jallard

We just returned from our first trip to Playa Del Carmen. Also, this was our first stay at an all-inclusive resort. We had originally booked the JW Marriott, but it was closed due to hurricane damage. We then booked Maroma and they called and said they would not be open yet (even though they ended up opening 2/21, we still couldn’t get our reservation back) and then we booked Le Meridien. At pretty much the last minute we decided that the construction and lack of beach would not be a great fit for the relaxing vacation we wanted, so on advice from friends of our family, we chose Secrets Capri.

I’d like to start with saying how much we loved the town of Playa Del Carmen. We spent two great days at the “Town beach.” We rented chairs at the beach club Coco Maya. It is right next to the Blue Parrot. We had a fabulous lunch and the best strawberry daiquiris there too! The beach in PDC is beautiful, the water was clear. The beach was fun and there was great people watching. In a way it reminded me of South Beach in Miami.

We also had two great dinners in PDC. The first was at Yaxche, we ate on the Mayan patio. It was beautiful and our authentic Mayan dinner was great. We also enjoyed a lobster dinner at La Casa Del Agua. The back patio here is also beautiful. We also had a fun lunch at Carlos and Charlie’s (mani-mahi tacos) and enjoyed drinks at Hemmingway’s.

Playa is fun at night and a great alternative to the All-Inclusive entertainment. There are lots of fun beer/tequila bars, wine bars and shops are open late into the night. Our favorites were The Wine bar, Tequilla Barrel, and the bar at the Toucan hotel. As far as shopping went, we bought t-shirts and a painting for 1200 pesos ($120) done by an original artist. We are excited to frame it to remind of us our great trip. The shopping was great, I could of bought a lot more!

We also visited the ecopark Xcaret. We had a really fun day here and enjoyed the snorkeling in the lagoon and cenotes. There were many interesting and beautiful animals to be seen here. I would definitely recommend this park to visit.

Our stay at Secrets Capri was very nice. This resort is trying very hard to compete as a 5 star hotel. I found the hotel to be very nice and very clean. However, it is not at the standard of a Ritz or Four Seasons.

Food: I found the food at the a la carte restaurants to be pretty standard. It was good, but often lacked flavor. Lunch at the Seaside café was my favorite.

Rooms: In the rooms, the beds are very hard and the sheets/comforter are of a very low thread count. The robes are of a low thread count and kind of itchy, as well. Also, the mini-fridges in the room are not cold at all.

Resort: I really don’t have many complaints about the grounds. The hotel is beautiful and so are the grounds. Sometimes I did get annoyed by the loudness at the pool (lots of men taking too many tequila shooters and trying to act like high school spring breakers) and by some of the cheesy entertainment offerings. Also, the beach is not crystal clear, but is still pretty to walk on.

Overall, I would highly recommend the resort. As you can see, my complaints are small and petty. I believe the resort could be 5 star quality with a few easy changes. I believe many people would enjoy this resort and their many offerings. However, I would really urge people to leave the resort and visit PDC for a more authentic experience, at least a few times during there stay. The hotel does offer a shuttle to PDC at night. You need to call early in the AM to reserve, because only 6 couple can go each night.

The weather was hot this week, almost 90 degrees everyday. Definitely bring plenty of sunscreen and a hat. Also, bring plenty of cash. We learned there were only two ATM’s in PDC and none between PDC and Tulum.

I know this was a lengthy post, I just thought some of you would appreciate the details. Thanks to everyone on this website for helping to plan a great trip. Your opinions and recommendations were well taken and we will use many of them again in the future. We look forward to visiting again next year. However, I look forward to staying a few nights at a more private resort like Maroma, the new Mandarin Oriental or the new Fairmont and then a few nights in Cancun at the JW, Ritz or Le Meridien.

Little_Man

thanks for a great trip report, Secrets sounds very nice, though I don't like the idea of their beach not being so great.
We're thinking about the new Fairmont this summer if we can get away, and then the JW like you; did you see the Fairmont at all, or can you describe where about it is in relation to Playa and other resorts?
Sounds like you made a good choice of resort, even tho it wasn't quite the Ritz level. Like you the tequila shot guys wouldn't appeal to us to much, lol!

jallard

Hi Frankie,
I actually think it was quite close. On the main road there was a sign/entrance about a couple of miles away that said MAYAKOBA. It had a nice stone entrance, but I could tell it was not open at all. It was closer to PDC than Secrets.

mimipam

Enjoyed your report. We have just returned from Secrets Excellence and thought the food was great! We have friends who stayed at Secrets Capri and liked the resort but said the beach was not good. We have been to Maroma three times and considered it again but as you said--closed. Also we wanted to try something new. I am especially glad to read about Playa Del Carmen as I have never been there. Mostly just stay on the beach. Maroma has a very nice beach and is certainly more intimate than Secrets. We also do not like to hear a lot of loud talking and disruption but I think that might happen at most all inclusives. I can say it never happened at Maroma while we were there.
Happy travels.

Equinoxa

Glad to hear you had a fun time at PDC. Would you say for the most part PDC & Cancun have recovered from the hurricane? How are the beaches? We'd love to go back to Mexico soon and was considering Secrets Capri. Just happy we didn't book that one yet! We loved Maroma but couldn't get a room and LeMeridien's beach is non-existent I heard. Secrets Excellence is newer than Capri..just wonder how the beach is over there.

jallard

We did not visit Cancun at all. The beaches in Playa were in good shape. Secrets Capri is a very nice resort and is worth considering. We spoke with some people who had also been to Excellence and they said the prefered Capri. I'm not sure which one is newer. Capri seemed very new, I would bet it it not more than two years old. Have you thought about Royal Hideaway? It looks really nice.

mimipam

Just returned from Secrets Excellence and the beach there is very good. The water was a little murky. The last day we were there was the best. But the beach is long and sandy. We have just been to visit inside Secrets Capri. Our very good friends were staying there. The beach there is rocky. They did say they walked down aways and found a better area. The best beach we found was Maroma but that was before the hurricanes.