The final resort choice for my Dec. 2023 solo trip was the Hyatt Zilara Riviera Maya, previously known as Secrets Capri.  This smaller all-inclusive adults-only resort with 291 guest rooms and suites is located north of Playa del Carmen; it would take you about 15 min. to drive from the resort into the town of PDC.  I chose this property because it was a resort website steal of a deal, plus I had never stayed at Secrets Capri and I wanted to experience what this smaller, completely renovated all-inclusive had to offer.

I arrived here by shuttle following my stay at Secrets Tulum Resort and Beach Club (read that resort review here).  I do have to say that from the moment I got out of the shuttle to the moment I got back in a shuttle at the end of my stay here, the service was exceptional.  Staff were kind, friendly, personable, informative, and actually seemed to care how my stay was going from start to finish.  Shouts out to Joaquin, a service manager, who personally escorted me to the spa and gym which I could not find for the life of me during my stay; he also approached me when I happened to travel through the lobby area on various occasions and asked how my stay was going and if I needed anything to make my stay better.  Jacob at check-in was friendly and professional and made the process as quick as possible.  Interestingly, there was no general upgrade possible–typically, this caliber of resort will offer upgrades with lots of extra amenities (known as Premium Level, Preferred Club, Inspira, Serenity Club, etc.), but this one did not.  My understanding is that this is a standard Hyatt policy, not just an individual resort rule.  You can use your World of Hyatt points, however, to upgrade your room category.

The check-in was going well until Jacob stated, “And when is your vacation partner arriving?”  (Blank stare on my part since I had booked the reservation for only one person).  I could not solve this problem at check-in and had to resolve it with Playa Resorts once I got home, so the small extra charge issue was handled following the trip–I was surprised it was not more, but then at this point I should know that single travelers often pay the price of two people staying in the same room.  I’m not sure how the snafu happened, but I reviewed the paperwork of the original reservation and it clearly stated it was for 1 individual.  This incident reminded me to contact a resort 7-10 days prior to arrival to confirm that all details of the reservation are correct on the resort’s end.  Lesson relearned.

 

I was escorted to my room by Alberto who was incredibly easy to talk with and who did an excellent job of showing me all of the amenities and how they operated.  I had booked a Tropical View Swim-Up King and the room was much larger than I had expected with only 570 sq. feet.  The bathroom had double sinks, a large shower, toilet area with its own separate door for privacy, lots of storage, a separate sitting area with loveseat plus a table with two chairs, and the terrace with direct swim-up pool access.  The terrace did feel a bit small but it had two large chairs that took up a lot of space, but the railing to aid pool entry was a definite plus.  (If you want a complete room review and my room video, click here).  In the Tropical View Swim-Ups, terraces were angled towards the beach area which gave the impression of privacy, but the terraces in actuality were close together so there was not much privacy to be had while seated.

Let me just add that while overall I loved the space and look of the room and thought the actual swim-up access and pool depth were perfect, there was one element of this room category that I did not like and that was the issue of room privacy.  If you are considering booking this room category, just be aware that when there is no room noise (via TV, Bluetooth device, or A/C) you can hear just about everything going on in your neighbor’s rooms.  Enough said.  If you are interested in staying at this resort, I would recommend that new room additions (swim-ups and private pool rooms in particular) be avoided–stick with the existing rooms that the old Secrets Capri already had since it will be more likely that those rooms have sufficient soundproofing.  This resort had a lot going for it and it would be unfair of me to totally pan the entire property because of this one issue.

I thought the food at the resort was great!  During my stay, the buffet was closed due to a plumbing problem, but the property compensated by having the sports bar fill in as the temporary buffet, plus there were food carts serving tacos, shrimp, and hamburgers outside of the sports bar entry.  The buffet opened the morning of my departure and the breakfast offering was very good with lots of choices including an egg station plus a separate self-serve chilaquiles station with both red and green sauces.  A la carte restaurants did not require advance reservations with the exception of Tempest–if you want to be seated at the sushi counter like I did or enjoy the Teppanyaki show tables you had to visit Mario at the reservations desk.  He was located on ground level next to the exit door to the pool area; look for a small desk to the left of the exit, I believe Mario was there until 5 p.m.  The sushi was outstanding at this resort and since I sat at the counter it was all prepared right in front of me, quite a treat!  I also ate at Capri Grill and Lola Beach restaurants for dinner, both recommended, and for lunch don’t miss the taco cart where the pool towels are given out, the tacos were excellent.

