Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & SPA

I traveled to Secrets Playa Esmeralda from August 6th-August 13th with my wife and boys (22 + 19 years old). We are experienced Mexico/Caribbean travelers who all-inclusive once a year. The resort is a 1.5 hour ride from the airport. The lobby is open-air, nice and comfortable. The resort is one year old and in good condition. Check in was quick and easy. Rooms: We had two standard rooms in building 3 with nice views. The rooms were very nice, clean, comfortable and in good condition. All of the rooms have a patio or balcony. All rooms have a small sofa, electronic safe, mini-fridge (re-stocked daily), steamer and hair dryer. Housekeeping was excellent and arrived every morning. Robes, slippers, shampoo, lotion, conditioner and bath gel are supplied. Pools/Beach: There are two pools in the main area that are nice with plenty of loungers and umbrellas. There is a privileged area that we did not have access to that had their own pool/amenities. The beach was very nice with plenty of loungers/umbrellas. The water was mostly clear the week we were there. There was sargassum one afternoon when a storm came through. The beach is great for long walks if you go to the East (right). If you go left, around the bend the water is much calmer. You have access to the Dreams side of the property. I did not spend time at their pools but walked through their pool area every day. There are 2 water slides on the Dreams side that are fun. Restaurants: The food at the restaurants and buffet was good. The restaurants are nice and comfortable and the wait staff is friendly. There are no reservations at the restaurants (except if you want to eat at Himitsu at the Teppanyaki table). Restaurants open at 6:00. We never had a problem getting a table when we arrived. Men are not required to wear long pants to the restaurants (except for the French restaurant). There is an Ice Cream (coffee) shop which was always a nice place to stop day or night. Resort: We had a great time at Secrets Playa Esmeralda and I enjoyed our vacation. The resort is nice (and a nice size), beautiful grounds and kept clean. The employees, from the management staff, front desk, restaurant/bar staff and housekeeping were friendly, hardworking and seemed to be there to make our vacation a nice experience. The fitness center was good with weight machines, free weights and treadmills. There is a Ping Pong table always available. They have bicycles if you want to take an organized bike tour of the resort. I would rate Secrets Playa Esmeralda as a 4.5++ star resort. We had a very nice time and I would definitely return. I hope this review helps in making your decision. Have a great trip!

Me and my fiancée visited for our site tour to view the resort for our wedding next year. We were completely blown away from beginning to end. We were upgraded to the premier lounge with a butler, Luis Pierre who was AMAZING! Very attentive and ensured we had fun right out the gate. He was very responsive when we needed something and replied right away, we will definitely be back. Thanks to him and Franny in the sales team for our amazing set up and trip. Our room overlooked the ocean and can’t wait to come back. We love it here

It was excellente! Jesus our butler is perfect. Food is great. But the main positive point here is the people. Dominicans are the most nice , polite, smiling and happy people

This vacation was more than we expected. We can only comment on the experience we had at the Secrets Preferred Club area. The hotel was amazing the food and the service from everyone was great. Our butler Johan went above and beyond what we expected. What ever we needed he was there to accommodate us. We were celebrating two birthdays and what he did to decorate the rooms was more than we anticipated. Everyone from the buffet staff to housekeeping were amazing. The rooms were cleaned and well made. There was never any wait when we went to have any meal. We never had an issues requesting things and getting them. When this hotel say they have TOP SHELF liquor at the preferred club side they mean, TOP SHELF for USA standards. I can only drink certain liquors as I get migraines but, to say they have Belvedere Vodka and many more is telling you something. They have many top shelf Scotches, Bourbons, Rums and everything you need for any Martini, Old Fashioned and Classic Daiquiri. Their tequilas have a little more work as I do not consider Patron or Don Julio top shelf, therefore I did not have any Margaritas. We will definitely be returning.

