coleslaw

Globalists shouldn't pay either the 10% Service Charge or the 5% Resort Fee

I got credit for all spend, but it posted separately a few days after the room rate posted.

Kacee

Thanks. I will follow up with my concierge.

Does leave a bit of a bad taste.

coleslaw

Yes, as friendly and helpful as the staff try to be, I seem to always have these kind of issues at the Andaz Mayakoba. Nothing major, but takes away some of the positivity about the property.

Did you end up paying gratuity on breakfast as a globalist?

Kacee

It appears two slipped through for a total of 300 MXN.

Totally agree with you overall. If I had been paying full cash rate I would be much less forgiving of the lapses.

coleslaw

Ha, I ended up having to pay every day. And was told (over email) that gratuities aren’t included.

Again, not a huge amount at stake ($10 a day for a week for my most recent stay) but another annoyance that leaves a lasting memory.

Kacee

My concierge has already reached out to them and fixed both items. Color me super impressed. This is what Marriott Ambassador service should be, but has never been for me.

btw, it was a 50,000 point addition when all eligible spend was credited, so not exactly inconsequential.

coleslaw

That’s definitely an amount worth following up on!

When you get a good concierge they can be really great. Unfortunately there is some variability in just how helpful / competent a concierge is, but on the whole it makes a difference to have someone to delegate this sort of thing to (I didn’t end up questioning the breakfast charges with my concierge... I was a little worried they’d end up not paying the breakfast staff any gratuity as a “quick fix”).

cmx

Just left the Andaz Mayakoba and come to post a COVID testing update. They have free antigen testing available in a conference room from 8am-noon, the test results come back around 10pm that evening. It takes zero time to get the brain q-tip test. They're still getting it up off the ground and the staff didn't seem too familiar with the process. The testing people are difficult to get in touch with, but I assume this will be ironed out soon.

coleslaw

How was the stay other than the COVID test? Did it seem like it was pretty busy?

ClarkGriswold

I was there a month ago and they told me at check-in they were at 30% capacity. Though with the size of the resort, it felt like half that. Curious if it's picked up at all since then.

coleslaw

Yes, I was there in December and it seemed like it was more like 50%+ full. The restaurants were empty in the evenings but the beach area was pretty busy every day (and the breakfast restaurant). Outside of breakfast hours the lagoon area was generally empty.

cmx

It was weird. Felt very empty except at times you would run into patches of several children--particularly sitting outside at breakfast where I think the hostess strategically stores them. If I had to bet, more than half the guests were on family vacation, which makes for very quiet evenings. I saw one person at the steam/sauna area in 2 days, almost no one at the top pools and few people at the bottom beach pool and the beach (though at times large groups of kids would roll through). Had dinner at Casa Amate one night and there were 3 other tables seated the whole time I was there. Parking lot had maybe 20 cars in it. If I were pressed to guess capacity, which is tough because the resort is so spread out and I spent a fair amount of time on field trips, I'd say 20%.

Whether because of demand or because of local regulations or a combination of the two, it's quite difficult to get non-room-service food or drink after 10 in all of Mayakoba.

It's still fresh, so if you have any other questions, ask away.

lavidaesbella

Would you say trying to upgrade from the Lagoon to a Oceanview or Beachfront suite is worth the cost? I've heard the Lagoon area and rooms are actually nicer, but would love your opinion.

coleslaw

Whats the cost that you’re looking at? It varies a lot.

in general I would take a lagoon area room over a beach area room when it’s the same category room and the lagoon area is cheaper. I find the beach area can get pretty busy and the rooms feel much more on top of each other, (in most cases) offer less privacy and can be smaller vs the lagoon equivalent.

Kacee

You don't want an Oceanview Suite, they're right over the pool. I wouldn't last 5 minutes in one of those. I would take a Beachfront Suite over a Lagoon Suite, but wouldn't pay considerably more. The main thing is to get a suite, they're much nicer than the regular rooms.