Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & SPA

What an awesome experience! From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, we could not have had a better experience. Jesus, our butler was phenomenal, and if you stay at secrets in the preferred section, you have to find Paola at the preferred pool bar, she is top-notch!

Been to several secrets but this was my favorite! Snorkeling was awesome right off the beach, which was pristine and uncrowded. The food was great everywhere we went. Staff was so friendly and helpful, shoutout to our butler Carlos Perez, who took excellent care of us, organizing outings, scheduling dinners and resort activities. The activities were great and facilitated by super energetic people, especially Brrrrrrenda and her team. Maximo at the preferred bar read our minds every time before we could even take a seat for a drink.

Without a doubt, the best resort we've ever stayed at in the Dominican Republic. We stayed in the Preferred Club, where we had the privilege of having Peñel as our butler—which made our vacation so much more relaxing and worry-free. He was tireless in providing us with an incredible experience, always striking the perfect balance without being intrusive.

First and foremost, this was our 2nd vacation with Secrets Playa Esmeralda; and we arrived around 6 pm after a pit stop for the smokers who were then dropped off at a different resort. Although check-in was pretty quick, we were disappointed with our initial room. We stayed at this resort last year, for my October birthday; however that week has been blocked off for a corporate event this year, So we chose to vacay a few weeks early just so we could return to this resort. It was a last minute booking because of a pricing issue but I emailed about 5 people in management/customer service; to let them know of our arrival and birthday/anniversary celebration. I did receive a response to my email, with everyone CC'd, indicating all the things that could be done to make this vacation memorable. Get to the resort, check-in, head to our room and nothing; ABSOLUTELY nothing was done. No room upgrade, our partial oceanview was a view of our neighbours cement balcony. No birthday/anniversary banner on the door. No welcome letter, bottle of champagne, fruit or chocolates. None of the amenities that were provided for us last year. I returned to front desk and was eventually forwarded to a manager by the name of Montero. He told us that he would change our room the next day, in the afternoon, so we had to live out of our suitcases until then. He also stated that we should speak directly with him for future concerns. Although, we did receive a beautiful room the next day, communication with Montero wavered throughout our stay. I found myself sending him a message, waiting for a reply, then communicating with the resort via their app and sometimes just calling front desk. Overall, was this vacation perfect, no, but it was fine. Unfortunately, we are not sure that we would return and these are the reasons why: This resort is still immaculate; the lobby, landscaping, pools and rooms are beautiful; but customer service is on a decline. We were celebrating my 41st birthday and our 11th wedding anniversary so we were given a romantic breakfast-in-bed, but no romantic turndown service ever happened; even after multiple queries. Willy did our breakfast in bed and it was so beautiful. We saved the flowers from it, in case the romantic turn down service wanted to draw us a bath but they let the flowers die in a plate beside the tub. Our banner fell off of our door and no one ever attempted to put it back up for days. Our room was beautiful; as we were upgrade to a preferred Oceanview suite. But we did not have Preferred status: so we were not able to use the preferred lounge, restaurant or pool. We did have the best views of the ocean and the Miches mountains. We also had a great view of the main pool from the top floor; however, this time our neighbours were not as quiet because they were maintenance men drilling mystery boxes and making other noise disturbances in other rooms at 9 am and throughout the day. Our mattress was still good; lots of comfy pillows, cold air conditioning, a ceiling fan, a tub, HBO, and adequate closet storage. We were given a bottle of champagne with our room change; but as previously mentioned, no romantic turndown. We also had to request bodywash and the stocking of our minifridge a few times. Food was good at the resort but dinner is still better; and the quality of food has had a bit of a decline. Every a la carte restaurant had good options but the wait is long. Items were sometimes forgotten, not as described or arrived cold. The buffet was still not open for dinner and the Dreams dinner buffet lacked appeal because the food was never really hot enough. The poolside pizza dough did not seem to be cooked all the way through. Chicken wings are no longer served; instead fried chicken thighs. Nachos from Secrets is now with chicken but Dreams still served nachos with beef. Dreams sill has poolside BBQs for lunch but now they only service burgers and hot dogs; while last year there was steaks and and assortment of salads. Secrets made paella poolside but it wasn't as good as last year because there was a smaller variety of seafood. Secrets burgers were still good but no longer say SECRETS on the buns. Last year, the main buffet served crab and an assortment of seafood; but none this year. Our best dinners were at El patio, Castaway, Capers and Himitsu. The Capers manager, Robert Peguero, was super nice and the pizza was the best that we had at the resort; made fresh to order from the pizza oven. My steak was also very good. El patio had a very good but spicy octopus tostada which seems to be mixed with some other meat; possibly pork. The shrimp was overcooked and rice was cold. The baja tacos were good. Castaway made a very tender steak - very good. Himitsu is always good; teppanyaki was better than last year but when we did the regular tables, my beef dish did not look or taste the same as last year. There are multiple à la carte restaurants available but no courtyard evening BBQs like last year. In fact, On one particular night, a corporate event was held just just outide of our room with included BBQ. it smelled so good and the ambiance/decor was beautiful but regular guests were not able to attend. Further, there was a sports event set up on the beach right outide our room on a different night but guests did not know the event was open to everyone so only 2 couples attended. Sidenote, apparently Lobster is no longer included at the preferred restaurant but comes at a $70 USD charge. The cafe no longer serves Iced tea but they have fresh fruit in a cup that you can snack on, add to yogurt or make spa water. Entertainment - was a hit and miss for us because they usually showed up later in the afternoon. We wish we had seen more of them throughout the day. The Secrets auction, where secrets money is used to "pay" for Secrets memorabilia seems like a waste of time. Guests can earn the money by winning games set up by the entertainment team. I would prefer if guests participated in games and then won prizes on the spot; instead of guests using $60,000 secrets dollars to buy a bag of coffee. The Saturday foam party was nice but we lost pool activities like painting hats and candles by the pool. I will say the hat painting activity was held during dinner in the courtyard but we would prefer if it went back to poolside, during the day, so we can avoid the mosquitos int the courtyard. Saturday also had a canoe filled with other types of beer; we enjoyed the Heinekens. Pool cabanas are free of charge at Dreams but are a paid service at Secrets. The Cabanas at Dreams were first-come-first-serve and entertainment usually started earlier; around 10 am. In terms of entertainment, Dreams had more in the morning and Secrets sometimes had more in the evening. Rosado Champagne was still our favourite but definitely a little scarce; sometimes we had to wait for it to come from a different bar/location or just order a different drink. Mint ran out pretty quickly; maybe because the mojitos were so good. We had many good beach days. Rain usually happened overnight. Seaweed is cleared pretty quickly. The beach now has an employee signing out guests who leave the resort grounds for the better beach to the left; we signed out but always stayed in eyesight of that employee. We had no concierge for this visit but we would like to thank Mr. Montero for our beautiful upgraded room. Wilton, our breakfast server at the Secrets buffet. Unfortunately, a lot of our favourite people from last year were not present this year, Based on the recent changes, I am not sure that we would recommend or return to this resort. It has not lost all of its shine but we are worried about a continuous decline in service and food. I'm not sure if it is still worth the price and the 2 hour travel from the airport. However, we will follow some social media groups and see if things improve by next year.

