Honeymoon Review: Excellence El Carmen

Posted On May 26, 2019 By admin With Comments Off

advocate

Yes, we’re well into January and I’m exactly coming around to writing this recap of our astonishing honeymoon from October. I promise it’s a thoughtfulnes on how busy life has been and not a thinking of our junket. The hardest its consideration of the report was preferring which photos to share because there are so many!

The beach at Excellence El Carmen, an all inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic Beach at Excellence El Carmen

Note: This is not a sponsored post, though there are a few affiliate associates. If you click through and acquisition something, I will pay a small commission at no gap in cost to you.

Want the short form of this review? You can see it over on TripAdvisor.

Honeymooners!

When we first started looking for honeymoon ends, well overtook. We eliminated Mexico because we wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been before. We too wanted to go somewhere that wouldn’t take a really long time to travel to from our home in Kentucky, and we were firm with its own budget since we were also in the midst of spending a lot of fund on our wed. On the hunt for our humid, all-inclusive, preferably adults merely vacation spot, we turned to Carey of Beach Bum Vacations to help with recommendations. I’d first contacted out to Carey when we briefly explored destination nuptial alternatives, and she was immensely supportive, speedy to respond, and had a lot of first-hand knowledge from traveling to so many of these resorts. When it became clear we were going to do a local wed, I knew we’d turn to her for booking our honeymoon. After going over our budget and wish list, she recommended we go to Excellence El Carmen, outside of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. She booked the recourse and conveys for us, and we booked our flights exploiting some existing degrees with Southwest. It was great knowing she was there taking care of most of the arrangements, including resort seeks, sharing tips-off for international airports, etc.

Excellence El Carmen: The Resort

Travel Review, Excellence El Carmen in Punta Cana

Excellence El Carmen is about a 40 -minute drive from Punta Cana International Airport, assuming you do a private give without any stops to sag passengers off at other recourses. Excellence does have another property in the area, Excellence Punta Cana, but we picked this one because it was newer and had the chamber type available that we wanted.

Upon arrival, we were responded with champagne and a cool mitt towel. Check in was swift, and we waited in the very spacious and modern foyer to be taken to our apartments along with two other duos who had just arrived. We had a mixup with a missing backpack, but they instantly ameliorated that and we were on our acces. Along the journey to our chambers, we learned about the locations of the various prohibits, restaurants, and amenities on the dimension. It’s not a boutique-sized resort, but it also didn’t feel staggering at all. And even though we heard it was pretty close to full tenancy, it never felt like there were countless parties there. We demanded a recourse that wasn’t mobbed, was pretty quiet and didn’t have a crazy party vibe. While they DID have daily and nightly works if you wanted to be more social( silent hop, Dominican night, Michael Jackson show, White Party, games at the pond, etc) you could also take it easy if that was more your vogue. The entertainment squad was really fun and hiring the couple of durations we came across them, however restrained things really low key. If you’re looking for a springtime breaking type atmosphere, this is NOT it!

Excellence El Carmen Review Part of the purposes of the inn

Room: Suite with Private Pool and Deck

inn Room

The resort has a lot of room natures make their own choices, but we booked a suite with private kitty and deck , non Excellence Club( I’ll get into Excellence Club a little later ). Not knowing how crowded the shared ponds would be when we arrived, having this private pool announced magnificent. Turns out there are so many shared kitties that they’re not populace at all, except for the central consortium that had the daily activities( and even then, it wasn’t overcrowded in the least ). Laakiin, I love to swim and move and likewise didn’t want to feel self conscious in my swimsuits should the self-confidence monster creep in. When I learned they had a room type with a private fund, I was shot. It did not sadden!

When we got to our area in house 12( room 12006 ), we were greeted by a honeymoon flag, which was fun. There are lots of honeymooners and anniversary-goers at this used. Inside, the collection was very comfortable. The suite had a living room with sofa, squad chair, table, minibar, and big video; as well as the bedroom area with another large TV and the shower with 2 subsides, a shower, and a sunken sprayed tub. There was also a walk-in closet off the front room with a lot of storage and a safe, as well as a second closet in the bedroom. There was a bowl of fresh fruit and a chilled bottle of sparkling wine waiting for us, together with a bed covered in towel swans and flowers.

Building 12 is in the back of the resort, but it was an easy 5-10 minute walking( at a leisurely gait) to anywhere in the resort. I know some people want to be as close to events as possible, however increased the extra quiet and privacy in return for a slightly longer walk.

Excellence El Carmen Suite with Private Pool and Deck Suite with private pond and deck

Kitchen Table I* actually* experienced the private kitty!

The Restaurants and Service

a coco loco drink at Excellence El Carmen Coco Loco

There are 10 restaurants at this resort, and we didn’t get to try them all! There existed 24 -hour room service, which we applied a few cases days for lunch when we didn’t want to leave the pool. There are also a handful of forbids( perhaps 10 ?) so you’re never more than a few steps away from whatever you want. There is also service on the beach and at the reserves, including our chamber pool! Shout out to William who always supplied enormous busines when we were in the pond. He learned what we liked and impeded it coming, and likewise fetched me the occasional hibiscus bloom 😛 TAGEND

Travel Swimsuits For All bikini , no longer available in this color, but available in red and grey!

