Jennifer Spray
Honest Review of Our Stay at Secrets Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa – Preferred Club
September 11–20, 2025
This was our first experience at a Secrets resort in Mexico. Secrets Riviera Cancun is located about 25 minutes from the Cancun airport.
The resort itself has more of a boutique feel compared to some of the larger, grander properties we’ve stayed at in the past. Staying on the Secrets side gives you full access to the Breathless side of the resort.
The food was the best we’ve experienced at any all-inclusive resort so far. If you’re staying on the secrets side, the Rosewater restaurant will likely become your favorite dining spot. Out of the à la carte restaurants, the Italian and steakhouse restaurants were our favorites.
They had great entertainment with daily activities and nightly shows.
The staff at this resort were awesome and definitely helped make our experience enjoyable and memorable.
A few special shoutouts:
Rosewater Restaurant: Yesenia, Jose, and Lino
Activities Staff: Angel, Luis, and Erik
Pool Service: Charlie Boy
Bartenders: Eduardo (Preferred Club Lounge) and Fernando (Energy Pool)
Note for beach lovers: If your main priority is a wide, walkable beach or swimming in the ocean, this resort may not be the perfect fit. The focus here is more on the pools, service, food, entertainment, and intimate vibe rather than a long sandy shoreline.
Overall, Secrets Riviera Cancun delivered a wonderful blend of relaxation, excellent dining, great entertainment, and outstanding hospitality.
Sara Restani
Spent 5 days at this resort Oct 8-12. Food was great at the Rosewater restaurant. Room service food was just ok. Swim-out room tropical view was nice to have but not super private. There was a main walkway right along the edge of the pool so everyone walked past, but the room itself was really nice and comfortable.
Staff was fantastic - Pedro in entertainment, Urbano, Daniel, and David by the pool, Ana Maria in housekeeping.
You can visit the Breathless side of the resort for the restaurants and nightly entertainment, but we found it very party focused. No 'in-between' spots to hangout in the evenings - it was either party or sit in the quiet. Would be nice to have a space to sit, drink, chat with new friends that had a casual vibe (Rosewater in the evenings was too quiet for us). Food was good at the Grill, but the buffet was mediocre.
Beach was disappointing.
Jessica Lopez
Secrets is by far, a top tier resort. I have had nothing but great experiences at every single Secrets location! You are VIP the minute your taxi pulls up and you step out. The staff is super friendly and very helpful. If you stop and ask them where something is, they literally stop what they are doing and say come on, I’ll show you! All the restaurants are great, and the buffet is always a good choice for breakfast and lunch! Long story short, we booked this resort last minute. Literally last minute. We made the mistake and booked at some Sandos place. Stayed for 2 hrs and called Secrets. They said we have room, come over! It made me appreciate how amazing Secrets resorts really are. I will never make that mistake! They always go above and beyond for you.
juan nieves
The hotel looks fancy when you arrive, and check-in comes with drinks, which is a nice touch. Staff are generally friendly (special shout-out to Pascual—amazing service). Rooms are kept clean, housekeeping comes twice a day, and they do have top-shelf liquor included. Coffee shop is also a nice perk.
Now the downsides… this is a timeshare property, so get ready for the pushy sales pitches. Food is hit or miss: the Mexican food in Spoon (buffet) was honestly the best choice, the Italian restaurant was great, the French I didn’t try because the menu looked weak, and the steakhouse portions are tiny (order doubles). Hibachi is hard to book and requires a strict dress code. Room service is reliable but the menu is limited.
Entertainment is almost non-existent after 10–11pm—just karaoke or a short show. No clubs, no real nightlife. Excursions through the hotel are insanely overpriced—they quoted me $1,400 for two parks. I booked the same through my travel service for $790 platinum package (all food, beer, and gear included). Huge difference.
The beach? Don’t bother—dirty, full of seaweed, and smells bad. Shops on-site are expensive, and the “free shopping tour” they push is 4 hours long. Better to Uber to Puerto Morelos for about $60 round trip.
Overall, the resort looks good on the outside, the liquor is quality, and service from some staff stands out. But with average food, overpriced excursions, and no nightlife, I’d give it 3 stars. Cancun has plenty of better resorts that offer stronger food, nightlife, and beach experiences.
Christian Tupas
Checked in with my wife for honeymoon 7/12/25. This was our very first time trying an all inclusive resort. The Resort offered us Drinks as we were checking in and were greeted with big smiles. We got the preferred junior suite and we would definitely be back again.
The good:
- When we wanted our room cleaned, Julia was very thorough and clean.
- The food and drink selection were great
- Three choices of pool
- Staffs were awesome, Adrian, Oscar, Luis and Mario were so friendly and helpful
- Bartenders from Secrets to Breathless were really great at making those cocktails
- Rosewater Restaurant was really good, Balthazar our server's customer service was great.
- Can go to Breathless for additional choices of Restaurants
The Bad:
Not really a deal breaker nor bad but the beach was Mid.
On a good day it looks blue that compliments the pool. it is nice to hang by the beach side come sunset time.
Only thing I would change was the pool temp in Secret's Side. It was a little more than warm and it would've been nice to dip into a cold water when the Sun and temp was hot.
My Booking
