Secrets Playa Blanca Costa Mujeres vs. Excellence Playa Mujeres

At a glance

Who should book Secrets Playa Blanca

• Wedding groups and honeymooners who stay put. Three pools plus a Preferred Club pool, an outdoor spa that feels like a jungle, fire pits at night, and live music at Rendezvous every night.
• Groups who want a night out without leaving the resort. Desires is a music lounge with a DJ, a dance floor, and an outdoor fire pit, and it keeps the rest of the resort quiet.
• Pool people. Four large pools, two of them oceanfront infinity pools, plus 10 smaller pools for the swim-out suites. All ground floor rooms are swim-outs.
• Guests who like a newer property. It opened in 2024.

Skip it if you want to spend your days on excursions (most tours are a 35 to 40 minute drive, with boat tours to Isla Mujeres the exception), you want a party resort, or you are traveling with a younger group like a bachelorette party. Desires is fun at night, but this is a quiet resort.

Who should book Excellence Playa Mujeres

• Honeymooners and anniversary couples. An elevated, no-wristband resort with low-key nights.
• Beach lovers. A long, wide walking beach with blue-turquoise water that rarely gets sargassum.
• Active couples and friend trips. Tennis, pickleball, archery, rifle shooting, a bike tour, yoga, and a 3,500 square foot gym.
• Golfers. The resort is affiliated with Playa Mujeres Golf Club.

Skip it if you want a lively party resort, you want everything close together (the property is large, so some walks are longer), or you plan to spend most days on excursions, since it is not that close to many of them.

The upgrade question

Both resorts have a club category, and they feel different. Preferred Club at Playa Blanca adds a butler, a Preferred Club pool and beach bar, afternoon hors d'oeuvres, and Bali beds in the pool and beach area reserved for Preferred guests. Excellence Club adds a private beach area, a private lounge open 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, private pools that are heated in winter, fresh flowers and sparkling wine on arrival, and one hydrotherapy treatment per person. Ask me what each costs for your dates before you decide.

What you won't find on the resort website

At Secrets Playa Blanca:

• Mexican themed night is tucked way back by the theater. Great food, live music, and a cute setup. Don't skip it.
• The beach dunes and vegetation can block the view of the water from some spots.
• Bali beds start at $150 per day and they do sell out, so book ahead through the app or the concierge.
• Planning a wedding on the rooftop venue? It has no shade, so arrange umbrellas for a daytime event.
• Expect a timeshare pitch from Unlimited Vacation Club. A polite no works.
• The Preferred Club butler works more like a concierge and communicates over WhatsApp. For younger couples in Preferred Club, ask for building 2, since building 1 is much quieter.

At Excellence Playa Mujeres:

• Bali beds are first come, first served. The ones with a reserve sign can be held through the concierge for $100, which includes a bottle of sparkling wine.
• The Mexican Fiesta dinner runs Thursday nights.
• Each building has its own concierge desk on the first floor. Start there for spa reservations, room preferences, and questions.
• The rooms are in good shape but not new. The 2024 work was soft updates, not a full renovation.
• Dinner on the beach is $250 per couple, and the menus are in the app under Love and Memories.
• Download The Excellence Collection app for menus, dress codes, and the activity schedule. You can also browse the pillow menu and prebook spa services, with monthly specials in the app.

How to choose

Ask yourselves one question: do we want a night out on property, or a calm pace all week? If your group wants a music lounge after dinner and more pool variety, go Playa Blanca. If you want no wristbands, low-key nights, and the beach as the main event, go Excellence. The airport transfer is the same 45 minutes, so it will not break the tie.