Now Emerald Cancun

Beautiful resort just outside of the main strip of Cancun. Multiple pools, 2 swim up bars. Wonderful restaurants to fit all palates. The staff are very attentive and friendly. You can indulge in activities at poolside or just lie around and soak up the rays. This was one of the most enjoyable stays of all the UVC's we've visited.

Absolutely fantastic resort for activities. I loved taking aqua aerobics and playing volleyball and all the great activities they had an offer. Every member of the activities team was superb.

I had some very special dining experiences. Andrea at the Coco Café was so great, and always remembered how much I loved the banana bread. At blue water Nuneand David were wonderful and remembered me because I did go back a few times. At the Mexican restaurant the manager is so kind to guests and fun. Yuniel was a knowledgeable and very friendly server.

I appreciated Angel’s help at check-in. He checked me in last timI was here in January, and he was as fun and knowledgeable as he was the first time.

My husband and I traveled here from August 21st-28th, we are UVC Members and receive automatic Preferred benefits as a reference. We had a Preferred Deluxe Ocean View Room on the 6th floor of tower 3, and it was lovely. Beautiful view of the beach, the pools and activities, and music events in the evenings. I really appreciated how it wasn’t extremely cold inside in any restaurant or bar/lounge. The Spa is truly a tranquil experience and they pamper you. The location is literally a 10 minute ride from the airport, so perfect after travel. The beach, though it does have seaweed this time of year, it was still enjoyable and not a deal breaker for us at all. We will 1000% come back and refer anyone to this resort.

Here are the highlights and some areas of improvement from our stay:

SERVICE: We have traveled to multiple Secrets resorts, and prefer this category of resort as members. This resort was exceptional in the service area across the board. When the standard for Secrets is high (which means our expectations are high as well) when you have an experience elevated from that, it means so much.

Here are staff that stood out from general service areas: SEBASTIAN and GERARDO at the Bell Hop station. From first arrival to departure, Sebastian greeted us throughout our trip by name, and asked how we were, then took care of us when needed. ABRAHAM & MARTIN, the Preferred Pool concierge’s we’re the very best. They made you feel welcomed and cared for with genuine authenticity. AYLIN & CIELO at the Spa were excellent!

FOOD & BEVERAGE: Food is very important to my husband and I, however there are some concessions when you go to an All-Inclusive resort that you make. Though almost all our other Secrets experiences have been decent with the occasional meal that is memorable, this resort, again, exceeded. It was the exception to have a meal that was just decent. Additionally, every restaurant never felt like a "Resort" restaurant with elevated food, and even the food presentation was thoughtful.

Olio Restaurant: Preferred Breakfast was delicious, Lunch had great options, Dinner was next level. Pizza was legit!

El Patio: Not your regular “cater to foreigners” food that you can get at All-inclusive experiences. They prioritized Mexican ingredients and cultural dishes from across the Mexican states. This is what I want when I come to Mexico!

Bluewater: Lovely restaurant, with good offerings, however this was the only “just decent” experience we had. The ribeye was well seasoned and cooked properly, but on the thinner side and lacked wow and char. The Amuse Bouche offered was fantastic and our starters and dessert were delicious.

Himitsu: Hands down the very best, we went multiple times, Tempura Shrimp dish was addictive, and the sushi was fantastic.

Market Cafe: Buffet, I know, but the content to choose from was fresh and abundant. This became our go-to breakfast spot even though we had Preferred Breakfast access.

Sky Bar: Hands down the best cocktail bar and bartenders. Next level and all bartenders that served us were consistently excellent. The vibe was great and location view and atmosphere was perfect.

Here are staff that stood out from Food & Beverage areas: First and foremost we had an amazing experience at El Patio on our final night. The Deputy Food & Beverage manager (didn’t catch his name, sorry. He’s great!) came to our table and asked about our experience and gave us a run down on the philosophy and priorities of the F&B at this resort. This meant is much to know they truly are QC’ing and wanting to provided great F&B and not just feed the masses.

Preferred Pool: ANGEL & JULIAN were amazing bartenders, ANTELMO was the waiter to have, so kind and attentive. Desires: GIOVANNI was so great, not only a great waiter but it was nice to see him enjoys the music with the rest of us!

El Patio: RODRIGO & YUNIEL were great.

Olio: ESTEBAN was wonderful and greeted us so warmly when seeing him in the Hotel.

Market Cafe: We had CANDELARIO as our waiter most of the week and he was amazing, even as busy as these waiters are he excelled.

ENTERTAINMENT: The offerings were abundant during the day, but also not pushed by the entertainment staff. They engaged, but were respectful. Additionally, the evenings had a great mix of casual listening to karaoke, with so many live band options that were so good. We also really appreciated the Entertainment staff would ask for feedback at these evening events, another great QC act.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Within Preferred areas there were some great alcohol choices, but I feel there wasn’t “Top Shelf” as I would feel. What was great is the number of Tequila and Mezcal options (hey were in Mexico so we should have these!) but the others were lacking. Additional Bourbon and Gin would be great. (Woodford Reserve, Monkey Shoulder, Botanist or even Hendrick’s would be nice.) The drinks I had at the restaurants during dinner were very sub par, I stopped ordering them after a couple poor experiences. We did have one night where the fire alarm went of intermittently for like an hour at like 2am, not the fault of the staff in any way, I guess it was short in the electrical, however there was no apology or mention of it to guests.