My wife and I just returned from a five-day stay at Secrets Playa Esmeralda in Miches, Dominican Republic, and I can honestly say this is the best Secrets resort I have personally experienced. The property is beautiful, modern, extremely clean, and very well maintained. The beach and pools were fantastic, and one thing we really loved was how peaceful the beach felt. If you walk a little farther from the main resort area, you can find stretches that feel almost completely private. The Service Was the Biggest Standout The service throughout the resort was exceptional, but our butler Simon deserves a special shoutout. He handled all of our restaurant reservations and helped arrange any activities we wanted to do during our stay. He also sent us daily updates about restaurant hours, menus, and resort activities and checked in with us regularly. One day we mentioned wanting fresh coconut water, and Simon actually arranged for one of the gardeners to meet us by the beach with fresh coconuts. That level of personalized service really stood out. I've stayed at other resorts with butler service, and Simon is probably the best butler I've personally experienced. We also had an amazing Guest Services team member, Keila, who regularly checked on us at dinner and made sure everything was going well. My wife and I are both vegetarians, and Simon and Keila made sure our dietary needs were always accommodated. We stayed in the Preferred Club, and for us, the upgrade was absolutely worth it. We enjoyed the lounge, private pool, and Preferred Club bars. Special shoutouts to bartenders Pedro, Luis, and Febi, who were all fantastic and made great drinks. Food and Restaurants The food was excellent throughout our stay. Honestly, we didn't have a bad meal. We really enjoyed El Patio, Himitsu, Portofino, Meraki, Seaside Grill, and the buffet options. The service at every restaurant was consistently excellent. Leydei at El Patio was amazing and took great care of us. At Portofino, our server noticed our pasta wasn't as spicy as we requested and immediately replaced it with a spicier version. That attention to detail was something we experienced throughout the resort. We also loved the Coco Café for coffee, ice cream, and great service. Room service was excellent as well. We ordered several times, and everything arrived in approximately 30 to 45 minutes. My only tiny suggestion would be to add nachos to the room service menu! If you enjoy spicy food, definitely ask for the Tata Mata salsa at breakfast. I asked about it after not seeing it one morning, and the staff actually started having fresh batches made for me. Entertainment and Activities The entertainment team was fantastic. Nelson, Brenda, and Manny brought great energy and hosted a variety of activities, including beach volleyball, pool activities, water polo, and more. I also played tennis with Leonel, who was great. He even gave me the dampener from his personal racquet when mine didn't have one. It's a small gesture, but it says a lot about how the staff treats guests. A Few More Things We Loved Housekeeping was excellent. The room was always clean, the minibar and snacks were restocked, and turndown service was provided in the evenings. One of my favorite surprises was the built-in Bluetooth speakers in the room. I forgot my portable speaker and was thrilled to find out I could connect my phone and play music through speakers built into the ceiling. Such a small detail, but a great addition! Final Thoughts This was a much-needed vacation for my wife and me, and Secrets Playa Esmeralda exceeded our expectations. The property is beautiful, the food is excellent, the beach is peaceful, and the Preferred Club was worth it. But most importantly, the staff truly made the experience special. A huge thank you to Simon, Keila, Nelson, Brenda, Manny, Leonel, Leydei, Pedro, Luis, Febi, and the entire team at Secrets Playa Esmeralda. 10/10 experience. We absolutely loved it and will definitely be back!