Ratings based on 70 Verified Reviews
4.5 Room cleanliness
4.3 Service & staff
4.4 Room comfort
4.3 Hotel condition
Expedia Verified Reviews
by A verified traveler
Posted 7 Jul 2018
by A verified traveler
Stay Away
Posted 19 Apr 2018When we arrived at the hotel, the whole site smelled of sewage. The restaurant area, the grounds, the pool area. When we asked why they said the pipes had broke. But when we tried to get our monies back and leave there was no manager at the hotel. The desk person said the manager lives in Mexico. When even Expedia tried to get in touch with the hotel to get a refund for us they coudln't get an answer.
Recommended
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from Belize
Private & Secluded....exactly what we needed.
Posted 18 Feb 2018We absolutely enjoyed our stay at El Secreto. The private pool and bedding was the icing on the cake! Estel was amazing! We will most definitely return.
Recommended
for Couplesby A verified traveler from Cheshire, CT
Total relaxation in an idyllic setting.
Posted 3 Feb 2018
Pros: It's quiet and it's beauty.
Location: As noted, it is remote and quiet. Various activities - snorkeling, SCUBA, tours - can be booked, but most involve long boat rides.
El Secreto is a tiny gem of a hotel, with 13 beautiful cabins on a lovely site. Ours was around a lagoon and others are on the beach. The service was outstanding and the food in the restaurant was excellent and varied.
The hotel is on the northern end of the island.San Pedro is 30 minutes away by boat or 45 minutes by golf cart along a very bad road. The nearest restaurant is a mile away, so you will eat nearly all your meals there, which can be expensive. We spent about $140/day for two, without a major bar tab.
Estell, the manager, is a gem - witty, helpful and charming.
Rather than spend a full week here, I recommend staying on the mainland or in San Pedro for your adventures and coming here after to chill out for a few days.
Perfect for couples; NOT for children.
Recommended
for Couplesby A verified traveler from Peterborough ON
Perfect place to get away from it all
Posted 22 Nov 2017
Pros: The facilities, the location, the staff, the rooms, the food.
Cons: We struggled with getting our hot tub turned on. We requested it every afternoon and only one night was it actually turned on.
Location: We were 11 miles from San Pedro, so not a lot to do nearby. We went into town to arrange diving, trips to the mainland. Location was perfect!!
My husband and I went to El Secreto for our one year anniversary. The hotel is stunning, and extremely private. We felt like we had the entire resort to ourselves. The staff were very attentive, but stayed in the background until you needed them. The grounds were stunning!! Every angle was like a post card. I had pretty high expectations but was very happily surprised. There were a few minor issues, we had trouble getting our hot tub turned on, out of the 7 nights we were there it was only turned on once, although we requested it every afternoon. Because of the time of year we went, the sand flies were quite bad (after the rainy season). The hotel did the best they could, and provided bug spray in all the rooms. In another couple of weeks they should be gone.
We were looking for a place that we could escape the world, and found it at El Secreto. We still participated in the activities that we wanted to, but enjoyed the peace and quiet the most!
We will definitely be back, and will highly recommend it to others we know who are thinking about Belize and Ambergris Caye as an option for a get away.
Comment from Hotel Management
7 Dec 2017 by Pabell, Hotel Management
Dear Dianne,
Thank you for taking the time to review El Secreto. Your feedback is quite important for us in order to improve our services and make our guest live a unique experience.
We hope to be the host on your next visit to San Pedro.
Kind Regards
by ELIAS
Amazing getaway
Posted 15 Nov 2017 on HotelsAmazing getaway
Comment from Hotel Management
7 Dec 2017
Dear Elias,
Thank you for your time to review El Secreto. We are so glad you enjoyed our little piece of Paradise...
We look forward to welcoming you again soon!
