Wish I read the recent reviews before booking my trip for next week. At least the suite upgrade is nice. Hopefully not as busy as over the holidays.

We will be there at the same time. We went last year also. I'd recommending doing a SUA and asking for the Beach area suite if its available unless you arent beach people. I am not aware of a points upgrade option.

Yep applied suite upgrade for beach area suite, hopefully dining at the other properties is easier. They offered all inclusive but $590 a night not worth it (online option), maybe it will get cheaper when we arrive.

I suspect the crowds dropped immediately after new years. By next week should be fine (seeing $477 per night, which is way below peak season rates, as well as both rooms and suites available on points).

I believe Pascal who was the prior GM is
now in Tahoe Hr. He ran a tight ship and always was around at happy hour chatting Glibalists up at the cigar bar. He always responded to emails. Sounds like the new GM has taken the place down a notch.

Sounds like you had a very different experience with Pascal vs many others. I (and many others) found him to be mediocre at best. He was known to show up to apologize for the many issues that crop up during stays at this property - but never to actually address the root cause.

I’m not special in Hyatts eyes other than a normal glob. He was always very nice to me and on birthdays or special occasions gave us several private boat rides , great bf upgrades and room service breakfast. Maybe I have one of those secret vip levels people see on computer screens sometime 😎

Just wrapping up 6 nights. I will post more about our stay when we return but I wanted to address occupancy. It was fairly busy when we arrived last Saturday and it has gotten noticeably less busy over the week. This property does have a harder time with service when completely full but as things calmed down service has gone back to normal. YMMV but I have found this is a resort to visit when occupancy is less than full.

I never had an issue with Pascal. He was always friendly, made sure to visit at check-in or if he was out he would stop by during breakfast. I don't know if special treatment; over 10 stays or so I think I got an extraordinary upgrade once or twice. If it was a special occasion I'd usually have a bottle of wine or something in the room. Once at dinner for my wife's birthday he send over a bottle of sparkling wine and a note. Again, nothing over and beyond, but probably above average at least in my experience with GMs. I never really have had a big issue during a stay though. Only think I can think of is I wasn't given the preferred room location once (second floor) and that was fixed the next day.

The front desk here was consistently awful, as was accounting, with consistent billing and points crediting errors, always in favor of the property. That's all on the GM.

A GM can be friendly and charming and yet run a terrible operation. In fact, that's often the explanation for how someone who lacks operational competence can reach a position of responsibility.

This is a valid point. I don't think I've ever had an issue with points crediting, but I've had an issue with billing probably every stay. Usually the FDA fixes it after I point it out, but it is annoying.

This seems wide spread in Mexico in my experience across many properties and hotel chains. They do fix things but billing is often messed up and always in favor of the hotels. Makes you wonder …

All inclusive option wasn’t proactively offered when we checked in today but it was $150 plus tax per person so almost $400 for a couple. With globalist free breakfast it’s likely hard to justify this unless you are going to eat and drink a lot.

Was told you could dine at other restaurants in the complex and charge back to the Andaz, which is nice. No points accrued on those charges though.

Beach area suite is decent use of TSU, but has some signs of wear. Also ours was setup with two extra beds so likely was meant for someone else.

Got here yesterday and am very happy. The lagoon plunge pool suite has to be one of the best SUA deals around. Amazing room for the price, slept great. Top floor is key (no noise from above or from outside the window).

I thought dinner at Casa Amate was great. The grilled oysters topped with cheese, chimichurri, and slices of wagyu ribeye were awesome. Cocktails were stellar too. The kids eat free takes the sting out of the prices for me... dinner+apps+drinks for two was $200 US but they brought whatever we wanted for our two year old (and he has expensive tastes, LOL) not just kids menu items. I've certainly paid more for less in the US, especially once the kid starts eating shrimp by the plateful. The setting here is beautiful too.

Boat ride was actually great! It's the sort of thing I normally wouldn't do because I just sort of assume it's a waste of time, but the guide tells you all about the wildlife and whatever you want to know about the 4 properties. Kid loved hanging off the edge of the boat while we rode (and it's only 3-10 feet deep and clear, so I didn't have to worry too much about my ability to rescue him if he jumped overboard).

