Ultimate Review- Secrets Maroma Beach Resort

Secrets Maroma Beach resort is on the shores of the Riviera Maya, about 25 miles south of Cancun International Airport (CUN). It offers the perfect blend of luxury and relaxation for an unforgettable vacation experience. From the moment we arrived, it was clear that this adults-only, all-inclusive resort was designed with indulgence in mind. This Secrets Maroma review will be everything you need to decide on your next all-inclusive vacation!

We selected this resort because of its private white sand beach, amenities, and elegant suites. We could also book this resort with Hyatt points, which made our stay essentially free!

This resort has also received the AAA Five Diamond Award and most recently TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award 2024 for #1 All Inclusive Resort in Mexico and the #3 All Inclusive Resort in the world! Pretty impressive! Let’s dig in!

Airport Transfer

We flew into Cancun International Airport (CUN). This is the closest airport to the resort and the one you will want to fly into when visiting. There are several options to transfer from Cancun Airport to Riviera Maya resorts. Secrets Maroma Beach partners with Amstar, and you can book with them from the resort’s webpage or app.

I found Amstar to be more expensive than other private transfers, so we decided to book with Kalido Travel. They are a locally owned small business who prides themselves on great prices and customer service. They offer private transfers directly to Secrets Maroma, which is about a 35 to 40-minute drive from CUN airport depending on traffic. We had a perfect experience with them and would use them again on our next visit.

Resort Amenities

The resort itself is beautiful! Very lush with jungle vibes but also very tropical. They have these intimate pathways throughout the property that can get confusing, but pretty nonetheless. They also have some exotic animals you should look for like the coati, iguanas, and monkeys!

It rained while we were there, and I found out they have covered pathways from the suite buildings by the beach all the way to the main lobby, so you don’t get wet! This was such an underrated feature, in my opinion. As you can see from the resort map below, it’s a long walk in the rain without it! Although, if you want to walk in the rain, they have umbrellas sporadically placed in buildings for you to use.

Suites

The rooms at Secrets Maroma were luxurious. Each building has a dedicated concierge who greets you upon arrival, answers any questions, and ensures your stay is as seamless as possible. There are a few different options to choose from depending on your budget. See below all the room types.

As you can see, the tropical view rooms will be your cheapest option. If you don’t think you will be in your room a lot and don’t care about the view, this will be your best option. Keep in mind these rooms will also be furthest from the beach, but closest to the main lobby and restaurants!

If you want a room that is closer to the beach and more centered between the activities, I would suggest booking a partial ocean view room. You will be able to slightly see the ocean from your balcony and be closer to the pool and beach area.

The non-preferred ocean view rooms will be a little closer to the beach, but not that much of a difference in view. We had friends stay in this room type; see their view below. It is right by the main pool area, which is nice, but the ocean view is lacking.

Their highest level non-preferred room is the Junior Suite Swim Out room. These can be located in any non-preferred building. If you decide to go with this room type, I would recommend putting in a request to be closest to where you think you will spend most of your time.

Food/Drinks

Secrets Maroma has 8 main restaurants, and 8 bars, including the Preferred Beach Club, a coffee shop, and an international buffet. Lots of food and drink options! They can all be found on the Hyatt All Inclusive app, along with their menus!

The only restaurant that requires a reservation in advance is the Teppanyaki table. You can book this in the app or have your concierge call for you. Other culinary experiences and tastings are available for purchase in the app, such as a private dinner on the beach or in their wine cellar!

My Favorite Restaurants

Portofino

My favorite restaurant was Portofino, which serves Italian cuisine. They start by serving you bread and oils with fresh parmesan from a huge cheese wheel. If you are a cheese lover, this is the place to go! It was my favorite part and I asked for the parmesan cheese on everything I ordered! And I can’t forget about the tiramisu dessert; it’s just delicious!

Seaside Grille

My other favorite restaurant was Seaside Grille. This restaurant is right by the pool. It is a casual setting, and men do not have to wear long pants. One of the staff members recommended we come here for dinner and get the ribeye tacos. They ended up being my favorite dish, alongside the Pichanha steak. Make sure you visit this restaurant!

Himitsu/Teppanyaki

Himitsu is their Pan-Asian restaurant that includes a la carte dining, sushi bar, and 3 teppanyaki tables. This is a very popular restaurant for a good reason! You only need reservations for the teppanyaki table, the other side is first come first serve.

We ended up coming back here a second time just to get the appetizers and sushi again. We really enjoyed this restaurant!

