Banyan Tree Mayakoba — Hotel in Quintana Roo

Decided to return for our Anniversary as they renovated the old serenity villas with living room. Have been here three times already and was at Rosewood last year. Always thought service was pretty good here so decided to return and try the new renovated Deluxe villa with living room . ||Pre arrival communication was not always good as I emailed a few times to get information on invilla BBQ and arrival amenities for purchase. Finally received but only after sending multiple emails. Booking the car was fast and they reached out to me first but this is done by the Mayakoba transportation division and not the hotel itself. ||Arrived and met the driver Fidel. He was very friendly and a safe driver. ||Met at resort and check-in was average. did not really mention my Accor gold status. Then it went down hill from there. We were transported to our room villa 210 which we stayed at 3 years ago and upon entering realized it was an old serenity unit and not a newly renovated Deluxe villa with separate living room. We went back to reception and talked to a supervisor named Gena. She advised it was a mistake and they moved us to an old villa instead of the new Deluxe due to human error. We questioned how and why as they are two different categories with different names. She insisted rather rudely and snarkily that it was human error and seemed annoyed that we were questioning why we were given the wrong room type. She stated it would be an hour before we could get the Deluxe room and advised we could go have lunch while we waited. She finally said we would be comped the lunch. As it was now 4:30 pm we asked instead for dinner in the room and she said yes. Humans do make mistakes but how they handle the issue is the reason why we are dissatisfied with this resort. All she had to do was at the start of the conversation just apologize and provide some form of apology instead all we got was attitude. Was here 3 years ago and had a complaint and Gabriella sent us a cheese plate and wine as an apology and came by one evening when we were at Saffron and comped us our meal. Gena would do well to learn what customer service is from Gabriella. And mind you the issue was small back then. We had filled in the survey during our trip and did not complain to management at all. Then Gabriella did all that from the results of the survey. Sorry, but given the wrong type of room is a big deal. Also, we were celebrating an anniversary and all we received was six white chocolate dipped strawberries. Rosewood gave us a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne. we also did not get a welcome gift as per Accor gold. ||We finally entered the deluxe villa by 5:30 and they were still filling in the pool. The room was obviously out of inventory or why would the pool be empty. It seems they rushed the room as it was missing many items. It took the next day until they finally got all the items a normal room should have. Luckily my wife noticed a juicy mango in the first room and took it when they moved us to the new room because the fruit plate in the second room was 3 apples whereas before, it was bananas, plums and mangoes. ||Overall we noticed these deficiencies in the room after arrival and during our stay with service. |1. no soap dish despite asking for one on three separate days. Finally had one on our third night. Prior to that, we had to use a face cloth to put our soap on.|2. No vanity kit in room. No bottle opener in living room. You need a bottle opener to open their bottles of drinking water. In room dining felt sorry and left us hers on the first night. |3. The safe is actually not connected to anything and can be picked up and removed from the room so it was kind of useless. |4. Housekeeping inconsistent. One day no bath mats, next day no face cloths. Another, no toilet paper. Then they didn’t replace the mouthwash. Had to constantly ask for bottled water. |5. Bath towels not always fully restocked and quality of towels inconsistent and worn out. Also had a hanger with Fairmount on it. The pool towels were also worn. One day they gave us new thick grey towels. Only received them again on the last day. Noticed the residences had the grey ones. |6. Oriente service. Only one good day. Rest of the days, staff would dote on large families and ignore others. Took 15 minutes one morning to get coffee and water service and only after waving down staff. Then we have yo wave them down to sign the bill.|7. In room dining inconsistent. Steak one came without chimichanga sauce, one day there were placemats, next few days none. Condiments one day and none the rest. Cello service was good. ||We also found out they are building a condo a few steps from the entrance but they will have access to the facilities. So, it will be busier at the pool, beach, gym and restaurants. Be careful when you go as we had the bad luck of being there when the LPGA was at the golf course. On the Sunday we heard loud music all afternoon and from nearby. ||We would like to thank Sheila from housekeeping and Miguel our host. ||In summary, the newly renovated rooms are nice and fresh but the service was too lacklustre and with Gena’s attitude we will no longer be coming back. We have been to many Banyan Tree resorts and feel this one does not meet the same level of service and attitudes expected. We will travel elsewhere from now on. Go to Koh Samui, Vabinfaru, Krabi, Phuket double pools or Lang Co instead. ||Tip avoid the Memorial Day weekend and LPGA weekend as it is very busy with families. Make sure you know which villa you booked and expect to get when you arrive. if you are Accor they do not care. it took over 3 weeks to get my points posted despite multiple emails and Accor customer service...

