Secrets Silversands,... dont keep it a secret!!
In May 2015 AM Resorts hosted our annual Gold conference weekend at their Secrets brand property “The Vine” on the strip in Cancun. (See the review in my travel blog, “Gold weekend in Cancun”)
I enjoyed the concept so much that along with my husband we decided to visit another Secrets property for a two week holiday in March as an alternative to our usual Caribbean cruise.
We flew direct to Cancun from Gatwick with Virgin Atlantic and after a smooth landing from our excellent lady pilot we were soon arriving at the Silversands resort about twenty minutes south of Cancun in the Riviera Maya district.
The resort has extensive grounds extending back from a private stretch of white sand beach with a large main pool area and seven other pools spread amongst the gardens. The suites are the same size throughout the hotel and said to be the largest on the Yucatan peninsular. The only distinction made is the choice of view ranging from garden, partial sea view, sea view or preferred club facility which provides you with a club lounge and beach front location.
As with all Secrets properties Silversands offers a wide choice of restaurants and bars. We thoroughly enjoyed the superb buffet breakfast in the World café which was as comprehensive as any we have experienced anywhere in the world.
For lunch there are four dining options, a daily BBQ alongside the main pool, the Barefoot Grill which makes burgers and grilled chicken sandwiches to order as well as daily stir fry and a salad bar and you can sit at tables in the eating area under an umbrella in your bare feet! The World café offers a different themed buffet each day and the Seaside grill restaurant by the main pool gives you a substantial a la carte menu to complete the range of choices.
For dinner the choice was even more mind boggling with a la carte gourmet dining in seven different restaurants. (El Patio - Mexican, Bordeaux French cuisine, Himitsu for Pan Asian including Teppanyaki tables for which there is a cover charge of $50 per couple including a bottle of wine, Portofino serving Italian dishes, Ratatouille for Mediterranean, Oceana specialising in seafood and the Seaside grill for steaks. There is no reservation system it is first come first served although you sometimes have to wait for about 30 minutes in the bar until called to your table when a particular restaurant is busy. We tried them all and our favourites were Himitsu, Portofino, Bordeaux and El Patio where the meat for Fajitas was served on a piece of extremely hot volcanic rock. If you can’t decide which one to dine in or fancy a quiet night in your room there is always the 24 hour room service!
With seven bars you’re never far from a drink and the bars open at 10.00am if your desperate! Again there is a wide choice of options from the pool swim up bar, Manatee, Sugar Reef next to the Barefoot Grill, Baracuda right on the beach looking out to the wedding gazebo and a great place for a quiet sundowner, the lively terrace bar which is open until 1.00am a great spot for pre and post dinner drinks with live music every night at 10.30pm where you can sit around the bar watching the fantastic bar tenders doing their stuff or use the various sofa chairs dotted amongst the garden area nearby, the open air theatre show bar open during the nightly live events from 7.30pm until 10.00pm, indoor lounge bar with large sofas and live music for pre dinner drinks from 6.30pm until 8.00pm and finally the spacious sports bar which becomes the disco night club from 11.30pm until 1.00pm every night. All serve a full selection of premium brand drinks and fabulous cocktails.
The pool/sunbed service in the daytime was excellent with our lovely waitress, Karen, delivering bottles of water at about 10.15am every morning and taking any drinks orders and coming back about every hour for repeat orders! What bliss!.
If you like being pampered etc., Secrets have world class Spa facilities offering a wide choice of specialised treatments.
There is also a vast array of activities available from complementary green fees at two nearby golf courses, keeping fit in the state of the art fitness center, zumba and yoga classes, water aerobics plus pool and beach volleyball and tennis courts, Water sports including reef snorkelling, scuba diving, fishing excursions and motorised water sports can be arranged at an extra cost. Other events on offer included cooking lessons, Spanish lessons, wine and Tequila tasting. There really is something for everyone as you can join in the many lively events or chill out on your sunbed with a book and a drink by one of the quieter pool areas away from the lively and sometimes boisterous main pool area.
We had a fabulous relaxing holiday at Secrets Silversands which fully lived up to our expectations in terms of quality facilities, choices of dining options, bars and entertainment. The friendly and efficient service was as good if not better than any we have experienced on 5 star cruise ships. We will almost certainly be back to enjoy a Secrets resort again next year.