Excellence Playa Mujeres

This is a five-star resort, and this was our fifth trip to the resort in just over two years. We returned for my fianc?????s birthday this year, and the trip happened only after Delta airline cancelled flights on March 30 due to covid. We rebooked a different airline, then resort was forced to close doors under pandemic rules in Mexico that same day! The trip moved forward into June, but closure continued so we reset it to July, and then we needed to cancel due to a medical emergency. We rebooked again for August, and could not be happier with the trip. The resort is well managed by GM Roberto Diaz, who was so amazingly warm and friendly that we so look forward to seeing him again on our next trip. Pablo Bueno is the Assistant GM, and has the experience and personality that will thrive at this resort. We feel that EPM is in strong hands with these men and their managers. To summarize it in just a few words is almost impossible but I will try. I truly believe we had the best vacation either of us ever had any resort in our lives. We are scheduled to return this Saturday for 2 weeks, again in April 2021 and our Wedding there in October 2021 Well, in a nutshell it greatly exceeded our expectations in every single way as it always does. We booked the resort???s Excellence Club which is what we always book. That said, the staff at the resort will treat you exactly the same no matter if you???re in the Excellence Club or not. To try to share the experience, I am breaking it down into sections! ARRIVAL When we arrived, Covid19 precautions were already evident as we walked over two sets of disinfecting carpeting, then we received hot towels from a masked Antonio, and given a champagne toast! Antonio escorted us to the seating area where we waited to be taken to EC Lounge to check in. Everyone is lobby was appropriately masked! A few minutes later, the amazing Carolina Paz, EPM Guest Service Manager, came up to us SUPER excited that we were back at the resort. Hugs all around. Always smiling and genuinely happy to see us again! She is awesome! A few minutes later, we were escorted to the Excellence Club Lounge, where our luggage was brought before hand. Alejandro took care of our luggage both on arrival and departure. I never concerned myself with anything with him involved. EXCELLENCE CLUB EXPERIENCE CHECK IN EXPERIENCE In the Excellence Club???s lounge we met our amigo Andres Canul Ezcobedo, otherwise known as Pedro. Also assisting us was another special friend, Jaqueline, who we love to pieces. Pedro told us our room was almost ready, but it would be about an hour so. He told us they were taking tremendous care of us and he was so happy to see us again from last year. He suggested we rest up and grab lunch, which we did. We walked over to Lobster House. 1ST and subsequent LUNCHES AT LOBSTER HOUSE On arrival day Candelario hosted us, with Enrique, our waiter, and Fabian as server. They were friendly and engaging, welcoming us as if we were old friends. They do well at the resort for sure. We enjoyed their company quite a few times during the week. We were also served by Fredi Ciao and Omar during the week, & bartender Jose Zule. All of these gentlemen were exemplary at their jobs, as are every one of the support staff at the restaurant. After lunch we headed back to EC Lounge for our room assignments. Pedro checked us in, and assigned us to what we consider to be the best room in the hotel, in building eight, views North and East. Absolutely extraordinary view of the entire northern expanse of Quintana Roo. Our easterly view was towards Isle Mujeres. Our building concierge was Andres and he made sure to reach out to us daily to see if we were okay. Frankly, the room phone rings many times during they day as they follow up and check up on guests. This was just the beginning! The following will be a summary of each of the areas as time and space here don???t permit extreme detail! BEACH CONCIERGE Martha, Anselma and Emiliano were our every vigilant Drink servers and attendants on the EC beach! Our EC concierge was Cesar Vargas, who has a fantastic sense of humor together with great concierge skills! Also, we want to mention Erick at EC pool, and Emilio who were wonderfully attentive and extremely friendly, and of course Frankie who puts out 110% effort all day every day - Frankie's in the house! Excellence Club???s CIELO BAR One of the things we love about being in Excellence Club is the fact that we have our own bar beach bar which was never crowded. I had first walked out of the building area and walked past the Cielo bar to walk to the beach to check out the lounge chair availability. I heard from behind ???Senior Antonio, you returned!??? I turned around and grinning from behind the bar was my man