We stayed at the Secrets Marquis over New Years, 2013. This is overall a fine resort. I'll give it a 4.5. We found its corridor location to be ideal, and yet still easy to hop on a bus and head into either town. The beach is stunning, and there are swimmable portions about 10 minutes walk to the west over by the Hilton. The grand archway-lobby is really impressive in a zen kind of way, especially when you look at it from down below (the ocean side), and especially at night.

We found the food to be good to excellent. They pulled out all the stops for the new years eve banquet, with many unique buffet-style offerings. It seemed to take them a day or two afterwards to get the resort back up to speed (they had run out of things at the bar, etc.), but to me it was worth it for the new years experience. The banquet was indoors in one of their conference – ballrooms; a room one would otherwise likely not use outside of a large special function. I disagree with a previous reviewer: They did not try and charge for the new-years party and banquet. That was included. You could purchase wine from the wine list if you wanted, but there was no other upsell associated with this event. We couldn’t keep the free drinks away they were coming so frequently and IMMEDIATELY – like they were watching you , and as soon as you put down an empty, BAM.

Restaurants: There are two dinner only a la cartes: a gourmet room, and a pan-asian (Spice). The gourmet room has the reputation for being far and away the best restaurant there, but believe it or not, I thought the Asian restaurant was overall the best for what it was. The rooms have somewhat austere décor (refreshingly so), and the Asian one is the one that looks like it belongs in a trendy spot on las vegas blvd. There is furthermore the general purpose restaurant (Vista Ballenas), which serves B / L / D, and I thought was really quite nice. It maintains an Italian touch for certain a la carte dishes. It’s a good space with a large menu. The Dos Mares down by the pool is a lunch grill by day, and upgrades to a nicer seafood restaurant at dinner. There is also another grill about 50 yards away – basically the main pool bar – but they have a grill station over there too, and line up a lunch buffet with some tables and chairs. The coco’s café is not a restaurant, it is a small coffee and snack boutique in the same central location. It is the most generically-Americanized space on resort, but it’s a good place for a latte. Ceviche is a specialty at this resort, Dos Mares keeps the most varieties (seven I think) – try them all, they’re great.

The service was good. Actually the service attitude is superb. Everyone greets you, offers you stuff, trys to improve your experience. They’ll bring you anything. They are friendliest bunch in all of Cabo, and very professional. We had some spotty execution – in our case with housekeeping (mini bar not re-stocked, some cleaning rags left in our room, no housekeeping one day, etc. Mostly little stuff). This was minor. I would like to have been informed about more stuff at check-in (apparently we had 200 dollars of credit as part of our package which we didn’t know to use – that was pretty annoying). Do not be mislead - pool service is great. The drinks keep coming. They’ll give em to you while you’re IN the pool if you want.

There is a central bar directly below the lobby, which is convenient to rooms as well, because this is ultimately not too large a resort. Food and beverage is very centrally located overall. The bar has plenty of top shelf variety. Of course there always seems to be somebody who doesn’t get what they want. Note: Mexican AI’s are NOT the place for single malt scotch! They have glenfiddich, and other standards like JW Black, but no, you’re not getting Talisker. Instead, why not avail yourself of great local spirits like tequila and rum? There’s plenty of top shelf variety there. There are also a number of beers (Modelo group – so corona, modelo, pacific, etc), and there is a house wine with the inclusive, but I can’t say as though I enjoyed it. They have a decent but pricey wine list available – I note it’s priced in US dollars….

Our room was really beautiful. We have recently stayed at Iberostar and Palladium (Royal Suites) properties, and this room was on par with those. (TV is still a flat-screen tube style – maybe 2005). Beautiful sweeping ocean views – you can see the whales a ways out. This is an open bathroom concept. It’s funny because it has a solid wooden door from the hallway, but then curtains open it up to the master bedding area. Not really a huge issue, but it is less private than Americans are used to.

I agree with prior postings about certain things. This resort is at a pretty high price point when compared with some of the other Cabo inclusives. When we booked similar AI experiences at Iberostar / Palladium there were certain inclusions. Things such as complimentary internet (at least somewhere on property), and certain general-use portions of a spa were things that we would expect at an AI of this level. To not have a hot-tub available without paying extra was kind of lame, and I think spa areas that are not private services should be open to guests, who have payed for an all-inclusive.

Transport: You can take a cab, but we just walked out to the road and hopped on a regular bus. 20 pesos (1.75) to San Jose, about 25 to Cabo. Easiest thing in the world.

Overall I would recommend this resort, and would potentially return. It is a great place for real relaxation. Chill out in an infinity pool and stare at the ocean while watching grey whales. With a beverage – can’t be beat!

thomas

DO NOT STAY HERE. This was such a dissappointing hotel. Not only did the hotel try and charge us additional charges on check out (beware!) for a NYE party we did not attend and they pitched to guests as included, but the hotel property is also run down. The bar furniture and hotel walls from the ocean side are dirty and not kept up.

Additionally, the food is horrible. We did not have high expectations for an all inclusive, but this is 2 star at best for food. I would eat plane food or McDonald's any day over the food served here. Only edible dish - ceviche. The rest was disgusting. If you stay here, plan to go out to eat every day for lunch and night for dinner.

Service was terrible! Our drinks by the pool didn't arrive and room service was never delivered. Are room was also not ready by gaurenteed check-in, when they had our itinerary and knew we were arriving at 12pm.

DO NOT let the Leading Hotels of the World award mislead you. And, worst off, Leading Hotels of the World will not address anything to do with the fact this hotel is not 4-5 star.

