Excellence Riviera Cancun

Excellence Riviera Cancun in Puerto Morelos (a town in the northern part of Riviera Maya) truly feels like an adults-only resort, where they treat you like a grown-up. Little things like being able to take and return your own towels to an unmanned station makes it feel like the resort trusts you. 

The whites and blues of the resort’s decor, the billowing sheer white curtains of the spa—they give you a romantic kind of feeling, as if you’re somewhere like Santorini . . . except with Mexican food! The saxophonist softly playing near your table at breakfast really helps set this mood. Plus, the lazy river is not to be missed.

• The resort has an overall upscale vibe, with marble everything and a true “luxury included” feel. There’s not a lot of upselling going on, and you’ll notice little extras here, like the fact that the hot tubs are actually hot. (Not necessarily true at other resorts.)

• The water at the beach can be wavy and is a dazzling clear green and dark blue with white sand. There are no restrooms close to the beach, though, so plan ahead!

• It’s a fairly small resort in that nothing feels far from anything, but there’s also a large town square area in the center that gives it a wide-open airiness. The piers at one end of the resort give you plenty of room to walk.

• No kids allowed! This is an adults-only resort but with a very youthful feel. There are activities for the fun-loving guest all afternoon, and the pool bar playlist changes throughout the day to speed up or slow down the mood. 

• A lazy river makes a massive circle at one one of the resort, and we spent all of our time in it. Rafts are provided, but we highly recommend bringing your own to show off! What’s vacation without your very own unicorn float?

•  There are amazing dinners and parties in the plaza at the center of the resort every night. One night, the entire resort had an authentic Mexican dinner while a mariachi band played for us, and the next night, there was a silent disco where we all danced to different music from headphones while the resort stayed completely quiet. There are always live singers and bands from about 6pm on.

• There’s an open-air pizza oven by the pool, so you don’t have to leave your sunbed for lunch. Plus, the staff sometimes randomly bring around personal pizzas to the pool palapas without you even asking!

• The coffee shop is located at the top of the lobby, and coffee isn’t served pool- or beach-side, so it can be a trek. However, the coffee shop offerings are a notch above the rest, with a selection of professional cakes and even an assortment of French macarons.

• The beachside restaurant is more than just simple takeaway. Not only does it have a selection of quality casual food (burgers, salads, frozen fruit bars), but there’s plenty of shaded seating to watch the soft waves from. It’s a great option for when you don’t want to completely dry off for lunch but also want to sit at a table.

• There are plenty of palapas on the beach for shade, but they can be harder to come by near the pool. (This gives the resort a more open, less crowded feel.) However, the pool has soft beds to lounge on that are free for the taking, complete with pillows. Other resorts charge to reserve these!

• Little huts are available by the pool and at the beach for you to take towels from and return them to, no towel card nor room number needed. Getting fresh towels at your leisure is a delight!

• The rooms at the resort are all upscale suites. Every one has at least a view of one of the pools, so your balcony is always overlooking something interesting. There are also swim-up rooms on the first level and rooms with their own dip pool on the rooftop. 

• There are full-sized bottles of liquor in the rooms (Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, etc.), and the minibar has beer, wine, water, soda, and even some snacks. (We ate Oreos every day we were here.) Plus, the toiletries are full-size, and there’s incense in the room to burn by your whirlpool tub.

• A little door near the entrance to each suite hides your dirty room service dishes for the staff to retrieve later. It’s a nice little touch, not seeing used dishes in the hallways.

• The resort is only 20 minutes from the Cancun airport but has the feeling of being miles away from civilization when you need it.