Rosewood Mayakoba

Rosewood Mayakoba offers an absolutely stunning beach experience! The white sandy shores were pristine, and the entire area was beautifully maintained. The crystal clear waters and peaceful atmosphere made it a perfect paradise for relaxation. A must visit for anyone looking for a luxurious beachfront escape!

We recently stayed at the Rosewood Mayakoba for 8 nights. I struggled with the rating but decided it's average for this price class (which is more like European pricing than Mexico pricing). I would say 3.5, but I am going to round it up because the individuals working here are very nice. We had some hiccups which would prevent us from coming again at this price point, which I'll share below. But first, here are the things I really loved: - The setting is beautiful, truly a breathtaking area - We loved being able to bike around - The property is well-staffed and feels extremely safe - They have trained hawks at the pool to scare away the birds - Our son loved the kids club! - At one point did get sick and they sent a doctor within 30 minutes. It cost $100. She wrote me an Rx and the hotel went and picked it up and delivered it to the room. I felt very taking care of. - Having a hotel greeter and ride to the resort was really helpful. This was an extra cost, but well worth it - The welcome cookies are the best cookies I've ever had! - The wildlife is really fun. We saw monkeys, iguanas, coati, and more! We had two rooms (one beachfront studio suite and one deluxe lagoon suite). Despite the beachfront studio suite being $1K more per night than the deluxe lagoon suite, it was not as nice. The room (520) had more wear and tear (perhaps because of its proximity to the beach), the outdoor furniture was ratty, and there was a pretty big staircase up to the front door. Plus, the view was not really of the beach -- it was of the rooftops of the beach-front villas (you could see the ocean beyond that). We decided to downgrade to a deluxe lagoon suite (315) which was larger and newer. Despite it being a downgrade in terms of pricing ($1k/night less), we were not compensated for the difference. I would personally recommend either splurging on the beachfront villa OR the deluxe lagoon suite. Beyond this, we did have a few kinks in our stay that make this resort a notch below a 5-star experience: - The website is misleading and needs to be updated. On the individual room class page, it says the "terms and conditions" which include free airport transfer, daily breakfast, etc. However, these are only the terms and conditions for the villas. They should only include the T&C for the room class that is on the page. - Our keys didn't work when we went back to the room on the first day - They gave the kids water bottles, but they were used with other kids names on them - The food is hit or miss. We did enjoy the variety and being able to go to other restaurants in Mayakoba. - If you have young kids, beware of things keeping them up at night. One night they were cleaning the unit below us at 10PM. And on our last night (the night before a 5AM departure to the airport) there was loud music from a wedding until 11:15PM. - It's really hard to get a boat to go anywhere. It's wonderful having it to take you to the room at the beginning of the trip, but other than an eco-tour, they don't really want to provide them for leisurely trips. Lastly, everything is really expensive. Like Monaco or Amalfi cost pricing. For instance, the only sunscreen option was Coola Sunscreen ($28 in the US) which cost 1200 MP ($60 US!) in the store. We had family stay at an apartment at the Fairmont Heritage, a beautiful 3-bedroom with its own pool and included breakfast for $1,700/night. I think we would consider that next time.

My husband and I were dreaming of an exotic holiday over New Year's eve period and we decided to go to Mexico, Riviera Maya where we had heard many great things. We chose the Rosewood Mayakoba as it seemed to be the most beautiful and high quality resort in the area, plus we know the Rosewood group well and they usually never disappoint. However this time, we left regretting having chosen this place. To begin with, the rates are as high as a holiday In Maldives, where we have been many times, where the beaches are spectacular and the service impecable. I am not writing this review to compare the two, as they are very different destinations, but just to say that paying what we paid we expected a paradise. Not only did we not feel in paradise, we actually felt completely "scammed" the entire time we were there. Weeks before arriving we received many emails asking us if they could assist us with some activity booking (ok, that's nice), but also giving us all the schedule of the week regarding the restaurants at the hotel saying we needed to decide before arriving where we would want to have dinner every night. Already then, I could feel they were slightly intense but we thought ok they are simply organised and trying to help, can't blame them for that. That said, for us, the beauty of a holiday is not having to plan anything once there, to be able to arrive and discover naturally the place and relax and decide on the minute what we feel like doing, otherwise we would have stayed in London where everything in our life is a schedule. We booked a Beach House with plunge pool. When we arrived it was quite rundown and not cleaned properly. Forget any proper room service at all, we tried ordering twice a bottle of wine to drink while relaxing in the pool, impossible! After one hour of calling them, they were still unable to locate the bottle (it wasn't a special bottle for those wondering, quite the opposite). Basically, anything that isn't beer or mezcal, they have no idea, they overcharge for it and most importantly they never find it! Even for New Years eve, we wanted to have some champagne during dinner: it took 4 members of staff, our private butler and the "sommelier" (if you can call that a sommelier) to find a decent bottle after pressuring them for an hour. Speaking of the butler, they were all very nice, very friendly and trying constantly to accommodate our needs, however not their fault that the hotel is completely dysfunctional. The beach is horrendous, not even close to what it looks like on the pictures, full of algae, also tiny, to the point where they were unable to give us proper seats every single day. After complaining of course they would make an effort and find us something but every day was a struggle. (Not to mention this beach was suppose to be the adult only one so supposedly less busy and more relaxing). Nothing relaxing about having to stand in the sun during 15min each day waiting for them to sort out a chair! And don't get me started on the service at the beach, 40min to order a Diet Coke. I could go on for pages about things that happened that we were upset about. The resort does of course have positive things as well. For instance, as mentioned earlier, the staff is very friendly and always trying to help. The spa is beautiful, the breakfast dishes amazing (even if generally the food wasn't great at all). If you come with kids, they do seem to have everything you need to entertain them and help you generally. The place just has an overall feeling of being ripped off all the time for the price you're paying. Every opportunity they have to overcharge you, they take it. You simply cannot charge these rates for a beach like this, terrible service and food and a mediocre quality on every aspect. We have traveled all over the world and I am not the kind of customer to complain ever or leave bad reviews (in fact you can see on my profile, this trip is the first time I have ever left a review). It's just someone needs to say it, Rosewood Mayakoba is completely overrated!

This is our third visit to the beautiful Mayakobo, a secure oasis amongst all the mayhem of Cancun. We stayed at Rosewood on our two previous visits. At the moment we are staying at Banyon Tree next door which is an equally beautiful property and very similar in many ways, although Rosewood distinguishes itself. During Rosewood stays, we go over to Banyan Tree for the occasional dinner and we are currently doing it in reverse. If you have never before been to Mayakoba I can highly recommend it. We go for the ocean front suites rather than lagoon views. The way it works is the hotels will book restaurants for you in any of the properties and transport you there and back. The top two properties are definitely Rosewood and Banyan Tree. We dined at Casa Del Lago at Rosewood. This has got to be one of the best restaurants in Mayakobo. Every course was excellent, wines by the glass were very good and they have terrific champagnes by the glass using the corovin system. Our waiter was Sergio and his knowledge and passion on F and B was infectious. We discussed wines, champagnes and various Rosewood properties as well as restaurants in other countries. Sergio is a sommelier as well as having worked as a chef. He made our night…as did the chef.

What dreams are made of. Upon arrival, you are greeted with a yummy drink and escorted by boat in the lagoon to your room. The bungalows on the lagoon are huge. The resort has the perfect combination of luxury and nature. Paletas on the beach to fun themed nights.. individual butlers by bike at your service! There is so much charm and class. Just an incredible experience and property! Can’t wait to go back!