Ben and I recently returned from 3 nights and 4 days at the Excellence Oyster Bay in Jamaica! We went with another couple and I was SO excited to hang with them and just for a few days of R&R in the sun….haven’t seen that since last September, so your girl needed some color 🙂
The resort was a 5-star adults only all-inclusive in Falmouth, Jamaica which is about 30 minutes from Montego Bay. I wanted to share my honest review of the resort because I had a really hard time finding one while was researching. I figured the best way to do it would be to share my Pro/Con list, so you’ll see that breakdown below.
Before we jump in, keep in mind that the resort also offers an Excellence Club rate that gives you access to additional beach space and 2 more restaurants and a few private bars. We decided not to upgrade to that, so the below is just what you would get from the standard rate!
Getting To Jamaica
Ben and I decided to purchase tickets for Club Mobay which is a VIP type of service that helps you get through customs faster when you arrive in Jamaica and then security faster when you depart. They also have a private lounge space with snacks and drinks along with some other amenities that you can utilize.
You can purchase the arrival pass ($40) and departure pass ($33) separately or bundle them for $73 per person. Personal opinion was that, while the service was nice, it wasn’t necessary. If you’re looking for a quick and seamless airport experience, then I would go for it, but if you don’t mind waiting in line for a few extra minutes then I would pass. If you were to select just one, I would do the arrival to help you get through customs and to your hotel faster 🙂
The Pros
Ok, lets jump into the pros!
Adults Only: We’ve stayed at both family friendly resorts and adults only resorts and just prefer the adults only environment, so the resort being 18+ was a perk for us.
All Inclusive: Everything from the food, to the drinks, to the room service was included in the rate. You just paid extra for spa services, the gift shop or if you wanted to upgrade the wine selection at dinner.
Secluded Location: We loved the secluded location of this resort. It was about 30 minutes from Montego Bay on a private peninsula. Because of the location, the resort attracted less of a party crowd. If you’re looking to party, then this would probably be a con 🙂
Transportation Included: Transportation was included in our rate – so there was a driver waiting for us at the airport to bring us to the resort, and then a driver at the hotel to bring us back. We thought this was great and made for a seamless arrival and departure experience.
Direct Beach Access: We’ve stayed at resorts where they market being on the beach, but what they really mean is that the beach is a 20 minute car ride away at a sister resort lol so we loved that the beach was steps from the pool.
Rooms Were Spacious: Even the basic rooms were large and I believe all of them had an in-room hot tub. They were also fully stocked with a mini bar and bottles of wine/liquor that was refreshed daily. You can learn more about the rooms here.
A Lot of Restaurants/Easy Way to Navigate Them: The hotel has 10+ bars and restaurants showcasing various cuisines, so there’s something for everyone. They also have an app that you can download (called The Excellence Collection) if you want to keep track of what’s open when, the dress codes, etc. You can download the app before you go/while you’re researching if you just want to take a look.
On-Site Spa: The resort had a spa on-site, called Miilé Spa, and they offered a free hydrotherapy treatment when you booked a service. I didn’t end up booking anything, but my friend did a facial and massage and said it was great. You can see what they offer here.
Large Pool With Seats: The resort has a large pool and we never had an issue getting chairs together as a group of 4. They also had options in the sun and in the shade.
The Cons
And then here are the cons. I hate being negative and it’s hard when everyone at the resort was SO nice, but if I had known these things going into it, I may have made a different decision on which resort we picked, so here we go:
Resort Upkeep: The resort opened in 2019, but it looked and felt much older. I think they’re struggling with upkeep a bit and you’ll notice it mainly in the rooms. They’re just very musky, couches and such aren’t cleaned very well, balcony floor boards are coming up, etc.
The Food: This makes me SO sad to write because Ben and I are huge foodies and we couldn’t wait to try all of the restaurants here. We had high expectations due to the marketing and the fact that it was a 5-star resort, but out of the 7 restaurants we tried, none were truly great. You could tell the fresh food wasn’t very fresh and just everything from the flavors to the plating fell short. Scroll to the bottom for a full breakdown of the restaurants on-site.
Service: While everyone was really nice, the actual service was hit or miss. There always seemed to be some type of miscommunication, whether you were checking in for a dinner reservation, ordering room service, or just trying to schedule a car to the airport, nothing was ever super smooth. Not a huge deal and nothing major happened – we just expected a bit more given the 5-star rating.
Entertainment/Night Life: While we loved that this wasn’t a party resort, it was still lacking in general night life. The shows the resort put on were ok – we did appreciate that they had nightly entertainment – but the late night activities (like 10pm-12am) felt very much like something you’d find at summer camp. Think silent Discos and 15 person DJ dance parties.
The Pool Environment: Now I’m all about some music by the pool, but they took pool activities to the next level here. It was like every hour someone from the staff would be on a microphone trying to recruit people for pool Zumba. Between the recruitment process and then the activity itself, it was really hard to just relax by the pool with a book or listen to music.
