My Secrets Capri Review
Background: I am a thirty-something female traveling with my mother on our 18th annual mother/daughter Caribbean get-away. I have traveled to the Caribbean approximately 30 times, staying in resorts that range from 3 to 5 stars. This was our second trip to a Secrets Chain, the first being Secrets Excellence in the Dominican Republic. Once again, I would like to thank the chief concierge Ulises Guzman for making our stay truly spectacular. Mr. Guzman was transferred from Secrets Excellence last fall, and his presence at Secrets Capri was a deciding factor as we searched for a PDC vacation. Mr. Guzman is a warm and caring man who is completely tuned to customer service and a valuable asset to the AM Resort chain. I can say without hesitation that the food and service we received at Secrets Capri was the best of any all inclusive chains I have visited, including the much more expensive Sandals.
Flight and Transfers: Apple vacations US 3000 non-stop from Detroit. Flight arrived and departed on-time. We arrived on a Wednesday and were through customs and baggage in no more than 15 minutes. We were not pressured to have our bags handled when we left the airport. We quickly found Apple Representatives (flowered shirts) and were off to the resort in a large van very promptly. One stop at the Paridisus, and then we arrived at SC. The whole trip took less than an hour.
Service: I will begin my description of Secrets Capri by mentioning the outstanding service we received. SC staff went out of their way to insure that our vacation was spectacular. While all of the staff were attentive and welcoming, I feel the following people deserve special recognition: Ulises Guzman, chief concierge, for ensuring our needs were always attended to in a warm and professional manner. Veronica, whose adorable personality made us feel both welcomed and at home. Ruben, our 3rd floor concierge who managed to escort us to our room daily, Roberto, the manager of the steak house restaurant, for ensuring our service was always impeccable. Daniel, the manager of the La Riveria, for his smile first thing in the morning. We will forever be grateful to all of the staff at Secrets Capri for providing us with the best standard of service available in an all-inclusive hotel. Bravo!
A few examples of the Outstanding Service Received:
1) Our 3rd floor concierge Ruban (who ironically comes from the Royal Hideaway) found the time to escort us to our room every day, opening the door to make sure that the maid service and bar service were satisfactory.
2) Pool Side service for drinks and food was exceptional. You didn’t even need to exit the water to be offered a lunch menu and/or drink menu. The servers were completely content to serve your food so you could eat lunch IN the pool! How lazy lol…….. but wonderful given the 95 degree days we experienced J
3) When you enter the restaurants, you are asked your room number and then greeted by name by the restaurant manager, waiter, and busboy (they write your name on the order form so they remember). Often times, our servers remembered our names from previous visits without giving our room number.
4) Pool floats were abundant and sharing was the norm. Secrets Capri has a sign posted near the pool asking that all pool floats remain in the pool. With only a few exceptions, everyone abided by the suggestion and we never waited extensively for a pool float to become available.
5) Beach side service for drinks and lunch was also available, although it appeared somewhat slow if you choose a papala near the parameter of the property. If you choose a papala near the beach bar servers were more readily accessible.
6) Beautiful teak loungers, each with its own pull out table were comfortably fitted with plush cushions and an umbrella for two. No plastic here, and they folded completely down so that you could lay flat on your stomach (I find the other type of loungers that don’t fold completely down annoying lol).
7) Towels were readily available, and to my amazement, when I asked for a towel, I was given 2 saying that I might enjoy using the extra one as a pillow lol.
8) Pillow menus are available in all rooms so that you can choose the type of pillow you are most comfortable with. Having a goose-down pillow like home made sleeping much more enjoyable. Four other types are available.
9) A full breakfast menu is available outside at the steak house from 8-11 a.m., and while the inside buffet was incredible, there is something extra nice about getting breakfast cooked to order, while enjoying a beautiful view of the gulf of Mexico.
10) The beach party on Friday night and the Pool party on Monday night were nice touches. While somewhat typical of most resorts, the cooking stations at each outdoor party were more extensive than I had ever encountered. There was a grilling station for various fish, another for beef, one for pork, ect… Each station had ample choices prepared a multiple of different ways.
11) Even the evening ‘buffet’ restaurant isn’t a typical buffet. The seafood sympathy on Wednesday Evenings was a full 6 course sit down meal, as was the romantic dinner evening on Saturday. I believe there are only two nights that are traditional serve yourself buffets.
