Exploring the luxury lifestyle at Rosewood Mayakoba, Mexico

In March this year we were in Mexico with Anders' family, thanks to a larger birthday celebration. We decided to extend our stay just for ourselves and truly indulge in a few days of complete and utter luxury. After some thorough research online we found the Rosewood Mayakoba resort, and oh my what an experience!

Rosewood Mayakoba is a luxury resort on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. It’s located just north of Playa del Carmen in the upscale Mayakoba development. There are 128 suites in total, all with outdoor showers and private plunge pools, either at the beach or overlooking a winding lagoon. They’re designed for privacy, ultimate relaxation and personal indulgence in an eco-conscious setting. The development feels like a contemporary and friendly 21st century version of the ancient Maya palaces complete with a 24 hour butler service.

After the always slightly chaotic arrival at the Cancún airport, you’re immediately transported into another world when you cross the main gate to the Mayakoba complex. After driving on a small, winding path flanked with dense jungle on both sides you reach a second security gate for the Rosewood resort, signaling that the place you’re arriving it is quite special. And it is.

Arrive by night and you’re greeted by fires and lanterns that lit up the resort entrance. Before you know it you’ve been checked in and you and your luggage have been teleported to your suite. A spectacular circular stone stairway with a water feature connects down to the dock of the main compound while the upper level connects to the restaurants and small plaza with a shop and the tequila library that also functions as a pop-up for treats such as doughnuts and ice cream.

Arrive by day and you’ll be taken to your suite by boat, after sunset you’ll have to do with being driven by a golf cart but can choose to take the boat ride later just to experience it. What immediately stood out at the Rosewood Mayakoba was how genuinely friendly and caring the staff was. It’s one thing to offer a butler service that can take care of your smallest wishes, but it’s another to get a warm smile and sincere attention from every single staff member. Which is good, since it seems to be legions of them, making sure that the resort looks impeccable and everything just runs smoothly.

Although we had booked the lowest priced rooms, the $550-695/night plus tax and resort fee Lagoon Studio Suite, we were upgraded two steps to a Deluxe Overwater Lagoon Suite costing a cool $850-990 plus taxes and resort fee per night (resulting in around $1327/night). At a glance the bungalow looks quite square and geometric, but the exterior shape is broken up by a screen made from branches on the outside of the bridge that leads to the door and the front porch. It almost looks like a bird’s nest, which was very appropriate since a pretty little bird had taken to building a nest on the outer corner. As the name suggests, this suite is free-standing and is suspended over the water of the lagoon.

The over water bungalows are composed of many angles with multiple negative volumes that open up the inside to the outside. A big void is in connection to the living room, which meant that it was basically open on three sides, and a second extended from the outside shower garden towards the bedroom, completing the symmetric layout of this room. There are multiple more small windows scattered around, but even with these every room felt private.

The most private space is the outdoor shower garden. A full glass wall opens up from the bathroom with a door through the shower. With the interior doors open this space can be seen through the entire suite, right from the plunge pool overlooking the lagoon. Although an enclosed space (except from above, obviously) it’s perfectly sized to be open and spacious without feeling exposed when using it. These suites are made for couples though, there are his and hers sinks but the toilet booth is quite exposed, as is the shower, which means that for this kind of privacy additional doors have to be closed.

Facing the lagoon is a porch with a sun bed, a small table with chairs and a plunge pool. It’s kept heated and always available for a quick cool down or an evening dip. Space is simply not a problem, as this suite strictly designed for two totals 91 m2 (977 sq.ft.) interior space with a very generous ceiling height throughout.

More details on our favorite parts of this resort to come in the following posts!

/Jessica