Secrets Aura Cozumel

This was our first trip to an all-inclusive resort. We figured it would be like a cruise. We had a Preferred Club Oceanview Junior Suite. Beautiful view; near the Preferred Club Pool. We were traveling with a group & some had regular rooms & some Preferred Club. Check in took forever for the Preferred Club due to “personalized service”… that was about the only personalized experience we had. This property is older & the buildings are showing their age, our room was large but dated decor, the couch was so uncomfortable we resorted to the small bistro chairs. The bathroom had an open shower but the hand wand wouldn’t shut off which reduced the pressure on the rain shower. The shower water was just warm but the sinks had hot water…honestly we are not overly picky but little things like this kept piling up. Our first night dinner was mediocre at best; I figured I just ordered the wrong thing…later we walked to the buffet to pick up some fruit & it looked tired & picked over. Breakfast at Oceana was the best food we had all week; the Mexican breakfast choices were all excellent! The second night we had a group dinner at the French inspired restaurant, another bad choice on my part, pork loin as thin as pancakes. The third night we had the hibachi experience…this was cheesy entertainment & the dinner was average which was an improvement over poor & terrible. Our last night we ate at the sushi restaurant & once again were disappointed. The food was consistently poor quality, tough meats & unrecognizable sides. There was little flavor to the dishes. The bar service at the pools was excellent. Don’t expect great house wines; but they weren’t undrinkable either. The one thing that disappointed me most was housekeeping; our room was only serviced one day; not even a basic wipe down or make the bed. Our A/C went out & maintenance was prompt with the repairs. Another thing was the push to participate in a sales presentation for the Hyatt vacation club. We didn’t go because we knew we were not interested in “resort lifestyle” but some in our group did to get the free massage. Nightlife & entertainment were nonexistent & the place was dead by 9PM. I want to say this though in spite of the bad food, quirky room, & lack of housekeeping we had a nice vacation. The service from bartenders & waitstaff was excellent. We met some wonderful people who had been coming for years & swore by the island & its hospitality. The beach was marvelous! The pools were some of the cleanest & well maintained that I have ever seen. If you are with a group make sure you all have the same type rooms because the “pool police” check to make sure that non preferred guests are not at the preferred pool so parts of our group got sent away…we ended up at the regular pool because we were just drinking beer & it didn’t matter but a few of our group were miffed that we all couldn’t hang out together AND enjoy the premium package. Would we go back to this resort (or any resort) probably not. It was nothing like a cruise & frankly if we weren’t with a group it would have been boring. We basically spent the whole day in the water drinking beer; got somewhat dressed for bad dining experiences & we were back to our room by 9PM to watch TV in Spanish. Rinse & repeat

We are A couple from quebec canada. We travel quite a bit(7 times in the last 2 years. I'd say more than average) . We haven't had too many complaints about our travels to date, as long as we have the minimum (good food, clean rooms and good service).We booked this hotel expecting Secrets resort quality . Our first room at check in had water falling from the ceiling like Niagara Falls. So they switched ust to another room. It was dirty, moldy smelly , badly in need of repairs(our room door had a 1 inch gap at the top and 1/2 inch gap at the bottom we coud see through). On the second day it rained and water was flooding in from under the door across our room. We demanded a change and they were willing to upgrade us to preferred room but only at end of day, so we lost almost the whole day . Very disappointing. The food on the first day was horrible. We ate at oceana for breakfast and it was OK. For lunch we tried buffet and most of the food was recycled from previous buffets and was inedible so we decided on room service nachos because we were starving. The next 3 to 4 days as resort got fuller food quality got better and then near end of stay it was back to awful food and recycled food. As far as the way the hotel is managed I'm very dissatisfied. We had access to the Dreams side of the resort and I have a mobility issue due to a bad hip. So we go to reception to get a lift with their golf cart (only 1 for entire grounds of 3 hotels) and it was always recharging. Ok what's plan B,C Or D in this situation sir, especially for elderly or low mobility people. Oh sir we have no plan B,C or D. You can just walk.. very disappointing 😞. Ok so in short , no I would never come back here and I wouldn't recommend it either.. there are plenty of better resorts on the island than Secrets Aura Cozumel.

Our trip was memorable for all the wrong reasons, starting with the service, to little fruit flies in our room, to poorly lit walkways with chunks of concrete missing. My wife ended up breaking her ankle on one of the broken steps which prematurely ended our trip. Instead of showing empathy for our situation the staff was more concerned with how long we were going to need the wheelchair. Prior to leaving early, I asked to speak with a manager but was told they were unavailable and that I needed to contact Ms. Ana Vargas after returning home. After sending weekly requests to Ms. Vargas, who acknowledged receipt of two of my emails, my questions and requests have gone unaddressed. Given that my wife broke her ankle as a result of an unmarked broken step, we expected more. Instead, we incurred over $2,000 in medical expenses and additional flight costs to return home to see a specialist, which resulted in lost two days of resort time, no response from Ms. Vargas, and even less empathy along the way. If service is important to you as well as safe walkaways to the beach, I suggest looking elsewhere.

Have been to this location several times, beautiful beach, great staff, food good. Excellent entertainment staff, lots of fun. Room was comfortable and clean.

The resort is older and could use some TLC. Hot water is hit or miss. The staff are great. They made our stay wonderful. The snorkeling right off the beach is world class. The food was a solid 6/10. We will go back. The value is there for the location and the great service.