First of all this is the only all inclusive resort I have ever been to so I can't compare it to any others. My husband and I (both 23 yrs old) went to Excellence Punta Cana for our honeymoon the first week of October. We had a garden junior suite. The trip is exhausting (coming from Philadelphia) because you have a layover in San Juan and a long busride to the resort once you land in the Dominican so be prepared to be exhausted.
When we arrived we got the champagne, went to the check in. I asked for an upgrade given we were on the honeymoon, didn't get one. From this point on we had a LOT of problems on our first day. The honeymoon amenities were never given to us (as our travel agent said they were included-champagne, flowers, chocolate, etc). My husband must have told them 2 or 3 times about this problem and they eventually brought us the champagne but that can be ordered by anyone at any time as many times as you want and it's included anyway so it wasn't anything special. Other problems included: our room phone did not work, had to go to the desk to report the problem obviously, and the ceiling in the bathroom leaked. Even at this point we weren't offered any compensation or upgrade, which is unbelievable. I have worked in a 5 diamond hotel so might have been expecting a little more of the staff but overall i'm not a very hard to please person.)
So past that first day, it was a nice experience. Some of the staff is great, especially the entertainment staff, like Raye. Go to the disco on the night they have the Pajama party, it's the most fun night to go! The Michael Jackson show they put on at the theater is also fun. The circus one is ok, the magic one you can skip. There were some others i didn't see. Our best day there was when we did an excursion outside the hotel. It's the one that included speed boats and snorkeling, it was really a lot of fun. It took an hour to get there from the hotel and the car exhaust almost killed me but it was worth it! If you're a good sport about that then you'll be happy you did it. Don't drink any water or any drinks they give you outside the hotel though, its not purified. Bring a couple bottles of water.
The food is very good in the restaurants for lunch and dinner. Definitely go to Barcalona and to the Grill. Those were our favorite restaurants out of the 7 they have. The only complaint i have about food is that the breakfast wasn't that great. Just ok. Room service food is a gamble....sometimes it was great, like the burgers, sometimes it was really bad, like the bacon and other breakfast items. They also take too long to come and clear the room service dishes.
A nice highlight was that they have jaccuzi tubs in every room, and they will set it up for you all ready with candles and rose petals and that's really a romantic thing to do.
Some suggestions:
Try the cocolocos, they are great and fun to drink! (served in coconuts)
Book your horse ride on the beach RIGHT AWAY as soon as you get there. We didn't know that reservations were required (which we should have been told at orientation, they even mentioned horse riding but failed to say you needed reservations!) So as a result we had to make ours for the day before we left, and it poured rain so we didn't do it at all. I was sooo disappointed about that, but what can you do.
Go to the beach and/or pool early in the day at least once because it tends to become overcast later in the afternoon and i didn't get much of a tan and it didn't feel as warm as we hoped sometimes.
Bring 1 dollar bills to tip (mostly bartenders and at the restaurants.) We did mostly a dollar or two.
If you are going for a week that's just about the right amount of time, but after probably 10 days max you'd get bored with the resort itself.
Overall it was a really great honeymoon, but that was probably because it WAS a honeymoon moreso than the resort being a factor. Even though i've never been to any other resorts, it felt average to me. No major disasters though! I probably wouldn't go back just because there are so many other places i want to visit. Have fun if you go!

Excellence was truly an outstanding all-inclusive resort! We have stayed at several AIs and the food and drinks here were far above what we expected. Premium beers and liguors are there for the asking. Every restaurant was very good - not 5 star, but much better than expected. The French restaurant was closed for renovations during our stay.
We were there just after TS OLGA. Beleive the reviews - the road to the resort is one of the worst I've ever travelled and was probably worse than usual because of the rain. But that is the only downside. The resort is the furthest away from the airport in Punta Cana, but once you get there, the serenity and beach make it all worthwhile.
Rolando, the tennis pro was outstanding and we played every day. 1 hour lessons were a deal ($20) and he provides good instructions. Thanks for your help, Rolando!
The thing we liked the most were the king-sized beds on the beach. We seldom moved from one of those. Food and drinks were delivered to us by the ever friendly staff. Thought we had died and gone to heaven.
Of all the AIs we have visited, this is the one to which we would return. The most relaxing trip we have ever taken!

We spent July 23-29 2007 at the Excellence Resort for our honeymoon. It's all inclusive and adults only. We loved it!

Excellence Club: We paid extra for the Excellence Club and it was worth it to us. Our pool was never crowded. The staff in the EC always geeted us by name. I liked the club because it was air conditioned and dark (dark woods) so it was as great place to get out of the sun. They have 4 high speed internet computers for free so I got to look at my wedding pictures online and check on our pets. They have food there too. A small buffet, but the best of everything. Self serve on the buffet so no waiting, and waitresses to take your drink orders. It was never really crowded in here.

Food/Beverage: I drank all frozen drinks for the week. Delicious daquiris, coladas, and combos of both. Our favorite foods were the steaks & sides at the Grill, and bisque at the Lobster House. The pasta sauces were to die for and breakfast they had great ham and poached eggs in red sauce. Not everything will be the best you have ever had, but you can't beat the variety.

