Considering an all-inclusive vacation at Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun? If so, we’re glad you landed on this post because today, we are going to be demystifying the Secrets Maroma Beach experience!
For those of you who are just starting out on your all-inclusive resort research, let’s start with a quick summary. The five-star resort of Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun is tucked away on a beautiful secluded beach, Maroma Beach, providing you with the ultimate private luxury vacation.
This adults-only all-inclusive resort provides opulence in the form of a private white sand beach, stunning ocean views, elegant suites with luxurious beds and tubs, 24-hour room service, daily refreshed mini-bars, an infinity pool, gourmet dining options, and chic lounges.
In fact, this resort has received some of the most prestigious travel awards and recognition in the world including the AAA Five Diamond Award, Travelers’ Choice Best of The Best in 2020, and the Travelers’ Choice Award from 2009 – 2020.
It’s no doubt the world loves Secrets Maroma Beach and that it looks great on paper, but is it really as great as it sounds?
In this post, we detail our very own experience at Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun. We’ll cover everything from what the rooms look like, what activities you can get yourself into, and the food, as well as the pros and cons of the resort based on what we experienced.
*Please note: This post may contain affiliate links. You won’t be paying a cent more, but in the event of a sale, the small affiliate commission I receive will help keep this blog running and pumping out more useful and free content. Thanks!
Table of Contents
SECRETS MAROMA BEACH RIVIERA CANCUN: AN OVERVIEW
In a nutshell, Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun is an adults-only AAA 5 Diamond Award property with 13 outdoor pools, 7 different restaurants, and a cute little coffee shop that serves something a bit different every day.
👉 What does AAA 5-Diamond mean? AAA defines this as… “World-class luxury, amenities and indulgence for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Great for: The ultimate in relaxation!”
There are a total of 412 rooms spanning multiple 4-story buildings. There are two main ocean-view swimming pools in the middle of everything, plus semi-private pools for guests who opt for swim-up rooms.
For most travelers considering this resort, one of the best things about this resort is the fact that it is for adults only. That means no crying kids, no loud restaurants, and no splashing havoc in the pools.
SECRETS MAROMA BEACH RIVIERA CANCUN: OUR REVIEW
THE ROOMS
The spacious rooms at Secrets Maroma beach were renovated in 2018, turning them all into chic and modern suites. They feature massive 2-person whirlpool tubs, sitting areas, and either private balconies or swim-up pools, depending on which room you book.
Your room will come with a wonderful bed or two, minibar, Nespresso machine, light snacks, water, bathrobes, cozy slippers, and turn-down service (which means a prepped bed and pillow chocolates) each night.
There will also be a little tablet in every room that serves as a remote control for the TV as well as a schedule of the daily activities offered at the resort.
Through the tablet, you can also check the weather, order room service, browse the fancy pillow menu, see what restaurants are open, and check out what other services the resort provides (spa deals, culinary experiences, cabana rentals, etc).
THE RESTAURANTS
In addition to the daily breakfast and lunch buffet, the resort also has a wide range of high-quality dining options available, including a steak restaurant, a seafood restaurant, Japanese teppanyaki, Italian cuisine, French cuisine, authentic Mexican cuisine, as well as a wine cellar with over 200 different vintages.
In total, there are 9 restaurant options, not including the coffee shop that serves up light bites throughout the day.
On specific days, there is even an outdoor Mexican-themed buffet paired with live entertainment that is not to be missed.
And if that wasn’t enough for you, or you’re looking to celebrate a special event, you can opt for romantic dinners for two on the beach for an extra charge.
There is also an exclusive beachfront bar/restaurant area specific to members of the Preferred Club. But even without this, you will have tons of food options throughout the day.
Despite the size of the resort, the restaurants don’t feel overcrowded. And while some of the restaurants do serve better food than others, they all make the presentation of the food a priority.
Out of the many restaurants available, our favorites were: Seaside Grill, the steak restaurant, Oceana, the seafood restaurant, and El Patio, the Mexican restaurant.
