A Visit to Banyan Tree Mayakoba

But the grand pagoda-style building we've arrived at, despite being close to the Caribbean ocean, feels like we've landed instead somewhere like Thailand or Cambodia. It's a moment of confusion I'm more than happy to accept, as this stylish luxury hotel combines the best of both worlds, making for one of the Riviera Maya's best, and most relaxing, stays.



The Banyan Tree company originates from Asia, hence the Asian feel in the design, with hotels in Thailand, Indonesia, China and elsewhere. The Mayakoba hotel, though, is around an hour's drive from Cancun airport, on a strip of coastline popular with big luxury hotels; they share a golf course, beach and mangrove forest with other high end properties, including the Rosewood and Fairmont.

We reach the pagoda-style entrance at the end of a long driveway that cuts through thick green forest, parking by a large pond with water lilies and rushes, a member of staff taking our keys to sort our bags and park our car. We're given fragranced cold towels and little glasses of a refreshing local drink with chaya and cucumber.

The hotel complex is grand in scale, with two floors in the main building, a sleek modern square, the balconies of the bar and lounge area looking into a courtyard with another pond, this one with a large tree planted at the center. It feels a little like a Bond villain's lair, but in a good way (Bond villains often have incredible fair and taste).



After a speedy check-in, we're driven by golf cart all of 30 seconds to our villa, along with our personal concierge who shows around. The idea here is one of private secluded villas, so you rarely see other guests. Once inside the main wooden door from the pathway, the effect of our private garden/courtyard is instantly impressive. Rather than the small plunge pools found at some of the hotels on this coast, we've got a private pool long enough to have a proper swim in, which is perfect given that it often gets hot and humid on this Caribbean coast. Despite there being just two of us, there are two outdoor loungers/beds to choose from, one open to the sun, one with a shading cover, as well as a hammock on the outside decking, while the pool itself looks out over the jungle and a peaceful river. The big glass doors of the villa itself also open out, so you can step directly from your bedroom into the pool, which is a cool touch. There's an abundance of space here outside to stretch out and relax in.



Inside the villa itself, that feeling of space continues, not least because of the ultra-high ceiling, which feels big enough to fit two storys in. The bedroom is sleek and modern, a mix of stark white and black, with more touches of Asia in the ornate designs of the wooden screens, the wrappings around the bedside lighting and the ornate little orange lamp at the writing desk/make-up table. A sense of Asia wafts through in the lemongrass fragrance from the oil burner. There's dark grey slate flooring, and a big bed with a towering dark wood headrest leading up to lights high above is. An orange and white rug adds a bit of color. Everything we might want for now is here, with a large TV (not switched on once during our stay), a coffee machine, a drink-filled fridge and a bowl of fruit. Wide, tall glass windows look out onto the pool and the river outside. There's a great sense of seclusion, peace and calm. It doesn't matter if we're in Mexico or Asia, this feels a world away from anywhere or anything.



The bathroom is large, with two round pretty black and white sinks with floral designs, the his-and-hers sinks divided by a mirror. There's also a room-sized wardrobe/dressing room and a roomy rainshower. But the most original element is an outside bathtub, walled in for additional privacy, but open-roofed for the full effect of having a hot soak in the great outdoors, under the stars.

The hotel has four restaurants. At night, we walk through the quiet resort, paths lit with soft orange light, to Saffron, the signature restaurant. Not only do they serve Thai food here, but they go for the full Thai effect, with waiters offering “Sawadee Khap”, the traditional Thai greeting, with heads bowed and hands together, like a prayer.



There's outside dining on a wooden desk, looking out over the mangroves, but we opt for the cool AC of the restaurant instead. The feel inside is modern and very romantic, and the attention to detail is exceptional. Rafael, the waiter, is incredibly friendly, helpful and ultra-polite, talking us through his suggestions from the menu, delivering each dish and their many accompanying sauces with quick, informative introductions. I feel bad saying it, as I'm a big fan of Mexico's often underrated cuisine, but Saffron's Thai food may well be the best meal I've eaten in the Yucatan.

