Wow!! This is the third Secrets we've been to and Impression blew us away! So nice that as we arrived we almost felt out of place, but once we were checked in the staff was so welcoming we felt right at home.
Literally every single day we discovered at least one more new pool - not exaggerating, I think there were over 20 pools on the property (maybe over 30, honestly), several of which were for Impression guests only.
The tasting experience at Teodoro was easily the best food of the trip, our only regret was that we ate there on our second night instead of our last to end on a high note. Also relating to food, while you can get tacos in several places, we found the best by far to be the shrimp tacos at the Cielo rooftop - we ate them almost every day!
The staff here was absolutely wonderful, we have so many people to shout out -
- Alejandra - for our check in/check out process
- Oswaldo - our server almost every single day at Cielo
- David - our server at Teodoro. So knowledgable and funny
- Our housekeeping team - the room looked great every day and turndown service is always one of our favorite luxuries at Secrets
- Alana - gave me a lovely relaxing message at the spa
- the chef at Cielo, I think his name was Cristian? - during Father's Day brunch the shrimp tacos weren't on the menu, but he still made them for us and came out to specifically describe the dish to us. He was so sweet to accommodate us (also I don't know how many times I can mention these shrimp tacos in this review but it's a lot)
- Axel Copperfield - our poolside entertainment magician. Get this man his own show at the theatre, he is amazing! Blew my mind with his tricks and also he was hilarious
- Abel - our poolside attendant at the Impression rooftop and Main Pool both. Remembered us every day and helped get us set up in the cabanas and with towels, helping us move around as the rain came
- Jorge - another of our poolside attendants at the Main Pool, who helped clean and tighten our sunglasses and made them seem like new
- Pedro - our server at Seaside. We work in restaurants back home and Pedro was amazing! I only wish that most of my coworkers were as good as he was at their jobs
- And finally, a shout out to the true greats, Raheem & Allyson our butlers! They were so attentive and kind, making sure to come find us to say hello in person every day, no matter where we were in the hotel. They helped us with odds and ends, from getting additional hangers in our room, letting us know where to go shopping, order us a cab, scheduling massages, our tasting experience, an in-room breakfast.... they really were wonderful. The two of them worked seamlessly as a team to make sure we had an amazing experience, and we did!
Some other notes about the property in general:
First, if you're wondering if Impression is worth the additional money vs. the Secrets on the other half of the property, I'd say yes! The luxury is unmatched and the additional restaurants/pools you gain access to are amazing. The Impression side also has additional higher-dollar wines and liquors that the Secrets side doesn't have, if that's your thing.
Second, we did almost no research at all before our trip, so we didn't realize there is a dress code for men for the restaurants at dinner - long pants, no flip flops. It didn't look like it was always enforced, judging from what some of the other diners were wearing, but even so, we ended up going shopping to make sure my husband met the requirements just in case.
Third, ask your butler for a true tour of the whole property! We didn't do this, though either Raheem & Allyson would've been happy to give us one if we'd asked! There was definitely something fun about finding something new everyday BUT some of the pools we discovered later in our visit we wish we had found earlier.
Fourth, as an Impression guest you cpunt as a preferred guest, so you get access to the rooftop above not only the Impression building but also the main building. We thought the main rooftop was just for Secrets Preferred, who we assume are the people that buy into the sales pitch, so we almost missed out on the option for the main rooftop pool/restaurant!
All in all, while we like the Secrets brand as a whole and enjoyed the other ones we've been to (Cozumel, Punta Cana), this is the first one that we feel confident we will revisit! If I could give our trip 6 stars, I would. read more