Secrets Aura Cozumel

I have to start out by saying this is the first time I ever stayed at an all inclusive resort, so my comments on the shortcomings of this resort may be the norm. That said, I hope not The layout of my room was nice, but the furniture was definitely pretty beat up. The resort itself was set up nicely. The staff was a mixed bag. The waiters and waitresses were generally very nice, although some were absolutely inattentive. When one person at the table asks for a drink of water, you would expect that the waiter would offer water to everyone, and not just bring over a single glass, but that happened more often than not. The bartenders were generally curt and dismissive, which is exactly the opposite I would expect from someone looking for a tip. It was not just me. At least twice I was standing at the bar near a guest who was treated rudely by a bartender. The hosts/hostesses at the restaurants also left a little to be desired. There were several people in our group, which seemed to be more than they were used to. Only once were they able to give us a relatively accurate wait time. Most of them told us that they had no idea how long we would need to wait to get a table. Probably the worst was the night we went to Gohan. We were told that the wait would be about 1 hour. We sat outside and had a couple of drinks. It was a very cool and breezy night, to the point that it was uncomfortable to sit outside. After an hour we went to check and were told that it would be at least another 45 minutes. Then, the hostess told us that we were not allowed to wait in the foyer and had to go back outside. Needless to say, we left. As for the food, it was hit or miss. Bordeaux was very good. We ate at all of the other restaurants, and some over at the sister resort, Dreams. By and large, the food was nothing special and the portions were exceptionally small. The small portions were not a big deal, because you could order as many as you wanted. The worst of the food was the buffet. It looked as unappetizing as it was. The desserts were by and large a complete disappointment, across the board. They looked delicious, but most of them lacked any flavor, whatsoever. We paid extra to be preferred guests, which was a complete waste of money. Only certain bars give you the option of top shelf liquor. If they run out of a particular brand, the bartenders have no idea when they will get it in. The preferred seating on the beach was an even bigger joke. Those seats were long gone before sunup. One day we got them when the weather was not particularly good. two couples near us were loudly bragging to one amother. One couple was talking about how they were not preferred but were sitting in the preferred seats. The other couple told them that they weren't even from our resort. When we asked about this at the preferred desk, we were told that they don't actually check to make sure that only preferred guests are in the preferred areas. The entertainment was generally okay, but definitely not great. I am open to trying another all-inclusive, just not this one.

