Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

I remember a bunch of people had questions about this resort, and having just gotten back on Saturday I figured Id who-re myself out there to see if anyone had any questions.

To be honest, we kind of felt 'eh' about it. We stayed at two resorts, the first Palladium Riviera and then ERC. ERC was double the price and we really didnt feel like we got our moneys worth. It certainly wasnt double the luxury and DEFINITELY wasnt double the service. We had an awful experience with housekeeping -- they'd skip either cleaning the room or turndown service each day.

It was a gorgeous resort and we had a great time but realyl didnt think it was worth the price paid.

Let m eknow if you have any questions!

Re: Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

I'm surprised b/c trip advisor has such great reviews consistently. Housekeeping has been noted to come late, but they suggest you request a time and they will honor it each day. And not many have complained about the service, if anything they rave about it. Can you possibly give a more detailed review?

Re: Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

Hmm..we're going to El Dorado Seaside Suites and there are a few reviews on Trip Advisor that mentiont he same housekeeping problem... maybe its a mexican thing?

Re: Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

I was just there the first week of March and I felt the same exact way!

We started off at El Dorado Royale and stayed for a total of one night. We were very unhappy there so we moved to Excellence Riviera Cancun the next morning although it was double the price.

I'm sorry to say that I wasn't that impressed. I mean, the resort is beyond beautiful, the dance shows at night were amazing, but I was very unhappy with the food (outside of breakfast) and with the drinks. I also felt like there really wasn't anything to do there and so I spent a lot of time watching movies and tv.

I don't know. Maybe all-inclusive resorts just aren't for me...

Re: Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

I shall elaborate:



Housekeeping
Yes, they do say that about housekeeping, that if you request a time it will be honored. It doesnt work. Here's how our housekeeping debacle went:
-First night, no turndown. I was whiney but DH didnt care. So I called that night and complained, they apologized and said it wouldnt happen again.
-Second day, perfect. No problems.
-Third day, no room cleaning! We were gone from 10-5pm. When I called they said housekeeping was done at 5pm but i said I wanted my room cleaned, so they sent what I assume to be the turndown staff. It was a half-@ss cleaning job that really was just making the bed and changing the towels. we did not get turndown
-Fourth, we went during the day to the desk to complain about the inconsistency we received and they told us it would never be a problem again. Room cleaned, no turndown.
-Fifth, no turndown... we storm down to the desk at 11pm and ask for the manager. He actually goes up with two people and does turndown himself. DH tells him this is really unacceptable and he expects to get some kind of letter from him or the day manager by morning with an apology and some attempt at reconciliation. He reassures us this will happen but it doesnt.
-Sixth, we are fine, they called twice to make sure we got turndown and cleaned.

This is RIDICULOUS and never should have been an issue. Room cleaning, first of all, is something that you get at a Days Inn. Turndown is a luxury you are paying 'double the price' for. We shouldnt have spent 5% of our HM demanding this all be corrected.

Food
The food was all VERY high quality which was impressive. The dinner restaurants were FANTASTIC, we ate at The Grill THREE TIMES.

But, when it came to lunch, things got pretty dull and repetitive. You have pizza at Oregano, a small buffet at Barcelona and a sit-down menu at Lobster House. This menu was bland and boring and got old quickly. THe pizza was great but we couldnt eat it everyday. We said it we went one more day we would be horribly bored for lunch.

LOVED the 'no reservations' policy, and the two times we ate at the breakfast buffet were delightful.

Room Services was the only '5 Star' feature of this hotel. Prompt, delicious, hot and friendly.

The Beach
The resort we stayed at right before ERC had an excellent beach that we sswam in. We said it we were going ONLY to ERC that we would be bummed about the beach. It looked like Jones Beach.. no turquoise water that you could see through and the seaweed, though cleaned often, was ugly.

Rooms
The rooms were pretty average and comparable to other All inclusives we have stayed at. We really expected it to be different. The beds are really hard which sounds whiney but, to be honest if you average Sheraton and Hampton Inn have ugraded gorgeous beds with lush duvets and fantastic mattresses, you would hope one that charges as much as ERC does too.

Pool
The pool needs an overhaul, it had tiles missing and just seemed old. Everyone was complaining about how cold it was, but this was the least of our worries. It did take a while to get used to.

Overall
There is NOTHING about this resort that justifies its price. The lobby and grounds were gorgeous, the drinks were delicious, the shows were, for the most part, fun (the circus show was weird and not good) and most of the staff was nice.

I know it doesnt sound like it, but had a GREAT time and loved every minute of it, dont get me wrong.. Im just saying they really really dont give you what you pay for. Dont go into it with high expectations and you wont be disappointed!

Re: Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

I'm so sorry things were not as wonderful as you had hoped. Hopefully your honeymoon was still a bit enjoyable

Re: Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

what exactly is turn down service and why is it a big deal??

Im asking bc fh and I just put our final payment down and now you have me all flustered.

hmmmm...

Re: Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

It's basically a quick clean up of the room, turning down the bed linens and sometimes a towel change. This is thw whole 'mint on the pillow' thing

Re: Back from my HM (Excellence Riviera Cancun, formerly Secrets Excellence) Any brides going there that have questions?

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Posted by Lizzie913

what exactly is turn down service and why is it a big deal??

Im asking bc fh and I just put our final payment down and now you have me all flustered.

hmmmm...

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Sorry, I just saw that you posted this. I am in the middle of writing my tripadvisor review.

Normally, its not a big deal at all to us.

But we just came from a resort that was half the price.. so when we got to Excellence, knowing the price we paid, we had expectations that we would get 2x the luxury of the previous resort. This wasnt the case.

Room service was horrible, really, when you are paying what you do to go there, turndown service shouldnt be something you even THINK about, it should just happen. They clean the room, give you fresh towels, chocolates, activity sheet for the next day. It wouldnt ruin your trip if you DIDNT have it, but really, it should just happen.

Dont be flustered, you'll have a good time, especially if you dont go into it as we did with these visions of 5* luxury.