Excellence Punta Cana — Hotel in Higüey

This was our first trip to the Dominican Republic, and we chose Excellence Punta Cana for our babymoon after hearing wonderful things about this resort. We’ve stayed at a number of all inclusive resorts prior in Cancun and Cabo and I can say this resort felt at first like a tropical getaway with the open/gorgeous entrance and beach views. We were this past week which is their low season so the resort was far from full (maybe 20-30% full?). That made it super relaxing with less crowded spaces and faster service. I do want to add that if you stay 3 or more nights you get a free private transfer through season which felt luxurious - our first shuttle to the resort was a 2025 Chevy Tahoe! ||||We decided to book the Excellence Club level, but honestly, it didn’t feel worth the extra cost. Many of the “exclusive” perks, like the club beach seating and access to certain restaurants were being used by ALL guests. Because of that (I assume low season?) we felt we paid extra for benefits that weren’t actually needed/exclusive. Additionally, several restaurants and pools were closed for remodeling, which we understood given the season but it did limit options.||||Our room was spacious and welcoming and felt luxurious at first glance. However, we did notice mold in the shower which was a bit concerning especially since I’m pregnant. It wasn’t overwhelming, but still not something we expected at a resort in this category. The room also ran warmer than comfortable (no biggy, typical for a beach resort) so when we requested a fan it made a big difference!||||The food and dining experience was where we felt the resort really underdelivered. Most meals lacked flavor and felt pre-made rather than fresh. At The Kitchen buffet, the breakfast selection was limited (the waffles were tough, the pancakes dense, and the french toast was essentially toasted dry bread). IHOP was a 5star experience once we got back to America compared to that buffet. We felt the same way at their Magna restaurant where everything felt premade and average for breakfast but not even warm. Pastries at all restaurants were stale and hard along with coffee being underwhelming. All food was edible but certainly not memorable but definitely nothing to write home about. Of the restaurants Agave restaurant and The Grill were the best options! The sports bar however… was a MAJOR disappointment: nearly everything was covered in artificial nacho cheese and the quality was similar to concession stand food. My nachos didn’t even come out with ingredients advertised and my cheese fries were laughable. Also note that any lunch options are slim to be delivered pool side but you will have to catch the waiter when he briefly comes around (again, maybe another low season situation) Other than that, I believe they had one restaurant serving actual lunch food with a beautiful beach view! ||||My husband felt like he got food poisoning after eating at either the Kitchen Buffet or Hibachi….stomach issues, vomiting and extreme abdominal pain. Come to find out after posting in the FB group, a few other guest experienced the same thing and the front desk staff told them the Noro Virus was going around…..so be aware. ||||Unfortunately, what truly affected our stay the most was guest behavior and how the staff handled it. One day, a couple was openly having intercourse in the PUBLIC “club level” pool in the evening. When we mentioned it to the staff they just laughed it off instead of taking it more serious. I understand this is an adults only resort, but there is a line of respect in an openly public pool with balcony’s over looking it. On another night, an extremely drunk guest urinated down his leg in the lobby during a magic show. Again, staff laughed and did NOT address the guest. They delayed cleaning up the very visible urine stream left of their tile lobby floor. Several guests, including us, had to push for it to even be partially cleaned. Incidents like these are not only unpleasant, but they made us feel like the staff was unwilling to uphold a standard of respect or quality. For a resort marketed as upscale and adults-only, this was very disappointing. This guest was still allowed to hangout around everyone and sit on their lobby chairs. The staff was more interested in hounding us to leave a 5 star review on their trip advisor page saying they would receive a $100 bonus if their resort won a contest???? After reading reviews, I’m understanding that was just a situation to get their reviews to appear more positive. ||||Overall, we appreciated the beautiful setting, the chance to relax, and a couple standout meals but the combination of underwhelming food, inconsistent service, and lack of professionalism from staff left us disappointed. For the price point and luxury reputation, we had higher expectations. While the resort itself has potential based on our experience we would not...

