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!!!

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........

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.

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.