Banyan Tree Mayakoba

Highlights: 1) Villas - Very large, each with its own pool, well- built and well-maintained. Many romantic touches like private outdoor bathtubs and showers surrounded by a literal wall of candles. Interesting Feature: Some villas have living rooms that are actually a separate building not connected to the bedroom. Many of the pools are full sized and not just plunge pools. 2) Location - Mayakoba is a very well done master planned community with four hotels including Baynan Tree. It is built around canals dredged carved out of mangroves with many native birds, fish and small mammals. You can take a free boat tour or use the water taxi boat to go between hotels. We have also stayed at Fairmont and Hyatt and find Baynan tree to be the best of the three. You can choose between beach and mangrove villas. Mangroves tend to be a little more private, and the beach obviously gives you the ocean. Either way, all villas give you a dedicated bike to go around the property. Listening to the birds in the morning is really nice. 3) Beach - Sand is very fine, white and clean. July is seagrass season, so while it is in the water and on the beach, the hotel has staff constantly raking and removing it. There is no trash or junk. There are enough beach chairs, so you don't get stressed out trying a place to sit. 4) Service (Generally) - Most staff members remember your names and are very responsive to you. When we called for service to the villa, we got a response within minutes. Example: when the pump in the pool was turned off, we asked to have someone turn it back on. Within 10 minutes, a team of two turned up with a net to remove the leaves and a full vacuum to clean the entire pool for us. 5) Nature Trails - The hotel gives each guest an assigned bike to use on the nature trails to visit the senote, the village and other hotels. 6) Food Quality - Both Saffron (Thai) and Cello (Italian) are great choices although they are not inexpensive (see below). 7) Housekeeping - Villa was well maintained (especially considering the humid, jungle environment) and cleaned with fresh towels and daily turndown service (although a bedtime sweet would have been nice). 8) Adult Friendly - The hotel welcomes families and has child friendly features like a dedicated pool and child sized bikes, there is also an adult-only beach club and privacy at the villas. Opportunities: 1) Low Cost Food Options: Both Saffron and Cello cost around $100 USD per person for entree, shared appetizer and soft drink. The least cost alternative was a cheeseburger or plate of tacos for around $50 USD. It is a high end resort, but $50 for a cheeseburger seems high. 2) Check-In: Even with elite status in both atBanyan and Accor and several advance notices, our room was not ready when we got there at 1:30. After several failed attempts, we finally got situated around 4:00. Understanding there are logistical challenges of guests who want to stay late and others who want to come early, and that is life in a hotel. The disappointment here was the way the early arrival was handled gave us a poor first impression and gave us negative vibes at the beginning of the trip - no real suggestions on how to enjoy the facilities early or even where things were located - more like we will text you when your room is ready, but go away for now. The management team eventually made it right, but it was not what we expected at a AAA five diamond hotel and it created negative energy for the trip. We contrast this with our recent stay at Banyan Tree Lang Co (Vietnam) where the room was ready on time for us, the manager personally came to the car to welcome each guest, the villa host took a welcome photo and handed each guest a personalized note on their arrival. This one did not feel as impersonal as a generic business hotel, but there are only 160 rooms in the whole hotel, and we just did not get the warmth we have experienced in other AAA Five Diamond (or even Four Diamond) hotels across the world where you are spending $1,000+ per night. 3) Non-Digital Experience - In an effort to be paperless and eco-friendly, the hotel has everything available almost exclusively electronically including menus, property maps and activity guides. It's great to be eco-friendly, but honestly, I do not want to be squinting at my cell phone when I am trying to figure out the wine choice on a $200+ meal. Overall, the property was well located and nicely designed. Most of the staff was very hospitable and produced a nice luxury experience. There were a number of minor rough edges and nothing that really called it out as one of the best hotels in the world. We stay in a lot of nice properties and would consider this higher than average but not great. We would probably not stay here again given the total cost, but for someone who has never been, it could be a good experience if you get a good warm welcome in the beginning.

I came here for a baby moon and had the most relaxing time. We spent most of our day with by Sur beach and the service was excellent. We were so well taken care of Gamaliel. He always made sure our water was filled and went out of his way to make sure we had the most relaxing time. Was a beautiful trip!

Gamaliel by the “Sur” beach club is number one!! He made us deal so welcome and had amazing service!! You really made our trip.

Our stay at Banyan Tree was absolutely exceptional. We loved everything—from the luxurious, beautifully designed villas to the outstanding food and impeccable service. The service throughout the resort was truly top-notch, and every staff member made us feel welcome. A special thank you to our beach waiter, Gamaliel, who went above and beyond to make our experience memorable. His exceptional service, warm personality, and genuine smile made every visit to the beach even more enjoyable. We can’t wait to come back!

We loved our villa! Note the 2nd bedroom is only connected via outside stairs and keys are required to get to/from each bedroom. Living room is not connected and does not have a bathroom. The pool is huge. Hot tub was too hot to use. Housekeeping was great! Concierge services were mostly very helpful Madai and Eduardo in particular were very quick to respond and answered all our questions. Food was good especially breakfast. The pricing is very expensive even for a resort destination. Saffron didn’t live up to the hype. La Copa was our favorite with excellent service.