We just returned from a 6 day trip to this resort. I admire and thank those who have given a very in depth review. I had high expectations going into this and by far this trip exceeded the expectations. It was like a dream. I wish I could remember staff member names specifically but really every single person that is employed here is not only friendly but always smiling. I have to say not only is it so beautiful but I think the choice of pale yellow throughout is very calming. We were there from Sat, 9/13 through Thursday, 9/18. If we had not had a flight prebooked through an agent, I would have tried to find a way to stay even just 1 more day. It was our 19th year wedding anniversary and felt we were treated like honeymooners on this trip. I booked this trip and upgraded to the Excellence Club level (have not read much about that here) to a Jr. Ocean Front suite. We were put in building 8, room 8351. I would not traded that for any other room in the resort. The view was spectacular as you can see from the pictures and it was close to the beach, walkway to the courtyard and restaurants. Taking the elevator was such a minor inconvenience. When we go back, I am actually going to try to request this same room. We only tried the French restaurant (nice but not our favorite), Italian restaurant and spent a lot of time at the Lobster House and The Grill. We even received a special anniversary romantic dinner card which we used on our last night. They decorated the table with rose petals in the shape of a heart and to end it perfectly brought us freshly chocolate dipped strawberries (and I mean literally just dipped) - YUM. The menus for all the restaurants were very extensive with speciality foods. Please remember as we did not to bring enough slacks and collared shirts for dinner every night. I had my wardrobe set but should have checked my husbands suitcase as well.

The Spa - WOW. We ended up doing the La Brisa Couples Ritual and it was part of the highlight for my husband. You spend 1 hour in hydrotherapy (fun) just prior to your spa appointment. It was worth every penny. We intended to do the couples massage on the beach but did this instead. No regrets although I had a slight headache afterwards, maybe from the detoxify?

I could go on and on about this place. Just looking at our pictures makes me smile. Speaking of pictures one last thing that we will *never* forget and are so grateful for. We arrived to our room and turned on our digital camera only to find the battery red almost dead. My husband brought the wrong charger. I got about 12 pictures and it died. I thought the trip would be ruined now. We did buy a disposable in the meantime. We first went to the concierge at the Excellence Club on Sunday morning and asked how far Walmart was. 45 min cab ride :( I then asked if I could arrange for a courier to pick up paid merchandise for us - she said she'd ask her boss. In the meantime we went to the main lobby to ask about a spare charger and at the front desk one of the staff members 1st offered to see if the camera would charge from their computer. Nope. He then offered to go to the local electronics store as he lives in Cancun (45 min away) after work and buy us a charger. The next morning we had our charger thanks to this very nice employee. I simply can not THANK HIM enough. I wish I had his name to write a letter again.

We can not wait to go back, when we do - we won't even bother with another resort. This is "home" as they say.

Only downside I suppose is the night life is very quiet, almost nil. I do suppose you need to make your own effort to find a group to socialize with. The entertainment was lovely but not long enough.

Our 1st night there and our last was probably the most memorable. Really no need to research any more resorts, this is seriously the one. Oh and the weather, all the way up to the trip we worried of storms, rain. Quite the opposite, it was perfect every day we were there. 90's but perfect. One day it spit while the sun was out for like 2 minutes. No biggie.

Pro: room 8351, ocean front Excellence Club - the best choice
Con: we loved EVERYTHING

My husband and I recently got back from our honeymoon at ERC, and it was absolutely amazing! I must say, booking online to an unknown resort is a little scary, especially when it's your honeymoon, which you obviously want to be the most amazing trip ever. But, from the time we walked into ERC we were treated like royalty. Checking-in was not complicated at all, and we were given champagne upon arrival. We were told how to get to our room, and then our luggage was brought to us very quickly. They decorated our door and room with the appropriate "honeymoon" materials, which was a great surprise, and even had a bowl of fruit and bottled champagne waiting for us in our room!

The Room
I was pleasantly surprised by the room. I thought it wouldn't be much to look at, but it truly was gorgeous and captured the essence of being in Mexico. The shower, which is separated from the oversized jacuzzi tub (my favorite part of the room), was huge, and perfect for showering with your sweetie. There was a double-vanity, which is surprising for a hotel/resort, but was very nice nonetheless. There was a regular TV (not flat screen) which had mostly American channels (and adult XXX channels). My only complaint was the bed. It was so incredibly hard, I woke up every morning with neck and back pain, which after paying as much as you pay to stay there, is a little disappointing. We may find ourselves staying at ERC again just because it was our honeymoon hotel, but I'm not sure I could muster a week again on that hard bed!