Just returning from Banyan Tree Mayakoba. We have been going to this property for the past 10 years and have visited 5 times during that time. So, clearly we are fans. The draw here is you have a private villa versus a typical hotel room. We substantial indoor and outdoor living space, your own private full size pool and a large soaking tub all surrounded by tall walls and a fairly thick jungle. The design is heavily influenced by Asian culture and reminds you of the villas of SE Asia. The vast majority of the staff are incredibly friendly and smiling. This is real luxury. 5 Star, 5 Diamond. The main property is fairly far away from the ocean, but, they do have a Sands Beach club with a restaurant and bar, swimming pool and beach area. The villas come in many different configurations. The basic or Bliss villa has always been where we have stayed. They have spa villas, they have larger one bedroom villas with a living room. Ocean villas with roof top pools and multi bedroom villas. The entire property exists within the larger Mayakoba development that includes a Fairmont, Rosewood and Hyatt property plus an immaculate PGA golf course. They have many food options from Italian, Thai. Beach Seafood , Traditional Mexican and a Steakhouse. Recently, they have opened a Kosher restaurant as well.||The highlight, food wise, for us has always been the breakfast buffet, one of the best in the world, terrific job every time, mixture of traditional Mexican, seafood, Asian and Italian, in house baked goods, salads and Mimosas. ||The Positives- Hard to beat the Villas, they are quiet, luxurious and expansive. This is a very protected property and is extremely safe. The Spa features therapists from Asia that are incredible. The amenities and furnishings have a mixture of Asian and Latin aspects. Depending upon when you book, this property can be less than $500 a night or more than $1,500 a night for the same villa. They also will run specials if you watch that will include the breakfast, which is a huge value||The Negatives- The prices of the food, as have been mentioned in other reviews are indeed crazy high. Their clear strategy is to be positioned less than the other 5 Star properties on the room rate and therefore, they price the food at the restaurants to make up for it. To illustrate, during our stay we paid around $550 a night for the villa, the Rosewood was nearly $1,000 for their basic hotel room. While the food was less at the Rosewood , on balance, even with the crazy prices you come out better at Mayakoba. But, paying $34 for a basic cheeseburger and $40+ for a plate of Bolognese is still a little painful. The "non breakfast" overall food quality is good to really good. Not fantastic as you would expect when you pay $300 for a steak. But, nothing we have ever had was "bad" that I can remember. ||Tips- 1. Book when Breakfast is included and enjoy that.||2. Book the massage they offer you when you are booking, it is a discount from normal rates and a good deal||3. Dont be afraid to visit other properties to enjoy meals. We regularly go over to the Rosewood, the food is excellent and the prices are cheaper.||4. Book an independent Airport transfer- The hotel overcharges for this and you can get an excellent independent for less.||5. The rooms have a Nespresso (original) we always bring an extra sleeve ||6. The sunset boat ride around the Mayakoba propert is fun and really nice with a good bottle of champagne.||7. Because of the villas, this property can attract a lot of children, with a private villa that doesn't matter, but, especially at breakfast, it can get a bit chaotic. ||8. Bring your bluetooth speaker, ||9. Use the big soaking tub for 2, the hotel supplies some bath salts and bath foam, we brought a bit extra as well.||10. Don't leave anything outside at night, this is a jungle, animals will visit you looking for anything edible left out.||11. Visit El Pueblito, use your bicycle and walk the nature trail||12. Be sure and keep that privacy light lit when it needs to be lit (wink)||13. Lastly, dont let the crazy food prices spoil it, Remember you would be paying $400-$500 more a night for the room somewhere else for a...

My recent stay at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba was truly the best vacation of my life. From the gorgeous rooms, comfortable beds, unparalleled level of privacy to the world class dining, incredible staff, and the massive property I have no complaints and only glowing remarks. We started our experience with the Banyan Tree at the Cancun airport where we were greeted by Benjamin our kind driver. The car was equipped with multiple drink options, snacks, a Banyan Tree curated playlist, cold towels, and even an X Box and televisions. After our tranquil car ride we started our first day at the spa. I have been to more spas than I can count in my lifetime but no experience matched the detail and luxury of the Indian Traditions treatment. I started my day at the spa with the Rainforest Experience which is complimentary with spa treatment. The facilities and contrast therapies were world class and left me feeling rejuvenated. My treatment with Muna was life changing and set the tone for a perfect trip. We booked several activities and all of our dining reservations through the most INCREDIBLE concierge and manager: Eduardo. No request was too much, he even got matcha out of the hotel’s storage reserve for us to have at breakfast everyday. Eduardo went above and beyond with every request and made our stay truly magical. Another unique facet of this resort are the golf cart transportation services which arrive to your room within 1-2 minutes upon request. Our favorite golf cart driver Javier told us interesting facts about the region and was incredibly kind and personable. Next, the dining options are OUT OF THIS WORLD. Saffron (the Thai restaurant) is the most gorgeous restaurant we have ever been to, not to mention boasts incredible food. Our lovely hostess Jazmin secured us a table on the water amongst the mangroves and we enjoyed our dinner alongside the wildlife. Our waiter Pablo was the kindest and most incredible host and we miss him already. Our second time dining at Saffron we were helped by the equally amazing Rafael who helped us locate wildlife and made sure all of our requests were met. The next restaurant I want to shout out is Cello (the Italian restaurant). Our incredible waiter Braulio made such a difference in our stay, moving our table to accommodate for the heat and making sure we had everything we needed. Braulio was so kind and patient with us and we will remember him fondly. Additionally, we had breakfast and lunch everyday at Sand’s beach club and our kind waiter Osiel remembered our orders everyday and was such a happy face to see every morning. On top of the incredible dining at the resort, the cleaning services are unparalleled in terms of detail and convenience. Bed clothes are changed 1-2 times per day, rooms are cleaned to perfection, and turn down staff leave little gifts and notes in your room nightly. In terms of activities, there are so many that you couldn’t possibly do all of them. During our stay we went scuba diving twice with Mayakoba Water Sports and had the most incredible time. We did two ocean dives with Pau who is an experienced dive instructor that couldn’t have been more kind and fun to spend the day with. We also did two cenote dives with Peggy who was amazing and told us so many interesting facts about the cenotes. These were the most magical scuba dives of my life! We also did the eco boat tour which was gorgeous. Lastly, we did a cooking class at Saffron with Chef Tony. He was so detailed, kind, and we had the BEST time with him. Pablo also assisted us during this experience and went out of his way yet again to make sure all our needs were met. He even made us homemade Thai tea to sip on while we cooked. At the end of the class Chef Tony even gave us the names of each ingredient and the brands they were from and sent us the recipes via email to recreate at home. All in all the resort is a 10000/10 and I could not recommend staying here more. As an experienced five star and luxury hotel goer, the Banyan Tree Mayakoba truly redefines what is means to be a five star hotel and exceeded all my...