Where To Stay If You’re Visiting Cancun, Mexico.

Buenos Días! In case you haven’t heard, Ryan and I spent our (belated) honeymoon in Cancún, Mexico. Ryan spent many months researching, planning, and booking our trip (all by himself, I must add) and it was probably the best vacation I have ever been on! Aside from the fact that it was our honeymoon, the resort we stayed at was an absolute dream! It had everything we could have ever wanted or needed, and it was just above and beyond what we ever anticipated. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Excellence Playa Mujeres; a place created just for couples so that they can celebrate life, recharge, relax, indulge, and experience new things! After all, this is what vacation is all about, right?

Because we loved our trip SO much, and are now completely obsessed with where we stayed, I wanted to give you a full rundown of the resort (with loads of photos, of course). I’m sharing all the ins and outs of staying here, everything we loved, and a quick packing guide to help make your vacation-planning run a bit smoother!

Disclaimer: This post is (very) long, but it does contain loads of information that I hope you will find helpful when booking your trip. So, grab that cup of coffee and let’s get going!

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The All-Inclusive Feature

For anyone who has never stayed at an all-inclusive resort before, there is truly nothing better than this feature. While all-inclusive places tend to be on the pricier side, there are plenty of things to do (and eat) so you can feel like you are getting your money’s worth. In my opinion, it really adds to the whole experience of the vacation. We were able to feel more relaxed because we weren’t worried about paying for things, we were able to try tons of different foods and drinks that we probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise, and we had the freedom to do as much as we want, and eat/drink as much as we wanted without feeling guilty.

At Excellence Playa Mujeres, you have the ability to enjoy a 24-hour all-inclusive service. And when they say “all-inclusive”, they really mean all-inclusive! This includes all food, drinks, alcohol, pools, jacuzzis, beaches, pool and beach waiter service, water sports, daily activities, nighttime entertainment, fitness center, and more! Basically, the rule here is…if you see it, it’s included! Anything you could ever want to do and everything you could ever want to eat or drink is available to you all day and night long. With all the activities we did, the food we ate, and the drinks we drank, Ryan and I definitely came out ahead! We’re still working off all the extra pounds we gained from the non-stop eating and drinking (whoops).

The Property

This resort was probably the cleanest and most beautiful resort I’ve ever been to! From the grounds to the rooms and even the beach area, everything was spotless and absolutely breathtaking. I’m serious when I say if we saw one, single leaf on the grass or sidewalks, it was rare. Throughout the entire trip, Ryan and I kept joking that the bathrooms (even the public bathrooms) felt so clean that you could probably lick the floors. I promise you, we didn’t do this…I just felt compelled to share my enthusiasm for cleanliness! As I’m sure you can tell from the countless photos, the resort property feels like an oasis. There’s beautiful landscape, stunning views, and even lots of iguanas that like to drop by and say hi. It’s a total and complete paradise location!

Aside from the aesthetics of the place, the overall vibe just screams utopia as well! The adult-only concept allows the entire resort to feel peaceful and tranquil, yet fun and upbeat at the same time. Whether you’re looking to relax in the quiet or be immersed in a party scene, there are places you can go to fulfill whatever mood you’re in each day (or each hour).

The Room

There are many different options (I think around 10) you can choose from when selecting your room. However, you can’t really go wrong with this one, as all of the rooms are “suite-style”. We stayed in the Excellence Club Two-Story Rooftop Terrace Suite Ocean Front. As I’m sure you can figure out from the name, our room was a two-floor suite with a private rooftop terrace overlooking the ocean and housing our very own plunge pool. It also housed a balcony on the first floor equipped with a day bed and jacuzzi with indoor or outdoor access.

We loved this room so much, we didn’t even want to leave it each morning. And with your own private pool and delicious room service, I guess you never have to leave if you don’t want to! Usually, on vacation, we find ourselves spending little to no time in our hotel room. However, on this trip, we made our way back to the room each afternoon to use our private pool or jacuzzi and just enjoy the view. It was one of our favorite parts of the trip!

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Excellence Club

Okay…this is where things get tricky. Some of the rooms come with an included Excellence Club membership. Whereas other rooms give you the option to add on the Excellence Club membership or not. Therefore, if you would like one of the Junior Suites, you can decide if you want to pay extra to get access to the Excellence Club. With our particular room and some of the other luxury suites, the room automatically comes with the Excellence Club membership. Make sense? With that being said…we LOVED being members of the Excellence Club. If we had the option with our room, I’m not sure if we would have gone for it initially when booking. However, after having the upgrades that came with being a member, there is seriously no other way to do this vacation! Also…how many times can I say “Excellence Club” in one paragraph (haha).

