- Mexico Holidays
- Riviera Maya
- Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya
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Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya
Mexico, North America
Riviera Maya
This hotel is ideally located in the heart of the Riviera Maya along the famed white sand beaches and calm, clear waters of Akumal. This resort offers a truly magical Unlimited Luxury experience. Retreat to your well-appointed room or suite with your own furnished terrace or balcony. Indulge in an expansive array of international cuisine. Choose from gourmet á la carte restaurants, a buffet venue, a café and a grill. Or sneak away for a romantic meal in your suite or on the beach. This amazing property offers 8,100 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting facilities perfect for any size function.
Facilities
- Darts
- Tennis
- Billiards
- Volleyball*
- Beauty salon
- Spa treatments
- Massage
- Steam bath
- Sauna
- Entertainment programme for adults
- Please note some facilities may incur an additional fee
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
The Local Area
Tripadvisor Reviews
5.0 Excellent15,772 reviews
Excellent
87%
Very Good
9%
Average
3%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Beautiful Resort, but the Experience Fell Short of Its Five-Diamond Reputation
Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya is a beautiful resort with gorgeous grounds and a wonderful atmosphere. Unfortunately, several aspects of our stay fell short of what we expected from a luxury, five-diamond property.
Shortly after checking in, we were asked to meet with a “VIP” manager. What sounded like a brief welcome meeting turned into a sales presentation for a vacation membership. We were told it would involve approximately 90 minutes over breakfast, and we agreed because of the offered incentives, including $500 in spa credit. Instead, the presentation lasted more than three hours and involved repeated attempts to persuade us to purchase. While we understood that the resort markets these programs, the length and sales pressure should have been explained more clearly. Losing most of a vacation morning was frustrating.
Our room was another disappointment. We had booked a partial ocean-view room, but the view consisted entirely of trees.
At our first dinner, we were sixth in line. The guests ahead of us were seated near the oceanfront windows, while we were taken to a table in the back near the kitchen and salad bar, despite many open tables in the more desirable section. On its own, this might have seemed minor, but it contributed to our overall impression.
The spa experience was also inconsistent. The resort did honor the $500 credit, which we appreciated. However, during our first visit, we watched other guests being escorted to the locker rooms and given robes and slippers, while we were taken directly to the waiting area in our resort clothes. We were not offered access to the locker rooms, steam room, showers, or other amenities. After our massages, we were simply escorted out. The massages were fine, but the overall experience did not feel comparable to what other guests received.
We raised our concerns with a front desk manager, who listened and made a genuine effort to improve our stay. He offered either a room with the partial ocean view we had booked or an upgrade to a swim-out suite in the more convenient central area. We chose the swim-out suite and appreciated the upgrade. He also provided a complimentary beach cabana.
My second spa visit was much better. I was properly welcomed and offered access to the amenities. The spa manager personally apologized for what he called a miscommunication during my first visit and gave me a gift bag of spa products. I appreciated the gesture and his effort to address the issue.
After speaking with management, we were also instructed to tell our concierge where we planned to dine each evening. From then on, we were seated in better areas of the restaurants. While we appreciated the improved treatment, it reinforced our feeling that the service we initially received was not the same as what other guests were receiving.
The food throughout the resort was just okay. Nothing was terrible, but it did not meet our expectations for a property at this price and reputation. We have stayed at several other highly rated all-inclusive resorts in the region, many of which were less expensive and not marketed as five-diamond properties. Based on our experiences, we would rank nearly all of them above Secrets Akumal in terms of overall service, dining, and consistency.
As an LGBTQ couple, we were also left questioning whether we were treated differently. Secrets advertises itself as gay-friendly, which helped us feel comfortable choosing the resort. I cannot say with certainty why our experiences differed from those of other guests, and I do not want to accuse individual employees of intentional discrimination. However, the repeated differences we noticed—from restaurant seating to the spa experience—left us wondering whether being a same-sex couple played a role. No guest should leave a luxury resort questioning whether they received the same level of welcome and service as others.