Limited Beach Seating: While we loved the location of the beach, there were not a lot of chairs. If you’re not out there by 7:30-8am to claim yours, then you’re SOL. I think that’s pretty typical with resorts, but if you look online, the photos of the resort show this sprawling beach which gives the illusion that seating wouldn’t be an issue. If you want to do a beach day, I would just plan ahead and have someone run out early to claim your seats.
Restaurant Breakdown
And then since the quality of the food was such a big thing for us, I wanted to provide a quick breakdown of the restaurants and bars on-site and our thoughts on each. If you have a regular rate (not Excellence Club) then these are the spots available to you. All of these restaurants and bars are either located in the main building or by the pool.
The Kitchen Table: Breakfast buffet in the main building. We liked this spot – they had a ton of options and a lot of healthy choices as well. We went all three mornings 🙂
Caribbean Grove: A sit down restaurant in the main building. This spot was more tapas style, so we tried a good amount of the menu between our group. This was one of the better places in terms of flavors and portion size.
Oregano: We didn’t have a chance to try this spot, but it was a sit down restaurant by the pool that served Italian.
Jerk Hut: Poolside hut with jerk chicken – great for a quick and easy lunch.
Chez Isabelle: In the main building and known for being the fancy spot. They’ll really push the dress code online for guys and remind you to make reservations when you check in, but in reality no reservations are needed and the dress code for guys is just long pants (no jeans though). Service was good here, but the food was nothing to write home about.
Spice: Pan Asian in the main building. Everyone told us to make a reservation for the hibachi, so we did that. It’s basically just a private room with a hibachi table in the middle. If you’ve ever seen Gilmore Girls, the room reminded me of the spot Jason took Lorelai for dinner. Remember when they were in that restaurant that was loud and fun and full of energy, but Jason got them that private room in the back? And every time the server opened the door, they’d hear the excitement of the main lobby…but then the door would close again and it was silent lol that’s what this room felt like.
The hibachi table holds 8 people, so it was the four of us and then 2 other couples. I will say the vibe in there was weird and awkward at first, but the other couples ended up being really nice/fun so we enjoyed getting to them know them. The food at the table was just ok – the meals in the main restaurant actually looked much better, so I would probably recommend skipping hibachi and just doing that.
The Lobster House: A sit down restaurant right by the pool. If you’re looking for lobster, they’ll have it on the menu for dinner. It says online that they only offer it April-October (lobster season) but they had it available during our trip in March, so not sure how accurate that is.
We went here twice – once for lunch and then once for dinner. We thought the lunch we had here was just ok, but we did enjoy the lobster dinner! Below was part of our lunch and just an example of quality – this was labeled as one of their healthy choices and on the menu as Avocado Tostados, but it was basically just chips covered in an avocado paste.
The Grill: Steakhouse/American food in the main building. We thought this spot would be really good and we were so excited to try it on our first night! We expected a somewhat elevated dining experience based off the photos and dress code online, but it was unfortunately very underwhelming 🙁
All of the food that came out, from the apps to the entrees to the desserts, lacked flavor and just looked kind of sad (ie. my chicken and side of roasted vegetables below).
Aroma: Ok I was actually obsessed with this spot – it was just like a little coffee house in the main building that made lattes and such. They also had sandwiches, fruit, gelato, juices and desserts. We stopped by here a few times a day.
Martini: A bar in the main lobby. They make this spot sound really elevated online and really pushed the dress code, but it’s just a good old lobby bar. People will be walking by in swimsuits, checking-in/out, etc. It’s open late though, so it’s a good spot to go after dinner.
Sol: Pool bar – you can also order pool food service from here.
Blue: Swim up pool bar – had a fun vibe.
X-Lounge: This is a bar above the pool – it looks like it would have pretty views of the ocean at sunset! We tried to go on our last night, but there was a private party so can’t confirm.
Sports Bar: A bar with TV’s and a dance floor – they did most of their late night activities here.
Aire: This was supposed to be a smoothie/juice bar, but it wasn’t open when we were there.
Poolside & Beach: They have servers coming around to take food and drink orders and it’s kind of hit or miss. Sometimes they’d bring your order back and sometimes they’d forget 🙁 the food that did come was just ok, nothing noteworthy.
Final Thoughts
This resort was good, but not great – we gave it 7.5/10. For us, it fell short in some big areas (mainly food, service and upkeep) and it made us feel like we were paying 5-star prices for a 3.5/4-star experience.
All in all, if you’re looking for a true 5-star hotel and the elevated experience it brings, then I would probably look else ware. BUT I know that everyone values different things on vacation, so if you’re looking for a nice all-inclusive hotel with a chill environment, decent food and direct beach access, then The Excellence Oyster Bay would be worth checking out!
