Excellence El Carmen

This was our 3rd time at a Excellence resort with the the other 2 times going to Playa Mujeres. It was the 5th time our friends went to an Excellence resort both in Mexico & Punta Cana but the first for El Carmen. Overall we all stated the property was the nicest out of the other resorts. The rooms, staff and house keeping were great. However, the food was subpar. Bring plenty of Imodium. My wife & buddy both had diarrhea for 5 days. His wife got diarrhea on our last day & I had it for 1 day. The four of us did not have a good meal at Chez Isabelle & the Grill. The steaks were supermarket grade at both locations. While at the Chez 3 of us ordered filet mignon med rear. One ordered Medium. We all stated that you had to saw through the meat. Meat was very chewy. A few days later, while at the Grill we ordered filets & rib eyes medium done. They were no better sawing through the meat with half the rib eye being fat. We also had Lobster tails & snapper fish at the Lobster house and they were over cooked. The rest of the restaurants were just average. Some of the best food we had was at the Sports bar & the food trucks. The food was much better at the other Excellence locations.

First the positives: Lovely hotel, staff were amazing and so friendly, food excellent and plentiful with lots of choice. The hotel is immaculate, numerous staff sweeping and tidying and generally doing their best to make your stay the best. Our room block 12 was a little tired but appeared to have been painted (terribly) and very slap-dash with half the paint being on the floor and on the bin - obviously didn't think to move the bin out the way! The negatives: Numerous guests being very inconsiderate around the pool area with their speakers and loud music. Some felt it was ok to sit around the pool area putting their music on for everyone to hear without any consideration for others. I spent most of the duration with my headphones in to block out the noise. We weren't the only ones who also felt this, but nothing was done by management. It felt like spring break yet the guests were not in their 20's. My husband and I wanted a holiday to recharge our batteries and unwind and felt there was no 'quiet' areas to relax. When i brought this matter up with concierge, i was told that speakers were not permitted, however there was no enforcement. Other negative was the red flag everyday and unable to swim in the sea. There was no mention of this anywhere, if i had read about this, I would have booked to stay on the other side of the island. Staff said that the sea is rough most months, not just February.

I mean this as a compliment in that most people will find this property lovely. The sub par food, the beyond sub par but bottomless booze, the inescapable and deafening music from 3pm till 11pm: this is what a lot of people seek in a vacation. The staff are uniformly friendly, other than the highly petulant concierges. But if like me you’re looking for a tranquil, serene, mature escape, this ain’t it. I fled after less than 24 hours after arriving.