Overall, we were really pleased with the service. Was it ever consistent? No, but you’d expect that with such a large number of staff anywhere. We had one diner suffer that left a lot to be wanted: 30 time wait( we didn’t encounter this any other place on the recourse ), and then another 20 minutes to get an individual is make our booze prescribe irrigate after signalling person down, and another 30+ hours “ve been waiting” our appetizers. I think it was an off night for everyone in that restaurant as other tables also gaped a bit exasperated. But it was a minor inconvenience when you’re dining by the beach at a tropical location! The food wasn’t Michelin star quality, but they had a lot of variety, some of it was very good, and good-for-nothing we had was bad. Our favorite diners: Flavor Market( tapas and busines were astonishing ), Kitchen Table for their very large breakfast buffet with a lot of options, and Lobster House for lunch by the beach and too their Dominican breakfast. We also frequently stopped by Aroma for coffee, and had chamber busines where we never had to wait longer than 45 instants- this was a pleasant surprise after having actually long wait times at other useds for office busines. If you go to the Martini Bar and like chocolate, you must try the espresso martini!

The Beach

Beach at Excellence El Carmen in Punta Cana

The last humid vacation I took to Secrets Silversands was disappointing on the coast front. Excellence El Carmen blew me away with the coast! Wide swaths of beach, palapas, bountiful loungers, good work, and swimmable sea. The few negative critiques I’d read about this resort had to do with the amount of seaweed on the sea. Considering seaweed is a natural instance and a used can’t magically stop it from soaking up, I took this with a grain of salt. The organization toils invariably to clean up the seaweed as it collisions the beach, and I had zero matters swimming. Yes, there was seaweed in the irrigate at times, but it didn’t hider our experience one bit.

We never had an issue with know sea loungers , no matter what time of day we showed up to the beach. Loved not having to fight or earmark a chair.

One thing to note is that all coasts in Punta Cana are public, conveying the following is dealers that will walk around selling trifles, or offering scenes with a ape or parrot. They were harmless, and a simple” no thank you” was plenty to keep them moving. If you encounter any vigorous action, you can tell the resort staff who will help.

Excellence El Carmen Punta Cana Beach

A Note about the VIP Cabanas

Prior to our jaunt, I read in an online refresh there were VIP Cabanas available for rent. It was an additional $ 60 for the day, but it was a special area just for your use for the day, with a special concierge, cabana, loungers, and beach access. I was concerned before deviate about not being able to get a good beach spot( which I later learned wasn’t something I needed to worry about ), we are therefore booked 1 day of the cabana in advance via our cros operator, Carey. There are only 2 of these on the used, so they can book up fast.

White Party Cabana area- chilled sparkling wine waiting, storage area, 2 loungers in addition to the berthed, adjustable sunshade, and superb direct attitude of the coast

Excellence El Carmen VIP Cabana review View from the cabana to the water

We had a bit of a mix up as we received a call from the figurehead desk concierge that our cabana was waiting. We’d actually booked it for the following day, but something got messed up with the planning. No big deal since we didn’t have any other schedules but to hang out!

We stayed in the cabana the working day, and experienced every minute of it. It was nice to feel like even more of a VIP than we already felt( because gravely, this whole vacation was living large ). Steve got up and started stepping towards the grill by the beach to see what our lunch alternatives were, and the staff stopped him and told him to let them take care of it- they brought us lunch to the cabana! If you love the beach and want to have a grand time, we highly recommend booking this for at least one day.

advocate Steve double fisting with his Coco Loco and El Presidente in the cabana

Honeymoon at Excellence El Carmen Review

Is Excellence Club Worth It?

I mentioned earlier in the area description that we booked a non Excellence Club( EC) apartment. Excellence Club is a different class of rooms that you can book at a higher price that give you access to a private EC lounge, private diner( Magna ), refurbished in-room alcohol, a hydrotherapy session at the spa, and a different beach area. When we booked, all the rooms we wanted in EC were already sold out. I was concerned if we didn’t do all of these amends that we wouldn’t have the total experience. It’d been 3 years since I was on a trip, so I wanted to go large-hearted or go home!

Due to the mix up with the cabana booking, well liberally offered some make-goods. We were offered dinner at Magna restaurant, and complimentary hydrotherapy- 2 EC benefits. After knowing both, I’m going to tell you why I think that it’s altogether penalty and still an frightening knowledge to go at non-EC level as we did.

Magna: Our dinner was candidly underwhelming, and so was the service. Again, work incompatibilities are bound to happen at a large resort like this, and food is subjective. Laakiin, since Magna was so hyped up by beings in EC, I predicted much more. With at the least 9 other diners on the quality, I didn’t realize what the fuss was about. Same with the EC lounge- it’s in the area before you enter Magna, and it seemed quiet. While there was a dedicated barroom and some light burns, we never had to wait at any of the bars, and there were frequently different director acknowledgments taking place around the resort if you wanted to grab a bite and socialize.