12) The rooms are appointed with a DVD player (you can get movies from the concierge) that piped into the bathroom. Channel 2 is a beautiful classical station that can be played during the evenings you wish to relax in the Jacuzzi.
13) 24 hour room service with 4 choices of sandwiches, 3 main entries, and 3 desserts was always delivered in approximately 30 minutes.
14) Hamburgers are made from USDA Black angus sirloin! The same quality can be found in all of the food choices at Secrets Capri.
Check-In: We checked in around 1:30 and were greeted with campaign and cold towels. There isn’t a check in counter with lines at Secrets Capri. Instead, there are mahogany desks with plush chairs to sit in and relax. Due to the lack of a check-in counter, each check in experience is very private and comfortable. The check in staff was knowledgeable, courteous, and the language barrier was non-existent. Our room was ready, and we were quickly escorted by a wonderful bellman who showed us to our room and explained all the room amenities. Within one hour of arriving, we were unpacked and sipping drinks at the pool bar. It simply doesn’t get better than that J.
Transfers on the way home were a bit more exciting. We were picked up on-time in a large bus. We stopped at the Iberostars to pick up more guests. Shortly after, our bus blew a tire and pulled off the side of the road. Much to our amazement, the driver got out, looked at the tire, and then CONTINUED TO DRIVE the remaining 30 minutes into Cancun while the steel belted tire continued to flap in the wind lol. The bus was the type with two rear tires on each side, and apparently, one of two rear tires is all that’s necessary in Mexico! I didn’t feel safe (especially given the emergency landing our Ryan International plane made last February), but we did manage to creep into the airport with an hour to spare before departure.
Room Amenities: All rooms come with a standard Jacuzzi for one. Jacuzzi works wonderfully though J. In addition, all rooms have a dvd player (you can get movies from the concierge), radio station on the TV (which can also be piped into the bathroom), iron/ironing board, mini fridge stocked with orange drink, coke, coke lite, corona, and water, outdoor patio table and two chairs (not the cheesy plastic type), indoor wooden table with two chairs, one set of dresser drawers (3), one luggage chest with a deep drawer, data port for your lap top (additional charge to hook into the internet), electronically programmed room safe, ample closet space, extra blankets and pillows, a writing desk, and two nightstands with additional drawer space.
Extras include: plush terry cloth robe and slippers, SPF 8 sunscreen, conditioning shampoo (no conditioner), shower gel, face soap, body soap, toothbrush/toothpaste, shaving cream (very nice touch), a potpourri bowl filled with scented soaps and rose petals for the Jacuzzi, and the standard shower cap, mending kit, shoe polisher, cotton swaps, and Q-tips.
In addition to the Jacuzzi, the bathroom has a stand up shower large enough for two, two sinks, and a separate toilet area. There has been some discussion about the lack of privacy in the bathroom. I did not find this to be the case. The shower and toilet have a frosted glass privacy door (granted, it is frosted glass) and there are a set of double louvered blinds which separate the bathroom from the rest of the room. The louvered blinds are nice because when open, the room feels very large. When closed they offer some privacy. If you are REALLY private about your bathroom set-up, place a towel over the louvered blinds and close the wooden bathroom door and/or hang a towel over the frosted glass of the shower or toilet area.
Room Location: There have been many questions asked about room locations, so I will try to give a detailed description. There are two wings to SC. The north wing is next to the El Mandarin resort. The south wing is vacant is far as the eye can see. Each wing has 3 floors. There is a fourth and fifth floor above the main lobby area only. There are three main types of rooms; ocean front, ocean view, and tropical view.
