All-Inclusive Luxury Resort
When it came down to choosing our destination wedding, we fell in LOVE with Secrets Wild Orchid in Jamaica and that was before we even stayed at the property. From the pictures and reviews we read online it looked absolutely lovely. You can never be to sure until you experience it for yourself. But once we arrived at the Secrets Resort for our December destination wedding, we were in heaven! This resort is just to die for! From the gorgeous beaches to the phenomenal service, there was no better way to spend our first week as husband and wife.
Secrets Wild Orchid is an all-inclusive luxury resort located in Montego Bay, Jamaica. There is a sister property, Secrets St. James, which is directly next door to Wild Orchid. They are very similar besides the decor, but you can use both of the amenities at each resort, if you book either resort. In fact, once you are on the property it just feels like it is one giant resort together. Wild Orchid is closer to the restaurants and the nightlife. No matter which resort you book, you basically get a 2 for 1 with both of these resorts together.
The Resort
When we got to the airport, we had a private driver arranged for us through Amstar. They were great and friendly! Once we arrived at the resort, we entered through a gated entrance to what looks like PARADISE. The bellman greeted us with a smile, took our bags, and walked us to the lobby, where there was champagne waiting for us! This couldn’t have been a better start to our stay at the Secrets Resort. The check-in did take a little bit, but it was a busy time for everyone to be checking in. Plus, we had our champagne so we had no worries!
The Rooms
We were put in room 2309, which had a great oceanfront view. The view was just gorgeous! The room is very spacious, with a balcony, giant king bed, king bathtub, and stocked mini bar…and a great mini-bar attendant Devroe Scott, who basically bent over backwards to make sure we had everything we needed! He greeted us at our room and immediately told us that if we needed anything to let us know! He was so friendly and was so attentive with everything we needed! Every night we had turndown service, which was a very special way to be treated like royalty during our stay. Even on the night of our wedding, they decorated our room with rose petals on the floor and in the bathtub, and folded our towels made into hearts. A very romantic start of our marriage!
Unlimited Luxury
There are some “all-inclusive” resorts out there that aren’t actually ALL included! The Secrets Resorts is not one of them. They pride themselves on unlimited luxury meaning literally everything is already included in the price. All international and domestic top-shelf drinks, all taxes and gratuities , 24-hour room service, pool and beach wait service, daily refreshed mini-bar (including beer), and more! You really don’t have to worry about a thing once you arrive at the resort.
Preferred Club
There is a step-up from the “regular” rooms at the resort, which is the “preferred club”. Each side of the resort has their own preferred club, which has a fancier lobby with a private concierge and a club lounge with a full bar that is stocked all the time. Two days after our wedding, once all of our guests had returned home, they upgraded us to the preferred side (another awesome perk of this great resort) to room 1321. I didn’t think it was possible, but the view was even better than the first room! The preferred beach was much quieter-which was definitely a nice change of pace after all the wedding festivities with our guests. The preferred lounge always had snacks, coffee, and a bar including top shelf liquor. If you are someone who likes the peace and quiet, the preferred club is definitely worth it for you!
Restaurants and Bars
The food at Secrets was great! There were 9 different restaurants, including French, Jamaican, Italian, and Pan-Asian cuisines. Our favorite was the Pan-Asian restaurant Himitsu, where the chefs cook in front of you on the teppanyaki grill . We were happy with every restaurant we ate at, and had no complaints about the food, even the breakfast buffet had great food! The staff at all the restaurants were great as well, super nice and friendly! The jerk chicken cart came around everyday from 12-2, so if you are on the resort at lunchtime make sure you get some jerk chicken! With 9 restaurants on the resort there are plenty of options. But if you don’t want to leave your room, you can order room service anytime of the day, as it’s available 24 hours a day. This definitely came in handy! With 9 bars and lounges including 2 swim-up bars (one at each side of the resort), you won’t have to walk to far to get a drink. If you are at the beach, the waitresses will come around and bring your drink to you. No wonder it was so hard leaving after 10 days, they really treat you right!
