If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD903.31), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Set off the Yucatán coast, on a paradise isle, all-inclusive stay (and we mean, all, from your tailored minibar to dining across seven eateries), Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets is a haven for over-18s only. But, there’s no need to act your age – this is kid-in-a-candy-store stuff in a more grown-up package, where you can ‘whee!’ your way down a waterslide, slam your way through tequila tastings, up the romance in a private hot tub, toast sundown from an overwater Bali bed, then do it all over again after a restorative spell in the spa’s ‘floatarium’. The overall ‘impression’ is very good indeed and attentive staff make caring for guests look like child’s play…
Please note, the hotel is working on its finishing touches so some images are CGI and the final result will be revealed soon…
Have that lie-in, get an extra lunch in, de-stress flight delays: check-out is loosely at noon, but extremely flexible. On arrival day, check-in is at 3pm, but again there's wiggle room should you arrive early.
Prices
Double rooms from £875.24 ($1,093), including tax at 21 per cent.
More details
Rates are all-inclusive, with meals, drinks, room service, most activities and entertainment, a bottle of tequila or rum on arrival, a bottle of sparkling wine and fresh fruit each day, afternoon tea, and one 20-minute massage.
Also
The hotel isn’t best suited to guests with reduced mobility, but the hotel has an elevator from the yachting station to the lobby and another to the rooms. There are two rooms with widened doorways and a step-free bathroom: a Junior Suite Double and Signature Junior Suite Double Ocean Front.
At the hotel
Beach, alfresco theatre, library, Bali beds and hammocks, hot tub, dive centre, concierge, shopping area, bikes and e-bikes to borrow (charges may apply), free laundry and dry-cleaning, currency exchange, and free WiFi. In rooms: butler (from 7am to 11pm), free minibar (refreshed twice a day), and housekeeping three times a day.
Our favourite rooms
The two Presidential Suites could easily fit a whole staff and security detail with over 3,000 square-feet of space. And the private pool is for when the suit and tie come off. The Paramount Suite is also capacious and has a hot tub, and you could easily lock yourself away in the two styles of honeymoon suite, but the oceanfront one just takes first place for its swinging day-bed on the terrace. Of the Junior Suites, we’d opt for one with a hot tub and ocean view – and you should too.
Poolside
Leave the laps till later – there’s a whole waterslide at your disposal here (and no children to hog it). The loopy four-storey one here takes you from the top of the resort and out over the beach before swooshing you into the ocean. The main pool has a freeform shape, stepped entrance and submerged sunloungers, and its infinity edge blurs the line between pool and ocean. And there’s water, water everywhere and a drop to drink at Sharks, the swim-up bar. Take in the view from the rooftop pool, enjoy a pre-dinner dip in the one in front of La Vista, frolic behind a waterfall at the cave pool, and wallow with your fellow guests at the 30-seat oceanfront hot tub.
Spa
The hotel is so set on de-stressing that you’re even eased into your spa session with one free 20-minute head, shoulder or back massage each. And once the robe’s on, relaxation ensues, whether you’re meditating with herbal tea; customising your treatment in the spa lab; hitting the hammam; being massaged, body wrapped and scrubbed, or having a facial with Natura Bissé products. You may wish to schedule time to complete the hydrotherapy circuit, unwind with a steam or sauna, or bob in the ocean-view Floatarium, which also has de-knotting jets. (Please note, spa services are at an extra charge). This 850sq m complex is the only spa on the island. There are cabins for couples, a beauty salon for finishing touches, and a fitness centre (open 6am to 9pm). There’s also a well-equipped gym, or you can have weights and yoga mats delivered to your room to participate in on-demand classes.
Packing tips
Beyond your usual holiday kit, you probably don’t need to bring anything – the hotel really means all-inclusive and there are handy extras in your room such as sleep masks, sun hats, beach bags and yoga mats. And, if you're missing any items of clothing or sandals, the on-site shop has a selection.
Also
There’s also an outdoor cinema for balmy movie nights, and if you don't want to be the one behind the camera all the time, ask on-site company Dream Art to take pictures and videos for posterity.
Pet‐friendly
One small dog (10kg or less) a room can stay for US$75 a night. They’ll get a bed, bowls, mat, toys, and waste bags. They must stay in designated areas, be leashed, supervised during room cleaning, and not left alone for more than two hours. See more pet-friendly hotels in Isla Mujeres.
Children
Sorry little Smiths, this one’s not for kids, with an over-18s policy in place.
Sustainability efforts
Impression Isla Mujeres is responsibly run, with solar cells to heat water, an on-site glass-bottling plant and drastically cut-down single-use plastics. They also work with the Saving our Sharks Foundation to protect sea life and support local fishing communities, and the artwork by local and Mexican artists (including Javier Una, César Menchaca, Andrés Reisinger and César López Negrete) was created as part of that initiative.
All restaurants have an ocean view, so there’s no missing out. And for enough blowing veils and sand-set lanterns to (tastefully) furnish an Eighties music vid, ask for a romantic beach set-up (for a charge).
Dress Code
There are four codes of casual wear to note, from ‘beach’ (hi Kens) and ‘pool’ to ‘casual elegance’, which is required at Unik, the Wildfire Grill, Spezia, and Sake.
