Secluded Paradise at the Secrets St. Martin Resort – A Hotel Review

Last Updated on June 17, 2022

The Secrets St. Martin Resort & Spa is located in the secluded bay of Anse Marcel on the northern side of Saint Martin. The Secrets St. Martin Resort is the perfect choice for someone looking to kick back and relax at an adults only all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. Whether you prefer the pool or the beach, Secrets St. Martin has you covered with a drink at hand.

Secrets St Martin Pool

We spent 5 days here and put together this Secrets St. Martin review to help you decide where to stay when visiting beautiful St. Martin! If you’re looking to perfect your Instagram game while in Saint Martin, we drove all over the island during our stay to find the Top 10 Instagrammable Spots in Saint Martin, just for you.

Disclaimer:  Our stay at the Secrets St. Martin Resort was provided courtesy of CheapCaribbean.com. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and as always, all our opinions on this Secrets St. Martin review and what to do are our own. Please note that some of the links in the below article are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, we earn a commission if you make a purchase. Click here for the full disclosure statement. Thank you for supporting the businesses that support us!

Secrets St. Martin Location

The Secrets St. Martin Resort & Spa is located on the French side of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. The island is divided between the northern French side, Saint-Martin, and the southern Dutch side, Sint Maarten. The resort is a 30 to 45 minute drive from Princess Juliana International Airport, located on the Dutch side, which most guests will arrive at. Alternatively, there is the regional Grand Case Airport with regional flight connections, which is only a 10 minute drive from the Secrets St. Martin.

The Secrets St. Martin Resort is a popular option with those booking vacation packages to St. Martin, and oftentimes transportation to and from the airport is included or is an optional extra.

Secrets St Martin Infinity Pool

Taxis are also available at Princess Juliana Airport for a set rate of $35 USD to the Secrets Resort, although there are additional charges for more than 2 passengers and for overnight hours. If you don’t have a private transportation organized, a rental car is a great option. All major brands are located at Princess Juliana International Airport, and having a rental car in St. Martin is a great way to explore the whole island.  RentalCars.com is a great site to use to compare all of the different rental cars available to find the best deal. Private self-parking is complimentary at the Secrets St. Martin Resort.

Secrets St. Martin Arrival

When arriving at the Secrets St. Martin, you will first have a glimpse of the resort and the stunning bay of Anse Marcel from the top of the hill before you make the steep drive down to the small village of the same name. The Secrets St. Martin has a large wrap-around driveway and tropical gardens.

Secrets St Martin Entrance

The open-air lobby is beautifully designed with bright colors and a distinctly Caribbean feel. No doubt you’ll already feel like you’re on vacation before you even reach your room. You’ll be greeted and checked-in with a welcome drink, and provided with an explanation of the features of the resort, daily activities, and available restaurants.

Secrets St Martin Lobby

As we arrived during COVID-19 times, safety precautions were in place such as hand sanitizers and staff were wearing face masks throughout our entire stay, as were most guests except when at the pool or dining at a restaurant.

Check-in was completed quickly and easily, and we were shortly accompanied to our room with our luggage.

Secrets St. Martin Rooms

The Secrets St. Martin Resort has a large number of types of suites available, depending on your wants and needs. There are two larger 3-story buildings that stretch from either side of the lobby towards to the ocean. Additionally, there are a handful of smaller 2-story buildings further on the right-hand side of the resort. Depending on which area and type of suite you are in, you might have a garden view, mountain view, or swim out suite.

Secrets St Martin Swim Out

During our time at the Secrets St. Martin, we stayed in a Preferred Club Junior Suite Marina Swim Out, which was located at the quieter far right-hand side of the resort. The room has a fresh Caribbean design with clean lines and modern touches. The entrance area had a large sitting area, table and chairs, and a desk to work at.

Secrets St Martin Suite

Further back was the mini-bar and bathroom, before reaching the bedroom with a large glass sliding door and private terrace with a swim out pool. Behind the pool was a mountain view, which we enjoyed each morning while sipping our morning coffee.

Secrets St Martin Bedroom

As the Secrets St. Martin Resort is all-inclusive, the minibar is restocked daily with cold alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as a few snacks, water, and coffee for the in-room Nespresso machine.

Secrets St. Martin Amenities

The Secrets St. Martin Resort is the perfect size of not being too big, but big enough that you don’t feel cramped, and can always find an area of the resort to yourself.

In the main lobby you will find a small gift shop and convenience store, as well as agents to help you book various activities, a rental car agent, and the Club Lounge. Just outside the lobby you’ll be greeted with a large open area with seating and the Rendezvous Lobby Bar. To the left-hand side you will find the CoCo Café, and the left wing of suites.

Heading towards the water is a palm-tree lined pathway which will pass a number of other restaurants on the right, including the main restaurant Market Café, before reaching the main pool area. The main pool is huge, so large in fact that it is the largest infinity pool in the Western Caribbean!

Secrets St Martin Pool

There pool area has plenty of lounge chairs spread out with umbrellas. Additionally, there is the Manatees swim-up bar Barefoot Grill for snacks during the day. The pool features a number of activities throughout the day such as pool volleyball games, exercise bikes in the water, and a full size chess board!