Ocean Front: We were in the ocean front 3rd floor Milana Suite. The ocean front rooms are those that look directly upon the beach (not over the pool with the beach in the background) and have a lounger in addition to the patio table and 2 chairs. In each wing, there are 6 ocean front first floor rooms (room number 114-119 in the north wing), 6 ocean front second floor rooms (room 214-219), and 2 ocean view 3rd floor rooms (the Milana suite and the Roma Suite). These are where the presidential suites are located. We were not in a presidential suite, although our balcony neighbors did give us a tour of theirs. The presidential suites have a separate living room, full kitchen, computer area with a printer and fax machine, two bathrooms, a gorgeous canopy king sized bed, and an additional Jacuzzi for two outside on the balcony. BEAUTIFUL rooms, but be warned that the outside Jacuzzi has minimal privacy. Our two rooms were separated by only a gate which opened, and each balcony was literally only 5 feet from the other Jacuzzi. The first floor ocean front walk outs are very private (those above you can not see into your patio area) but those on the 3rd floor can see onto the 2nd floor ocean front balconies (shouldn’t be a big deal because there is only two rooms above you). If I were to make a recommendation of ocean front rooms, I’d recommend room 218 or 219 for 2nd story ocean views (these are closest to the undeveloped property and should provide excellent unobstructed views). I’d recommend room 114 or 115 for the first floor ocean front rooms (if you ended up in room 219 closest to the mangrove forest the view might not be as good because you’re on the first floor; room 114 and 115 would be closest to the gazebo.)
The “ocean view” rooms can be found in both wings and the 4th and 5th floor of the main building. These rooms overlook the pool with the ocean in the background. Each has a balcony, although again none are considerably private. The ocean view rooms in the north wing have a view of the more turquoise waters south of the resort. The ocean view rooms in the south wing have a view of the peer and a wonderful sunrise. I’d guess that neither are overall better than the other. I did jot down some room numbers to request in the south wing. There are 7 rooms which I would consider prime in the ocean view wing. Room 313 would offer the best views, as it is closest to the ocean. Anything in 306-313 would have a very nice view of the pool with the ocean in the background. Same room numbers on the 2nd and 1st floor apply (113 and 213 would be the closest rooms to the ocean; anything in 106-113 or 206-213 would be very nice). I can’t comment on the room numbers in the north wing of those on the 4th and 5th floors of the lobby L.
The ‘tropical garden view rooms” are not all equal. Some of the tropical view rooms WILL have an ocean view above the mangrove forest. I would highly recommend you request a 3rd floor tropical view room in the south wing because those in the north wing overlook the El Mandarine, and those on the 4th and 5th floor overlook a mangrove forest as far as the eye can see. The absolute PRIME tropical rooms (in my humble opinion of course) would be 318, 319, 320, or 321. These are high enough to get a view over the mangroves and are closest to the ocean. Those same numbers on the second floor might be high enough to look over the mangrove forest. If you are in a first floor tropical view room the mangrove forest will start approximately 10 feet off your balcony. It’s lush greenery, but certainly not what I would want on vacation.
The first floor rooms of both the ocean view and tropical view rooms are larger than the 2nd and 3rd story (but again, my personal preference is to go with the 3rd floor). You can see what I mean from the photos I’ve posted. The first floor patio starts where the 2nd and 3rd floor rooms balconies end. This gives you additional area for a couch/loveseat. Room preference is obviously a very personal decision, but my advice would be to splurge for an ocean view (ocean front is nicer, but it really isn’t necessary). I’d avoid a tropical view since a vast majority of the tropical views look directly upon the mangrove forest, and do leave something to be desired; but again, your choice of course J
Food: This section is going to be long because quite frankly, Secrets Capri offered the best food of any A/I I have visited! Items like Shrimp and Beef Tenderloin can be found in almost all of the restaurants. The food preparation is equal to what you’d find in a standard North American 5 star hotel (very unique for a Caribbean A/I). Extreme care is given in choosing foods of the highest quality and presenting them in a truly artistic fashion. If you’re looking for typical meals presented in Americanized chains such as outback steakhouse or the Olive Garden, this is not the place. If you appreciate leisurely elegant dining experience, Secrets Capri is wonderful. Service in each of the restaurants was impeccable. Bread crumbs are scraped from your linen tablecloth between each course (even if you’re just eating a burger outside on the patio). Beautifully decorated tableware, flowers, and candles are used to set your table in many of the restaurants. Great care is given in even the simplest of details (for example, I ordered jalapeño cheese stuffed poppers for appetizer at lunch one day and two types of hot spiced sauces were used to meticulously decorate my plate; no little monkey dishes are used here lol). All dishes are served with incredible attention to detail and by a professionally friendly wait staff. “It is my pleasure” is the standard response around the entire resort, and I had the feeling that the resort workers really did find it their pleasure to serve.
Three Choices for Breakfast
1) La Riviera: The traditional buffet complete with omelet station, fresh squeezed juice station, waffle station, and egg station. Not to mention all the cereals, fresh breads, toast (your waiter actually makes the toast so you don’t have to wait by the toasterJ, yogurts, ect… Really more than anyone could ask for.
