Several years ago, my friend Heather and I decided that a quick trip to somewhere we’ve never been in April would be good time. So far, all of our trips have been in the Cancun area (Valentin Imperial, El Dorado Maroma, Excellence Riviera Cancun, and Haven). We’ve enjoyed all of them. This year, however, when I reached out to my travel agent with Lush Travel, he let me know that he could get me a better deal in the Dominican Republic. It’s a little more of a haul from Texas, but decided to go for it! Working with David is AMAZING. He will work with you to find you exactly what you want anywhere in the world. He is well traveled himself and is able to give you advice and steer you towards all the best vendors. And the price he got was fantastic!

On the morning of the trip, it was STORMING in Austin- after it hadn’t in months. I took a white knuckled Lyft ride to the airport and took a somewhat circuitous route to Houston- our 32 minute flight took closer to an hour and fifteen minutes- but landed with ample time to walk from the C terminal to the E terminal and the four-hour flight to the Dominican. I had heard mixed stories about whether or not the VIP service would be necessary. Maybe we got lucky, but we were through in no time at all. It was a little odd compared to arriving in Cancun. The planes seem to just park willy nilly on the tarmac. Then you exit the plane and get on a hot bus and drive about 20 yards to the terminal. Still, going through immigration was fast. As soon as we exited, our luggage was on the baggage carousel. That was interesting because it was outside – shaded by thatched roofs. Then, some people were selected (including me) to run our luggage through some x-ray machines in customs. But all of this took less than 20 minutes. I had been a little nervous about our transfer with Tropical Elite. I had been unable to find many reviews, and those that I could find were bad. David assured me they’d be fine; they ended up being great. I was proactive and contacted them through their WhatsApp prior to the trip. I also contacted them two days before to arrange our return transfer. They responded quickly both times, and it was no problem at all. The vehicles were new and clean, and the 45 minute transfer to Secrets Tides Punta Cana went well.

Secrets Tides is both totally similar and vastly different to any of the 5 star adults only AIs I’ve been to in the last decade or so. It has all the regular things you would expect- daily housekeeping and turndown, a “secret box” where 24 hour room service can be delivered and the plates can be cleared, big room with a large shower, immaculate grounds, activities all day long, multiple restaurants- just the usual… (I almost always forget to get a room picture, but there are PLENTY of pictures on any fan site or YouTube-they all look basically the same) . All of the rooms have a TON of storage, and there is a comfortable bed and nice seating area.

The aesthetic of this resort was completely different, however. I kept trying to put my finger on it. Finally, I decided it was kind of like a resort situated on a golf course. You can see the whole resort from just about every area of the resort. It’s pretty flat, and the vegetation is relatively short. It is VERY easy to get around. We had a preferred club swim up. I requested one facing the interior of the resort and close to the ocean. We got room 2171, and it was a perfect location. It fronted the main pool. There was not really any privacy, but we weren’t looking for privacy. We could see all the games from the main pool in case we wanted to participate, and we could hear all of the music. We shared the pool with only one other room, but we didn’t see them unless we purposely went around the barrier. I was glad that drink service came to us right on our patio. We later learned that maybe it wasn’t SUPPOSED to because one of the servers asked me to meet him at the front door to our room because he said his supervisor was watching and he wasn’t supposed to serve to the swim ups… Weird… If we craned our necks just right, we even had a little ocean view!

Check in was easy and quick. We were escorted to the preferred club lounge, which is very nice, and given a welcome drink and told our butler, Alberto, would be with us shortly. We grabbed a few snacks and he was there in no time at all.

People had told me that sometimes the service in the Dominican is slower than in Mexico. We didn’t find that to be the case at all. Everyone was on top of things and very accommodating. Alberto explained to us that the only reservations needed would be for the Hibachi, and he showed us the three pools – quiet pool, activity pool, and preferred. All of the pools were relatively close together, and at no point on the trip did I have anyone either on the beach or on the pool ask me for my room number. I had read that there is “no point” in paying for preferred here because everyone can use all of the areas. Maybe that’s true? I don’t know. I don’t choose to be a thief, and I pay for what I want. Besides, I couldn’t have the swim up that I wanted without being preferred. That said, other than the room and a la carte breakfast and lunch, I don’t know that there is any huge benefit to being preferred at this resort. You get discounts on some things, but there is nothing special or extra that is included as a result of being preferred.

We didn’t get to the resort until almost five o’clock, so by the time we had the tour, we were ready for dinner. We had heard that Tierra was their “premium” restaurant, but we didn’t want to save that for a night where we would give dinner a little more attention. Alberto, our butler, recommended Oceana since it fronts the ocean, but I don’t LOVE seafood, and I’m always a little wary of it at resorts. Some people had told me that the food/water can be even more suspect in the DR than Mexico, but we didn’t have any problems at all. Ultimately, we decided to just to to El Patio for Mexican. It turned out to be our favorite of the three dinners we went to on the trip. As a whole, the resort is a little more casual than the Secrets I’ve been to in Mexico (Impression Moxche and Playa Blanca). The food was fine- neither noteworthy or bad. That said, the cheese empanada and the beef fajitas at El Patio were some of the best food of the trip. The chicken enchiladas were great as well. All of the food portions at this resort were big, so be aware!