The Resort
We loved the beach. It was probably our favorite part of the whole trip. The chairs and outdoor beds were very comfortable, and drinks were brought to you regularly. We never had trouble finding lounge chairs at the beach or pool area, but I think we probably stayed during the down-season. We did, however, have trouble finding clean towels by midday. There weren't enough to go around, so it seemed. The restaurants were amazing; more than we could have ever asked for. We tried a different place each night, but I think Spice was my favorite. Barcelona was great for breakfast and lunch, as was the pizzaria.

Miscellaneous
We would definitely recommend bringing bug spray, as mosquitos are everywhere at night, and since several restaurants are located outside, you will most likely get eaten-up. Pay attention to the dress code, as they abide by their rules strictly. Bring some kind of ant-killing spray - we had a lot of tiny ants in our room. Order room service! It's free and it's nice to stay inside the room to eat every once in a while. I didn't even go to the spa because I thought it was awfully pricy. We did, however, take a taxi into Playa Del Carmen one day to shop on 5th Avenue, and we each got a 1-hour massage for $30 USD at a place called Veronica's....so worth the money! We recommend bringing about $100 in one dollar bills for tips. We brought $125 and came home with about $25. Even though tips are technically included, we recommend tipping each person serving you at least $1 or $2. Also, bring some DVDs if you're a movie person. They say they have movie channels, but they're mostly older movies, and some are in Spanish. There is a DVD player, so if you plan on spending some time indoors, definitely bring some movies.

My husband and I stayed at the Excellence September 2nd-9th for our honeymoon. I will divide this review into categories:

Check In:
We arrived at the resort around 3pm and were greeted with a cool towel and a glass of champagne. We were then taken, along with another couple to the Excellence Club for check in. Along the way the bellmen pointed out important things and let us stop at the bar for a drink. Once we arrived at the club we were checked in under 20 minutes. We were able to schedule our dinner on the beach, breakfast in bed and couples massage. It was quick and simple.

Rooms:
After check in we were brought to our room. We were in number 7353, top floor excellence club. The room was cool and clean. Robes and slippers were provided along with an umbrella (used one morning) and a beach bag in the closet. The bed was a little stiff but it felt good on my back, and I slept great. Toiletries are good and are replaced daily. Double sink vanity, large mirror, separate toilet, large marble walk in shower, large Jacuzzi in room and on balcony, king size bed, plasma TV, lots of channels (2 adult), sitting area with 2 chairs and couch, separate desk, closet with hangers and iron, room service box, balcony with bench, chair and small table.

Restaurants/Bars:
I believe that we ate at all the restaurants except Toscana. The first day we ate at the Grill, the potato leak soup was GREAT! Barcelona for breakfast was great, there was a lot to choose from but after a while it gets boring. The food ranges from bad to great, Agave was horrible. The food was not very good and the service was slow and lacking, we left 5 min after we got or main dish. As far as the bars, we hung out near Sol mostly during the day. They were good at making drinks and the server came around often. My next favorite is the Martini Bar; make sure to try the Beber de Agua and the Strawberry Martini. It’s a good bar to go to after dinner to socialize with other guests. Kafe Cafe is also a good place to hang out before dinner. There is an oversized chess table near there that is fun to play. Blue, the swim up bar was convenient but I felt like the drinks didn’t taste as good.

Pools:
We really only hung out in one area of the pool, right in front of building 7 by the hammocks. The pools temp feels good after lying in the sun, and they flow all throughout the resort. It was not hard to find chairs or floats, but the resort was under 50% most of our stay.

Beach:
The sand is wonderful! The beach chairs are nice and so are the huts covering them. There is also lots of beach beds right up front by the ocean, but they go faster. The water isn’t very clear, so I didn’t really want to go into the ocean, plus I’m not a beach person. I spent most my time at the pool.

Grounds:
They are beautiful, as others have posted. It’s all a little overwhelming at first, but you get used to the layout quickly.

Activities:
There are lots of things to do at the resort, something every hour. Beach volleyball, Soccer, Water volleyball, Texas hold'em, cooking class, dance lessons, kitchen tour. I would suggest the kitchen tour and the dance lessons. We learned to Salsa and it was really fun.

Shows:
The shows that we did go to were good (Magic, Circus). I enjoyed them and was even called on stage for the magic show...and I still have no idea how he did what he did.

Service:
It was great. They greet you at every restaurant by your last name. Everyone is pleasant and friendly. We tipped 1 dollar for drinks 3 dollars at breakfast and lunch and 5 dollars at lunch, 5 dollars to the maid every other day. Just keep in mind, Ask and you shall receive.

Dress Code:
I more lax for women then men, but my husband wore long dress slacks and a long sleeve shirt out. He suffered through the heat. I think that they were more relaxed with the dress code because the resort was not as full. I wore a dress every night, except for one night that I wore dress shorts and a tank top.