We stayed from Jan.28 to Feb.4 in a swim up oceanview room. The view was phenomenal and it was absolutely great to have a swim up room. We were in room 1112. The patio remained in the shade, which was perfect for my husband. I would get a pool chair in the sun and swim back and forth from the room to the chair, so it was also perfect for me. The beach was steps away, which made it super convenient for snorkeling. The room was located very close to the lobby and most restaurants, which was also very convenient. However, it was also VERY loud, especially in the late evenings (guests) and early mornings (staff). And there is a fan exhaust unit that seems to be right outside the room and runs almost non-stop.... so if you have a hard time sleeping, this is not the room for you. We discovered the bedside lamp did not work and this was replaced immediately. Our safe had a glitch one day that said the battery needed to be replaced. Again the hotel staff were quick to arrive and repair. Housekeeping was extremely lax with the towels. We rarely had hand towels, even after asking a few days in a row. The app does not allow to order room supplies, which we found odd, as stays at other Secrets have this feature. We also had issues with hot water. Apparently the taps for the shower, sink and tub must all be run at the full "hot" setting for 5 mins to get hot water. We discovered this wasteful practice after a few days of lukewarm bathing and two calls to reception. The room is a bit tired in that there are cracks in the ceiling and chips on the floor tile. There is also a lot of empty space.... a dresser would have been appreciated in this area. Sadly the jets in our tub did not work-- the button was obviously depressed and stuck when we arrived. Maintenance appeared quickly after calling but he could do nothing to fix it. Reception inferred we might be able to change rooms.... with two nights left in our stay. However we decided that we did not want to give up the swim up room. [At this point I should add that I was fully aware of the reviews before booking, but I had found a really great deal so figured it was worth what we paid. After staying at the resort, we still believe it was worth what we paid, which was substantially less than the listed price.] We did not upgrade to preferred as we found no value in it. The preferred pool seemed very full and loud. We could have an a la carte breakfast at the Ocenea restaurant and we requested higher end alcohol for drinks and received it. We were disappointed with the check in-- our flight was late and there was a large group of us waiting to check in. They only had 2 people working reception and it was a long wait at the end of a long day. There were no welcome drinks but they did bring us cool towels. While we waited we were pressured to attend the vacation club breakfast and offered all sorts of "goodies" to attend. We did not go on vacation to waste 1.5 hours of our time being pitched something we do not want to do. That was a frustrating start to the vacation, which continued into the next day, as we were approached in the lobby on our way back from breakfast. Fortunately we were not approached again. Food was good but not spectacular. Often the menu descriptions were not what was served to us. For example my husband ordered a nicoisse salad at Bordeaux and it did not have any tuna in it. There are very limited options for vegetarians and vegans-- we are not either but our daughter is vegetarian and we would not be able to travel here with her. The buffet was completely underwhelming. The variety was minimal. We were disappointed to see a lack lustre and mostly non-existent "mexican food" area. The buffet staff (other than Kenia, the hostess, who was lovely) seemed to scatter lack seagulls once we were seated. It was hard to order drinks and then sometimes the drink orders were not right. I ordered white wine (vino blanco) one afternoon and was brought red wine. The waiter seemed offended when I asked to switch to white. The a la carte staff were a lot more attentive and friendly. Gohan-- Asian was very good. Great atmosphere and good food. The other a la cartes were good-- again just not the level you would expect from Secrets. Also there are tons of people who come here to eat from the sister Dreams resort, as they have few a la carte options. We did eat at Dreams one evening-- Olio. It was a good meal and a really nice setting. You do not need to be preferred to go to Dreams for dinner. If you want to hang out there during the day, then you need preferred. Honestly not sure why you would want to hang out there-- they had no beach at all. Be careful walking on the "sidewalk" that runs from Secrets to Dreams-- it is polished from the sand, uneven and slippery at times. Drinks were acceptable. Bar staff and pool servers were excellent. Hibachi was fun-- it is outdoors and you have to book on the app. I booked at 2 am, when some loud guests in the hall outside the room woke me up. It sounds like the booking opens up at midnight, FYI, and some people could not get booked the entire week we were there. They only let you book a few days in advance. Unfortunately this Secrets does not seem to do any special dinner events; no Mexican night, etc. We were hoping for an outdoor BBQ, which was advertised for lunch on Thursday, but we did not see it materialize. Ultimately we did not go hungry and did not eat anything we found to be offensive. We were happy to not have to make our own meals for the week and enjoy beautiful settings while we dined. The snorkeling from the beach is fantastic. Lots of variety of sea creatures. It is very rocky (smooth old coral) and a lot of the guests were having trouble getting into the water, even with beach shoes. I did not need to use mine as I found the water clear enough to see where I was going. There is also a ladder off the pier, but the pier can get really busy with boats coming to pickup/ drop off people for excursions. Walking the pier in the early morning you will be able to see lots of different fish. The beach chairs at the resort are falling apart. Ripped and broken ones do not get replaced but simply moved from spot to spot. This was a little shocking. Towels always seemed to be in high demand. We saw a lot of frustrated people roaming the resorts (Secrets and Dreams) looking for them. The staff seems to replace them in the early morning and again in the afternoon. The public washrooms are tiny (sky bar and lobby bar are one stall) and often did not flush. We took a taxi into San Miguel de Cozumel to do some shopping on a windy day. Never say you are from a cruise ship, as they charge you more. Also we paid in pesos instead of US as it was a better deal to do so. It is fun to go into town and bargain at the stores. Overall the resort is really lovely, even though it is old and could use some upgrades. The setting is beautiful and the gardens are well maintained. I am glad we had the ocean view, as the rooms away from the water (which seem to be the renovated ones) looked nice, but would have been a totally different vibe. The swim up rooms back there do not seem worth it as that pool does not seem as large and only has the view of the other units. We would definitely return, as long as we were not harassed so hard for the vacation club.... and we could get a really good deal.

The whole hotel complex was very tired looking, not up to par with other Secrets Hotels. Food was good but was not served very hot most times. Overall, the staff were excellent. They couldn't do enough for you.

Had the best time! The staff kept us busy and laughing. The food and staff (Miguel ) at Bordeaux were excellent. Went with a group of 10 and all had a great time. A few hiccups at the beginning and they were quickly solved. Can not wait to go back next year.

This property is more like a 2.5/3 star not even close to a 5 star . As soon as we arrived and used the lobby rest room I thought that we had made a huge mistake in booking this. The men's lobby bathroom was disgusting over flowing waste from the none stop running toilet with the over following waste basket urine covered floor no paper towel for you hands. I try the lower bath under the lobby bar it was even worse two sinks one(the right one) was over flowing and running on the floor and the other had no running water.. This is a 5 star? If the was in the USA it would have been shut down by the health department just for that alone. The pools could have been around 67/70 in temp to cold for most