Excellence Punta Cana Rating: 4.0 Pearls

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

The hotel grounds

Catering mostly to couples, the 446-room, adults-only resort is a pretty solid choice for honeymoons and anniversaries. They'll even stretch a ribbon over your door to announce the occasion.

During the day, the giant pool is quiet and filled with more guests reading than pounding beers (the latter is the case at most all-inclusives). At night, most guests gather around the martini bar, or hang out on the overstuffed chairs watching the evening entertainment, which ranges from dance lessons to bingo. The bar closes around 1 a.m., at which time guests head to the resort's nightclub.

At check-in, each guest is greeted with a glass of champagne and a chilled towel to wash off the 80-minute drive to the resort. Many guests arrange shuttle service through their booking agents. Champagne aficionados are unlikely to be impressed by their vintage, but good wine or champagne is hard to come by in the Caribbean. The desk staff is efficient and friendly, and I checked in without any issues. The porter brought my duffel bags to the room within minutes.

The desk staff was happy to offer advice about which restaurants to eat at in the hotel and the hotel's various amenities. All of the bartenders and waitstaff I met during my stay were friendly, if a little flirtatious. Reservations are recommended at a few of the restaurants but probably not necessary.

View on a Larger Map

Excellence Punta Cana is about an hour from the airport, but depending on your driver it could take upwards of 90 minutes to get to the hotel. The taxi should cost about $70 (for up to four people).

Rough seas before a storm

This beach has great potential. It's wide and the sand is soft, but during my stay it was windy so not great for lounging or swimming because the swell had kicked up. Some guests from New Jersey that I spoke with complained that the beach reminded them of going swimming at home. Both beaches do of course share the Atlantic Ocean. Excellence Punta Cana is on the eastern-most edge of the D.R. and this is where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean, so resorts farther south tend to have warmer and clearer water, while the resorts to the north tend to have more waves and less clear water, depending on conditions.

The Excellence Suite

All rooms are clean and fairly large. Most rooms are meant for two people, though the hotel does have 228 suites that can accommodate three people. Large, red clay pots separate the Jacuzzi and the bedroom. But the lamps don't provide anything but mood-lighting by night, so reading in the room after dark may be difficult.

The balcony-patio includes a small lawn with a hammock. There's not much of a view, but the hammock and small grassy area makes up for it.

The bathroom is clean and includes toiletries not found at most all-inclusives, like a small tube of shaving cream and Q-tips. That said, when I tried to use the shaving cream, there was only enough to shave one side of my face. The shower, a single stand up, is kind of small and would be tight for two.

The minibar is better stocked than a lot of all-inclusives in the Dominican Republic. There're several bottles of water and beer, a few sodas, some crackers and Oreos, but no hard booze.

The four-poster bed is comfortable, especially by all-inclusive standards. There are four pillows and a heavy blanket, plus a pillow-top mattress. It is just shy of the famous Westin beds (found elsewhere in the U.S. and the Caribbean, but not the D.R.).

The only outlets that worked in my room were in the bathroom. The resort says there's Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, but I couldn't pick it up in my room.

The casino

As the beach here is less thrilling than most beaches in Punta Cana, it's no surprise that most guests prefer the long, meandering pool that snakes around the restaurants, the first-floor rooms, and the swim-up bar. There are also plenty of daybeds and lounge chairs. And even though it was windy on the beach, around the pool it was calm, sunny and warm.

Excellence is also home to the Miile spa. The spa has a beauty center as well as wellness treatment, hydrotherapy facilities, saunas and plunge pools to name a few. There's also yoga classes and a fitness center with cardio machines. Check out the hotel's spa Web site for more information.

Adults-only resort. Guests must be 18 or older. For a more kid-friendly hotel in Punta Cana, check out the Majestic Elegance or the Riu Palace Macao.

My room at Excellence was immaculate. There were no signs of wear and tear and the room was perfectly clean. Outside, workers were painting hallways during my stay and the ground looked well-kept. I saw staff fluffing pillows on the couches in the lobby and constantly arranging furniture.

The buffet

The dinner buffet is better than at most resorts in the Dominican Republic, but that doesn't mean the food is actually good. I spoke to some pretty unhappy guests, but I had some decent, made-to-order beef sirloin and chicken at a beachside grill.

There are a lot of dining options, including Asian fusion (Spice), Mediterranean (Barcelona), Mexican (Agave), French Chez Isabelle, steak house The Grill, Seafood The Lobster House, Italian Toscana, and pizza and such at Oregano. None of the restaurants require reservations, though some (like Chez Isabelle and The Grill) have dress codes.

Finding a well-mixed martini in the Dominican Republic is usually a fruitless exercise, but not at Excellence. There's actually a martini bar. Name-brand booze is included in the all-inclusive package.