Excellence El Carmen — Hotel in Higüey

We came here for a family vacation. It’s a beautiful hotel that has almost everything you need. The ambiance at the resort is exactly as you’d expect. They had great activities and games. The entertainment staff were awesome, a special shoutout to Carlos. In the evenings, they had shows, silent disco, karaoke, dancing.

Rooms: The rooms were big. All the rooms had a balcony and a small private jacuzzi on the balcony. There was a nice walk in closet. The room also had a nice couch/lounge area. The bathroom was big but has no privacy so if you’re sharing a room as a non-couple, it can get awkward. The shower is a rain shower with a handheld option. I do recommend you bring a shower cap as they don’t provide one. We booked a room with 2 double beds because there were 3 people in the room. When we got there, the room only had a king size bed and they told us that the double bed was based on availability but we didn’t understand how they were planning on accommodating 3 adults in 1 room. They ended up having to give us a cot which was very uncomfortable and hurt our back. They also kept saying that it was based on availability and there was nothing they could do about it.

Pools: There are so many different pools to hangout. They give pool loungers and have lounge chairs that are only semi submerged in the pool. Sadly, the pools always had bugs and other dirt inside. The jacuzzis were disappointing as they were not hot. Many of the guests joked that the pool was warmer than the jacuzzi. When we asked staff about it, they told us that after 5pm, they lower the temps in the jacuzzi because they want to get people out of the pools faster. It didn’t make sense to us as we only want to go to the jacuzzi in the evenings.

Beach: The beach on site is beautiful. The sand is so soft and the water was nice and warm. Unfortunately, we went off season, so there was a lot of seaweed which didn’t make for fun beach walks.

Restaurants: They have some great restaurants on site but I do think there could be a little more variety with the options of their buffets. Most dinner spots had a separate vegan/plant based menu which was a huge win for us. Breakfast: They have 2 spots for breakfast, one of which is a buffet set up. They had so many different options in the buffet including different types of eggs, hash browns, salads, curries, waffles, pancakes, breads, cereals, etc. Lunch: There are 2 spots plus a buffet open for lunch. Oregano (ltalian), Lobster House (fish/Mexican), and a Mexican buffet. Overall, I think the lunch menu could use some improvement specifically for vegetarian options. Dinner: A lot of the restaurants were only open during dinner time which was a shame because of them were really good and I would have loved to go there for other meals. They also alternate the days the dinner spots are open so it does take some advance planning to make sure you get to hit the spots you want. They have a restaurant that has hibachi but the spots are very limited so if you want to go make sure to make those reservations when you arrive.

Basmati - Indian. The food was good but felt under seasoned. They had a lot of good options and the chef was great. Oregano - Italian. The food was average. The pasta was overcooked and the sauces were okay. Spice - Japanese/hibachi. Some amazing appetizers and I highly recommend veg gyozas. They had a nice asian salad. The pad thai wasn’t pad thai. It had a tomato sauce in it. Agave - Mexican. This was my favorite restaurant. The food was well seasoned and flavorful. They also had a spicy hot sauce.

Drinks: They had a lot of different drink options. They had fresh juice mocktail options and had a juice and smoothie bar. My favorite drink was the jalapeño margaritas.

Staff were friendly and helpful. It did get a little frustrating as the bartenders seemed to expect a tip every time you ordered and at an all inclusive you order often. If you didn’t tip, they were a bit rude and would look annoyed when you ordered.

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This was our 3rd stay at an Excellence property in Punta Cana, 2nd at Excellence El Carmen. Overall, these properties are everything you want in a Caribbean all inclusive stay. From the gorgeous views to manicured property, it screams luxury. The rooms are incredible. At El Carmen, we have stayed in the Excellence Club level two story with rooftop terrace and most recently in the Terrace Suite with plunge pool. You truly can't go wrong with a room choice.

We have truly been spoiled with our stays at Excellence, so much that we also booked a trip to Excellence Oyster Bay in October later this year prior to this last stay at El Carmen. Our first two trips were so wonderful that it was difficult to imagine staying at any other resort chain. With that said, if this trip had been our first, I'm not sure we would have booked return visits. While we had not encountered it on the first two stays, the service at the restaurants this time around were borderline terrible. We had multiple instances where we one of only a handful of tables seated. At Flavor Market, the food is delicious but not enough to be waiting for 20+ minutes for a server to introduce themselves and offer water, not to mention to be seated at the only table not set. Servers here are very inattentive and make you feel like you're a burden just by being there. Despite it all we enjoyed the food but left after the main course without being able to order a dessert after the server was not seen again.

At The Grill for lunch, it was more of the same. We were sat at a table that again was not set, but every other table was. The server had to be coached by the hostess to make his way to our table after about 15 minutes. The food we received was delicious, but days later and back home in the states, I am still waiting for the Cobb salad I ordered to start the meal. Again, we left after the main course without dessert because the server here also seemed to disappear completely. So much so, the hostess who had watched the entire time came to the table to ask how we enjoyed our service as if it would make up for the experience. Obviously it is not her job to make the server be attentive, but had watched the whole time and felt compelled to approach us to try to save face.

