Sunny Huatulco

 This is a photo of Secrets Resort & Spa, in Sunny Huatulco, Mexico.  This was taken from one end of the beach, and the photo below, is a pretty good view of the pool, it was so large that it was hard to get into one photo.

The Beach does look nice, but notice no one is swimming, which was because of the jelly fish.  I am sure this is a seasonal thing, we were just there in the wrong season, April is really Hot!  And that is just the beginning of summer.

If you check the weather forecasts, and histories (as I did) on theweatherunderground.com the temperature looks great at 28-31C, but notice in the small print "feels like" 37-40C, which was really more like it, during the day and at night.  Without a breeze, a pool to jump in, some shade and the air conditioned room, it would be hard to handle, even for a diehard sunbaker like me!                                                                                    

We did have a great 7 day get away for a good price $885.00 pp plus tax 340= 1225.00 ea.  This is a resort and a city we have always wanted to go to, so when we saw the price, we researched the resort, reading trip advisor reviews, and checking the weather.  I think 2 weeks after we booked the price went down to $645 +tax, grrr  but how could I have predicted that.  Sometimes if you wait, it is sold out.


The Good:  New Resort, Adults Only, New Beds, Nice Rooms, all have an ocean view, great pool, heated (maybe too much), Palapa's at the beach, good wine, top brands of Alcohol, Guacamole, No wrist bands, No dinner reservations (except the Teppanyaki table), good service most of the time, Moises in the skybar was the best bartender and most helpful employee we met.
The Disappointing: (notice I am not saying Bad, cause it really wasn't that Bad)
Beach, too short for a good walk, even with the path to the other bay (30 mins tops), not swimmable, either because of the high waves and undertow or the Jelly Fish.  Not enough shade by the pool, they need Palapas of some sort there.  The food, either the portions were too small, and service too slow to order more, or the fish was overcooked, or the selection was limited.  Maybe there are not enough fisherman in this town?  We both got a mild but yucky case of Montezuma's for a couple days, and didn't feel well enough to go into town.

This Secrets Resort only opened in Dec 2011, so it will hopefully improve as the staff gains experience.  During our stay we had some great meals, and some overcooked disappointing meals.  There was very little fish and too much beef offered for a Mexican resort, and we had to wonder what training the chefs had to overcook fish in Mexico, where it is their speciality.   The teppanyaki Chef at the japanese restaurant was young and new to the job, he did not know how to time the cooking of the meal, steak, fish and chicken were all cooked for the same amount of time, if was really bad!

The rooms were great, new beds that gave us a great nights sleep, great water pressure in the shower, although a very weird bathroom layout.  Not sure who designs these hotels, but for some reason they forgot about shade, in 10 years when the palm trees grow it should improve, but what about now?  They have some umbrella's, not enough of then and not strong enough to withstand the afternoon breeze, so half of them are broken, and all are put down by the staff around 3PM to prevent more breakage.  So the only shade is a Palapa at the beach, but you can't swim there, and there is no bathroom near the beach, again poor design.

We met many fun people mostly from Canada, and most everyone had something good to say about this resort. No one spent time complaining, we were all so glad to be under the blue sky and out of the cold and rain!

Having said all that, we enjoyed our stay and would recommend this Resort if you got a good deal, no more than $1000 pp + tax.   If we had a choice though we would pick a Riu palace for better food.  Also the Valentin Imperial Maya, had much better food.

I have seen Secrets Resorts regular prices up to $3000.pp and I am sure you would not be happy with the food and service if you were paying that kind of money.