EXCELLENCE Resort Punta Cana - New thread started April 2010

[meredithota]

Showtime 1111 -  Did you book Agave for your reception already?  If so how did you do that.  I def want to be inside for my reception but was told it depending on availability.

 

Also, since you've stayed at the Excellence a few times before I was wondering if you had any preference as far as rooms go.  I've heard rumors that the rooms on the first floors can get musty.  Did you ever have that experience?

[Showtime1111]

Hi meredithota :

 

No I haven't booked it yet, I actually want the outside courtyard by the water fountain if the weather works.

 

Rooms ..I have been by the Cascade Pool swim up room first floor, not musty at all, keep the A/C on and the doors closed, it's very humid there so there will be a hint of must but you really don't notice it, bring some bounce sheets to put in the dressers. Hang your dressed and pants..

Sometimes the clothes get damp from the humid weather, they do have a drycleaning service to use if you want too, I only noticed dampness during the last time when it rained alot. Depends on weather not the rooms, first floor is a bit noisy with people and maids going through you can hear them.

 

The top floors are great, quiet but still have the small damp smell, not unbearable at all.

[fmichelle]

-Showtime1111 Thanks so much for the info, I've heard that about the mosquitoes, I figure we'll just play it by ear when we get there, part of the reason for have the DW is to go with the flow and not stress too much.  Since you're been there so much, have you ever stayed at the Excellence Club? We booked it for ourselves for 7 nights to get the free wedding package, and I know we're supposed to get our choice of room in the level we book (based on availability of course...as usual with these things   Just curious about your thoughts on that, or anyone's thoughts for that matter.  The restaurants you named sound great, I'll definitely keep them in mind! 217 days to go....couldn't be any more excited!

[Showtime1111]

The excellence club, really that's what you get..a club room comes with free internet and top shelf booze, there's no shortage of top shelf booze at this place anywhere, the rooms are the same..the location is a bit secluded on the other side of the property futher walk from the front desk but not too far, I would ask for the top floor as it has a peaked ceiling and lofty very cool. You will love Juan Carlos he is your man, towels, chairs anything you want, need he hangs in that area..the only extra is this club room where they have snacks, more booze like Grey Goose and internet..otherwise it's the same inside the room.

 

The only place I don't like is by the swim up bar, I call it the pee up bar, I see people go in and not come out..yuk..there's rooms right by there and it's nosy and loud, I love building 10, 14 and 2, 3, and 4...can't go wrong..You really won't spend alot of time in your room, but for privacy Excellence area and Cascade is the best..

[Dolcenotte12]

Hey Showtime, we are the 4th timer crew on this forum I guess!! definitely says something about the resort!!! I'd like to chime in on a few things. I had my reception on the beach and we had absolutely no critters of any kind that night, but as showtime pointed out if it is humid there is definitely a chance of critters around if you plan to have your reception outside! I was lucky enough to have cool breezy weather the night of my wedding! Everyone loved the wedding and the reception! They said it was unlike any other wedding they've ever been to!!

 

The Agave restaurant by the fountain and open roof sky is what I would have liked if I had to have an "indoor" wedding. However the chance of rain still interferes with that location as the whole roof is open and does not close..the party would have to retreat to the perimeter of the restaurant to stay dry. But oh is it beautiful with the palms hanging over and the starlit sky..ahhh. But the problem is no one is guaranteed that location until it gets closer to your date and the wedding planners find that restaurant happens to be closed that night. Then you can use it. But if you have a small group, I'm sure you could have it there on any night, but it would not be private. They do not close restaurants for weddings. Wedding receptions may be held in the closed restaurants of the evening.

 

I would also say the Lobster House is another great location. It is open air on the sides with a thatched roof. It is nice because the breeze from the ocean comes through and it is ultra close to the beach, pretty much right next to it. It also has a veranda area that is completely outdoors that is considered a part of the restaurant. I had my cocktail hr in this part of the restaurant. It is separated by a walkway from the restaurant. The nice part about the Lobster House is that you still keep that tropical feel because you are right near the beach, but dont have to worry about the sand or dancing etc. The same rules apply for the closing of the restaurants.