Beach and Pools
The beach at Secrets is fine, white sand, that looks out onto the clear turquoise water. Coming from the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean water is just so beautiful! The resort doesn’t share the beach with any other properties, so it is quiet and secluded. There were plenty of activities going on during the day in the pool. There were also games such as corn hole and pingpong outside of the pool area. We never felt like the pools or beach were too crowded. Even though we had 20 of our family and friends there with us for half of the time, the resort is big enough to go off on your own to get some quiet time. If you are feeling super lucky, book yourself a swim-out room and you can swim from the door of your hotel room to the pool!
Weddings and Honeymoons
Besides the luxury and hospitality of the staff at the resort, this is the perfect place to celebrate your wedding or honeymoon. We ended up doing both and it was absolutely perfect! Our wedding coordinator, Simone, was incredible! She was easy to work with and did a great job setting everything up. The wedding was perfect! Our ceremony was right on the beach with a beautiful sunset. They truly went above and beyond to make sure we had a great wedding. The resort has great packages for all price points, and everything was so beautiful! They really treat you like a King and Queen while you are here celebrating! We saw many weddings or vow renewals throughout our time at the resort.
Tours Off the Resort
As much as we really didn’t want to leave the resort because we were enjoying ourselves so much, we wanted to see what the rest of the island had to offer. The island is gorgeous and we highly recommend branching off the resort. We took an all-day tour that included jumping from a rope swing at YS Falls, taking a boat tour with crocodiles in the Black River, and cliff jumping at Ricks Cafe in Negril. It was such a fun day to experience Jamaica and eat local food.
Weather
To us (Oregonians) there is no bad time to visit Jamaica. July is the hottest month with an average of 83 degrees, and January is the “coldest” with an average of a blistering 76 degrees. When we visited in December, it was about 80-85 everyday, a little rain here and there, but nothing to make you run undercover! It is a tropical place, so there may be rain but never long periods of rain fall. It is considered hurricane season in Jamaica from June-November.
I cannot say enough great things about this resort! The beach was gorgeous and the grounds were always clean. Every morning, the grounds crew was up early tidying up. The staff was incredible: everyone was so friendly, welcoming us “home”, and always asking if we needed anything else. The staff really went above and beyond for us our whole trip! It was a fabulous way to start our marriage! This is a great resort for couples, it is very romantic and relaxing!
If you DON’T want to get treated like royalty or hate getting spoiled, DON’T come here! Secrets Wild Orchid is all about unlimited luxury all the time, and we definitely left feeling like a part of the family. For your wedding, honeymoon, or just want a luxury adults only vacation, Secrets Wild Orchid is the perfect resort. No kids allowed and everything included, you really can’t go wrong here! I mean, just check out these views then head over and book your next luxury retreat in paradise!
We traveled here in December of 2014. While this was our first experience at the Secrets Resorts, it definitely won’t be our last. As always, all opinions are our own.
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Secrets Wild Orchid looks amazing! I need to get back to Jamaica and lay on that beautiful beach!
Jennifer St Louis recently posted…La Paz Waterfall Gardens, Costa Rica
It was amazing! And we agree-we truly loved all of Jamaica! What part did you visit?
Looks like a fun place to stay. I usually travel with my kids, but maybe I’ll have to check this out for an anniversary or something.
This place looks fab! What a wonderful place to have your wedding and spend your honeymoon at. Who wouldn’t love to be treated like royalty and spoiled rotten?!
Secrets Wild Orchid sounds like an incredible place to celebrate your marriage and honeymoon. With everything they had to offer, no wonder you never wanted to leave.
It looks like you chose an awesome location to get married and have your honeymoon. Secrets Wild Orchid sounds like it definitely delivered the experience you wanted. All the best for your married life together!
Seems it’s a great location for a vacation and I could enjoy the sunny weather @ knycx.journeying
The beach looks beautiful, so does the resort. I am normally not a resort person, but I really enjoyed the photos. A wonderful place for wedding and honeymoon!
This place incredible!
Secrets Wild Orchid looks and sounds amazing. For me a resort staying is a way to just relax and enjoy your surroundings without being too rushed. What an amazing place to honeymoon and get married!