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A Couple's Review of Secrets Playa Mujeres Resort in Cancun, Mexico
I love a good resort vacation and I love traveling the world. But the one vacation that actually feels like a vacation to us is a trip to an all-inclusive resort. We started sneaking away as a couple when the kids were much smaller for a few days here and there. We even brought our kids to a few all inclusive resorts where they quickly became a favorite for our family. Unlimited drinks, food and a beautiful beach, what more could you ask for? We realized it had been about five years since the last time we went to an all inclusive resort {thank you global pandemic}, and my husband was insistent that we stay at the Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort. Because I can be happy at a Motel 6 or hanging in a hammock on the beach, my husband's standards and desires typically come into play in our resort selection. Just because my standards are different, doesn't mean that I don't have opinions! As someone who has stayed at more than a dozen all inclusive resorts in more than five countries, this is the review you are going to want to read before you book!
A Couple's Review of Secrets Playa Mujeres Resort in Cancun, Mexico
We were due for a vacation. After a few really stressful months, we were beyond ready to catch a break. We had a 7 night, 8 day stay booked at the Secrets Playa Mujeres Resort in the Cancun area in February. I always want to give you the most honest review. And while some of this might seem nit picky {it is!}, booking an all inclusive resort vacation is expensive and I want you to make the best use of your hard earned dollars.
Spoiler alert: I would book this resort again! But there are some things I've highlighted that you should know so that you can make the best decision.
Why Choose an Adults Only Resort
We like kids. We have three of them! But we discovered early on that if we are planning a romantic escape away from the children at home, that going to an adults-only all inclusive resort just made more sense to us. With an adults-only resort, you can get an escape from the noise and the energy of families and young children. I can float around the pool without having a child jump on top of me doing a cannonball and I don't have to wait at the bar for some kid to get his 10th virgin daquiri of the morning while flopping his goggles around flinging water everywhere. I don't have to hear some kid who is past his naptime crying for rest or two siblings fighting in the pool over their dive sticks.
There's just a more relaxed vibe when you are at an adults-only all inclusive resort.
What are Secrets Resorts
The Secrets Resorts & Spas brand is part of the AMR Collection that is owned by Hyatt. The Secrets Resorts are all adults-only, and their sister resorts, Dreams are all family-friendly. Secrets are known for its luxurious, adults-only, all-inclusive tropical destinations across Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. They are designed specifically for couples and honeymooners, and focus on romance, relaxation, and high-end service. All of that together will give you the perfect stress-free vacation!
Many Secrets resorts offer swim-out pools, private balconies, ocean views and in-room whirlpool tubs. Guests enjoy unlimited gourmet dining, top-shelf drinks, 24-hour room service and daily entertainment. There are no wristbands, no hidden fees and no reservations required at any of the restaurants. Many Secrets properties also offer a Preferred Club upgrade, providing VIP amenities like private check-in, upgraded suites, exclusive lounges, and access to special beach areas and pool beds.
Secrets has resorts in top destinations like Cancun, Punta Cana, Jamaica, and Costa Rica.
Why Choose Playa Mujeres
There are a few areas to choose from in the greater Cancun area, but time and time again we keep coming back to the Playa Mujeres area. We've been coming to this stretch of beach for more than 10 years now {we've stayed several times at the Excellence Playa Mujeres and would highly recommend that, as well as at the family-friendly Finest Playa Mujeres} and while we have seen it change {so many more resorts!}, it's also a bit of a hidden gem still I think.
The Playa Mujeres area is about a 40 minute ride from the Cancun airport. We always hire a private transfer from the airport to the resort and from the resort to the airport. We often don't plan on leaving for any other part of the trip. Once we arrive at a resort we never leave. Why would we? Everything from food and drink to entertainment is already paid for!
Is Cancun Safe Right Now?
Let me preface this by saying that I rarely feel unsafe in most locations that I visit. I will say that I felt a different vibe on this trip. Maybe it's because I was often walking the beach alone {hubby came down with pneumonia-a story for another time!}, or because there was a shooting {that ended in a fatality} literally one resort down just a few weeks prior.