Erick! I knew I was home! We had a nice conversation. He???s an amazing guy and a lot of fun to hang with! Cielo bar staff included David Barahona and Hugo Cezar Garcias who treated us like family during our stay. We love these people! EC LOUNGE Let???s talk about the Excellence Club lounge! As Excellence Club guests this is probably one of our favorite parts of our trip. Once again, the Covid19 precautions were first-rate. The staff were behind desk plexiglass partitions, they had a station with hand sanitizer and masks for guests. Everyone wore a mask. The bartenders and staff are among the best in the industry. We met and spent a lot of time with Hugo Cezar Garcias, Roman May, Angel Culebro, Jose May (Mahohus) and Jose Avelardo! Maria consistently amazed us with her off the chart creations. Everyone was amazing! These are gifted bartenders for sure. In fact on a previous trip Jose May did something special for us. My wife was having a bit of a tummy issue on our second day. I went down to get some ginger ale sent up to the room, and he asked me where she was! When I said what was happening, he prepared a special drink just for her that would be guaranteed to fix her upset tummy! AND it did! For the rest of the trip he would come out from behind the bar to greet us and give hugs. Amazing!! MAGNA- Magna is the Excellence Club???s restaurant for guests who opt-in for the upgrade. To say it???s amazing is an understatement. Mildred is the Manager and among the best the resort has on staff. She???s doing a great job. We ate breakfast there almost every day and Dinner at least 3 nights. There is NOTHING on this menu that I will not eat. Breakfast Chef Jesse was able to come out and visit with us one morning. Such a treat to meet the Chefs at each restaurant! All staffers excelled at their jobs. Joceline and Mildred brought their huge smiles to the desk when we arrived daily. Roger was a continuous presence as was Jose, Oswald and Carlos and Fredy. We love these guys at breakfast. Dinners were always 5 star. Elaine was the evening dinner Manager and Nancy was hostess; my friends Guillermo, Daniel and Carlos were our waiters, as was Martha who???s always overwhelming us with her service. They came over with two birthday cakes for us, which was a very emotional thing for them to do for MJ and I. When Chef David came out, we were frankly overwhelmed. LOBSTER HOUSE Lobster house is by far our favorite place for lunch and breakfast. We were greeted pretty much every day by Belen and Diana Hernandez, the concierges for lobster house. They would often recognize us as we were approaching the restaurant and was already ready for us as we got to the top. She knew our room and she knew what our preferences were terms of food. Simply amazing. Waiters Antonio, Fredi Ciao and Omar were always warm, engaging, and just terrific guys. And then there was Jorge Antonio Valdez, my Tocayo! He was by far, JUST AMAZING! Love this guy! Other wonderful waiters and servers include Enrique and Fabian. No matter who served us, every staffer made sure to acknowledge us, come over to say hi, take a picture. For an example of how the staff treat us like family, we were at breakfast one morning, and all of a sudden one of our favorite human beings at the resort, Juliana Medina, came over to us to spend some time at spotting us sitting. She said something that has stayed with us since we got back. She said ???You know, I meet a lot of people here at the resort, I interact with people all day long. But with you two people I have a special heart for you both. A special place in my heart. I???m so happy you???re here, I love you both??? Wow, just wow???. CHEZ Our anniversary dinner at Chez was extraordinary. We were surprised to be seated in the Wine Room, at a perfect table at the center of it, and it was fully decorated with Rose Petals and Roses. We were greeted by Hostess Gloria, our fantastic waiter Raul, with Marisela and Norma stopping into the room to say hi. Everyone was extraordinary, attentive, and funny as heck! The food was absolutely perfect. We highly recommend it for a special occasion you may be celebrating at EPM. We are excited to return there on our next trip this month. We were blown away on how we were treated. Getting a personal visit from Sr Manager and Maitre D Oscar Estrada Marroqu??n, and Food & Beverage Manager, Nelson Kalixto was icing on the cake. And the cake deserts were wonderful! FLAVOR MARKET We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Flavor Market. Arriving, we were escorted to a rear table that was ALREADY decorated for us due to it being our anniversary week! Pleasantly surprised by the gesture. As to the food, the Tapas is one of our favorites where we live, and it was as good as anything we get here in NY. Our