First to arrive are the crackers of the house, including rice crackers, with a variety of five sauces, including a sweet chilli sauce with a fiery kick and a pleasantly warming aubergine-based gloop.

My girlfriend and I share starters of Goong Sarong (big succulent prawns, wrapped and fried in crispy noodles, which come with a sweet mango and chili dip) and Muek Kratiem Prik Thai (soft squid fried in a crispy batter, with garlic, a black pepper squid sauce and sweet chili sauce). The flavors mix salty and sweet, flavor and spice, in a way that makes me long for another trip back to Southeast Asia. Courses are broken up with little amuse bouches from the chef, including neat balls of fresh watermelon.



While my girlfriend happily tucks into a main of Phad Thai Goong Sod (wok-fried rice noodles with prawns and a rich, spicy tamarind sauce), I go for a delicious Gaeng Kati Nua Poo, which is a creamy curry with crab meat, accompanied with some steamed noodles. Rafael brings a selection of four different kinds of rice, including saffron, topping up our plates as needed. There is a dessert menu, but we're far too full to go near it… It's an incredibly enjoyable night, relaxing and romantic, helped along with the house cocktail Ginger Blue (ginger, vodka, tonic and lemon) and a couple of glasses of Malbec. I could happily eat here every night.

Breakfast next morning, down in the Oriente restaurant, is also about as good as any I've had in the Riviera Maya. The buffet is almost annoyingly bounteous, ‘annoying' in that it wouldn't be possible to sample everything you want to try in one sitting without exploding. There are shelves of yogurts and cereals, fresh fruit, delicious pinkish slabs of tuna tartare, salmon, cold meats, an excellent selection of cheese, an eggs/omelette counter, and a central table laden with different breads, pastries and cakes. The style of the hotel is represented here too in the selection of hot dishes along one wall, which range from Mexican favorites, including Huevos Rancheros and dark refried beans, through Western-style eggs, sausages and bacon to Asian dishes, such as sweet and sour fried fish, which is excellent. As in Saffron, the service is fast and friendly, with small helpful things happening and things you didn't know you needed delivered to the table arriving almost unnoticed.



We get a chance to try out the spa during our stay, not in the main massage treatment area but in the ambitious Rainforest treatment area, where a Thai lady leads us from room to room for 60 minutes. The rooms have names like Arctic Mist, Summer Storm, Tropical Rainbow and the Brine Cavern, as we move between different types of hydrotherapy, steam rooms and saunas with oatmeal and avocado scrubs, a ice face-bath and cold room. A favorite, perhaps, is the steamy rainforest shower, with colorful lights changing while we're blasted by jets of hot water, before we finish in a pool with bubbling Jacuzzis and high pressure showers. It's fun, but with quite a few different rooms and things to do within the 60 minutes, it does feel a little hurried; by the time you've started to relax into one room, you're whisked away into the next stage. Less would be more here - I'd have happily sunk instead into a good solid 10-20 minute sauna or steam room, rather than switching up each time so quickly. Given the choice between the Rainforest rooms and a good massage, I'd pick a massage any day. But as an unwinding prelude to a massage, which is what the spa intend, it works well enough.

Mayakoba beach is a short buggy ride away, around one kilometer from the main building. We get driven down on a golf cart, through the mangroves, past the golf course, crossing bridges over pretty rivers and lakes, to the beachfront building, which is grand and pagoda-inspired, like the reception building. Down here, there's a beachfront restaurant, a large swimming pool and a beach bar. Mayakoba beach itself, in a quiet uncrowded bay, has a few loungers on it, but as inviting as it all is, we spend much of our stay back at our villa, enjoying the privacy and space, relaxing by and in the pool.

The effect is rejuvenating, to say the least. I've stayed at several of the Yucatan's top hotels, from small boutique places to grand resorts. There's stiff competition in this popular part of Mexico, but the Banyan Tree Mayakoba is undeniably up there with the very best.



Visit website: www.banyantree.com/en/em-mexico-mayakoba