Finest Playa Mujeres by the Excellence Collection - All Inclusive

We really enjoyed our experience at this hotel. Beautiful pools, ocean and beach were clean and uncrowded. The towels in room and elsewhere were plentiful, room was comfortable, all staff was very gracious, helpful, and kind, the food options were varied and delicious, and I think it had some more upscale amenities than we were expecting, like turn down service every night (provided you’re out of your room at six) and 24 hour room service. Really appreciated the secluded location of this hotel, as well; we drove through the Cancun hotel district n the way back from an excursion (Flavio’s Tours 12/10 HIGHLY recommend) and the bars and lights and noise weren’t something that we would’ve enjoyed or taken advantage of. The few tiny hiccups: the wait time at one of the restaurants one night was crazy long and could have been handled better. Check out process could have been smoother; waiting behind three families who needed to check in while our airport transport was waiting on us was irritating. And all the buildings and indoor restaurants do have AC but it seems to be on low…we found ourselves sweating a lot basically everywhere except in our room, which was blissfully cold.

There’s a reason why this was our family’s 3rd trip to FPM - we love it here! From the moment you are welcomed with refreshing towels and wonderful aromas, you instantly feel a sense of relaxation. The best parts are the food and the people - the employees here are what make Finest special. In the morning, we usually visit the buffet to have HUMBERTO make us a delicious omelet (he even remembered my son’s “usual!”), take advantage of the fresh juices (especially the orange and the watermelon), and eat one too many churros with chocolate sauce, nutella, or honey. Then, we would stop by the Sweet Corner to get my morning iced coffee with horchata (yum!). During the day, our favorite options are the daily specials at Las Dunas - you can’t beat the view! I also love the al pastor gringas from the taco truck. Having been here before, we didn’t feel the need to try all the restaurants and just frequented our favorites. We made one stop at Brass for a delicious flank steak, had one dinner at Duke’s where we enjoyed grilled lobster with a view, and had four dinners at our favorite spot - Lizo. My husband was devastated that they removed their tamales from the menu (he was obsessed), but we still loved the delicious Mexican food. We were delighted to find that EDGAR is still at Lizo. We had so much fun with him on our previous trip, and were lucky enough to have him as a server 3 out of our 4 visits this time. He truly made our time there absolutely perfect - explaining items from the menu, making recommendations, keeping my husband’s iced tea glass full (no easy task!), and helping my picky 9 year old find something that he loved. We spent our 20th anniversary dinner with him, and it was fantastic. Another highlight at Lizo was DALILA - she was so sweet and I enjoyed practicing my Spanish with her. Also, we love the Mariachi trio and made sure to find out when they would be there so we could hear them perform. Since we’re early diners, we also made three “2nd dinner” stops at Insieme for delicious Margherita pizza and the BEST mango martinis. ANGEL took care of us all three times we were there and was a big part of why we kept coming back! He took great care of us and has a great sense of humor. One night, we had “2nd dinner” at Tintos and Tapas. I love all the tapas you can try there. I am sad that they closed the tapas restaurant at EPM next door - the one thing that it had that Tintos and Tapas doesn’t is the PERFECT sangria - I wish they would use that recipe at this location. The Mexican Fiesta is not to be missed! We have experienced this twice at EPM next door, but we thought the one at Finest was even better! The variety of delicious foods, the performers, the decorations - it is something special! My kiddos are 9 and 12, and enjoyed having some independence this time around. They love the waterslides and the new “blob” was a HUGE hit! They spent a lot of time there, and luckily we could arrange for them to stay as long as they wanted wi

We had our wedding at Finest and from check in with champagne to check out, we had a wonderful stay. The resort is beautiful and has a variety of rooms to book and many different pools that you can visit depending on what you're looking for. The beach is wonderful and barely has any sea grass. Just white sand, multiple beach chairs, and service for drinks and food all day long. Restaurants were amazing as well - specifically Dommo (you have to be in a Finest or Excellence room to get access). Gym was massive and had multiple nice treadmills, bikes, weight machines, free weights, and a room for exercise classes.

Reservations: Before we even arrived, we had a serious problem with our reservation and paying for our room. The hotel claimed our card was rejected- our CC had no record of any attempt to charge. So they cancelled our entire reservation! To rebook, they would not honor our discounted wedding rate and charged us $1200 additional dollars. It’s their scam - they did it to 2 other wedding guests. Food: average quality, extremely small portions and the restaurants are closed at noon for staff lunch. What?? Ate a lot of room service. Wait staff was usually disinterested, aloof and if they didn’t like you, they simply ignored you until you left. Exception is the beach bar. . . only open 11-4. Luke’s Lobster is rarely open and serves lobster only at dinner ( reservations or a $20 bill only). Rooms: we told them we had a guest that doesn’t walk well. Our room was in the building furthest from the restaurants, pools and beach . Wheelchair? Only 1 on property and only used to take guests to their rooms at check-in. We rented a scooter ( cash only) for our person to get around. We found the company - the hotel said they didn’t know where to find one( lazy). The rooms were big and very clean. Nice shower and plenty of towels. Housekeeping does a great job. Gift shop? Ridiculous $$ and nothing worth buying. I wouldn’t return if it was free and I got a corner room on the beach.

Everything was great, especially staff was very kind and helpful! Service is so high! Even if pool area for families with children was always full, staff tried their best to manage it! Food was delicious! Rooms are large and comfortable!

Overall the property was excellent. It was well kept, the service was good. We stayed in junior private pool suite. But the food was mediocre. Everything was watered down, including juices, drinks, smoothies. If you are vegan or vegetarian, I wouldn’t recommend this resort, it was the same two shredded veggies rotated in every dish ( which were not good), they served us meat twice when we ordered vegan. The food lacks any Mexican flavour, overall just bland food.

Upon first impression, I felt a bit lied to when the resort is compared to photos and when comparing to other resorts I’ve stayed at (Grand Palladium and Garza Blanca). This resort has pretty sparse service when at the pool. There is barely anyone walking around the pool area and only one day did someone offer to move a beach chair for us. Other days, I carried my own chairs from one pool to another or from one area to another. I don’t want to sound snobby, but when visiting a 5 star resort, there are certain expectations. Kids club: again, this is great in pictures and the staff that was there, was great. But it seemed understaffed and the kids weren’t really being interacted with. It’s cool when your kids are 8-9, but when you have kids (6 and 4) they need interaction to want to stay. And the set up was slightly strange. You have to sign your kids up in the morning in case there are activities. And if you’re late, tough luck. Food: nothing really blew me away. The French place was pretty good, the rest was mediocre. Barely had any lunch so cannot comment too much. Overall, this was average and didn’t meet the price point. We stayed at Garza Blanca last year for spring break, and didn’t go just to try something different. If choosing between Finest and Garza Blanca, I think Garza Blanca is a clear winner for decor, service, food, etc.