The 5 Best Luxury Hotels in the Mexican Caribbean

The Mexican Caribbean—the geographic region from Isla Holbox in the north to the southern end of Quintana Roo—boasts white-sand beaches, tropical reefs, and lush mangrove forests with wildlife you’ll only find here. There are Mayan ruins to explore. Temescals to sweat in. Crystal-clear cenotes deep underground, amazing for a twilight swim. Or maybe you park yourself in a pool cabana and swear you’ll never leave. It’s where we want to escape to…all the time.

The fact that it’s so easy to get there only sweetens the deal: It’s four and a half hours from either New York or LA to Cancún. (An international airport opened in Tulum a year ago, too, with direct nonstop service from New York and LA.) I From there, it’s a relatively short trip whatever your destination—lively cities, nature reserves, fishing villages with vast coral atolls. And if luxury resorts are your speed, dozens of hotels with treasures completely their own. On that subject: These are our top five picks.

Rosewood Mayakoba

MAYAKOBA

Never mind the plush beds, garden showers, patios, plunge pools, and wide, shallow bathtubs. After catching one sunrise over the lagoon from your private dock—along with the dawn songs of a billion birds—you’ll be tempted to never leave your suite.

But leave you must. For so many reasons, starting with the food. They have a restaurant for white-tablecloth dinners and a low-key taco truck situation at the adults-only beach club. If you’re the type to make friends on vacation, you’ll love the twice-weekly communal dinner under a huge Ceiba tree in the garden, where guests and staff members mingle over the night’s tasting menu.

The spa’s lush, too. Treatment rooms are tucked way into the tropical forest, and body and skin rituals draw on both indigenous herbal medicine and modern techniques. The beach is a decent walk from the resort’s center, but there are bikes and golf carts if you’d like them, and it’s a good chance to spot coatis and howler monkeys.

You might opt for watercolor classes and guided cenote swims. But the vibe here isn’t a busy one. If you’re the kind of person who likes a lounger, a paperback, and a cooler of cervezas that appears just as you realize you want it, you’ll find Rosewood Mayakoba suits you. That said, those looking for more energy will find it at Zapote Bar after dark. Think cocktails, dancing, and trombone players on the bar.

Hotel Esencia

XPU-HA

On a rare slice of Riviera Maya that’s been largely left alone, save for a smattering of boutique hotels, Hotel Esencia feels like someone with impeccable personal style designed the place for themselves. That is, it seamlessly blends traditional hacienda style with bold lines and bright color, it’s packed with art, and it somehow feels like home. (Guests familiar with the iconic Conservatorium in Amsterdam, Hotel Lutetia in Paris, or Hotel Café Royal in London will recognize the creative vision here; Esencia is a Set Collection hotel.)

The rooms are mostly spacious, whitewashed suites with open terraces and plunge pools—some in the main house, which was originally built as the getaway of an Italian duchess, others set back into the jungle. There are also four villas and a 12,000–square foot mansion designed in collaboration with New York’s Studio Giancarlo Valle, complete with three pools, a speakeasy, and a helipad. (It was designed for parties that might get a little wild.) The spa is lovely—expect satisfying massages, Mayan energy cleanses, and hidden hot pools.

There are several restaurants on the property: a sushi spot, a Mexican-Mediterranean seafood grill, an outpost of the Monaco steak house Beefbar, and a beachside spot for margaritas. In the morning, coffee and breakfast—great eggs, by the way—appears in a locked cabinet outside your door.

Maroma, a Belmond Hotel, Riviera Maya

PUNTA MAROMA

Nearly two decades after it first opened, Maroma recently completed a major renovation. Physically, it’s totally refreshed, with curved architecture that nods to Mayan sacred geometry and handcrafted furniture and ceramics made by Mexican artists. It’s new, but it feels warm and perfectly lived-in, like it’s been this way the whole time. In terms of service, returning guests will be delighted to know things have remained the same—welcoming, attentive, dedicated to the details.

There are just 10 beachfront suites, and guests who spring for one will be delighted by unobstructed views of the shimmering sea. But each of the 72 accommodations here—rooms, suites, multi-bedroom villas—is gorgeous, with views of the water or the luscious gardens. There are three pools, each prettier and more romantic than the last. And the restaurants are so good: At Curtis Stone’s Woodend, nearly everything is cooked over an open fire. Chef Daniel Camacho plays on ultra-fresh ingredients from across the Yucatán at Casa Mayor. And cocktail hour goes down at Freddy’s Bar. We’re equally fired up about the new Guerlain spa, which offers hydrating massages inspired by local cenotes and sound therapy that mimics the frequencies of Melipona bees, which are considered sacred in Mayan culture.

SHA Mexico

COSTA MUJERES

SHA Mexico is brand new—and a little different than the other properties on this list. Like the flagship location in Spain, SHA Mexico is more clinical detox retreat than resort, leaning heavily on the legacy of German and Austrian medical spas. That is, it’s heavier on intravenous ozone and brain photobiomodulation than meditation and temescals (although mindfulness practices and ancestral rituals are available here, too). There seems to be an expert here for basically every chronic issue a human body could come down with; SHA’s known for its uncanny ability to treat whatever you bring them. But do keep in mind you’ll have to choose one of five core programs for your stay: healthy aging, stress and recovery, leadership performance, detox, or intensive detox. In all cases, a doctor coordinates your care, from medical appointments to a prescribed hydrotherapy circuit.

That said, for all the medical appointments and advanced tech, you give up very little in the realm of relaxation and pleasure: oceanfront suites, white-sand beaches, and a restaurant that’ll delight you every time.

Etéreo, Auberge Resorts Collection

KANAI

At Etéreo, the whole resort seems to hover above the mangrove forest. There are the elevated pathways, giant hammock nets, and the rooms and suites themselves, which sit three or four high in a single line facing the ocean. It all sits above the forest, and you rarely lose sight of the Caribbean.

On those 75 rooms and suites: all generously sized, with rainfall showers, mindful and minimal design, and buckets of light. Some have rooftop patios and hot tubs. Suites have dedicated butlers, who you can text over WhatsApp about anything—to make spa reservations for tomorrow, say, or would they unpack for you, please? (Don’t be shy.) The spa offers clay cleanses, hot/cold circuits, and pretty blissful massages. There are four dining options—Mexican and Japanese-Mexican restaurants, a beach club, and a bar cart slinging coffee, cocktails, and boozy paletas. For anything else, Etéreo shares a development with the EDITION and the St. Regis, which have nine restaurants between them, and Playa del Carmen proper is just 20 minutes away.

Kids love it here, too: There’s paddleboards and pickleball paddles at the beach, guided snorkeling tours just 10 minutes off the coast, a family-friendly pool (not far from the adults-only one, FYI), and a kids club with a stacked activity schedule.