For reference I went to Secrets with a friend for my 32nd birthday vacation. We stayed in a Preferred 2 queen bed oceanfront room.
Pros: The resort itself is beautiful and though it is older, it’s very well maintained. The staff is very nice and accommodating. Our butler, Josè was extremely helpful and made our trip special. All of the staff members were excited to celebrate my birthday and went out of their way for us. The breakfast buffet was unexpectedly wonderful! Dinner at the Italian restaurant, Capers, was good! We had a great massage experience at the Spa.
Cons: The vendors on the beach are unbearable. You cannot sit on the beach and enjoy the day without someone trying to sell you something every 30 seconds - no exaggeration. Many vendors would not take NO for an answer and kept coming back - not relaxing at all. The “house” liquor at the resort is whatever is below bottom shelf. A shot of “tequila” tasted like cold medicine - it was so gross! The Mexican restaurant on the resort was disappointing… considering we were in Mexico. The French restaurant was OK, though we felt finessed into buying a bottle of wine. The resort looked to up-charge us at what felt like every turn - bottles of wine, lobster, etc. all extra $$$. The ATM on the resort charged a total of $20 in fees, only spit out $50 bills, and the front desk rarely had change. The resort is definitely geared toward older (45 ) folks. Boring and everything shuts down at 8pm!