 

I always loved the cascade pool area. The rooms are in a more private location, it is very lush and romantic there. If you opt into the club I really like the swim ups in building 11 and nice views there too!  I agree with showtime about the swim up bar, it is the piss pool for sure!! No one ever gets out!!! LOL I don't like all the rowdiness there also. we create our own rowdiness here and there if we meet people but over there its a constant thing! And for a couples resort, we've witnessed some crazy stuff going on over there and some of the craziness was from our own wedding group, the things some people do..I'll leave it at that! LOL

 

I love the club, but that's just me. I love the extra service you get on the beach. I love the club lounge. I like having the internet access and an escape from the sun/heat besides my room and having a cold drink in the coolest (weather wise) place on the resort. Regular rooms supposedly have a tube tv, the club rooms have plasmas and upgraded toiletries, Bvlgari, ohhh I am obsessed with their products now! LOL luxury is right! You get about 3 or 4 bottles of top shelf liquor for your disposal. I usually take them home. If you do not like the selection, we ask for something else. All the bottles they have are displayed in the club so you can pick what you would rather have. Otherwise the layout is the same. If you are getting married and have a little money to splurge, its worth it to upgrade to the club, at least for your honeymoon. it's nice to treat yourself to the best of things sometimes! Now that I have been clubbed, I can't go back!!

 

Sidenote: Drink service at the bar SOL is top notch. It's like having a swim up bar without the bar in the pool because the bar is like 10 feet away. I have not seen service like that anywhere else on the resort. Constant drinks flowing and no getting out of the pool! The cascade area differs in this way. You have to get in and out usually to get a drink. Ohhhh the woes of life!! Haha I am so spoiled there its not even funny!

 

As for the moldy smell, enjoy it, because you will miss it when you come home and your clothes have that faint tropical smell still on them. It brings your memories to life and you will ache to return! All I can say!!

[Showtime1111]

I couldn't of said it better Dolcenotte12 ! Question for you..what photo package did you choose ? I really want a lot of pics..what's the best package from Photo Souvenir..did you do the digital one ? What's the difference ?

 

 

 

[Dolcenotte12]

We had the 5 hr photo package, but i think it ended up being more like 8. I literally had over 1000 photos to look through. This was very hard to narrow down when choosing my album pics which was supposed to be about 80 pics and ended up being 150 pics!!! LOL

 

 

I love love love Severine..she is one of the sweetest people I have ever met! And she is awesome at what she does, it is really her life and she is perfectionist!! I've done several photo shoots over the years with her, the last being a boudoir shoot for my hubby for our 1 year anniversary this past July! The pictures just blew me away!!

 

I think the 5 hr package is more than enough and she/he will take tons of pics, but what you really want to make sure you get is a fab album that will last forever. My wedding album is from Leather Craftsmen and it is the most stunning creation ever. Severine ordered my wedding album as a sample at Excellence, so you will all see it if you look!! it is divine!! It was costly to upgrade, but so worth it.  It is a flushmount digital album. Severine did an amazing job with the layout and would not order it until I felt the layout was perfect! I had my album in my hands less than 2 months after the wedding. Check it out at Excellence!! I'm so happy I am there everyday!! LOL

 

In our package, we had prints of all our proofs, the painted picture by miguel pumarejo..simply stunning, (he is a VERY talented man), a slideshow that blew away a guy that works in TV production (saying he's never seen this new technology yet and he was surprised they had it in DR) , and I think the wedding video, just the ceremony, was included in the wedding package through Excellence, but we paid to have it edited. It made it much nicer.

 

So I would def say invest in a good album, and either 5hr or 8hr package is perfect.  I don't know what you mean when you say the digital package? what is that?

[Showtime1111]

I just saw your pics...wow you look so damm hot..well done...I have to say, you don't even look a lick drunk lol..I could just imagine me with red wine...stained teeth OMG..no red for me..LOL..

I saw you got ready at the spa, was it boiling like everyone says..my wedding is at 3:30 and I'm not good in the heat...I need a breeze or fan sort of thing...or booze..lol..did you do your own makeup ?

 

What time was your wedding..how did your schedule go..it looked so organized...how many people ?