Only redeeming factor - the rooms are beautiful with amazing views.

We went to the Secrets Marquis for 2 weeks at Christmas and New Years this year and loved every minute of it. I cant wait to go back!!!!!

The staff was incredible, they did absolutely everything that they could do to make sure that your vacation was perfect. The remembered what you liked to drink and made sure that they were flowing and were mixed very well. I found the food to be about 80% delicious and then 20% was hit or miss. But you really get that at any all inclusive.I will say, they sure did have alot of food options. Breakfast buffets, lunch buffets and a few special dinner buffets in the evening. They put so much work and effort into setting up all the buffets. It was very nice.

This hotel does look just like the pictures on the website. It is so beautiful. The rooms are so nice.

The international show was such a great performance. I was impressed with the dance team that they had. Each night they had some sort of activity planned and they really liked getting people involved during the day.

I will say one thing, this is not a party resort. It is a place that is meant to get away from it all. Its so quiet at night that you can actually fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing ( and we were on the 4th floor).It really felt like you were secluded and away from it all. The way a vacation should feel.

The Christmas dinner was very nice and the New years eve Party was a blast and they really pulled out all stops. We had a delicious buffet with Lobster and caviar and so many other delicious goodies to choose from. They had even went as far as to give away prizes from Tiffanys and free nights in the hotel.

The Coco cafe at this property was a bit of a let down. They were constantly running out of everything there and Paul was the only one that knows how to make a delicious coffee.
I think that they really need to spend some time training the baristas like they do at Secrets Maroma and have a few more options for snacks. Though, the chocolate chip cookies were homemade there and delicious.

The coupons that you get at checkin are also kind of a rip off. There are too many terms and conditions with them. I had gotten a gift card from Santa to the Spa and when i tried to use it with my coupons i wasnt allowed.

The spa wasnt my favorite experience. I dont think its really worth it to go there on your trip.

However,there were a few members of the staff that really stood out to me when I was there:
Paul at Coco cafe -Best coffees there
Diego- a waiter - he was so friendly everyday and always had your drink ready when he saw you coming
Ventura- a waiter
Alexander-was such a great guy, we travelled with my grandparents and he made sure to take the time every morning to have their favorite chair set up just the way they like it and was just so great with his service. They did not have to lift a finger.
Estoban- he was our new years waiter and he made sure that you were happy
Jean carlos- room service- He was the sunshine in your day in the morning, he had such a contagious, happy go lukcy attitude. It was so nice and he never forgot your name.
Melanie in room service was also such a treat to talk to
and Clara was in housekeeping she would come and do our turn down service every night
she was such a sweet person and she works so fast and does such a great job.

This is long overdure, but here we go. When we arrived at the airport, we were solicited by tour operators, this was our first time in Mexico so we didn't know the game. Anyway, our package included ground transfers. Aparently our shuttle had just left, so we were packed into a cab van with other passengers. Don't expect a lot of a/c, and they ensure that it's packed to the brim. Amstar paid for the taxi as I think something shady happened with our shuttle bus.

When you arrive to the hotel, you're checked-in first at a gate, one your registration info checks out, your permitted to the front desk. It is absolutely breathtaking, one of the best views I've ever seen..They are fabulous when the check you in, they explain everything as to how your coupons work etc. By the way, for the spa, you can only use one coupon per service, and you cant use them on mani's and pedi's.

The room was nice, it was clean, and very spacious. The shower has a nice seat in it, and the pressure is good. I does not have a hand held handle. There are dual sinks, and full size amenities, you really don't have to bring anything if you don't want. The cammode is in a seperate stall, and there is a jacuzzi in the bathroom. There is a huge amoire where you can store your belongings, and an in room safe. They offer slippers and robes for you to use. There is a desk, and high-speed internet access for a fee, but you can use your coupons to pay for it. There is a mini fridge stocked with coronas and bottled water daily.

The little nook is charming, but the patries and fruit that they deliver with coffee is tastless, and not worth eating. We went to all of the resturants except Spice, which was opening on the day that we were leaving. The food in the restaurant by the pool is not good, however the ceviche is delicious, other than that....slim pickins. The restaurant upstairs over looking the pool is ok, and you can wear your casual clothes there. They have a breakfast buffett, or you can order a la cart. Whatever fruit juice they use to mix drinks tastes very weird, like aspartme *sp is used. Anyway, the fine dining 5 star resaurant is very good, except the desert. The filet is great, but ehmound of black mushrooms (or whatever it is) wasn't very good. The salmon was great also.

We really had a flawless stay except: When I went to the fine dining restaurant, I had on a cocktail dress, peep toe pums, and a small cowboy hat. The maitre D pulled me aside and said her boss told her to tell me I had to take my hat off, it was off putting because I had never heard of a lady being asked to remove her hat. I was ok with it until I got in the resturant, and saw men with tennis shoes on, and several women with flip flops and jeans on....

When I consulted the compendium in my room, it never mentioned that women couldn't wear hats. I'm lead to believe that the manager had other reasons for calling me out, I did look very different from all of the other patrons. (But whatever, that's to be expeted for us).

The spa is terrible, it's nice looking, but the employees half-&%$ everything. I got the worst pedicure and deep tissue ever, and the steam room was way too hot.

The jacuzzi in the room wasn't very clean, and the beds are firm, but tolerable.

Overall, we had a decent stay. I'll probably look for a different hotel when I come back to Cabo.