I stayed at Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa during the first week of August, travelling with my parents, who have chosen Secrets resorts for their annual holidays for several years. We have therefore stayed at a number of properties within the brand, which naturally gives us a good basis for comparison. Overall, this was a stay with several very positive moments and some excellent individual experiences, but also a surprising number of organizational and service issues that I would not normally expect from a Secrets resort. Arrival and Check-in Unfortunately, check-in was probably one of the biggest disappointments of the entire stay. After approximately 7–8 hours of flying followed by almost two hours by bus, we arrived close to midnight only to be informed that there had been a problem with the organization of our reservation on Hyatt’s side. Despite our TravelPlan documentation clearly showing that we had booked Secrets Playa Esmeralda, our reservation had somehow been assigned to the Dreams resort instead. We immediately presented all the documentation confirming that our reservation was indeed for Secrets, and once the staff realized the mistake was on their side, we were told that it was already too late to resolve the situation that night. Our only option was to sleep in the room assigned to us at Dreams and return to the lobby at 8:30 the following morning to arrange the transfer. The next morning, José Marias explained that the transfer could be made, but that our rooms at Secrets would not be available until approximately 5:30 PM, which is ultimately what happened. To be fair, once the error was recognized, the staff did not create unnecessary difficulties in correcting it. However, after such a long journey, this was far from the arrival experience we expected from a resort at this level. Unfortunately, it was also our first introduction to something that became noticeable on several occasions during the week: the resort can still feel somewhat disorganized and inconsistent in the way certain situations are handled. Resort and Facilities There is very little to criticize regarding the physical property itself. Considering that the resort has not even completed its first year of operation, the facilities are understandably modern, attractive and in excellent condition. The general design is beautiful, the common areas look fresh and contemporary, and visually the resort has everything needed to become one of the stronger properties within the Secrets brand. The problem, in my opinion, is not the resort itself, but rather that the level of service and organization does not yet consistently match the quality of the facilities. Breakfast and Lunch Buffet Breakfast at the buffet was generally at the level I would expect from Secrets resorts, and in some respects perhaps even slightly better than others we have visited. I would particularly like to mention Mariana at the crêpe station, who did an excellent job serving guests while also managing the products under her responsibility, including the French toast. Her contribution became particularly noticeable on what I assume was her day off, when the person replacing her struggled to maintain the same level of organization and service. Despite often having a considerable workload, Mariana was consistently friendly, attentive and willing to help. Lunch, however, was more inconsistent. One of my main disappointments was the pasta station, which is significantly more limited than what we have experienced at other Secrets resorts. On some days, the only sauce options available were tomato sauce and Bolognese, while the ingredients available to add to the pasta were sometimes limited to Parmesan cheese, tomato and onion. This is difficult to understand when compared with other Secrets properties, where there are normally several sauces and a much larger selection of ingredients available. I actually spoke to an employee working around the pasta station who had previously worked at another Secrets resort. He acknowledged the difference himself and explained that the limitation was mainly due to the amount of space allocated to the station. This surprised me because pasta stations at this type of resort are usually very popular, so designing such a restricted area for it seems like an odd decision. After this conversation, Chef Andrea came over and very kindly asked if there was anything he could prepare for me. He made a pasta dish using the available sauce and personally went to collect and prepare several additional ingredients. The result was very good, and I genuinely appreciated the effort. However, I did not feel comfortable asking him to prepare something special for me every day. The pasta station is normally one of the areas I use most during lunch at Secrets resorts, and in this case, after approximately four days, we eventually stopped going to the buffet for lunch and started eating around the pool instead. The meat and fish station also suffers somewhat from its design. The products available for grilling are positioned below the level of the counter, which makes them much less visible to guests walking past. At other Secrets resorts, these products are normally displayed at counter level, allowing guests to immediately see what is available. It may seem like a small detail, but presentation is also an important part of the dining experience. Aside from these specific issues, however, the overall quality of the buffet food itself was generally very good and comparable to other Secrets resorts. Food Served Around the Pools Because of the limitations we experienced with the lunch buffet, we eventually started using the poolside food options much more frequently, and this actually turned out to be a very positive surprise. There is a small food outlet serving items such as pizza, burgers and fried chicken, while on the Dreams side