Secrets Excellence or Secrets Carpri
 

Hi again! Has anyone stayed at either resort? I had never heard of either or them, but a friend of a friend just told us that they were both great! I have been searching the postings on here and I cannot find much about them. Trip Advisor had many excellent reviews. We have never done all-inclusive, so we are a little afraid to try, but the website and posts sound like it's beautiful. If anyone has stayed here, how was the food and drink? They said "premium" alcohol, does anyone have any idea what brands this mean? We usally only drink wine, but prefer higher labels? Also, if anyone has been to both, which one is better? Thanks!

Secrets Capri is smaller than Secrets Excellence. I stayed at the Secrets Excellence in Punta Cana and loved it. As for wine, the house wine is included. They have a wine list of "better" wines which cost extra.

Was planning on going to Riviera Maya in March waiting to see how the rebuilding is going. Was going to Royal Hideaway but have changed my mind and after speaking to a few people am going to Secrets Excellence is newer resort.

jallard,
I'll copy/paste a comparison I did of SERC & SC when we got back from SERC in January (I'm assuming that you mean Secrets Excellence in Mexico & not Secrets Excellence Punta Cana).

I also have pics of both resorts (in the 'Cancun-Secrets....' albums):
http://photos.yahoo.com/jmrperotto

Jackie


My husband & I have been to both & enjoyed both !! We were at Secrets Capri in May 2004 & at Secrets Excellence Riviera Cancun in Jan 2005.

SERVICE: Service @ both was great. We only encountered a very few not-so-pleasant employees. I tried to speak some of my very limited Spanish (3 yrs in high school & 2 semesters in college) when I could & they seemed to appreciate that.

ROOMS: The rooms @ both were great, too. We were in an Oceanfront (1st floor) room @ Capri & in a Swim Out (1st floor of course) room @ Excellence. All the rooms @ SERC have a 2 person in-room jacuzzi, where the rooms @ SC had a 1 person in-room jacuzzi. Our Swim Out room @ SERC also had a 2 person jacuzzi on the patio. Both rooms had double sinks & separate toilet & shower areas. They both had 4 poster beds & daily-stocked mini-fridges.

BEACH: The beach area @ SERC was alot bigger than SC. It was probably twice the depth, as well as alot wider due to the actual resort being larger. You could walk in both directions for a long way (it's about a 45 minute walk down to Puerto Morelos -- my husband walked home at a pretty quick pace from his scuba diving excursion). I preferred walking north past the Paradisus. At SC, we only walked south down as far as the Captain LaFitte hotel (maybe about a mile or so ?? ) & that was a nice walk. We really didn't notice much garbage on either beach. The sand was that nice soft white sand @ SERC & not quite as white or soft @ SC (probably brought in ?? ).

POOLS: The pools @ both resorts were spotless. There was just the one pool @ SC & the temperature was great, but we were there in May so it was hotter outside. The pools (lots of 'em !! ) @ SERC were very nice but COLD !! I'm a big fan of pools & have always been a big swimmer, but WOW, it was jolting !! The pool right in front of Bldg 7 was heated, though & very easy to get into. Maybe the other pools wouldn't feel as cold as it gets more into the summer months. We joked that they kept them cold on purpose to keep ppl out so they would stay cleaner !!

FOOD: The food @ SERC was very good, but we thought the food @ SC was excellent. We've been to the Caribbean/Mexico 19 times (14 of them @ all inclusives) and the food at Secrets Capri was our favorite of all of our trips !! (The head chef @ SERC now was the head chef @ SC when we were there last May. You'll see him at all times of day in all the restaurants checking things out.).

OVERALL: Having been to both & enjoyed both, I'd have to say that overall, if we were to return to one of them, we'd go back to Secrets Capri 1st. We just enjoyed the atmosphere better there. Also, on our last day @ SERC, a group of a few hundred people were checking in for a convention & were extremely loud & obnoxious (i.e. they had a table set up in DeMario's for about 40 of them & they were shouting back & forth to each other & shaking their rattles). I don't really blame them so much as Secrets. They advertise peace, tranquility & romance, & a convention hotel cannot achieve that -- you can't have it both ways !!

Hi,
Thank you for the wonderful comparison. We were originally thinking SERC, but now we think SC may be a better fit. I like that SC is closer to PDC. I am still a little weary of the all-inlcusive, since we have never done it before. We are not big eaters or drinkers, so we are not sure if the extra $ are worth it. We also like checing out different areas/restaurants. SC also seems more private. Which is ap plus. We were originally scheduled to stay at the JW and were so excited for it! We are actually still considering staying with our original plan and staying there, even though the beach is gone. We are going the 18th week of Feb. and it opens Jan. 31. However, we have seen so many great reviews on SERC and SC. Thanks again for your honest comparisons! We appreciate it.

Just wanted to add that we considered Royal Hideaway also. We contacted them and we were informed that it would not be opended until April. We have also considered Maroma. However, they do not allow Saturday arrivals or departures.

Secrets Capri is definitely the more intimate of those 2 Secrets resorts, as it only has about 242 rooms as opposed to SERC's ~450 rooms.

We know that we never eat/drink enough to really get our money's worth, but w/ the All Inclusive, everything is paid in full before you even get to the resort. We don't have to worry about carrying any money w/ us (unless we take a few singles for tipping at Secrets, which you don't have to do since it's included. Other resorts we go to don't even allow tipping, i.e. Grand Lido, Couples...). I also like not having to sign for every drink I order during the day or having to order a $6 bottle of beer or an $8 mudslide !! So, to us it's worth it to pay ahead & not worry while we're there. I'm not very adventurous, so I don't really mind that we don't eat at off-resort restaurants.

Aahh, Royal Hideaway -- can't wait to try that some year (when it fits into our budget !!).

Good luck w/ your decision !!

Jackie