 

I'm likely having 8 at the most so 10 of us..I want at the gazebo something unique and different than the beach.

 

Apparently they have a digital package...but I think I will get the Elite 3 hours with the upgrade to digital book. How much was the boudoir session, I might want to do that when I am there this decemeber...

[Dolcenotte12]

Oh thank you showtime, you are funny! LOL ...well I was so drunk that I fell asleep on the toilet that night..lmao. I also vaguely remember the cake cutting and then it supposedly started to rain around 11 after we cut the cake and people went back to the room because the evening was basically done, but I don't have a clue about any of that!!! LOL I stayed away from red wine, I had many many mamajuana shots and coco locos and whatever else people handed to me! LOL

 

Ok the spa is better to get ready in than the room, but it is warm, I am not going to lie. When I got in the horse and carriage I felt relieved that it felt cool outside because I thought it was as warm or warmer than the spa. Turns out it was the other way around which was good thing!! They were very accomodating in the spa, they gave us all a big room to get ready in after our hairdos were done. And I did my own makeup (worked for Chanel for many years) and used smashbox for my face (highly recommended), and chanel for eye, lip, and cheek color ( I always like chanel's colors, very rich color). I needed natural light so they brought one of those spa chairs to the second floor for me by the big skylight window for me to work with and then they brought up a stool so I can lay my mirror there and I sprawled out my makeup all over the place, what a scene but it worked and i felt comfy in that spot! LOL

 

My wedding was scheduled for 430 but it ended up occurring around 5-530 due to me taking pics in the spa. this worked out perfectly with timing for photos, cocktail hr and reception, although afterwards my hubby told me I left him sweating his ass off for a long time!! haha, oh well

 

Everything was extremely organized, no mishaps other than my dress being a tad too long when i walked down the aisle in the sand, causing some of the ruching to unfold and making me step on my dress constantly even when I wasn't in the sand. Ana came to the rescue with huge pins that she concealed when she pinned me. She rescued me lol. But planning wise everything was absolutely perfect!! We had 42 people and everyone loved the cocktail hour, they said the food was the most amazing there. We took some pics with family and bridal party and then they left for the cocktail hr and we took pics for a LONG time, but it was worth it!

 

The gazebo area is so lush and pretty so if you have a small group, that is perfect. But you know what it looks like already!!!

 

They look like they offer the Zookbook as the digital book..it looks similar to the Leather Craftsmen, however Leather Craftsmen is the top notch to go with. Ask Severine for the price difference between the two.

 

The boudoir session was amazing! I have such beautiful photos, wish I could share, but I will not do that on here, but they may be used as samples so you might see them through PhotoSouvenir lol. It is $590 I believe, pricey, but comes with an album as well. I think it is a 2 hr session. Mine was more like 6 hrs and served as their launch for boudoir photo shooting. She worked with Miguel Pumarejo ( who does the painted pictures and he has history with lingerie photo shooting), he took care of the lighting and some poses.it is studio lighting so it's a whole different style of photoshooting. It was much different than the wedding photography which used natural light.  I knew both of them already and I was very comfortable. It was a very enlightening and empowering experience to do these photos! So glad I did it! The pictures are SICK!! We had a lot of laughs throughout the session while my poor hubby was in the pool all day, poor baby LOL I definitely recommend the boudoir shoot!

 

As you see, I like to write so keep shooting me questions if you want LOL

[Dolcenotte12]

I should add that the presentation of the food at the reception and from what I was told about the cocktail hour was awesome! It was buffet style for the beach, but it looked so tropical and perfect! They carved fruit sculptures all around of doves and hearts, etc. Ana did a great job with the centerpieces, she did it all herself, I just told her what I wanted. She set up the memory table beautifully and the guest book area. And the ceremony went off without a hitch, great job with the planning there! Everything was just perfect! The music was great, we had Domingo the sax player for the ceremony and one hour during dinner at the reception. Then we had the Dominican band for 1 hr which brought out the limbo and conga line, which people liked. Then we had our own mix of music on cds with the special songs for first dance, entrance, special dances and cake cutting on a separate cd and they were labeled. She knew exactly when to play which song, it was great! Ahhh, what a perfect night. I just relived it!!