Secrets The Vine Cancun

Sorry for the long review — but I think its worth a read. This is one of the toughest reviews we’ve ever written. I’m honestly torn between giving this place a 1-star rating for certain things and 5+ stars for others. We’ve stayed at several Hyatt properties over the years, and it’s disappointing that a conglomerate like this still hasn’t figured some basic things out. Corporate needs to get their heads out of the sand and actually talk to guests about the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Preferred Club – 1 Star We stayed in Preferred because other room categories were sold out — not because we wanted to. Sadly, the two-tier system minimizes guests who are not in Preferred. After talking with several other guests, we learned the real differences. Honestly? Preferred and the Butlers didn’t really do much for us. We received a daily text about activities — which you can easily find in the app yourself. The Preferred lounge on Floor 21 had the same food and drinks available elsewhere. Check-in was quick, but the main lobby desk was empty, so it likely would’ve been just as fast there. Unless you’re a very high-maintenance guest expecting constant attention, Preferred just didn’t feel worth it. Cleaning lady serviced our room daily with goodies, fridge and bar snacks fully loaded daily with that team. We had more than enough of everything. Staff – 5+ Stars Now for the reason this review isn’t a 1-star overall. The staff are absolutely outstanding. We learned early in our travel years: cash is king. Bring cash. Tip well. Build it into your vacation budget. You will be treated like royalty. Years ago, I stopped giving my money to corporate upsells — pay for premium wine bottles (when we already can get premium wine at an all-inclusive), better rooms, premium packages, etc. Instead, I give that money to the workers who actually bust their tails. Within two days of tipping properly, the entire staff and even management knew who we were. We were approached constantly and offered incredible service — with no upcharges. Market Café Cesar is top-notch. Every morning our table was ready. We stood in line like everyone else (which was always short), but he would grab us and take us straight to our table. Awesome guy. The omelet station — Samona (forgive me if I misspelled it) — incredible talent. Once she saw us, our two omelets were already being made without us even asking. Pool Area Angel and Rachel — the concierge pool bosses — unbelievable duo. They built connections immediately, checked on us constantly, and even gave us their phone numbers if we needed anything. All questions? Handled. We love the sun, so cabanas weren’t really our thing. But they allowed me to watch Olympic hockey in one for two days, and it turned into a fun group viewing with other guests. Bartenders & Servers Jaime, Hermenzes, Fernando, Juan, Luis — they rotate areas and they all communicate with each other. We stayed at the Manatees pool the entire trip since most activities happen there. Even when they were working other sections, they came over to check on us. If something wasn’t on the menu, they found it, made it, and brought it. Staff who had never served us greeted us by name when we walked by. The bar/server boss (forgive the spelling — Ejguardo?) watched his staff and us for a couple of days, then approached and told us to contact him directly if we ever needed anything. Because of these relationships, we never waited for reservations. Tables were always ready for us wherever we wanted to eat. Chef Isidro — incredibly talented and impressive. He approached us at the pool and invited us to dine at Dragon three different nights. The food was amazing. They even prepared off-menu items we were craving. We declined the Chef’s Table experience because we prefer specific foods, but they even offered to customize the menu for us. Mexican Night at the pool? No upsell. Reserved table. We invited another couple we met, and we were treated like royalty. Yes, the wine upsell to secure reservations is silly — especially if you’re not wine drinkers. After day two, they stopped pushing it. However, the restaurant wait times are long and the lines can be crazy, yes up to a 2 hour wait. Over our 10 days, we were introduced to Luis, the assistant Food & Beverage Manager. We had a small brush-in on day one, but once he heard about us he was friendly and professional. The Reason We Will NOT Return Pool chairs – Minus 1 Star This is the issue everyone talks about — and it’s absolutely true. The lack of pool chairs is terrible. Sadly, we played the game too — which should NEVER be happening on vacation. We were up at 5:00 a.m. every day to secure chairs. No vacation should require a 5 a.m. sprint for a pool chair. It felt like Black Friday when doors open and customers run. One morning I witnessed at least six people literally running down the pathway to grab premium chairs. Unreal. I even tried tipping management and staff generously to secure chairs — from night shift staff to early the morning crew. Hard no. They genuinely wanted to help but said cameras are everywhere and people would lose their jobs. So unless you find someone willing to risk it (which we didn’t want to push), you’re stuck playing the 5 a.m. chair game. And that’s why we won’t return. I would say for 95% percent of vacationers, all they would like in an all inclusive resort vacation is- 1) an opportunity to have a good meal but not have to wait up to 2 hours nightly 2) an opportunity to sit on a pool chair and enjoy the sun and ocean and not worry about being up at 5am to be able to do that. Secrets The Vine failed badly on both of these. Thank you to all the staff that made our stay enjoyable, but unfortunately we will not be back. — Dino

