More about Rosewood Mayakoba
One of My Favorite Vacations
by TripAdvisor Member cbsport121
The Rosewood Mayakoba was absolutely spectacular. The rooms are very large, are exquisitely done, comfortable, and to top it all off there is a roof top pool. During my stay my room was on the beach so that i never had to take the golf carts but i know from going to and from dinner that they pick you up and drop you off very speedily. The beach was great, a little small, but fun. The pools were beautiful (infinity edge). The tennis courts were grass and could use some watering, but obviously it's not a main attraction at the resort. The golf course is fabulous - Greg Norman course. The town, Playa del Carmen, is easy to access whether its by taxi or one of the resorts drivers taking you there. The resort drivers can also take you to Cancun or rent a vehicle for you.
There are three restaurants at the Rosewood Mayakoba - Punta Bonita, Casa del Lago, and the Raw bar and tequila library. The food was pretty good. The lunch menus at Punta Bonita and Casa del Lago are incredible and very good (I am very selective of the restaurants i consider to have good food). The dinner at Punta Bonita is not bad but could improve among the portions and the selection. It is the restaurant by the beach and it is mainly grilled seafood and steak with small sides that you order along with your meal. Casa del Lago is the restaurant by the main entrance and is by the pool in a beautiful setting. The menu is not bad but it is limited. Casa del Lago seems to be one of those restaurants trying to be like the ones in New York City or Stephen Starr restaurants in Philadelphia. My brother unfortunately found a staple in his meat the first night there, and all over the area you will find 'foam' on the menu or on your plates. I think that it is considered to be a 'delicacy' there - but it doesn't quite cut it for Americans and is a little strange. The raw bar - is simply raw. I suggest going into town for dinner on Avienda Cinco (5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen). The food and nightlife is very good there.
Being picked up and dropped off from the airport is no hassle whatsoever. They arrive on time and drop you off with a good time ahead of you to get through security.
Overall, the Rosewood Mayakoba is one of the finest resorts and areas I have ever been to, and would love to come back soon.
ps. I highly suggest checking out Xeh-Ha or XCaret for some fun water rides and experiences. Also, Tulum or Chichen Itza. I went to Tulum and was absolutely fascinated by the history of the Mayan Culture.
Some service problems, but potential for a rare resort experience...
by TripAdvisor Member Eye4quality
I visited the Rosewood Mayakoba 4/12-4/16 with my wife to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary. Our expectations were high based upon our familiarity with Rosewood's iconic Carlyle hotel. We live in the Southeastern US and have one young child that we didn't bring on this trip. Because of that young child we don't get away very often and this was a "splurge" in time. This was our first trip to Mexico. We flew non-stop to Cancun and rode in a Mercedes SUV to the property. It took about 35 minutes. Not a scenic trip but I had sprung for a bottle of Champagne for the car. Champagne seemed overpriced put the butler's tray had rose petals. It was nicely done. Rosewood Mayakoba share a fortress like compound with Fairmont, Viceory and another developement. Rosewood and Fairmont are the only ones built at this time. The resort's design is breathtaking. It is far and away the Rosewood's best attribute. Limestone, lush woods, artisan blown glass, chic fabrics and hips furniture give the Rosewood a classy Euro-cool moden feel. The native plants are landscaped beautifully to remind that you are indeed in coastal Mexico. If you arrive before 4pm the staff will take you to your suite via canalboat, afterwards you will have to travel by golfcart. The suites are dotted around the property on the three main islands within the canals. All of the island are connected by bridges with lovely winged "Calatrava-esqe" railing that hold lit torches by night. The suites have very well appointed marble shower and bath. Each suite has a plunge pool deck and a second story sun deck with a futon. There is not much storage space in the closet.