Our last night, our love of Excellence was completely restored. We absolutely love Lobster House and had decided to save it for last. I could not be happier in that decision. We greeted warmly by the hostess with the biggest smile we had seen from an employee all week. Then our server, Angel, was phenomenal. He was attentive and ever present, identifying our needs before we even knew what they were. Refilling our wine glasses before we knew they were almost empty. And as always, the meal was incredible! The supervisor, Sanchez, even came over to thank us for choosing to dine at his restaurant. His engaging personality and desire to truly enhance your vacation experience was more than apparent. Huge thank you to Angel, Sanchez and the rest of the Lobster House staff for restoring our love for Excellence. Our experience at the beginning of the trip had us questioning the Excellence Oyster Bay trip already booked. But now we are as excited to visit Jamaica as we were to come back to our second home in Punta Cana!

The rest of the staff at the resort were great...bartenders, pool staff etc! Jorgy specifically was another bright star on the staff. We recognized him from the first trip instantly and within seconds of talking to us while taking us to the room, he genuinely seemed to recognize us as well and treated us even more like we were part of the family.

While you might encounter some dining experiences we did, I cannot recommend the brand enough. And while I hope you do not have any negative experiences, I can promise it will be offset by other gems like we had at the Lobster House. My only other real complaint is that Excellence is limited to Cancun, Punta Cana and Jamaica. Excellence...please expand to other countries so we can see new places while still enjoying your...

We just returned home from our 1st ever Excellence El Carmen stay. In short, it was amazing! You should go! I'm going to write a very detailed review, as best I can.

Travel Dates: September 15-21st 2024

Room: We stayed the the Excellence Club Oceanfront Honeymoon Swim Up Suite. Specifically, Building 5, room 5076.

This room was as good as it gets. Building 5 sits right in the middle of the resort and room 5076 is on the south corner of the block. You can walk along the edge of the swim up and get to the Cielo Bar which is only about 50 yards away. It's about 50 yards off the beach, with incredible ocean views and sunrises. We wouldn't choose any other room category at this resort. It's simply incredible. Pool service is provided routinely throughout the day by the bar staff. Bring your own insulated cups! They'll fill them!

We did have one maintenance issue with the room. The 1st night, the AC was condensing from the vent in the bathroom, into the floor. We called maintenance the next day, let them know our issue, and they PROMPLTY sent someone to fix it. When we returned from hour hour long massage, it was fixed. They did have to chip away some of the plaster, but unbeknownst to us, they had come in and fixed that too, leather that day. They also called multiple times, to make sure the issue was resolved. Top notch service!

Bring your own insulated cups, large straws and pool floaties!

Yes, the rooms have some small wear and tear. It's an older resort now. Nothing that is worth complaining about. You'll love this room category.

Food: During our stay, we ate at Los Olas, Magna, Spice, Basmati, Chez Isabelle, Oregano, The Grill, The Kitchen Table, Sports Bar, and Room Service.

We thought the food was GOOD for an All Inclusive. Most wasn't MIND BLOWING, but I would give an overall score of 8/10.

Chez Isabelle was by far the best. The cuts of meat were tender and delicious.

I could go on to give a ton of details about each individual restaurant, but that would be long. Feel free to comment about a specific place for more details.

The Resort and Weather: It's beautiful. Plain and simple. Everything is manicured to perfection. It never felt busy. It's easy to navigate. Never waited for dinner. Weather in September was warm and breezy. Plenty of shade if you need it. A few minutes of rain, one day. Not much else to say.

Service: The staff here is simply amazing. From bar staff, to wait staff. The lawn attendants to maintenance and concierge. Everyone was always smiling and happy. Whatever you wanted or needed, was at your beck and call. A little Spanish and tips, went a LONG way! We tipped $5 everyday, to our room service, in room bar service and turn down service. This made a big difference I feel. They always went a little extra for us.

I celebrated my birthday on September 16th. The staff brought me a birthday cake while I was swimming outside our room. That was really nice!

Tipping: We brought about $600 in small USD bills with us. We tipped $5 everyday for room related items. $1-2 for every drink or drink delivery. $4-5 every dinner. $20 each way for our transport. That really seemed to make everyone very happy. We had some money left over at the end. I highly recommend taking care of the staff, while you're there.

We didn't do any excursions. They are a little pushy in the main lobby about signing you up, but you can nicely say, "No, thank you!" and move on.

We didn't do any daily or nightly activities. Honestly, we were just very content lounging around our room and going to bed at a reasonable hour after drinking all day! Haha.

There's only about an hour or two each day, of loud music at the main pool. It's a very quiet resort.

Transport: We used Seasons to and from. Very nice SUVs. Very nice drivers. Really great service. Not too much to say about it.

In conclusion, YES, you should come and stay here. You will love it. You'll want to stay longer. It's just such a great place.

I'll dump the photos we took, below. Not much, but gives you some idea...