I noticed a LOT more police and security enforcement on the beaches. I also saw a police helicopter flying very low over the beach one afternoon as if it were looking for someone. I asked one of the staff at the resort and he said that it wasn't just me. These are his thoughts as a local, not mine. He told me that Mexico has a new president and with new leadership comes a shakeup in the drug cartel community. While tourist areas used to be off limits, they are starting to have more cartel activity, it seems, to make a point.
Would knowing any of this have made me cancel my trip? Nope.
I would exercise more caution when traveling and be more aware of your surroundings if you are traveling to Mexico right now. If you are at the resort, stay at the resort. If I was a mom with a college kid wanting to go on a spring break trip to Cancun right now, I'd likely caution them against leaving their hotel. I know, I know, that means no Senor Frogs and drunken foam parties well into the night, but probably better to be safe than sorry. I'd also use only designated transfer companies {ask your resort for a recommendation} rather than hiring a local private driver that isn't well known to the staff at your resort.
Why Choose Secrets Playa Mujeres Resort & Spa
We chose Secrets Playa Mujeres because we knew we liked this stretch of beach and the secluded safety of this area. There are a few amenities that are non-negotiable for my husband when we chose an all inclusive. He likes an in-room spa or jacuzzi tub and plenty of lounge areas, both at the pool and at the beach.
This is a golf resort with special privileges to the Playa Mujeres Golf Club including transportation to and from the course. We don't golf, so this didn't really play into our decision, but there was a golf group of 150 there while we were there and they seemed to really be enjoying the course.
Booking and Preferred Club Experience
We've stayed at several resorts with Preferred Clubs and overall, I haven't been impressed by them. The extra expense hasn't been necessary.
However, this is one resort that I wouldn't book if I didn't get the Preferred Club upgrade. We stayed in a Preferred Club Junior Suite Ocean View room. Upon arrival, we were escorted to a private check in area that offered a separate check in location. Turns out it was inside the Preferred Club Lounge area that included a snack spread as well as a dedicated bartender and service staff.
Your room key gives you access to the Preferred Club Lounge where you will find food and snacks all day long. These snacks are better than what you will find at any of the restaurants that are in the main area. The bar also has top shelf alcohol with a dedicated bartender. I don't drink much, but when I do, I prefer having higher quality alcohol because I'm old and it doesn't make me feel as gross later on!
While there is a coffee shop on the property that anyone can access, the Preferred Club has a coffee machine. The lines at the coffee shop can get long in the morning, and while I was told that I could get my morning mocha at the Preferred Club, turns out, the machine was down and the bartender on staff didn't know how to use the new one, so I had to go to the regular shop. So that is hit or miss.
The Preferred staff all does their best to get to know you by name as soon as you check in. One of the perks to having Preferred status are the designated Bali lounge beds around the beach. While this resort isn't immune to the early morning towel game, where people get up early to reserve a chair by throwing a spread out towel and a book or random piece of clothing down, these Bali beds on the beach are dedicated for Preferred Club only. They are limited, because there are more Preferred Club rooms than Bali beds, but we didn't have a problem securing one each day we were there. The Beach concierge in that area made an effort to get to know us by name, even when he switched stations to the pool later in the week.
The resort has a spa on site, and one of the lesser known perks of having Preferred Club status is the ability to have a guided hydrotherapy treatment. Heck, I only knew about it because I asked what some of the Preferred Club benefits were when we checked in. The guided hydrotherapy gave us access to the spa area with treatments in the sauna, cold plunge pool and steam room as well as in the hydrotherapy pool with a long soak in the hot tub afterwards. They said it would be around an hour, we were there about an hour and a half. We were the only ones there so we had a completely private treatment. No complaints here!
The Preferred Club has access to a sit down breakfast in Oceana, which I think is the most beautiful restaurant on the property. It's got the most beautiful sweeping view of the ocean and gave me a Beaches Resort Turks & Caicos vibe. This restaurant is all access the rest of the day {for lunch and dinner}, but it's nice to have another option that isn't just a buffet or room service for breakfast. We had our breakfast there every day but one.