Some of the benefits of being a member include:

• Private check-in and check-out
• Late check-out and early-check in
• Concierge desk on every floor in your building
• Private lounge with premium buffet and bar service
• Bvlgari toiletries
• Upgraded mini bar and room service menu
• 2 private pools and 2 jacuzzis in the pool area
• Private beach area
• Complimentary beach bag for use during your stay
• Shoeshine service
• Daily fruit in room
• Fresh flowers in your room
• Upgraded in-room premium liquors and wine selection
• In-room Nespresso machine
• Room Service Express: a menu of foods that can be delivered immediately
• Aqua Wellness Spa Treatment

So…is the Excellence Club worth it? That depends. If you like being treated like you’re the Queen of England then I would 100% recommend it! In our opinion, the best thing about it is the private pool and beach areas. Picture this: you’ve packed your complimentary beach bag, you’re headed over to the private beach area, and the very instant your toes hit the sand you are greeted by a member of the concierge. Your conversation will go something like this…

Concierge: “Good morning Mr. and Mrs. ______. Where would you like to sit today?”

You: “Oh hi, good morning. Are there any cabanas available with the day beds?”

Concierge: “Yes, there are! May I walk you there and make the bed for you?”

You: “Wow…really? Sure, that would be great!”

Concierge: “It’s our pleasure.” (*Makes the bed equipped with towels and pillows*) While you’re getting set up, may I offer you sunscreen? Bug spray? Can I clean your sunglasses for you”?

…etc. etc. etc.

Now, the point I’m trying to make here is when you’re in the private beach or pool area, these God-like creatures (also known as the concierge) hook..you..up! They seriously go above and beyond to make sure you have everything and anything you could ever want or need while you are there. The concierge will also come around sporadically to check in with you, chat, offer you samples of cocktails, offer chocolate covered fruit, give you fresh towels, clean your glasses again…the list is endless. They are super nice, friendly, and willing to do anything to make your day better. Not to mention, there are waiters (who are awesome) that come by like every 15 minutes to bring you drinks or food. Basically, you have no reason to ever get up or leave (hence the weight gain haha).

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Pools and Beach

I have (almost) no words to describe how beautiful the pools are. There are 7 swimming pools, 4 hot-water jacuzzis, and 5 pool-integrated whirlpools. I also MUST mention that there is a lazy-river pool where you can lounge on a raft, sip your margarita and soak up the sun. It’s situated away from the hustle and bustle so it’s the perfect location to relax and unwind. There are rafts available to lay on in each pool, and many in-pool hammocks if that’s more your style. Surrounding the pools are cabanas, day-beds, and lounge chairs, most of which are covered and in the shade.

The beach has beautiful powdery white sand that stretches practically forever, and more lounge chairs and day-beds are available for use. Ryan and I spent most of our time at the beach, probably because of how warm the ocean was! It was fairly clear also, and we even spotted a few starfish! And when I say “we” I mainly mean Ryan because I have a weird fear of fish and sea creatures (haha).

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Food & Drinks

Something that was of high priority to us when booking our honeymoon was a resort that had great food! We are such foodies, so going to a place with mediocre food was just not an option for us. Man…were we NOT disappointed! There are 10 international sit-down restaurants on the resort ranging from Mexican to Indian, Italian, Seafood, Asian, and French that are open mainly just for dinner. We tried (almost) every restaurant and absolutely loved just about every one. If we had to choose just one, I think it would be a tie between the Hibachi table at the Asian restaurant (Spice) and the French place (Chez Isabelle). We loved being able to try various cuisines that we have never tried before. We even found ourselves ordering multiple appetizers or entrées just so we can try different things. Why not, right?

For breakfast, you have an option of sitting down at one restaurants or going to the buffet. We went to the buffet almost every morning because it may have been the largest breakfast buffet I have ever seen. You could find just about anything you could imagine eating for breakfast. Not to mention, everything was super fresh and insanely delicious. I could have eaten there for the rest of my life!

For lunch, you have the option of one buffet restaurant, 2 sit-down restaurants, or a few snack-like places. They even have takeaway brick-oven pizza right next to the beach and pool area. We found ourselves here almost every day!

As far as drinks go, the resort has 11…yes, you heard me…11 bars! You can get anything and everything under the sun here. Juice, soft drinks, beer, wine, premium liquor…you name it, they have it. My recommendation to you is 1921 cream tequila. Ask for it on the rocks. Even if you are not a tequila lover, you MUST try this. It quickly became our drink of choice throughout the trip.

The Service

I don’t think I have ever seen better service anywhere in my life than I saw from the staff at this resort. It was almost scary how someone would appear out of nowhere the second you needed them and then disappear the second you were taken care of. One morning at breakfast, I spilled a little coffee from my mug onto the saucer. Within 20 seconds, a waiter came over and replaced the saucer with a clean one without saying a word. The staff really goes above and beyond to give you VIP service no matter where you are or what you’re doing!

