Rosewood Mayakoba

Rosewood Mayakoba has truly become our “happy place.” We are here for our 11th visit over the past decade, and what continues to bring us back to this incredible Mexican paradise is the people. The level of service here is simply unmatched—it feels less like a resort and more like coming home to family. While many luxury hotels advertise butler service, Rosewood Mayakoba delivers something entirely different. The butlers here are genuinely attentive, present, and thoughtful in every detail. From unpacking and packing our bags to creating personalized touches like custom amenities, pillowcases, and even a margarita station in our room—every moment feels special. This trip, Angel and Johana went above and beyond to make our stay unforgettable, and we are so grateful. There are also some fantastic new additions since our last visit. The newly remodeled Punta Bonita restaurant is stunning, and the food is absolutely delicious. But the standout new favorite has to be the beachside bar—what a perfect addition! It’s beautifully designed, incredibly relaxing, and the bartenders have crafted an amazing menu of specialty drinks. It’s the ideal spot to unwind. Another highlight is the newer breakfast experience at Aquí Me Quedo. It’s the perfect way to start your day—peaceful, scenic, and overlooking the beach. The service is exceptional, and the team—Karla, Miguel, Daniel, and Carlos—anticipates your every need. Fresh fruit, pastries, and warm hospitality arrive the moment you sit down. Grecia, the hostess, runs everything flawlessly with such kindness and attention to detail. And of course, the adult pool experience remains top-tier. The staff ensures your drink is never empty and that you are completely comfortable at all times. Be sure to ask for Richie, Nolderdo, or Fernando—they are fantastic. And William at the bar creates some of the best drinks we’ve had anywhere. Every visit reminds us why we keep coming back. Rosewood Mayakoba isn’t just a resort—it’s an experience defined by extraordinary people, thoughtful details, and unforgettable moments. We already can’t wait for visit number twelve!

I rarely write reviews on here, but I feel compelled to after reading so many conflicting reviews on the RW Mayakoba (as I researched it before visiting). We just returned from a week long vacation with our kids (loved it so much we extended one day). We have been to Las Ventanas many times but wanted to take our kids somewhere more kid friendly, so decided to try this Rosewood. We had an AMAZING experience here and I’m actually shocked about all the tough reviews. In my opinion this hotel is a different vibe than a Las Ventanas or other Rosewood properties. It’s supposed to feel a little more rustic, in the jungle, biking everywhere. People mention lack of beach but I loved the small beach. It had such a cool jungly vibe with seats hidden between chairs etc. The lagoon was also perfect for kids and my 5 year old could stand and play in there safely all day. They had so many water toys and you could snorkel right in the lagoon. I hate a crowded beach with tons of beach chairs - I’d much rather something quaint like this. The beach was a highlight! Pool service was good too! Yes sometimes we had to flag someone down, but they were attentive and the pool food was fantastic. Also the attention to the seaweed was impressive. Not many resorts in this region would take care of the seaweed issues like the Rosewood did - it was no problem at all. The food was also a highlight. I’m shocked people’s negative views on it. We did Pueblo bonito, the Italian spot, sushi spot twice and Saffron twice. Yes, it’s all expensive and overpriced but that’s what things cost at 5 star hotels. Lastly our butlers were so great, Cesar and Amanda. They planed a kids scavenger hunt one day, brought us pool floats and just made the overall trip so much better. Rosewood Mayakoba is a PERFECT spot for kids, biking to breakfast (with training wheels for my son), the kids club OMG so amazing, I had to beg my daughter to even leave it (activities all day, echo tours, kids spa activities, crafts etc). Movie nights with dinners for kids while the parents ate elsewhere. All so impressive. We will be back next year for Spring Break. And if you have kids, ignore the bad reviews and just go here - it’s amazing!!

