For this review, we’re taking a bit of a different approach: as opposed to a guide for a city, we have to be honest – when we checked into the Excellence El Carmen, an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, we never anticipated leaving the resort. Thanks to some very gracious grandparents offering to watch Lily and Summer, we were able to visit the Dominican Republic for our first real parents-only getaway, and we had three goals – to sleep, to eat, and to relax. Fortunately for us, the El Carmen provided the perfect setting to do just that without ever having to set foot off-property.
Why We Chose the El Carmen
When we ultimately determined that we were going on this trip, we had several criteria that a property had to meet for us to ultimately choose to stay there:
- We wanted a destination in a country we’d never visited before;
- That country had to be close enough that the flights to and from wouldn’t take up an entire day;
- We exclusively looked at all-inclusive resorts (to simplify the payment process);
- The property needed to have as many restaurant options as possible; and
- The hotel needed to be a brand that we could trust the quality of service and food.
We found that we had a very specific standard in mind: several years ago, we visited an all-inclusive resort (the Beloved in Playa Mujeres) for some friends’ destination wedding, and as we weighed out our options, it was clear that we wanted the resort to at least live up to that standard. Because of that, we chose to book with Excellence Resorts (a sister brand to the Beloved), and when faced with the two Dominican options (the Excellence El Carmen or the Excellence Punta Cana), we opted for the former because the style seemed to be a bit more contemporary – other than that, everything we’d read indicated that they were both very high quality.
As we chose room types, we found that for the times we were visiting, there wasn’t a huge difference in price between the options, so we ultimately splurged and went for the ‘Excellence Club Beachfront Honeymoon Two Story Rooftop with Plunge Pool’ room type, which was clearly quite the mouthful, but was worth every syllable. For those room types that are part of the ‘Excellence Club,’ they come with admission to an exclusive restaurant and bar (which both have unique menus), as well as admission to two reserved areas on the beach – both of which seemed to have plenty of daybed availability. That last part was essential to us – we wanted to enjoy the beach, but as you can surely tell from our photos, we sunburn quite easily, making shade essential to that enjoyment.
As for how the room turned out: it was truly one of our all-time favorite hotel rooms. The view was unmatched, the décor was upscale and contemporary, and there was just so much to it. In the morning, we enjoyed coffee on the porch or first level daybed; in the evening, we enjoyed the sunset in the rooftop plunge pool; and that doesn’t even factor in the jacuzzi tub that has an ocean view as well. We may ultimately do an all-time ranking of our favorite hotel rooms, and if this one doesn’t have the top spot, there’s no chance it won’t be in the top five. We couldn’t recommend it enough, and it was worth the splurge to say the least.
Where to Eat: Chez Isabelle
Fourteen total restaurants (if you include spots like the various food trucks scattered throughout the property). We enjoyed much of the food we had throughout our stay – the breakfast buffet was huge, with ample variety in options to choose from; the tacos and burgers from the food trucks always hit the spot after an afternoon in the sun and a few drinks; and the hibachi restaurant (Spice, which is the only restaurant that requires a reservation) was a close runner-up for our top recommendation. The best meal and experience we had, however, was at Chez Isabelle, the El Carmen’s French restaurant.
As soon as you walk in, the atmosphere immediately sets the restaurant apart from its peers, as the visible wine storage and marble floors exude elegance in a way that no other restaurant on property does. At a resort that has a very clear romance-focused target audience (it seems like every other door had a ‘Celebrating a Honeymoon’ or ‘Anniversary’ banner), you might assume that all of the restaurants were ideal for a date night, but Chez Isabelle very clearly sets itself apart in that area. Every restaurant we ate at had some dishes that were hit or miss, but Chez Isabelle was successful across the board – every dish we had was top quality, from the appetizer to the dessert. If we had to choose one dish that was a must-have, it was the beef tenderloin with flambeed Cognac, onion confit with Port wine and potato mousseline; it was on par with some of the best steak dishes we’ve ever had, and we both agreed that it was our favorite.
What to Do: The Spa
One of the largest perks of the El Carmen is that it’s very versatile in its activity offerings. They have a full calendar of events every day (as most all-inclusive resorts often do), and there’s something different for every one – from dancing lessons, to bingo, to mixology, you’d be hard-pressed to find not find something that will appeal to you. They also offer nightly entertainment (the Queen cover band was our favorite) which is featured in a full-scale outdoor theater. For us, though, no relaxation-focused trip is complete without a trip to the spa, and the El Carmen has one of the best spas we’ve visited yet.
Another perk of the Excellence Club is a free hydro therapy treatment at the spa, so we took advantage of that to compliment the couples’ massage we ultimately booked, and it was quite the experience. The entire hydro therapy treatment was guided for just the two of us, and it really showed off the facilities: from saunas to ice baths to steam rooms, and everything in between, the El Carmen has clearly put a lot into the experience, and it shows. For the couples massage, it was exactly what we were hoping for – although it may have been pretty standard, it was very relaxing, which is exactly what we were looking for.
Overall, the trip lived up to our highest expectations, and solidified the Excellence Collection as one of our preferred Caribbean all-inclusive brand of resorts – sure, we’ll ultimately try others to compare, but suffice it to say, you can’t seem to go wrong with one of their hotels. For our first relaxing getaway after having both Lily and Summer, the Excellence El Carmen set a standard that will be tough for any other resort to match, and provided exactly what we were looking for in a vacation.