waiter was Angel and he surprised us with several of his favorites. We find him to be one of our favorite waiters during our trips and look forward to seeing him again next week. Special mention, Ernesto made sure to come over and say hello! TOSCANA What we say about Toscana? I???m Sicilian and I love the food! For lunch, Aurelio and Gabriela, Joscelin and waiter Jorge Antonio are favorites of ours. We were so excited to have Stephany come running over and great us with such an amazing smile. She???s a special soul and one of our ???La Familia??? at EPM. The breakfast and lunch buffet is now served by staffers from behind floor to ceiling plexiglass. You cannot serve yourself, and this is now a big draw for me to use the buffet regularly on our next trip. For dinner, The entire meal was perfect. When we arrived, we were blown away by the fact that they had a special table designed for 10 people set up facing out the restaurant front window, but it was set up for only two people. Roses and rose petals all over it. Greeted by Yosi, the meal was one of the best we???ve had at the resort. Waiter Mauricio popped over with a giant wheel of Parmesan cheese, and he proceeded to grate the cheese right in the wheel and create our appetizer plates. It was unbelievable. I can???t say enough about him. He was terrific. 5 star ALL THE WAY! AGAVE We had a wonderful meals at Agave. Emily was our hostess. What I love about the staff is they pop up at other places and always make sure to come over and say hi! Emily did that a couple of times during our week at EPM. So, for Agave, The food was fantastic, and our waiter William took care of us by lighting extra candles for light, and educated us on tequila and mescal. Music was playing and the atmosphere was very romantic for my fianc?? and I. Chef Maybi came out to check on the food. All in all, Restaurant Manager Bonifilio is doing a great job at the restaurant. We highly recommend it to all guests. THE GRILL The Grill is the second outdoor restaurant located in same building as Lobster House, and it???s always so beautiful there during the day and at night. Greeted by Skarleth & Nancy, served by Roger, who???s EVERYWHERE at this resort, we had a very nice dinner at the restaurant, our waiter was the always sweet Tonatiuh. We appreciate his hard work and focus on us as guests. BASMATI This is such a romantic restaurant and we love the food! Hostess Noemi was so sweet. Our waiter was Gamaliel. His recommendations for food were the best! Even Chef Faissal came out to say hello! If you like Indian food, you MUST go to Basmati! MARTINI BAR The CenterPoint of the resort is Martini Bar with it???s legendary Bartender, Cesar Martins. He???s a machine! We love watching him work his magic and take care of dozens of people almost effortlessly. Evenings spent at Martini bar are always memorable and filled with new and old friends stopping over to say hi. Rounding out the bartender team was Francisco, Cesar Antonio (AKA Chicken Man), Henry and Juliana During the day, we so enjoyed moving between Martini bar and EC lounge, especially when it was hot out. Hit the beach for a couple of hours, then head inside to cool off for a bit. Juliana Medina and Henry were our special compadres as bartenders. We had such a blast with them every day. PRELUDE A highlight of every evening was watching the live music at Prelude and spending it with new friends at the bar. Prelude is also open during the day. Another favorite person at this resort, and someone that we always look forward to seeing when we go is Tonatiuh Maldonado Gerardo. Tonatiuh is a favorite bartender for many guests, and we love him! Ivan, Carman, Abraham and Jose have become friends with us. We can???t wait to see them on our next trip. Aroma: Coffee at Aroma with Gloria every morning is the only way I start my day! The selection is great and they are focused on safety at all times under these covid19 conditions. The staff will get your selections from the case. Breads, cakes, pastry, cookies, pre-made sandwiches wrapped in containers is terrific. HAVANA CIGAR LOUNGE Probably one of my favorite people at the resort is Diego Pomo, a fantastic and talented bartender and now a friend. We spent a lot of time chatting and speaking about different things, including life business. He???s a terrific guy. If you go to this resort, you owe it to yourself to meet him. For this trip Diego was the bartender at the Havana Lounge. Laura was the hostess and such as sweetheart! The place rocks and is a hidden gem. If you are nervous about smoke, don???t be, because you can???t smell anything. The Cigar lounge itself is in it???s own glass enclosed, negative air pressure room and nothing seems to escape from it. And if you like cigars, well, this is the place to buy