Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riveria Maya REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Apr 25, 2017, 9:43 am
#136
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 49
Quick review of this property (stayed here for four days this past weekend using a DSU).
Summary: FT readers have this place dead on. The hard product is fantastic. The soft product is not fantastic.
What I liked:
Suite/room: used a DSU for a Lagoon-View suite. Beautiful, spacious suite, two balconys, and I used the plunge pool much more than I expected. Gorgeous suite, no complaints.
Grounds: Beautiful. Vegetation is still growing in, but the architecture and eco-focus were both awesome. Also, very easy to get beach chairs. Beach staff is also very good. Stunning resort.
Restaurants: food was very good, if a little on the pricey side for Mexico. Diamond Breakfast is much better in Casa Milagro than Olla Taco (although we had both a lunch and a dinner at Ollie Taco and loved it). Had a dinner at Casa Amate that was also quite good. Design and layout of Casa Amate are very quirky and interesting. Generally found restaurant staff to be very friendly and attentive.
Crowds: Rather, the complete lack thereof. Not joking, it felt like about 20 people were staying at this resort, although we were told they were at 70% capacity over the weekend. Routinely, there would be no more than 3 or 4 other people at the pools and restaurants. Mind you this is over a weekend in April. Just bizarre, although I loved it. It felt like I was at an extremely secluded resort.
What I didn't like:
Front Desk/Concierge: Oh boy. Just a mess. Couple of examples I'll highlight: (i) at check-in, I got out of the cab and was told to wait on one of the benches in the sanctuary. 10 minutes went by, no one came for us, spoke to us, or offered us a drink. They were absolutely NOT busy at that time. If that is how they treat Globalists, would hate to see how non-elites fare at check in. (2) Concierge is awful. Before we arrived, my wife called to organize a snorkeling excursion at the underwater museum in Cancun. Concierge said that was only accessible by scuba...which was just flatly wrong and could be determined by a two-minute browsing of the website. Even worse, we asked for reservations on a Sunday night at Saffron, the Thai restaurant in Banyon Tree. The concierge said nothing was available. Given that it was a Sunday night, my ........ detector went up. I called myself...and secured a reservation for 2 at 8 pm. Also, expect to have to make multiple requests to get routine tasks completed (arranging golf carts, printing out tickets, etc). I'll chalk this up to this being a new resort (and not just plain laziness or incompetence), but just know that the front desk/concierge staff will not be helpful.
Golf cart situation: there are plenty of them, but it gets a bit annoying to constantly need golf carts to get anywhere. Granted, we were staying in a building close to the sanctuary and I knew this going in, but the total reliance on golf carts annoyed me more than I anticipated.
Overall, I did enjoy my stay and the property is beautiful. It's also very easy to use DSUs here (and the Lagoon View Suite is fantastic). But I would only come back on a cash/points or points stay (assuming it remains Category 5). No way I'm paying full freight for this place at $500/night, the service level here just doesn't warrant that kind of price.
Summary: FT readers have this place dead on. The hard product is fantastic. The soft product is not fantastic.
What I liked:
Suite/room: used a DSU for a Lagoon-View suite. Beautiful, spacious suite, two balconys, and I used the plunge pool much more than I expected. Gorgeous suite, no complaints.
Grounds: Beautiful. Vegetation is still growing in, but the architecture and eco-focus were both awesome. Also, very easy to get beach chairs. Beach staff is also very good. Stunning resort.
Restaurants: food was very good, if a little on the pricey side for Mexico. Diamond Breakfast is much better in Casa Milagro than Olla Taco (although we had both a lunch and a dinner at Ollie Taco and loved it). Had a dinner at Casa Amate that was also quite good. Design and layout of Casa Amate are very quirky and interesting. Generally found restaurant staff to be very friendly and attentive.
Crowds: Rather, the complete lack thereof. Not joking, it felt like about 20 people were staying at this resort, although we were told they were at 70% capacity over the weekend. Routinely, there would be no more than 3 or 4 other people at the pools and restaurants. Mind you this is over a weekend in April. Just bizarre, although I loved it. It felt like I was at an extremely secluded resort.
