If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD432.80), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Surrounded by a lagoon and general lushness, Banyan Tree Mayakoba is within the namesake gated mega-complex in Mexico’s Playa del Carmen, along the country’s Caribbean coastline. There are canals, mangroves and tropical vegetation galore, with an Asian-influenced spa and various bars and restaurants, including the pasta-dispensing Cello and Haab for some Mayan magic. Once you’re eventually ready to leave (it may be a while), Playa del Carmen, Tulum and, if you take day-tripping seriously, Chichén Itzá await.
Double rooms from £471.34 ($589), including tax at 36 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional government tax of $1.70 per room per night on check-in.
More details
Rates don’t usually include breakfast (US$49 for adults; US$25 for children aged six to 12).
Also
Some of the Bliss Pool Villa category suites are accessible for wheelchair users.
At the hotel
Free WiFi throughout, bicycles to borrow, tennis, golf, yoga, beach, and 24-hour gym. In rooms: Nespresso coffee machine and tea-making kit, free bottled water, TV, and Yucatán Herbal bath products.
Our favourite rooms
For a spacious Banyan Tree Mayakoba residence to call home, book the Two Bedroom Family Residence, which has a lagoon-facing terrace, a pool on the upper level and two bedrooms with roomy bathrooms.
Poolside
Along with the sparkling Caribbean Sea, guests can cool off at the Reflections pool (open from 10am to 5pm) and the Sands pool (between 9am and 5pm).
Spa
You may be in Mexico, but the spa’s roots are in Asia – there’s a palapa for yoga, sound-healing sessions, Thai massage and 16 treatment rooms for pampering in paradise.
Packing tips
You’ll need the usual sunlounger accoutrements: suncream, sunhat, reading material, plus clothing you can cycle in since each villa has a set of bicycles for roaming the grounds with abandon.
Also
If you’re particularly fond of the view from your balcony at Banyan Tree Mayakoba, you can have the spa come to you with a treatment there.
All ages are welcome and there are both multi-room villas and connecting options for families.
Best for
Babies and up.
Recommended rooms
The Two-Bedroom Family Residence is perfect for families, as are the rooms with two queen-size beds.
Crèche
The Rangers kids’ club accepts little Smiths aged between four and 12, from 9am to 5pm, with daily activities, books and toys to keep them entertained.
Babysitting
Available for US$20 an hour, for each child.
Sustainability efforts
The Banyan Tree group has planted half a million trees since 2007, several of which were in a protected area in Mexico. The resort also has a protection program for sea turtles and carries out four clean-ups of natural areas with local communities annually; plus it has halved its consumption of single-use plastics over the past couple of years.
As far as table settings go, it’s hard to beat a sunset (or moonlit) sailing on board a traditional trajinera: Ixchel weaves guests through the canals with Mexican and Thai food served along the way.
Dress Code
Tropical taste.
Hotel restaurant
As with any self-respecting resort, there are various dining destinations to spend your stay working through, from all-Italian Cello for pasta perfection, to Haab, which serves nine-course Mayan suppers. There’s also the laid-back beach club Sands, Thai-serving Saffron and the Tomahawk steakhouse. For a buffet breakfast, head to Oriente; or if too much choice is confronting that early in the morning, go for the à la carte morning menu at Sands.
Hotel bar
La Copa serves drinks, with antojitos (a classic street-food snack) on hand to soak up one too many. There’s also a pool bar at Reflections.
Last orders
Oriente only opens for breakfast, from 7am till 11am. La Copa opens between 11am and 1am. Sands is open for breakfast (8am to 11am), lunch (11am to 5pm) and dinner (6pm to 11pm). Tomahawk, Saffron and Cello’s dinner service is 5.30pm to 11pm.
Banyan Tree Mayakoba is within the namesake reserve in Mexico’s Playa del Carmen, along the Caribbean coast.
Planes
The nearest international airport is 50 minutes away by car in Cancún. The hotel can arrange transfers through a local company.
Automobiles
If you’re planning a Riviera road trip, a car will come in handy – there’s free parking next to the main building.
Worth getting out of bed for
There’s lots to see and do within the Banyan Tree Mayakoba resort, whether you fancy swimming, snorkeling and kayaking, or keeping dry with a round of tennis or golf. You’ll also be able to cruise the waterways by boat. Outside of the gated Mayakoba community, visit Tulum’s archaeological zone, just over an hour away by car. And if you can bear to leave the beach for long enough, day trips over to Chichén Itzá (a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the resort) can be arranged. And in Playa del Carmen, 5th Avenue, a five-kilometer stretch of pedestrian-friendly tarmac with bars, restaurants and shops, is a great place to start.
Local restaurants
Guests can dine at the other resort restaurants within the Mayakoba reserve, which include a Rosewood and an Andaz. El Pueblito is Mayakoba’s town square – at this hub, there’s a traditional Mexican bakery (Pan Dulce), a cookery school, a tostada-and-mezcal-dispensing spot (La Fondita), a burger bar and a candy and ice-cream parlour. If you’ve made it to Playa del Carmen, locate the leafy street that La Cueva del Chango sits on and enjoy the Mexican-cuisine magic. If you love seafood and cocktails, Ictio Fish House, also in Playa del Carmen, is the flame-grilling pescatarian paradise for you.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this resort hotel in Mexico and unpacked their swimwear and sarongs, a full account of their beach break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Banyan Tree Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen…
If you’re in search of mangroves and Mexican sunshine, Banyan Tree Mayakoba is the palm-lined Playa del Carmen paradise you’re looking for. The brand’s Asian roots are present and correct, including, most importantly, in the stellar levels of service. The Mayakoba reserve’s tropical landscape consists of Caribbean coastline, serene waterways, lagoons and mangroves, with the sunny Playa del Carmen strip a 20-minute trip away. There are multiple dining options within the gated community’s confines, whether you fancy eating at a classic Latin grill, a Thai restaurant or aboard a floating vessel for two. The resort’s spacious villas are dotted throughout the grounds, with two- and three-bedroom residences available for families and groups, and some set steps from the sand. The rest of the Riviera Maya and the Yucatán Peninsula will be on your doorstep, but it may be a while before you get to them.
