Travel
Dear Community,

Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.

If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.

Thank you.

Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.

Excellence Playa Mujeres or Secrets Maroma?

Which one would you choose and why?  If you've been to either, I'd love to hear what you thought about them.  Trying to decide between the two and they both look amazing.  Thanks.

 

Re: Excellence Playa Mujeres or Secrets Maroma?

  • maroma is a gorgeous beach. it's about an hour south of cancun town while PM is about 20 minutes north of town.

    either always get good reviews.

    Friday, December 28 2012. The day I had emergency appendix surgery in Mexico and quit smoking. Proof that everything has a good side!! DH and I are happily child-free!! No due date or toddler tickers here!! my read shelf:
    Alison's book recommendations, favorite quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf) 
  •  I got married at Excellence Playa Mujeres in August 2011. Loved it! I also considered Secrets Maroma for my destination wedding, but my decision ultimately came down to cost (XPM is slightly cheaper). In my humble opinion, here are the 'pros' and 'cons' at XPM:

    Pros: beautiful, clean resort, no bugs (that we saw) in our room on anywhere else on the property. Rooms are spacious and modern (we stayed in an XPM Club suite). Lots of restaurants on the resort from which to choose. We ate at almost all of them, and we ordered room service on some days. Room service food was just as good. The spa is spectacular - DH and I received a couples spa treatment as part of our wedding package, and the experience was amazing. We were warmly regarded by almost all of the XPM employees we encountered, from housekeepers to groundskeepers walking around the property, to wait staff working in the restaurants. There was never the pressure to tip, but we did anyway. Arranging water sports and excursions through the hotel concierge was very quick and easy. Lots of bars from which to choose, and 2 or 3 pools around the resort, one very large pool in particular that 'wraps' around the entire resort. We attended a few evening events that some people might have found a bit cheesy, but we didn't hold it against them. We weren't expecting Vegas-style entertainment. Close proximity to Isla Mujeres, a cute little fishermen's town/island easily accessible from the resort. DH and I did not want to leave. We felt completely safe and relaxed. Our wedding guests felt the same, and that was very important to us. The resort wasn't crowded (perhaps b/c it was August??), and we noticed more middle aged couples than singletons and young couples - you're probably aware this is an adults only resort. We weren't looking for the "party scene" so to speak, so that was okay with us.

    Cons - the mattress in our room felt harder than we are used to. That said, it didn't stop us from getting good night's sleep. Despite the variety of restaurants, the food was hit-or-miss. Some of it was really good, some of it was just okay (room service food was actually very tasty). Also, the restaurant service could be incredibly slow. Since we took advantage of the Excellence Club, we always had access to snacks, so it wasn't a terribly big deal for us (in other words, we never felt famished). The resort is a 45-minute drive from Cancun Int'l Airport, so a bit of a drive. The beach isn't great. There is a lot of seaweed, and although XPM try hard to remove it daily. We experienced a bit of noise in our room during the nightly entertainment. The resort doesn't have that 'authentic' Mexican ambiance/feel that you might find with much smaller or off-the-beaten-path properties.

    Obviously, I am partial to XPM. DH and I would return in a heartbeat. I really think your decision will depend on your preferences and expectations.

    Hope this helps!!

  •  I got married at Excellence Playa Mujeres in August 2011. Loved it! I also considered Secrets Maroma for my destination wedding, but my decision ultimately came down to cost (XPM is slightly cheaper). In my humble opinion, here are the 'pros' and 'cons' at XPM:

