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Reviews of Secret Bay

4.5 out of 5
Secret Bay
Tibay, Portsmouth

Reviews

9.6

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 18 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 4 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 1 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 23 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 23 reviews" "

10/10

Cleanliness

9.8/10

Staff & service

8.4/10

Amenities

10/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.0/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Monica

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Given the ratings/reviews & my experience with similar caliber properties around the world, I was disappointed in certain things. The security guard at the front gate of the property was extremely rude. Didn't welcome us but asked what we were doing there. Our driver was very taken back by his behavior & said he's never seen anyone so rude at this establishment. Two days prior to arrival, I was sent an email form w/ one of the questions asking when we'd be arriving. I selected the noon-2pm option & we arrived at 12:30pm. We were told that we were going to have to wait until 3pm to be taken to our villa. Check in had been advertised as 3pm, so I'm not exactly sure why they even provided a noon-2pm option on the form - it was misleading & set wrong expectations. They took our luggage to the villa & told us we could utilize the pool or beach while we waited. Well, our bathing suits were in our luggage so they had to fetch our luggage so we could change into our bathing suits. 3pm rolls around and no word. We ask at the pool bar & someone comes to us at 3:15pm to let us know we would be picked up in about 15min. Having to wait until AFTER the advertised check in time when we had been waiting 3hrs was extremely irritating. Another disappointment was the lack of bathroom toiletries that would be default at other places of this cost. Blackout blinds on 3 walls of windows but not the 4th in the bedroom. The view, privacy, activities, & hostess were great.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Jonah, Miami Beach

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
The stay was good overall. The property is very beautiful and well maintained. The villas are huge and well appointed. Very nice place to stay. We enjoyed it very much. However there were some major problems which will prevent us from coming back here. We had several issues, some of which were addressed and some were not. You are in the jungle, so there are ants. Pretty much anything on the counter (including the nightly treat they leave) are infested with ants in about 5 minutes. Told them several times, but still had ants eating our food. There is no breakfast options, but your room has a full kitchen and they provide some basics. If you want anything additional (butter, milk, almond milk, cheese, cold cuts) they charge you. That's fine, but the prices are not. Butter is $9, a small 18 oz almond milk or regular milk is $16. The prices go on. This is a problem. The restaurant is really poor quality cuisine. The food is always a prix-fix, and its $130 a head without drinks. That would be fine for a Michelin star restaurant; however, this was nowhere close. The local restaurants outside of the property are much better and 1/15th of the price. However booking a car to get there is also exorbitant ($100 USD). The last problem is the shower. It was only so hot you couldn't shower, they tried to fix it 5 times. Showering in this type of water is not really possible. It was a problem.
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Jamie

Stayed 5 nights in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Jeff

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
If you want seclusion and quiet with beauty surrounding you then this is the place. It felt like our own private resort. The property is gorgeous with fun things to do not far away. We hiked Trafalgar falls and Middleham falls in the same day. If you're in shape then that's doable. Otherwise you will be sore. Middleham falls requires lots of steps! We stayed in Ti-Fey II and loved everything about it. Wish there was a little more view of Ocean but also loved the privacy and getting in our private pool. Not many restaurants nearby so we did some cooking in our villa and ate a light dinner on our own.
Stayed 4 nights in Apr 2022

8/10 Good

Harmony Leigh

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The cyclical weather of Dominica was the perfect metaphor for our trip to Secret Bay. The sun: Akima, our villa host, was one of the highlights of our stay. Pleasant and kind, she made us feel welcomed. Our villa was clean, private, and well appointed. Perhaps we were expecting more of a sea view, but we grew to enjoy the lush rainforest while watching the indigenous birds from our covered deck. We were pleasantly surprised by our plunge pool (Hillside Ti-Fey IV). It had a waterfall edge, was deeper than other plunge pools we have experienced, and was warm. We spent several afternoons there sipping drinks. Restaurant Zing Zing's menu was both carefully curated and whimsical. Zing Zing's open air setting made it a delightful place to enjoy a meal. The recently hired mixologist crafted some fine drinks both at Zing Zing and the hotel pool. Also of note was Secret Bay's spa. Listening to the waves while having a massage was relaxing. The rain: Our luggage took a separate vacation remaining in Puerto Rico. After traveling since 3am and jumping through countless Covid protocols (understandable), it put a major damper on our arrival. Judging by the other hotel guests also missing bags and the number of people we witnessed at the Dominica airport filling out missing luggage papers, it seems like this is more than an isolated incident. Several days later, we did get our luggage after repeated follow up on our part.
Stayed 6 nights in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Leslie