Hotel restaurant
Buckle up (or maybe unbuckling will be required) – there are seven eateries to try here, and all dining is included. La Vista is for laidback Mexican meals; Mercado is for freshly fired pizzas poolside and to curb taco cravings; Sake is an elegant pan-Asian spot with teppanyaki theatrics; Spezia serves elegant Mediterranean fare (with Italian leanings); the Wildfire Grill is an upmarket surf ’n’ turf-er with a chef’s table experience; Unik the Kitchen is a grown-up rooftop hangout dabbling in tapas dishes and French-Peruvian flavours; and Cacao is a 24-hour pit stop for coffee, cakes and deli-snacking. Plus there are plentiful gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options, too.
Hotel bar
You’ll first sample Impression Isla Mujere’s luxurious style of living when you disembark the arrival boat and are greeted with drinks in the Yacht Lounge. And things only flow as smoothly as the free premium spirits from there – cocktails in the amber glow of lobby bar Isola? Colourful tropical drinks at beachy Manta? Signature sips at penthouse-level space the Top (where events are often held)? Laidback, soothingly soundtracked terrace drinking at the Temple? Free wine-tastings in Wildfire Grill’s well-stocked cellar? Waterside lounging at Hamaca? Tequila and mezcal shots? Don’t mind if we do… Unik’s lounge is well placed for sundowners and has cosy cushioned nooks and fireplaces, and make like the poolside bar Sharks’ name and swim up for drinks at a submerged perch.
Last orders
Timings vary. Cacao is open 24 hours and only La Vista opens from breakfast to dinner; while Mercado only opens for lunch, and Sake and Wildfire Grill just for dinner. The latest drink pours are at 11pm.
Room service
You’re well served from breakfast in bed to midnight feasting with free in-room dining round the clock. And minibars can be personalised to your tastes.
Isla Mujeres is a streak of green amid the dazzling blue of the Caribbean Sea, a short hop from Cancun. And Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets sits shoreside where the islet tapers to the south.
Planes
Fly into Cancun International, then hop in a taxi to Marina Hacienda del Mar (around a 30-minute drive). From there, hotel staff will sort out the rest of your journey.
Automobiles
You’re very unlikely to need a car, and the logistics of getting one to the island are challenging. The hotel has bikes to borrow and staff can help to arrange on-island transportation if needed.
Other
First impressions are decidedly good here: hotel staff will greet you at Marina Hacienda del Mar and take you to a 13-man catamaran – with a full bar and butler, no less – to glide you over from Cancun to the resort’s private dock (a 40-minute sail), where you’ll be whisked into a luxurious welcome lounge. Be sure to book your space more than 24 hours in advance. Or if you’re eager to start holidaying, request a speedboat (for an extra charge) to power over in around 20 minutes.
Worth getting out of bed for
The hotel’s home – small but impactful Isla Mujeres – is a microcosm of the Riviera Maya’s best bits. It’s just five miles long, but packs in ruins, the second largest coral reef in the region, 360 degrees of soft white-sand beaches, and tropical forests. Snorkel through psychedelic underwater gardens, or venture out on a deeper dive (there’s a PADI centre onsite where you can learn for a charge) to see the eerie sea-floor sculptures at Cancun Underwater Museum of Art (MUSA). Swim alongside whale sharks (from June to September) or those ‘snoozing’ at mysterious Sleeping Shark Cove, kayak on or zipline over Garrafon Park or borrow a hotel bike to cycle out to Punta Sur’s ecological park and mirador. And to the north there are the ruins of Ixchel, a temple dedicated to the Mayan moon goddess, and more recent Hacienda Mundaca, a mansion that alleged pirate Fermín Antonio Mundaca de Marechaja built to win the love of a local woman. But the hotel will keep you busy too: there’s a waterslide to zoom down, mixology and cookery classes to attend, dance sessions, coffee tastings, yoga and pilates classes, paddleboarding and kayaking, live music, artistic happenings, and good old-fashioned lazing, on a Bali bed, the beach or in the giant hot tub. And, for an extra charge you can explore the Yucatán coast, with day trips to Chichen Itza and Coba, Tulum, Xel-Há and Xcaret water parks. Visit the underground waterways of Rio Secreto, plus cenote-swimming, ATV-riding and various sail and scuba excursions. Guests also get discounted green fees at Puerto Cancun Golf Course, and you can take a romantic sunset ride on the resort’s boat twice a week (with more than 24 hours’ notice).
Local restaurants
You already have to choose between the resort’s seven restaurants – with all dining included, there’s no need to make that decision harder.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this want-for-nothing resort on a paradise isle in Quintana Roo, wrung out their swimwear and weaned themselves off cocktails, a full account of their indulgent break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets off the Yucatán’s coast…
‘All-inclusive’ is given an upscale reinvention at this accomplished fly-and-flop retreat across the bay from Cancun. At Impression Isla Mujeres by Secrets you can have your cake and eat it, washed down with a welcome bottle of rum and daily sparkling wine (plus premium spirits when you want them). And then you can dine expansively through seven eateries, and order as much room service as you have tray space. When you’re not eating or drinking, you might be swimming up to Sharks, the main pool’s submerged bar, lazing in a giant hot tub (suites have smaller private ones), or zipping your way down the hotel’s waterslide into the ocean. A quick refresh and we’re throwing in a tequila tasting for good measure, plus a sundown jaunt on the hotel’s own boat. A butler will tailor your minibar to your tastes, arrange spa treatments, visits to local beauty spots or dives to Cancun’s underwater art museum. This might be your (very good) first Impression, but it’s likely not your last.
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