I stayed at this property in March/April 2009 and I did not come away with the same feeling about the place. The rooms are indeed very nice. I particularly liked the bathrooms. However, the negatives outweighed the positives significantly for me. The location of the entire Mayakoba development is not a compelling destination for me. There is nothing scenic about the area or the way the properties have been developed. The beach (which is one of the prime reasons for booking a beach vacation) is not that attractive, and the beach club is way too small to accommodate a full house of guests. Although I am perhaps in the minority, I am not taken with the architecture either. The location of nearly all of the units far from the sea and overlooking narrow waterways is not a "special place" to me.

While the rates that are being quoted in this thread sound very good indeed, I can not find a good reason to go back. I was given a certificate for a free night upon check out last time (due to some service snafu's) and I will not be using it.

My perspectives are based upon having stayed at a number of resorts in Asia (Amankila, FS Jimbaran, FS Sayan, Trisara, etc.). The only high end Mexican resort I have stayed at that I would consider (and I have not stayed at many) is Esperanza.

I think a lot of people, however, will like Banyan Tree Mayakoba because of the large unit size and price point. For me, if it were in a better location on a better beach, I'd be more interested.