Until I set foot in Secrets and Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resorts in Cancun, Mexico, the only all-inclusive I had ever been on was a cruise. I didn’t know what to expect — and honestly, as someone who loves an action-packed itinerary, I thought I might feel a bit bored from staying put. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Secrets is the adults-only resort, while Dreams is the family-friendly one, and they’re located side by side. Room rates at both resorts start at about $500 or 25,000 World of Hyatt points for off-season nights. That includes your meals, drinks and activities. Hyatt covered the cost of my stay, but the views here are my own.
During my stay, the properties’ activities — which come included in the room rates — gave me a packed itinerary. I saw sea turtles on a group kayaking excursion. I took a sunrise yoga class on the beach. I played tennis, pickleball and basketball on different courts. I walked out on the beach for sunrise and sunset. I basked in a hot tub. Because I visited in September, which is the off-season in Cancun, the properties were incredibly quiet and peaceful.
If you want a high-end escape — and a break from worrying about dining bills and other logistics — staying at one of these properties could be a splurge that makes sense.
An overview of the two resorts
Secrets Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort, the adults-only resort, was recently renovated, reopening in early 2026. Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort opened about a decade ago.
Both sit within the private, gated community of Playa Mujeres, about 40 minutes from Cancun International Airport.
Adults have access to both Secrets and Dreams properties, meaning more pools, restaurants, shows, gyms and other places to stretch your legs.
Dreams is the family-friendly hotel of the two. It has two major water slides, plus two separate splash pads that have a handful of smaller slides and water play features. I'm 34 years old with no kids, and I still rode the water slides.
Kids club activities were running constantly throughout the day, including supervised outdoor movie nights and MasterChef Junior-branded activities based on the TV competition series, including a Mystery Box Challenge and family cooking classes where parents and kids cook together.
Secrets, next door, is the opposite. No kids are allowed, making for a noticeably calmer atmosphere.
The rooms
Secrets' rooms, fresh off that 2026 renovation, felt noticeably more current with a brighter color palette and a lot more natural light. Dreams' rooms were still lovely, but you can tell by the aesthetic that the resort is roughly a decade old. It had darker color schemes, plus some older fixtures.
If you're traveling sans kids, the rooms alone are reason to book Secrets.
One detail both resorts share, and one of my favorite small design touches of the whole trip: Each room has a little cubby built into the door for room service drop-offs. Instead of a staff member knocking and waiting for you to answer, they can just leave your order in the cubby and go. It’s a nice way to ensure you have fresh coffee waiting in the morning without anyone needing to disturb you if you decide to sleep in.
The pools and free activities
Secrets is generally the quieter resort, but both properties had plenty going on at the pool. The main pools on each side were consistently lively, with assorted games and activities running throughout the day like a guess-the-song contest hosted by a very amped-up DJ. And on the Dreams side, I spotted what looked like an in-pool version of a Zumba class.
Both sides have multiple hot tubs and pools, so if one is busy, you can easily move to another.
Again, I was visiting during low season, so it was quiet. On the Dreams side, which has the water park, the two popular big water slides never had more than a one- or two-person wait.
Beyond the pool, both resorts offer a handful of activities for no extra charge, such as a group bike ride and nature walks. I went on a kayaking excursion, which was about 30 minutes of paddling out and 30 minutes back, and got to see some sea turtles along the way. It was one of the best activities available, in my book.
I also went to the gym every day. The one on the Secrets side had a better variety beyond the usual cardio machines and dumbbells, including medicine balls and plyo boxes.
The nightly shows: Hit or miss
Both resorts put on a show most nights, similar to cruise ships. But the quality here was variable.
The acrobatic show felt like an awkward high school production of Cirque du Soleil, with performers struggling to do handstands at times.
On the other end of the spectrum, a mentalist-style magic show was one of the most impressive performances of that kind I've seen. The performer created illusions of guests being tapped on the shoulder without actually touching them and correctly guessed the numbers that audience members were thinking.
The restaurants
The nearly two dozen restaurants across both resorts span a range of cuisines, including Italian, Mediterranean and French.
Most of the waiter-service restaurants are only open for dinner. Meanwhile, a handful of pool bars and quick-service locations serve classic pool fare like burgers and nachos, or custom salads and sandwiches.
Each side also has its own small cafe for sandwiches, coffee, ice cream and pastries. Plus, waiters will bring food directly to your lounge chair. Nearly all of it is included in your room rate, aside from Ki' Ki' Che (more on that later).
Ayara: Don’t miss
The best dinner I had during my stay was at the Latin American restaurant Ayara on the adults-only side. Its menu is organized by region, pairing bright, raw fish dishes with Amazonian-inspired small plates and a section of dry-aged, charcoal-grilled cuts. I especially loved the Amazonian Bitter Cassava (crispy fried yuca, similar to fancy French fries). Ayara's aesthetic also complemented the food; the maximalist restaurant was filled with plants and bold, over-the-top wallpaper.
Ki' Ki' Che: Don’t feel FOMO if you miss it
Ki' Ki' Che, a seven-course tasting experience, was more hit and miss. My expectations were high, since it’s the only restaurant on-site that costs more to access. You can get in by booking a minimum three-night Preferred Club stay at Secrets, or you can pay $150 extra per person.