This resort had a great coffee shop–head past the lobby bar to find Coffee Republic which served specialty coffees made to order, teas both hot and cold, ice cream, and other treats like desserts or sandwiches.  Guests could actually sit inside the coffee shop and take their time instead of rushing off with their favorite cup of java.  Definitely worth a visit–it’s open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The only negative food experience I had here was the beachfront BBQ area.  It was an outdoor sitting area by Lola Beach restaurant (in fact it might have been part of Lola Beach restaurant but there were no signs or indications of what to do once you were in that outdoor space).  There was a BBQ grill going with hamburgers, hot dogs, and shrimp, plus next to the restaurant was the pizza oven and counter.  While some guests were being waited on, others like myself were not, so I decided to just walk over to the BBQ area and ask for a hamburger.  It worked, but there were no condiments available either at the station or on the tables.  I also saw some other guests go up to the pizza counter and ask for food there and were given plates with pizza, so I’m not sure how this lunch setting operates.  If I were to go to this resort again I would ask the staff inside Lola Beach restaurant what the procedure is for getting lunch at this outdoor area.  I tried to get lunch here twice on two separate days and was totally ignored twice, but maybe I was not approaching the task in the right manner.

There was only one pool at this resort, but the pool had two sections which were separated by an overwater pedestrian bridge which led to Lola Beach restaurant. I  could not swim from one section to the other since there was a water barrier under the bridge.  For those with mobility problems, zero entry pool access made getting in and out of the pool a breeze, while the swim-up bar turned out to be a good place to make friends. Guests who didn’t want to use the swim-up bar could walk around to the other side of this bar area and take a swing seat to order a drink and enjoy the pool and ocean views. Daily pool activities were fun for participants and watchers alike and offered games I’d never seen before at other resorts (not just bingo, trivia, or throwing footballs through hoops).  Bali beds surrounded both pool sections, but they were an extra charge and needed to be reserved in advance ($99-$119 USD).  There were plenty of loungers with shade umbrellas and multiple pool staff who took drink orders. While I brought my tacos back to my pool lounger one afternoon, no one gave me a hard time about it, but I noticed that food orders were not being taken or delivered to loungers via the staff.

Definitely take the opportunity to socialize in the large beachfront Jacuzzi!  If I’m not mistaken I think it was heated…You can’t miss it, it was between Lola Beach restaurant and the pool on the south side of the resort.  I met other guests from all over the world as well as those from the US and Canada, so it was a perfect opportunity to continue to make new resort friends.

The beach area was more lovely than I had expected, plus it had the added advantage of having a beachfront bar with swing seats.  There was plenty of soft fine-grained sand and easy water access, lots of loungers, some daybeds for an extra cost ($119 USD), but limited beach shade opportunities.  It’s a lengthy beach area, so you’ll have to walk a bit to find where you’d be most comfortable, especially if you were to look for a lounger with accompanying shade.  I took lengthy beach walks at this resort on a daily basis; you could walk in both directions for quite a ways before thinning sandy beach areas would prevent further advance.  The best beach walk was to the south (go right), but if you want to try the other direction you will encounter some stretches of not so nice beach areas due to neighboring resort walkways and mangrove runoff which turns ocean water brown.  If you want to persevere while walking north, you will eventually come across a surprising area of aqua colored water which resembles a lagoon.  It’s about a 20+ minute walk in order to reach a resort called Hacienda Tres Rios and this lagoon-like body of water.  I turned back prior to arriving at that beach area, but it’s often visited  by guests of other nearby resorts since some of the ocean water at neighboring properties is not really swimmable.

Thanks to Joaquin I did find the spa and gym–they were located on the ground floor along a hallway to the right of the sports bar.  I have to say that the resort’s gym was very well equipped–there were lots of machines which had the latest technology built in that allowed guests to pretty much tailor make their own workout session. If you have any questions, Roxana (one of the gym’s managers) would be more than happy to educate you about how these machines can be programmed in order to maximize your workouts while at this resort.

Let’s talk evening entertainment…live music occurred in the lobby area, inside Legends Sports Bar (they also had foosball and pool tables), outdoors in the pool area, and inside the theater; performances were staggered with not all venues being utilized nightly.  I only attended one theater performance and it probably was the worst I’ve ever seen at a resort, so don’t count on stellar evening entertainment.

Anyone planning a destination wedding?  There was a perfect beachfront setting for one which looked like it could handle up to 50 guests (??); there was an actual private wedding which occurred while I stayed at the resort, no guests sitting in chairs, just a small private party, it looked beautiful.

I forgot to mention the tennis courts–they were separate from the rest of the resort and I didn’t summon up enough energy to make the trip.  I don’t think they offer Pickleball, but you’d have to check with the resort to make sure.

Would I return to this resort?  Definitely! I truly enjoyed its more manageable size, the multitude of amenities it offered considering its small size, and the outstanding service I received from all staff.  I would definitely choose another room category though.

The comments in this review are those of the author/reviewer.  The trip to this resort was paid for in its entirety by the author; at no time were any monies or services exchanged for this review.

Location:  25 min. drive south of the Cancun airport

Telephone:  52-984-370-0500

email:  econcierge.zilarariviera@hyatt .com