Secrets Impression Isla Mujeres

Just spent 5 nights at Impressions Isla Mujeres. This is my 2nd AI in Mexico (the other was Secrets Akumal) and a few AI cruises. This is going to be a FULL review, so will most my TL;DR at the top if you don’t want to read the entire thing. Ultimately, I can’t say enough great things about this resort! TL;DR: Incredible location, getting there was the most unique experience that sets the tone for the entire trip, room is incredibly comfortable, the food is AMAZING across the board, and the service is simply unmatched. The staff is constantly looking for ways to make your experience better, and it shows. Daily activities give you plenty of options for things to do from wellness, to exercise, painting, tequila/mescal/wine tasting, cooking, you name it. If you’re a couple that wants a fun, relaxing stay, look no further. Have read some reviews saying the resort is “boring”, which wasn’t what I experienced at all - we had younger couples absolutely partying, older couples just relaxing on the beach, and everything in between. Full Review: Arrival: No surprise that Impressions Isla Mujeres is on Isla Mujeres, which means you need to get there by boat. Fortunately, the resort has their own catamaran service that takes you to/from the resort, weather permitting (if the weather is rough, you take the public Ultramar ferry to/from the resort, but the resort handles the changes for you and pays for your tickets and transfer from the ferry to the hotel. We had to take this option on the way home and while disappointing, was handled beautifully by the staff and I have no complaints). The catamaran runs every 2 hours, so you may have a wait time between when your airport transfer arrives at Hacienda Del Mar port and when you actually sail for Isla Mujeres, but that’s not a bad thing. The staff takes care of check-in for you at the dock while you wait and has food, drinks, anything you may need while you’re waiting for your arrival time. My wife and I got extremely lucky in that we had the arrival catamaran to ourselves, so we enjoyed some champagne while taking in all the incredible views on our way to Impressions. Resort/Location: I did not get a chance to explore Isla Mujeres as much as I would have liked, but the resort is on the south end of the island facing Cancun. Beautiful water all around, and they have a private dock for the catamarans as well as a private beach/deck area with tables and chairs/daybeds for lounging. The resort is smaller at 125 rooms, with most facing the front of the resort (those are oceanfront rooms, which I will get into more later). The resort manages occupancy so it’s not full (I can’t confirm this but fairly certain the resort was at 5% occupancy while we were there, I believe they manage to about 50-60% occupancy at peak times). The resort is more european style and goes straight up from the beach, which does mean a lot of steps until you arrive at the main lobby and can take elevators to your room. But otherwise, it’s not a TON of walking and impossible to get lost in the resort. The spa is lovely. I did not get any treatments but did a class in there. They have several restaurants I’ll talk about later. There are 5 pools, including a rooftop infinity pool and the main infinity pool. One of the pools is a heated jacuzzi, which is nice even on a hotter day. The rest of the pools are not heated. Clientele: Mostly couples anywhere from 20s to 50s, mainly 30s/40s. A couple of friend groups while we were there, a few Instagram influencers, and that’s it. Like I mentioned earlier, it was a fairly small group, which was nice because you could have a busier experience if you were with everyone else, or if you wanted quiet, go literally anywhere else and the place is almost all to yourself. Quite a few honeymooners. Pretty much everyone was there for a relaxing time, but there were a few of the younger couples who were there to party a bit. They might have been a little disappointed overall, but they did make their own fun and there were events like the silent disco that fit their vibe. The resort had no issue catering to the party vibe if that’s what you wanted. Vibe: Mostly somewhat chill and romantic, but fun. The staff is all about what YOU want, so let them know and if they can make it happen for you, they will. Staff: The staff at Impressions are what make the place special. The way I describe it is active service vs. passive service, meaning at most places if you ask for something, the staff make it happen. That’s also true at Impressions, but here, the staff are looking for ways to help you and make your experience special. To start, you will have two butlers, one for day service and one for nighttime service. Our butlers, Angel and Edgar, were absolutely INCREDIBLE. They checked in with us regularly, always ensured we had what we needed, and they understand that while you may not be there for a special occasion (though most people are), the stay itself is a special occasion, and they often did little things to make our experience magical. The bartenders are excellent and really want to make connections with you, learning what you like quickly and offering suggestions or just making sure you're never far from a fresh beverage. Special mention to Irving at Sharks, the swimup bar, who made our last full day there a really fun experience and had the whole pool laughing and having a great time. My wife and I did a catamaran shark swimming/snorkel cruise, and as it was benefitting the hotel foundation, most of the staff also attended, so we got to meet them, which made the rest of our trip special. If we saw anyone from the cruise, they made a point to come over, say hi, ask how things were going, and offer recommendations of things to do/see/try etc. It never felt intrusive, just a really genuine desire to make sure our stay was unforgettable - they hit the mark. The hotel staff consistently ask for feedback and if you provide any, they take it seriously. Lastly, I have to give a special shoutout to Rebecca, the head of the events team. She also leads a lot of the classes/events that my wife and I did - the bike tour, foam rolling, sound meditation, skin care lab, and we built a real connection with her in just a few days. She is a uniquely positive and genuine person who really wants to connect with everyone she meets, and she really takes Impressions Isla Mujeres to a level beyond what you’ll find at other resorts. Activities: One thing I don’t see mentioned enough are the activities that the resort puts on. They have a full schedule of things to do from yoga, meditation, stretching, painting, skin care classes, mezcal/tequila/wine tasting, cooking with the head chef, learning about the shark foundation, kayaks, paddleboards, snorkeling, biking, spin classes, you name it. All of these (with the exception of the