It's been nearly a month now since we got back from our 10 day stay at the RW Mayakoba, and I have been waiting to post my review to see if on reflection my feelings had changed about the experience. They have not. My husband and I have traveled all over the world, including to many luxury resorts in Asia, the Maldives, Bali, the Seychelles, Bora Bora, etc. and have yet to have a lukewarm or negative experience. I have had RW Mayakoba on my list for about a decade, but never made the time to go to Mexico because we had so many other places to check off our list. However, we recently had a baby and it was close by enough that it made sense to try out traveling with an infant, and we decided to splurge a bit more than usual as it was our 40th birthdays. I will say that the car service, while exceedingly expensive at $240 each way, did include some nice snacks, music, water/Corona, and most important an appropriately installed infant car seat. (For parents out there, it was a Mexican version of the Chicco KeyFit 30 attached with the base. I am sort of militant about car seat safety as a physician and was happy that it was super safe). They seem to install the seat regularly enough that it was easy peasy. Check-in was lovely in an open-air building by the start of the lagoons, and while a bit gimmicky like a Disney ride, the boat ride through the Mangroves to our room was beautiful. They did upgrade our room for us, which was a nice touch. We didn't meet our butler and were shown around our room by a colleague who was very much in a hurry. The room, however, was nicely babyproofed and the crib, play pen, and personalized toys for our child were an unexpected detail that we loved. This is perhaps where the compliments end. Getting in touch with our butler via WhatsApp to plan for and confirm reservations was touch and go. They didn't provide suggestions for us about where to eat or plan an itinerary for meals. The butler routinely did not confirm reservations. We decided to go on a nature walk/bird watching tour through Mayakoba for all the hotels that started at 7 AM, and despite eventually confirming our booking, the butler didn't offer to figure out transportation to the actual tour even though it was pitch black outside at that time of the morning. Restaurants were routinely closed on a regular basis at the last minute even though the hotel was not at capacity. On one of the evenings, the hotel was hosting a wedding welcome party at the garden restaurant, but used all the staff from the Casa del Lago to cover that event, plus a private dining party in the conference room attached to the restaurant. We didn't get our food for over an hour and a half, with a wailing infant who went home exhausted and hungry despite a 6 PM reservation. I tried to speak with the Casa del Lago manager about it, but he said "he didn't have time." Housekeeping routinely showed up around the time our infant napped, between 9-10:30 AM and again at 2-3:30 PM despite the do not disturb sign on our door. One would think that a luxury resort with 2 butlers per room would have the foresight to let the cleaning staff know that family X has left room ABC for breakfast and its time to clean their room. In the Maldives our butler routinely met us at breakfast to help plan the day and sort through activities while also notifying housekeeping we were out of the suite. At the beach and pool, there were very few staff members around to help set up the lounge chairs with towels or umbrellas (this was especially true at the beach), and you'd have to track them down just to get a bottle of water or order lunch. We actually didn't know that we could have ordered food for free for our little one as children under age 5 eat free, and had been ordering food for us to all share with her. In the end, we complained to the management team and while the manager did listen to our concerns, it was clear that the chaos surrounding meals/restaurants, the preference for wedding guests and the decision to close down restaurants last minute to accommodate those patrons, and the under-staffing present throughout the hotel were all just glaring issues. The manager conceded that the management team had changed in the last month due to issues, and that staffing shortages were present all along the Riviera Maya. In the end, it kind of felt like because we weren't "rich" enough, were were just another plebe that didn't matter. The manager did offer us two free massages, one for myself and one for my husband, and I will say they were lovely and the Spa/Sauna services were perhaps the highlight of the trip. The breakfast was the only Mexican option, which made us sad as we would have preferred more local, authentic, elevated food aside from the Mexican Grill Night (which, we barely got into AND was not full despite a 6 PM reservation). The remaining 3 restaurants (Zapote Bar, Agave Azul) were fine, nothing great. Service at the beachside restaurant was abysmal and we were rejected from breakfast one morning due to bringing our infant, despite a blasted text message from the butlers that families and children were welcome for breakfast at that location. Management also offered us a free-3 nights stay to come back and see how they had improved their service and promised it would be in our checkout paperwork. We left the resort at checkout empty handed, not that we would have wanted to come back to RW Mayakoba for another 3 day stay at a mediocre hotel resting on the laurels of the Rosewood brand. Especially one that also needs significant physical upgrades to the property, not just the service. Save yourself the time and skip this - we are now skipping all RW resorts after this experience. No need to feel nickel and dimed when you're paying this month for "luxury" with a complete lack of attention to detail and service. Also - Sakura at the Banyan Tree was a superior meal despite it being just "fine" in general, but was better than anything else on the RW property.

We expected a 5 star experience but it’s missing the elements that you expect from a highly rated hotel. First, it has no option for Mexican cuisine for dinner and the food options are all very similar. Second, the service is good but not great, not special. And lastly, the property is large but missing care and attention you expect from a property at this price.

We are now past the 12 stay mark and it is always a delight to return! This place truly has a soul and succeeds in making you feel part of the family. First off the location is unparalleled: you are completely immersed in the mangrove while having direct access to the private beach. The hotel goes to great lengths to be eco conscious which means we always see the most spectacular birds on the boat tours in the mangrove. More than the location, the Rosewood stands out from other hotels in Mayakoba thanks to the attentive and personalized service (there are 2 butlers at your disposal) and also by the design of the villas and restaurants. We also appreciate the diversified restaurant offering and particularly recommend the family-style Ceiba dinner hosted by management. There are also a lot of activities for all ages such as paddle boarding, boat tours, yoga classes. We celebrated our daughter birthday here and are looking forward to return for her father birthday later in the year