We had an amazing stay at Secrets The Vine Cancun and would absolutely return if the price works for us again. The service stood out from day one. While I believe the resort has over 500 rooms, it’s designed as a single tower, which gives it a more contained, polished feel. It never felt crowded to us, likely because there are so many thoughtfully designed spaces throughout the property to spread out. Breakfast at Olio became one of our favorite parts of the trip — Michelle and her team started each morning with warm, welcoming smiles and excellent service. The food was consistently delicious and set the tone for the day. Our room was spotless with a nice balcony and a stunning ocean/lagoon view. We loved the dramatic, wavy beach, it kind of made us feel like kids again. We upgraded to Preferred Club and found it worth it for the higher floor room, quieter pool area, and lounge access with snacks and drinks. For those wondering about chairs: we consistently found space at the beach with an umbrella around 9:00 a.m. If the pool or beach areas filled up later in the day, staff were very proactive and helpful in finding space for guests, which made the experience feel organized rather than stressful. If I had one minor suggestion, it would be that some of the beach furniture feels a bit dated compared to how modern and beautiful the rest of the resort is. It didn’t impact our stay, but refreshing that area would elevate the experience even more. Overall, the resort feels polished, clean, well-run, and worth the investment.

This resort is terrible. Biggest issues were the horrible food and not enough beach or pool chairs available. The chairs at the beach will break your back, they were so uncomfortable, i couldn’t lay on my stomach. Guests literally get up at 5:30am to reserve their chairs at the beach or pool. You’ll see towels on a chair with one book on it, no personal items. One day I even saw a towel with a cigar cutter on it. These pathetic chair saving people don’t show up until mid afternoon. The staff does nothing about it either. The woman at the front desk told me i have to get up early if i want a chair. So forget about sleeping in on your vacation. If you haven’t saved yourself a spot but 7:30 am forget it. On to the restaurants and food. You will be waiting over an hour to be seated for dinner at every restaurant all week long. Doesn’t matter if you like eating at 6pm or 9pm, you will be waiting. You have to download the resort app and when your table is ready you get a message. The lines to even put your name in for a table can take 15 minutes alone. The wait for the breakfast buffet is easily 30 minutes. Never seen anything like it at any other secrets or other resorts I’ve been to. The only way to bypass a wait for dinner is to buy bottles or wine for over $100 with your meal. Then you can get a reservation and table ready. Reduced ourselves a few times just to get an 8pm reservation. You’ll be approached by a staff member at the pool or beach during the day to get ripped off. The food at the breakfast and lunch buffet is the same garbage everyday with no variety. The lunch restaurant by the pool takes almost two hours from start to finish. The grill by the pool is the worst. Peasant food. They serve the same burgers, hot dogs, wedge fries and nacho slop everyday. Only twice did they throw in chicken wings, but i guess they ran out? No variety and no healthy options. Needless to say my husband and i got fed up and went out to eat a few times. Harry’s steakhouse and Mochimos (la isla) was worth the extra expense. It’s not a relaxing vacation when you can’t get a chair or have to wait forever at every restaurant.

This location far exceeded expectations and would recommend to anyone. Everything was near by and the highest level of customer satisfaction. The food was good but not great. Dragons and Bluewater was great, but we got sick at the Mexican restaurant.

Pablo and Alfredo were the best! Delicious food at the Blue Water Grill steakhouse at Secrets The Vine. These two were very attentive and so very warm and friendly. A great team! Thanks for the memories and great food!