We have stayed at several Excellence properties in Mexico, Jamaica and DR and we were excited to check Excellence Punta Cana off of our list! We arrived on a Monday and had booked almost the top room class available - Excellence Club Suite Ocean View. We had requested room 3109 prior to check in and ended up in room 1111. There are only 4 of these room types (two in building 1 and two in building 3). If you book this room type you really want the ones in building 3 as our room looked right into the Magna restaurant and had zero privacy. We were disappointed spending so much to get this room. We asked about moving day 1 and they pretty much just said no. On day 2 we asked again and were moved 1 room over (1110) - which still looked right onto the pool bar and was a very obstructed ocean view, but we took it as a win.||||After dinner on night 2, my husband went into our safe to get out the cash he needed for a fishing trip the next morning to discover $1,300 stolen. It was all $100 bills. We scoured our room making sure we didn’t misplace it. We then called the front desk and they came with 1 security person and 1 manager. We went through the timeline of events, let them search our room, and started the formal incident report process. At this point it was 11 PM and they said they would start an investigation in the morning. ||||In the morning, I was called to the front desk and they assured me they were looking into it but would not have any information for 48-72 hours while they reviewed camera footage, door lock activity, etc. What is extremely unfortunate is that in 72 hours I would be back home - so this timeline really was no help to me. At this point, I came to terms that the money is gone and we likely wouldn’t ever find it. I asked to be transferred to Excellence El Carmen as we had been there before and loved it! The front desk said they can’t help with that at all and to email customer service. (side note: I emailed customer service 4 times in the last 20 hours with no response) When I did get the reservation 1-800 number on the phone they told me the front desk would have to coordinate a transfer - and so the run around and talking in circles began. I even let the manager talk to the reservation representative on my cell phone and they both came up with a solution that they can’t do anything and to email customer service as they have no phone number. ||||We went to breakfast and let them have time to investigate. ||||At around 2 PM, the manager called and said they couldn’t do their investigation because we didn’t let them count the money we did have in the room. I felt like I was living in delulu land as we never stopped them from doing anything the night of the incident and they had full access to everything in our room with our supervision. I even offered to let them come back and search and count whatever they wanted. He then called back and said they needed access to our room to run a device on the safe to see what activity had been used in it. We stayed in the room as he said he would be right over… 40 minutes later I called back and he said he was coming now. He arrived 60 minutes after initially calling. We had to wait around in our room this whole time. They ran a process on the safe but gave us no results or updates. The manager during this time asked us to go through the whole timeline again… which I stated we have already done multiple times.. but we did it again. He then became very accusatory towards me since I could not tell him exactly how many $1 bills I should have left - we brought $300 in $1s and used them for tips all the time - there is no way I could tell you what should be left. The point was we were only stating that 13-$100 bills were gone. We don’t think any of the smaller bills were taken. But the manager spun this that I don’t know what we have spent. He was very rude. He also told me that there is no way someone could get in the safe as only security has access and was not even entertaining the possibility that the staff got in there somehow. He just kept saying “it’s not possible” - well then sir did my money grow feet and walk out of my room?!?!||||Shortly after this, I asked the general manager if there was any spa services they would compensate during this time of investigation. I was told they’d give me a 25 minute massage - which is almost comical in comparison to the $1,300 we had stolen. ||||After this - we decided we no longer felt safe or respected here and booked the next 3 nights at Secrets Tides. I have been told there is no guarantee I will receive a refund for our stay, even the unused nights, and something I will have to email the customer service unresponsive inbox about. So we may now be out $1,300 + 3 nights stay at another resort. ||||So far we are so pleased at Secrets Tides. We are hoping to hear something about the results of the investigation but I am not...

Extremely Disappointing Experience – Would Not Recommend

We stayed at The Excellence Punta Cana from September 19-26, 2024 for our late honeymoon and first anniversary, expecting a luxurious and memorable experience. After months of research, all signs pointed to this being an exceptional resort, but unfortunately, our stay was anything but. We waited six months to write this review because we left feeling frustrated, disappointed, and frankly, angered by our experience.

Major Issues We Encountered: Room Not Available – We paid for a specific room type at booking, only to be told upon arrival that the section of the hotel where our room was located was closed for the season. No prior notification, no alternative arrangements—just a downgrade without explanation. Excellence Club Not Worth It – We paid an additional $500 USD (or there about) for Excellence Club access, which promised exclusive benefits, including access to a private pool and the Magna restaurant. While Magna was good, it was absolutely not worth the extra cost. Hygiene Issues – Upon checking into our room and unpacking, we found feces on the outside of the toilet. We immediately reported it to reception and provided photos and videos. While they apologised and offered a room change, we simply asked for a proper cleaning, which they did. However, this lack of cleanliness was unacceptable, especially for a high-end resort. Failed Anniversary Dinner & Rude Staff – We were promised a special anniversary dinner and booked a hibachi-style experience at the Japanese restaurant via the front desk. Upon arrival, staff denied our reservation existed and rudely dismissed us, making us feel like we were at fault. After waiting over 20 minutes while they scrambled to find a solution, we were offered a regular table with a standard menu—not the special experience we were promised. The staff was completely unapologetic and dismissive, making the situation even more frustrating. To top it off, the food was not good and up there with the worst Japanese cuisine we’ve ever had. Poor Quality Alcoholic Drinks – Cocktails were overloaded with sugar and contained minimal alcohol. We weren’t expecting premium drinks, but for the price of this resort, we expected more than slushy sugar water. Lackluster Evening Entertainment – Some nights had decent performances, but many nights were filled with staff members running around on stage with no structure. It often felt unplanned and amateurish, which was disappointing for an all-inclusive resort. Average Food at Most Restaurants – With the exception of Magna, most restaurants served average food at best. Lunch and Dinners was consistently disappointing and underwhelming. Difficult Refund Process for Excursion – We booked and paid upfront for a diving excursion, but I felt unwell and needed to cancel. While we were told cancellations were allowed at any time, we were met with resistance from staff. It took over an hour of discussions to finally get a refund. False Promises of a Refund – Due to the multiple issues we faced, we escalated our concerns several times. A management member named Egar/Edgar assured us that we would receive the Excellence Club refund within seven days. We left the resort with zero communication from him afterward, and the refund never came. Instead, we were given vouchers for a future stay which we explicitly told them we would never use.

The Few Positives: • Breakfast had the best food selection. • Most staff members were friendly and willing to help (with exceptions). • The resort itself is beautiful and well-maintained. • Dry cleaning services were useful, albeit overpriced.

Final Verdict: We’ll never stay at an Excellence resort again. What should have been a special, stress-free trip turned into issue after issue, with poor communication, cleanliness problems, and broken promises. The only “special” treatment we got was a banner on our door.

Our promised refund never came, and our complaints were ignored. We cannot recommend this resort for the...