Best of all, it is blissfully low-occupancy. Just an all around peaceful trip so far 👍

When I was there last week they were saying resort was around 80-90% occupancy rate, but it felt really quiet. Staff said they do lots of conferences and weddings and there were two while we were there so got a bit worried. However, the property handles these very well by giving them dedicated spaces and dining plans so you almost never see the attendees much. Conference attendees even have special meal plans which do not allow them to buy alcohol until after 6pm which is kind of interesting. Also didn't really think the dining at other hotels in the area was worth it, the costs at Bayan Tree and Rosewood were super expensive and nothing spectacular. However loved the boat tour as our guide was amazing.

Overall really liked the resort and it was much much better than the Grand Hyatt Playa Del Carmen. Would return for sure.

Thanks for the update. I'm about to book this and the recent reviews were pretty concerning

Hi all when checking my dates at this hotel in the Hyatt app it appears the all inclusive rate offered is only about $230 per night higher than the advance purchase rate when I input 2 adults and 1 child. I am surprised because posts on this thread say it was 150-180 plus tax per person. So it seems like a no brainer. My question is do you know if they would allow upgrading the room with points after the fact? I can’t do points upgrade and all inclusive rate at the same time online. And also is the upgraded room worth it?

What are you upgrading to?
All inclusive plan was basically $200 per person per night when we went so $230 total for 2 adults and kid is a good deal.

I'm heading here I'm a few weeks so

I reached out about the AI policy. Here's the response

* ALL-INCLUSIVE
Adult 12 years old and over: 150usd plus taxes
Minor 06-11 years old: 75 usd plus taxes
Minor 00-05 years old: No charge.
*Fee per person per night

I also tried to attach the flyers they sent but haven't posted enough !

Mayakoba complex map 2024 FEB
 

Hereby my contribution:
For those needing a visual boost about how the Mayakoba complex is connected and divided by:
- Rosewood
- Rosewood residences
- Andaz
- Fairmont
- Fairmont residences
- Banyan tree
- The reserve at Mayakoba

Please find below the current map FEB 2024 for the Mayakoba complex

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8d6c73d0b.jpeg
So you can get your bearing on where and what


Bonus
For those wishing to make informed decisions as to compare the Andaz versus the Banyan tree,
I've also uploaded the FEB 2024 Banyan Tree property map:
- location of rooms / villas + facilities
- catagory overview of each room tyoe + location

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36011742-post88.html
(Part of Banyan Tree Mayakoba thread)

Hope you find this useful and helpful for a great holiday

Recent stay - Consistent and good
 

Longtime listener, first time caller... Hope that a fair evaluation will reassure people considering this property given the reports of a recent negative slide.

My wife (glob) and I stayed in early Feb. for her birthday. We went with 3 other couples who we gave GoH to (prior to the recent limits). We applied a SUA for our preferred Lagoon side suite at the time of booking. This was our 5th stay in Mayakoba (4 Andaz and 1 Fairmont). There was a conference at the Andaz during our stay and at least one wedding that we noticed. See below for the positives and negatives that we found.

Positives:
1) Prior to arrival my wife reached out to the property concierge to arrange golf for 4 people w/ rental clubs and 4 spa appointments - The concierge was responsive and the arrangements were made without difficulty
2) Two of the couples independently contacted the property to have a bottle of champagne and a beautiful flower arrangement in our room upon arrival. They reported that this was an easy interaction and the gifts arrived correctly.
3) Upon check-in we arranged for handwritten notes and a small credit to be added to each couple's room and this was executed perfectly
4) Cross-charges from various meals/drinks at other hotels on complex were correct
5) Billing upon checkout was correct (e.g didn't have to ask to remove resort fees or breakfast charges) - perhaps this should be table stakes but it hasn't been in the past
6) Boat/SUV/Cart transportation were all in great shape. Bikes were mostly great... a couple of janky ones
7) Lagoon suite/plunge pool were clean and amazing
8) Boat tour was AWESOME... multiple run ins with alligators and other wildlife

Meals: Breakfast buffet was good, often crowded, but well stocked. Staff was attentive and remembered our names. Beach staff was great... special shout out to Antonio. They remembered our names and comp'd at least two bottles of wine/champagne. Tuna tostada, quesadilla, and guac/chips were the go to orders with the group. Casa Amate staff was lovely, cocktails there are always great and everyone who got the Waygu raved about it.

