Secrets and Dreams Playa Esmeralda for all-inclusive allowances with secluded beaches

There are many all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic that have been selected in popular areas such as Punta Cana. But away from the noise and crowds, Miches has emerged a new all-inclusive destination, with two new resorts ready to show travelers why they should take a 90-minute journey from the airport.

Secrets Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa is the first adult-only, all-inclusive resort in the area, while Dreams Playa Esmeralda Resort & Spa is its adjacent family-friendly peer. Both resorts are available for booking as part of Hyatt World, which helps them to be on TPG’s list of the most exciting hotel openings of 2025.

This is a quick look at these properties expectation.

Related: TPG’s guide to the best all-inclusive resorts you can book points

First impression

After arriving at the connected property – I first checked in on the secret side – I was greeted by a glass of sparkling wine and immediately rushed to a special area by a golf cart for the preferred club guests who had several benefits (one of which was a personalized check-in experience). There, I met my personal concierge, which was another benefit of preferred club guests – they escorted me to my room and visited it for me to feature. Please note that each side of the Secret and Dream has its own lobby and its own preferred club boarding area, although many of the major facilities are connected.

Whether you choose your preferred club experience during your stay or not, you can first check out one of Union Resort’s most impressive features: interior design. The secret and dreamy aspects of the complex all have their own beautiful open-air lobby, featuring chic bar space, plenty of seating and sea views.

Room

Secrets and Dreams each have 500 rooms and suites, and each resort has 125 dedicated to preferred club guests. Rooms on both sides are horseshoe-shaped to face their respective resorts and ocean, allowing most rooms to provide at least partial sea views.

At Secrets, I stayed in the beautifully designed preferred club master suite beachfront room with a comfortable king size bed, a full living area, spacious bathroom with double sinks and soaking tub and balcony with lounge chairs and another soaking tub. Decoration is stylish, neutral tones create a harmonious space. The use of natural materials such as wood and rattan, as well as some subtle patterns on the carpet and pillows brings the bohemian style of the island setting.

In my dream, I live in a junior suite swimming room with two queen beds. The room has lots of space for the family to spread, with tables, a love seat, an outdoor terrace with seating and of course direct access to the pool. This is my first time in the swimming room and I love the concept. This would be a particularly perfect setting for parents who focus on their toddlers during their nap time. The downside of the ground floor is easy to hear loud music from the pool.

Dreams’ decor is more fun than the secret decor, with color spots and patterned tiles suitable for family-friendly hotels.

Both rooms I live in have Bluetooth speaker systems that can play music throughout the suite, a feature I appreciate and use often.

Dining in Secrets and Dreams

Dining is room for improvement for both secrets and dreams, and it is natural for two brand new resorts of this size. While the restaurant selection is abundant (Secrets has 11 restaurants, Dreams has 10 restaurants, and 6 restaurants), the quality and experience are mixed together. For example, I did not find breakfast or lunch options, especially appetizers, and a room service order produced undercooked pizza. Several times, the chaos caused the wrong items to be delivered to my desk every night – but the servers were always friendly and willing to help, and the errors were corrected so quickly that I didn’t mind them at all. The menu was not marked by dietary restrictions while I stayed, so it was tricky to determine what I could and couldn’t eat as a vegetarian.

However, in both resorts, I found the dinner good and some of the dishes were pretty good. The food at the Dominican restaurant Dona Altagracia in Secrets is the same as the Alfajores on Coco Secrets’s Coffee Bar (as the cookies at Dulce de Leche). Each restaurant has beautiful furniture and each restaurant has a unique decorative theme to set the atmosphere. Even if it is a buffet space, be careful to design.

Again, given that both resorts are brand new, I do hope that some of the issues I’ve experienced will naturally improve over time. For example, I dined twice at the Mediterranean restaurant in Secrets during my stay and even in a short time I noticed that the food between the two visits became better.

Please note that secret guests can enjoy all the dining options in their dreams, but children cannot access adult-only secret dining options. Currently, only select restaurants that are open daily are rotated, but they will eventually be open every day as occupancy increases.