While access to the sister resort next door is open to everyone, there is a lazy river that is Preferred Club access only. It was about a five minute walk to the lazy river from the pool at Secrets, but it was easy, and should include a quick stop at the bar before you get situated. There is a juice bar at the lazy river, but there is no alcohol available there. We found several chair options with umbrellas that were always open in the lazy river area and incredibly quiet.
While the lazy river is on the family resort side, we found that kids got bored with it quickly {it's kind of lazy!} and that we were often the only ones floating around, oftentimes for hours on end!
The Cons to the Preferred Club
Overall, I was impressed with the Preferred Club. Like I said, I wouldn't book this resort with out it because those extras make a difference in your overall experience.
I was disappointed in the advice I received from the Preferred Club concierge. As mentioned previously, my husband came down with what he self-diagnosed as pneumonia. This was literally on day one that I went to the Preferred Club lounge to help get medication for him. The concierge told me that they have an on call pharmacy they could call and while on the phone, she quoted me the price for some Amoxicillin, including delivery. When I quickly said yes, I'd take some, the price then went up by $10. It felt a bit like a scam and like she was trying to get more money from me. The dosage wasn't accurate for his needs {thank you Dr. Google} and we were questioning needing two bottles and again, I was quoted a price that was double the higher price she had just given me.
I had spotted a pharmacy two miles away as we were coming to the resort the day before, so I made a game time decision to take a taxi to the pharmacy {$35 round trip} to get our own medication. Amoxicillin was buy one get one free {not sure if we will ever need 180 pills} and it was still cheaper than getting it in the states since we would have needed a doctors visit as well. Overall, taking the trip ourselves took about 45 minutes of our time and cost us around $100, which was still cheaper than the quoted price we had from the concierge. Which, to be fair, would have been delivered directly to us.
We came back to the resort and guess what I found behind the counter at the gift shop? Freakin' Amoxicillin! The concierge at the Preferred Club didn't even mention that we might find some there. Which then made me think that she was indeed using my vulnerability to get more money out of me.
This was an isolated incidence for a random need {not everyone is going to need prescription medication while on vacation}, but could I also trust this person to make reservations for me for an excursion that would be fairly priced or would she be taking some off the top as well? I didn't feel like I got helpful and accurate information from the concierge which honestly seems like their soul job. But I digress.
We've stayed at several hotels that have offered swim out suites. We haven't booked one yet. In fact, I'm a little bit hesitant to even consider one. Most of the time I've seen the swim out suites unused. People don't tend to actually use the pool that is outside of their patio area. Many times it's because these areas are often in the shade. The water never warms up and it's difficult to know when booking, which swim out suite will actually be worth paying extra for.
The exception at this resort would be if you were booking a master suite ocean front with a private pool. All of these rooms are at the front of the resort and they do get sun most of the day.
Dining and Restaurants
This resort has six a la carte gourmet restaurants, a grill, buffet and café. Reservations are never required with the exception of seating at the teppanyaki grill at Himitsu. You also have access to the sister property, Dreams Playa Mujeres, for ten more dining experiences, one of those included being an ice cream shop!
The restaurants open for dinner seating at 6 pm and if you aren't there right when they open, it can get busy! We aren't foodies, so I have a hard time giving food advice, but overall, I think the food presented was beautiful and it had a lot of flavor.
The Cons to Dining
One thing we noticed time and time again is that the wait staff in the restaurants seemed understaffed and overworked. For the price being paid, they clearly needed more people to make their guests feel taken care of. The staff was kind and hard working, but because there weren't enough people working, things slipped through the cracks. Drinks didn't get refilled, orders didn't get taken promptly, things requested got forgotten.
We aren't ones to linger for too long over a meal, but when we are on vacation, we realize that dinner out is an experience. However, the time waiting was excessive. Every meal took no less than 90 minutes. This often didn't seem like a kitchen issue. I say that because often the food would come out hard like it had been sitting ready but not able to be served quickly because of the understaffing.
I was disappointed that the restaurants didn't have a cocktail or drink menu. Every restaurant has a theme, and when asked if they had a specialty cocktail, the answer was always no. I think this is a missed opportunity for the restaurants.
