Excellence Coral Playa Mujeres

Restaurants8

Food was good overall, with one real miss. Breakfast at The Kitchen Table was excellent every single morning, and room service came faster than quoted and arrived hot, both times we ordered.

We didn't get to Oregano, the Lobster House, The Grill or the hibachi table this trip.

Bars9

Plenty of places to grab a drink. The Martini Bar, at the bottom of the grand black staircase, is the heart of the lobby and the natural meeting spot before dinner. The X Lounge up on the roof was one of the quietest, most relaxing spots on the whole resort; we had lunch and drinks up there.

The Revive Bar at the back of the resort makes the famous coconut drinks (expect a little nap after one). The sports bar had one of the best atmospheres we've found at any resort: a pool table, a whole wall of screen for the games and a lot of good conversation. There's also the Stars Bar by the theater, swim-up bars at the main pool and at both Excellence Club pools, and the Excellence Club lounge, a good place to wait before Magna.

Pools8.5

What we loved is that the main pool is all connected. It wraps around under the X Lounge with the swim-up bar, and the quiet side and the activity side are one big pool, so you can float from one to the other. There was some very competitive water volleyball most afternoons.

There are two Excellence Club pools, and nobody checked room numbers during our stay. Swim-up rooms have their own private pool that opens into a larger pool shared by the building, there's a horseshoe-shaped pool at the back for those swim-up guests, and the X Lounge on the roof has an infinity pool looking out over the ocean, with daybeds and little cabanas you can rent.

Beach9

One of the nicer beaches we've been to. The resort sits right across from Isla Mujeres, and the island helps filter out a lot of the seaweed. That's not to say there's none, and summer will likely bring more, but in October it was a long, clean, groomed stretch of sand with plenty of chairs and palapas to go around.

There's pool service on the beach, beach volleyball and cornhole, paddleboards and kayaks, a roped-off swimming area and a lifeguard tower. The Excellence Club section never asked for a room number; they just had us swap to the club's towels. One warning: we tried the beach one night and the bugs tried to carry us off. Bring bug spray.

Things to do and entertainment7

Shows felt scaled back compared with years past: no over-the-top fire show during our stay. The energy show was pretty cool. The theater sits right off the Martini Bar and is set up like Excellence Riviera Cancún's, a little bowl of seating, though with a lower ceiling, so no aerial acts.

There are tennis, basketball and pickleball courts plus archery, and the gym is amazing. With Excellence Club you get 30 minutes of hydrotherapy at the spa. It ran closer to an hour for us, with the sauna or steam room and about a ten-minute face and scalp massage. We didn't see the hat painting or bracelet making you find at other Excellence resorts.

Where we ate

• Las Olas

  Beachfront lunch

  Burgers, quesadillas and nachos. Good stuff all the way around, nothing negative to say.

• Milos

  Greek and Lebanese

  Really good. The lemon chicken was a highlight; the lamb chops were a little gamey for one of us. They seated our party of six on the balcony without making us buy a bottle, but the mosquitoes got us out there.

• Agave

  Mexican

  A beautiful room with a stunning sugar-skull bar. It's a set experience: you choose your drinks and they bring the food. Yummy.

• Spice

  Asian

  The best service of the trip. Kelly's breaded chicken and rice was great, and the udon noodles and tuna roll were good, but Dustin's beef ribs were the worst meal he's had at any resort. Japanese cheesecake and fried banana with green tea ice cream for dessert.

• The Kitchen Table

  Breakfast buffet

  Excellent every single morning, with individual seating areas rather than one big cafeteria room. The omelet station was a favorite.

• Magna

  Excellence Club steakhouse

  Excellence Club only. The filet was really good, and the tomahawk was too.

• Room service

  In-room

  Came faster than quoted and arrived hot, twice. Top notch.

Our tips

1. Book building 1. It sits over about 90% of the restaurants, and the elevator drops you straight into the Martini Bar without stepping outside.
2. Bring bug spray for dinner on the balcony and the beach at night.
3. If your group is large, ask to be seated anyway. We weren't made to buy a bottle for a table of six.

Questions we get asked