2) Room Service offered eggs to order, along with the typical assortment of fresh breads, fruit, teas, coffee, and juices.
3) Steak house: was open from 7-11 serving a full menu of made to order breakfasts with beautiful views of the gulf of Mexico.
Three choices for Lunch:
1) La Riviera: Fancy lunch buffet consisting of a full array of items including shrimp, beef tenderloin, various fish entries, pork, all the mixings for a fabulous salad. Complete with full dessert station.
2) Steak House: Open daily 11-5 serving appetizer (shrimp cocktail, poppers, onion Rings, ect). Salad choices (spinach Greek, chicken salad, chef salad, ect..). Multiple sandwiches (tuna, grilled chicken, hamburger, hot-dog, Mexican club, Rolled ham, ect…) Pizza (several to choose from). And desserts (apple cobbler, hot chocolate cream puff, cheesecake, ect…)
3) Pool and Beach Side Service: Most of the items available at the steak house were also available to order off a menu right from your lounge chair (or even better, right from the comfort of your pool float lol).
Dinner 5 choices:
1) La Riviera: The La Riviera is the typical buffet dinner option, but there is nothing typical about this buffet. One evening there is a seafood symphony which is a 6 course sit-down dinner. There is also a romantic evening on Saturday where every lady gets a rose, and the dinners are served to you as opposed to buffet style. There is a chefs cooking night, where you are also served. The Mediterranean Evening is the only typical buffet night that we saw. This had a shrimp grilling station along with beef tenderloin. We both agreed that this was our least favorite meal. Perhaps it’s because I’m not a fan of buffet service and much prefer the ala’ carte dining experience. I should note that the La Riviera had the most wonderful selection of desserts I have ever imagined! For those of you who have traveled, you know might know what I mean when I say that A/I desserts often look wonderful but are lacking in taste? This dessert station had absolutely delicious chocolate moose with chocolate fudge swirled in, Chocolate covered strawberries and kiwi, Various cheesecakes, pound cakes, the typical carrot cake, english cookie station, ect. The thing worth mentioning is that all desserts tasted absolutely wonderful! Nothing bland. Unfortunately, I’m a chocolate connoisseur, But I can attest that only the finest chocolate was used for the white, dark, and milk chocolate desserts. Sinful
On two evenings, they take the La Riviera Buffet outside. A beach party on Friday where there are multiple grills set up for a variety of fish, beef, and pork; complete with all the fixings. A Mexican themed pool party where the buffet consists of a whole array of various traditional and Americanized Mexican dishes.
2) Steak House: The steak house restaurant opens at 6:30 daily (except the evening of the pool party). We went at 7:00 and had absolutely no wait. Selections include tenderloin steak, baby backed ribs, various fish, ect… Mom had shrimp cocktail for an appetizer and the ribs which were served rolled into a ball with garlic mashed potatoes in the middle (you had to do a double take to make sure it was ribs lol). I had the beef tenderloin which was wonderful. We skipped dessert here (amazingly lol), but they had a variety of selections similar to the rest of the restaurants.
3) Oceana: Seafood Restaurant located on top of the steak house with views of the ocean. This restaurant only has 14 tables, and fills up quickly. We were advised to go to the restaurant at 6:15 (they open at 6:30) to be assured of getting a prime table. This was the slowest meal we experienced (two hours from start to finish). We weren’t in a hurry, and I’m not complaining; just be advised that both the wait to get in, and the meal itself can be time consuming. I ordered a shrimp salad, scallops and baby lobster and a delicious chocolate mousse for dessert. Absolutely wonderful! My mother had vegetable soup, tenderloin with shrimp, and a strawberry whipped moule’ dessert. We both agreed that our meal here was fabulous but portions were somewhat small.
4) Capri: Italian restaurant located on the first floor near the lobby. We went at 8:00 and had a 30 minute wait to get in. The manager took our room number and gave a time to return. We went upstairs and enjoyed a cocktail at the lobby bar while we were waiting. This wait isn’t really a big deal because it’s not like you have to wait right outside the restaurant for your table. You are free to talk a walk through the resort, grab a cocktail, use the internet, ect… before returning at your designated time. This was a traditional Italian restaurant where surprisingly the pasta selection was somewhat limited. For appetizers my mother had minestrone soup and I had an asparagus salad. Both delicious. I had jumbo shrimp and scallops in a white wine/garlic sauce which was delicious. My mother ordered lasagna what she didn’t care for (she claimed it had too much cheese lol). The white and dark filled pastries were probably the best dessert I had the entire trip.