What I didn't like:
Front Desk/Concierge: Oh boy. Just a mess. Couple of examples I'll highlight: (i) at check-in, I got out of the cab and was told to wait on one of the benches in the sanctuary. 10 minutes went by, no one came for us, spoke to us, or offered us a drink. They were absolutely NOT busy at that time. If that is how they treat Globalists, would hate to see how non-elites fare at check in. (2) Concierge is awful. Before we arrived, my wife called to organize a snorkeling excursion at the underwater museum in Cancun. Concierge said that was only accessible by scuba...which was just flatly wrong and could be determined by a two-minute browsing of the website. Even worse, we asked for reservations on a Sunday night at Saffron, the Thai restaurant in Banyon Tree. The concierge said nothing was available. Given that it was a Sunday night, my ........ detector went up. I called myself...and secured a reservation for 2 at 8 pm. Also, expect to have to make multiple requests to get routine tasks completed (arranging golf carts, printing out tickets, etc). I'll chalk this up to this being a new resort (and not just plain laziness or incompetence), but just know that the front desk/concierge staff will not be helpful.
Golf cart situation: there are plenty of them, but it gets a bit annoying to constantly need golf carts to get anywhere. Granted, we were staying in a building close to the sanctuary and I knew this going in, but the total reliance on golf carts annoyed me more than I anticipated.
Overall, I did enjoy my stay and the property is beautiful. It's also very easy to use DSUs here (and the Lagoon View Suite is fantastic). But I would only come back on a cash/points or points stay (assuming it remains Category 5). No way I'm paying full freight for this place at $500/night, the service level here just doesn't warrant that kind of price.
Apr 26, 2017, 1:52 pm
#137
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 147
Sorry to hear you had such a bad check in experience. Ours was outstanding. We were greeted right away, brought welcome drinks (alcoholic, btw), and then brought refills. Room was ready several hours early, in contrast to GH Playa last year where it was several hours late. They also brought my children little jewel things to throw into the cent and make a wish; my wife thought that was cute.
I hope you let someone know; they really should throw you some points, given how important first impressions are.
That said, 100% agree with your view of the concierge. I can't remember if I mentioned this in my review, but the BT restaurants charge you something like $60 if you no-show. The concierge did a horrible job explaining this, and I had to make an extra trip over there to fill out some form and sign it agreeing to the terms. This was before they could even tell me if they could get a dinner reservation at Saffron!
I hope you let someone know; they really should throw you some points, given how important first impressions are.
That said, 100% agree with your view of the concierge. I can't remember if I mentioned this in my review, but the BT restaurants charge you something like $60 if you no-show. The concierge did a horrible job explaining this, and I had to make an extra trip over there to fill out some form and sign it agreeing to the terms. This was before they could even tell me if they could get a dinner reservation at Saffron!
Apr 28, 2017, 8:47 am
#138
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 49
Sorry to hear you had such a bad check in experience. Ours was outstanding. We were greeted right away, brought welcome drinks (alcoholic, btw), and then brought refills. Room was ready several hours early, in contrast to GH Playa last year where it was several hours late. They also brought my children little jewel things to throw into the cent and make a wish; my wife thought that was cute.
I hope you let someone know; they really should throw you some points, given how important first impressions are.
That said, 100% agree with your view of the concierge. I can't remember if I mentioned this in my review, but the BT restaurants charge you something like $60 if you no-show. The concierge did a horrible job explaining this, and I had to make an extra trip over there to fill out some form and sign it agreeing to the terms. This was before they could even tell me if they could get a dinner reservation at Saffron!
I hope you let someone know; they really should throw you some points, given how important first impressions are.
That said, 100% agree with your view of the concierge. I can't remember if I mentioned this in my review, but the BT restaurants charge you something like $60 if you no-show. The concierge did a horrible job explaining this, and I had to make an extra trip over there to fill out some form and sign it agreeing to the terms. This was before they could even tell me if they could get a dinner reservation at Saffron!
