Sharing Their Secrets

Oct 25, 2008

Secrets Silversands Junior Suites offer tropical or ocean views, a separate sitting area and a private, furnished terrace or balcony.

I’m having a quintessential Secrets experience: While listening to the ocean waves crash softly on the beach, I’m being pampered with a deep-tissue massage and drifting off to sleep in the process. It’s the kind of experience I could definitely get used to, as will your clients headed to the Riviera Maya.

This fall, AMResorts is opening its two newest Secrets properties — Secrets Silversands Riviera Cancun and Secrets Maroma Beach Riviera Cancun — and while the two are no more than 20 or 30 minutes driving distance from each other, they offer very distinct takes on the brand’s signature, all-inclusive luxury. The two are just one of five new properties AMResorts will open by the end of this year.

"Secrets Silversands is our most contemporary resort yet, appealing to young adults and couples, while Secrets Maroma Beach has a Caribbean and incredibly romantic feel," said Kevin Wojciechowski, vice president of sales and marketing for AMResorts.

Secrets Silversands, which had its grand opening on Sept. 18, adopts a sleek, slick and modern look with its all-white buildings, curvaceous, cerulean-tiled pools and cool metallic accents. Junior Suite rooms are outfitted in calming beige and silver tones and provide more than enough space for two. Approximately 688 square feet of space accommodates a living room, balcony, king-sized bed and a huge marble bathroom with a separate shower and Jacuzzi.

All guestrooms are outfitted with bathrobes and slippers; a satellite television; a powerful air-conditioning unit and a ceiling fan; a CD/DVD player; high-speed Internet access; an in-room safe; a coffee/tea maker; a fully stocked minibar; and a signature Secrets box for private room service delivery.

Where Silversands is cool, Maroma is all about warmth. Buildings here are done up in terra-cotta shades and the overall decor feels more like a hacienda than a trendy nightclub. There are a number of pools to lounge around in and, when I arrived, a few couples were already engaged in heated pool volleyball matches. Standard guestrooms are smaller than at Silversands, but they offer similar amenities.

The highlight of Maroma Beach is just that — the beach. Once I stepped onto the sand, I knew immediately why The Travel Channel has named Maroma Beach the best beach in Mexico four years in a row. It’s absolutely breathtaking, from the superfine sand to the robin’s-egg-blue waters. The water is warm and shallow enough for wading — exactly what you’d expect from this Mexican Caribbean locale.

The beach at Silversands also offers stunning views, but it’s no Maroma. The terrain is a little rougher and rockier, and the water isn’t as blue. The beach is, however, a gateway to some of the best snorkeling in the region, thanks to the Banco Chinchorro coral reef, the second largest in the world. The only catch is that your clients will have to take a boat to get there, so advise them to book a reservation a day ahead.

Both resorts offer much of the same when it comes to dining options and facilities. As with all Secrets, there are restaurants of the same name, but each property is home to different chefs, menus and decor. The Bordeaux restaurant at Silversands, for example, is overtly whimsical, with oversized black-and-white reproductions of Robert Doisneau photographs dominating the walls. At Maroma, Bordeaux adopts dark woods and rich merlot shades to evoke the setting of a vintage wine cellar.

Cuisines featured at each property range from international, Mexican and Pan-Asian to seafood, steak, Mediterranean and French. With so many choices, the hardest decision is to merely pick a place. While I didn’t have a chance to sample food at all the restaurants in both properties (not all restaurants were open when I visited) I noticed a theme: innovation. Chefs at Silversands and Maroma aren’t afraid to take chances when it comes to serving inventive, flavorful dishes with nontraditional techniques.

If your clients want to quench their thirst, they won’t be left high and dry, either. Both resorts offer at least eight different bars where friendly bartenders whip up tropical drinks, premium liquors and ice-cold beers.

And when they truly want to indulge in some pampering, clients can head toward the Secrets Spa by Pevonia. When I visited both sites in September, both spas were still under construction; to accommodate guests’ spa needs, treatments were given on the beach or in designated guestroom suites.

At Silversands, I took a sneak peek at the spa and, from what I saw, it looks very promising. The two-story complex is contemporary, but at the same time, warm, with soft, chocolate overtones and soothing accents. Each room offers plenty of privacy and a few double as couples’ rooms as well. What I loved most about the spa, though, was the exclusive outdoor spa pool where guests can relax and unwind. It looked like the perfect way to cool down in the hot, hot heat.

Like the state of the spas during my visit, both properties, overall, were in varying states of construction, too. Restaurants were still receiving final touches at Maroma and my guestroom at Silversands could’ve used a little more polish here and there. But, given just a little more time, both properties, I’m hoping, will shine.