Is Preferred Club actually worth it at Secrets Playa Esmeralda? I moved rooms halfway through my stay to find out.

People ask me what travel advisors actually do when we travel. Here's a small piece of it: I packed up my entire suitcase halfway through a stay and moved rooms. On purpose. Same resort, same trip.

I was at Secrets Playa Esmeralda from September 7 to 16, 2026, 10 days as part of a longer trip through 8 resorts. For the first 3 nights at Secrets, I booked Non-Preferred. For the last 2, I moved into Preferred Club.

Here's why. When a couple asks me if Preferred is worth the extra money, I don't want to answer that from a website. I want to have actually lived the difference: the room, the location, the amenities, the service. That's what "I've been there" is supposed to mean. It's the whole value of working with an advisor instead of booking blind.

I'll be straight with you. My first 3 nights, I didn't know what I was missing, so I was perfectly happy. Non-Preferred gave me a comfortable, easy stay. Worth saying out loud, since the two rooms are genuinely different experiences, not a good-versus-bad split.

Two things I didn't love: the room service, and the buffet. I actually stopped eating breakfast during those first 3 nights rather than deal with the buffet. That's not a small thing for a 10-day trip.

The move itself is a walk across the property, past the gardens, past the amenities, up to a building marked Preferred Club. Once I was in, four things stood out immediately.

The room. The room itself wasn't dramatically different. Same soaking tub in the bathroom, same layout. What changed was the balcony: Preferred Club added a jetted jacuzzi outside. I ended up trading my nightly soak in that indoor tub for a bath outside instead, glass of wine included, courtesy of my butler. He even offered to have the jacuzzi filled and ready at whatever time I wanted. I forgot to give him a time, so I just ran it myself. Either way works.

Floor mattered more than I expected. I was on floor 2 in Non-Preferred and floor 4 in Preferred. Floor 2 felt more closed in, concrete on both sides of me. Floor 4 had louvers instead, still private but not fully solid, and it was open above me, so the breeze up there was real. The tradeoff: if it had rained, I'd have wanted to be back down on floors 1 through 3, under actual cover.

The restaurant. Rosewater became my go-to for both breakfast and lunch. The food was better, plated more thoughtfully, and it wasn't loud. After 3 mornings at the buffet, eating somewhere calm made a bigger difference than I expected.

The lounge. Upscale, quiet, the kind of space that feels separated from the rest of the resort without feeling walled off from it.

The butler. This is the one that actually sold me. I've experienced "butler service" at other resorts that turned out to be concierge service with a nicer title. This wasn't that. You get a direct WhatsApp line to your butler, and they use it. One afternoon I wanted lunch at the pool. I messaged him. He responded within a second: "I'm on my way." He personally brought a waiter to my lounger to take my order. That's the same caliber of service I experienced at a St. Regis, not a typical resort upgrade.

For me, yes, without hesitation. I compare it to paying for an airport lounge. You don't need it to fly. But once you've sat in one, waited somewhere quieter, been handled by someone whose whole job is making sure you don't have to ask twice, it's hard to go back to the regular gate.

That's my honest read as someone who tested both halves of the same stay, not someone reading a room-category chart.

The Preferred Club section requires your room key card to get in. It's not a suggestion or an honor system, you physically cannot access that pool, that beach section, or that lounge without the right card. Non-Preferred guests can't wander over, and if you're only booked Preferred for part of your stay, that's the part where it works.

This matters more than people expect when you're planning a wedding with a mixed group. If half your guests paid for Preferred Club and half didn't, the Preferred guests can't just bring everyone over to enjoy what they paid for. I'd probably sneak close family or good friends in anyway if it came up, but I'd feel like I wasted some of what I paid for doing it.

What I liked about the space itself: everything is in one building. Check-in, a bar, a snack buffet, and Rosewater restaurant, which you can eat at indoors or outdoors. Nothing scattered across the property, it's all right there.

If your group includes guests who'd genuinely value that level of service, especially parents of the couple, VIP guests, or the couple themselves for their wedding-week stay, Preferred Club is where I'd put the upgrade budget first. Nobody should spend wedding week eating at a loud buffet after a full day of ceremony logistics.

If your guest list is more casual, budget-conscious, or made up of people who'd rather put that money toward excursions or an extra night, Non-Preferred is a completely reasonable place to stay. I was there. It's fine.

Wedding venue and room category details are subject to change and should be reconfirmed for your specific dates.

Trying to figure out which room categories and upgrades are actually worth it for your wedding group? I test these things myself so I can tell you honestly, not sell you the most expensive option. Let's talk through what fits your guest list and your budget.

WorldWide Destination Weddings is a niche division of WorldWide Travel Team, founded by Shanna Fowler and Ted Zinselmeier. We help couples plan all-inclusive destination weddings in Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and beyond, with expert resort guidance, room block support, and guest travel logistics.