Livetotell

Has anyone stayed at the Fairmont Mayakoba? Any value ? Or better to just skip, and look for something better? Thanks

EuropeanPete

I recently had a two night stay at Las Alamandas to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday. We booked on points and with a Cat 7 certificate via Hyatt's relationship with SLH, which made the stay free. The base room rate of a bit over $500 wasn't unreasonable, but the high taxes in Mexico has meant that I've found value in using hotel points more often than usual.

Overall:
I absolutely loved Las Alamandas, it was my favourite hotel of our stay in Mexico. If I were someone with an infinite amount of money and a finite amount of time I would come back again - and more than once. It is an extremely special place, and I hope that there's some way for it to stay that way.

That said, this property is definitely not for everyone. The facilities are at times basic and becoming a bit rough around the edges - While I mostly feel the rave reviews provided on Tripadvisor, I can also understand the people who said that it felt like a 3* hotel.


Property:
The property is a 2,000 acre private holding owned by Isabel Goldsmith-Patino, eldest sibling of the notorious British Goldsmith clan. Apparently this land came from the maternal side. She's just 20km down from the 30,000 acre former home of her father at Ciuxmala (now managed by her sister Alix) which I've always wanted to go to, but which at $1,500+ a night for rooms in the main house seemed less reasonably priced.

Back to Las Alamandas, 2,000 acres is plenty and includes 18 rooms/ villas, Isabel's private residence, four incredible beaches and a carefully manicured main area around the hotel reception with palm trees and grass. Upon arrival you're encouraged to go on a private 2 hour guided tour of the property (which we sadly never got around to). I'm sure we missed out, but even so sitting in a palapa or by the main pool watching humpback whales playing for sunset was an incredibly memorable experience.

Rooms:
Booking on points, we booked the base Garden View room and were upgraded two categories to their Ocean View Deluxe Suite. Considering there are only 18 rooms, they have an impressive 7 categories. Our room was therefore apparently one of the lower end on the property, but was still spectacular.

San Antonio 2 is the top/ second floor of a building with 1-2 other suites in it. Keeping it simple, a bed faces out over two doors framing a wooden balcony which all look out over the ocean (beyond the oceanfront buildings). Being one of the villas not on the beach it doesn't have the best view (relative to others on the property - not relative to your typical Ritz Carlton Ocean Front Suite), but if you go back into the private foyer and go up a set of stairs there's a stunning rooftop terrace with a table and chair as well as a daybed where you get a great view of both the ocean and the stars. Having recently been at La Casa Que Canta it reminded me a bit of their rooftop bar, only private.

What you do notice about the room is that it's both a bit basic and slightly run-down. There are wooden blinds and mosquito screens instead of glass in the windows, you can't flush toilet paper (which can spoil the fragrance of the room a bit) and some things are showing their age far more than would be acceptable in a normal hotel (e.g. the mirror was rusting). The bed also looked old and lumpy, though it was actually extremely comfortable. Anyone coming to Las Alamandas needs to be prepared for the simplicity of the room and not expect the same as when stepping off a private boat at a 5* Maldives resort.

There is also no wifi in the hotel rooms which I thought quite romantic, though surprisingly mobile phone signals were strong everywhere.

Service:
Pre-arrival communication was incredibly impressive and continued into our stay. The philosophy of Las Alamandas is that with so few guests they can customise everyone's experience and have a small group of very competent staff who do so. We think there was only one other couple there on our first night and three others on the second night, so it was even more personal than you'd expect (Why it would be so empty in peak season, I have no idea).

Service is in practice handled in two areas:
1. Upon checking in you get a Whatsapp message from reception who are there for you from first thing in the morning until relatively late in the evening. If you need anything at any time send a message and they'll sort it, usually with a response within 30 seconds. We wanted drinks by a quiet pagoda when there was nobody around - delivered within 5min. We met the receptionist and sales director at checkout (I'm not sure who's actually behind the Whatsapp) and they were both lovely and on top of things
2. The bar/ restaurant/ pool area was looked after by a senior member of staff acting as a waiter but who reminded more of an Aman butler and who I expect was the bartender as well. I wanted a rare bottle of wine chilled to 15 degrees and then decanted 20min before a private dinner for sunset? He didn't bat an eyelid.

