Banyan Mayakoba was incredible. Truly the most luxurious and distinct out of all of the Mayakoba properties. The landscaping and architecture evokes a genuine Mexican meets Southeast Asian paradise. We are a well traveled couple from New York who prefers five star hotels and accommodations. If you prefer hotels similar to the Mandarin Oriental, then Banyan is ideal. The hospitality at Banyan is superb and one of the best customer service experiences we’ve ever had. We speak some Spanish, but for those who do not, every staff member is fluent in English. The service is so quick and every request was met with such a gracious smile and lovely conversation. My husband and I were visiting for his birthday and there were multiple surprises for us throughout the visit. It was incredibly kind and we are very thankful for them. TIP: We appreciate the hard work and dedication that these teams provide to help us have a relaxing vacation, so we always make sure to have cash available to tip all team members, housekeeping, and turn down every day. You will need constant transportation if you choose to go to the beach house or the other hotels for dinner which means you’ll be requesting golf cars or the Mayokaba car services, which are complimentary. However it is always kind to tip the driver each time. The hotel is the grandest of all of the hotels at Mayakoba. It is the oldest, and despite some of the reviews here, we found the rooms and facilities pristine and very well kept. We prefer more personality in our hotels and we wanted a true tropical beach getaway rather than a shiny, modern experience that we felt the other newer hotels had. The main lobby was awe inspiring with the pergolas, waterways, lounges, and Banyan Tree. The Sands and Sur Beach house a drive from the lobby is newer with a beautiful infinity pool, beach grounds, and indoor lounges. The gym is fantastic, two rooms with all the right equipment and a squat rack. It does get busy so schedule time to go early in the morning or during the afternoon. TIP: if you want a secluded and tranquil beach experience go to the Sur beach off to the side of Sands and order the calamari. We had a pool spa villa in the best location. It was steps away from the lobby, gym, and spa which was perfect. The room was large, with a private pool, outdoor bathtub, walk-in closet and double sinks. We did not need anything more. The room was beautiful scented every day with heated oil burner and full stocked with water, coffee, and the essentials. Housekeeping and turn down was impeccable. There are bikes attached to each accommodation that is also another form of transport. The spa is one of the best we have been to and again our favorite spas are at the Mandarin. This was truly unique with a Rainforest Experience that comes along with a booking that includes, sauna, rain shower, and vitality pools. I had a Balinese massage that was relaxing and my husband had the sleep well massage. Both come with refreshments. It is on the higher priced side but we felt it was well worth the price. All of the restaurants in Mayakoba were excellent. We ventured to each hotel every night to try different restaurants, bars, and experience each of their styles. We highly recommend the Crab fried rice at Saffron at Banyan, the Artichoke appetizer and margaritas/mexcalitas at Zapote Bar - Rosewood. The Nutella Churros at the lobby bar at Banyan as well as the tacos were some of our favorite dishes throughout the stay. The chocolate meringue dessert at Casa Amate at Andaz was decadent! Agave Azul at Rosewood was delicious Latin Asian fusion cuisine! TIP: It was easy to make OpenTable reservations prior to our trip. It was not particularly busy during our stay, so there was enough availability day of. Try all the restaurants at every property. Visit El Pueblito for souvenirs and for their additional cafes and restaurants. La Fondita was highly recommended for lunch but we never had the chance. All in all, it was an amazing experience and we plan on visiting again. Thank you for an incredible vacation!

We have been taken very good care when we get off the uber. Ivan escorted us to the dock area for a ride to lobby at beach side. Paola and Emmanuel provided all of assistance we need during stay and departure. Everything here is just perfect and seamless. This is a perfect place for Honeymoon. Wonderful breakfast with sea breeze. Resort has managed the beach side and pool very well. We did not leave the beach side at all during our stay. Would definitely consider going back for our next trip to Quintana Roo.

