Are you considering booking your next all-inclusive vacation at one of the Excellence resorts and wondering which resort is the best Excellence resort? Can’t decide between cult favorite Excellence Playa Mujeres, the newly opened Excellence El Carmen, or Jamaica’s Excellence Oyster Bay? I’ve got you with this complete guide to the Excellence Collection of resorts!
Find out what each Excellence resort has to offer, what a stay at an Excellence resort costs, and a complete breakdown of each of the brand’s eight resorts (including sister resorts Beloved and Finest!)
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Table of Contents
What is the Excellence Collection?
The Excellence Collection is a brand of all-inclusive, adults only luxury resorts located in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. Excellence resorts are highly rated and consistently make spots on top all-inclusive resort lists.
Excellence consists of five resorts: Excellence Playa Mujeres, Excellence Riviera Maya, Excellence Punta Cana, Excellence El Carmen, and Excellence Oyster Bay.
In addition, Excellence has two sister resort brands under its umbrella: The family-friendly Finest Resorts as well as the couples-only boutique Beloved Hotel.
Excellence resorts are extremely comparable to other large resort chains such as Secrets or Sandals. However, I do find Excellence to be more affordable and a better value for the same level of service and quality.
What do Excellence Resorts offer?
The Excellence brand of resorts all offer an all-inclusive experience for adults only. That means the rate you are paying covers not only the room itself, but everything you could possibly eat or drink during your stay!
Some of the perks of your all-inclusive stay at Excellence are:
- All meals, snacks, and beverages (including restaurants, bars, and room service)
- All alcoholic beverages (including room service, bar and restaurant service, and in-room mini-bar)
- Mini-bar stocked with beers, sodas, and full-size bottles of liquor refreshed daily
- All entertainment, activities, and non-motorized water sports
- With select stays, free roundtrip transportation from the airport
What is the Excellence Club?
The Excellence Club is the Excellence’s Collection upgraded room tier. If you stay in an Excellence Club class room, you will have additional perks available to you, including:
- Private check-in and out experience, as well as late check-out and early-check in subject to availability
- Access to private Excellence Club lounge
- Excellence Club only restaurant and bar
- Excellence Club only pools, jacuzzis, and beach area
- Bvlgari toiletries
- Upgraded mini bar, in room liquor, and room service menu
- Beach bag available for use
- One Aqua hydrotherapy treatment per person
- Daily fruit and petit fours in suite
What is the vibe at Excellence Resorts?
Excellence resorts are high end, luxurious experiences with a focus on romance and relaxation. The resorts typically attract couples and small groups of couples.
Excellence is a great choice for a romantic getaway, relaxing vacation, or to celebrate a special occasion like a honeymoon or babymoon. These resorts are the perfect choice if you are looking for a relaxing, high end vacation at a great price.
However, if you like to stay at resorts focused on nightlife, singles, or action, Excellence may not be the brand for you.
What is the cost of staying at Excellence Resorts?
One of the main perks of the Excellence resorts is you are paying one flat all-inclusive rate. There is no need to pay extra for any food or drink, and there are no surprises at the resort.
The cost of your stay will largely depend on which resort your visit, which class of room you decide to stay in, and the time of year.
On average, rooms at Excellence start around $300 – $400 a night for the entry level suites. You can easily spend over $1000 – $2500+ a night for the most premium suites offered.
Tipping is the norm at Excellence Resorts. We pack $100-$200 in cash for tips depending on the length of our stay. Son’t forget to tip drivers, valets, housekeepers, room service, bartenders, and restaurant servers.
Excellence Resorts Mexico
Excellence Playa Mujeres
Images provided by The Excellence Collection
Excellence Playa Mujeres is the flagship Excellence Collection resort with a loyal following. It consistently tops “best of” lists all across the internet and brings back repeat guests. It is widely considered to be the very best Excellence resort. Located north of Cancun’s hotel zone near Isla Mujeres, Excellence Playa Mujeres offers ten restaurants, eleven bars, and even a lazy river.
Reviews note the resort is starting to age, and the beach is not as large as the other Excellence resorts.
Rates: From $474/night Best For: Those want to experience the original, most loved Excellence resort.
Check Rates: Direct | Expedia | Orbitz | TripAdvisor | HotelsCombined
Excellence Riviera Cancun
Images provided by The Excellence Collection
Excellence Riviera Cancun is located along the Riviera Maya coast, about 20 minutes south of the Cancun airport near the town of Puerto Morelos. While very comparable to Excellence Playa Mujeres, Excellence Riviera Cancun is a larger resort with a longer beach. The resort also boasts six pools, of which two are heated in winter, and five hot tubs. Plus there are 11 restaurants and 11 bars to enjoy.
Sargassum seaweed can be a problem in this part of Mexico.
Rates: From $502/night Best For: Beach lovers who want a long stretch of beach to explore.