Warm regards
Pabell
by A verified traveler from San Diego
Poor experience but quick response & refund. Bats
Posted 20 Jun 2017
Cons: Construction of the villas can be improved in order to make it impossible for critters / bats to get in
Location: El Secreto is remote and secluded. There is nothing to do nearby. You need to go to San Pedro for bars / restaurants / nightlife (1hour by golf cart)
El Secreto is located in a beautiful, remote spot on Ambergris Caye. If you're not familiar with the layout of the caye, be aware that in order to get to El Secreto from San Pedro, you need to take a 30-min water taxi up the coast to reach the El Secreto dock. There is no road that goes there from town.
The villas are nice and spacious. We arrived in the afternoon and intended to stay for two nights. We got to our villa and thought - why is the thatched palm frond roof so thin? We could literally see cracks of daylight through it. What do they do when it rains?? We figured that it isn't a huge concern since there was no rain in the forecast while we were there. We enjoyed the hot tub, had dinner and went to bed.
Around 4:30am, we woke up to the sound of loud rustling inside our villa. I switched on a light to find a bat flying around inside our bedroom! It was bumping into the ceiling, presumably trying to get out. The bat finally found a crack in the ceiling and left. We packed up our things and checked out early that morning.
The person at the front desk did not appear surprised at our experience. To us it seemed like they already knew that they had a bat problem. Despite the bad experience, El Secreto was quick to arrange a boat to take us back to San Pedro for free, and they were also quick to grant my refund request for both nights. We would love to recommend this resort, but until they fix their pest / bat problem, we can not honestly recommend staying here.
Recommended
for Everyoneby A verified traveler
Nice property
Posted 30 May 2017Great stay overall, staff was excellent very helpfull always and the property is ver nice
Comment from Hotel Management
30 May 2017 by Rob, Hotel Management
Thank you for your review. We are pleased to hear you had a great stay with us! Hope we can welcome you again in the future!
by Jennifer
DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL!!!!
Posted 23 Mar 2017 on HotelsThe staff that picked us up from the airport was friendly. The staff met us at the dock to welcome us to the hotel, but it was downhill from there. The restaurant was mediocre, there was one other person in the reastaurant but it took a very long time to get our food, which was extremely overpriced. The room upon first glance was ok, but quickly realized that coffee cups were flilthy, there weren't adequate toteltries and the hot tub was cold. Those items were addressed by the staff. After settling in we encountered a bat flying in our room. We contacted the front desk, and they were not very quick to respond. They eventually caught the bat and removed it from our room. After waiting for another villa to be cleaned, they moved us in the middle of the night. After a long day of traveling and the bat encounter I was ready for a good night sleep, as soon as the lights went out in the new villa again the bat problem. After bringing this to the managements attention, a very delayed response, we checked out and moved to another hotel. They did not refund our money, and said that it was our problem. The bottom line is, the hotel is not well-maintained, in addition to the bat problem, the overall condition of the hotel is poor. The onsite management is not equipped to handle situations that require refunding money to guest. I waited 2 1/2 hours for response from the corporate office that ultimately said sorry we're going to keep your money!
Comment from Hotel Management
19 May 2017
Dear Jennifer,
Thank you for your review and we will definitely use your review as an enhancement to avoid the same experience to our future guests as this is not what we offer.
Best,
Guests Services
by A verified traveler
Great location but "rip off" for food
Posted 13 Feb 2017
Pros: Beach, Stuff, and location
Cons: Amenities and Service in the hotel restaurant
Location: When one does not mind the dump at the beaches - a run along the beach is great! Additional - there is a little bar (El Norte) 1mi away from the hotel
The El Secreto is located at a great beach - just don't check 50m left/right from the hotel beach as it starts to be a dump.
The stuff is friendly and helps in supporting a pleasurable stay.
Due to the location a trip to San Pedro (or the next restaurant) is rather a nightmare and therefore: only the option for food and drinks at El Secreto is available. El Secreto does provide food but the price is (allow me to write) a rip off as the quality as well as the service is so lala. Additional: changes to a menu normally end in a "no" - which is far away from customer friendly.
With that written: location and stuff great - amenities improvement highly appreciated!