If you’ve tried all the restaurants at Secrets Maroma Beach and are interested in a night out or want to visit another one of AMR’s resorts, you can! As part of the privileges of Unlimited-Luxury®, through the Sip, Savor & See program, you can enjoy a complimentary dinner, drinks and live entertainment at one of the nearby, participating resorts from 6pm to 1am!
Simply visit your concierge by 3pm that day to arrange the details for the evening. This is a really neat feature that we didn’t get to take advantage of but will definitely do so the next time we visit!
Don’t Miss: Secrets Maroma Beach Restaurants: Reviewed And Ranked!
THE BARS
You will be glad to know that Secrets Maroma Beach serves unlimited top-shelf liquor at its 6 bars and lounges on the property.
These bars include the swim-up bar Manatees, lobby bar Rendezvous, pool and beach bar Barracuda, the theater bar Showtime, Sugar Reef poolside bar, and the Desires music lounge bar.
In addition to these bars, there will be many other opportunities to grab an alcoholic beverage. During our stay, we enjoyed a ‘fire coffee’ drink from an after-dinner coffee cart. We also got handcrafted tequila/gin cocktails from a tequila cart by the pool on one of our pool days!
And of course, upon arrival, you will get your complimentary glass of champagne!
THE ACTIVITIES
There is no shortage of things to do at Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun. This is great for people like me who struggle with sitting still and relaxing the mind!
During your stay, you’ll find that there will likely be something to do at every hour of the day when you’re not busy eating or sleeping.
Here’s what a typical day looked like at Secrets Maroma Beach:
- 9:30am: Bike Ride
- 9:30am: Stretching Class
- 10:30am: Spanish Lesson
- 11am: Pool Volleyball
- 11:30am: Kayak Tour
- 11:30am: Mexican Handmade Bracelets
- 1pm: Water Aerobics Class
- 2:30pm: Bingo
- 3:30pm: Kayak Tour
- 3:30 pm: Art, Wine & Cheese
- 4pm: Beach Volleyball / Pool Volleyball
- 4:30pm: Beach Soccer
- 5pm: Ping Pong Tournament
- 8pm: Monday Night Football
- 9pm: Mexican Folklore Show
- 11pm: DJ Party
Yup, what did I tell you about the insane amount of options in a day? And the best part is on the next day, the list of activities changes! You will truly never be bored.
Other activities not listed above include group workout classes, snorkeling, sailing, tequila tasting, Mayan lessons, horseshoes, archery, making your own pizza, darts, aqua spinning, flag football, batting practice, life-size chess, and mini-golf.
And for an additional fee, you can also enjoy the following: scuba diving, romantic dinners on the beach, special culinary experiences, wine tasting, and more.
If you’re looking for excursions off the property, the concierge will be more than happy to schedule your off-site activities.
And of course, you’re welcome to schedule your own excursions too! Because I’m a planner, I had actually scheduled an excursion on my own for a day during our stay (ATV, Zipline, and Cenote Swim Tour At Emotions Native Park). Our transportation came promptly with no issues and the entire day went smoothly. After our tour, we were dropped right back off where we were picked up–in front of the hotel lobby.
THE GROUNDS
The grounds at Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun were immaculately clean, well-manicured, and very green! It perfectly oozes tropical vibes without making it feel like you’re in the jungle.
Public areas include the hotel lobby and bar, a large fitness center featuring modern equipment, and the entertainment, pool, and beach area.
The indoor common areas are drop-dead gorgeous too, featuring warm wooden furnishings and striking handmade pieces of Mexican decor. The lobby can only be described as modern, massive, and airy while still feeling very welcoming!
Head outside and you’ll easily notice the many fountains and serene pools of water at every turn.
In these outdoor common areas, you can find plenty of secluded nooks and shaded seating areas. There are massive hammocks for resting in, shaded beach chairs for that poolside nap you’ve been craving, as well as designated smoking areas throughout the property.
THE POOLS
The two main ocean-view pools are usually quite lively as this is where most guests go to hang out throughout the day. One of them features a swim-up bar, while the other features an infinity-style look and feel facing the beach.