we also tried some of the freshly grilled food prepared daily, in addition to the other dishes available from the poolside restaurant. The food was consistently enjoyable and, to a certain extent, helped compensate for the disappointing experience we had with the lunch buffet. I would also especially like to highlight the quality of the service, as both the employees preparing the food and those taking orders and delivering it directly to the pool loungers were excellent throughout our stay. They were consistently efficient, friendly and attentive, making this one of the most reliable and enjoyable food-service experiences we had during the week. Breakfast and Lunch Table Service Unfortunately, the table service during breakfast and lunch was one of the weaker aspects of the resort and was very inconsistent. There were occasions when nobody was available to escort guests to a table, while at other times the table was missing basic items such as napkins. On several occasions, we were never asked whether we wanted coffee, tea or even drinks such as water, which is particularly frustrating because water is not something guests can simply collect themselves from the buffet. At other times, someone would initially take our drink order and serve us, but then no refill would ever come. Over an entire week, I would say that we experienced what I would consider a complete and proper table service perhaps only once or twice. I would, however, like to mention Martin. Although I do not believe he was normally responsible for our table, he frequently showed an interest in asking how things were going and made an effort to communicate with us. Unfortunately, this type of interaction was surprisingly rare during our stay. À La Carte Restaurants Our experiences with the à la carte restaurants were generally positive, although there was one major exception. Castaways, the steakhouse, was very good, with both the starters and main courses meeting expectations. Meraki, the Mediterranean restaurant, was also a very positive experience and there is very little negative I can say about it. Doña Altagracia, however, was probably the biggest gastronomic surprise of the trip. The food was very good, but what I particularly appreciated was the concept. Rather than serving only highly traditional Dominican dishes that may be unfamiliar to some international guests, the restaurant offers relatively accessible dishes while incorporating Dominican ingredients, flavours and influences. I thought this was a very intelligent approach, as it allows guests to experience elements of Dominican cuisine without forcing them completely outside their comfort zone. Unfortunately, Portofino was by far the biggest disappointment, and the problems started before we even entered the restaurant. We waited approximately one hour for a table, while some guests appeared to wait even longer. A one-hour wait would be understandable if the restaurant were completely full, but the problem is that Portofino is clearly visible from the central plaza and, throughout our wait, we could see approximately seven empty tables outside and around three empty tables inside. Some of these tables were completely prepared, others were missing only something as simple as a napkin, while others had not yet been set at all. What was particularly frustrating was that the situation remained almost unchanged throughout the entire hour. Eventually, we complained at the restaurant reception and were initially told that we simply needed to continue waiting and that what we were seeing regarding the empty tables must somehow be a misunderstanding. We then asked the employee to come with us and physically look at the tables, after which we were again asked to wait a little longer. It appeared that some discussion or disagreement then took place among the staff, and it was quite noticeable that some of the employees serving the restaurant seemed extremely frustrated. Unfortunately, the food itself did not make up for the experience. As someone who particularly enjoys Italian food, I found both the selection and the dishes themselves disappointing. Italian cuisine is normally one of the safer restaurant concepts with which to satisfy guests, so this was especially surprising. Dreams Dinner Buffet We had dinner at the Dreams buffet once, which gave us an interesting opportunity to compare the two sides of the property. There is understandably a difference in food quality between Dreams and Secrets considering the different price points, but what surprised us was that one of the best table-service experiences of our entire week actually happened at Dreams. I would particularly like to recognize Alexis, who probably provided the best table service we received during the trip. Interestingly, he achieved this simply by doing the basics extremely well. As soon as we arrived, he asked what we wanted to drink, our water and wine glasses were consistently refilled shortly after becoming empty, and used plates were quickly removed from the table. These are simple details, but they make a significant difference, and unfortunately they were precisely the details that we frequently missed on the Secrets side. Drinks and Bars The Piano Bar was one of the more consistently positive areas when it came to service. The bartenders were generally competent, friendly and professional, and on several occasions I even noticed them tasting or checking what they had prepared to make sure the drink met the expected standard. I consider this extremely positive because it demonstrates genuine attention to the quality of what is being served. At the pool bar, there are two people I would particularly like to highlight. The first is Mildred, who has an incredible energy that immediately comes across to the people around her. Even as someone who normally just orders a drink and then moves to another area of the pool, her