Our trip was magnificent. We thought the Excellence was the best. It had the most entertainment of any resort we have been to. We looked forward to the evenings.You need to see the Michael Jackson Show. It was wonderful. We loved the Sax player, he was so good. The selection of restaurants and quality of food was great. Watch out dining at the Lobster House in the evening the food is great, the bugs eat you up. You will need bug spray. The Toscans restaurant had a young lady Jennifer that had the biggest smile and was always happy. We would watch her with the other quest and she really enjoyed what she was doing. We found the staff to be very friendly. We loved Franklin in activities. He spent time working with my husband and I on our spanish. He would seek us out for games. Always willing to talk with us about the country and people which is of great interest to us when visiting another country. The pool was fabulous it went on forever. There are activies going on all day and there is something for everyone. Even when it rained they had movies in the Theater, board games and cards in the lobby. We felt the service was excellent and the staff was always willing to assist. The beach was very beautiful but a little rough. The bus ride from the airport and back was a little hair raising. The roads are rough with pot holes and the driving is somewhat scary. You do need to bring bug spray, a lot of ones and fives for tipping if you choose. We felt the service was worth tipping those individuals who made us feel we were the only people around. They are happy people signing and whisling as they worked. We never left the resort the seven days we were there. Too much to do right there in addition to just relaxing. We will be returning. It was a most enjoyable time.

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Excellence Punta Cana from 2/8 to 2/15 and had a wonderful time. We had friends coming in on that Sunday and they too had a great time, wished they could have stayed longer. I will say the ride to the resort was horrible, very scary, saw my life flash before my eyes a couple times, it was an hour and a half...BUT, once we got to the resort all the stresses from traveling faded away. We were greeted w/a wet towel, and wonderful people. The resort is amazing. We stayed at the Club which was great, they gave us champagne while we checked in with the private concierge, there was a lobby with internet accessibility and food which was fabulous. The food was good. I loved breakfast at the buffet, you could make your own omelet. The Asian restuarant was our favorite and our friends raved about the French restaurant. Room service was great! You could call at anytime of night and get something, they were soo nice. I loved the pizza. The beach was a little rough, I didn't go in past my knees because it was too rough for me, but that didn't stop other people. My boyfriend asked me to marry him the very first night on the beach laying on a hammock...it was magical. We did dinner one night on the beach, it was very windy, romantic, but very windy. The pool was beautiful too. All the fruit hits you after a bit, bring some tums, you'll need it. Overall, we loved it. Definitely would go back even with the rough ride to the airport.

We stayed at the EPC 2/23-3/1. It is a very beautiful resort. It is one of the best all-inclusives we have stayed at. The Excellence Rivera Cancun is just a step above this resort. Besides the beauty of the the resort, the highlight is the attentive staff.
The room was nice and large and we stayed in building 6 that was centrally located. Our room was by the pathway to the other rooms so it was kind of noisy. Just bring earplugs if you want to sleep late. The canopy bed was beautiful. The only maintenance issue was that the bottom of the jetted tub had been painted -kind of strange. Otherwise we always had water and electricity. I did hear people complain that they lost power several times in building 12. The maid came 2Xs a day and made towel and flower designs. We did tip every day.
We did have trouble finding a shaded spot around the pool after 10:00am. Too much chair saving. There was plenty of shade on the beach and they were making new palapas while we were there. The pool was fun, clean and huge. We had no trouble finding a blue mat to float on.
The food was good. At the lunch buffet they made fresh grilled meat and fish, made to order pasta, icecream bar and many other items. No it wasn't cooked exactly like the states but you are in a foreign county. We enjoyed the ala-carte restaurants especially the Chez Isabel. We knew it was the best so we went early(6:45) and got a beeper and had a couple drinks while we waited. We also enjoyed the beach(Tues) and pool(Fri) dinners. The had grilled lobster(small) at the beach party, yum. Another nice touch was the beach and poolside delivery of pizzas and nachos daily.
We did the free horsebackriding. It was fun. I'm afraid if it had been longer I would have been very sore. It was very calm but they did let a few people gallop down the beach.
We enjoyed the nightly shows and the disco was pretty crazy while we were there.
The only downside for me was when we went fishing. The cab ride to and from the boat made me sick even though I had taken Bonine. The resorts should get together and repave the main road. Hopefully by the time we go again they will have improved the roads. We had no problem with mosquitos.
Overall we loved the resort and we will probably try the two new Excellence properties.

We just stayed at the Excellence for 5 nights. While we definitely enjoyed the experience and found it incredibly relaxing, there were some negatives.

Maybe we're spoiled by the food in New York, but the food at the Excellence was, for the most part, awful, in our opinion. We found the only decent options were the Asian restaurant and the pizza at the beach. We also ate at the Italian restaurant (mushy pasta), the Grill (tough, overcooked chicken and instant mashed potatoes), and the French restaurant (heavy sauces and fish overcooked to the point of being inedible). All of the tables for two at the restaurants seem HUGE, which is odd when the place is so obviously trying to encourage intimacy in every other way. And the music in the restaurants (or the karaoke from the plaza) is awful.

We decided to upgrade to the Excellence Club mostly for the availablility of snacks, since I had read some bad reviews of the food, but found the food there to be either bland or greasy, and the same exact spread every day.

That said, the Excellence staff was very nice and helpful and we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful beach. We got up early and snagged the canopy beds on the beach almost every day -- total heaven. It is, however, very annoying when people "claim" spots in various places and don't use them.

If the food had been better, we might have gone back, but since that's something that's pretty important to us, I think next time we'll try a different vacation destination.