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Stayed 8 nights in Nov 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The secret bay beach is so beautiful and the water is so clear! A great experience elevated by our friend Sherina!!
Stayed 9 nights in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Stayed 5 nights in Apr 2021

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
This is the nicest hotel I've ever been to. The villas are enormous. We have a very large bedroom, kitchen/sitting area, outdoor sitting area, and a whole downstairs area with hammock and pool. The hotel's amenities are pretty solid -- private beach, equipment to use, etc. You're mostly paying for the room. The service is a bit less polished than what you might expect given the price, but that may partly be a consequence of the location. The room isn't cleaned every day, for example. We had some trouble with the meals -- your room attendant isn't a trained chef. Just remember that you're paying for the room and the views. On that account, I thought it was totally worth it. The concierge, Lenita, is also pretty great and did a very good job in arranging activities for us.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2019
Response from Concierge & Guest Services Manager on Dec 3, 2019
Thank you for your review - we are delighted that you enjoyed the property. Service is equally important to us as we aim to provide each guest with a personalised experience of Dominica and Secret Bay. While your villa attendant is not a trained chef, all meals are prepared by our exceptionally talented Chef, with the exception of breakfast. Breakfast is prepared by your trained villa host in the comfort of your villa. Housekeeping is also done on a daily basis based or as requested by our guests - each villa is assigned a villa host who takes care of the villa and guest throughout the stay. We are thrilled that the coordination of the activities met your approval. It is always a pleasure to create memorable moments with our guests!!! Thank you for choosing Secret Bay.

10/10 Excellent

Sami, Miami, us

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
an amazing experience - you get pampered far too much and may not want to go back home
Stayed 7 nights in Feb 2019
Response from Stephanie_A on Mar 20, 2019
Hi Sami, thank you so much for your seal of approval! Means the world to us. Looking forward to welcoming you back to Secret Bay.

10/10 Excellent

Chelsea , Westchester, New York

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Best Kept Secret
Secret Bay is a boutique hotel nestled on a beautiful cliff side which calls for wonderful views with tons of privacy and lushness with access to a private beach. The front staff was excellent at getting us situated when we came in after a long travel. The following day they continued their hospitality while setting up all our activities while in Dominica. Each villa is assigned their personal house keeper who makes sure that all your meal and cleaning needs are met. The Food was delicious and the kitchen staff is always ready to offer you a snack before dinner :). I would definitely return and upgrade for a villa with a pool.
Stayed 6 nights in Aug 2017

10/10 Excellent

Alice, Virginia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
We will be back!
Great location on the beach. The villa had a great view of the ocean. My husband and I stayed in Ti-Fey villa. Great service from room attendants. Our drivers were nice. I was not disappointed at all. Great island. The island was not commercialized. We had fun excursions. We will definitely be back.
Relaxing under a tree on the beach
Villa
On the beach
Ti-Fey villa from the front
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2017

10/10 Excellent

JT, USA

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A sunset with a view
We came to Secret Bay and didn't know what to expect. We stayed in the Zabuco I and it was amazing. The staff came in each day, cleaned the villa, and would get us our requested items we needed for the next few days as requested. The staff were so helpful and so nice. We would recommend this place to anyone. If you'd like to relax or simply adventure each day like we did then this is the place for you. Also the pool was always warm even when it was raining. We will be going back next year!
Stayed 7 nights in Jul 2017

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Paradise
Secret Bay is beautiful. Simple luxury at its best. The staff is very friendly and helpful in arranging activities on the island. The food is amazing! Will definitely be staying here on my next trip to the island.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
An experience everyone should have..
The place to go when you want to" get away from it all"