My husband and I had a magical few days at Banyan Tree Mayakoba! On the rare occasion we have to travel without little kids, we looked for something that would be superb. And this place exceeded expectations! The reviews about the people at the resort are so true. They are lovely and personable and go out of their way to help you enjoy your time there. We were upgraded upon arrival to wellness suite that, in addition to the private pool, had a hot tub, a steam shower, and an entirely separate small villa with a daybed and large selection of teas 💕. My one recommendation to other guests is to be specific with the temperature you’d like your pool. Ours was heated upon arrival (which I had requested) and it was perfect but then continued to be heated until it was too hot and had to be cooled down. There’s attention to detail that did not go unnoticed. The local trinkets in our room at turndown service, two bug spray options (I used the natural one) in the room, plenty of waters and milk for coffee, the cleanliness of the room, and the bikes. We were often offered a golf cart when walking around the property but one of our favorite things about vacation is to be active in a natural setting. The spa was top-notch and I’ve had the fortune of being to some amazing ones. We enjoyed all our meals but Cello was a highlight and we hadn’t planned on going because we had reservations to HAAB that were canceled because not enough people signed up (pretty bummed about that. Also, breakfast at Oriente was incredible. There’s so much to choose from and even more beyond the buffet. Also, the servers are incredibly attentive and friendly. Thank you to Gaby and Ivan, our concierges who were always responsive on WhatsApp, and to everyone at Banyan Tree Mayakoba!

This is a stellar place in Mayakoba and Riviera Maya, with wonderful scenery, restaurants and facilities, but most importantly great people who work here. The reception area has several bars and restaurants. My favourite is Cello (thanks to Diana Cardenas, Laura, Hugo, David, Javier and all the team - for creating some very special and welcoming moments, as well as making special dishes for me). You feel like in Venice there with the canals view and authentic Italian food (Cello's chef was apparently trained in Tuscany for 6 months, I was told!). Saffron is another fantastic spot if you're into Asian food - thanks to Jasmine and Karen Rocha. In the beach area, the place to be is Sands, a super-cool restaurant with the French Riviera vibes (so many thanks to Aleida Mendieta, Leila, Alan, Miguel, Arturo, and all the team). The personnel at the F&B are so well trained and genuinely care for you, which shows that they're happy with their work, for which thanks to Abel and Israel. They go an extra mile to accommodate last minute and special requests, which is excellent teamwork. Executive chef Alfonso de la Dehesa is a super inviting and friendly person, personally showing guests the catch of the day and making them feel like home. The resort is a very peaceful place, especially the beach area. A huge respect is that, unlike many places in Riviera Maya, their spa doesn't offer commercialised "shaman meditations" and other such practices, and do not exploit local pagan beliefs for profit, thus conducting business in a very ethical manner by respecting their guests' religion and not trying to "sell" and impose esoteric practices on them. You can feel there is a good ethics/culture and the staff treat customers as precious clients, respecting their business. All staff speak good English (not just pretend they do but are actually very good at it) and are very professional, you can tell they have selective, competitive recruitment. The only little imperfection in a long period was that the Front Office manager Andres was nice during a personal encounter, showed some villas and left his number, but then disappeared and ignored messages. I guess it's a busy place but you need to be consistent and follow up as promised. Make sure you use the boats and explore all the canals around Mayakoba! Their boatmen are super nice, thanks to Jesus and his colleagues who ferried me all over. All in all, if you plan to be in Mayakoba, especially for a long stay, it is the place to stay or visit if you want excellent service, fantastic food, positive vibes and great, lasting memories. Most importantly, the resort have unbelievable flora and fauna! Please take good care of the nature, all plants and living creatures at Maykoba, as they make the place an image of Paradise on Earth! Muchas gracias!

The quality of the property is fantastic and the service is very good. The only reason I deducted a star is because the hot tub didn’t work. I had to call them three times and message them on What’sApp before it got fixed. It only got fixed on my last night so I barely got to use it. It’s crazy that at a resort this nice, I have to spend my time tracking a simple maintenance request instead of enjoying my vacation. I have seen several other reviews that mention maintenance problems so there might be a theme there. The beach and water are not very nice but that’s not the hotel’s fault. If you’re going to stay here, you have probably already seen photos and videos of the beach so you know what to expect. The water in downtown Playa del Carmen is much prettier. I stayed in May and the seaweed wasn’t that bad. The resort did an excellent job of cleaning it up. The security is insanely tight but that’s a good thing. I felt like I was going to the White House with all the security checkpoints. I felt 100% safe here and appreciate them keeping a close eye on us.