[This message has been edited by madams (edited 8/3/2004 3:20a).]

going there next week for a honeymoon, we are staying at the Excellence Resort. has anyone been?

do you have any suggestions on things to do off of the resort?

nobody?

My girlfriend and I are going in September.

We are staying at the Paradisus. No offense, but the Excellence resort looks a little low budget (but that's my opinion).

Excellence:




Paradisus Real:




[This message has been edited by Diet Cokehead (edited 6/18/2008 11:18p).]

We went to Punta Cana once and there really was not anything close for us off the resort. We went off once for a tour of where they decorate rum bottles, do some art, and some cigar 'factory' and some shopping. It was pretty lame.

If you compare to like Playa Car Mexico there is no comparison. In Play Car you have lots of good shopping, Tulum ruins, swimming with dolphins and if you are willing to make a day of it the Citza Itza (spelling?) Myan ruins, .....

Have you looked at tripadvisor.com? Excellence was rated #1 and got a ton of great reviews. I'm interested in hearing about both the Excellence and Paradisus. I know Excellence is adults only and Paradisus isn't. Post as soon as you get back!

Thanks for the input guys. Adults only at Excellence is one of the reasons that we chose to go there. Also, we didn't want to go somewhere too "Americanized."

I have read some reviews online that were favorable and I haven't heard anything bad about it yet. I will post pics and info when we get back.

Yeah, I will not be happy if there are a bunch of kids running around the Paradisus. I will post some pics as well once we get back.

Surely there aren't a ton of families that go somewhere that nice in the DR. We'll see.

Change of plans for us.

My sister found us a deal for a Jacuzzi suite at the Riu Palace for almost $1,000 cheaper.

The Riu was built in 2006 and the Paradisus in 1995 so we are going to go with the Riu instead.

You will like the RIU property - been to several although none in DR. Like all AI's food gets old after a while

Reading the website for the Paradisus, you would think it is brand new. Typical internet... grain of salt.

By the way, I just got an email from travelocity about a special from Riu resorts. Just looked at the Riu palace Punta Cana earlier today! Unfortunately, the dates I'm traveling doesn't qualify me for the really low rates.

[This message has been edited by WorthAg95 (edited 6/20/2008 4:41p).]

I really can't believe the deal we are getting at the Riu.

We stayed at Sivory Punta Cana for our honeymoon. There are alot of bad reviews on trip advisor, but we absolutely loved it

We got back from the Excellence resort in Punta Cana late yesterday.

I'll post info and some pics later when I get the pics downloaded.

Can't wait to see the pics.

My wife and I stayed at the Paradisus on our honeymoon. It was really nice as far as all inclusives go. We upgraded to the royal service which included a butler, private pool and private beach. It was worth the extra dollars per day.

Alright guys, I finally have time to put some info on here. We stayed at Excellence and had a great time. We spent most of our time (that we were outside of the room) by the pool or at the swim up bar. The service was great everywhere in the resort. The food was good, but nothing special.

The night entertainment that the resort provided was just OK, for the most part the shows were boring except for 1 or 2 shows. There were multiple bars open late though, including the casino.

One of the things that we were disappointed about was how the location of the resort on the island affected the weather. Since Punta Cana is at the eastern most point of the island on the Atlantic Ocean, the water was always rough and the lifeguards constantly had the “dangerous” flags out so you couldn’t get in the water. That’s why we spent most of our time at the pool.

ElectricAg was right about the activities off of the resort. Everything is a good distance away and there aren’t that many things to do. It didn’t really matter for us since we stayed at the resort most of the time anyway, but the one time that we left it was pretty much an all day thing.

Overall I would recommend the Excellence resort to others, but with the main downfalls being the location within the Dominican Republic and that there isn’t much to do off of the resort.

Pics to follow.............

These pics don’t really do this place justice.

one of the pools..........


more of the pools..........


the swim up bar..........


the coast on the resort..........


the beach at the resort..........


the room..........


more of the room..........


our patio outside of the room..........

After looking at the pictures of the Excellence, if the price difference isn't too large, the decision looks pretty easy to me. Paradisus in a land slide.

Food is a different issue. While pretty good at Paradisus, it was nothing to write home about. If the Excellence has great food, you might give it a chance.

So post your Paradisus pics... would like to see them.

Paradisus is at least 40% more.

Check out the Riu Palace. That is where we are now staying instead of the Paradisus.

[This message has been edited by texagdrw06 (edited 2/5/2010 11:54a).]

The Excellence chain is unbelievably good. I've never stayed at the Excellence resort in Punta Cana (only the ones in Mexico), so it could be different there, but I was blown away by the food and service at the Excellence chain along with the amazing upkeep to the facilities.

I've never stayed at Paradisus, but I will tell you that I've stayed in numerous Riu Palace resorts over the years and the Excellence chain is far superior in every aspect.