TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Secrets Akumal truly exceeded all expectations, but what made this stay exceptional was the entertainment team. They are the heart of the resort and kept every day fun, energetic, and engaging. A huge special mention to Alan, who took the fitness classes to a whole new level. His energy, motivation, and positivity made every session something to look forward to. Whether it was morning stretch, water aerobics, beach volleyball, pool volleyball, crazy games, dance lessons, even bingo, or the many other activities, there was always something happening and it never felt repetitive or forced — just genuinely fun. Also a big thank you to Liz, Brandon, Max, and Andres- each of them brought their own personality, enthusiasm, and professionalism, making the activities inclusive and enjoyable for everyone. Thanks to this team, I stayed active, laughed constantly, and was never bored for a moment. The breakfast is outstanding, easily some of the best quality food I’ve had anywhere in the world. The variety, freshness, and presentation were incredible and set the tone for the day. Restaurants, second to none. I’d recommend booking the Japanese restaurant on arrival- this is not to be missed. Also loved the 24hr room service and the coffee shop!! The events each night were outstanding too. The poolside service is impeccable. You never have an empty glass- staff are attentive, friendly, and always happy to help, making it effortless to relax and enjoy the day. Miguel and Manuel make the best margaritas and hangover mocktails too!! From start to finish, Secrets Akumal delivers luxury, fun, and exceptional service. I can’t recommend this resort highly enough and will absolutely be returning.

The good: • The staff are wonderful. The dedicated concierges are especially incredible — thank you, Leidy and Jose! • The food is quite good overall, and the restaurants actually feel like lovely and proper restaurants, not just large rooms. • Plenty of pool options: lively pools and a genuinely quiet pool. • Everything was easy, smooth, and very accommodating throughout my stay. • The spa is probably the nicest I’ve seen at an all-inclusive resort — truly impressive. • A very pretty resort The not-so-good: • The resort was rowdier and busier than I expected. It’s not a foam party scene, but it also isn’t the serene couples’ retreat it’s often marketed as, which was disappointing. • The timeshare pitch at check-in was a low point. It was disguised as something else, intentionally confusing, and frankly felt sneaky. Even worse, the actual presentations happen in the main buffet, so you’re eating breakfast while watching tables around you get pitched. It really breaks the relaxing atmosphere. • Vendors on the beach were persistent. Not aggressive, but they didn’t leave guests alone for long. I understand it’s a public beach, but it still affected the experience enough that I mostly avoided the beach. • It truly is confusing to find your way around. Not sure why this isn’t addressed with better signage. Seems like an easy fix. • Lighting outside the rooms at night is laughably dim. Quite dark and potentially unsafe. • The ‘famous’ poolside pizza… meh. Wasn’t great. Inconsistent. So-so. Overall: A very good resort with lots to like, but I probably wouldn’t return. There are other places I’d rather explore, and nothing here was compelling enough to draw me back personally.

I surprised my husband with a three-day Christmas stay at Secrets Akumal. Although we are UVC members, we are biased and love this resort. We also live right down the street from this resort. We have stayed here at least fourteen times over the last eight or nine years. Since we have a higher-level membership, we were upgraded to a Preferred Club Swimout room. The water was a little chilly this time of year, but who's complaining? Our favorite restaurants are all of them. Rank-ordered from best to least: Himitsu (à la carte), Bordeaux, Oceana, Portifino, Seaside, Santorini, and El Patio. Each restaurant has amazing dishes we love. Obviously, since we were only there for three dinner meals, we ate at Santorini, Bordeaux, and Himitsu. Santorini is just getting started, so the service was slow, but the lamb and fried cheese appetizer were amazing. Bordeau is incredible. I'm a sucker for the escargot, and they never disappoint. The French onion soup was outstanding as well. The lamb and surf and turf were good, but the lamb at Santorini was better. Himitsu à la carte is still our favorite. We ordered the sashimi, spring rolls, soft shell crab salad, Tom Kha Gai soup, frog legs in green curry, and mixed pad thai. Everything was incredible, but the soft-shell crab salad and soup were the standouts! Outstanding mentions are the whole fried fish at Seaside Grill for lunch, the wood-fired pizza, and two days of grilled fare at Oceana: one day seafood, the other meat. They really outdo themselves for the holidays. We chose eating over shows, but the shows are always outstanding. My two favorite drinks are the Citrus Punch at the Relaxing pool (Halftime bar) and cassis and champagne. My go-tos are Hendrick's and tonic or soda, and Contessa Mexican-made gin in various flavors. Felipe (?), I think I have his name correct, rotates among the relaxing pool, the beach, and other areas. His service is always outstanding, and the bartenders remember your favorite drinks. Of all the resorts, the butlers make your stay comfortable, enjoyable, and fun. William and Mauricio are the best! Diego, the preferred club manager, is incredible. He needs to train other managers in accurate, personable service and hospitality. Javier, the head concierge, is also the BEST! He helped me with several minor matters and put his best foot forward in representing Secrets Akumal.

I don’t write reviews often but doing so because we (my wife and I and another couple who are friends of ours) had an amazing stay at secrets! First of all a big shout out to the concierge team - Jose and Annie who were amazing. Jose is incredible at his job and it’s not an understatement when we say that he made our stay absolutely flawless! He was on top of every single item on our itinerary/plan and made sure we attended the events we wanted to attend, helped us navigate restaurant hours and made sure we got to eat where we wanted to eat, helped us with all our transportation and other reservations and he helped address any issue that came our way almost immediately! Another shoutout to Santiago the food director of the resort - incredibly thoughtful and attentive and made sure our dietary restrictions were met! Maximilano and Andrea and Didiel were awesome with all the fun events they had planned out for us. Maximilano and Andrea were incredible and sweet and so fun and the reason why the events were energetic and exciting! Lastly, Estefan at the gym rocks! Super attentive and great at his job! Made our workouts every morning a great experience!

We chose this hotel based on previous reviews and were not disappointed. Everything about the hotel was excellent, starting with the staff who went out of their way to ensure we had everything we wanted. The choice of restaurants was great and the buffet restaurant where breakfast and lunch were served was one of the best we have experienced. We also had the choice of ordering food to our sunbed or enjoying a variety of barbecue food served at the beachfront restaurant. We would recommend Portofino the Italian restaurant as this was our favourite.