them, so see Laura! MANAGERS: We need to make a special shout out to Roberto Diaz General Manager of the resort, who took this time to chat with us in the course of our stay on a daily basis. Such a gentleman. t was indeed a pleasure meeting him. The Assistant GM Pablo Bueno was equally engaging and forthright with us as they navigated the unprecedented situation with the Pandemic protocols, opening multiple resorts across the company and figuring out how to get it done the best way possible. Being asked to provide insight and feedback in real time to these men was a special treat for MJ and I. One huge shout-out must go to Oscar Marroquin who has seriously become a close friend of ours. Oscar is the Senior Restaurant Manager and bears huge responsibilities daily. Yet, we were treated as VIP???s every single day. He does this for so many people and we appreciate him and how he???s running the restaurants. Another big shout out to Nelson Kalixto, Catering Manager, who without question went above and beyond during our trip, and we believe was directly involved in every single restaurant visit that we had. We were treated like rock stars for the most part, and we firmly believe that was Nelson created that atmosphere at the resort that everyone feel special at every single restaurant, every time. General summary of the Resort itself The resort was spotless, continuously maintained in all areas. The landscaping was raked every single day. We met landscapers Sergio and Julio who told us what their day is like. Just amazing how hard they work. The resort staff was diligent and continuous in monitoring for any seaweed that intruded on the beach. They were quite a few days with it was none, and a few days with a bit. They did a phenomenal job. The public area restrooms were perfect every time we used them. Beach restrooms were constantly checked and cleaned. Our room was very well maintained by staff, and any room issue was taken care of almost immediately. We were very happy with everyone there. Covid protocols are being followed to the T. the resort has reduced tables in restaurants and seating areas, distanced each table according to guidelines, placed hand sanitizer everywhere we looked, added plexiglass separators at the buffets and check in areas. We never felt safer traveling and we have no issues with how they handle things at this time. Entertainment was very well done, professional and quite a bit of fun to watch. We saw every show. The amount of work they put into setting up these special evenings was breathtaking in scope. Every one was a special event for us. A few things I noted that I can see needing improvement during our November 2018 trip that were addressed and fixed! 1. Wifi was strengthened across the resort, especially in the Prelude and Theater areas. We are a connected society now, and many of us want to do live broadcasts to our friends, family and group members back home, and I was able to do so daily. Room Wifi was excellent every day. 2. Aroma is now in the new location on ground floor. They did a great job here. Overall this is an amazing resort and there is nothing like it for us anywhere. We can???t wait to return!

Our party of 4 returned home yesterday. This was our second time to visit E P M. We booked concierge level ocean view but both our parties were disappointed, as it was more of a ???partial ocean view???. Our friends decided to move & pay for an upgrade to a rooftop terrace. We decided to remain in our original suite. However, we want to accentuate the positive of being in a beautiful tropical place with many wonderful people. Here is a shout out to Caesar at the Martini Bar, Isabella, activities, and Guadelupe, our mini bar/coffee attendant! These wonderful employees love what they do and they are super stars. All Restaurants are all great, we enjoyed Spice and Basmati. We visited the French Restaurant twice, food and service were absolutely wonderful! Room service was quick and convenient. We loved the nightly entertainment, usually hosted by Isabella! As a final comment, we felt safe with all the Covid precautions, check in was contactless, all employees wore masks and there was hand sanitizer everywhere!

The resort is gorgeous, colorful, exotic, and extremely well maintained! Every single member of the staff was outstanding. They SERIOUSLY went above and beyond! Andres was our concierge, and he took great care of us! We were fortunate enough to stay in room that included the "Excellence Club" and I highly recommend doing it. Eder was our favorite bartender. He was located in the Sports Bar Lounge. He would make the most amazing shots! The "Jellyfish shot" legit looks like there is a Jellyfish dancing in your shot glass! We had an amazing time, and will be returning as soon as possible.