Hotel Esencia

Was amazing, super luxurious, the beach was amazing and the staff were great, smiling, welcoming and friendly. The place looked like a peace of heaven.

While the grounds are immaculate, the rooms are impeccable, and the food is sensational, the standout feature at Hotel Esencia is the staff. Everyone is personable, charming, attentive, and simply delightful to be around. We are a family with young (under-11) children who spend very full days at the beach — building sand castles, snorkeling, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, and riding ‘seabobs’. The staff helped us navigate between activities and did so with genuine smiles and laughter throughout. Plus, the hotel arranged and guided us on a fantastic excursion that included snorkel and swimming with the manatees at a nearby lagoon (highly recommended!). We would encourage everyone to ‘wake up starving’ because breakfast is phenomenal with pancakes, eggs, smoothies, French toast, and breakfast sandwiches to rival the very best otherwise offered in Mexico City. We will be back and sincerely recommend the Hotel Esencia experience!

This was my second time visiting beautiful Hotel Esencia - my first time solo! The pick up from the airport was seamless, as was check in/out (I love that you moved it from the building at the entrance to the Concierge office). The attention and service from the entire staff was EXCEPTIONAL. The concierge team was very communicative both in person and via WhatsApp, it was nice to get a daily message listing available activities. The pool/beach service was stellar - Alfonso & Kennedy were so warm and friendly, they made me feel at home. Alfonso makes a killer margarita! The pool deck/lounges were always pristine. I also want to acknowledge the beach crew who work tirelessly to keep the beach beautiful. Housekeeping is consistent and on point & the turn down service was just as fun as I remember, always leaving fun treats and charming little souvenirs. The sunrise yoga is great for all levels with excellent instructors & under a shaded pavilion with ocean breeze. I had two excellent spa services, one helping me shift gears at the beginning of the week and another helping me prepare for another week of travel. Marcos was my guide for the lovely lagoon/cenote snorkeling tour - I have been dreaming about doing that again since our last stay. So beautiful, refreshing & serene. The Cocktail Reception/Mexican Grill Feast on Thursday night was new to me this visit and so much fun. The live music was great and the oceanfront dinner was outstanding. Elias kept bringing me courses and plates of the most delicious food and I joked that he was trying to kill me. And the food!! Stand outs from the week - the pumpkin salsa (OMG), beet/pineapple/avocado salad, wood fired pizza, ceviche, sushi, steamed ginger fish, gazpacho rojo, the list goes on. Overall, just one of the loveliest, most peaceful weeks of my life! Thank you to all the staff who worked to make that happen! (I have two suggestions: Provide printed menus in the suites (I'm old school I guess) & offer half portions on certain items like salads or apps for solo travelers.)

We had the most unforgettable stay at Esencia with our toddler. The food, scenery, and rooms are all top notch and can speak for themselves, but I can’t stop thinking about the kindness everyone we met showed us. The hospitality we received was above and beyond gracious, welcoming, and kind. We never felt out of place with our toddler who can be excitable at times, and every person who helped us during our stay, or even walked by us, stopped to give him a smile or try to get him to laugh. I wish I could shout out every single person who we had the pleasure of meeting, because everyone truly went out of their way to make sure we had the best stay possible. Elias and Mets, among many, many others, made our late afternoon lunches and dinners as comfortable as possible and pulled out all the stops to help keep our son happy so we could finish a full meal, and packed up and brought whole meals to our room when our son had different plans in the most gracious and understanding way. Kennedy and the other friends we made at the pool also went out of their way to bring us floaties and pool activities to keep it fresh for us! All the concierges who helped keep our day to day plans smooth, and the various managers and servers, like Samuel with the afternoon tea and snacks, were constantly finding ways to put smiles on all our faces. They just anticipated our needs and went out of their way to suggest ideas or bring us things without us even thinking to ask. It was a level of care I’ve never experienced and it was so wonderful getting to know them. This is such a special group of people who make the Esencia experience unique and we owe them so much thanks for making this a one of a kind trip for us and welcoming and treating us like their own family.

Imagine you’re on a desert island with the best beach, spa, food and service you could ever dream of. That’s what you can expect at Hotel Esencia. We learned that it was once the small private estate of a royal family and it feels like you’re part of the family with all of the privileges that come with that. Not one detail has been overlooked, it’s just heaven. A huge thank you to all of the genuine lovely people there who made our vacation dream come true. We can’t wait to return.