The food is understandably mexican themed with guacamole, quesadillas, pork, there is also ceviche. The liquor is mostly Tequila with a very broad selection for the Tequila enthusiast. For those of us in the US... Cuban cigars are ever present and the hotel carrys a large selection. The quality of the food is fair to good. The chef at the main restuarant is a true artist whose food may struggle to translate to the menu. His fare is more suited to a very exclusive restuarant in a large international city. The resort's pastry chef is a star! The chocolate cake at the main restaurant is fantastic and his pastries at breakfast are extraordinary. The wine list needs some real help. The pool is lovely, the beach is plain. Service throughout the hotel is slow but
solicitous. A dearth of senior managers on site may knock your trip sideways if you have a service issue that doesn't resolve itself. The spa quarters are exceptional with steam, sauna, plunge pool, complicated showers on both sides of the men and women's locker areas. The workout room is above average. The pspa therapists are good if you book in advance not so great if you get the second team for that spontaneous massage. Total cost for the resort with meals treatments at the spa and some extras for activites will be about twice your room cost. Weather was 70's and 80's overcast to clear with little rain and a strong breeze. The sun is very hot and the night sky is very clear. We had a lovely trip but would probably not rush back. In sum, the resort will probably show much better in the future. The ideal traveller for this resort is someone who likes cosmopolitan design, is planning a romantic getaway, likes Tequila and mexican fare, will spring for chartered boats to dive / snorkel in cozumel, and is able to endure some inconsistent service while the staff matures.
Perfect accomodations, grounds, location, beaches, staff, & and the list goes on
by TripAdvisor Member Jacobs-Family
We recently stayed at the Rosewood Mayakoba for our 1st wedding anniversary. The property was truly special and very romantic. We knew when we arrived that we had stepped into ultimate luxury. The property is very large with a lagoon side and beach side. If you can walk 3 miles tops, you can walk the entire property. However, they offer golf cart and electric boat rides if you decide not to walk; but we ended just walking until we saw a golf cart and hitched a ride! The rooms are gorgeous. Very well maintained and private; almost like mini-apartments. We had a butler, Cristian, who was wonderful at meeting and exceeding all of our needs. The food is good but not over the top, we enjoyed the beach side restaurant, Punta Bonita, the most. They had more traditional mexican/mayan food and live music on the weekends with a Mariachi band. Playa Del Carmen is a 10 minute car ride south, so we ate there almost every day for lunch / early dinner, to experience the local scene. The resort is brand new, but most of the kinks other reviewers are commenting on are minor and can be fixed with a phone call to your butler. As far as the landscaping not being grown in, that is also very minor. They have very many different varieties of plants / flowers and it is really beautiful; "birds of paradise" plants everywhere you look. We used all the pools and both offered pool side service of food and drinks. Although when we were there the majority of couples were with-out kids, but the property is very kid friendly! They have a pool and beach side area for activities for kids. We will definitely be back; it was well worth the splurge! Thanks for the wonderful memories in México!!!
Beautiful and Unique Vacation Experience
by TripAdvisor Member TexasTraveler08
My family and I recently vacationed at the Rosewood Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, MX and had a wonderful experience. After reading several reviews both positive and negative about this hotel, I decided to contact the person in charge of guest services at the hotel to make sure they were aware of the comments being posted on trip advisor and to make sure they had taken care of any problems expressed. This, in my opinion, is the key to ensuring a great vacation. Proactively address the issues either beforehand or while you are there instead of complaining about them when you return and your vacation is over. Marianne, with guest services, was extremely professional and helpful in putting our mind at ease that our stay at the Rosewood would be an enjoyable one and it was. The rooms are absolutely beautiful (we stayed in an over the water suite), the hotel property is gorgeous and very unique with the canals running throughout the property, the service staff was friendly and attentive and the food down at the beach bar was very good. We did not eat at the nicer restaurant while staying there as we opted to eat in Playa Del Carmen. We had dinner at Yaxche and Playasia at the Blue Parrot hotel in town and both had a neat atmosphere, good food and service and I would recommend both. We played golf at the Mayakoba golf course and it was absolutely beautiful! If you golf, I highly recommend a round there! We also took advantage of the Spa facilities. The treatments were wonderful and it is in a very beautiful setting located on it's own island in the resort. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would definitely return to this property in the future!
Take a boat ride over to...
by sharir
Take a boat ride over to Yelapa for 1/2 day.
Quaint little fishing village that you can go to a mountain waterfall while walking thru the actual village. You can swim at the waterfall--cold! and there is a cantina up there. We ate fresh(just caught) grilled snapper on the beach. It was the best meal. Apparently you can stay at one or two places in this little village for next to nothing, however my understanding is that the only way there is by water taxi/boat. There are vendors hereand a small craft market with the rosewood crafts, jewelry, etc.