Hydrotherapy: I’d read a lot about the hydrotherapy at the spa, and was convinced I didn’t want to do this. They make you through a set of activities with a few cases other duos likewise having the treatment. I may not be retaining the exact sequence, but it’s time in a sauna, be accompanied by a literal ice container you pour over your foreman, marching on cliffs, sitting in a large pool where you go through numerous terminals of hydro massage on your back and shoulders, and then a hot tub, followed by a brief massage. For as unappealing as it dins, this girl who really isn’t big-hearted into rub or anything really enjoyed the experience. It’s a lot of laughing and “what’s happening?!?!” but by the end, you’re both tightened and refreshed. Is this a nice EC perk? Yep! BUT this is also a service you can buy as a non EC member. So while it’s great, it alone isn’t the reason to upgrade to an EC room.

Upgraded bottles in area: We weren’t that concerned with having refurbished bottles as the majority of members of our drinking was done at the restaurants, beaches, or saloons, or to be used to us when we were exploiting our private fund. There is no shortage of booze at this resort to say the least, so having upgraded in-room bottles would have likely been consumed. This is saying something as I can really get down with the alcohol on vacation!

Separate beach area: The EC beach area is a little more spread out than the regular beach area. There are also different loungers than the regular beach area. Laakiin, we had no problems ever meeting a lounger, colour, or service in the regular beach area. We too never felt gathered or cramped- and I Enjoy my personal space so I don’t say that thinly. Spending the $60 for the day on the cabana gave us even more privacy, so again, vanishing non-EC wasn’t a obstacle to our experience.

All of this to say that if you can’t do EC for any reason, don’t make it prevent you from becoming! Even the lowest room class at a resort of this stature is soon to be brilliant. Whether the government has the extra cost is worth it is up to each person, but we didn’t feel we had any less of an experience without it.

Tips for traveling to Excellence El Carmen

Take a yeti or same cup. The prohibits will replenish these for you, and your alcohol will stay cold for much, much longer! Consider a float. The central pond does have some swims available, but it was easy for us to compress a collapsible float utilized in our private fund. When we left, we gave it to the people who had just arrived in the next chamber over. If you don’t bring one, you are able to likely find extras left open from people who didn’t take them dwelling. You can always ask the staff as well and they’ll try to find you one! Head to the X Lounge after dinner one light to take in the ocean wavings and sky position from above and have good drinks. Try the hydrotherapy at the spa. As mentioned, this was something I certainly wasn’t going to do, but am so glad I did! If you don’t want to do the hydrotherapy, I do recommend looking at spa therapies if that’s your thing. They have daily specials, and the feeling, personnel, and work were top notch.Consider gifts. Tips are by no means compelled, and we didn’t notice any difference in service whether the government has you tipped. Laakiin, we revalued the service and tip-off regularly. There’s housekeeping( 2x a daylight ), mini prohibit, wait personnel, spa faculty, buzzer sons, etc. The organization really manipulates very hard to keep everyone happy, and in the majestic arrangement of the excursion, contributing gratuity doesn’t add up to much but can probably make a big difference to those who are stirring your vacay daydreams come true.Consider a hasten negotiator. Carey was a great reserve to help us select a resort and talk us through all the room options and pricing so we could make an informed decision. It didn’t cost us any more, and was a lot little stress for me. And while on our jaunt when we had the cabana scheduling mix up, I shot her an email as an FYI and she immediately got the concierge to follow up with us, apologize, and offer us the make-goods. This was above and beyond what I’d expect from her, but it was much appreciated.It’s been said earlier, but consider the VIP Cabana for a day.If you adore coconut, try the coco loco! Simply remember that coconut is a laxative, so pace yourself!( I was glad someone prompted me of this in advance of going on a coco loco overeat !) If journey from the US, download and use the Mobile Passport app before re-entering the US. We skipped the part line one we landed in the US by using the dedicated Mobile Passport line. This is available for use at 25 airfields, so check the website to see if your port of entry uses it. Thanks, Carey for this tip!

Honeymoon review Excellence El Carmen

A greenback for travelers of size:

Seeing as I’m a plus sizing blogger and have written about travel impediments before, I didn’t want to omit this in case it might help others. Being both large and tall, one of the things I quickly discovered at this resort is that the chairs at this used in the bar areas and diners are extremely low to the ground and small-time. They look nice and modern, but aren’t practical if you are large or maybe if you have mobility questions due to your knees or something. It wasn’t a huge problem, but it was always a little uncomfortable. I never asked if there were more accessible accommodate options( without weapons, or higher off the dirt ), but if this is something that concerns you, you may want to ask. That being said, we would go back to this resort in a heartbeat, so for us, it wasn’t a lot breaker.

I hope this review was helpful. Do you have questions about this resort? Let me know in the comments- happy to share my opinion.

Honeymoon Review: Excellence El Carmen initially appeared on Authentically Emmie on January 25, 2019. If you are reading this on a different area or a different feed than Authentically Emmie, it has been taken without permission.

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