5) Himitsu: Japanese grilling station. We went at 8:30 and had absolutely no wait, but we went here during the Monday Mexican Pool party, so a majority of the guests were eating buffet outside. I strongly suggest waiting to sit at an actual grilling station, although you can order off a menu if you sit at a regular table. Our chef was wonderful (although not as fancy with the knife show that you’d experience in a large US city). The standard meal at a cooking station was shrimp, beef, and chicken; complete with all the vegetables and rice. Prior to the grilling experience, you are served sushi, rice wine, a salmon salad, and soup. Desserts were an assortment of ice creams and rice puddings which we passed on.
Snacks:
1) Room Service: Same menu from noon to 6 a.m. Four Sandwiches (hamburger complete with any trimming you’d like), Mexican Club, Traditional Club, and a wonderful La Riviera Ham wrap. Three entries: Grouper, steak, and chicken. Three desserts: Mango cheesecake, key lime pie, Caribbean fruit mix.
2) Nachos: everyday nachos were available at the upstairs pool bar from around 11-6 p.m. Complete with hot cheese, guacamole, peppers, and salsa. The salsa at Secrets Capri is the real Mexican salsa made daily with fresh tomatoes, chili peppers, onions, and cilantro. OMG to die for salsa and guacamole!
Beach: Much has already been mentioned about the beach. It is not the turquoise water found at other areas in the Caribbean. You can see your feet in the water until you get about waist deep. The beach was sandy until I was neck deep (I’m 5’7”), and then it turned to silt/clay. We arrived 10 days after the major storms hit PDC. I can assure you that the beach is completely fixed. Approximately 50-75 yards of fine white sand was imported and spread around the entire property (I estimate this based on the 10 yards of top soil I had delivered last fall lol)……. Let’s just say, there was a LOT of sand imported! All of the fallen papalas have been erected. Many of the photos you may have seen flying around the net right after the storm was of the beach area in between secrets and the neighboring El Mandrain. The El Mandrain took a much harder hit than secrets. It appeared that nature formed an actual river approximately 2 feet deep cutting right between Secrets and the El Mandrain. This is the area where the photos of the broken slab of concrete were taken; the public sports center that serves the El Mandrain not the sports center at Secrets, and the workers there haven’t even begun to make a dent in repairing the beach (they were working with wheelbarrows as opposed to front end loaders like at secrets). Regardless, if you’re looking to wade in the beautiful clear waters of the Caribbean, Secrets Capri should not be your destination. While the beach is perfectly fine to lay on, the water clarity and beautiful color just wasn’t there. If you walk to the south of the resort, there is a fabulous beach, but again; if you’re looking for beach as a number one priority, who’d want to make that hike?
Water sports: Secrets offers free snorkeling equipment (and a free snorkeling tour on Fridays). There are three hobbie-cats and the beach is perfect for sailing! There are sea kayaks (the kind with a back built in, very nice) and paddle boats. For those who enjoy sailing and wind-surfing, there is a constant ocean breeze that makes conditions nearly ideal (at least during the week we visited). While the beach may not be great for swimming, it certainly is wonderful for various water sports.
Pool: The temperature ranged from 93-96 EVERY day of our vacation (with a low a chilling 82 lol). Needless to say, the pool was our favorite place J. When I say that we spent all of our time during the day in the pool, that’s exactly what I mean…… we spent it IN the pool, not lounging in our chairs. The only time we left the pool was to go eat lunch at a restaurant (even this wasn’t necessary, because wait staff offered to serve your lunch at your lounger or on your pool float lol) or to go use the restroom (and here’s a big revelation: For all of you who spent hours upon hours at the pool bar or on your float, many people did noticed that you didn’t leave to use the restroom!). The pool float situation was pure utopia here at SC. A couple signs posted asking guests to leave the loungers IN the pool meant that loungers were always available with minimal wait. When people finished lounging, they’d just pass the float onto the next guest, and so on, and so on J. What a difference from Secrets Excellence, where people not only removed the floats to put then next to their chairs, but also took them back to their rooms! There was a group of 6 travel agents (who should know better lol) who took floats back to their chairs while they went to the ocean. This lasted about 5 minutes before a brave guest walked up and put the lounger back in the pool to a big round of applause from all of the other guests. Honestly folks, leave the lounger in the water and pass it on! They are not YOURS for the entire day just because you got to the pool early. Maybe we just hit a week with wonderfully considerate guests, or perhaps it was the signs posted, but in either case it was fabulous having a float to lounge on. I brought a blow up float and never used it. You may want to pack one just to be safe, but honestly, the pool float situation was the best I’ve ever encountered! One word of advice, nearly the entire portion of the pool is zero entry, but it can be very slippery! Use caution or enter via the steps.