Negatives:
1) Casa Amate is overpriced and besides the Waygu and beef tartar appetizer, everyone else's meal was just fine
2) Minibar restock (snacks/drinks) didn't seem to be a daily thing as it previously had been
3) None of the GoH couples received any upgrade beyond their standard king rooms (though given occupancy, this is probably expected)
4) Boat transportation was challenging to arrange given high demand

TLDR - Concierge/front desk/management and service staff were excellent. F&B was generally good, occasionally great, and sometimes cost more than it probably should have. YMMV based on occupancy. For what it's worth my wife says it was "a damn-near perfect stay." I felt it was very consistent with previous quality of (excellent) stay. We will definitely return to Andaz Mayakoba.

Thank you for the links for the F&B menu + pricing at the Andaz
https://vivaandaz.com/fb/restaurants
Seems to mirror the Banyan Tree


Just in from Kevin,
Mute / Ignore the audio and commentary,
as it was from SEPT2023
and just enjoy the visuals .....

Andaz resort map
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ec6b76b87.jpeg

But you can get an idea what category room to book and for which building/room numbers you need to aim for

Plunge Pool Suite a True Suite?
 

tdbarbados - Thanks for the review. I was looking at booking a Plunge Pool Suite (probably "Beach Area" vs. "Lagoon View") for my spouse and young daughter. Are these "true suites" with the living area separated from the bedroom with a wall and door or is it all one big room? I couldn't tell in the picture. I know you said yours was a couples trip, but if you have any feedback on child-friendly the property is, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

The suites are true suites. There's a door that can be closed. There are other rooms that are called "studios" -- and I think those don't have a door btw the two areas.

Here now in a beach front studio. Confirming no door in between any rooms (besides bathroom) we are placing our crib(toddler) by bathroom door which is the furthest "inland" from beach

Does anyone have recent photos of the beach area? Are the artificial jetty's still in place?

They were there in December. I’d image that are fairly permanent at this point.

The jetties are still in place. I'm here now
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c9a071b33a.jpg

I agree they look permanent

A jetty is by definition artificial.

I believe those would more accurately be called breakwaters.

Interesting information.

Do you know if the AI option is paired with cash stays only, or could this be applicable with award night stays too?

TIA.

offered with award stays also

I stayed on points and it was offered(I asked at checkin). Its like $396 USD a day. Once you upgrade there you must remain, but you can switch halfway thru the trip if you like.

Personally, I never upgraded but my fiance was pregnant and kids eat free. Paired with globalist breakfast it just didnt make sense. But you can look at your spend on day 1 or 2 and then upgrade if it makes sense

How are the F&B prices here?

Horrendous, look at my review I have a breakdown of the prices which for me made it make sense to do all inclusive.

Is AI actually all you can eat, or is it like full board where they give you three meals a day and for each meal it is a fixed menu? Does it include alcohol?
Can you get the AI option at check in; can you only get it for certain days?

You can order anything as much as you want. There are some exclusions in terms of top shelf alcohol but there was nothing from the food side that I experienced. We ordered multiple steaks etc

Agree very high, but not unusual for high-end Mexican resorts in high-end destinations these days. The disconnect between resort pricing and what the locals pay (and are paid) is truly insane, similar to Bali.

Hi ZBigFam can you please direct me on how to find your review, I tried several different ways but can't find it with the price breakdown. Maybe I just missed that page. Cheers and thanks!

currently here now. had two rooms on points, used SUA on one but both were actually upgraded. only 20% occupancy during spring break which is a bad sign.

the rooms are pretty filthy. plunge pools are nasty, they need a good scrub. they need to touch up the rooms for sure. one of the biggest suites i’ve ever encountered though.

breakfast is solid as well as the free boat tour.