Apr 28, 2017, 3:49 pm
#139
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,317
All these reviews are very appreciated thanks! One question, are any of the pools comfortable for swimming laps i.e. not bath temperature not too cold but 83° to 86°
Apr 29, 2017, 9:45 am
#140
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: DFW/LAX
Programs: HH Diamond, AA EXP
Posts: 534
during the day people were in the pool and then not good for laps. its the pool nearest the gym.
May 1, 2017, 10:09 am
#141
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 147
I felt like the beach pool was the coolest of all the pools at the Andaz. I prefer cool pools when swimming laps (since I'm exerting myself), and it was never crowded (it was empty before 10 or 11am, and after maybe 4pm). I wound up running and using the gym, but had I opted for laps, i would have swam there. I didn't feel like it was overly cold.
May 7, 2017, 2:13 pm
#142
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: New York
Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 261
What's the tipping situation like? Is it expected to tip each member of the staff for any transportation at all, and if so, how much? (e.g. taking a golf cart, getting on a boat from the lagoon to the beach, taking a car to one of the other mayakoba resorts)
May 15, 2017, 5:03 pm
#144
Join Date: Jun 2015
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Delta GM, Marriott Platinum Premier
Posts: 161
We never tipped on transportation via golf cart and did not feel pressured at all. I would not tip since it is kind of a given since the resort is so spread out.
I highly highly recommend this hotel especially in comparison to the Ziva. We disliked the Ziva so much that we left after only 1 night. It might have been because it was our first all-inclusive or that we were so used to the service at the Andaz, but regardless I would definitely stay here instead. Granted the service charge does make it more expensive, it is much much more luxurious and isolated.
I highly highly recommend this hotel especially in comparison to the Ziva. We disliked the Ziva so much that we left after only 1 night. It might have been because it was our first all-inclusive or that we were so used to the service at the Andaz, but regardless I would definitely stay here instead. Granted the service charge does make it more expensive, it is much much more luxurious and isolated.
May 15, 2017, 5:59 pm
#145
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: North America
Posts: 2,265
There is the variable 15% resort fee which goes to the hotel staff and helps cover the cost of the amenities they are providing. With that said, we did tip a couple of golf cart drivers who we ended up with repeatedly BUT we never felt there was any such expectation. We only did it as a mere thanks, usually at night after coming back from dinner because it was usually the same driver who dropped us off at the restaurant. Although I will say there is no expectation of tips on the golf cart as that is their primary mode of transportation for purposely building such a spread-out resort...if they don't make moving around convenient then people won't visit them. We did tip the boat captain during our private eco lagoon tours, because we felt it was a nice gesture as they were doing something extra to applease us. We didn't tip when we used the boat as a mere form of transportation between the lagoon and beach side once.
May 31, 2017, 9:17 am
#146
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: LAX_AMS_MNL
Programs: AS MVP, AA EXP - 1MM, BAEC BRZ, BVY GLD, Hilton DIA, Hyatt GLB
Posts: 749
Impressed
Just finished a 9 night stay using 2 DSU last week (Lagoon View Suite). Had a great rate of every 3rd night free and using my Prestige got the 4th night also.
I was very impressed with the service. Concierge and all did a fantastic job. Called by my last name throughout the property. The food was good. Expensive a bit but I think your getting what you pay for. Went to visit a different resort (Vedanta) where the food was cheaper but it was bland as hell.
*Resort fee was waived for Globalist.
*In room Breakfast was ok'd with no issue
*Parking and Valet is Free
*No issues with Buggy wait times
The resort looked empty, but during the holiday weekend they where 100% full and service was still there without any problems, but it was busy.
15% service charge is added to everything, so tip is not necessary but I tipped extra couple of bucks here and there.
Baby sitting services is available at $20 per hour for 1 or $30 per hour for 2 kids. 2 hour minimum. These are subbed out to a company outside of Mayakoba, we tried it 3 times and was great! Note that they charge extra $15 transportation fee after 19:00 to be paid directly to the sitter for taxi ride
Ate at Banyan tree twice. Tomahawk and Saffron. Also ate at the asian restaurant at the Fairmont, forgot the name, but that was good too! I love how they transfer you within the Mayakoba on Cadillac escalades for free, nice touch in my opinion.
