Any thoughts/reviews of Secrets Cozumel

[fred3798]

At least Canadian men wear bathing suits and not Speedos or Euro-thongs

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[gtboomer]

Hello fred3798, going there for a week in April. I hope it is nice, will let you know. Only ever been to Cuba, (lots of poor reviews) we thought it was great. Depends on what you are expecting I guess.
Compared to my last dive at home Jan 11 (Air 19F/-7C, Water 34F/1C, 8+feet of vis) I am sure it will be wonderfull.

 

[Brodydog]

In fact, I hope your information is incorrect.

+1 for that. Keep the eastside as is.

 

[Mossman]

For anyone interested, Secrets now has a "Spring sale" going on and I was able to cancel and rebook for $45 less per night than my original "15% sale" rate. I can only assume this is a reaction to the less-than-perfect reviews they've been garnering.

Rebooking cost me a $50 non-refundable charge for canceling the old reservation, but I still end up saving $130 for my 4 nights.

 

[loudives]

Secrets Cozumel is a combination of Aura and Sabor Exclusive. They share the same food and staff with the new Sunscape (which is the old Reef Club, Wyndham, Sabor.) You will be able to use the Sunscape buffet restaurant and bars as well as the ones at your resort. Secrets is at the south end of the property that is the whole Secrets/Sunscape. Secrets is adults only and you will see topless in that area. At one time Aura was a "Lifestyles" resort!!! Everything was allowed including a birthday suit disco on the roof!
The birthday suit thing is gone as people with kids just north complained about the "freedom" spilling over onto the beach of the family resort part.

Secrets will be full of mostly upper 20 something party folks and 40-60 folks who don't want the kid hassle.

Food will be just so so, with occasional very good. Breakfast buffet next door at Sunscape will be your best.

Rodger is the head waiter at Secrets main beachfront restaurant he is very good. The french restaurant back by the pool with the water slides is very good.

Again you will be able to walk into Sunscape but they cannot go to Secrets.

And yes you may see some loving going on because there are beds on the patios. Especially if you float around the river surrounding the main pool. It will be restricted to that as it is a no no at pool or beach.

 

[gtboomer]

Hello fred3797,

As promised here is a quick review of Secrets Aura Cozumel (stayed April 13-20). Taking into account we have only ever been to Cuba where a 5 star is a 3.


The front half of the resort is verynice; clean, great views, pretty quiet (average age 40-60). We had a3^rd floor suite with a small rooftop lap pool. This section has elevators.


The back half appeared to be the fratboy/spring break section (20 something's); loud and no elevators.


Windows restaurant has breakfast buffet(fruit, pastry, smoked meats, etc, plus hot menu items) open @ 7AM which gives plenty of time to catch the dive boats!


Food and service were hit or miss and tipping goes a long way here. Poorly stocked mini bar (bottled water is at a premium) A note saying fill with “agua” and 20 Pesos inthe fridge cured that.


Most important, stay awayfrom VIP services, unless you are willing to trade 2+ hours of your vacation for some discount vouchers for the spa or a jeep trip.


The beach is nice but the snorkeling sucks. Water shoes are a must as it is very rocky.


Don't swim outside buoyed areas. Lots of boat traffic, andidiots on jet skis using the marker buoys as a slalom course.


Overall very happy with the resort for the amount we paid. If we paid full price this would not be such a happy review.


Hope this was of some help to you.

 

[Mossman]

As promised here is a quick review of Secrets Aura Cozumel (stayed April 13-20).

Windows restaurant has breakfast buffet(fruit, pastry, smoked meats, etc, plus hot menu items) open @ 7AM which gives plenty of time to catch the dive boats!
Food and service were hit or miss and tipping goes a long way here. Poorly stocked mini bar (bottled water is at a premium) A note saying fill with “agua” and 20 Pesos inthe fridge cured that.

Overall very happy with the resort for the amount we paid. If we paid full price this would not be such a happy review.

Thank you gtboomer! The breakfast buffet at Windows is good news. TripAdvisor reports indicated that they had no buffet earlier in the year. I'm staying in the Preferred Club section so hopefully that's the quiet front area. I can go party with the fratboys, then retire early to my quiet section.

If you don't mind a few questions,

Breakfast Room Service: Did you try room service for breakfast and do you recall what time they start serving room service in the morning? Is there some sort of card you hang on your door at night or do you have to call in the morning?

Water: Could you easily get bottled water "to go" in other parts of the resort (bars, restaurants) or were you pretty much limited to what they put in your fridge?

Thanks!

 

[cobra269]

First I'm not staying at Secret. Have stayed in what was the Sabor all adult twice in the last 4 years. Currently staying next door at a condo. That being said I asked 2 sets of divers this morning on the pier that were staying at 2 different location at Secrets. Both said the same thing. The room they booked where not available until a few days into their trip. Check-in was at 3 pm, told to come back in an hour, after an hour asked to come back in another hour. At this time both said they wanted a room now. Guess what - rooms were now available. This is all second hand just thought I would pass it on.

 

[gtboomer]

Hello Mossman,
I only ordered room service once late evening. But it is 24hr service, with breakfast from 6am, fruit trays and the like any time. Pretty sure you can call the night before and have it delivered. The preferred section has a concierge, so it should not be a problem.

Bottled water is only available from the mini bar or room service. There is a small shop by the Co Co Café, that sells bottled water, Gatorade, etc. Cheaper to tip the fridge stocker. But it is nice to have extra when you first arrive.


Hope that was some help. Have a great trip.

Cobra269, I herd first hand a number of people grumbling about room problems.(Many being valid complaints) They seem pretty short staffed, there were a few unhappy people. We might have just gotten lucky with our room. And with the deal we got I could not complain to much.

 

[Mossman]

Hello Mossman,
I only ordered room service once late evening. But it is 24hr service, with breakfast from 6am, fruit trays and the like any time. Pretty sure you can call the night before and have it delivered. The preferred section has a concierge, so it should not be a problem.

Bottled water is only available from the mini bar or room service. There is a small shop by the Co Co Café, that sells bottled water, Gatorade, etc. Cheaper to tip the fridge stocker. But it is nice to have extra when you first arrive.


Hope that was some help. Have a great trip.

Cobra269, I herd first hand a number of people grumbling about room problems.(Many being valid complaints) They seem pretty short staffed, there were a few unhappy people. We might have just gotten lucky with our room. And with the deal we got I could not complain to much.

Thanks, gtboomer. I don't feel like I'm paying too much for the room at the single rate. My rate of $232/night for an oceanview in the Caribbean is fair for "luxury" resort accommodations IMO, even without the food and drink throw in, and I can eat and drink my money's worth to make it a great deal.

Water shouldn't be a problem since I'm not sharing my room stash with anyone else, but it's a shame that all-inclusive gives you all the whisky you want yet they skimp on water. Maybe I'll tip the concierge well and see if they can get me an entire case.