The whole experience feels extremely personal and somewhere between cool competence and "American style" friendliness. We noticed Isabel's personal Instagram account "liked" some photos my girlfriend posted and on checkout we were told that Isabel loved and our photos and was really hoping that she'd be able to use them for the hotel "It would make Isabel very happy, and we really try to keep her happy".

F&B:
In line with the service philosophy, you can pretty much request anything you want from the kitchen or bar. My girlfriend has a thing for apple cake which became her birthday cake. When enthusing about this to the waiter he replied that the chef also makes a mean strudel, so he baked a strudel just for the two of us the next day as well. The menu itself was medium sized with simple Mexican and Western food, done well. Isabel has her personal favourites highlighted on the menu and everything was done a bit better than just competently. Prices are more than reasonable, particularly cocktails made with very tasty tequila at just $6 each.

Things to do:
The reason you come to Las Alamandas is to relax and enjoy the waves. We loved walking up and down the stunning main beach by ourselves. I compare it to some "famous" beaches around the world where a tiny oceanfront room will cost you >$1K and this was just another, much better, world. If you want real privacy you can book one of the private beaches where clothing is optional and where you can feel totally free from modern society. We asked the hotel to arrange a trip via a fishing boat to nearby "Bird Island" which was a small island with a simple beach, but actually considering there were other people there it would have been a lot more sensible to stay on site.

Conclusion:
Despite apparently being a bit apart from the rest of her family, Isabel shares the family's eco-warrior credentials and has managed to create something both environmentally sensitive and at the same time incredibly luxurious on her personal estate. As a luxury hotel in the $500 - $1,500 range I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who's not too particular about their creature comforts, and at 30,000 Hyatt points I night I think it's one of the most memorable places in the world to spend your points.

KatW

The presidential suite is the only “room” to have Wi-Fi. Also, three patio s, private pool and hot tub. beach/ocean front. Delighted you enjoyed it so well.

dhaller311

Sadly, omicron had us cancel a really amazing rate we ended up with at the Zadun through a friend that works for Marriot. 😞

But! Never fear. We now booked a super last minute trip for next Thursday at Chileno Bay! LOL. Very excited. Haven't actually stayed at an Auberge property before.

SanDiego1K

Their restaurant is superb. Be sure to have a meal while enjoying the view over the water. I liked the churros for dessert.

KatW

How was it?

Kent

Has anyone stayed here yet? Thinking about booking a last minute trip leaving Sunday between here and Tulum. Thx

BESVISOR

I haven't but have heard some mixed feedback from clients and peers.
But as with all things on this forum, it depends on your benchmark of a luxury property.

I still prefer Hotel Esencia at the moment for Riviera Maya area.

Livetotell

Curious, why do you prefer it over Rosewood or Banyan Tree?

Thanks

KatW

Architectural Digest on small luxury hotels in Mexico

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/...mexican-hotels

david55

Hotel Matilda in San Miguel de Allende was just a few doors down from our home on Calle Aldama. It took a few years to find its soul but has emerged as a constant contender for one of the best hotels in Mexico. It used to be our " special occasion" restaurant in town although the modern austere architecture and furnishings appealed more to the wealthy Mexican City visitors then the north of the border tourists who come to town for the colonial architecture. There was always several private body guards outside the street entrance as their clients dined or stayed. It lost a little bit of its standing in town when the much larger colonial- inspired Rosewood opened up around the corner.

KatW

Harking back to the long past, my family stayed at Las Mananitas, must have been around 1959 or so. One evening when we dined on the lawn, people rose to their feet clapping — Van Cliburn had entered.

A4K

Curious if you ended up booking. The hard product looks very good, architecture not sure about, curious about beach and facilities. I would expect good things from Auberge.

KatW

I was checking rates at Las Alamandas today for a September respite and saw very favorable rates considering the hyper climate, FYI. On the Costalegre, two-hour drive south of Puerto Vallarta.
https://alamandas.com

KatW

Architectural Digest on Pacific Coast Mexico most beautiful resorts:

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/...-pacific-coast