The Excellence Playa Mujeres is about 25 minute from the Cancun airport.  It is not in Cancun’s hotel zone or the Riviera Maya.  It is located in Playa Mujeres which is a new area northwest of Cancun.  It is an adult only hotel with and amzing spa, marina and a Greg Norman golf course right on the property.  The hotel is close to downtown Cancun and you have a wonderful view of Isla Mujeres.

They offer many  different room styles and they are all gorgeous.  Their best room is a roof top terrace suite with a private plunge pool.  Every room has a glassed in Jacuzzi that will open up completely to your balcony.  The pool is a lagoon style that runs through the entire resort.  Private Cabanas line the lagoon pool and they offer plenty of lounge chairs by the swim up bar.  This hotel also has an activity pool for volleyball and other pool games.

The beach here is very nice and it offers great views of both downtown Cancun and Playa Mujeres.  As you enter the resort they have some caged jaguars I guess to add a little mystique?

The food was excellent.  They have 9 different restaurants so you never had to wait for a table.  The Lobster House and The Grill  was our favorite.  The weather was perfect so we wanted to have dinner outside.  We usually like to try all the different restaurants but on this trip we only got to 3 of them.  The Spa looked real special and everyone we talked to said it was one of the best.  It is located by the pool and had huge linens draped at the entryway.

We did the Excellence Club and I really enjoyed the added benefits.  The check in and check out was private and when our room was not ready the concierge ordered lunch for us and had it sent to the Excellence club lounge.  I would head down to the lounge for drinks and snacks every evening while my wife was getting ready for dinner.  After a few days we sort of had a pre-dinner club going on with some of the other guests.  The concierge was on the top of his game and even offered suggestions on his favorite entrees at the restaurants.  He was so good  I was 30 minutes late picking up the Mrs. for dinner. The next night he set me an alarm to keep me out of hot water!  Now that is service.

The Excellence was also listed on Conde Nast Traveler’s gold list for 2011.  This resort is wonderful and if your tired of the Hotel Zone or the Riviera Maya come check out Playa Mujeres.  This is one resort you have to experience.

The Riu Vallarta is a fantastic choice for a family, couple, or group looking for a great value all-inclusive hotel on Mexico’s Pacific coast. The Riu Vallarta sits on Banderas Bay in Riviera Nayarit, the newer northern part of Puerto Vallarta, and is one of my most highly recommended based on the value it provides. For the west coast of Mexico, it has one of the nicest beachfront’s that I’ve ever seen with an expansive white sandy beach. The Riu Vallarta is one of two towers on the resort, the other being the Riu Jalisco, and is the more contemporarily styled as compared to the Riu Jalisco’s more traditional Mexican-hacienda style. Banderas Bay is beautiful at night with the mountains surrounding it and you can even see whales in the Bay from your room’s balcony at the Riu Vallarta mid-December through April.  Throughout my visit, I found the rooms, pool, lobby, restaurants, etc. were all lovely and I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending the Riu Vallarta to anyone looking for a good time at a great price.