International Buffet

The World Cafe is Secrets Maroma’s buffet-style international restaurant, featuring a show cooking experience with theme stations. They are open for breakfast and lunch only. If you are not preferred club, this will be your go-to breakfast spot.

Some of the highlights are fresh fruit, hot bar, bakery(+ gluten-free options), juice/smoothie bar, and omelet station. We had Preferred Club access, yet we enjoyed the buffet more in the morning. Some of my favorites were the green juice they make fresh every day and bagels and lox with their herbed cream cheese.

Their lunch buffet also had lots of options and was very good. Some of the stand out items were the salad bar, sushi, grill station, nacho bar, and desserts. I had them grill fresh shrimp and steak for me and it was delicious!

We only went to the buffet once for lunch. We were mostly by the pool and beach during the day so we ate lunch poolside or at the preferred club. Keep in mind the buffet is on the opposite side of the pool. I recommend trying the lunch buffet at least once to check it out!

Activities

Activities are listed on your TV in your room and throughout the resort, but I preferred to use the Hyatt All-Inclusive app on my phone. Your concierge can also text you the daily activities! The app has lots of good information, including restaurant menus, resort maps, and reservations. They update the daily activities by the week on here, so you can look ahead at what is going on before you even arrive.

Secrets Maroma has activities planned all day and night, there’s plenty of excitement including pool volleyball, kayak tours, karaoke, a dance club, casino nights, and even local vendors offering unique wares. If you’re in the mood for something more laid-back, you can enjoy putt-putt golf, yoga, or a cabana by the beach. We really loved all the pool activities during the day and Casino night!

Spa

The spa was very nice and featured a relaxation room, an outdoor hydrotherapy circuit, and several treatment rooms. This spa is huge and gives off all zen vibes. We only booked a hydrotherapy session, which was included with our preferred status. We booked this through our concierge a day in advance.

Hydrotherapy included a circuit of a cold pool, sauna, and steam room. You could do all this at your own pace and stay as long as you wanted. It was a great way to start your day!

Fitness Center

The fitness center is not very big, but it was good enough for a quick workout! They have several treadmills, ellipticals, and a stair-step machine for your cardio needs. A free weights area, which is pretty small, and some cable resistance machines.

If you like to work out in the morning, it did get pretty busy around the 8-9 AM timeframe. There was always cardio equipment available when I went at this time, but the free weights area and machines were usually occupied.

They always had lots of towels and bottled water or chlorophyll to drink. The fitness center is located right by the buffet, so once you finish your workout you don’t have to walk far to get some protein and recover!

Pools/Beach

The beach is combed every morning, leaving behind a pristine white sandy beach that’s so soft! They offered a kayak tour every day if the weather was favorable and beach volleyball. For a more relaxed beach vibe, there were several loungers you could use. If you wanted to splurge, you could rent a Balinese bed.

There were towels between the pool and the beach that you could grab at any time. A lot of people used them to claim loungers on the beach or at the pool in the morning. Because of this, we found that towels were taken very fast, and by the end of the day there would not be any left. Make sure you grab one when you first get to the pool or go to the beach!

With multiple pools and hot tubs scattered across the property, the main pool is undoubtedly the most popular. It’s the center of activity, featuring volleyball, basketball, aerobics, and food fest! For those looking to relax with a drink, the swim-up bar is the place to be, offering the chance to meet fellow travelers from around the world. This was our favorite spot!

Service

This resort has some of the best staff, who make you feel like royalty every day! Everyone we encountered was attentive and very helpful, with some going above and beyond to make our stay memorable.

One standout was our building concierge Roberto, who made sure we felt special and appreciated the entire trip. Every time we walked into our building and he was sitting at his desk, he would greet me by name and ask if there was anything he could do to make my day better.

Tipping at Secrets Maroma Beach is encouraged but not required. As I stated above, all the staff do an amazing job making sure you get what you request. I recommend bringing plenty of $1 bills to tip the staff. We spent about $20/day on tipping the staff. They really appreciate it, and it’s well deserved! Especially at the pools and beach, you will not be wondering where your next drink is!

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a luxury adults-only all-inclusive experience, I would highly recommend staying at Secrets Maroma Beach. The property is gorgeous, and we felt safe the entire time we were there. The quality of the food was the best I’ve ever had at an all-inclusive, and their service makes you feel like royalty.

Thanks for reading my Secrets Maroma review, and I hope this helps you decide on your next all-inclusive resort vacation!