Convenience and service

The facilities at both resorts were the highlights of my visit. Like restaurants, secret guests can take advantage of the amenities of their dreams, but kids can’t take risks with secrets. So only adult gyms are located in the secret side, while year-round basketball and tennis courts are in dreams.

• Serve: In most cases, everyone I met was very friendly. As the resort is new, some restaurant waiters are still learning English, but that hasn’t hindered my experience. Instead, I think this is a great opportunity to practice Spanish.
• Personal Concierge: My personal concierge, Claudio in Secret and Dreams Esteban is the hero of this trip. Whatsapp always seems to be able to get to them very quickly, from dining advice to event schedules to setting up a Bluetooth speaker system. I highly recommend getting your preferred club accommodation for personal concierge benefits.
• Activity: These properties host several free events and seminars including jewelry making, hat painting, kayaking and paddleboarding. The water sports company Seapro has a merchandise booth that can arrange banana boating, snorkeling tours and more.
• pet: Get vaccinated at 22 pounds or less to cover the cost.
• swimming pool: Each resort has an activity pool, a more tranquil pool and a preferred club pool. I especially like using the preferred club pools, which are quieter and crowded.
• Fitness Center: The facility is equipped with free weights and technical machines. Once enrollment increases, there is also a private room that will host Pilates classes.
• entertainment: The resort offers live music in public squares and offers a variety of programs in the theatre space (thinking: Magic is displayed on the secret in dreams and in cabarets).
• spa: Huge spa with a leisure pool, sauna, hammer, steam bath, beauty salon, dressing room and more.
• Kids and Teen Club: These free-cost clubs offer impressive activities and amenities, including a playground for children aged 3 to 13 years, as well as a DJ disco and a youth cinema.

beach

One of the biggest attractions of the property is its secluded beaches. In my days, I haven’t seen a few people at any time in any of the days, let alone the overcrowded and ongoing sellers I’ve seen on the beach during other resorts. Around noon, the water turns into a stunning turquoise color, warm and swimable.

The lounge chairs and sofa beds can be recovered from the water, although they still offer no doubts of views. That’s because the beach is protected as a reserve for leatherback turtles that lay eggs there every year.

Location and logistics

Secret and Dream Playa Esmeralda is located about 63 miles northwest of Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ), the closest airport choice. There are a lot of flights from the US to Punta Cana, from there, you need to get to the resort, which takes about an hour and a half to get there by car.

The resort’s books were transferred through their sister company Amstar, which was something I got there, and the ride was easy and enjoyable. However, they are not cheap, each way is about $174 (although that number may vary depending on how you are and when). While ride-hailing apps are widely used in other parts of the Dominican Republic, they are not currently available in the more remote Miches area. For those who choose to rent a car, parking at the resort is free.

The cost of staying in secrets and dreams and how to book

Secrets and Dreams are part of the Hyatt all-inclusive collection, which means you can earn and redeem the world of Hyatt’s perspective. Several room types are available for booking for points, including preferred club accommodation and premium suites.

The secret is part of Hyatt’s all-inclusive C C class C, meaning that the standard room on off-peak nights is only 21,000 points, while the premium suite on peak nights costs 58,000 points. In the dream, Class B is all inclusive, and these prices range from 17,000 to 46,000 per night.

In cash, the fee is expected to be paid in the mid-$300, up to about $500, the secret club room this year, until the price of the holiday skyrockets. In your dream, you can find room prices under $300 on many nights.

Accessibility

Secrets and Dreams both offer accessible rooms, with four in each hotel and one in each of the preferred clubs. These rooms include a large bathroom for wheelchair access. There are ramps and elevators throughout the property, but none of the pool has lifts. Service dogs are allowed.

TPG always recommends contacting the hotel directly to confirm that the property meets specific needs, especially at resorts outside the United States, where accessibility laws may vary.

Bottom line

If you are looking for a more peaceful all-inclusive experience, complete with pristine beaches, spacious rooms and beautiful amenities – your trip is long enough to support a three-hour round trip from the airport, the Secret and Dreams Playa Eseralda is a great choice. If quality food is really important to you, I recommend waiting a few months to book so that restaurants can have time to stride forward. Along with the seaside resort is a solid addition to Hyatt’s all-inclusive collection in its stunning, lesser-known Dominican destinations.

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