The Andaz Mayakoba was one of the Hyatt's most anticipated new hotel openings so when I saw there was award availability, I jumped at the chance to book a room and check it out! This is my review of my six night stay at the Andaz Mayakoba with my family.
Andaz Mayakoba Resort Riviera Maya
Carretera Federal Cancun-Playa Del Carmen Km. 298
Playa del Carmen-Solidaridad, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 77710
Tel: +52 984 1491234
Book Direct: Hyatt
Check Other Rates: Booking.com, Orbitz, Priceline (also available with Inspirato)
Read More Reviews: TripAdvisor
Award Category for Using Points: Hyatt Category 5
Andaz Mayakoba Review
The Location of the Andaz Mayakoba:
The Andaz Mayakoba is about 45 minutes south of Cancun and 15 minutes north of Playa Del Carmen, in the heart of Riveria Maya, which stretches along 75 miles of the Mexican Caribbean coastline, in the southeastern part of the Yucatan Peninsula.
It is part of the large eco-friendly resort development, Mayakoba, which is comprised of 4 luxury hotels, a Greg Norman-designed golf course, and 6 miles of freshwater lagoons that connect all four resorts and lead to a beautiful white sand beach where each property has their own private pool, restaurants, and beach.
In addition to the Andaz, the other properties are The Fairmont Mayakoba, The Rosewood Mayakoba, and The Banyan Tree Mayakoba. Unlike most hotels in this part of Mexico, none of the hotels in Mayakoba are “all-inclusive”. The environment is quiet and tranquil, making it a great escape from the busy, party environment of downtown Playa Del Carmen.
The Rooms at Andaz Mayakoba:
There are 214 guest rooms, including 41 suites, that overlook either the lagoon, golf course, mangroves, or the Caribbean Sea. These rooms are spread across 590 acres in 28 buildings. Each building has up to 9 guest rooms and each suite comes with a private plunge pool.
We stayed in a standard double bed, lagoon view room.
The best way for me to describe the decor would be “luxury, eco-minimalism“. The fixtures and finishes were very high-end, yet minimal and the design had a strong Mayan influence.
Every room has a private balcony with a table and chairs – and a plunge pool for those lucky enough to have a suite!
Andaz Mayakoba Restaurants and Dining Options:
There are four restaurants on the property, plus you have access to the restaurants at the other 3 Mayakoba hotels, so there are about 16 restaurants to choose from within the Mayakoba complex.
The four restaurants at the Andaz Mayakoba are:
Ollataco and Ollaceviche were the two beachfront restaurants and are more casual. Ollaceviche is a bar and tapas-style restaurant specializing in ceviche and Ollataco serves tacos, tortas, and other Yucatan-style specialties.
On the lagoon side of the hotel are Cocina Milagro and Casa Amate. Cocina Milagro is a day dining restaurant, serving a breakfast buffet in the morning, then lunch and dinner. It is the only restaurant open for all three meals and overlooks the lagoon pools.
The most unique and definitely my favorite restaurant was Casa Amate. It is designed as if you are “at the home of a well-traveled friend” – meaning it is set up as a house with different rooms to dine in, none of which seat more than 16 people, so the experience is very intimate. There is a “living room”, “dining room”, and a “library” decorated with Latin American books, maps, and artwork. The menu is upscale Latin cuisine.
Activities and Things to Do at The Andaz Mayakoba:
The hotel has two pools, one overlooking the beach and another on the “lagoon side” of the property. The lagoon pool is really a pool “complex” with three separate pools and a kiddie pool.
Within the lagoon pool area are also the fitness center, salon, and spa. The fitness center is in its own building – one side has treadmills and ellipticals and the other is a small area with free weights and a weight machine
For those who like to run, walk or bike there is a great nature trail that runs throughout Mayakoba. It is 4.5 kilometers in length and connects the four resorts, the golf course, and El Pueblito.
There is even a cenote to check out while you are on the trail.
If you are a golfer, you have to play the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleón, in Mayakoba. It is home to Mexico's only PGA tour stop – The OHL Classic.
They have nice Titleist and Ping rental clubs so you don't have to hassle with bringing your clubs if you only plan on playing one round. We did not plan on playing golf on this trip, but after looking at the course, we realized we had to play it. I am very glad we did!
Finally, one of the most unique aspects of Mayakoba is the six miles of freshwater lagoons that connect the resorts and lead to the Caribbean Sea and the beaches of Mayakoba. The Andaz has a small fleet of boats that will transport you from the lagoon pools to the beach throughout the day, as well as a daily eco-tour that winds through the entire lagoon system in the Mayakoba resort.
Points and Elite Status:
The Andaz Mayakoba is a great “point value” for a luxury boutique resort in the Caribbean. Standard rooms typically run about $450 per night, in season, with the Ocean Front Suites coming in around $1,000 per night. This is a Hyatt Category 5 hotel, so the standard room will require 20,000 points per night.
I booked a Standard double room for 6 nights for 120,000 World of Hyatt Points.
How to Stay Here Free with Points:
There are a couple of ways you can stay at this hotel for free. The first is via staying at Hyatt properties and earning points through stays. If you are going to try to earn free nights this way, make sure to check out the World of Hyatt Promotion page – here you will find a variety of ways to earn Hyatt points and any promotions that are currently being offered to accelerate your earning power. This method will take some time, but if you are a frequent business traveler, it absolutely can be done.
The fastest way to earn free nights at this hotel is to apply for a credit card with a solid bonus offer such as the Hyatt Visa Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which offers 1:1 transfers of Ultimate Rewards Points to World of Hyatt Points.
I haven't been staying at Hyatt hotels as much lately, so I only had a few World of Hyatt points. However, I did have a bunch of Chase Ultimate Rewards points, so I just transferred my Ultimate Rewards Points to my Hyatt Account (which transferred immediately) and within minutes I had 6 free nights at the Andaz Mayakoba!
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