All of the beach chairs come with umbrellas for shade to prevent travelers from getting burnt to a crisp!
Speaking of getting burnt to a crisp, there is an awesome pool concierge desk in the middle of the pool area where you can find complimentary sunscreen. I personally thought this was such a nice touch because the general store on the property had sunscreen on sale for a whopping $31 USD! No, that is NOT a typo!
When you’re hanging out by the pools, you can take advantage of the pool concierge in other ways too.
You can actually order drinks from the pool hosts that tend to come around every 30 minutes or so to check on you. They do a really great job of making sure you’re satisfied and clearing any cups or plates from your area, so don’t forget to tip them!
Every once in a while, you may even catch the tequila/gin cart rolling by. You can get some pretty creative drinks here by allowing the bartender to make whatever he wants for you. My special request was to get a drink featuring passion fruit pulp. What I ended up getting was this creative and delicious handcrafted cocktail served in a bell pepper!
If you want an even more special pool experience, you can consider renting one of the private outdoor cabanas in the pool area or even on the beach. There is an additional fee to do so.
There are also two relatively large hot tubs to enjoy when the sun sets and the temperatures begin to drop.
THE BEACH
Next up is the white sand beach that sits just a few steps away from the pool area. Though we didn’t get to enjoy too much of the beach due to the cold front and rain that rolled in for a few days during our visit, the time we did spend at the beach was great.
The sand was soft and fine and the water was refreshing and warm enough to enjoy by the time the sun was in full effect.
One thing to take note of is the issue of guests reserving beach loungers even when it’s not really in use. What I mean is–a lot of resort guests will tend to claim loungers or beds by laying out towels early in the day. Often, these stay empty for hours until they arrive later in the day.
This is something I’ve noticed at many resorts and is by no means specific to Secrets Maroma Beach. As a tip, you may have to beat them at their own game and arrive by 9-10am or else risk not having a seat.
And while seaweed tends to be an issue in the Riviera Maya during certain times of the year (more so during the summer months), there were only very small amounts of seaweed washed up on the shore during our trip. It was hardly noticeable for me as I’m used to seeing massive piles of kelp on our Northern California beaches!
You can rent the fancy swinging Balinese beds for an additional fee.
THE ENTERTAINMENT
Pre and post-dinner entertainment are plentiful. Since many guests tend to grab drinks before dinner, Secrets Maroma has done a really good job bringing casual entertainment into the lobby bar area so that guests can enjoy their aperitifs with a side of relaxing music.
While the pre-dinner entertainment was chill, what I thought really shined was the post-dinner entertainment! During our stay, we enjoyed the Emotions Show (an acrobatic and burlesque-style show), the Elements Show, Boogie Nights Show, and a tenor singing show.
Sure, a lot of these shows are made to appeal to an older crowd, but we still enjoyed them. Maybe it’s because we are easily entertained, maybe they are really just that entertaining!
THE SPA
The Secrets Spa by Pevonia® is a haven for rejuvenating body and facial treatments, soothing hydrotherapy, relaxing massages, and pampering salons. You can even get the fish pedicure if that’s your thing.
At first glance, all I could think was how absolutely gorgeous the interior of this place was. And as soon as our spa experience started, I simply did not want to leave!
If you’re looking for some real R&R, be sure to hit up this first-class spa during your time there. I cannot recommend it enough!
The cool thing is that each spa treatment comes with a complimentary hydrotherapy circuit hour, which is an added bonus to the amount of money you’re paying for your service.
No matter what treatment you choose, be sure to linger a bit longer and enjoy the ambiance of this area. In the ladies’ locker room, there is even a ‘relaxation room’ for you to lay down and enjoy.
I am still dreaming about that tranquil music and relaxing scent that was pumping through the entire spa!
If you just want to enjoy the guided hydrotherapy circuit (which consists of time in a sauna, steam room, and various pools of cold and warm water), you can get a Water Journey Day Pass for $35 USD.
Looking to elevate your spa experience (as if it wasn’t enough already)? Beachfront treatment options are also available.