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What To Do

Every night when you receive your turndown service, you are left with an itinerary for the following day. It outlines the schedule for the entire day for you! What activities are planned, what the entertainment will be, and any other specials going on for that particular day. They have things like beach yoga, water volleyball, ping pong tournaments, archery, rifle shooting, bike tours, poker games, trivia, and lots more! If you wanted to be doing an activity all day, every day, you definitely could! As if it couldn’t get much better than that, most of the activities give out prizes for the winners. And I’m not talking about a cheesy hat or t-shirt…I’m talking like spa treatments, or bottles of Mexican tequila to take home. They don’t mess around here!

In terms of water activities, they offer snorkeling, paddle boarding, kayaking, windsurfing, scuba lessons, and sailing. We did just about every water sport and had such a good time! My personal favorite? The paddleboarding, of course! The water was so clear and we had the best view below us. I may have cried and had a panic attack while sailing…but we won’t talk about that one (haha).

Nighttime Entertainment

As with the daily activities, each night there is scheduled entertainment, and every night is something different! They had things like a Mexican Party, a White Party, Casino Night, Karaoke, DJ Dance Party, and more. In addition to this, every night they put on a different show in the theater. I think our favorite show was the tribute to Michael Jackson! However, every show we saw was fun, entertaining, and the perfect way to end our day.

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Packing Do’s and Don’ts

Like any normal woman, I spent an absurd amount of time thinking about what to pack. I spent days planning my outfits, accessories, and any miscellaneous items that I deemed necessary. Low and behold, there were plenty of things in my suitcase that I never even touched, and equally, there were as many items I didn’t bring that I wish I had.

Do’s:

• Do pack loads of sunscreen. We made the mistake of only bringing one large bottle. Yeah…that was gone by Day 3. The sun is way more intense in Mexico than we’re all used to, and you’ll need to keep applying sunscreen throughout the day to ensure you don’t leave looking like a lobster.
• Do pack after-sun lotion. Just in case you do burn or start to peel.
• Do pack bug spray. Oh baby, were there tons of mosquitos! The second the sun began to set each night, the mosquitos came charging! I swear after the first night, we woke up with welts all over our body the following morning. Do yourself a favor and just spray your whole body before you leave for dinner. You’ll be happy you did!
• Do pack sneakers and some workout clothes. Even if you don’t plan on working out while you’re on vacation or playing any sports, some of the activities (like the bike tour) require sneakers.
• Do pack lots of bathing suits and coverups. It’s all you’ll be wearing during the day!
• Do pack a few modest coverups. While you may love rocking that see-through sarong, some of the restaurants do have a dress code and will ask you to be covered up, even if you’re just grabbing a quick bite.
• Do pack nice “resort-wear”. Every restaurant at this resort has a dress code for all meals (that they strictly enforce)! That means collared shirts and dress pants/nice shorts for the men, and maxi dresses/long skirts for the ladies. No flip flops or t-shirts allowed people!

Don’ts:

• Don’t pack lots of “everyday outfits”. I’m talking like shorts and shirt combinations. I packed tons of these outfits and didn’t wear a single item!
• Don’t pack many hair tools. Another thing I packed and never touched…my curling wand. But I realized it’s way too humid to even consider doing anything with my hair. Ladies, beachy hair, natural waves, or topknots are the way to go on this trip! I can’t imagine anything else staying in place in that humidity.
• Don’t pack towels. There are beach towels everywhere around this resort for you to use while at the pool or beach.
• Don’t pack a lot of jewelry/shoes/accessories. Chances are you’ll wear the same wedges to dinner every night and the same pair of flip-flops to the pool each day. Same goes for all the jewelry you brought with you. Trust me, it’s better to live more minimalistic while on vacation!

Extras

• If you’re celebrating something, make sure you specify when you’re booking! There are a ton of packages available for people who are celebrating something special such as a wedding, honeymoon, or anniversary. Not to mention, some of the packages are free! Since we were there during our first anniversary, we were able to reserve the Honeymoon/Anniversary Package for no additional cost. This gave us even more freebies such as champagne on arrival, a champagne breakfast in bed, a couples spa treatment, a romantic dinner on the beach, and more. Bottom line is, if you’re celebrating something, say something!

Well, that’s it for now! If you’ve read this far, I salute you, my friend! Ryan and I had a once-in-a-lifetime experience on our Mexican honeymoon, and we would pack our bags to head back to Excellence Playa Mujeres in a heartbeat. If you are looking to book your own Mexican getaway, feel free to drop any questions below and I will do my best to share my wisdom with you. Have you been to this resort before? If so, what’s your favorite thing about it?

If video evidence is more your style, stay tuned for the launch of our GoPro video highlighting just about everything we did on our trip and a tour of the entire resort!

Adiós Amigos!

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