending supply of towels. I didn’t have a problem getting a blue float,
But watched other people scope them out, go in for the kill and grab and go…………..got a kick out of this because of all of the posts I have read on here about the float ‘natchers.

Construction-We were Smack dab in front of the complex they are building behind EPM and never heard more than a lone hammering for about 15 minutes-that’s it.

Food- We had room service breakfast every morning on the lanai-Eggs Bacon, Fresh Fruit, Continental Breakfast consisted of rolls, muffins and toast. Smuckers Apricot and Strawberry Jelly comes with as does your choice of juice and coffee. This is the way to go.

Toscana-
Ate at Toscana twice. For an appetizer we had the Caprese Salad and the Prosciutto with Cantaloupe. Minestrone was the soup du jour. ,Main courses were a chicken/spinach dish, I forget what it was called , and just a plain bowl of Angel Hair Pasta with Marinara Sauce. The second time, same thing, but tried the Veal Saltimbocca. I have a very discriminating palate for Italian food. This was not the best I ever had, but it was quite good.

The Grill-
Lunch-Loved the location of the grill, but again, very spoiled with American Steaks and Hamburgers. The Excellence Burger was overcooked, but my Jerk Chicken Sandwich with Mango Salsa was good.
Dinner-14 oz,T Bone was tasty, very thin cut. Filet Mignon too rare Grilled Vegertables were great.

Chez Isabelle-Cannot remember for the life of me what we ate, but I remember it was good!

Barcelona-Lunch buffet. The buffet rocked! There was everything ! Sushi, Salad, Pork Loin, Mashed
Potatoes, 5 different kinds of pizza, fish, grouper, squid, crudités, Soup, Bread AND a dessert bar.

Did not eat at Agave (Mexican), The Lobster House or Flavor Market (Tapas) don’t even remember seeing it, so I can’t comment.

One or more restaurants are closed on any given day-make sure you read your itinerary so you don’t miss out on any one in particular.
The presentation of every meal that I had or saw was 5 Star all the way. A lot of time and patience went into the prep of all the food. The kitchen staff is to be commended.

Miile Spa-Loved the spa! Not only is it architecturally beautiful, the whole atmosphere-décor, music, aroma, the whole ambiance is awesome. Started with the hydrotherapy circuit. You begin in a sauna, then a cold plunge pool, warm plunge pool, an underwater chaise that you lay on and it “bubbles” all around you, then a standing bubble mat, then a large high powered faucet for your neck/back area -then repeat! This is included with all the treatments. Had an “Excellence Massage” not long after arriving, and it set the tone for the rest of the stay. Patricia did a wonderful job, targeted my specific areas (that you fill out on the initial questionnaire before you begin )and ended with a hibiscus blossom and chocolate strawberries. Booked massages in advance, did not know about the daily discounts that are offered until the next day when I saw the newsletter with a specific daily special.

Grounds-The grounds are IMMACULATE, and constantly maintained. There are sculptures everywhere,
And beautiful tropical plantings and founatins.

Staff-Every person we passed that was part of the Staff, acknowledged us with a greeting, everyone, every time, with a smile on their face.

Tipping- Yes, we tipped well and we tipped often, They are hard workers and deserve it. I noticed many People did not.

Gift Shop-A little bit of something for everyone, but would have LOVED a magazine/newspaper stand-small library on top floor of lobby-very limited and outdated materials, so if you're a reader-BYO!
All in all, I wouldn’t hesitate going back to EPM if I were to travel to the area again, but I am looking forward to trying Excellence Punta Cana or the new Excellence Oyster Bay when it opens in Jamaica.

We loved our stay at EPM and would give it 5 stars as the resort matures and adjusts.

You will love this place if your main objective is to relax and be pampered. You need at least 6 nights to sample all the restaurants and explore the pools.

RESORT- super clean, didn't notice bugs except flies once in a while, great entrance/lobby, incredible staff, nice computer room, lots of fast servicing bars

ROOM- nice size, clean, marble, big shower, great patio with bed and table, jacuzzi tub area, open concept, lots of drawers, lots of toiletries provided, only need to bring make-up and toothpaste, decent closet with digital safe, room was always cleaned when we went to dinner, and turn down service was done everyday at about the same time, we got towel art and extra treats

Restaurants and FOOD- buffets were great, we liked lobster house and toscana for dinner, spice was a let down in terms of taste of food, chez was ok, didn't have a chance to go to agava or international or barcalona for dinner, lobster and grill are just ok for lunch, room service was quick and friendly but the food was not as good as in the restaurants, my favorite meal was the sea bass at toscana for dinner, most romantic atmosphere was chez, never waited for a table at any restaurant and we ate usually around 7:30PM for dinner and 2PM for lunch and 10AM for breakfast.

BEACH- you did notice seaweed but it wasn't bad at all, we enjoyed sailing and just laying out, always a chair to be had and towels available, great beach drink service, sand is soft with bits of seaweed, ocean is super blue and clear, just gorgeous, bring your camera!

