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Yes we did book flights separately

On the budget/affordable side I have really liked the Royalton resorts. I think you get a lot compared to their prices. They are probably my favorite on the affordable side.

really whatever you think is appropriate. Secrets advertises that your tips are included in what you pay, so technically they are saying you don't have to tip. We always take tip and I normally tip with fives and more at dinners. I have some tipping strategy in our video for secrets puerto los cabos if you want to check that out also. thanks for watching. And congrats on your vacay coming up here shortly. super excited for yall!

hotel was about 55 minutes from the airport

with it being a full remodel we were able to install the ac in a closet (vertically) and then run the ducts up

No we did not request the upgrade. They sent an upgrade request automatically through email, this is something secrets does. It's a bid system where you pick if you want the upgrade and then they confirm back with you if you got it.

Honestly I don't know. I don't recall seeing any options immediately available to rent on the beach. We just got back from Nassau Bahamas a couple weeks ago and they had jet skis ready to rent right there on the beach. So I'm inclined to say probably not right there from the resort. You'd possibly have to put in a little work to track down an option for it - no easy just jump on right there at the beach if that makes sense.

anywhere we can go next!!! for this video we had multiple locations included when showcasing the mistakes and great finds

Happy Anniversary! Swim out suites are the best! Sounds like yall had a good time, super exciting good job!

@@kyle-ok thanks!

Yes I've heard of that one, but haven't tried it yet. Have heard they love it but also heard that some people won't take them because they don't think it's real money. I'll have to give it a try - thanks for the tip... no pun intended 😂

You're welcome. Glad we could help!

We did El Dorado Casitas just north a little up the road and we were not overly impressed. We were sold on the "gourmet all inclusive" and excited about the food, but unfortunately didn't think it was good. Haven't tried El Dorado Maroma, but love the look of the over the water rooms - those would be fun to try. Sorry not much help for that comparison.

@@kyle-ok Thanks any info is helpful! Looks like you have been to multiple Secrets resorts which would you say was your fav? Which was best value for $? Would you say Secrets Maroma is worth the price? FYI if you've never been there and you like fabulous beaches Secrets Cap Cana is also spectacular. Both Secrets Maroma and Cap Cana are consistently on the list of best all inclusives anywhere in the world.

We really liked Secrets Maroma. Loved Impression Moxche which is basically secrets. Loved Secrets Playa Blanca. Favorite out of those is probably Moxche. As for value, they are pricey but we do a lot on points so don't often pay full price. Comparing to other brands, I think secrets does give good value for the price. Haven't been to punta cana yet, but want to for sure. Thanks for the heads up on Secrets cap cana I'll definitely add that one to the list!

Oh man yall did get some weather! We were out east coast in the Bahamas and missed it. Years back we did a stay right when a tropical storm hit. It turned out ok and they got the resort cleaned up and back to normal in record time.

Are you referring to Hyatt Ziva in Cancun hotel zone or the Hyatt Ziva Riviera Maya? We loved Hyatt Ziva in the Cancun hotel zone - we celebrated a birthday there and it was great! I'd be super excited to go back there.

@@kyle-ok Hyatt Ziva Cancun

Yes agreed we felt like that compared to other resorts we had been to there were just too many issues that came up... like not having the category room we booked available and then double charging our credit card thousands of dollars. We love vacations and don't want to complain or sound ungrateful but do want to share an honest review or our experience. We know that each experience can be different for different people and unfortunately for this one we just had too many things come up. We did still had fun and wonderful family time. Hopefully this share is, if anything, eye opening.

We originally booked a standard room which was the junior suite tropical view king. We booked it with points. When we got there we were upgraded to a preferred club room - but not in the preferred club building. I don't know exactly what the category would be at that point. Basically still a tropical view room, with king bed.

Our pleasure!

When we were there they were still working on getting transportation sorted out. We had a mess at the airport and our transportation company didn't show, then told us to use another company. We weren't excited about that. We booked with Amstar. I think we paid about $150 round trip. You might try to see if nexus is offering service yet, that's who we normally use in Cancun. Also just a little warning, you might check in on the resort I understand they might be having electricity problems there with some extended outages, but hopefully will get sorted out.

@@kyle-ok Thank you!!

Thank you 😊

Tipping is really up to you. Some all inclusive resorts say tips are included - check their websites to see. But the common sentiment is that if a server provides good service to go ahead and tip them. For us, I normally tip $5 for drinks, $5-10 for bellman, and a little more for meals and butler if we get one. We do run through tip money pretty quick most of the time - but a lot of our trips are basically free using reward points so spending on the tips is easy

I believe you could ask for an upgrade option at checkin. As for limitations, the only things I can think of is that the bali beds at the beach are either reserved for the preferred club or you have to pay if you don't have preferred club (I'm not sure which), and no oceana for breakfast. Oh and no preferred club lounge - which is suppose to give you better drinks. There might be some other items that are exclusive to preferred club also, but these are the top ones I could think of.