I think this resort is fantastic! The only thing I think they need to work on is the Beach area. Maybe they can clean up the beach every morning by removing the plants (or whatever the green stuff is) that washes ashore. This way its more appealing to the eyes.
Ill definitely hit this hotel again.
I was very impressed with the service. Concierge and all did a fantastic job. Called by my last name throughout the property. The food was good. Expensive a bit but I think your getting what you pay for. Went to visit a different resort (Vedanta) where the food was cheaper but it was bland as hell.
*Resort fee was waived for Globalist.
*In room Breakfast was ok'd with no issue
*Parking and Valet is Free
*No issues with Buggy wait times
The resort looked empty, but during the holiday weekend they where 100% full and service was still there without any problems, but it was busy.
15% service charge is added to everything, so tip is not necessary but I tipped extra couple of bucks here and there.
Baby sitting services is available at $20 per hour for 1 or $30 per hour for 2 kids. 2 hour minimum. These are subbed out to a company outside of Mayakoba, we tried it 3 times and was great! Note that they charge extra $15 transportation fee after 19:00 to be paid directly to the sitter for taxi ride
Ate at Banyan tree twice. Tomahawk and Saffron. Also ate at the asian restaurant at the Fairmont, forgot the name, but that was good too! I love how they transfer you within the Mayakoba on Cadillac escalades for free, nice touch in my opinion.
I think this resort is fantastic! The only thing I think they need to work on is the Beach area. Maybe they can clean up the beach every morning by removing the plants (or whatever the green stuff is) that washes ashore. This way its more appealing to the eyes.
Ill definitely hit this hotel again.
Jun 5, 2017, 6:52 am
#147
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: Hyatt Globlist,MarriottPlat,Hilton Gold,Delta Silver,National EE,Avis President Club, Hertz PC
Posts: 200
Do youby chance have any contact info for hotel manager?
Quick review of this property (stayed here for four days this past weekend using a DSU).
Summary: FT readers have this place dead on. The hard product is fantastic. The soft product is not fantastic.
What I liked:
Suite/room: used a DSU for a Lagoon-View suite. Beautiful, spacious suite, two balconys, and I used the plunge pool much more than I expected. Gorgeous suite, no complaints.
Grounds: Beautiful. Vegetation is still growing in, but the architecture and eco-focus were both awesome. Also, very easy to get beach chairs. Beach staff is also very good. Stunning resort.
Restaurants: food was very good, if a little on the pricey side for Mexico. Diamond Breakfast is much better in Casa Milagro than Olla Taco (although we had both a lunch and a dinner at Ollie Taco and loved it). Had a dinner at Casa Amate that was also quite good. Design and layout of Casa Amate are very quirky and interesting. Generally found restaurant staff to be very friendly and attentive.
Crowds: Rather, the complete lack thereof. Not joking, it felt like about 20 people were staying at this resort, although we were told they were at 70% capacity over the weekend. Routinely, there would be no more than 3 or 4 other people at the pools and restaurants. Mind you this is over a weekend in April. Just bizarre, although I loved it. It felt like I was at an extremely secluded resort.
What I didn't like:
Front Desk/Concierge: Oh boy. Just a mess. Couple of examples I'll highlight: (i) at check-in, I got out of the cab and was told to wait on one of the benches in the sanctuary. 10 minutes went by, no one came for us, spoke to us, or offered us a drink. They were absolutely NOT busy at that time. If that is how they treat Globalists, would hate to see how non-elites fare at check in. (2) Concierge is awful. Before we arrived, my wife called to organize a snorkeling excursion at the underwater museum in Cancun. Concierge said that was only accessible by scuba...which was just flatly wrong and could be determined by a two-minute browsing of the website. Even worse, we asked for reservations on a Sunday night at Saffron, the Thai restaurant in Banyon Tree. The concierge said nothing was available. Given that it was a Sunday night, my ........ detector went up. I called myself...and secured a reservation for 2 at 8 pm. Also, expect to have to make multiple requests to get routine tasks completed (arranging golf carts, printing out tickets, etc). I'll chalk this up to this being a new resort (and not just plain laziness or incompetence), but just know that the front desk/concierge staff will not be helpful.
