Resort Review- Excellence Oyster Bay (Jamaica)
After visiting Excellence Playa Mujeres (EPM) in 2021 and falling in love with the Excellence Brand, we decided to immediately plan our next Excellence Trip. My husband and I honeymooned in Jamaica at Sandals Negril and have visited Jamaica several times on Cruise Stops, but we hadn’t been in several years. Excellence Oyster Bay looked beautiful so we decided to check it out. **Spoiler! It was amazing!**
Hotel: The Resort is set up on a peninsula so the layout is more long and skinny, so it was definitely more spread out than many resorts. Excellence Oyster Bay (EOB) has its main lobby and many of the restaurants are in that main building area. The finishes are elegant and sophisticated. The Excellence Club here at EOB has 2 different club areas, one on each end of the resort. Zenith on one end, and Magna on the other end. Each has a pool, lounge, and restaurant for those guests who booked a club level room, which I would highly recommend here.
Transportation/Airport: We took advantage of the included Seasons transfer to the Resort. We enjoyed having a private transfer. The resort was about a 45 minute drive from the airport. Also at the airport, we took advantage of Club Mobay Lounge. Someone greeted you as you departed your plane, took you past the line for customs to the front of the line. We then got our luggage and headed to the lounge for a drink and food while we waited for our transfer. On our departure, they had a lounge past security we got to enjoy with food, drinks, and more.
Pool: The main pool area was fantastic. It had a swim-up bar and there was always something happening around there. One side of the pool seemed to be the quiet side, while the other is where all the live music and events happened. There is also an awesome Jerk Hut right by the pool to get burgers, fries, and jerk chicken. It was yummy. Unless you are Excellence Club, that is the only pool. As I mentioned earlier, there are two private Excellence Club pools, neither were ever super busy. I also felt like the main pool area was never too crowded, usually could find a chair or a spot to hang out, no problem.
Beach: The beach is very narrow in some spots at EOB. There really isn’t a ton of seaweed here (at least when we went in July 2022), but there is seagrass in the ocean. So there is definitely areas where you can go out and swim, but further out is seagrass. The best part of the beach front is by the beach houses and beach villas accomodations. The Excellence Club area had these amazing Bali Beds you could use. We loved hanging out in this area and again never felt super crowded there, always a spot for us when we showed up.
Room: Excellence Oyster Bay has very different room options than Excellence Playa Mujeres and we decided to go with the Excellence Club Rooftop Terrace Suite with Plunge Pool Ocean Front. We were on the top floor and had a room facing the main pool area. Our view was awesome from the high vantage point. We had 2 separate rooms, one was the living area/desk/mini bar and the other was our bedroom with chairs, a jacuzzi tub, and then the bathroom, shower and walk in closet. Our balcony had a plunge pool, chairs and day bed. Each room had a sliding glass door out to our balcony. Some other unique room options at this resort are beach houses. In each “house” there are 4 room, two upstairs, two downstairs. They all have plunge pools on their balcony as well. What is nice about these rooms is they are on the beach front. There are also rooms with private pools on the first floor of main buildings. So if you want more than a plunge pool, these would be great choices. Also if you are looking for the ultimate luxury experience, EOB offers beach villas with private pools, butler service and more!
Spa: We LOVED the spa here at EOB as well! As guests of the Excellence Club Suite, we were treated to a complimentary Aqua Hydrotherapy Session at the spa and it was absolutely AMAZING. They had all these hot and cold therapies in the water and out. Even if you didn't book the Excellence Club, you still receive a Hydrotherapy Session with each spa service you purchased.
Food: The food at the resort was really good. They served smaller portions, but since it was all inclusive, we often ordered multiple dishes. With over 10 different restaurants on site, we had plenty of options to choose from. Here's a pro-tip: if you don't have enough time to try every restaurant, why not have appetizers at one place and your main course and dessert at another? That way, you get to sample a little bit from each spot. The biggest difference from EOB and EPM is we never had a wait for dinner. We heard when we were there they were at 95% occupancy, but it never felt crowded at all. One standout restaurant other Excellence Resorts don’t have, is Caribbean Groove. We really enjoyed that. Also EOB is the only resort that has 2 Excellence Club areas. Zenith is their 2nd Club Restaurant.
Drinks: We had some fantastic drinks while we were there. Our room was stocked with various options that were replenished regularly. And at the bars, they had menus, but they were more than happy to make you anything you desired. We LOVED the Martini Bar at EPM, but it didn’t seem as happening of a place here at EOB.
Entertainment: Every night, there was some kind of nighttime entertainment, ranging from live music to shows, silent discos, and even casino nights. During the day, they had games and live music at the main pool area. The entertainment was decent, although I must admit, compared to cruise ships, it didn't quite measure up. But hey, I usually come to all-inclusives to relax, so it didn't bother me one bit! I will say again, entertainment was never too crowded either.
Price: Again, why we keep coming back and back to Excellence Brand Resorts is because the price is so reasonable for the level of service and over all elevated luxury level the resort looks and feels. You really can’t beat it!
Overall: We were absolutely thrilled with our experience at the property, and we gave it a well-deserved 5 STARS! Everything about it was impressive. Now having been to 2 Excellence Resorts, I will say if you are looking for a trip with a group of friends, Excellence Oyster Bay would be an excellent (no pun intended!) choice. We didn’t feel like this resort was as crowded as EPM, maybe because it was so spread out, I don’t know. But we loved it and plan to be back!