10/10 Excellent

dmh, california

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
A little piece of Paradise
Secret Bay has found the magic of offering luxury accommodation in a beautiful, off the beaten path setting. Great accommodations and amenities not usually found in countries with a developing tourist industry. Well worth a visit

10/10 Excellent

jackie, london

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Secluded hideaway with fabulous staff
A lodge nestled in the trees overlooking the sea. Hummingbirds, finches and Iguanas visit your balcony. No restaurents nearby so there's a dependency on the hotel for food which is brought to your lodge, or they can shop for you and you can cook yourself. If a reclusive break is what you are looking for this is perfect.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

Jessica, Miami, Fl

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Gorgeous hideaway in Dominica's beauty
We were completely blown away by the Secret Bay environment. We have never been so relaxed in our lives. The food was INCREDIBLE. Every meal just seemed to get better. The view from our Mapou bungalow was breathtaking, and although we didn't have a chance to tour any of the other villas, I have a hard time imagining a better view. We awoke each morning to the sounds of the waves on the beach and the songbirds in the trees. It was truly paradise found. The staff were a bit of a mixed bag. We LOVED Rosaline. She was an angel and took wonderful care of us. For the first half of our stay we had Jess, who was a little more hands-off, but very sweet and helpful. Their structure of service is unique and I thought they could have done a better job explaining things to us upon arrival, but we figured it out within the first day and were very impressed by their system of personal service. The hiking, touring, snorkeling, swimming, waterfalls, etc were are incredible, although I think some of our favorite moments were the quiet moments on our porch, or on one of their gorgeous private beaches. Both days we visited the beach we were completely alone. It was so romantic! Advice for future travelers: Absolutely stay here. Absolutely eat as many of your meals as possible here. Absolutely ask for Ryan as your tour guide. Our only gripe was that we probably weren't the best candidates for the Lion Fish hunt excursion. But all in all, a dream week at a dream hotel!

10/10 Excellent

Priya , New York, NY

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Serenity, beauty and relaxing
We had a great stay at Secret Bay. The villas (Zabuco 1 and zing zing) were utterly gorgeous - beautiful scenery and the interiors were done very tastefully. There were plenty of books and games in the villa in addition to a telescope, DVD's and Apple TV. Food was excellent (vegetarian food made to our request) and we were well taken care of by our villa attendant Saralee. Anthea organized all our activities and Marvin, the GM, really stepped up when we had a minor medical incident after scuba diving - he got a dive master and the island's only ENT specialist on line with us - really appreciated that. Overall beautiful place to relax - you can do as much or as little as you want.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing location
Secret Bay is a beautiful slice of heaven. The view from the location is picturesque. The bungalow and villa design is Eco friendly and modern. The food is yummy! The staff is very attentive. It's an hour drive from any hiking or site-seeing but well worth it for the location.

10/10 Excellent

Alexander

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Herausragend
Ein sagenhaft guter Ort zum abschalten, entspannen, genießen. Der Service ist überragend. Das Essen ausgerechnet. Preise für Essen und Trinken jedoch etwas überhöht. Das schmälert jedoch keinesfalls die Gesamtzufriedenheit! 5 Sterne sind verdient. Danke an das ganze Team und im speziellen Keldon für den Service in der Villa.
Stayed 10 nights in Jul 2022

8/10 Good

Patricia

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Bel établissement. Exagérément onéreux.
Située dans la partie nord ouest de l’île, cette propriété immense bénéficie d’un parc luxuriant à proximité d’une petite plage privée de sable noir. Les 10 villas disséminées offrent une totale intimité et sont équipées de tout le nécessaire dont lave vaisselle lave linge cave à vins déjà garnie planche et fer à repasser…. une hôtesse personnelle est à disposition pour ménage petit déjeuner dans la villa ... Les repas peuvent être livrés dans la villa ou se prennent dans le petit restaurant en plein air. Bémol : extrêmement onéreux pour la Dominique (800€ minimum par nuit et 150€ par personne pour le dîner hors boisson … également aucune activité ni animation au sein de la propriété n’était-ce Spa et salle de gym.
Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022