We only had two full days this trip, which is about two too short for me, but still makes for some good book reading and relaxation. If we had more days, we likely would have done more things. We TALKED about painting on the beach, or making bracelets, or going to a show, going to the spa (which looked beautiful)… but we didn’t do any of those things.

When I am on vacation, I like to see the sunrise on the beach. The first morning, I missed it! I woke up at 6:15 surprised to see our room already bathed in light! Still, I ran down to enjoy the morning. I had told Alberto that I wanted to rent a cabana, and he found a last minute cancellation for me, but I didn’t want it. It was right on the sand volleyball court on the non-preferred side of the beach. I wanted a little more seclusion if possible. Still, had we stayed a few more days, I would have gotten one. They look GREAT, and it seems the price on them is negotiable. They are on slightly raised platforms with multiple loungers and seating options surrounding them and a beach butler for service. Still, the service on the preferred side of the beach was very good, and the regular loungers were well shaded. The water is warm and wavy, the brown sand is soft, and the beach is very expansive. You can walk forever. The only drawback was LOTS of beach vendors. LOTS… Every two or three minutes someone would try to sell jewelry, or a massage, or a picture with an iguana or a bird… and some were more persistent than others.

After a few hours on the beach in the morning, it was time for breakfast. We chose Oceana (preferred club only ala carte) the first day and the Market Cafe buffet the second day. Both were VERY good. I’m glad that mimosas and bloody marys are breakfast options as well. It seemed while we were there that El Patio was ALSO open for a la carte breakfast for non-preferred guests. On our last morning, we ordered room service breakfast, and it was great, but A LOT! I had no idea they would bring a fruit tray and a pastry platter with all the food. You can find all of the information in the World Of Hyatt all inclusive collection app.

On one of our full days, we spent the rest of the morning on the beach. The other day, we spent our time at the preferred pool. All three pools have swim up bars. The water was fabulous and the view of the ocean from the pool was great. We were able to find shade. It was crowded, but the drink service was good. There is a bathroom right by the pool, which is important to me! And there was a food truck there for snacks or you could order food to your lounger if you liked.

Afternoons, though, when it started getting hot, we just chose to go back to our swim up room. As preferred club members, we could have gotten an a la carte lunch or gone to the buffet, but we just ordered room service. It wasn’t very good, but it was okay. The pizzas were bland, the nacho sauce watery and flavorless, the wings were like fried chicken with some bbq sauce on them. The fries were good, and the burger worked. Still, it was a great place to float around and read a book for a few hours.

At night, we’d get a little dressed up and head to the restaurants at around 6:30. We didn’t have a wait, but they did seem to start getting busy closer to 7:30. Tierra had a yummy flank steak. Meraki, the Asian restaurant, was just okay. The sushi was lackluster, the lamb was overdone, the rice was greasy, but it was all edible. Again, the food was not a high point of the trip, but it was fine. I felt the same about the drinks. They all tasted a little simple and basic, but nothing was bad.

After dinner, we developed the routine of going to Coco Cafe to get a fancy coffee and a sweet. We’d take that back out to one of the tables by Rendezvous to listen to the live band and have a few after dinner martinis.

We did watch a part of the Dominican show in the theater one night, pop into the sports bar on another, and watch the neon party on the beach from our pool. There would have been PLENTY to do until around 1 AM, including when the the sports bar turns into a night club, but this short trip was all about relaxation.

After just over two days of fun, our transfer came to get us at 1030 AM yesterday morning. Some people had said that getting VIP was necessary for leaving the DR, and I can see why. The terminal itself was hot and crowded, BUT I have Priority Pass with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card, so I was able to get into the lounge without paying anything extra. We chose to go to the adults only one which is large, cool, and comfortable.

Our flight to leave was delayed for about 40 minutes which made my connection back to Austin QUITE tight. I HATE running through the airport, and I hate it even more when TSA people in Houston are rude about it, but it certainly didn’t ruin the trip, and I made it home safe and sound.

In the end, it was a great two days, and an easy relaxing trip. Would I return to Secrets Tides? I mean, if there were a great price – absolutely. The trip was good. It was my least favorite of the three Secrets I’ve been to. The food was marginal, the beach was excellent, the pools were fine, the service was great, the drinks were okay, the general layout and aesthetic were ho-hum, but impeccably kept. As for Dominican Republic vs Mexico- the trip is 2x as long, so it’s Mexico for me since everything else was so similar. Still, I’d like to try Cap Cana or one of the other resorts that people RAVE about…

My next trip is France (Paris, Normandy, Champagne… oh my…) in less than two months! EEEEEEK! and then Excellence Coral Playa Blanca in November… EEEEK again! Can’t wait for either and looking forward to whatever my NEXT get away is with Heather. We’re thinking St. Martin, Aruba, Jamaica??? Maybe someplace else new for another quick get away!