POOLS- awesome! so many and spread out, so you can choose to be part of the rowdy main pool crowd or any other pool area to have quiet and some privacy, just beautiful! no chair saving except near main pool. floats available at all times, sometimes you just have to look a little harder, but there is always one available. great drink service and always a bar near by. We liked the side grill where you can just pick up a burger or chips with no waiting.

ACTIVITIES- there is not a huge party scene and we like it that way, the main pool had an obnoxious small group that vomited and bleed on their chairs and areas around the main pool and took off their hair weaves to put next to their drinks during our last day there but it didn't bother us too much as we avoided the main pool because we like quiet. Yes there were blood droplets around them and removable hair weaves, we kid you not. This small group was also very loud and obnoxious at dinner, we felt sorry for the poor waiters. There were grossly overweight and did sleep like beach whales after drinking too much by noon time though. 99% of the clientèle was respectful and quiet. We really liked the texas holdem tournaments and other activities they held. The staff works hard to keep you entertained. The music and bands were ok.

SPA- The spa is very nice. the circuit thing was ok, the massage was great but too short, i would do a 90min one next time, staff is very friendly, i booked my appointment the day we arrived and had no problems getting the day and time i wanted.

Overall, we loved the resort and would give it 5 stars if food improves. We definitely would go back! Enjoy and relax!

Went last year to ERC and enjoyed it so much we wanted to stay at EPM this year.
We were there from 5/4-5/10. Arrival was great-champagne & cool towels. Our room was 5207. Nice view of spa, & ocean as well. We could hear some construction noise in the morning, but we were usually heading out anyway.
Breakfast at Barcelona was wonderful - best bacon, pancakes, nice music being played.Lobster House very good.-little slow, no big deal.

We had dinner at Agave, Spice, Chez Isabelle, Flavor Market, Barcelona, The Grill. All were great! The scallops at Chez Is-fantastic!, Flavor Market is probably very misunderstood. We loved it! It's a tapas bar. Order as much as you like. We ate there & then went to The Grill as the guys wanted a heavier meal.
Barcelona for dinner was very good-not much ambience but great food.
The rooms are very nice, plenty of storage space. I had taken a clear plastic over the door shoe holder to hold all the lotions & potions & this helped keep the counter neat as well as offering some privacy by hanging it over the frosted glass bathroom door. Shower is wonderful. Your are also provided with shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, razor, toothbrush, & sewing kit.
The ceiling fan really helps keep the room cool.

The pools were nice, beautiful beach, water was mostly clear. Yes, the float wars were going on-you really have to laugh at most of these people as they look ridiculous carting "their" float around!
We had no problems with sea lice. I recommend you take a catamaran out! Wonderful!! the kayaks though will kick your a$$! They would be a better workout than going to the gym-which was usually very crowded-just took a peek in one day.
Went to do the bike tour-had more people show up than available bikes so we walked it with a few others. The cats were so pretty-just felt bad they had such a limited area. The other animals were kind of sad, too.
Entertainment was fine-nice music, dance shows, ect. Mostly it was nice to sit & talk to others.
Overall, our trip was wonderful & I would recommend it to others!

My friend and I went to Excellence Playa Mujeres May 5th through May 9th. It was an absolutely a wonderful experience. When we arrived at 1pm, the hotel provided us with a room. The room had a king bed, and my friend and I wanted two beds. The hotel was very accommodating to us. We had to wait a couple hours for another room to be available, but they let us stay in the original room so we could change and go to the pool/beach. We had a great first day! The hotel is awesome. The room is beautiful, clean, and the patio has a bed and table with 2 chairs! The pools are beautiful. The pool and beach have palapas (umbreallas) with wood beach chairs and cushions on the chairs. They put towels out every day on the chairs, and they have a stand that has additional towels. You can have as many as you want. They have music, games, and sometimes a live band at the main pool. The bars are all stocked with premium "name brand" liquor. The bartenders will make whatever you want, you just have to ask. They have people constantly going around the pool and beach and bringing the guests drinks and bottled water. The grounds are immaculate and georgeous. Every night they had a live band or musician playing on the outdoor stage. The nightly shows were great. We did not get to eat at all the restaurants. The food at Barcelona at Breakfast and lunch was awesome. They have custom omlettes, fruit, french toast, smoothies, and for lunch they have custom pastas, grilled food, fruit, ice cream..all wonderful. The dinner at Agave (Mexican) was great. I was really sick and hungover one of the days and Ivan at Agave really took care of me. Thanks Ivan! Spice (Asian) was great. Lobster House and the Grill were not great. But overall, you will have no problem finding something good to eat. You will not be disappointed with this resort. The service was first rate, the resort is first class, the food is better that any other all-inclusive resort I have stayed at. There are a lot of couples, but my friend and I had a great time in our girls getaway.