My wife and I love to travel and decided to return to the Mexico Riviera for the third time. We really enjoy the combination of white sandy beaches, turquoise seas, culture, and the festive atmoshphere that the area offers. I had high expectation for Secrets based upon the recommendations from a travel agent and reviews on the net.
The welcoming experience: Upon arrival, guests are sat in the lobby and offerred a flute of champagne with a cool towel. This is a nice touch, but also a convienent way of making up for a slow check in process. We booked the standard room through Travelocity. At the check in desk, we were told that only rooms with two twin beds were available. We paid $340 more to upgrade to a room with a King bed. Everyone we talked to at the resort, had the same experience. The check in experience was more typical of a time share than a resort.
The rooms: Comfortable bedding, nice decor, marble bath and shower, stocked fridge, and nice size balcony overlooking the pool. We had no problems with service and thought the rooms were nice.
The food: We liked the food at the italian restaurant the best. All of the restarurants serve small portions and offer slow service. The food was good, but not memorable. The service was poor and unfortunately memorable. We only ate at the buffet two times, once for breakfast and once for dinner - okay but nothing great.
The pool: Nice pool. No problem with getting a lounge chair. The pool area gets lively around happy hour. I was disappointed with the limited entertainment around the pool area. The quality of pool bar drinks are inconsistant. Nice place to relax.
The beach: Okay, not great. The sand beach directly in front of Secrets in the best in this stretch of the coast line. Sand obviously has been imported from elsewhere to make up this beach. The quality of the beach drops off significantly on both sides of the Secrets property. The water is clear and has a greenish-blue tint, but not the gorgouse turquoise color that we had experienced in the riveria myan area just south of Playa de Carmen. No problem getting a lounge chair to relax on the beach. I love to jog on the beach, but found it challenging due to the pitch and lack of hard packed sand. Secrets does have a jogging trail along the driveway in the front of the property.
The entertainment: Disappointing. Nightly entertainment was minimal. The newly wed game was held in a room suitable for a business conference, not for entertaining guests. Secrets relies upon an ametuer staff to coordinate activities and is reflective in both the quantity and quality of entertainment.. We did enjoy the buffet on the beach with the local dance troupe.
Overall experience: Secrets is a nice property, but I did not get a Mexican experience. Food and entertainment is more typical of an American resort. We did enjoy the adults only aspect of the resort.. We had stayed at the Iberostar Tucan twice and would recommend the Iberostar over Secrets for better food, pool, beach, entertainment, Mexican feel, service, and value.

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