Banyan Tree Mayakoba

We were last in Cancun about 3 years ago. We had stayed at the same resort the past 4 times in Cancun and decided to try a different one for this trip. We had initially booked a 6-night stay at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba resort in a bliss pool villa as we were told they were recently renovated. Upon arrival, we were informed there were no bliss pool villas available (despite our having specifically booked this accommodation and had our travel agent confirm these villas had been renovated recently) so we were upgraded to a serenity pool villa - which was a big disappointment. There were stains on the furniture and rugs, mold on the shower door, the pool had stains along with floating debris and looked like it had not been cleaned for quite some time (see the pictures added to the review post), etc. The outdoor bathtub is made of what appears to be porous stone and also terribly stained and unsanitary. Not something you would want to soak in. We requested that they clean the hot tub and pool so we could use it that day and were assured it would happen immediately. An hour later, we had to place a call to the front desk to make certain someone was coming to clean the pool. They finally came late that evening so we were unable to use the pool that first day. The next morning, the pool was covered with leaves and debris so we had to call them back to clean the pool. After they cleaned the pool, we noticed that the pool was not circulating so we called to ask for the pool to be turned “on”. We were told that they only run the pool between guests. It is an infinity pool! It is supposed to run constantly and that would help with keeping the pool clean. This is especially important given that the villa is surrounded by a garden with leaves, twigs, bugs, etc. constantly falling into the pool! The following day after they came to clean the pool and hot tub, when we turned the hot tub jets on – the underwater lights in the walls of the hot tub fell out (see pic)! We called the front desk and they eventually sent someone to repair the hot tub. Because they would not leave the pool running, during our time there we had to call them repeatedly to send someone to skim the pool. We understand that this type of pool will get leaves, etc. BUT - if they had kept it circulating as they should have with an infinity pool AND if they had at least bothered to clean the area around the pool once, we would have made do. After breakfast on the second day, we went to the front desk to ask them to have someone come collect the dishes from our previous night’s in-room meal (they had not come to collect the dishes the previous night despite two calls to the desk to request it). They asked us why we had not notified our villa concierge about this and other concerns we had. We told them because we had never met our “personal concierge” and were assured that he would reach out to us that morning and come by to introduce himself. We did end up receiving a text from him later that day, and we did use him to try to address other issues that arose during our truncated stay, but he never stopped by to introduce himself in person as promised or to discuss the ongoing issues with our room – just another example supporting the observations that this is definitely not a “luxury” resort. What we found very odd and disconcerting about this resort was the price of the food and drinks. We first experienced the extortionary prices while waiting for our room to be ready. We sat at the lobby bar and had an iced tea and a gin and tonic. I kid you not, the bill with tax and tip was $75 USD! They did not even bring pretzels, nuts, etc. for us while having drinks. On our second day there for lunch we had a hamburger ($50 USD) and a personal size margherita pizza ($40 USD). The food overall was good, but not great. One night, dinner for two including two margheritas, two main courses, and one side dish was $520 USD. We have stayed in luxury resorts in remote or island locations (Bora Bora, Maldives, Botswana Okavango Delta, etc.) and certainly understand that high prices for food are a given when traveling these days. However, even at the most exclusive and remote resorts, we have not paid these kind of prices for food and drinks. A final experience to share is about the “spa”. I booked a 90-minute deep tissue massage. I had looked at the prices beforehand and was shocked to see this treatment cost $508.95 USD. This is by far the most I have ever seen charged for a 90-minute massage at a large, chain resort. Still, it is vacation, so I decided to do it. We had been at the beach for the day and I headed to the “spa” about 30 minutes early where I was informed that they do not have showers, steam, etc. type of spa facilities for use before your treatment! They apparently have some sort of facilities available if you book a “rain forest” spa experience, but they told me that if someone has that treatment booked, other guests cannot use those facilities. I rushed back to my villa to shower to get the sunscreen and sand off me and then rushed back. The massage was good, and at the end, the masseur informed me that they would allow me to use the shower, steam, sauna, etc. facilities as a courtesy. I thought that would be great, until I found out that they wanted me to wait around for 20-30 minutes for another guest to finish using these facilities! Ultimately, for the first time ever, we decided to cut our vacation short, leaving after the 3rd day because the condition of the room, level of service, and our overall experience at this resort was so poor.

We had a wonderful family vacation. The facilities were beautiful and first rate, and the staff was incredibly attentive. The buffet breakfasts were outstanding. While the food was very tasty, it was very expensive so be prepared for that. We enjoyed our meals at all the restaurants except Tomahawk, where the prices were well over $125 for steak or fish. We had a chef come to a villa one night and that was outstanding. The food was delicious, more than plentiful and the two servers were incredibly attentive. My only negative with our experience was that there was quite a bit of seagrass. I have been there at Christmas time, and did not have that problem. As such, I might reconsider going in March, realizing it is a function of mother nature and hard to control.

Jorge has been great for us at the beach club! He's always one step ahead of our needs and is quick with service. He's made our experience even better!

We had an incredible stay at Mayakoba and were blown away by the level of service throughout the entire property. The staff truly made the experience special — everyone was warm, attentive, and went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. A special thank you to Gama, who took care of us at the beach every day. He consistently went above and beyond, anticipating what we needed before we even asked and making each beach day feel effortless and relaxing. His kindness, professionalism, and attention to detail really stood out and made our trip even more memorable. We can’t wait to come back — the hospitality at Mayakoba is truly exceptional.

We have had the most wonderful week at Banyan Tree. A few specific shout-outs: Edson was an incredible host by the pool bar. We had a fantastic conversation about different tequilas and then he helped us choose some new ones to sip on and try. (He also helped me make a delicious drink off menu when I wanted something without sugar!) Cristobal at the same bar was also excellent, and we were so impressed with his tortilla salt creation! Raul, too, helped us find pool seats and was kind and accommodating. Paco by the beach. What a guy! Every day we were there with our big group, including two small children, and he was attentive, patient, and super friendly. Not to mention the drinks and food came out quickly, which was super helpful with small kids. If you're there during the Catch of the Day hour, you must get it. Absolutely delicious ceviche and tacos. Thank you, Paco, for your wonderful hosting! Daniel and Marco at breakfast each day were also incredible, attentive, and kind. We loved seeing them every morning. Sonia and Sarai were also standouts helping us plan our week, and always checking in to see if we needed anything in our villa. Overall, we were blown away by the kindness of the staff at Banyan Tree. We will definitely be back and recommending to friends! Thank you!