Staff- The staff was great - but they are understated/quiet, not incredibly extroverted. You aren't required to tip them, but if you do, they will appreciate it. The one (tiny) irritating thing was that the ice machines couldn't keep up with the demands of the guests. So my husband called room service for ice & budweisers the first night, and tipped the guy. Every time he called for ice after that, the same guy would come right down and bring budweisers!

Room: We were in swim up suite (ground floor) room a great building close to the Excellence Club. It was easy to come and go to the pool/beach. The room was great, loved the jacuzzi tub and separate shower. In room safe, bar, and full free mini bar that is stocked daily! (The garden view rooms were out on the fringe of the property and it was HOT in July. I do not reccommend those rooms).

Spa - I went to the spa and loved it! They carry Pevonia line skin care products that I was familiar with. I got a 10 or 20% discount because I was part of Excellence Club or on my honeymoon, I don't remember which. We did get a $100 credit to use because of our honeymoon, and that went to the spa, because everything is included.

Activities: We were lazy and didn't leave the resort or really participate in anything. We went to the magic and Michael Jackson show, and took out boogy boards on the beach. The seas there are not calm. They will knock you down and give you a workout - which I liked.

We were told that Excellence Punta Cana is the best of the Excellence line of resorts. Our vacation was okay, but with some problems. Considering the amount of money spent I expected a much better experience. I would not mind it, if it was $2K cheaper for example. I will describe pros and cons and let you decide whether it's worth the money.

Pros
1. The beach is wonderful. Very scenic. Palm trees, plenty of umbrellas. The water was warm and clean, however the surf was always rough and red flags were up the entire week. Sand was clean, no sharp shells, no seaweed. This is a huge plus.

2. The pool. It's huge and runs most of the resort length. Very nice.

3. The grounds are awesome. Clean, large. Plenty of space to walk around. Many walkways. Beautiful fountains.

4. The weather was great. Constant 83F, only a couple of short showers. Constant breeze at the beach reduces humidity. There was much less breeze at the pool and it felt hotter.

5. Buffet breakfasts and lunches were good.

6. No kids. This is adults only resort and it truly was. No screaming, crying kids.

Cons
1. Rooms are not up to par. First room had stains on the worn out furniture. Window drapes were torn. We asked and were granted another room. It was cleaner, but furniture still needed updating badly. Only one sink. There are lots of small broken or worn out things - bathroom mirror, knobs, malfunctioning toilet, poor TV reception, ironing board with holes and burned-through fabric - all added to a very mediocre feeling.

2. Service. We tipped left and right, but service was very mediocre and SLOW. Waiters confused orders constantly. Their English was poor (I will get to this point later). Nobody was rude, but they just don't know what great service is. Room cleaning was inconsistent from day to day. Room towels were too thin to absorb water. Beach towels were only available early in the morning. They were gone by noon and never replaced. There was definitely a lack of them, despite resort beeing half-full at best.

3. Food. Buffet breakfasts and lunches were actually great. The dinners were very average. Presentation was good, but taste very unrefined and often either over-salted or bland. Even their own Latin American specialties, like fajitas were not even close to what you get in the US chain restaurant.

4. Public toilets. They were clean, but... constant lack of towels to dry hands and only one broken soap dispenser for 5 sinks. I didn't know soap dispensers were so expensive as not to afford one for each sink.

5. Vendors. The resort lets vendors set up tables on premises to sell goodies. Vendors are WAY TOO PUSHY and the goods they sell are cheap crap for people with poor taste. We felt constantly harassed by them and tried to avoid the central area where they stood. We did not pay big bucks to be harassed by vendors on our vacation. I would not mind them if they stood there and not grab your arm every time you walk by.

6. English. The resort caters to the world wide crowd - Germans, English, Belgians, Spaniards, Americans. Their knowledge of English should be better. In the restaurant they could not understand a question whether a steak would be "pink or bloody" inside. They confused orders. But the worst thing was when we asked the concierge at the Excellence Club to put ice packs in the freezer, since we needed to transport some medications. We explained several times that they need to be frozen. He nodded and confirmed that he understood. When the next day we retrieved them, the ice packs were soft and barely cool - they put them in the refrigerator. When I confronted them all I got was "Yes, sir - freezer. Freezer - yes, sir". He would repeat those words like a parrot. He obviously did not know what a freezer is.

7. Spa. We got two massage treatments. The service does not make you feel special. The rooms are poorly decorated. The massage tables are not modern. The soothing music stops sometimes. Overall okay, but not great experience that you expect at this price.

8. Ability to handle emergencies. A very sad thing happened while we were there. Two men drowned. They got sucked in by the waves - you cannot go deeper than chest-high in water. There is no life guard on duty (it's stated clearly on the signs). There was no boat to save them. One staff person tried to get to the drowning people on the boogie board. By the time he got there they both drowned. One was never found. One got pulled out. They had no motorized transport to bring him to the doctor. They had to carry him on stretchers all the way to the office. Needless to say they could not save him. SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK - NO JOKE.

Neutral
1. Bars - don't know much, since we are not drinkers.
2. Entertainment - one show was awesome. Others were high school production level.