Riviera Maya Hotels

Belmond's Maroma lies between Cancún and Playa del Carmen. In the summer of 2023, it reopened after a year-plus of renovations. Which were beautifully done. Nothing feels too new, too pristine, too renovated. There are 72 rooms, suites, and villas clustered between lush jungle and the Caribbean. Designer Tara Bernerd worked with a number of Mexican artists on the spaces. Notably, each of the show-stealing 700,000 pieces of tile were created by ceramist José Noé Suro. There are three serene pools, including an adults-only option. The Maroma Spa by Guerlain is indeed a luxurious sanctuary. Before a treatment, do give yourself time to do the hydrotherapy circuit. Casa Mayor by executive chef Daniel Camacho serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner: a mix of traditional and modern Mexican dishes, with most ingredients sourced from Mexico, and more than half from the Yucatán Peninsula. Woodend by Curtis Stone is open only for dinner, and yes, it’s focused on wood-fired dishes. The staff is lovely and every touch here feels thoughtful, from the in-room check-in process to your Whatsapp chain with your host and the daily coffee service dropped at your door.

Hotel Esencia was originally built as the private getaway of an Italian duchess. Now, it buzzes with chic clientele who choose the resort for its privacy and discretion. (The current owner is an art collector, whose connections and influence are apparent in the crowd and art curation on the property.) The beach is swimmable, although seaweed blooms might hinder that effort if you’re here in the spring in the early summer; the pools, in any case, are lovely, and divided between family-friendly and adults-only. And on top of daily breakfast baskets delivered to your room, there’s a café and juice bar, a sushi spot with Mexican inflections, a seafood grill under a grand palapa, an outpost of a Monaco steakhouse, and a beachside spot for margaritas.

Taking a deep bow to the overwater bungalows of Bora Bora, Palafitos is a small resort-within-a-resort composed of stand-alone huts hovering over the cerulean Caribbean. Serviced by its own restaurant, spa, and stretch of white sand beach, you never have to leave the water. Should you wish to leave your bungalow, the sprawling El Dorado—part of Karisma, which is a Mexican owned-and-operated hotel group—offers additional restaurants, pools, and swim-up bars. If you book one a bungalow that faces the ocean, you get unobstructed views of the sea (including below, as stretches of the floor are transparent), your own floating pontoon that you can snorkel off of, indoor/outdoor showers, and all the trappings of a luxury hotel (butler service, beachside picnics, etc). The restaurant is excellent, offering multi-course small plate dinners with lots of gastronomic flourishes—this isn’t Mexican comfort food. While Palafitos is definitely a big draw for honeymooners and special occasion celebrators, its proximity to the Cancun airport makes this an easy choice for a quick weekend away, too.

Rosewood Mayakoba is a huge resort that’s very well run and well-manicured. You’re surrounded by water, with the Caribbean on one side and freshwater lagoons on the other, which you traverse by boat. (You can always get around by bike or hitch a ride on a golf cart.) The suites have private plunge pools, sun decks, and outdoor showers; they’re spacious and great for friends traveling together. By day, Zapote Bar is a chill spot for a drink; it really turns up at night. Be sure to book a spot at La Ceiba—a dining experience under a large Ceiba tree on the property’s 20,000-square foot garden, where hotel guests and staff dine together on a menu crafted from locally-sourced produce and regional wines and tequilas. But if you want to hole up at the spa every day of your visit, you wouldn’t be blamed—it’s a totally special space, housed on a private island overlooking limestone lagoons and offering up an extensive menu of Mayan-influenced spa treatments and rituals.