Bars: There are multiple bars throughout secrets. The most popular during the day was the pool bar, where the wait was no less than a few minutes. The bar next to the beach was also very busy during the day; again minimal wait. The lobby bar was the most popular at night. I’d recommend the Secrets Preferred (a Collins type drink made with mandarin orange absolute). The fruity blended drinks were not made with top shelf automatically, you did need to ask; but top shelf choices were visible at every turn. I’m a big absolute mandarin orange fan; they had it at every bar. The also had 4 other types of flavored absolute and flavored Bacardi (the Bacardi limon’ and Bacardi O were wonderful too, ask to have your pina-colada made with one of these; yummy). The drinks weren’t always consistent though, so it was possible to order something like a Miami vice and get two totally different drinks depending on the bar. Overall, the drinks were fabulous, and again a testament to quality. The mud slides were made with swirls of Hershey’s chocolate and real bananas were used to make all banana drinks. Each blended drink was made to order, and although I did see the ready made frosty type of machines at the outside bars, these were only used for the smoothies. All blended drinks with alcohol were blended individually to order. A nice touch indeed J.
Excursions: The Riviera Maya has multiple excursions to choose from. I have a list of available choices on my web page. We did the dolphin encounter at Dolphin Discovery in Puerto Adventurous. It was an ABSOLUTELY wonderful experience. Dolphin Discovery offers an dolphin encounter for $68.00 pp (a kiss, petting, hug, and pectoral shake) and a dolphin adventure $129.00 (all of the above plus a foot push across the pool). Since my mother is in her 70’s, we did the encounter and it was the highlight of our trip. We spent over 30 minutes with the dolphins (just the two of us and the dolphin trainers). The adventure looked like a lot of fun, but they take the adventure in groups of 20 people at a time. Because the encounter was less popular, we were able to share time alone with the dolphins in a much more personal setting. Photos are available for $16.00 and a video tape of your experience with the dolphins for $29.00. My advice would be to book the Dolphin Discovery independently. The whole area of Puerto adventurous was beautiful, and we would have liked to have spent more time walking around and shopping. Had we booked independently, we could have spent the whole day exploring the dolphin area because there really is a lot more to see than just the dolphins.
Comparison to Secrets Excellence in the Dominican Republic: I have a full review of Secrets Excellence in PC on my web page, but here’s a somewhat brief comparison between the two:
Service goes to Secrets Capri. SC had more polished service. Each room comes with a concierge at SC, and only the excellence club has a concierge at SE. Overall, we found the service outstanding at both, but just more polished at SC. Example: The pool side drink and food service was a really nice touch at SC. It was available at SE, just not the extent that it was available at SC. Other touches like the promptness of room service was simply better at SC. The check-in procedure was much more polished at SC. Some of this may be due to the fact that there is less of a language barrier at SC than there is at SE. Without a doubt, I believe that SC had the best service of any A/I I have visited.
Quality of Food and Beverages also goes to SC. The food was better here in terms of quality and presentation (although there is absolutely nothing wrong with the food at SE). The ability to order breakfast off a menu overlooking beach is a very nice touch at SC. Again, pool and beach side food availability is a nice touch. The addition of a Japanese restaurant with cooking stations is a definite plus for SC. At SE, there was a buffet salad bar at the Italian and Oriental restaurant. At SC, you ordered salad off a menu at every restaurant except La Riviera. The desserts were also fabulous at SC, which wasn’t the case at SE. The availability of premium alcohol was also extensive at SC. Again, I have been to the Caribbean 30 or so times, and I firmly believe that SC had the best food and beverages of any Caribbean Vacation I have ever been on including several cruises and various other 5 star resorts like Sandals.