personality and professionalism were very noticeable. She manages the order in which guests are waiting extremely well, seems capable of helping organize the team during busy periods and, most importantly, I never received a bad drink from her. The second person I would like to mention is Pedro. He has a much quieter and more reserved personality, which is completely normal, but he was consistently friendly and very professional. Regarding comments from other guests describing the drinks as somewhat “hit or miss,” I can understand where they come from. From what I observed, the inconsistencies were generally more noticeable during very busy periods when drinks were being prepared by employees wearing orange shirts, whom I otherwise mostly saw collecting glasses and assisting the regular bartenders. One significant weakness, however, is that drink service to the pool loungers is practically nonexistent, which is surprising for a resort positioned at this level. Entertainment and Atmosphere Entertainment was considerably weaker than at the other Secrets resorts we have visited. The evening shows appeared to be performed almost entirely by the resort’s own entertainment team, whereas at other Secrets properties we have visited, external performers are frequently brought in and the resorts generally have much better infrastructure for entertainment, including proper stages or theatres. Secrets Playa Esmeralda currently has only a relatively small outdoor stage. Dreams does have a covered theatre, but during our stay we still did not see entertainment comparable to what we have experienced at other Secrets resorts. Considering that the same entertainment team appears to be responsible for performing repeatedly, I actually think they do a respectable job with what they have available. The main issue seems to be the overall concept, resources and infrastructure rather than simply the people performing. Daytime entertainment was also fairly average and noticeably below the standard we have experienced elsewhere. The activities sometimes feel too rigidly programmed, almost as if the schedule has been designed without much consideration for how guests are actually responding from day to day. Activities such as the daily introductory diving sessions and kayaking often had relatively limited participation, and this seemed to affect the overall atmosphere surrounding the other activities as well. Another aspect I noticed was that the entertainment team made relatively little effort to actively connect with guests throughout the day, with the notable exception of the person who frequently spoke on the microphone, whose name unfortunately I did not write down. There was, however, one major positive surprise: the foam party was excellent. It was something I had never experienced at another Secrets property and it worked extremely well. I also have to highlight that the music played around the resort during the day was excellent and contributed positively to the atmosphere. Secrets and Dreams Sharing the Same Property Personally, I think combining Secrets and Dreams within the same complex probably looked like a good idea on paper, but in practice I struggle to see many meaningful advantages for Secrets guests. The Secrets side itself remains adults-only, and there are security employees at the main crossing points preventing children from entering. However, during our stay it appeared that a considerable number of adults staying at Dreams were spending significant amounts of time on the Secrets side, and there did not seem to be particularly strong control over this. This becomes especially noticeable at the buffet. At properties such as Secrets Moxché Playa del Carmen, when guests provide their room number, staff enter it into a computer system that immediately displays the registered guests and their names. At Playa Esmeralda, from what I observed, the room information was simply written down on paper, making meaningful verification much more difficult. In my opinion, a proper electronic room-verification system should be implemented as soon as possible. Guests are paying a significant premium to stay at Secrets rather than Dreams, and if adults staying at the lower-priced property can regularly access and use many of the same Secrets facilities and services without effective verification, it inevitably raises questions about the value of that premium. If Hyatt intends to continue developing interconnected Secrets and Dreams properties like this, I believe considerably better access control between the two resorts is necessary. Conclusion It is important to remember that Secrets Playa Esmeralda has not yet completed its first year of operation, and I do think that needs to be taken into consideration. The resort itself is beautiful, modern and has enormous potential, and there were several members of staff who genuinely stood out and demonstrated exactly the level of hospitality I associate with Secrets. However, the overall service still needs considerable refinement. The biggest weaknesses during our stay were not related to the physical property or even necessarily the food itself, but rather to organization, consistency, attention to detail and service standards. Many of the individual issues might seem relatively minor when considered separately, but at a premium adults-only resort, and particularly one carrying the Secrets name, these small details accumulate and have a significant impact on the overall experience. I genuinely believe that most of these issues can be corrected with time, better organization, further staff development and, importantly, feedback from guests. The foundations are certainly there for Playa Esmeralda to become an excellent Secrets resort. At the moment, however, based on our experience and particularly when compared with other Secrets properties we have visited, it is not quite there yet.