PLEASE NOTE: THIS REVIEW IS INTENDED TO PROMOTE SALES AS A TRAVEL ADVISOR, I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS IF YOU DECIDE THIS VACATION IS FOR YOU.

Last year when my husband & I visited Secrets Puerto Los Cabos for Pleasant Holidays Elite Experience, we loved the resort so much we decided to return for a long weekend to celebrate New Years Eve.  I'm not going to go into a long review of the resort since we were just there last year.  So please feel free to read my original review here : CABO UNSTOPPABLE 2014-Secrets Puerto Los Cabos & Fiesta Americana Los Cabos

But I do want to add a few things.  This time around we traveled incognito, in other words, the resort did not know that I was a Travel Professional.   Once we were checked in, we were then greeted by someone in the lobby who wanted to explain to us about our "coupons"- well I knew about the $200 resort credit coupons, so I brushed the guy off, thinking that I already had my coupons in my check-in packet.  I didn't want to get pulled into the "hard sell" to tour and listen to their Vacation Club pitch.   Just a caution to my clients- if you say "no" once, they do leave you alone, which is good.  Well, we found out that we didn't have the coupons once we got to our room and had to go get them.  The gal sat us down and proceeded to explain them and then asked us if we were interested in any tours while we were visiting (this is how they get you because if you say "yes"- then they tell you if you tour and sit through their presentation they'll give you xyz tour free).  We weren't interested and I told her that I was a Travel Professional and wasn't interested in a time share, she corrected me saying it was not a time share, so I said "Ok Vacation Club, same thing" -she didn't have a reply to that.

We found for us that the resort credit coupons were mostly useless.  We did book spa appointments, but the day we had our services they were offering a 30% discount and that was better than the $40 coupon and of course they were not combinable.  The $10 coupons towards a bottle of wine are easy to use, but we were quite fine with the glasses of wine that were already included with the "all-inclusive" resort.

Now we were there over New Years weekend and inquired about the festivities for New Years Eve.  We were told that they were having a special dinner/show in the ballroom and you had to reserve a table and buy a bottle of wine.  Once we met with the desk handling these arrangements, we discovered that it wasn't just any bottle of wine- these tables were selling for $200-$250 for that bottle of wine- minimum.  They were serving a fixed menu with steak & lobster and they were going to have a special show on the stage.  We decided to skip this party and dined at one of the regular restaurants and enjoyed the party out on the lawn that they had going from 9pm until 2am for all resort guests (including those at the expensive ballroom dinner)- we were happy with our choice.  I was a bit put off by the requirement to spend $200 on a bottle of wine to attend the show.  I understand that the ballroom can't accommodate everyone, but had they said you needed to buy a bottle off their wine list and pick what you wanted - anywhere from $40-$500+, that would have been better.  If you're at an all-inclusive resort, it should be just that- all-inclusive when it comes to dining and beverages...but looks like there is an exception to that rule and it happens with holidays!

We did get to dine in most of the restaurants this time around.  We dined at Portofino again, the Italian restaurant and once again had a fabulous meal.  We dined one night at Oceana, the seafood restaurant.  My husband had lobster, I had steak and both were very good- the steak was a bit better than the lobster.  We did buy a bottle of wine this night because in order to get the lobster you had to buy a bottle of wine for the most economical option (a bottle that was $80 or more).   WE also dined at El Patio Mexican restaurant and this was probably our most favorite, it was really good  and we both enjoyed our meals.   We had lunch or breakfast at the Market Cafe most days and had incredible service from Victor & Leonel.   So our overall dining experience was fabulous- great service and overall great food.

Our weather was not the best two of the days- a little too chilly for sunbathing, but we walked around, played games that we had brought, enjoyed the fresh air that was warmer than home and just relaxed.

The resort had an amazing fireworks show at midnight on New Years Eve, you felt like you could reach out and touch them.  We danced every other night in the disco and the DJ was excellent, playing a variety of different songs, took requests and played them relatively quickly- we had a fun time.  We made some new friends...Matt from Southern California and a nice couple from Montana- Scott & Velma.

It was a great way to welcome in 2016!