The best course by far was the blue corn tetela (a triangular pocket made of corn from Oaxaca) filled with epazote butter, greens and smoked sausage from Yucatán. The sixth course was protein-heavy, consisting of beef tenderloin and short rib. Dessert was a carrot-based dish served with mascarpone, cinnamon and ginger, which made for a compelling surprise without being overly sweet.
The food quality and creativity were excellent, but the space wasn’t. Meals were served on a patio that could have been romantic, but the fans weren't strong enough to keep up with the heat, and multiple guests were visibly sweating through the roughly hour-long meal.
I’d still absolutely recommend you go if you have complimentary access (especially if the weather is pleasant). But don’t feel bad if you don’t. Stick to Ayara, and save your $150 for the steam room in the spa, where you actually want to get sweaty.
Other options
The two resorts also offer buffets, which reflect their different audiences. Dreams' buffet skews toward more French fries and other kid-friendly options with less sushi, while Secrets does the opposite.
Alcohol is also included with your stay, and there’s no shortage of bars. My favorite spot was Desires Lounge. When there’s a big game on, it can double as a sports bar.
Booking Secrets and Dreams Playa Mujeres
Standard room rates at either resort run from about $500 to $1,000 per night after taxes and fees, depending on when you go. That price includes all your meals, drinks and entertainment.
Room rates at Secrets are often the same or lower than comparable rooms at Dreams. That's a little counterintuitive, since Secrets is the more recently renovated property of the two. Take the win, adults without kids.
Both resorts sell standard rooms as well as Preferred Club rooms, a more expensive option available across the Hyatt Inclusive Collection that gets you more amenities and high-end dining options. More on that in a bit.
Both resorts are bookable with World of Hyatt points. NerdWallet values Hyatt points at 1.8 cents each, making them the most valuable of any major hotel loyalty currency.
Both resorts are Category D properties, meaning that stays here run between 25,000 and 55,000 points per night for a standard room accommodating up to two people. There’s an additional charge for more guests in the room. But based on the rates I looked at, you could get about 2 cents per point from booking with rewards here, a solid value.
Preferred Club: Is it worth it?
Preferred Club is an add-on that gets you more access to upscale amenities. It might be worth splurging on if you’d otherwise pay to rent a Bali bed (those cool, shaded day beds) at the pool, or dine at the properties' high-end restaurant Ki' Ki' Che.
The price of Preferred Club varies widely, though. We found that the cost to upgrade ranged from less than $100 per night (in which case, go for it!) to about $500 per night (I’d skip), in our October 2026 analysis of 148 room rates from the resorts with check-ins between October 2026 and March 2027. Regular rooms in Preferred Club average 25% more expensive (or $212 per night) than the equivalent room but without Preferred Club benefits.
Preferred Club also can get you rooms with cool features you won’t find in regular rooms, but these reservations get far more expensive. A room with a swim-out shared pool (yes, one conveniently attached right to your patio) averages 43% more, or roughly $400 more per night, than one without. A room with its own private pool averages 77% more expensive, or about $700 more per night.
What you get with Preferred Club
When you pay the upcharge for Preferred Club, you gain access to the Preferred Club lounge, where they have food throughout the day, as well as premium liquors. I don’t see the real benefit since there’s food pretty much everywhere, and I’m not much of a drinker. But if you enjoy cocktails on vacation, it might be a good deal.
Other benefits include a premium check-in experience at that very lounge, which pretty much means you’re seated during the check-in process with a drink in hand.
You also have access to exclusive areas on property, including a dedicated beach area and use of the Bali beds at the pool and beach. If you don’t spring for Preferred Club, you can rent one starting at $200.
Preferred Club guests also get exclusive access to the lazy river.
Preferred Club can also pay off if you jump on special offers, which vary. I’ve seen limited-time offers for a complimentary round of golf for Preferred Club stays on certain dates, for example.
You also get access to restaurants at exclusive times, such as breakfast at Maris, the seafood restaurant, which then opens to all guests during lunch and dinner. That can be helpful, since the wait at the main buffet at breakfast can be surprisingly long sometimes; one time it took me about 20 minutes to get a table.
Preferred Club with Secrets lets you dine at Ki' Ki' Che during breakfast, which was one of my favorite meals of the whole trip. Both the huevos rancheros with steak (pictured above) and the Oaxacan omelette used top-tier ingredients and were so flavorful.
If you really don’t want to pay more for Preferred Club, book early. I noticed that Preferred Club rates were often the last to sell out. In many cases, there was no availability for regular rooms, but many Preferred Club options.
Who this trip is for
Secrets would be exceptional for a romantic getaway. (I saw two weddings on a single night!) Besides the serene setting, much of the planning and logistics come built in.
Dreams, on the other hand, felt tailor-made for multigenerational trips. An all-inclusive setup makes it easy to plan and coordinate a big group, where everyone can run on their own schedule and eat whenever they want without anyone having to coordinate meals or sort out who's paying for what.
What I especially liked: For something like a big family reunion, families with kids can book the Dreams side, couples without kids can book the Secrets side, and everyone can still meet up at Dreams whenever they want.
The verdict
Secrets and Dreams Playa Mujeres are a splurge, but when you consider that the price includes food, drinks and activities, I'd say it offers great value — especially if you can book with Hyatt points.
If you're traveling with kids, Dreams Playa Mujeres earns its family-friendly reputation with its slides, splash pads and creative programming. If you're traveling without them, Secrets' recent renovation and adults-only calm make it the better pick.
Either way, you'll have plenty of activities and dining options, and you won't feel bored.
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