    Pros: beautiful, clean resort, no bugs (that we saw) in our room on anywhere else on the property. Rooms are spacious and modern (we stayed in an XPM Club suite). Lots of restaurants on the resort from which to choose. We ate at almost all of them, and we ordered room service on some days. Room service food was just as good. The spa is spectacular - DH and I received a couples spa treatment as part of our wedding package, and the experience was amazing. We were warmly regarded by almost all of the XPM employees we encountered, from housekeepers to groundskeepers walking around the property, to wait staff working in the restaurants. There was never the pressure to tip, but we did anyway. Arranging water sports and excursions through the hotel concierge was very quick and easy. Lots of bars from which to choose, and 2 or 3 pools around the resort, one very large pool in particular that 'wraps' around the entire resort. We attended a few evening events that some people might have found a bit cheesy, but we didn't hold it against them. We weren't expecting Vegas-style entertainment. Close proximity to Isla Mujeres, a cute little fishermen's town/island easily accessible from the resort. DH and I did not want to leave. We felt completely safe and relaxed. Our wedding guests felt the same, and that was very important to us. The resort wasn't crowded (perhaps b/c it was August??), and we noticed more middle aged couples than singletons and young couples - you're probably aware this is an adults only resort. We weren't looking for the "party scene" so to speak, so that was okay with us.

    Cons - the mattress in our room felt harder than we are used to. That said, it didn't stop us from getting good night's sleep. Despite the variety of restaurants, the food was hit-or-miss. Some of it was really good, some of it was just okay (room service food was actually very tasty). Also, the restaurant service could be incredibly slow. Since we took advantage of the Excellence Club, we always had access to snacks, so it wasn't a terribly big deal for us (in other words, we never felt famished). The resort is a 45-minute drive from Cancun Int'l Airport, so a bit of a distance. The beach isn't great. There is a lot of seaweed, and although XPM try hard to remove it daily. We experienced a bit of noise in our room during the nightly entertainment. The resort doesn't have that 'authentic' Mexican ambiance/feel that you might find with much smaller or off-the-beaten-path properties.

    Obviously, I am partial to XPM. DH and I would return in a heartbeat. I really think your decision will depend on your preferences and expectations.

    Hope this helps!!

  • I stayed at Secrets last April and it was fantastic! The service is excellent and the resort itself is beautiful. The beach is nice, however the beaches in Cancun are bright blue and gorgeous (Secrets is in Rivera Maya). Also, I found that there were not too many activites there....it's the same thing everyday. If you are only going to get some sun and relax this will not bother you. If you are planning on leaving the resort, there is absolutely nothing to do around there, nothing to walk to, as opposed to staying right in Cancun where you can walk out your resort to plenty of clubs, restaurants, bars.
    Anniversary Pregnancy Ticker
  • I haven't been to either but I will add that every mattress I have slept on in Mexico has been hard as a rock so I wouldn't let that affect your decision too much!!
  • LOVED Secrets Maroma Beach.  It was a bit more luxurious- more modern and sleek- than other AI's I have stayed at before. Adults only. GREAT beach!  We went snorkeling in the coral reef right off this beach, and I even swam over a manta ray!  It was huge and beautiful!  They also have free watersports included here, which were fun- kayaking, wind-surfing, catamarans, etc.  The room was beautiful and roomy. All of the food and restaurants were delicious. We especially liked the hibachi- we celebrated DH's 30th birthday there and they even brought him out a birthday cake without any prior notice.  It is a somewhat smaller resort compared to some of the larger ones, which I liked- not too small, but not so big you had to walk 25 minutes to the other side for a new restaurant, etc.  Great service and fun!
  • ChymesChymes member
    Maroma Beach is fantastic. There's plenty to do (it's -not- all the same thing every day) and the beach is simply gorgeous. Like previous poster, the hibachi in particular is great. We had wonderful service the entire time. 
    image
  • I just stayed at the Excellence Rivieria Cancun and I love the excellence line, but I hear awesome things about secrets, espcially maroma beach...is there a price difference?

    I don't think you'll go wrong either way

  • I stayed at Secrets Maroma last July. We loved it, the beach was fantastic. Perfect white powder sand, crystal clear water. I loved that it was a smaller resort and I could easily run to my room If I forgot something when i was at the beach. We enjoyed the pools, beach, and restaurants.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • We stayed at Excellence Riveria Cancun for our Honeymoon. Both the service and food were good there and at Secrets. Maroma beats Riveria Cancun because of the beach. They beaches were not even comparable.
    BabyFruit Ticker
Sign In or Register to comment.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards