My husband and I just got back from Secrets Tides, a Hyatt Inclusive property in the Punta Cana area of the Dominican Republic. We had a wonderful time escaping the cold of the Chicago area and enjoying some sunshine and blue skies. Here’s a review of our stay at this resort!
Secrets Tides is a new resort that opened in January 2024 on the north side of the Punta Cana area, which means it is on the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Caribbean Sea. This means the waves may be a bit wilder and the sand more golden than white, but it is no less beautiful. It was nice to see a beach without a single piece of sargassum seaweed, which has plagued Caribbean beaches for years now. The beach goes on for a long ways both to the north and south of the resort, which makes it great for people who love to walk or run on the beach.
The resort has a modern look, almost all in white, with a large open-air lobby at the entrance and the rest of the resort in a long U-shape facing the beach. Most of the restaurants are close to the lobby, and rooms run on both sides in two long buildings. There is a quiet pool in the middle of the U, and the Preferred pool to one side and the activity pool to the other facing the beach.
Rooms
Our room at Secrets Tides Punta Cana was on the top floor, facing the middle of the resort, and was considered partial ocean view because you could see the ocean if you were standing on the balcony. The rooms have a king or two double beds, a sofa, a table and chairs, two chairs and a small table on the balcony, a minibar with sodas, beers, and waters included, a large closet with a few drawers and a safe, and the Secrets Box which is basically a little locker where they can leave room service for you and you can put your dirty dishes. The bathroom is open plan with a double sink and with a frosted glass door on the toilet room and another frosted glass door on the shower. The shower had a window in it and wooden shutters that closed from the outside, which I found strange. The shower was huge with two rain heads and one hand-held shower head.
Dinners
Our first evening, we dined at the Seaside Grill, the steakhouse. We found the steak to be quite good which was unexpected. We are used to avoiding steak at all-inclusive resorts, but our driver had mentioned that beef here is very fresh and of high quality, so we gave it a try. There is a difference between grass-fed, unaged beef and the midwestern steaks we are used to, but it is not necessarily better or worse, just different.
Our second night, we ate at Tierra. This is a South American fusion restaurant that is only available at Secrets Tides Punta Cana, so we were excited to try it. We tried Peruvian and Argentinian foods, and a chef’s special. Everything was delicious and a good size for a multi-course meal.
The next night, we had dinner at Portofino, the Italian restaurant. We found this to be very Americanized, with a focus on cheese, bread and pasta. We each had a starter and shared a pizza, but couldn’t finish any of it. The portion sizes were huge and so dairy- and wheat-heavy, I felt sluggish for the rest of the trip.
Our final night, we had a reservation for the teppanyaki table. This was by far the biggest disappointment. There was not much of a “show” and everything was coated in a sweet sauce, which I found inedible. I sometimes like the teppanyaki restaurant best at an all inclusive resort, so this was a let-down.
Breakfast, lunch, and snacks
Each morning we had a sit-down breakfast at Oceana, which is only for Preferred guests. We tried the Dominican breakfast and really liked it, and there were a lot of options for eggs, omelettes, continental options, and French toast and the like. Sitting down and being served was a really nice way to start the day, and I greatly prefer that to a buffet.
We also had some snacks and lunch in various places, such as a grill set up near the Preferred pool with burgers and seafood skewers, the Barefoot Grill with burgers, ceviche, guacamole and chips, and the Market Cafe buffet with everything you could imagine. The one thing I was really craving at lunch was salad with lots of colorful vegetables, but I had trouble finding anything more than leaf lettuce and tomatoes, even at the buffet.
The Coco Cafe serves espresso drinks, light snacks, and ice cream 24 hours a day, so we often had a small treat and a coffee a few hours after dinner.
Entertainment
The entertainment at this resort consists of activities throughout the day ranging from athletic to crafty, then some musical performances in the evenings with a stage show almost every evening, with dance parties when the stage is dark. We enjoyed some of the musicians, while others were genuinely terrible; the stage shows were generally very good.
Service
We found the resort in general to be well cared for, with the outside maintenance staff working really hard to keep everything well-groomed and clean. Where we were less impressed was with the maintenance and cleanliness of our room. We noticed a few issues almost immediately and let our butler know right away; some of the issues were never addressed in our 5 days there.
The people at this resort are incredible. Everyone from bar staff to restaurant servers to entertainment team members engaged us in conversation, asking how our trip was. They were warm and genuine, and made our stay really special.
Preferred Club
We had Preferred Club status though our room was not in the Preferred Club section. This meant we had access to the Preferred Club lounges, pool and pool bar, beach area, and sit-down breakfast and lunch at Oceana, as well as the use of a butler for our stay. We did not find these amenities to be worthwhile overall. The sit-down breakfast was great, but the Preferred pool was more crowded than the other pools and our butler wasn’t very helpful, so I would have preferred to use the building concierges instead. Some resorts really make upgrading worthwhile, but if you don’t have the budget to upgrade to Preferred Club at Secrets Tides, I don’t think you’re missing out too much.
So, would I recommend Secrets Tides Punta Cana? Maybe. I think if the price is better than similar resorts, it could be a great option. That’s the beauty of using a travel advisor; it’s my job to know what would be the best resort for the price and match you with the perfect vacation, tailored just for you!
Ready to plan your trip to Punta Cana or another all inclusive destination? Schedule a 15-minute call with me and let’s start planning!