We had a mini-moon at the Viceroy on March 13-16 this year. As promised in my
previous thread, here's a brief trip report.
Overall we were very happy with our choice. As a Mexican who often vacations at small, excellent value hotels all over the coast of this country, I was skeptical that a beach hotel could merit 2-5x the price of those. I don't stay at the level of hotels discussed in this subforum often, but I am veeeery detail oriented and have definitely had memorable experiences at places like the Park Hyatt Tokyo or a bunch of Four Seasons/St Regis. I've also stayed at the Viceroy in Cabo. Overall, the Viceroy Riviera Maya was very very classy and what in my opinion a good Mexican beach hotel should be.
Incredible service
Service was genuinely warm and professional. We spent an afternoon and had dinner at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba, which felt impersonal (in fairness it seemed very busy). Some amazing service moments included:
- We were welcomed on our first breakfast with complimentary mimosas and congrats on our wedding, without us telling them room number or having met anyone in the hotel except the guy who checked us in
- I lost a medication, mentioned it casually to the manager in turn at the breakfast restaurant, and promptly I was found to confirm if I wanted it. In two hours they found me on the grounds to give it to me.
- Their transportation service was incredibly punctual, charged fair rates, and had very clean vehicles with drivers who were very very good.
- I called two weeks before to quickly ask for dinner reservations and plunge pool temperatures, and both requests were perfectly fulfilled
- Room service, cleaning, etc use backpacks or tiny carts, avoiding traffic, noise, and disturbance. It's an example of how they work to keep it peaceful
Room
- We got a Royal Villa and were glad we did, as I enjoyed sunbathing privately (perhaps in the nude sometimes hahah). Lower categories don't have a sundeck.
- The highlight is the plunge pool. I almost never use these as they're always too cold. We spent like a fifth of our vacation in ours.
- The outdoor shower is way better than others I've used. The artisanal house soaps are nice
Gardens
- The grounds are small (the hotel is sandwiched between two big resorts in what was once virgin jungle but is now a suburb of Playa del Carmen), but walking them is a delight. They are not overly manicured, you feel like you're in some dream jungle. I hate grass, which is incongruous in this latitude and terrible for the environment, and they have none of that. Just little waterfalls everywhere, surprising twists on the road, and many huge beautiful trees and flowers I had never seen before
- There's wild life (we saw coatis, monkeys, birds, etc.), but they control mosquitos really well. The perfect balance, and better than sterile Mayakoba in my opinion (which somehow felt like being in Westworld?!)
Authenticity
- We were surprised to find many elements of Mayan and Yucatecan culture in the hotel that, after having partly grown up there, struck me as quite authentic, such as the arrival ceremony, performed in Maya with copal
- The temazcal in the spa, in particular, is the prettiest one I've seen and also wood-fired. We didn't use it but if you've never tried temazcal, aren't claustrophobic and like stuff like steam rooms, I'd totally recommend it
- The hammock on the deck is a real hand-woven cotton Yucatecan hammock, the kind people around there sleep in all night, and not the flimsy plastic ones you find even at expensive hotels
Food
- For breakfast and lunch, we loved the menu featured both very well executed versions of Yucatecan cooking (very rare in resorts around here) and international dishes. One breakfast I thought that it was amazing how the Huevos Motuleños tasted like we were eating them in the village of Motul, and the quiche tasted like something you'd eat at a good brasserie in Paris. The included breakfast (which was a la carte and had no limits on what you could order) was truly a highlight of our days
- We had one dinner and found the food quality very high. We really enjoyed just walking 3 mins from our room to the seaside restaurant and getting a seafront table with no booking
- Coffee was very poor and should be improved ASAP. They need a barista and some decent grains. Bring your own for the in-room Mr Coffee or some Nespresso capsules
Atmosphere
- When we went for dinner, Banyan Tree Mayakoba was overrun with children (spring break?). Viceroy was a mix of couples and adult families. We struck conversation with some of the other guests and found them worldly, educated and fun
- The music selection (eg at the pool bar) was great and at exactly the right volume
Spa
- We didn't get a treatment as the pricing was excessive - about 3x what we pay for treatments at the St Regis in Mexico City
- However, we used the spa facilities (complimentary for guests) and found them older but very high quality. I remember thinking "this is a perfect jacuzzi"
- We tried the massages from a beachside tent (the first one if walking north from the hotel) and they were realllly good. Beats that St Regis one hands down. This was surprising as massages in Mexico are super hit or miss, even in high end places.
Some things we didn't like
- The room feels dated. The wooden fixtures in the room are chipped, our closet kind of unhinged, and things like the water taps etc just weren't brand new. A sun lounger collapsed with me on it because the wood was rotten. (They fixed it within like 15 minutes, that bit was impressive)
- It's hard to find, even for our Mérida-based driver. The signage isn't great and you're reminded you're in a suburb as you drive in
- You can hear the music from the club next door - although it didn't last long (2-3 hrs) and wasn't nearly as loud as I feared
- There was also a humming sound in the room
- The beach is crowded, rocky and small. We did swim a bit, but honestly, I'm normally a beach bum but here I'd rather stay in the room. Having the ocean there for seaside dinner is fab though
Comparison with Viceroy Cabo
They're kind of opposites. Viceroy Cabo wows you with its setting, architecture, rooms, views, etc., but then fails at everything 'soft'. The food was trashy American-style stuff (eg the fish tacos, the pedestrian sushi offered at the Nest for $300.......), and the service felt a little disorganized and impersonal. I was most pleased with the Cabo one on first impression, whereas I was not that impressed with the Riviera Maya one on arrival but grew to love it. I'd only return to the latter.
Dinner at Saffron, Mayakoba
Incredible setting and some highlights (eg a great cocktail), but neighborhood Thai restaurants in Mexico City have better wine lists, cooking, and service for about a fifth of the price.
Half the time I thought the Banyan Tree spectacular, and the other half of the time I felt like I was in Westworld / a glitchy part of the Matrix. Miles and miles of silent mangroves because all the birds died years ago. Ugh.