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My review for our first Cancun trip is finally here! It almost took me a month to post this, but my memory of Cancun is still well alive like it was yesterday. It was impossible to put all photos in one post so I did my best to select some of my favorites. We stayed at Excellence Riviera Maya in which everything was arranged by our local travel agent. We had private transportation that took us directly from the airport to the resort (other transportation packages may involve stopping at different resorts first before getting to yours). Our resort was about 20-25 minutes away from Cancun International Airport. 

Excellence Riviera Maya – Property/Service

We specifically chose this resort because we had a friend who’ve had been there before and had a good experience. Excellence Resorts also seemed to have solid reviews by previous guests. Most importantly, it is an adult-only all-inclusive resort which is what we were looking for. We don’t have children yet so we didn’t feel the need to stay at a family-friendly property. 

Our room was a swim-up suite, which meant that we had direct access to the lazy river. In actuality, we spent more time on the beach but having a direct pool access was an added convenience to our relaxation. If you intend to spend the majority of your time on the beach, then the swim-up suite option may not be worth the extra cost. 

Ladies, if you ever worry that you are going to forget an essential toiletry – don’t fret! I have never been in a room where it literally provided everything. Razor, shaving kit, sewing kit, toothpaste/toothbrush, lotion/shampoo/conditioner (of course)…you name it, it’s there! In the closet, you will see 2 white bathrobes and a portable steamer for clothes. There is a big jacuzzi bathtub that is located between the marble room and the bathroom. Minifridge is completely stocked with water, various alcohol, and sodas. It gets refilled by a staff every morning. 

The property ground was very well-kept and is quite beautiful. There are always staffs walking around cleaning the floor and checking the chemical level in each pool. That being said, the pools close promptly at 8pm to allow sufficient time for cleaning and rebalancing chemicals. During our stay, the beach would often times get covered in seaweed, but they diligently clean it up all day long. The white beach sand is soft without any debris. 

Room service is included in the price you paid and is 24/7. Overall, the service by resorts staffs is simply perfection. They are all friendly, professional, and very attentive to your needs. Even though tips are included in your package, do feel generous and tip them if you enjoy their service (they accept both US dollars and pesos). 

Excellence Riviera – Food 

There are 9 restaurants in the resort, and we did not go to all of them during our 5 nights/6 days stay. There are some restaurants only open for lunch and/or dinner while others might be open for breakfast and lunch but not dinner. Our favorite, consistent with other online reviews, was Chez Isabelle. The service was impeccable and the food was delicious as its gorgeous presentation. While house wines are covered within an all-inclusive package, it does offer more premium wines at an additional cost if you have a more refined palate. 

For dinner options, we did go try other places. The resort practically has a restaurant for every major cuisine – Indian (Basmati), Asia (sushi, hibachi, etc.), grilled food (steak, burger, etc.), seafood (The Lobster House), Mexican (Oregano). We did try to Basmati once and it was ok…it wasn’t bad by any means, but we have had better ones before. We were very excited about the dinner options at The Lobster House; unfortunately, our lobsters were overcooked and didn’t enjoy the dinner as much as we would have liked to. I think our favorite was definitely Chez Isabelle. 

The Lobster House and Barcelona were the two most frequented restaurants for breakfast. Barcelona is Excellence’s international cuisine central in a buffet style so it served all kinds of foods that would accommodate a wide variety of preferences for guests. It also offered 10-12 different kind of freshly squeezed juices as well as 4-5 kinds of smoothies…yum! The Lobster House offers more plated menu options with a la carte.  

Our most favorite was perhaps Cafe Aroma, which served up all kind of coffees until 10pm every day. Z might say this was favorite since it always 8 different kinds of macaroons ready to be consumed. 🙂

Excellence Riviera – Entertainment 

Every day there is a series of events held at the resort. During the day, you’ll see a lot of 1 hour workout and dance (mainly salsa) classes as well as an opportunity to learn archery, making cocktails, and such. In the evening, there is always a big production whether that is a fire show or music performance. 

We did feel like the entertainment components were a lot more interesting and better executed by Royal Caribbean when we took a cruise trip back in 2012. Nevertheless, these activities/events are a great way to get through the day for those who may get bored from lounging and relaxing all day. 

Safety in Cancun 

Before we were there, we had gotten a lot of questions from our friends and families about the potential safety risk in Cancun. Their concern was understandable considering the growing incidents of fatalities resulted by drug cartels (and sometimes not).  We certainly did our homework by checking discussion threads of people who recently visited there, talking with our travel agent, checking the news, and assessing our confidence being there. Perhaps, it was me growing up in El Paso, which is just minutes away from Ciudad Juarez, or our collective naiveness thinking everything will be ok, we eventually decided that we weren’t taking any particular actions that pose a major threat to our safety. We remained at the resort the entire time except for one day where we went on a Mayan Ruin tour (more of that will be covered in my future post). We didn’t have any concerns regarding the drinks we ordered; granted, we are more of casual drinkers than some others we witnessed at the resort. Excellence Riviera Maya is about 20-25 minutes from Cancun International Airport and transportation was arranged by our travel agent. Not once during those drives, including our 4 hour round trip drive for our excursion, did we feel uneasy about our situation. We did see a lot of police and military personnel with automatic guns everywhere; I’m sure that was a response to the heightened crimes occurring in tourist areas. I can happily report that we enjoyed our time there without any safety concerns, but I would completely understand that some people might be more cautious about these incidents and choosing not to go there. If you choose to go to Cancun or nearby areas, just be sure to take common precautions (i.e., don’t leave the resort at night, always book excursions with reputable tour companies, etc.) 

Final Thoughts

This was indeed a successful all-inclusive experience for us. We had our true relaxation for the first time in many years and happy that we chose an Excellence resort as our first of hopefully many all-inclusive vacations to come. We can’t wait to visit this area again and try another resort in the future. Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions!

#allinclusiveresort #cancun #excellencerivieramaya #travelbybehs