Can I talk about the bread for a minute? I don't need bread with every meal like my Italian husband does, but a good piece of soft bread is important to me. Especially if I'm left waiting to eat. Also, weirdly enough, butter was hard to find. Making bread isn't hard. This resort would benefit greatly from hiring a French chef who can make pastries and bread. I mention this because there were a few times that I tried to get a croissant or baked good from the café and they didn't taste like they were made in a kitchen that was on the property. They tasted like they were pre-packaged baked goods.
One final thing that several of the other resorts we've visited have had, but that this one didn't were some little dining touches that would have made a big difference. For instance, I've been to resorts before that had an afternoon popsicle cart. I've seen bars serve cocktails out of coconuts or deliver fruit cups to people poolside. There were missed opportunities where little touches could have made a big difference.
The Rooms
If you look online at a description of the rooms, most of the rooms look similar. The things that you look at in your room {garden view, partial ocean view, ocean view, etc...}, and the extras that are included {private pool or jacuzzi} is what sets each of the rooms apart. We had a jacuzzi on our balcony that we used several times, and we had a large jacuzzi bathtub in the room that we used never.
The Cons
We booked a Preferred Club Junior Suite Ocean View room. While we had an ocean view, we were set back fairly far from the ocean. I'm not sure the price difference in the partial ocean view but the way this resort is laid out, there is a bit of space between the rooms and the ocean so keep that in mind.
We also struggled with storage in this room. There were only three small drawers in the room. My husband ended up unpacking and putting his things in his nightstand. I also needed to request more hangers for the closet, but they quickly delivered those.
Entertainment
We've been to a lot of all inclusive resorts and for awhile there we were going to one or two a year. It didn't matter what resort we were going to, or what location we were visiting, I could have told you the full entertainment week without looking! There was always some type of Mexican heritage show {with fire!}, and likely a Michael Jackson tribute concert.
I know it has been awhile since we have visited an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, but I was surprised at the entertainment options and I'm not sure if it was just at this resort or if all resorts are going for a more pared down option.
This resort lacked evening entertainment options all together. There were a few really fun bands that had sets in the Rendezvous Bar, but it felt really low key overall. There were multiple musicians with instruments that played poolside by day and in the outdoor area by night. I heard a violin, sax and guitar version of Miley Cyrus' "Flowers" more than once!
We ventured into the Showtime Theater for a Secrets Idol performance and quickly left after some really horrible karaoke versions of songs were sung. Another night we walked up to the theater to see what was happening and it was totally dead.
We tried to go to the Dreams Resort to see what their entertainment options were and after watching a few minutes of the circus performance, we decided to wander the property and enjoy the stars and warm air.
If you are coming to this resort looking for evening entertainment, you should probably think again. Set the bar low and you might be surprised. We did enjoy a few nights of listening to bands and playing Jenga in the bar, but those were few and far between during our week-long stay.
Some Things to Note About Secrets Playa Mujeres
There is a golf cart transportation system on the property. There are a few areas with ring doorbell type apparatus' at them where you push a button and the golf cart is called to retrieve you. We aren't convinced that the golf cart actually gets any type of notification. But overall, the wait time wasn't bad for the carts and it was the best way to get from the main resort area to the dining and spa area.
We were pretty impressed at how efficient they were even during really high traffic times.
There is a property app that is incredibly helpful. It has been five years since we have been to an all inclusive resort and while I'm familiar with an app for a cruise ship, this is my first time using one at a resort. I was able to request things I needed for the room like extra hangers and pillows, and make reservations for the hibachi.
You could also see what restaurants and bars were open {they do close on a rotating basis} that evening. You could even see full menus for the various restaurant locations. There was also a list of activities and entertainment options.
The downside to the app is that it often lacked important information. It would say that the Aura Band was playing at Rendezvous, but there was no description of what the Aura Band was. Additional information would have been helpful so that you could make a more informed decision.
The sister resort property has what we call dolphin jail on it. There are five dolphins in captivity in a very small area. I love seeing animals in the wild, I struggle seeing them in captivity. You can watch them flip and jump when people book swimming tours with them. It's sad seeing such beautiful creatures contained.