To the resort’s credit, management responded thoughtfully once we raised our concerns. The room upgrade, beach cabana, improved restaurant seating, second spa experience, apology, and gift were meaningful gestures. However, it was disappointing that we had to complain before receiving the level of hospitality we expected from the beginning.
This was an important trip for us, and I proposed to my partner during our stay. I had hoped Secrets Akumal might become a special place we would return to for anniversaries. Although the resort is beautiful and management made a sincere effort to improve our experience, the inconsistent service, disappointing food, lengthy sales presentation, and concerns about unequal treatment left us unwilling to return.
Secrets Akumal has many positives, but the setting alone was not enough to overcome the problems we experienced. We will always remember getting engaged there, but we will choose another resort for future celebrations.
Review by Vigiler23 Albuquerque, New Mexico
Good experience at Secrets Akumal
Great atmosphere and lots of well planned fun activities at the resort. The service is the thing that was above and beyond- friendly, attentive and engaged! If you want reserved beach seating with attentive service, go for the preferred guest package, we thought it was well worth the extra spend.
One of the best resort stays we’ve had – outstanding service from start to finish
We’ve just returned from a week at Secrets Akumal and this is an easy 5-star review.
From the moment we arrived, the hotel felt special. We stayed Preferred Club with a sea-view room and honestly couldn’t have asked for a better setup. The room was excellent, the view was straight out towards the beach, and we were only a couple of minutes from the Preferred Club lounge, which became one of our favourite places during the stay. Great air-conditioning, excellent drinks, really good small bites and, most importantly, consistently brilliant service.
That is really the headline for this hotel: the staff are exceptional.
Marlon and Jose, our block concierges, were absolutely impeccable. They were proactive, attentive and seemed to anticipate what we needed before we even asked. On our final day, Ruben helped arrange a Bali bed and somehow turned what was already a relaxing afternoon into one of the highlights of the trip, while Abraham looked after us brilliantly with food and drinks throughout. Every interaction felt warm, polished and genuinely personal.
The food was also very strong. Bordeaux was the standout for us – cosy, intimate and the lamb was absolutely superb. Portofino was good enough that we went twice. Himitsu teppanyaki was great fun and the food was very good, and the more casual options around the pool were much better than we expected. The poolside pizza in particular was excellent. Even the Preferred Club lounge food had a good rotation and worked perfectly for lighter bites.
We used room service for breakfast on most mornings and loved having coffee and food brought to the room while we got ready. It was occasionally a little inconsistent with temperature or a missing item, but nothing that affected the overall experience.
The spa deserves its own mention because it was outstanding. We had a spa day on our final full day and it was genuinely the best massage and spa experience I’ve had. Ending the afternoon on a Bali bed afterwards was the perfect finish to the holiday.
There were a couple of small frustrations during the week, but I want to be very clear that these were not issues with Secrets Akumal itself. They related to TUI package information and inclusions that had not been communicated or updated properly. We had to chase a couple of things we believed were included, such as Dine & Discover and a hydrotherapy benefit. Once the hotel became involved, they were fantastic and went out of their way to honour what had been advertised. If anything, that made us appreciate the hotel team even more.
One tip for future guests: bring proper insect repellent. We completely underestimated this and both got bitten badly. That was entirely our oversight rather than anything to do with the resort, but I’d definitely recommend not making the same mistake.
If I had one tiny criticism of Preferred Club, it would be that the wording around the “upgraded minibar” sounds more impressive than it is in practice. The lounge itself, however, more than made up for that and was absolutely worth having.
Overall, Secrets Akumal delivered exactly what we hoped for: beautiful surroundings, a relaxed atmosphere, excellent food, an amazing spa and service that genuinely felt 5-star.
We came away feeling looked after from start to finish, and that is what made the stay so memorable.
