Secret or Sandals?!

I haven't stayed at a Sandals, but Excellence blows Secrets out of the water, so I'd recommend you check them out.

Hi Megan! Another bride just went to Secrets Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic and wrote about her honeymoon experience in this post:

Secrets Cap Cana, Dominican Republic Honeymoon

I've heard some people give an edge to Sandals for honeymooners, but that Secrets has tons of activities. Personally I'd check out the locations and compare reviews for individual properties if you can narrow down the area you'd like to visit!

Here are a few other community forum posts you can read through for feedback:

Sandals Resorts vs. Secrets Resorts?

Sandals Vs. Secrets resorts??

We just stayed at a Secret's Resort and while it was a nice vacation, it didn't feel like a honeymoon. I would for sure spend more and go with Sandals.

For all inclusives, I've heard good things about Excellence. After browsing forums on here it convinced me to look into there and we're actually planning on going to an Excellence resort in Punta Cana for our honeymoon.

Not sure if you’ve booked anywhere yet, but we just returned from Sandals South Coast and loved it! I explored other options, but Sandals had everything we wanted. We booked through a travel agent, and she suggested Sandals South Coast based on our wants. And it was perfect for us! It was my first time flying and traveling outside of the US, but Jamaica was great. The people are awesome, and the Sandals employees go above and beyond. It’s super elegant, but not stuffy. We stayed in a Club level room in the newly renovated Dutch Village. Our room was gorgeous and had a balcony tub. Our balcony had privacy curtains that closed completely. The food was delicious there. I was nervous since it’s an all inclusive, but we did not have one bad meal! We had steak and shrimp, lobster, snapper, mahi mahi, Jamaican patties and all were soo good. Sandals only allows tipping for spa staff and butlers, so you can leave your wallet in the room! The 3 pools are beautiful and the Main pool has a swim up bar. The bartenders were great! Latitudes is an over the water bar with super entertaining bartenders. The drinks were all so good. I only tried like 1/3 of the drink menu. The coffee shop has crepes. We went there for snacks and breakfast a couple times (yum!).
As far as the noise and party level: it was active when it needed to be, but allowed for a lot of peace and relaxation. The chairs are nice and spread out. We never had to search long for beach or pool chairs. The restaurant wait times can take a while, but we were on island time!
I want to go back again. I’d like to try other Sandals but South Coast is so good. Great for a Honeymoon! 90% there were couples doing their own thing. It’s definitely for people in love!

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much!!! Did you find there was much to do? As much as my FH and I love relaxing, we really love water activities and things like that to do on vacation. Was there a lot of that or was it mostly just lounging around?

View Quoted Comment I realize this is an old post but I went here for my honeymoon and her experience wasn’t what mine was at all, the food is amazing, the have a little bit of everything. This author went preferred, honestly a waste of money you basically get premium liquor and a butler. I don’t have one in my everyday life and when they’re mixing tropical drinks you can’t tell the difference once you three drinks in anyways. The staff was the best they assign you a butler once you get there (so to speak they don’t wait on you they check in on you once a day and make sure everything is up to par if it’s not they go above and beyond to help make sure anything is corrected or enhanced for your vacation/ honeymoon experience. The Mexican restaurant, French, and Japanese steak house are amazing. They have the best live entertainment I’ve seen on any resort with rock shows and concerts. We made friends with other couples who were also honeymooning. I guess it depends on the kind of person you are but if you want a private sanctuary which it sounds like the author of the article you shared was looking for then no this isn’t for you. But if you’re looking to have a great time, enjoy your significant other, and make life long memories on your honeymoon while having as many drinks and food as you can handle then this is for you. They have a cigar lounge and bars open til late night and you can cure that hang over at their world class spa, then head over to the breakfast restaurant and top it off at the coco cafè with any kind of Dominican or your favorite coffee beverage to kick start you day. I would recommend taking the tour of the property breakfast you get a $400 voucher for a couples massage and it only used 40min at a breakfast that we would’ve taken to eat breakfast anyway. The beach bar close to the pool has premium liquor btw and they don’t check to see if you’re preffered so you can sneak some premium drinks in on the beach. I was honestly shocked I read that article speaking on that place in a negative light doesn’t make sense after my experience, but to each their own. She did mention she’s used to taking cruises and I’ve always done all inclusive resorts so with that in mind I guess you have more privacy on a boat than an entire resort. The rooms are spot on they have a “secret door” that’s only for room service you flip on a light and they put the food in there so you never have to open the door if you don’t want to on your honeymoon. I give this place a 9.2/10 I would recommend this to anyone seeking a relaxing get away with their spouse after planning and preparing a wedding. If you do happen to go try the cigar/rum/ coffee factory tour, it’s well worth it and you will get cigars 1/4 of the price they are on the resort the tour is free so is transportation there. They give you a cigar to try, rum and coffee to drink the only thing you pay for is if you want to take a bottle of rum, ground coffee to go or single or box’s of cigars in the shop (pro tip they also have a chocolate factory and I wish I bought more of their hot coco mix!).

If you're looking for adult only, also look at Beloved resorts! That's where we are going next month in Playa Mujeres and I can give you and update about it if you'd like.