This is our third time staying at Silversands and on all occasions we have stayed for 2 weeks. Our first visit was back in 2009 and we were delighted by the resort. We found the surroundings to be fantastic and the atmosphere to be both lively and relaxed.

We have noticed a few changes in the years we have been there but a few things have on this visit started to question whether we would return.

Our very first impression of the reception staff on arrival was that they were rude and unhelpful. We had requested through the E-Concierge that we all be located in Building 1 as we had stayed there before and found it to be a great location in the resort. We understand that any room requests are just that and cannot be guaranteed, however when you book your holiday 11 months in advance and the rooms are only allocated 2 days before arrival we feel a little more could have been done to honour this request. This in my opinion would only be good service, otherwise why bother acknowledging the request in the first place.

The restaurants are probably the main reason we chose Silversands in 2009 as we liked the fact they were a la carte. As we are now on our third visit and the menus do not seem to have changed in any of the restaurants we feel there is less reason to choose this resort over others in the future. There is no doubt that we found the food fantastic and the work that goes into the preparation and presentation is excellent. The menus are limited for guests who stay more than a week as each restaurant has only a few starters, a few main courses and a couple of desserts. Once you get to your 3rd two week visit with the same menus it can get quite boring!

This was our first stay travelling in a group of six and found trying to get a table for six in the evening resulted in waits of up to an hour. We have never experienced any waits when travelling as a couple. It would be better if groups were allowed to make a reservation to avoid lengthy waits. Once in the restaurants the service could be quite slow at times. This is purely down to a lack of staff. The waiters are rushing around constantly and don't stop for breath, they really couldn't work any faster.

One huge improvement that we found on this visit was the netting that has been put up around the 2 outside restaurants. Previously we were put off from eating there due to the amount of birds flying around and trying to steal food. We enjoyed several meals at these restaurants this time round.

Our favourite and most frequented areas of the resort were the bars. Once again these were all excellent. The barmen really do know their stuff and the choice of cocktails is endless (if they don't know how to make it they'll ask you what to do). The alcohol itself is varied and good quality with all the main brand names available, just make sure you ask for them by name or you'll get the "local" stuff.

The overall cleanliness of the hotel and rooms is excellent. Everywhere you look someone is cleaning, sweeping or maintaining. The rooms are modern and bright with a huge comfortable bed and a double jacuzzi bath.

As some people have mentioned you have to get up fairly early to grab a sun lounger. However if you get to the pool and they are all taken just ask one of the towel guys to get you some and he'll go off to find however many you need and place them where you want them. We saw this several times during our stay and it was never too much hassle.

On our first visit in 2009 wired internet was included at no extra cost. This is no longer the case and wireless internet access is $60 a week. In my opinion this is far too expensive (although you can use your resort credits to get a 50% discount). I think a resort of this level should be providing wireless as standard and not as an expensive extra.

Much more emphasis now seems to be put towards events and weddings. On several occasions we have witnessed and been affected by guests being moved from areas and restricted in what they can do due to a wedding taking place. One example of this happened on a Saturday night when our party decided to go for a meal in the Seaside Grill restaurant. We were halfway through our main course when a wedding party, who were situated in the Oceana Restaurant next door, began enjoying their planned entertainment resulting in loud music being played at a level that our party could not hear each other speak.

We have seen people moved from sun loungers on the beach, games of beach volleyball (organised by the entertainment team) stopped, areas of bars taken over and entire pools being closed all due to weddings.

Another event that impacted on our stay was the Mexican Fiesta Night. Our party were relaxing around the pool close to the Sugar Reef bar on a Friday when preparations started for the evening entertainment. Tables were erected within inches of our sun beds and decorations and a stage were put up. All of this was done with no regard for guests who were enjoying their time around the pool. As some have commented, space and sun loungers around the pool areas is at a premium and we felt unable to move from where we were to a new position. As the day went on more and more people were hounded out from the area by members of staff who were only carrying out the wishes of the resort management. Finally we relented and headed back to our rooms as no space was to be found around the main pool. All it would have taken would be to close the area before anyone arrived on the Friday morning or put up a few signs advising people that that area would be closed from a designated time. This would have allowed us to seek alternative seating that would have satisfied us for the day. I would also point out that the clearing up of the area after the events is not sufficient as members of my party, even after notifying resort staff, had to pick up several pieces of glass from breakages and staples used to secure decorations, from the ground around the Sugar Reef pool area.

We feel a bit negative in our review but would like to say that we have had an excellent time at Silversands and this is purely down to the staff who work tirelessly to ensure you enjoy your holiday. Nothing is too ever too much trouble and they have a can do attitude that leads to fantastic service. Some of our favourite people are; Alonso, Geber, Tere, Nora, Felix, Victor & Hugo, Thomas & Juan, Alex the barman as well as the entertainment staff; Marcelo, Jorge, JC, Jackie Chan, Mufasa & Chuy.

We have recommended Secrets Silversands to others in the past and we would again.