Secrets St Martin Chess Board

Near the pool area is a covered area for table tennis, which was extremely popular during our stay. Last but not least, is the beautiful beach of Anse Marcel. As the resort is located in a secluded bay, the beach area does not stretch on for miles, but it spans the full resort and more, and also has beautiful views of the hills on both sides of the bay. The water is clear and great for swimming, and if you’re patient you are likely to spot some turtles swimming in the bay.

Secrets St Martin Beach

Near the beach you will find more restaurants, as well as the exercise gym for those looking to stay in shape while on vacation. There is also a spa onsite if you you’re looking for a little bit of extra pampering during your stay at the Secrets St. Martin Resort.

Secrets St. Martin Dining

The Secrets St. Martin Resort features an all-inclusive plan for all guests, meaning that you can eat and drink as much as you like at all of the bars and restaurants on property. For an additional cost, they also offer their Private Wine Cellar or their Romantic Dining Experience.

Secrets St Martin Romantic Dinner

The main restaurant which is open every day for breakfast and lunch buffet is the Market Café. The breakfast buffet offered a variety of international cuisine options, some local Caribbean choices, and also included a fresh omelet station. The lunch buffet had even more choices, featuring rotating items.

Secrets St Martin Sushi Buffet
Secrets St Martin Pizza Buffet
Secrets St Martin Buffet
Secrets St Martin Buffet Dessert

For dinner, there are multiple dining options, though not all restaurants are open each night. Sometimes the Market Café is open for dinner, but you also have the option of Himitsu for Pan-Asian cuisine. Additionally, located right on the beach with fantastic views, Olio features Mediterranean-Caribbean cuisine and Portofino contemporary Italian cuisine. Dining here was our favorite, due to the impressive views towards the ocean.

The Coco Café is the place to go for small snacks, pastries, and coffee or tea anytime of day. We frequented the CoCo Café for our coffee fix, and also enjoyed the French pastries, which were deliciously reheated each time. The Rendezvous Lobby Bar was a popular place every night before and after dinner, and is a great place to meet other guests staying at the resort.

Secrets St Martin Coffee Cafe
Secrets St Martin Lobby Bar

Secrets St. Martin Conclusion

The Secrets St. Martin Resort is a popular adults-only resort in Saint Martin, perfect for anyone looking for the all-inclusive experience on this beautiful Caribbean island. The resort offers swim out suites, a huge infinity pool, and multiple bars and restaurants. Check out the Secrets St. Martin for your next vacation to Saint Martin.

Check availability at the Secrets St. Martin Resort for your vacation!

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Secrets St Martin Resort Review
Secrets St Martin Resort Review

8 Comments:

  1. Hi. In your opinion do I need to tip additional at this all inclusive resort? If so, what do you recommend.

    Thank you,
    Lisa

    • Hi Lisa, that’s a great question! Generally speaking, tipping is supposed to be included in all-inclusive resorts, but many people still leave the odd tip, especially for good service. We would generally tip a bartender a few dollars if we sit and have a few drinks and enjoyed the service, tip the room attendant when we see them, and tip the bellboy when they help with bags. For meals we only tip if we receive really good service. Of course, everyone has their own preferences with what they are comfortable with and accustomed to. We recommend bringing some small USD cash and do what feels right or what you see other guests doing. Hope that helps!

  2. I imagine this hotel was not part of Hyatt yet when you did the review. If it was, it would be helpful to know how Globalists, the upper tier of Hyatt’s program, are treated in regards to benefits for the tier status. Like late check out, room upgrades, etc. there is very little information for these new inclusive resorts Hyatt has taken on this year.

    • Hi Stevie, thanks for your comment! You are correct in that when we visited there wasn’t any Hyatt branding or other related information available as it was still very fresh. I would suggest reaching out to the hotel directly to see what they offer for Hyatt elites. Thanks!

  3. Hi

    we are planning our vacations for next year, Does the resort have in pool bar? or bar nearby to the pool, I didn’t see a bar on pictures, also Does it have nightlife, like live music?

    • Hi Jose, thank you for your comment! The Secrets St. Martin does have a bar right at the pool, which you can access from the pool area or as a swim-up bar from within the pool. There is also a small snack hut located in the pool area. As for nightlife, our visit was still very much during COVID and they did not have live music at that time. I’m not sure if they have since brought it back.

  4. My husband and I are going here in a few days!

    I’m mad at myself for reading all the horrible reviews this morning!

    Can you reassure me that it’s or as bad as most reviews on google??

    Thanks!

    • Hi Angela, I haven’t read any of the reviews of the Secrets St. Martin recently, so there is a chance that something has changed since we were there, but we enjoyed our stay. I think it is all about expectations, it is definitely not the Four Seasons or any other higher-end resort, but also it doesn’t have that price tag. Everyone we met seemed to be really enjoying their time, and the staff was all very friendly. If it is not 100% to your liking, there is a rental car desk onsite, and it was easy for us to rent a car and explore the island! I hope that you enjoy your vacation!

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