Bring your own pool float. I have a pool float that I love. It sits up high enough in the water that I can still read my book while floating and it has a cup holder for drinks. It's cheap enough to bring it along and leave it, but trust me, I've repacked this float many times to many places.
There are pool floats at the resort, but there aren't many. The ones they do have often get taken and tucked away next to someone's pool chair. Let's just say people were jealous of my pool float.
There is a daytime bike tour and a kayak tour. The water was rough all week, so no kayak tours were happening, but I did take the bike tour and I'd recommend it. I knew the area from having visited before. We used to run the sidewalk path to the entrance gate when we stayed at the Excellence Resort. The bike tour was led by the entertainment staff and had some great information about the area as well as a stop at the lagoon with a crocodile sighting.
I wish that you could borrow the bikes for your own bike ride, but they don't allow you to take them outside of the tour. There is a very nice paved path in front of the resorts in the Playa Mujeres area. You could walk it if you'd like.
It's been a minute since we've been to an all-inclusive resort, but I feel like, at least at this resort, that the vibe shifted from couples only, to groups traveling together. There were a lot of groups. Maybe this is the shift in travel in general after the pandemic, I'm not sure, but that's one thing we noticed. It was less of a romantic atmosphere, and much more fun friend time.
There is a time share component to this. I think some people get hit harder with being asked to join the beach club than others. There is a nearby Secrets Resort that people are bussed to for a free breakfast {I'm very confused by this because breakfast is "free" at the resort you're already at!}, and they are often told that it's an hour long presentation and I've heard reports that it's anywhere from 3-5 hours. We didn't get asked once to join them for this. I'm not sure if this was a box checked when we made the reservations, or if they knew they wouldn't get very far with us if they tried!
Regardless, we met a lot of friendly people in the pool and hot tub who had nothing but good things to say at the vacation club and how often they use their benefits. And there were a lot of vacation members signs draped on doors. We like vacation, we likely won't ever be part of a vacation club, and I would bet my life on the fact that you will NEVER get my husband ON HIS VACATION to spend any length of time even listening to some sales pitch.
To Tip or Not to Tip
I'm notoriously not a good tipper so take this advice with a grain of salt. When you read on the all-inclusive website that ALL tips and gratuities are included, it makes you think that tipping isn't necessary. You will always find people tipping at an all-inclusive resort even when the tips are supposed to be included. Here's one thing I will note. I observed a lot of people who would slip wet dollar bills across the pool bar, and people who would hand the golf cart driver a buck for the ride where it would quickly get tucked into the visor, but I never once noticed a difference in service.
In fact, I find that treating people with kindness and acknowledging them as humans actually makes more of a difference in the service that you receive than the dollar bill you slip them here and there.
After talking to some of the staff, something that would actually make more of a difference to them in the long term is to write reviews specifically with their names mentioned. Those reviews allow the staff incentives and increased pay bonuses that will actually help them in the long run. But that's just me...
Recap
About eight years ago, we "crashed" this hotel on one of our beach walks while staying at a nearby property. It was a beautiful property then, and it remains a beautiful property now. It is slated for a remodel and renovations from April 2025-December 2025 and I can only imagine that it will come back even more beautiful. The next door sister resort Dreams will remain open, but I'd hesitate to book there during that time because they are bound to get some of the nearby construction noise. No one wants a pounding hammer disturbing their beach nap.
We really enjoyed this resort and while there were some things that could be improved to put it over the top, you'll still experience some incredible luxury accommodations and high-end service. The property is spread out and beautiful but not too spread out that it makes it inaccessible.
The benefit of being able to access the Dreams Resort next door, is a huge bonus that gives you more dining, entertainment and pool options.
While the resort is under construction, if you want to travel to the Cancun Playa Mujeres area, I would highly recommend the Excellence Playa Mujeres. We've stayed at many all inclusive resorts and that one has been my favorite.
I also walked by a new Excellence Resort {Excellence Coral Playa Mujeres} that was getting the finishing touches on the new build. It looked beautiful and I wouldn't hesitate to look into that as an option as well.
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