The pool is nicer at SE. Quite frankly; I believe the pool at SE is one of the nicest in the entire Caribbean (certainly the nicest of any I have visited). The pool at SC is more crowded because of the size (the main pool at SE is more than twice the size of the entire pool at SC). With the addition of palm tree islands throughout the winding pool design, the pool at SE never felt crowded (although the pool float availability at SC is much better than SE). The pool at SC has somewhat of a stamped concrete feeling, although I didn’t have trouble spending 6 hours a day in there. The edge definitely goes to SE: Finding a pool nicer than Secrets Excellence would be a major accomplishment.
The beach is nicer at SE. Neither beach is great for swimming. SE is very rough. SC is somewhat cloudy. Each are fine to lay out on, but I give the edge in beach to SE. The sand at SE is very deep, and there aren’t any boats or jet ski’s whizzing by to detract from the natural beauty of the water. The color of water is also more pleasing at SE. Couple this with the sound of crashing waves, and I give the edge to SE. Although, if you’re interested in water sports, SC is clearly a better choice because the water sports are often cancelled at SE due to the condition of the ocean.
The spa goes to SE. Both spa’s are state of the art. At SC, there is an indoor and outdoor Jacuzzi set-up. But the spa at SE just felt plusher than the spa at SC. I’m not sure I can pin-point the exact differences, but I give the spa at SE the edge due to the two story waterfall feature.
Exercise Equipment goes to SC. Both have very nice gyms, but the gym at SC had newer equipment and a greater selection.
Entertainment goes to SE. The entertainment wasn’t fabulous at SE, but it was better than SC. The casino at SE is a nice touch for late night entertainment (gambling is illegal in Mexico). Neither had entertainment teams that were overly present, but the open-aired stage with plush loungers at SE was much nicer than the banquet set-up at SC.
Rooms go to SE. We were in a Secrets Excellence Club room in SE, so it may not be fair to compare, but the set-up with the two person Jacuzzi makes the rooms at SE nicer. Our room was also larger at SE. Although the data-ports in each room are not available at SE, there was more drawer and closet space. The mini-bar at SE had a larger selection (the extras included gator aid, alcohol, and candy bars lol); but again, this is only available in the Excellence Club rooms. I believe the ocean view rooms at SE are nicer than the ocean view rooms at SC simply because the ocean view rooms at SC are partially blocked by the steakhouse and seafood restaurant. Our ocean view room at SC was unobstructed and absolutely beautiful, but again, I give the edge in rooms to SE.
Excursion availability goes to SC. Simply put, there twice as many excursions available in PDC. SE is tucked away from everything (as is most of Punta Cana). Although excursions are available from SE, the selection is limited. The town of playa is only 10 minutes away from SC, with great shopping. This is lacking in PC. The snorkeling is better in PDC. The variety of trips are more extensive (everything from ruins to eco-parks to dolphin discoveries). The island of Cozumel is only a 20 minute ferry ride away with some of the best diving in the Caribbean. If you’re looking for lots to do off the resort, SC is positively the way to go.
Entertainment: This is one area that is lacking at SC. With the exception of the casino night which was a ton of fun, the nightly shows lacked greatly. The costumes were beautiful, but the shows unpolished. In addition, the show lounge has regular banquet style seating! Certainly not consistent with the other plush amenities offered at SC. Quite frankly, I was shocked. We never did go to the disco, so I can’t comment on that, but I can say that nightlife is ‘slow’ at SC and by 11:00 there really isn’t much to do. This was fine with us, but SC really could benefit from a greater variety of entertainment (most evenings it was a dance type of show; Caribbean dance one evening, Latin another, international another, ect…) One evening had a pretty decent juggler and acrobatics. The nights of the pool party and beach party, the dancing show took place outside.
The entertainment staff was carried by two women. Veronica (who was an absolute darling) and another young lady whose name escapes me did most of the daily activities. The gentlemen in the entertainment staff weren’t nearly as energetic or friendly as the ladies. During the day the pool aerobics and pool volleyball were very popular, but other than that, the entertainment staff did not have a strong presence. Only a few people participated in yoga, bocce ball, ping-pong, ect. This really is a place with very low key entertainment. Fine by me, as the entertainment staff at some resorts can be downright obnoxious, but for those looking for an action packed resort vacation, you may be disappointed.