Check Rates: Direct | Expedia | Orbitz | TripAdvisor | HotelsCombined
Excellence Resorts Dominican Republic
Excellence El Carmen
Images provided by The Excellence Collection
Newly opened in 2016, Excellence El Carmen is the newer of the two Dominican Republic resorts. Excellence El Carmen is about a 45 minute drive north of the Punta Cana International Airport. The resort boasts 12 restaurants, 16 bars, and 23 pools. When we visited El Carmen in June 2021, we stayed in the Excellence Club Two Story Rooftop Suite with Plunge Pool Ocean View. Make sure you check out our full review & guide to Excellence El Carmen, as well.
Advertising 23 pools is a bit misleading, as there are only three main pools. The rest of the pools are long, skinny pools adjacent to swim-up suites. Sargassum can also be an issue here.
Rates: From $426/night. Best For: A romantic getaway with your partner and those who prefer new resorts.
Check Rates: Direct | Expedia | Orbitz | TripAdvisor | HotelsCombined
Excellence Punta Cana
Images provided by The Excellence Collection
Excellent Punta Cana was the first Excellence resort to be built in the Dominican Republic. It is located just five minutes down the road from El Carmen, about 40 minutes from the Punta Cana airport. While older, it did undergo a complete renovation in 2017. Wondering whether Excellence El Carmen or Excellence Punta Cana is the better option? While older, Excellence Punta Cana is the more affordable of the two. It’s also the best-priced resort in the entire collection.
The Excellence Club beach area is far superior to the standard beach area, and there is also an Excellence Club only pool. Sargassum can be an issue here as well.
Rates: From $291/night. Best For: The most price conscious option.
Check Rates: Direct | Expedia | Orbitz | TripAdvisor | HotelsCombined
Excellence Resorts Jamaica
Excellence Oyster Bay
Images provided by The Excellence Collection
Built in 2018, Excellence Oyster Bay is the newest resort in the collection and the first one built in Jamaica. Located 40 minutes outside of the Montego Bay airport, the resort is set on a private peninsula with over two miles of private beach. The resort features 8 restaurants and 9 bars, a rooftop pool, and private villa options, including a 1,510 sf Beach Villa!
Excellence Oyster Bay is the priciest option. Reviews also note the standard beach area is not as good as the Excellence Club beach.
Rates: From $610/night. Best For: Honeymoons and the most luxurious room options.
Check Rates: Direct | Expedia | Orbitz | TripAdvisor | HotelsCombined
Sister Resorts
While the Excellence branded resorts are all-inclusive experiences for adults only, there are two sister brands under its umbrella that offer a slightly different experience.
Finest Resorts are family friendly and open to guest of all ages, with features like a Kids Club and splash areas in addition to an Adults Only sections on the resort.
Beloved Hotels on the other hand offers a boutique, intimate experiences for couples only geared for romance.
Finest Playa Mujeres
Images provided by The Excellence Collection
Located just north of the Cancun Hotel Zone facing the island of Isla Mujeres is the family-friendly Finest Playa Mujeres. Finest boasts 10 pools, 13 hot tubs, 12 restaurants, and 16 bars – some of which are swim-up style. It has both amenities and activities for kids as well as adults only areas, adult suites, and access to a full golf course. Even though it is family friendly, you will still have the upscale feel of an Excellence resort.
The resort’s location from Playa Mujeres is far from Cancun and area attractions. Many of the pools are adjacent to swim-up rooms.
Rates: From $493/night. Best For: Families with golf enthusiasts.
Check Rates: Direct | Expedia | Orbitz | TripAdvisor | HotelsCombined
Finest Punta Cana
Images provided by The Excellence Collection
If you are traveling to the Dominican Republic with children, make sure you check out Finest Punta Cana. Finest Punta Cana offers the best of Excellence in a fun-for-all-ages environment.
Finest Punta Cana does not offer a golf course or as many activities as Finest Playa Mujeres.
Rates: From $418/night. Best For: Families watching their budget.
Find Rates & Prices: Direct | Expedia | Orbitz | TripAdvisor
Beloved Playa Mujeres
Images provided by The Excellence Collection
Geared for romance, this couples only all-inclusive resort is located in the Playa Mujeres area of Mexico, just north of Cancun. At just 109 suites and four restaurants, this resort truly has an intimate and romantic feel. The resort features a gorgeous strip of beach as well as an expansive 35,000 sqft spa. For the ultimate in luxury, opt for one of the more private Beachfront Casita rooms.
The resort’s location is a bit isolated, and Sargassum can be a problem.
Rates: From $549/night. Best For: An intimate couples getaway.
Check Rates: Direct | Expedia | Orbitz | TripAdvisor | HotelsCombined
Which Excellence resort would you stay at? We would love to hear from you in the comments!
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