Riviera Maya: Where to Stay: Overview: Mayakobá

Mayakobá

This residential and hotel development between Cancún and Playa del Carmen has been in the works for a decade, representing a $1.5 billion investment by Spanish construction company OHL (Obrascon, Huarte, Lain). Eventually, the 1,600-acre complex will encompass four luxury hotels, including a Fairmont, Rosewood, Banyan Tree (opening in 2008) and Viceroy (opening in 2009). From the outside, Mayakobá looks like many other Riviera Maya resorts—a gated community with groomed paths, manicured landscapes and a big-name golf course—but this project is ecominded. It was designed not only by architects and construction companies but also by teams of biologists, who studied the fragile environment before suggesting how it might be developed in a sensitive and sustainable manner.

One result of this approach is the site’s relatively restrained occupancy: density rules would have allowed up to 3,900 rooms to be built on the site; Mayakobá will have “only” 1,200. The hotels and residences are gathered around an elaborate system of freshwater canals and lagoons, and guests get around using electric boats. During the building process, thousands of native trees and other flora were transplanted. Still, judging from my conversations with several locals, not everyone is thrilled with the massive Mayakobá, which also includes a Greg Norman–designed golf course. Time will tell how it develops once all the hotels are up and running. For now, guests can book only at the Fairmont, which has received mixed reviews, and, the Rosewood, which opened in December 2007, but is already almost booked completely for next Christmas.