We loved Secrets Playa Mujeres, the service and staff was top notch. And the upgrades were fantastic. My wife loved the Dreams resort next door and wants to take the kids there. It's nice having both resorts next to each other. But Secrets Playa Blanca is another level in my opinion. It's much nicer and obviously new. For me Playa Blanca is better hands down. Except maybe the drinks needed help when we were there. It reminded us a lot of Impressions Moxche. Just very nice and luxurious and we felt spoiled from the minute we arrived.

Yeah we are hoping all the landscaping grows in well. Kinda what I was saying about waiting to let it get a little further along.

That’s a hard one. I really like them both! I think I’d go with Maroma for the beach. But again, they are both really great!

@@kyle-ok What's the entertainment like at either of these resorts? I'm looking for a resort with lively energy - pool parties, dj at the pool, bars open late at night, etc.

@@marissalabuz1103 when we were there Playa mujeres had a more lively pool scene during the day much more than the one at maroma. We were at maroma for mardi gras fat tuesday and it seemed really forced. Maroma had good nightly entertainment we really liked the rock show and we did a dinner show. Playa mujeres we did ncaa football national championship and chose dinners instead of shows. I thought maroma was more laid back and relaxed, playa mujeres more lively in my opinion

We went in March of this year. I sure would hope everything would be open by then. It should be great! Hope you have tons of fun!!!

It was the Preferred Club Junior Suite Ocean View

Yes! Maroma is great. Loved the beach there more than anything else. We really liked preferred club for the reserved beach section. But next time I would really try to upgrade to an ocean view or ocean front room. You can see in our Secrets Maroma video the view we had was just a tropical view and I personally love to look out onto the ocean. I'm super excited for yall - Hope you have lots of fun!!

For Fairmont Mayakoba - because it is optional all inclusive you will need to make sure it specifically says All-Inclusive. I jumped on Cheap Caribbean real quick to see how they do it and only see an offer for the European Plan, which is NOT all inclusive. On my quick search I did not see that cheap Caribbean offers it.

Ziva Cancun is great! I love the location - yall are going to have a blast. And booking with points makes it the best! It does look like you might be able to get everyone in the same room, depending on the ages of the kids - and it says rollaway upon request. My kids are older so we often have to do 2 rooms, but I like having everyone together when possible. Ideally it is best to get a room with the living room, maybe one of their suites if it's an option. Having the living room gives that extra space so you don't feel so cramped. Especially if you have any littles that get worn out and need a nap, good they can be in the separate room. I"m not sure exactly what options Ziva Cancun has so you might check it out to see. Super excited for yall! Hope you have so much fun!!!

Awesome! That is going to be so fun. Tulum is great! And yes we felt safe the whole time. Lots of people out walking in town and down at the beach. Just always be aware of your surroundings. As for theft, like anywhere else it's a concern - so don't just leave things laying around, even in your room. We normally only bring inexpensive and replaceable items when we go. A while back I got a lockable bag off amazon that I would take to the beach and lock it to my chair so that I could go walk on the beach and swim. That's been a game changer for me. It stops that quick steal and adds an extra layer of protection. I show the bag I have in our video of Secrets Playa Mujeres and there's a link in the description. I upgraded to a new one recently but if you go with this one make sure you take an extra little combo lock for it to fasten the strap to the beach or pool chair. Link for that upgraded front pack is in the description of this Tulum video. For sunglasses I just go cheap and take 2 pairs in case one breaks or gets lost. Buying anything at the resort will be expensive, including sunscreen. For jewelry and watches, etc we don't take that for 2 reasons: 1. we don't want to lose it, and 2. flashy jewelry could make you a target for theft. Again, we've never felt unsafe, but no need to draw unwanted attention. I hope this helps some. Yall are going to have fun!! I'm super excited for yall!

Yes agreed! We stayed on points when we went. Have fun when you go in July -- that's exciting!

I'm not sure. It does look like there is possibly an option through a company called Resort Pass, but you might reach out directly to the resort to check and see. It looks like it would be a long drive to the resort and back so you might check to see if that fits your plans also.

So sorry to hear. I can see how both those could easily happen and how terrible that would be. Tulum beach is so great and beautiful though, it's really too bad that the resort isn't closer.

Honestly I couldn't be sure but I would think so. It was great when we were there and I've seen posts where they've opened more restaurants and amenities. I think September would be great!

Awesome! I'm so excited for yall! We loved that beach - it was the best! It's gonna be hot, so know that going in. We took a little fan when we went in the summer to Hyatt Ziva. Got it off amazon. It was awesome to have. I hope yall have so much fun!!!

Thank you so much ❤ and yes, I just ordered and received a mini travel fan as it will definitely come in handy 👍🏻 Thanks for the tips😊 Happy travels 😉

I know the price fluctuates but I think we were about $400-$500 more per night when we went

@@kyle-ok Thanks for that! I'm not a drinker, do you think it's worth it?

