TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We just left the resort after 7 days. We were first time visitors and overall we enjoyed our time. Here are just a few thoughts to help anyone with questions. The resort is stunning! Absolutely gorgeous views of the pacific from almost everywhere. Be prepared it is hot and humid! About 87 degrees daily and what feels like 100 humidity. Not complaining but just pointing it out. The higher in the resort you go the better the breezes. We stayed in a master suite swim out. It was preferred but like most people share that means virtually nothing here. We loved our room and the pool. One of the reasons we upgraded was because we could get drinks delivered directly to our swim out pool. Although we did get service it was often slow (once every 2 hours) or the wait staff would walk right but or even better forget what we ordered. Now, I’m fully aware that this sounds like we are spoiled little children. We are not but I’m being honest. For the amount we paid to upgrade we expected better. The food at the resort was a solid 4/5. If you are a foodie I would not recommend this place. Our hands down favorite items were the room service fish tacos and the rolled chicken tacos solid 9/10. Restaurant Ratings: -Steak: 4/5 -Preferred Breakfast: 2.5/5 -Italian: 5/5 -French: 4.5/5 -Asian: 4.5/5 -Seafood: 5/5 -Mexican: 3/5 -Buffet: 3.5/5 -Coffee Shop: 4.5/5 Each night there was a dinner Buffett with a different theme. Strangely, this was not posted anywhere on the app so it was a guessing game. We never went but it was an option The staff were great everywhere except at the pool. 2/3 elevators were out of service almost all week. The one working one would only hold 3 to 4 people or it would not operate because it had too much weight. This made for some long waits. The towel game here is no joke. 2/3 of seats reserved by 6 a.m. many which were not utilized until after lunch. Entitled selfish people suck! Thank goodness for our swim out room. I was turned away from the buffet because I had a tank top on which was a dress code violation. Not happy about but ok. Of course, I became the dress code police and I saw so my violations everywhere. Bikini tops at the buffet, flip flops at all the ala cart restaurants and men in shorts where pants are required. T-shirts were collared shirts are required. The inconsistency made my blood boil! Carolina was an absolute stand out employee. She was very attentive and helped me find medical care when I got an ear infection. She was absolutely amazing! One of the best staff members we have encountered in 30+ years of travel. She deserves a big fat raise! Not sure we will be back so on to the next adventure!

The staff at Castaways— the only place to have lunch IMO— are the best. Yvonne and Stefany along with all the other servers were amazing. Order the cauliflower and chicken tacos. Yes, people wake up early to reserve chairs, but you’ll find one. I also recommended heading straight for the beach and skipping the pools altogether. If you’re not high maintenance, you will enjoy the food and drinks. Oceana for dinner was lovely and the Italian and French were good too. Was it a 5 star Canadian restaurant, no, but still very good. I can’t stress enough how wonderful the staff are… attentive and so friendly. This is a very different part of Mexico- less developed than Cancun, PV, etc., but that’s what I love about it. Weather is PERFECT. 32-34 every day with a breeze by the ocean. I love that it stays humid in the evening. No sweaters here! Carmi on the bus on the way home was hilarious as well. We’ll be back!

The hotel is for lack of a better word “Tired”. Of the three main elevators only one was operating. Those were main the elevators for the pools and restaurant’s, the whole facility was run down. The pool tiles were falling off on every pool and the resort walls were all banged up and in need of a coat of paint. It just needs a major remodel. We had the Preferred package with what was supposed to be top shelf liquor. Well if top shelf means Jim Beam and Gentlemen Jack for bourbon that is a stretch. Don’t waste your money on that package. For a what was sold to us as a “high end resort” it was not. On the only plus side I will say the rooms were nice and they had killer showers. Additionally, the staff was over the top nice. But I could not recommend this resort to anyone. We will not be returning and will probably not vacation with Secrets resort again unless we have proof it is of the quality they sell it as. There were 18 of us that went and to the person everyone said they would not return and were as disappointed with the resort as we were. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else to stay you will be glad you did.