X-Lounge:
This is a must, I fell asleep twice while sitting here and listening to the ocean, it is romantic and relaxing

Excellence Club:
There is a coffee/espresso machine in here, along with treats and finger food. There is chess and free internet, along with a huge wall of booze. You can make whatever you want but I don’t know if they have mixers (soda, juice) but you have to ask the people at the desk for ice. It was really nice to go in and have a drink before dinner, or before bed.

Spa:
We had a couple’s massage, which was heaven. We got there an hour early so we could do the marine wellness circuit. That was really fun. You start out in a steam room with eucalyptus vapors, and then you head to the jets that spray various types of water streams at you. Then you walk on rocks for reflexology. Next is a dip in a freezing pool of water. Dry sauna then an eight jest shower and a bucket shower. You then do some more jets and a Jacuzzi. With the excellence you get a scalp massage, which was wonderful. Then you are whisked upstairs and given the massage, which feels so good. If you can, visit the spa for sure.

Dinner on the beach:
It’s kind of romantic, but there are at least 3 other couples near you. Dinner was good, comparable to Chez Isabel, and the harp music was romantic. He played Cannon in D and I cried because it reminded me of the walk down the aisle. If you get it for free, do it otherwise I would say it’s not worth the money.

Cigar Bar:
We went one afternoon and smoked a Cuban and sipped on amaretto, it was fun...if you’re into smoking cigars. They were fairly priced.

Ceramics Painting:
There is a little booth over by the activity board were you can but ceramics and then paint them, my husband and I did this and it was quite fun. It was relaxing and they turned out very nice (after a little touching up from the sales guy).

Outside Excursions:

We went into Cancun to Aqua World booked via the representative near the activities board. We did the Jungle tour, which consisted of taking a ski jet through some bushes in the ocean and then scuba diving near Cancun. It was fun riding fast, but going slow through the “jungle” was hot and sucked. The scuba diving was only OK, compared to Hawaii, but the water was blue and beautiful. I think that I would have rather booked the jet skis.

In case I missed anything here is a short recap. We arrived without a hitch, but at check in there was no banner on our door and the fruit and champagne were missing from our room. They were brought by dinner time however so everything was fine there. We would wake up, hang out by the pool and do some of the activities all day until about 6pm. We would then shower and get dressed up for dinner. Dinner was at 7pm and we were usually in bed by 11pm. We met a wonderful couple and spent some fun times with them (shout out to Amy and Kevin)! We had a great honeymoon and will defiantly return sometime in our lives, but we would like to visit some of the other Excellence locations first.

I hope this review was helpful, enjoy the pictures.

Let me begin this by saying that my husband and I have traveled fairly extensively in the carribbean and have stayed at all inclusive resorts in Mexico along with other places. We just returned yesterday from ERC and I just do not know where to begin! I thought I'd be prepared upon arrival since I have been on TA for almost 6 months now, but, no way! It was beyond my expectations. None of the pictures do this place justice. It is absolutely beautiful.

What impressed us other than all of things that have been said before is the attention to detail that you just do not find everywhere. I watched a guy from my balcony one morning stop adjusting cushions on the chaises because he saw a weed in a flower bed and it needed to be pulled. I know that sounds silly, but, that sort of thing was apparent everywhere we went at the resort.

The rooms really are lovely. We stayed in a spa room in building 2 which was by request after reading the reviews and forums here. Thanks to Ana, Laura, and Domitrio. Perfect location!

The amenities were very nice. In another review it was mentioned that the shampoo was a conditioner combo, not so. Separate large bottles of each. Shower gel, lotion, shaving kit, shower cap, sewing kit,comb, toothbrush, and Colgate toothpaste.

The food was delicious everywhere and if it wasn't on the menu, all you had to do was ask and they would try to accomodate. Our favorite was Chez Isabelle although we enjoyed them all. I will say this however, if dining at one of the outside locations, be sure to use lots of bug spray. We found the stuff sold in the upstairs gift shop (red and yellow can and starts with an A) worked just great! Better than anything we brought from home.

I asked on the forum about this and found the answer when I got there about artificial sweetener for coffee/tea, etc. They do have nutrisweet (blue packets) in the restaurants and splenda(yellow packets) inside of the coffee packets in your room. Just thought I'd add this if it's at all helpful.

Anyway, for anyone trying to decide where to go for a very special time whether it be a honeymoon, anniversary or just for the heck of it (like us) this is the place. We met some terrific people and if Milly, Rod, Charlie, and Joan are reading, what a "p" as a newt time we had??? Anyway a great time was had by all and cannot wait to return.