Would we return? Absolutely. This is firmly in the “yes again” pile.
Favorite Place to Be
Staff makes the resort great. Araceli, building 6 concierge, Augustin, beach, Francisco, pool. The foliage is beautiful and lots of shaded areas. Pools and rooms are clean.
Review by Angie C Winona
Perfection in Paradise!
This was our 8th trip to Secerets Akumal. You will not find another resort that is more beautiful or that has more dedicated staff who truly want to ensure your trip is the best you've ever experienced. The food is outstanding, the grounds are simply beautiful with all the wonderful tropical foliage. There is a reason this resort earned its 5 Diamond recognition. "To earn the prestigious AAA Five Diamond designation, a resort must pass a multi-stage evaluation administered by AAA . It is one of the most exclusive tiers in hospitality, with less than 1% of tens of thousands of inspected properties making the list each year." Secrets Akumal has received this award for FIVE consecutive years. My husband and I go at least once a year to celebrate our anniversary and every trip we are simply blown away and how amzing this place and it staff are. Mr. Cordova, we thank you and applaude you and your amazing staff for creating the most PERFECT PARADISE! Until next time!
Here are a few staff we would like to point out who made our stay FANTASTIC: Fernando-Our building concierge. He was absolutely fantastic!! He checked in with us each day and ensured we had everything we needed. His dedication to details was simply amazing!! His smile and willingness to provide for everything we needed truly made our stay outstanding. We already miss seeing him every morning!
Jose(Jesus) at the bali bed was our server every day and always made sure we were completely taken care of. His friendly nature made each day so enjoyable! Along with him was Alejandro. His humor made us laugh every day! And he gave us a whole history lesson on Mexico's Independence that we loved hearing about! You should also know, these two guys never stop working!!! So much dedication between the two of them. We consider both of them part of our SA family!
Alonso- Came by our bali bed several days in a row to visit and check on us. He was just the friendliest and sweetest young man! We thoroughly enjoyed talking with him.
Diego was our server at the pool several times. He always made sure we had a cold drink and greeted us with wonderful conversation! On our last day there, he made sure to catch us just to say goodbye!
Sharon, Hector and Augustin- We have known these three for almost as long as we have been coming to the resort. They ALWAYS go above and beyond to ensure we have everything we need and are completely taken care of. By far, they are some of our most favorite and cherished SA family members!
Mario and Angel- At the PC lounge. These are two more staff that we have now known for several years so every time we see them, it's like catching up with old friends! Lots of hugs, conversation and always making sure we have everything we need.
Carlos and Gabriella (Gabby)- were our bartenders one evening at PC lounge. We had such a fun time talking with these two! Carlos was singing with Stefan to La Cucaracha, making us all laugh! And we found out Gabby is from Texas! Such a pleasure to visit with them both while they made sure we had the best drinks ever!
Guadalupe- Made sure our room was cleaned to perfection every day. She did a fantastic job. We happened to catch her outside one day and she was just the sweetest! We taught her some new English words and she taught us some new Spanish words!
Chef Luis and Jimmy the manager- At Seaside. They made sure the fish Stefan caught was cooked to PURE perfection and that we enjoyed the whole experience. We felt so pampered!! I wanted to bring Chef Luis home with me, ha ha!!
Diego- Was our server at Portofino and we had him on our last trip too. He remembered us! We enjoyed great conversation with him and he made sure we were completely taken care of.
Montserrat- It goes without saying that she wanted to make sure everything was perfect and taken care of for our trip. So glad we got to visit with her before we left!
And last but not least!! Mr. Javier Perez, Mr. Hugo Rivero and Mr. Jorge Canal made sure that our ENTIRE stay was one we will never forget. These three men made a point to always check in with us and ensure we had EVERYTHING we could have possibly wanted. And as always, wonderful conversations!
Review by aliciaa39 pflugerville,tx
