Rosewood Mayakoba may be the best hotel resort ever. And here is our experience and how I reached that conclusion.

How It Began

In July 2014, I started looking for a place to take my wife for her upcoming birthday. We lived in Maryland at the time so whenever we can go to some place tropical, we’re all for it. I wanted to do something different this time around so I started plugging in figures in my travel spreadsheet. I checked out places from Jamaica all the way to Thailand to see what was the best and most cost effective option.

Do Your Research

To complete my spreadsheet, I use Google Flights, Expedia and Southwest to do my research. Here are the steps I take to do my travel analysis:

• 1. Google top destinations
• 2. Compare flight prices using Google Flights, Expedia and Southwest (if applicable)
• 3. Plug in the best price and flight times into the spreadsheet
• 4. Go to Expedia and search for resorts in the locations based on stars, price and guest ratings
• 5. Plug in the best price into the spreadsheet
• 6. The spreadsheet then calculates the estimated total price based on the number of days people traveling

Once I have the total cost for flight and hotel, I indicate whether the resort is all-inclusive or if we will rent a car to determine the estimated daily expenses. Once I have all of this information, the spreadsheet will calculate the grand total. I now have the entail I need to determine what’s the best destination based on my budget.

AirBnB Aint For Me

Just to disclose, we love hotels. In fact, we have never done an AirBnB. We like to feel like a king and queen while we are on vacation and not on the job. So it’s no cooking, no cleaning and we want the convenience of amenities like a gym, pool, spa, concierge, kids club (if traveling with the kids), and more. I check the star ratings to start, but the guest ratings are more important.

We don’t like to travel that long for last minute trips especially without the kids. And since we were not going for a long time (5-days), it needed to be a short flight, preferably non-stop because I hate layovers! Anyway, factoring the number of days, flight prices, resort options, distance and reviews, we settled on Riviera Maya, Mexico. We would fly into Cancun (CUN), rent a car and drive about 30mins to Playa de Carmen. We settled on the Banyan Tree Mayakoba based on the amazing reviews and the price fit our budget.

Banyan Tree Mayakoba

We arrived and were treated like king and queen. Banyan Tree Mayakoba is so beautiful & tranquil. The main entrance has water canals, lush tropical foliage, and the grounds are well-maintained. We received a hot towel, a bracelet made of flowers and seeds, and a specialty juice made from a local plant. The resort is on a lagoon and we ended up taking a boat ride to our room. When we arrived, the room was out of this world. We had a heated pool, nice bathroom, comfortable bed and so much more.

Our visit to the Banyan Tree spa was amazing. They take you into your private room overlooking the water. You get your feet washed and a nice refreshing drink before the massage. The Thai inspired treatments were lovely and a great value. For dinner, we went to Saffron, the best restaurant in the resort. Great food, great ambience and service. Overall I would recommend the Banyan Tree Mayakoba to anyone.  

Rosewood Mayakoba

One thing about me and Dawnta is we love to explore, so we wanted to check out one of the other resorts, the Rosewood Mayakoba. So we decided to go there for dinner. And the moment we took the Cadillac Escalade SUV from the Banyan Tree to Rosewood, something about this resort felt different. I remember sitting at dinner and I looked across at Dawnta and said, we have to stay here one day. I then went to Expedia and looked at the price per night and said to myself, we won’t be staying here no time soon. Banyan Tree isn’t cheap, but the Rosewood’s price can be costly. But I remember setting a goal to myself that we would come back one day. 

Fast forward to 2016, and we decided to go to Rosewood Mayakoba for my birthday. We made arrangements to go at the last minute once again. We now lived in MIami and decided to take the kids this time. That experience was so good that we went back with the kids for my 40th birthday the following year.

When you arrive at the resort, you are greeted by your butler and taken by boat through the lagoon to your room’s private dock. From the time you get there, the Rosewood transports you into an experience that is out of this world. Your room has a heated pool on the outside terrace, a sunken tub in the bathroom, and indoor and outdoor showers, And the rooftop terrace and open floor plan make you drool at the mouth. Golf carts run at all times of the day to take you anywhere you want to go, or you can rent a bike for free which is really awesome.

Amazing Customer Service

Once you check in, the staff makes you feel special. The first time we traveled there, Bryce was 5 and Bria was 3. The Rosewood definitely caters to families as the kids eat free and the children’s club offer activities to keep them entertained. They even provide nanny/babysitting services so you can go to dinner or hang out. Oh and the coolest thing about the experience is the little bath robes and slippers they provide the kids.

The Sense Spa is so tropical, relaxing and beautiful. We loved the cenotes and the temazcal experience at the spa is unique and a must do according to Dawnta. The temezcal rituals are hot as hell. You crawl into a tiny stone hut aka a sweat lodge that only fits a small group of people. The ceremony is supposed to purify the body and mind. I love the idea, I was just too chicken to do it.

I’m sure the designers went through a bunch of complications and challenges building the resort on all those mangroves. This makes the experience so unique because not too many resorts will ‘center’ you like this one did. The people and service were a level above anything I have ever experienced anywhere. I enjoyed it so much that I wrote a review, and you can check out the response from the resort. See below:

My Online Review

“I rarely write reviews on anything, as I don’t take the time spent lightly to write them. But the Rosewood Mayakoba is without a doubt, the best customer service experience I have ever had, in my entire life. I’ve travelled the world to a bunch of 5-star properties and the service here is just on a different level. When I say that, I don’t mean just certain instances. I mean literally 100% of the time, all the time, with every single employee. From then moment you check in, to the moment you check out, these people legitimately care about you. It is not “fake service”. This is as real as it gets.

The people are happy and happy to serve and it shows. They take pride in the service that this resorts provide. Every single person will greet you from the gardener to the butler. The butlers (Tavo and Andrea) were absolutely out of this world. Usually when you get a “butler” experience it’s just something for marketing. This is different folks. They are there for you. They knew you needed things before you even knew it. An example is my toothpaste was running low, and without asking it, Tavo replaced my toothpaste with a new container. Andrea packed my luggage meticulously, the best it’s ever been packed. There was not one, I repeat not one, time when the service wasn’t outstanding. Every single detail was covered and remembered.”

–Apr 10, 2018

Rosewood Mayakoba Response

Dear Brian, Reviews like yours remind us of why we do what we do. It is a treasure to work with the team at Rosewood Mayakoba, because their passion and dedication shines through every day. I am thrilled that you were met with “outstanding” service every day. Along with Tavo and Andrea, I will be sure to share your sentiments with our larger team. Ensuring our guests’ needs are not only met, but anticipated, is our highest priority, and we hope this allowed for you to totally unwind, relax, and get a true Sense of Place over the course of your stay. Thank you for taking the time to share your review. The pleasure will be all ours to welcome you back someday. Sincerely, Daniel Scott Managing Director

–Replied on Apr 16, 2018

Overall, if you are a traveler, you must visit this resort. Yes it’s pricey, but it is a once in a lifetime experience. I cannot say enough about this place and you have to take the journey for yourself. Make sure you do the dinner at La Ceiba Garden & Kitchen, which only happens on Wednesdays and Saturdays I believe. Also, check out the tour of the garden and try the dinner on the beach as well. Oh I really like the spa at the Rosewood, but I prefer the one at the Banyan Tree. So do both and compare.

Anyway, if you visit the Rosewood Mayakoba, let us know about your experience.