Pro Tip: Once you arrive at the hotel–or even before arriving, download the AMR Collection app. They will have daily spa treatment specials on there that will save you a ton of money compared to just booking a service blindly. We took advantage of the couples massage special that came with the hydrotherapy circuit beforehand (totaling $265). If we had bought 2 single massages, it would have cost us $398 ($199 each).
WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT SECRETS MAROMA BEACH
This is a truly beautiful resort, with immaculately decorated rooms and service that is hard to beat. While there is a lot to love about Secrets Maroma Riviera Cancun, below is a list of the main things that really stood out to me.
The amazing hospitality and service
At Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun, you can expect nothing less than excellent, friendly, and helpful staff everywhere you turn. Everyone that works there goes above and beyond to assist you.
At one point during my stay, I was holding two cups of coffee in my hand and a staff member ran a few yards to the door to help me. Moments like this really make a lasting impression!
The variety of food at any time of day
No matter what time of day, there was always a huge selection of food and beverages to choose from.
Morning: While the international buffet restaurant is technically the only restaurant open in the morning, their buffet spread was endless. You’re sure to find something you like at the buffet. And if that’s not your thing, the grab-and-go bites at the coffee shop OR room service breakfast should satisfy you!
Pro Tip: Don’t miss their green juice or any of the fresh-squeezed fruit juices in the morning! We found ourselves wanting more throughout the day because it was so refreshing!
Lunch: While the lunch options are more limited than the dinner options, you’ve still got a lot to choose from including the Barefoot Grill, Coco Cafe, Seaside Grill, and World Cafe. The cool thing about World Cafe is that every day features a different type of cuisine. During our stay, they had a French day and a Mediterranean day, among other cuisine themes (we skipped lunch on a few occasions due to being too full from breakfast and forgot to ask, oops!).
Midday: If you missed the restaurant hours at lunch, no worries, you can still grab food by the pool area at the wood-fired pizza station or Barefoot Grill. Don’t miss the catch of the day at Barefoot Grill if you like fish!
Dinner: This is when the majority of restaurants open up. You’ll have so much to choose from.
Midnight / the wee hours of the night: You can always count on that 24/7 room service to keep you fed!
The breakfast options were incredible
Out of all the meals in the day and restaurants on the property, we were most impressed with the breakfast meal. We ate breakfast at World Cafe every single morning during our five-night stay because of how much we enjoyed the experience! We typically don’t eat breakfast at home, so this could have also contributed to why we were so drawn to it.
Nevertheless, the breakfast spread was wonderful. As soon as you’re seated, you’re asked what you’d like to drink. We always started off with green juice or orange juice as well as a cup of coffee. We ordered pretty basic things, but other more elaborate coffee drinks were available as well!
From there, you can have at it with the food! You can grab anything from pastries, cold cut meats, yogurts, juices, cereals, oatmeal, bacon, sausage, eggs, and fresh fruit to salads, crepes, french toast, pancakes, waffles, chilaquiles, molletes, empanadas, quesadillas, tamales, fried rice, and even made-to-order omelets.
Can you tell that I love breakfast buffets at all-inclusive resorts yet?
The large and spacious rooms
Our junior swim-up suite was everything we had wanted and more. More importantly, we loved the comfortable king-sized bed. Yep, getting up in the morning was hard due to how comfortable the bed and the sheets were!
The endless daily activities
The lengths that Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun goes to entertain its guests is no joke. There was always something to do from the moment we woke up in the morning. Honestly, it was impossible to do it all!
Some of my favorite activities were the yoga classes in the morning, midday kayak tours, and the evening entertainment shows! And even if there wasn’t a scheduled activity that interested us, we were still able to entertain ourselves by playing things like badminton, connect four basketball, and tennis.
Not into physical activity? Not a problem! Getting a spa treatment, laying by the pool, and chilling under the palapas on the beach easily took up many, many hours of our day!
With so many activity options throughout the day, we actually found it hard to find time to just lay around the pool and relax!