perfectly heavenly
by TripAdvisor Member love2travel053
Just returned from celebrating our 25th at Rosewood. Our 7 nights there were simply perfect. I always read T.A.reviews before visiting any property and was concerned about a few common complaints. I e-mailed my concerns to Rosewood and they got back to me in short order saying they read these reviews and work hard solving potencial problems. Example: I read that some of the suites were not very private....I requested complete privacy in my guest preference form....Our suite was very private and perfect. Other concerns of mine were totally taken care of. They took care of everything I mentioned on the guest pref form. They even sent us a wonderful cake on our anniversary. Golf tee offs and spa apts were all in place. The suites are they best we have seen-(stayed at cap juluca, parrot key ,and the like). We thought the housekeeping and butlers were awesome. They will even unpack for you. I just threw my clothes in the drawers and off I went to play. When I came back everything was neatly folded. We had bought some wine and beer at in Playa del Carmen and they not only brought it to our suite but they packed it all in a cooler of ice with a wine opener and lovely wine glasses.
The food is wonderful and not too pricey. Drinks prices are not bad.(unlike parrot key which is a complete rip off) If you are there long enouph you should dine at some of the other lovely hotels near by. We walked on the beach to the Fairmont one night. We also went into Playa del Carmen twice. The restaurants were great -the town is very honky-tonk and crowded but fun...Rent a car if you can-we were glad we did-it's very easy and will save you in the long run.
Golf is great- bring tons of extra balls --out of bounds are mangroves and cenotes. You'll see all the building going on. Seems like they are over-doing it to us. I counted 9 cranes-UGH
We were in the 300 location which was between the beach and lobby. We could walk everywhere with no problem. By the way ,I never got one bug bite-they spray now...
The beach was fine.Water is clean but rouph--- Great sand and great walking beach. Lots to see in both directions. (rosewood is the nicest property as compared to manderine and fairmont) Beach pool and cafe were nice. This is where anyone with kids will be, so if that is bothersome you can use the two other lovely pools.
We used the spa and gym everyday. Perfect in every way.
In conclusion--This is a great tropical resort that is very accessible and a little different( the lagoon location) Our experience was superb. They made us feel very special. Go and enjoy........
Nicest staff ever
by TripAdvisor Member butterfly-family
After a five-days-stay in Rosewood Mayakobá I can only agree: The resort is beautiful, not yet perfect but is has the nicest staff we have ever experienced.
The architecture is breathtaking: The Lobby is sophisticated, the main pool area and Casa del Lago delicate and Punta Bonita simply lovely and especially great for children.
In general we had some minor troubles which could be solved quickly. Astonishing is that the line staff is far more competent than any of the managers. To me and my husband it seemed as if there was no communication between the managers and as if the managing staff doesn't give support to their line staff.
The spa treatments were always in time and very realxing. A warm welcome was always guaranteed and the area is beautiful.
For dining in Punta Bonita we highly recommend to ask for the waiter William. He is outstanding in knowledge about food and beverage and more than charming and anticipating. He could fulfill all our needs and took special care of our sons. They loved him and always wanted to have dinner in Punta Bonita (not letting anyone else attend our table). On top he taught our sons some words in Spanish and Mayan language.
Don't miss to have a "Chocolate Fondant" for desert. The pastry chef is incredibly talented and his breakfast pastry cannot be described by words.
Dinner in the Fine Dining restaurant Casa del Lago was delicious as well. The hostess Italia was extremly nice and always in a good mood, her welcome was always warm.
Twice the waiter Rodrigo took care of us and let us have a memorable evening. My husband had a perfect suckling pig while I enjoyed a wunderful Redsnapper.
Having a drink in the Casa del lago Lobby Bar is definitely not a mistake. Bartender Ezequiel's cocktails are delicious and he is always open to a joke with his guest's.
Some little troubles at the front desk were solved by Diana quickly and efficient (whereas the manager Henar presented herself a little rude. Again a lack of support of the line staff?).
Please not that there is no extra tip line in the bills. We were told that the Resort Manager had them erased which is truely unfair. Especially the waiters were stunning, always polite and did a great job. We think it is just fair to leave them "a little something".
Briefly: Our stay in Rosewood Mayakobá was great, exciting and relaxing. We'd love to come back and find some of the staff still working there.