Internet Café’: There are four computers set up in the business center. Access to the internet, a printer, and a fax are free of charge. The internet café’ is air-conditioned and the speed is very fast. They ask that guests limit their time to 15 minutes, and for the most part everyone abided. I did wait approximately 10 minutes for a computer on several occasions, but nothing outrageous.
Spa and Exercise Equipment: The spa is wonderful here. I have pictures of the spa and exercise room on my web page, along with a price list for the spa. If you get a spa, several other things come free for the day. The Swedish shower is absolutely fabulous as is the viche machine. If you do not purchase a spa package, the additional spa amenities (sauna, outside mineral bath, Swedish massage shower, ect) can be purchased for $20.00 per day or $50.00 per week.
Suggestions for improvement: I try to end every review with a list of suggested improvements for the management. In the case of SC, this was difficult to do. Here are a few areas which could be improved (although they did not deter from our vacation in any way).
1) Turn Down Service. SC offers turn down service. Basically, your room should be made up twice a day. One large cleaning in the morning, and the replenishment of towels/toiletries and a turn down service with chocolates on the pillow in the evening. We missed turn down service 3 times in our 7 day stay.
2) Mini-bar. Our mini-bar was not restocked on 4 days. We never ran out of bottled water, but I did run out of diet coke. Fixed promptly with a call to room service, but still a minor inconvenience.
3) Room Keys: This probably only effects the suites, since our room required two keys to enter. One to the suite section and one to the actual room. Apparently, if your suite partner misplaces a key or checks-out, the code for the door to enter the suite is reset. This means that your key is no longer valid and you must go down to check-in to have it re-programmed. Again, a minor inconvenience, but something worth attempting to fix.
4) Internet Center: The internet center is large enough to fit two additional computer stations. This should eliminate any waiting what-so-ever. Also, there is a small vestibule when you enter the business center. I suggest placing a few chairs with a table with reading material to make it more comfortable for guests who are waiting for a computer.
5) Entertainment: I’m not sure if it’s possible to refurbish the evening entertainment room with chairs that aren’t banquet style, but in the very least; I’d suggest a greater variety of quality evening shows. While the casino night was a hoot, dance type shows the remaining 6 nights a week just doesn’t cut it for a hotel of this caliber.
6) Transportation: It would be nice if the hotel could provide additional transportation to Playa. Currently, one shuttle leaves at 6:00 p.m. and returns around 9:30 p.m. Adding a few additional departure times (For example: 9:00 a.m., Noon, 3:00 p.m.) would be a really nice extra touch.
7) Hair Braiding: Currently the salon does not have anyone available to braid hair in the standard Caribbean fashion; therefore if you wish to have your hair braided you must venture into playa.. One person available to braid hair; whether in the salon, at the pool, or even during the evenings with the local vendors would be a nice addition.
Interesting Tid-Bits of Information about the Secrets Chain:
1) Secrets Excellence in the Riviera Maya is scheduled to open this Fall. It’s a much larger property, but looks absolutely stunning. I am sure we will be visiting here!!
2) Secrets is owned by AM Resorts and most of you know that Secrets and Sunscape are affiliated. Sunscape is the ‘lesser’ of the two resorts offering affordable travel for families. What you may not know is that Secrets owns several new hotels called “Dreams.” These properties boast the same level and quality of Secrets, only Dreams Resort allows families. There is already Dreams Resort in Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. A new Dreams in Cancun (the old Camino Real) is scheduled to open next week.
Conclusion: As you may know, Secrets Capri is on the exclusive list of “preferred hotels” (actually, Secrets is the only preferred hotel in the Riviera Maya and the DR), and the service expected of preferred hotels is held to rigorous standards. SC is certainly worthy of their preferred hotel status. I have traveled extensively and have been fortunate enough to become acquainted with the ‘finer things’ one expects from a luxurious hotel. I do not wish to demean the negative reviews you may read. Perhaps it’s possible that service has greatly improved, or that our week of travel was a glitch of perfection?? But for the life of me can not figure out the perspectives of those who write poor reviews of SC!! I am not a travel agent, nor do I have a vested interest in the secrets chain. I am simply a well traveled guest writing my honest observations of a 7 day stay. I would not hesitate to return to this or any Secrets establishment in the future.
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Chris_N_Cheryl's Travel Adventure
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