We arrived at Secret Silversands and was greeted by the front door staff with a cool flannel and glass of champagne. The greeter said welcome home on our arrival and that really set the atmosphere what we felt throughout our stay. After booking we were invited to wait in the veranda bar area and have a drink while our cases were delivered. First impressions were most pleasing, we immediately felt relaxed and at ease in this smart and comfortable bar. After a beautiful cocktail we went up to our room, a junior suite ocean view (4417). When we opened the door we were absolutely blown away by our room. Stylish and contemporary, it smelled delightful and was spotless. Both me and my partner were blown away by our luxury surroundings. There waiting for us was a bottle of champagne on ice and miniature sweets and chocolate coated strawberries. We had requested the king size bed which was probably the most comfortable bed we have ever slept in. The balcony overlooked the hotel pools and gave us a beautiful sea view. The room was cleaned every morning to a good standard and we had the turn down service and extra towels around 7pm, they also delivered the following days special offers and weather reports. Overall we were absolutely delighted with the comfort of our room. We loved using the jacuzzi before going out with a bottle of corona from the mini bar. We ordered room service a couple of times and this was always delivered on time and laid out beautifully for us. The food wasn't the hottest but it is understandable as it has a way to come despite being bought on trolleys with burners. The hotel had several pools, we preferred the quieter pools away from the entertainment and the rowdy Yanks. The hot tub was also lovely by the main pool but this could get busy and noisy.....the afore-mentioned! Pools were always clean and the service around the pools was top notch, the waiting staff were round every 10 minutes with water or whatever you ordered. The grounds were kept immaculate with staff always working hard to keep it that way. We had a couple of days on the beach, the beach was better than we imagined after reading the reviews, the staff endlessy worked all day to keep the seaweed out. A thankless job but Silversands always had the best kept beach in the local area. Unfortunately it wasn't really possible to go out swimming, jellyfish, seaweed and the odd rocky outbreak prevented this. Occasionally when sunbeds weren't available we never even had to ask and staff managed to sort beds out. Towels were always available poolside and before going out on to the beach. We thought it was lovely that the chefs came out to the beach and pool bringing lolly pops and fruit and the lovely cucumber water, mm mmm every so often.
The food was fantastic. The breakfasts each morning allowed for plenty of variety, we stayed for two weeks and managed to have something different on most days. We ate at most of the restaurants and had superb food. Our favourite was el patio, the Mexican restaurant, a Mayan Coffee is a must...stunning! Service was slightly slow at the Bordeaux and my partner had the most awful onion soup, cold, and tasted terrible. I tried it and had to agree although friends had tried it on a different night and said it was fine then. However we found the service from the door staff to the waiting staff to the food servers absolutely impeccable. Every day we we treated with courtesy and they made us feel really special. The hotel was absolutely made by the fantastic staff who would do anything to fulfil any requests you made. We both agreed we had never received such fantastic service as the staff here.
The entertainment was also fabulous. Throughout the day things were going on and you never felt forced into participating in anything you didn't want to. The entertainment guys were all superb and worked so hard to make sure guests enjoyed themselves. The evening entertainment was repeated after each week. Our favourite shows were the rock show, just fantastic, I nearly rocked myself out of my chair! The fire show was brilliant, don't think I fancied the front row, Elvis was brilliant, funny guy with nice touches of humour between songs and the boys loved the sensual show, scantily dressed hot dancers helped!! There was always a great atmosphere in the veranda bar and we loved the duo in the lobby bar..we asked for a CD because they were so good but sadly they didn't have one. The waiting staff in the veranda bar were the best, must mention Julienne, she was fantastic, we would only have to finish our last drop and there would be another one there before we even asked. Any liqueur or spirit that you could think of they were all here. What service!! Loved Alfonso who never forgot our names, and kept the Frangelico coming. We only went into the nightclub once but the smell of vomit was so overwhelming we finished our drink and left.
Unfortunately we didn't use the spa. We had read reviews and heard it was expensive, it looked beautiful and all our friends who had used it had said its prices were ok and all agreed it was well worth the money.
Another special mention must go to Carlos at Aquaworld. he introduced us to scuba diving, after a couple of lessons in the pool we went out along the bay and did our first dive. After some nerves, he managed to put me at ease and I felt totally confident under his instruction. Unfortunately the staff at aquaworld were not as nice as Carlos but still, we came back with some great pictures and memories of our first scuba dive. So a big thank you to Carlos.
All in all we had the most fantastic holiday. This was mostly due to the fantastic and hard working staff at Secrets Silversands. The hotel is an adults only and even though we do have children we would not hesitate in going adults only again, for a more relaxed atmosphere. We walked for a mile or so every day to Desire and beyond..beware the nudist beach if that is what might cause offence, we couldn't help but think we had picked by far the classiest hotel in Puerto Moreles. The beach to the right was nice too (a detour behind the hotel) but busier, although you could swim here if you wanted to.
I would not hesitate to recommend this hotel. It is probably the first genuine 5 star I have been to that is deserving it's rating. It has a great atmosphere and we have met new friends and come home with many happy memories.