The internet access
Lastly, and I didn’t mention this above anywhere, but the WiFi on the property was spectacular. Even while on the beach, there was absolutely no breakage in the WiFi signal. That means if you’re a business traveler trying to get work done, you can literally work anywhere on the property with confidence that your work will not get interrupted.
Their internet seriously gets a 10/10 in my book!
WHAT WE DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT SECRETS MAROMA BEACH
All in all, I have nothing too negative to say about Secrets Maroma Beach. Our overall experience was amazing–from the hospitality to the ambiance, and really everything else the resort offered.
Having said that, I did want to mention a few minor things that popped up in my mind during my stay. They may not impact your decision to stay at Secrets Maroma Beach, but I thought I’d share anyway!
I’ve stayed at other resorts before like Excellence Riviera Cancun and Excellence Playa Mujeres, so it was impossible for me not to compare the three properties. Some of the things that I found Secrets lacked are the following:
No mid-afternoon snack carts – At the Excellence resorts, I recall random little food carts that would appear in the middle of the day, serving treats such as soft serve or crepes. At Secrets, I experienced just a tequila cart by the pool area (which was great), but no fun midday eats.
No hard liquor in the minibar – Only beer. The Excellence resorts had both beer and hard liquor to be enjoyed in the rooms.
No candy is included in the minibar – This one is so minor, but the Excellence resorts had candy, which is the only reason we noticed! Now, we didn’t bother to ask the concierge about this, but that was one thing we were craving that we couldn’t get our hands on (we also didn’t want to pay for this in the general store).
Room service menu was limited to more American-style foods – You can choose between salads, chicken wings, nachos, soups, basic pasta and pizzas, BBQ ribs, and sandwiches. All of which was very American in cuisine style (and not my favorite). I was hoping for a more ethnic variety (even enchiladas, chilaquiles, tacos, or even a bag of instant ramen would have made me happy). Another odd thing was that guests could only order desserts after 12am which was odd because I feel like many of us would want to sleep at 12am rather than gorge on sweets.
Hard to find churros – Because I have an obsession with churros, I was looking for churros everywhere during my stay at Secrets. The only place I could find them was at the Mexican restaurant, El Patio, which we had only on our last night. It would have been great if they had churros available 24/7 at the coffee shop or something. Kidding, but not really!
No coconuts for drinking – We asked on our last day at the resort and were told that there weren’t any on the property. It would have been nice if these were available, but the staff did try to accommodate our request! We were told if we wanted coconuts to drink/eat, we would have to notify them a day before so they could order them for us.
SECRETS MAROMA BEACH RIVIERA CANCUN: IS IT WORTH THE MONEY?
As a luxury all-inclusive resort, and one of the best all-inclusive options in the Riviera Maya, Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun has enough features to make leaving the property virtually unnecessary.
If you’re the type to just relax, read by the pool, sleep on the beach, and do nothing all day, then Secrets Maroma Beach will be perfect for you. The two gorgeous pools and white sand beach are some of the best in all of the Riviera Maya region.
If you’re the type that can’t sit still, Secrets Maroma Beach is also perfect for you! We were so impressed by how many activities were included and featured on a daily basis.
One of the coolest and most convenient features of Secrets Maroma Beach is its dedicated app where you can literally access any information pertaining to the hotel.
You can access restaurant menus, daily agendas, spa menus, off-site tours and excursions, and hotel maps. You can also text your concierge rep, send in live requests, and book transportation to and from the resort. This feature really helped to elevate our overall experience (not to mention, saves trees from all the unnecessary paper printing!).
One of the things that people are most curious about is the food. Is the food at an all-inclusive resort good? Is the food good enough here to choose Secrets over another resort?
While I can’t sit here and say that ALL of the restaurants and food options were 5/5 stars (some restaurants were okay while others were great), it was still pretty good overall. My partner and I both agreed that the food here was slightly better than the food at the Excellence Playa Mujeres and the Excellence Riviera Cancun. I have not tried the food at other all-inclusive resorts, so I can’t really speak to how this compares to other hotel groups.
And what you’ll have to remember is that ultimately, you are at an all-inclusive resort and the food is included, which is a win already. If you want that gastronomic experience, you will probably be better served at a Four Seasons or at an actual fine dining restaurant.