Special place...almost perfect execution
by TripAdvisor Member HappyTraveler003
Very unique setting as described in many of the reviews - new, spacious, romantic suites. It's very nice to have to a plunge pool, an outdoor shower and a roof deck to make for a lot to do in your own suite. The food was always better than average to excellent and the staff is very firendly. Spa...we had many services...and was vey pleased with the quality of service, the tranquility of the setting and spa facilities. We did nothing but relax and this is a great place for it. The beach is not as peaceful and inviting as Maroma just north, but the pools are more than adequate. While we have a lot of positive feedback and would return/recommend, there was a strange pattern of poor execution on some of our requests that we submitted prior to our arrival. We completed our Guest Preference form prior to arriving and submitted it 2 weeks before, with several questions included. No one responded to our questions and we needed to followup several times to confirm our spa and restaurant requests. Once we did, everything was confirmed. But, we were asked if we wanted extra pillows and blankets - we said yes, but got neither. We were asked which newspaper we prefer in the morning, but never saw a one. And, as we were celebrating our anniversary, we were asked which day is was so they could "do something special," but never saw a thing - even though they asked us. It's like they set all these expectations and dropped the ball. But, the attitude of most of the staff is excellent - so we always felt we were in a special environment. As some other reviewers suggest, these flaws be due to their newness.
Great, could have been excellent
by TripAdvisor Member salsares
As part of our honeymoon we stayed 4 nights at a beachside lagoon view suite. The hotels lobby area is beautifull: Front desk, restaurant and tequila bar. I found the pictures they use in their web page dont give you the best view of this area.
We were taken by boat to our suite. Two things we didn´t like about our suite were:
1) Our plunge pool was always full of dead insects (mostly mosquitoes)
2) There is no furniture (at least a hamock) on the front porch
The AC system had a couple of leaks, there was water coming our of our ceiling, which eventually made puddles. Because of this, we had to change rooms during our firsr night there. I thought I might get an upgrade for this inconvenience, but all we got was a cheap bottle of wine.
We enjoyed the spa area very much. We exercised at the gym and made use of the spa area daily. We also had a couples Swedish massage, which was perfect. We enjoyed the spa´s pool and loved the steam room, sauna and whirlpool. Sara, one of the spa host´s, made us feel very welcome.
We visited all 3 of the restaurants (the tequila bar, the beach restaurant and the main restaurant). We found their food to be good, but a bit expensive. I´d say the best option for the money is the tequila bar, but it´s only open for dinner.
Serivce was pretty good. When we got to our room we were supposed to be recieved by our butler who would give us a tour of the property. The butler was not there when we arrived and it took him a couple of hours to get to us.
I think it would be great if they had pictures for each of the suite types in their webpage. If I could have seen pictures of each of the suites and their location, I might have stayed at a different suite.
As I read in other reviews before visiting: This will defenitely be a great hotel.... as soon as they get over the learning curve.
very unique stay
by TripAdvisor Member christy2064
I stayed one night at this property and it is absolutely beautiful. The staff cannot be nicer and the property is unique. When you arrive you are taken to your room in a boat and met by your butler. I had a lagoon view room and it was very spacious. It included an outdoor shower, rooftop terrace (very private) with daybed and a huge bathtub in the bathroom. There are 3 pools there but you have your own plunge pool so there is no need to leave your room if you dont want to. I at ate the restaurant at the beach and it was very good. The drinks are strong at the lobby bar.
The spa looked wonderful and has a pool there also.
I would say to stay at this property, its wonderful.
Photos
Virgin of Guadalupe procession
Playa del Carmen at sunrise in January, 2009
Sitting down
Playa del Carmen beach.
Forum Posts
Flights from Mexico City
by the___gecko
Hi there. Was wondering if anyone knew of a cheap airline in Mexico that serves this route. All Ive found is flights of over US$480 which is ridiculous.
Cheers
Re: Flights from Mexico City
by cochinjew
Have you tried to fly to Cancun and take the bus to Playa del Carmen? The major airport nearby is Cancun. You can also take the bus from Merida which is longer. A short ferry ride from Cozumel would also get you to Playa del Carmen. I would try Cozumel and Cancun.
Re: Flights from Mexico City
by Gatopardo
Playa del Carmen is so ridiculously near to Cancun, they are connected by a very good highway. As mention above, fly to Cancun, rates are so much more decent. Then, ride the bus to Playa..
Re: Flights from Mexico City
by Reynald
From Mexico City to Cancun try INTERJET (interjet.com.mx) departing from Toluca airport just 35 min from Mexico City and just 7 USD cost of transfer.
Last time i check the cost was like 1,300 mxp (110 USD).
Other cheap airlines Volaris, Aviacsa, Aerocalifornia
you must check their websites for prices.
And like Sarai says Cancun is close to PDC.
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