Tips:

Coco Bongo - A must!! Cancun was brilliant with gold service the staff here too couldn't do enough for you. They took my half finished bottle of sol off me and just as I was about to stop him, he replaced it with a fresh cold one...!! A brilliant show with the best atmosphere anywhere in Cancun.

Virgin Ahoy, a great great value trip with more than what was expected, although the boarding of the boat initially I felt I was at a cattle market. But brilliant all the same one of our best days.

We went to Silversands back in May of this year and loved it so much, we came back in November. We had just as good a time as the first time.

We traveled with another couple and when we arrived, they told us that they had overbooked for that first night. They offered (free of charge) to send us to their new resort, (The Vine) for the evening. We were totally fine with it since we had only been at SSS for about 5 mintues. Plus we got the chance to check out another Secrets resort. As a side note, The Vine was beautiful but a TOTALLY different feel than SSS.
So on the second day, we arrived back at SSS and were greeted a second time with a towel and champagne....and a laugh from the bellhops. :) When we got in to check in again, the front desk guy, Fhadir (sp?) was so accomodating. He apologized and said he was so embarrassed about the mix up that he was working very hard to make us happy. We originally booked a Junior Suite pool view and they upgraded all 4 of us to a Preferred Club Ocean view room! And then on top of that, they gave all 4 of us a free 50 minute Swedish Massage. :) They went above and beyond to make it up to us. We were very pleased!
We also had another couple that came that second day to join us and they even gave them a partial ocean view room so they could be close to us, even though they didn't have anything to do with the over booking issue.
We had an absolute wonderful time. They all worked very hard to make us happy the whole week.
The staff there is amazing. Never have we been treated so well. I have to give a few shout outs: Tomas, the waiter at the buffets was our buddy! He had a table ready and waiting for us EVERY day....for all 6 of us! He remembered all our names, what we ordered to drink and had it there within minutes of us sitting down and even made gifts for us girls on our last day there.
Axel, the bartender at the Veranda bar and the lobby bar (apparently they rotate every week or two weeks) was so sweet and friendly. He was funny and we thoroughly enjoyed sitting there and talking with him for a while. He is a SUPER hard worker and just a true gentleman.
Arturo at the swim up bar was DARLING! He just has a smile that lights up a room! He was super friendly and funny as well. :)
Mercedes and Guadalupe, the pool waitresses were amazing! We never had to get up out of the hot tub or our chairs. They were sweet and they work very hard also. They both brought our friend a little cooler with ice for his beers because he had said that they were kind of warm. He thought that was awesome!!!! haha!

The entertainment staff rocks!!! Mufasa (our little firecracker) was just a ball of energy and fun, fun, fun!!!! Jorge is super sweet and always involved. They always have fun activites to do during the day.

The food is wonderful. Sometimes, because alot of it is gourmet, it was hard to understand what exactly you were ordering, and we got a few laughs out of some of the things that were NOT what we thought. But all in all it was excellent. We did have quite a long wait for our food at a few of the restaraunts and that was frustrating. It didn't seem quite as long when we were there in May. Not sure if they were just busier or what.

The rooms were beautiful as usual. Ocean view is the way to go! We slept with our sliders open the whole night and the sound of the waves was thee best sound to fall asleep to.

The Spa was AMAZING!!!!!!!! Our Swedish massages were so wonderful!!!!They were very professional and very good. The Hydrotherapy circuit was amazing too!!! I'm not sure if we would pay the full price for the massages (although we TOTALLY would if money weren't an issue). The chlorophyl water they offer is unlike any water i have had in my life. It is impossible to put into words how good it is! Wish i could find that here in the states.

The nightly shows were good. Although I have to admit, the dancing girls were a little too much for us. Maybe we are "old fashioned", but they had next to nothing on and were bending over with their bare butts and "other parts" right in our husbands faces (we sat in the front row during the Rock of Ages show, not knowing what to expect). The band was awesome though!! And the Cirque Soleil would have been amazing had it not been for the half naked girls. I mean, the girls standing to welcome you in to the show had nothing on top except for some pasties. The dancing was REALLY risque and (in my opinion) just not necessary. In their defense, they do forewarn you on your daily activities sheet that it is very sensual. We knew going in, but were hoping we could withstand it because we really wanted to see the tricks with the hoops and ropes and stuff. But it just got to be too much for us, so we ended up leaving the show. :( The fire show and the Urban show were awesome! The beat boxer was the best I have ever heard. I could've listened to that guy all day!

The pools and hot tubs were not as warm as we had hoped. The hot tub was more warm than hot. and the pools, except for our last day, were freezing! I'm not sure if its the time of year or what.

Other than that, we had THEE best time. We will definitely be back. The staff is like family to us now and Mexico is our second home.

This was our second time travelling from Ireland to Secrets Silversands. Again it exceeded all our expectations. The staff at this resort are nothing short of brilliant. they food, drink & service are excellent.

One staff member who reall stood out was Front dest assistant Anna Lilia, Thank you very much for your help!

Once again i advise anybody who is visiting the riviera maya region to stay here