Impressions Secrets Moxche : Wedding Anniversary 2026

Two of our closest friends have a wedding anniversary just three days apart from ours, and historically we’ve always celebrated together with a short getaway. Years ago, those trips usually meant Galveston, but more recently we’ve upgraded to Mexico all-inclusive resorts.

This year, Lucy and I decided we were heading to the Playa del Carmen area to take full advantage of our UVC membership and finally experience the Impressions brand — the top tier of the vacation iceberg. At the moment, there are only two Impressions resorts in existence, both relatively new, and we chose Impressions Moxché by Secrets because it was the easier of the two to visit.

Our friends Mark and Nancy had been dealing with a difficult year. Mark is still recovering from multiple back surgeries, but we extended the invitation anyway in case they felt up to traveling. To our surprise, they accepted, and suddenly it was game on.

Initially, the pricing was steep. On the open market, the rooms were over $8,500, but through UVC I managed to book them for about $5,500 per room. Over the next five months, I kept tracking rates and eventually got the price down closer to $4,700 a room. Considering this is one of the best all-inclusive resorts in the region, that felt like an absolute steal — honestly less than I’ve paid at many other resorts over the years. On the day we traveled, the lowest available room was north of $10,000, and it still is as I write this. Needless to say, we were smiling.

The one twist was Mark’s recovery. When he committed to the trip, he believed he’d be off the walker and using only a cane by then. Unfortunately, his progress was slower than hoped. About 31 days before the trip — the final deadline for full refunds — they had to make the call whether to cancel or push forward. Thankfully, they chose to go.

Once the decision was made, planning mode kicked in. Nancy arranged for a battery-powered scooter to be delivered directly to the resort so Mark could comfortably navigate the massive property. With that solved, we were officially ready.

On the 16th, we loaded up our SUV (“Biggun”) with way too much luggage and headed to DFW. As always, we spent the night at the Grand Hyatt inside the airport, making travel day incredibly easy. Drinks, dinner, a relaxing evening, then straight down the elevator into Terminal D the next morning. We checked in with American Airlines, breezed through TSA, spent an hour-plus at the Admirals Club, and before long we were headed south to Cancun.

At the airport, they provided a wheelchair for Mark since the walk through customs is no joke. Once we collected our bags, Mark was back upright with the help of his walker, and we headed outside to find our ride — a Cadillac Escalade provided by Impressions at no additional cost. Less than an hour later, we arrived at one of the nicest all-inclusive resorts I’ve ever visited.

After a quick walk from the main lobby to the Impressions building, we checked in. The property itself is fascinating. Secrets Moxché was originally built a few years ago as a huge L-shaped resort with something like ten pools. Later, they added a separate building alongside it — forming more of a U shape overall — and that became Impressions. Guests staying at Secrets Moxché cannot access the Impressions side, but Impressions guests have access to the entire property. It’s the best of both worlds.

Within minutes, our assigned host escorted us upstairs to our fourth-floor Signature King Suites with ocean views. Our rooms were side-by-side, close to the elevator — huge win. Less than an hour later, Mark’s new “hot rod” scooter arrived, and we were fully mobile.

After unpacking, we headed straight to the rooftop pool on the Impressions building. That quickly became our favorite spot of the trip. We explored a couple of other pools throughout the week, but somehow always found ourselves back there. The crazy part is there are well over a dozen pools on the property. On a future trip, I’d love to visit every single one… but honestly, I’d probably still end up back at this rooftop pool anyway. It was that good.

The pool setup worked perfectly for Mark. The pool had an incredible beveled edge that made getting in and out surprisingly easy. He’d park the scooter nearby, sit on the edge, and slide right into the water. By day one, we had our entire routine figured out. When it was time to leave, I’d hop out first, ride the scooter over to the steps, give him a hand up, and we’d all head back together. From then on, every day went smoothly without a hitch.

We skipped the beach this trip for two reasons. First, the sargassum seaweed was heavy during our stay, which hurt the view a bit. Second, navigating the sand just wasn’t worth the challenge given Mark’s condition. Still, the ocean views were beautiful, and in the end, we never felt like we missed out.

One funny thing Lucy and I realized: we completely fell into a routine — and loved it. Every single morning we ordered room service. Every morning I had Eggs Benedict while Lucy stuck with hard-boiled eggs and yogurt. Add coffee, mimosas, bacon, omelets, and a few other extras, and breakfast became one of our favorite parts of the day. For the first time in years, we never once went out for breakfast.

Between 8:00 and 9:00 each morning, I’d head down to reserve four loungers, tip the pool concierge to make sure we were set for the day, and then head back upstairs. By around 9:30 or 10:00, we’d settle into pool mode just as the bars opened. Bloody Marys and mimosas started flowing, and the days officially began.

The rhythm was perfect: poolside drinks, lots of water mixed in, lunch delivered to our chairs, a steady rotation of cocktails, and before you knew it, it was 4:00 PM and time to escape the sun and reset for dinner. The ladies handled the bags and floaties while Mark and I executed our now well-practiced scooter exit routine.

One huge perk of staying on the Impressions side was the service. Our butler arranged dinner reservations for the entire week on the very first night. Apparently, guests staying on the Secrets side didn’t have that luxury. Every evening we’d meet in the lobby, chat with other guests, and head out to dinner together.

Most nights ended with live music drifting through the property from the Bamboo Bar near the pool. A few evenings we caught shows at the theater, which featured a different performance every night. We never even made it to the sports bar, despite hearing how lively it was nightly. We also never made it to the Preferred Rooftop Pool on the Secrets side, although we did walk through one evening after it closed and it looked incredible.

On our final night, Lucy and I finally found The Gypsy — the hidden speakeasy tucked behind the pharmacy. After the theater show, we spent a few hours there having an absolute blast. Thankfully, we showed a little more restraint than we did on a similar “last night” adventure during a previous trip, where tequila shots made travel day home absolutely miserable. This time, midnight came at just the right moment.

We also met some fantastic people during the trip — Frank and Rosie from the DFW area, and Jason and Rebekah from Tampa — folks we genuinely hope to see again someday.

Most importantly, though, we got to spend an incredible week celebrating two milestones together: Mark and Nancy’s 25th anniversary and our 39th.

The trip home nearly turned into an adventure thanks to weather delays at DFW. We ended up making an unexpected stop in New Orleans to refuel, but thankfully we never had to leave the plane. After a couple-hour delay, we finally landed back in Texas after seven unforgettable nights in Mexico. The Kennedys made it home around 11 PM, and we were in bed by midnight.

After two solid nights of sleep in our own bed, I finally feel rested and ready to tackle the week ahead. Now motorcycles are back on my mind, and our new home build is nearing completion and demanding our attention.

No more Mexico trips for a while…

…but there are definitely more on the calendar.