Golf cart situation: there are plenty of them, but it gets a bit annoying to constantly need golf carts to get anywhere. Granted, we were staying in a building close to the sanctuary and I knew this going in, but the total reliance on golf carts annoyed me more than I anticipated.
Overall, I did enjoy my stay and the property is beautiful. It's also very easy to use DSUs here (and the Lagoon View Suite is fantastic). But I would only come back on a cash/points or points stay (assuming it remains Category 5). No way I'm paying full freight for this place at $500/night, the service level here just doesn't warrant that kind of price.
Summary: FT readers have this place dead on. The hard product is fantastic. The soft product is not fantastic.
What I liked:
Suite/room: used a DSU for a Lagoon-View suite. Beautiful, spacious suite, two balconys, and I used the plunge pool much more than I expected. Gorgeous suite, no complaints.
Grounds: Beautiful. Vegetation is still growing in, but the architecture and eco-focus were both awesome. Also, very easy to get beach chairs. Beach staff is also very good. Stunning resort.
Restaurants: food was very good, if a little on the pricey side for Mexico. Diamond Breakfast is much better in Casa Milagro than Olla Taco (although we had both a lunch and a dinner at Ollie Taco and loved it). Had a dinner at Casa Amate that was also quite good. Design and layout of Casa Amate are very quirky and interesting. Generally found restaurant staff to be very friendly and attentive.
Crowds: Rather, the complete lack thereof. Not joking, it felt like about 20 people were staying at this resort, although we were told they were at 70% capacity over the weekend. Routinely, there would be no more than 3 or 4 other people at the pools and restaurants. Mind you this is over a weekend in April. Just bizarre, although I loved it. It felt like I was at an extremely secluded resort.
What I didn't like:
Front Desk/Concierge: Oh boy. Just a mess. Couple of examples I'll highlight: (i) at check-in, I got out of the cab and was told to wait on one of the benches in the sanctuary. 10 minutes went by, no one came for us, spoke to us, or offered us a drink. They were absolutely NOT busy at that time. If that is how they treat Globalists, would hate to see how non-elites fare at check in. (2) Concierge is awful. Before we arrived, my wife called to organize a snorkeling excursion at the underwater museum in Cancun. Concierge said that was only accessible by scuba...which was just flatly wrong and could be determined by a two-minute browsing of the website. Even worse, we asked for reservations on a Sunday night at Saffron, the Thai restaurant in Banyon Tree. The concierge said nothing was available. Given that it was a Sunday night, my ........ detector went up. I called myself...and secured a reservation for 2 at 8 pm. Also, expect to have to make multiple requests to get routine tasks completed (arranging golf carts, printing out tickets, etc). I'll chalk this up to this being a new resort (and not just plain laziness or incompetence), but just know that the front desk/concierge staff will not be helpful.
Golf cart situation: there are plenty of them, but it gets a bit annoying to constantly need golf carts to get anywhere. Granted, we were staying in a building close to the sanctuary and I knew this going in, but the total reliance on golf carts annoyed me more than I anticipated.
Overall, I did enjoy my stay and the property is beautiful. It's also very easy to use DSUs here (and the Lagoon View Suite is fantastic). But I would only come back on a cash/points or points stay (assuming it remains Category 5). No way I'm paying full freight for this place at $500/night, the service level here just doesn't warrant that kind of price.
Jul 27, 2017, 5:53 pm
#149
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SFO, ORD, IAD
Programs: UA Plat, AA Plat Pro, Hyatt Glob, Marriott Plat
Posts: 355
My overall impression was that it was at least a step or two above average, but not "out of this world" exceptional (as a disclaimer, I only ate at Olla Ceviche once during my 1.5 week stay). They definitely had quite the selection of different types of ceviche as well. However, in my opinion, Olla Taco had the better food of the two beach restaurants.