sunset/catamaran cruises) are included and I highly recommend taking advantage of them. They’re great experiences and the staff again really go the extra mile to make them fun and tailored to each person. Nothing wrong with spending your whole day at the pool or the beach, but if you want to break that up at all, use what the resort gives you. You will not be disappointed. The snorkeling/paddleboarding/kayaks are always available, weather permitting, so if you miss one of the guided activities you can always head out on your own or request a guide for a trip whenever you’d like. Beach: The beach area at Impressions is great - it’s their own beach with little to no seaweed, being on the island. They have a large deck area with daybeds, loungers, and cabanas, all first come first served (not once were we unable to get a spot on the deck if we wanted one). There are also cabanas directly on the sand, if that’s something you want. The service at the beach is fantastic for both food and drinks, very attentive and all of the food delivered is fresh and hot. The staff will work with you to move umbrellas, chairs, whatever you need to get as much or as little sun as you desire. We spent most of our lounging time here, with the exception being when it got windy and the umbrellas couldn’t be opened, then we headed to the main pool with swim up bar to get some more shade and relaxation. Food: In a word, phenomenal. There are six restaurants: Spezia (Italian), Wildfire (Steakhouse), Unik (mediterranean/seafood), Sake (Asian/Teppanyaki), La Vista (Mexican) and Mercado Grill (open for lunch only, “delivers” to the entire resort). The only restaurant we missed for dinner was La Vista, and that’s because we had a special mexican style dinner with the resort’s head chef as part of an event we did. The food was great everywhere, with our top standouts being Spezia and Wildfire. Food/service/drinks at both were outstanding in all aspects. We did not do the Teppanyaki/Hibachi table at Sake, but others raved about the experience. The a la carte menu at Sake was good, but that’s the only place the service was a little off. It was also our first night, so could have been an issue with fatigue after a long travel day. Unik was interesting - the food was good, but the meal just didn’t make it into the top for us. Breakfast for us was at Unik every day and there’s a reason why - the menu is delicious, the view is unmatched from the rooftop, and the staff are on it. Creme Brulee oatmeal, chilaquiles, the Island Ranch, and the healthy omelet were favorites. My only critique of the food experience would be the menus - describing sizes of things outside of grams i.e. number of rolls for sushi per order, etc., would be helpful to ensure you’re ordering enough and not too much food. Adding that to the menu or having the staff be more outgoing with that information would likely be helpful. Rooms: We booked the lowest room category, the jungle/garden view room, and were upgraded to an ocean view room, which was lovely. The room itself was a great size, comfortable, and we enjoyed everything about it. However, one thing to note - most of what you see on Instagram/youtube reviews are Ocean Front rooms, not ocean view - oceanview is facing the backside of the hotel and the island, which honestly we liked just to see a different perspective than what you see at the pool/beach/restaurants, but that’s just us. Just something to be aware of when you’re booking. Our room did not have a balcony hot tub but again, not something we felt we needed. We were offered an upgrade to oceanfront, but for the price, felt it was not worth it. The rooms are fully stocked and stay stocked throughout your trip, and you can always request things you need from housekeeping and/or your butler. Housekeeping did a fantastic job keeping our room nice and clean throughout our stay. Nightlife: Depending on what you’re looking for, this may be the area of Impressions Isla Mujeres that lets people down, but we honestly enjoyed it. They had shows/activities every night, ranging from Karaoke, Silent Disco (super fun), a tarot reading experience with live music, a fire show with live music, and DJ sets. While we didn’t get to everything, each show/event we went to felt like a nicely thought out experience and again, the staff made it great. You can also really make it your vibe - at the silent disco there were other guests PARTYING, we were also partying but not on their level, and there were some people just chilling with the music on having a drink on the rooftop. All are welcomed. I compare this to Secrets Akumal which while it does have a nightclub, the other events and shows just didn’t feel as well done or were incredibly full/busy. Overall: 5 out of 5 stars. The critiques I have (food menus, doors shutting loudly) are minor and the positives are fantastic. This is THE place for a couple to spend time together, and I can’t recommend it enough. The food, the staff, the service will all have you coming back for more. The last positive thing I’ll say is that the management staff will come around and ask for feedback - and they want it. They’re genuinely asking how to make their resort better, and it shows. I honestly feel like if we had negative feedback during our stay, the staff would have done something about it as quickly as possible. Fortunately, we didn’t, but if you do have critiques, the staff welcome it as they always want to get better.

A quick 4 day gateway from cold Toronto to warm and beautiful Isla Mujeres. Our butlers Omar and Mose treated us really well. Introduced us to all the amenities and activities at the resort and made our experience smoothly booking the restaurants and questions answered. Love the view and experience!

Mose and Omar were incredible!! They made sure our trip was memorable and as relaxing as possible. They went above and beyond by helping with reservations, scheduling activities and even made sure we got a special class we were looking forward to going to. This hotel is one of a kind and a must visit for couples seeking an escape from reality and want a true luxury experience from the second they pick you up and whisk you away to paradise on the catamaran you feel like you are royalty.

Clean resort very attention to detail will be coming back as a yearly trip. Our butler service was very attentive to our wants needs and making them a reality. We had Omar and Mose they both were super awesome!!!! Would recommend to family and friends.

Best staff we have ever been served by. Omar and Moses were amazing butlers who were there for anything we could ever ask! Truly beautiful and again the staff was second to none. Food was good but maybe could use a few more basic food options. Sounds crazy but sometimes I would be good with a plain hotdog. Really no reason to complain about anything at this resort.