@@atelianaamato8223 I'm a big all inclusive guy and I do think it probably saves money. But there's also the other aspect of just not worrying about food pricing at meals and being able to just leave your wallet in the safe in the room and being able to just enjoy what they have to offer. So for example we ate at the steak house and they had a set menu for the all inclusive and an upgrade menu that costs extra. We all went with the menu for the all inclusive and had steaks and a great meal! I'm sure that would have been very very expensive if we weren't doing the all inclusive AND we didn't even think twice about it -- so yes, I do think it's worth it.

@@kyle-ok Thank you so much that is so helpful and makes perfect sense! I can’t wait haha

You bet! I'm so excited for you! I hope you have tons of fun! Let me know how it goes and what you decide to do with the all inclusive

That’s awesome! Diving is so cool. I wish I did it more. It was really cool for my daughter to do it for her first time. And Cozumel is beautiful! Have fun in December that’s so exciting!

@@kyle-ok Thanks I do my diving with Diveheart.

@@RedPolarBearRanger Oh wow! I looked it up. That's amazing!!! Good Job!

We did not have access to Hyatt Ziva. We asked about it and they said no. As for the menus they have a Hyatt Inclusive app and we would normally look there but I just looked and for whatever reason Zilara Cancun is not in the app. Zilara Riviera Maya shows up and has access to menus but not Zilara in the Hotel Zone, sorry.

When we went there were still some things that weren't open like the gym and spa and quite a few of the restaurants, as well as what they call the jungle pool. We did know that prior to going and it didn't bother us. I some restaurants and the jungle pool have opened since then, but think the spa and gym might still be delayed opening. For transportation we used a company called Nexus.

@@kyle-ok thanks for the response! We’re using USA Transfers. $130 round trip. Steep price but we booked very last minute.

@@xWeaponOfChoicex yeah we've found the prices fluctuate. we booked ours about a week out from arrival and cheapest rate with nexus was $75 round trip for the private transfer but we ended up opting for the deluxe car option (suv) so it ended up being $142. In retrospect should have stuck with the cheaper rate.

When we were there the pool cabana rentals for the day started at around $100 I think, and then it went up from there for extras. The beach cabanas were complimentary for preferred club.

@@kyle-ok Thank You

We were there at Impression Moxche for Valentine's in February of 2023. I google and it says it opened in Dec 2022... so I guess it had been open for about 3 months when we went. I personally would go back this weekend if I could.... I think 6 months in will be great, it was great when we were there. I know they've already opened a couple of the other restaurants. Super excited for yall and happy 10th coming up!!! Let me know how the trip goes and what you think. Glad you liked the video

Alright Texas!!! We love impression moxche! It was one of the best we've stayed. This one was at Secrets Playa Blanca. the resorts are a lot alike.

Oh ok yes I’ve been looking at that one ! Heading to Bahia mita tomorrow

@@antbjr That's great, congrats! I'd love to hear how it goes and what you think of that one. it looks amazing!

Thanks! Yes from what I can remember, once you are down from the lobby there are ramps, good walkways around the resort, and then elevators in each building for the rooms. The only thing I'm not sure of is if there is an elevator at the lobby. I know there is a big set of stairs to get down after checkin, but then after that everything you would need is down on pretty much just one level. Other than checking in and out we didnt need to go to the lobby at all. And again not sure, they might have an elevator in the lobby area, I just don't know. Hopefully this info helps

We were there beginning of March. I think I remember them saying that gym and spa were suppose to be opened by June 1st but I think they are running behind schedule on stuff. If it’s not open by then maybe just throw down some pushups and a run on the beach 🤷‍♂️😂. I’d find a way to get there. It’s great

@HighlandSuccessful Website officially says spa and gym will not be open until July as it’s been updated

@@pokes1789 I just saw someone post a couple days ago about that change also.

Impressions is great!!! I hope you do get go to playa Blanca in October, you’ll love it. Your client are going to have so much fun. All the best - glad the video could help.

The room category was the Preferred Club Master Suite Ocean Front. You're right, it was big and the view was incredible. We did Impression Moxche last year and loved it. Haven't done bahia mita but just got back from Secrets Tulum last week. You'll love this one for July... but remember July will be HOT!!! Bring lots of sunscreen!

While we were there they had the nightly entertainment show and of course the bar was open. People were out and it was lively but not a big party atmosphere like Royalton Chic tries for with their rooftop glow party. Plus, the resort is way up north so you can't walk out to any of the local clubs in the hotel zone if you wanted to.

Have fun - it's an awesome place! Let me know how it goes

That's great! They came around for us at the preferred club but it was only about once per hour, at the most. And with a group of people, it just wasn't enough. I'm glad they took good care of yall. It's a great resort

Sorry... we were disappointed in it. I've see a few others post pictures that look better also, but for us when we were there it was in bad shape