Beautiful weather. Great pools. Entertainment Team was amazing- all of them. Pool and beach activities evening activities and entertainment great. Something for everyone! Food on the whole was good. Market cafe excellent. Some areas of resort need a little facelift but all in all very good.

This is the first time I’ve been to a Secrets and we were there for 2 weeks mid-Nov. I give a 5-star rating to the hard working staff as they try so hard to make your stay a good one. As for the rest of the resort, not so much. I had to keep in mind Secrets is not the Four Seasons and far from being a 5-star hotel; it barely qualifies as a 4-star. Room: spectacular view as all of the rooms are ocean front. Our room was in bldg #4, 2nd floor (rm 4215), I think 3rd floor rooms would have even better views because there wouldn’t be the roof of the bldg in front blocking bit of the view. You don’t want to being the lower 2 bldgs because it’s noisy and only have view of the pools. Even on the 2nd floor, view is partially obstructed by palm trees. I have read several reviews about the lack of upkeep for the interiors of these buildings. The mattress was sagging, the pillows were the very cheap ones with foam stuffing, the shower and tub are in a wet room, and the wooden flooring was disgustingly (see photo) In general, the whole resort needs to be updated & repairs done. Even those elevators won’t hold more than 5-6 people going down and not more that 4 large or 6 smaller people going up (it actually said it holds 12). Often only 2 out of the 3 elevators were working. A shoutout for “Theo,” our room attendant who left our room sparkling every day. Pools: layout worked well. About 6 adjoining pools with the pools in the upper decks being quieter while the largest pool with swim up bar had all the noise and activities. My only complaint about the pool is-not enough umbrellas. In such heat, year round, everyone wanted an umbrella. Restaurants: all 6 restaurants open 6 days a week but you never know when any of them closes. I am a foodie so I will say: it’s a Mexican chef’s interpretation of what international cuisine looks like. Whether it’s Japanese, French, Italian, Steakhouse, or seafood, I would always wonder why a chef would pair some ingredients, or why they would leave out ingredients. I’ve read many review that describe the food as “disgusting,” I have found 2-3 items in each of the restaurant menus to be quite good, however, the rest…NOT good. The lighting in all the restaurants was terrible. They seem to like the cold/blue LED bulbs…so no ambiance. Many people we met raved about the steaks at Castaways. I was so looking forward to having their prime rib and my husband, the rib eye steak. Instead of a nice pink piece of meat with glistening gravy and a great sear on the steak, what came to the table were 2 pieces of beige/grey meat that were really hard to cut. I then realized, these were not AAA cuts and their pans were obviously not hot enough. Food would be passable if you only stayed a week and you don’t really care about food. By week 2, I was getting tired of mediocre. I must mention our waiter, Daniel, at Bordeaux (French restaurant) who was such a hoot! The wedding: There was a weekend wedding of a “very wealthy family.” The resort started shutting down one pool at a time until Saturday when 2/3 of the pool area were closed to guests. That left everyone with only the main pool to use and they moved Barefoot grill to the very edge of the resort and closed 2 of the 6 restaurants. Secrets accommodated the family by moving guests out of their rooms in order for the wedding party to occupy an entire building. They brought their 2 large dogs, had music and spot lights and the dancing in the pool area until 2:30am. They then moved the party onto the beach and continued with loud music until 6 am. Many guests were really angry. The poor staff weren’t told of the event until 5 days prior. We heard from guests at Dreams the family also took over that resort on the Friday for a large pre-wedding dinner, along with a parade. Excursions: we booked this stay via WestJet vacations and they have a rep that sells you excursions. My advice is to compare the offerings from WestJet to ones offered by the hotel itself. WestJet rep probably get commissions for their sales so not completely honest as to the travel time because of the major mountain hwy construction. We were told the drive back from the turtle sanctuary would be 40 min, it took 2hr 15min. People were exhausted, hungry, and desperately needed the washroom. We met several guests who are “preferred members” and vacation there twice a year. They commented Secrets has gone “downhill” since it was purchased by the Hyatt group. This resort is ok if you don’t care that much about good food, or great beds, or bathrooms, or ambiance, and I am aware many people love this resort. As for me, nah, I would not go back.