Secrets Tulum

We arrived at Secrets Tulum about 11:30 and checked in. Our room wasn't ready but we were prepared for that. We had worn out swimming costumes and were going to head to the Secrets Tulum Beach Club !! Unlike most all inclusive resorts, this one isn't located at a beach. So instead they have a beach club about five miles away and use a shuttle to take you there. We dropped off our luggage with the bellman and got on the shuttle.  

The beach club had a nice setup with lots of comfortable seating under shade-producing palms. 

They had a small restaurant and another bar where you could order food. We had some snacks of pizza and wings. Nothing more Mexican than that!! After about an hour at the beach, we took the next shuttle back to the hotel. We had been told our room should be ready by 1:30 but it wasn't. So we headed to one of the poolside restaurants called The Grotto.

 Angie had lobster and caviar flatbread. I had lobster Mac and cheese. Both were pretty decent. 

We also did a bit of exploring around the resort. While this resort isn't on the beach, the designers didn't let that stop them from including sand. And I mean sand everywhere!! The lobby has seating near reception and the Rendezvous lobby bar. And the seats and tables are essentially in sand pits. The Edgewater pool bar, which is in the middle of three pools is on its own island of sand. The chairs around all the pools are in sand. To access the Halftime Sports Bar you have to walk through sand. If you want to rinse your feet or sandals at the foot wash you have to walk through sand. It's everywhere!! I can't imagine why they thought this was a good idea. Make sure you're subscribed to Angie's FB page Trips with Angie since she'll have a full tour coming soon.

We eventually got our room and did a little more exploring of the pools. They have small waterways that connect some of them. That's one way to avoid the sand - temporarily. And all the pool areas are built into and around natural rock formations. So it's definitely got an authentic Tulum vibe. As it got close to sunset we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. No reservations are required at this resort.

 We were headed to Olio which is their Mediterranean restaurant. We had a few starters of Greek Salad, Tuna Tartar and falafel. The salad had a delicious feta cheese that really brought it together since the dressing needed a bit more vinegar. The falafel had great flavor but just weren't crispy. They were more like the texture of a Howard Johnson's croquette. Children of the 1970's might know what I am talking about. The two highlights of the meal were Moroccan stuffed eggplant and Moroccan chermoula fish. The eggplant had a delicious mixture of pumpkin, couscous, tomato and pine nuts along with a cilantro yogurt sauce. 

 The dish was a whole roasted fish that had been stuffed with chermoula.

 I didn't know what this was so I had to look it up. It's similar to the consistency of a chutney, just with warm Moroccan spices of cumin, garlic and coriander. I think it may have had some paprika and saffron as well. Plus some chilis for a bit of heat. Both wonderful dishes!! No dessert.

Today we plan to get some breakfast at the Bluewater Grill. Followed by a little pool time. We'll check out at noon. There is also another restaurant called Veranda that we want to try. Our transfer won't be here until three when we'll head one hour north to Playa del Carmen where we are staying three nights at the Hilton Playa del Carmen.