Overall, we would highly recommend Secrets Maroma Beach to anyone looking for that 5-star treatment or that romantic getaway. The property, activities, and amenities are all great, but I did want to mention the staff. Honestly, it will really be the kind and engaging people who work there that will make your vacation that much more extraordinary.
Having visited for ourselves, it’s easy to see why many destination weddings are held at this resort. It’s a breathtaking place to be and the staff will surely do what they can to make your vacation truly unforgettable.
Ready to commit? You can make your Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun reservations here on Expedia (this is where we personally found the best price for our stay)!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What Is The Best Way To Get To Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun?
The best way to get to Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun will definitely depend on your budget. For most travelers, your options will be taxi, private transfer, or shared transfer.
If the word budget is not in your vocabulary, then taking a taxi from wherever you are will be the best and most convenient option.
If you’re able to do a bit of planning ahead of time, booking a private transfer will save you some money compared to taking a taxi. We like to do a price comparison with USA Transfers and using Booking.com’s airport taxi feature.
For something a bit cheaper, you can also book a shared shuttle transfer using any of the two options above.
Don’t want to deal with it and have more budget to spare? Reach out to your concierge and they will take care of everything for you.
Do You Have To Tip At Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun?
Per the property, all taxes and gratuities are included in your Unlimited-Luxury® inclusions.
While tipping is optional and at your own discretion, we did find that many resort guests, like us, did provide the employees with an extra tip any time service was provided. If you’re wondering what counts under services provided, it will include some of the following:
- Waiters at the restaurants
- Bartenders at the bars
- Baristas at the coffee bar
- Room service runners
- When the bellmen help you with your bags
- When housekeeping cleans your room / refills your coffee bar and mini bar in the morning
- When your designated concierge rep does something above and beyond for you
If a restaurant was particularly busy and we could tell our waiter was hustling to keep up, we increased the tip. We also tipped each time we were brought a drink either at the pool/beach or at a bar, and also whenever food was prepared on the spot for us.
We also provided a tip for housekeeping every morning because first off, housekeeping is hard work, and secondly, having a properly made bed every morning really added to our relaxing experience.
Of course, there were many other scenarios where we tipped, but from the above, I hope you got the picture.
If you’re wondering how much to tip, anywhere between $1-5 USD should be good. And of course, feel free to increase that tip if you feel that someone went above and beyond to help you out!
It’s important to remember that people in the hospitality and service industry work really hard. So please reward them accordingly.
ALTERNATIVES TO SECRETS MAROMA BEACH RIVIERA CANCUN
I won’t go too in-depth here, but after doing extensive research on the best all-inclusive resorts in the Riviera Maya, my top 2 alternative choices (at a comparable or lower price than Secrets Maroma Beach) are:
Excellence Riviera Cancun – Adults Only – At a glance: 8 restaurants, 6 bars, 6 pools, 5-star resort
Royal Hideaway Playacar – Adults Only – At a glance: 6 restaurants, 3 bars, 6 pools, 5-star resort
And for something that goes above and beyond the luxury you get at Secrets Maroma (if you have a very flexible budget), there’s the showstopping one and only:
Grand Velas Riviera Maya – At a glance: 8 restaurants, 6 bars, 5 pools, 5-star resort
We hope you found our Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun review post helpful in determining whether Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun is right for you!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave us a comment, we’d be happy to answer any of your burning questions!
For more Mexico travel tips, don’t miss:
Mexico All-Inclusive Packing List: 60 Essential Things To Bring With You
Essential Cancun Travel Tips: All The Things I Wish I’d Known Before My Mexico Trip
Best Things To Do In Playa Del Carmen For An Unforgettable Vacation
17 Unforgettable Things To Do On Isla Mujeres, Mexico
How To Get From Cancun To Playa Del Carmen: A Detailed Guide!
Thanks for the great reviews of secrets maroma! Very helpful as we are trying to decide between Valentin imperial, Excellence Riviera Cancun, and Secrets Maroma.