What it’s like staying on the Riviera Maya Version at Kanai

What’s the Riviera Maya Version at Kanai?

The Riviera Maya Version at Kanai is one in all three resorts inside a 620-acre nature reserve (a St. Regis is subsequent door, whereas an Auberge Resort is on the opposite facet of the St. Regis). The combo of mangroves and Caribbean shoreline give this slice of paradise extra of a pure vibe — albeit a wonderfully manicured one. No palm tree is misplaced amid this luxurious resort trinity.

Version is Marriott’s luxurious way of life model, so count on attentive service with a enjoyable edge. Events on the seaside membership can go till the wee hours, and the venue offers off the attribute Version vibe of being the place to see and be seen. (Schrager did co-found Studio 54, so this should not come as a shock.)

The right way to ebook a keep on the Riviera Maya Version at Kanai

My three-night keep was complimentary, however you may ebook rooms beginning at $799 per night time on choose dates within the spring. I observed charges dip to as little as $599 per night time in the summertime. Award redemptions begin at 84,000 Marriott Bonvoy factors per night time.

The placement

The Riviera Maya Version is a couple of 40-minute drive south of Cancun Worldwide Airport (CUN) and sits inside the gated Kanai improvement. You may additionally discover The St. Regis Kanai Resort and Etereo, a part of the Auberge Resorts Assortment, within the Kanai improvement. A fourth resort is predicted to go on the opposite facet of the Version.

Non-public transport on Version-provided automobiles prices $418 round-trip from the airport in a four-person Suburban, or there’s a six-person van choice for $290 round-trip.

The resort is pretty remoted past the 2 neighboring resorts, and it is extra handy to take a look at eating places and bars at these properties fairly than drive into city. However Playa del Carmen to the south is the closest metropolis, slightly below a 30-minute drive from the Version.

In-crowd vibes

Modern, trendy structure abounds right here, with the Version model’s signature colour palette of assorted hues of white accented by wooden, stone and inexperienced. All in all, this offers the Riviera Maya Version a distinctly completely different architectural vibe than the towers of Cancun’s Lodge Zone.

The three wings of the resort are constructed above the mangrove forest, so you will traverse through elevated boardwalks that crisscross man-made and pure water options between buildings. A sandy path lined with palm bushes guides company from a pool and bar space close to the primary resort advanced out to the seaside.

The seaside is very manicured: You may see Version workers members continuously raking, so these sugary white shores stay picture-perfect around the clock. Maybe that is why I noticed supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio pose right here for a number of stylized snapshots whereas I — the non-supermodel — wolfed down a scrumptious tuna crudo on the close by beachfront infinity pool. To every their very own!

My keep was in the course of the grand opening weekend, so the Version visitor roster was closely skewed towards celebrities and influencers. However, once you see celebrities like Beyoncé, Leonardo DiCaprio and any variety of Jenners and Kardashians popping up at different model areas, it is laborious to examine the Riviera Maya Version dropping its scene-y vibe anytime quickly.

Verify-in

Since I used to be attending the opening weekend, my check-in expertise was devoid of strolling into the foyer for the standard arrival means of trying up a reservation. After a entrance portico greeting, an Version workforce member walked me up a stone, orchid-flanked staircase into the lofty foyer space that is stuffed with hanging greenery and white couches begging to host gossip session with a glass of one thing scrumptious from the close by Foyer Bar.

The bar space broke from the standard mixture of Version greens, whites and wooden. As an alternative, you will discover velvet seating areas in shades of crimson, lime inexperienced and pink beneath the watchful gaze of Mayan artwork peering out from behind numerous bottles of mezcal and reposado.

Open home windows with wood shutters in the primary foyer space overlook a lagoon pool and mangroves, and, relying in your room placement, you will both loop to the precise on the high of the entry staircase to a wing of rooms or head left and go exterior to a boardwalk to the property’s different two resort wings.

The slim boardwalk is one in all many locations on the Riviera Maya Version the place you will wish to pause for a photograph break, because it’s lined with lush greenery and reflecting swimming pools. The sunsets right here supplied some unbelievable lighting for glamor photographs, impromptu LinkedIn headshots and all the pieces in between.

Minimalism meets Riviera Maya within the visitor rooms

My welcome information walked me down the boardwalk path and as much as my third-floor room within the Riviera Maya Version’s easternmost wing that sits perpendicular to the seaside. Whereas the Foyer Bar supplied a pop of colour, the visitor room wings strictly adhered to the Version’s ordinary design code — albeit with some Yucatan Peninsula and Mayan cultural aptitude right here and there.

Stone corridors abide by Schrager’s modern minimalist aesthetic, that means they’re solely damaged up by the occasional wood-paneled elevator financial institution, an accent boulder or a reflecting pool encasing bamboo shoots. Whereas these are protected inside corridors, the resort is essentially indoor-outdoor by way of design, so you may nonetheless get pleasure from contemporary air due to outdoor-exposed ends at every finish of the resort room wings.

My deluxe king room was a pure extension of the resort’s aesthetic. A blond wooden four-poster mattress and nightstands paired properly with limestone flooring, cream rugs and white linens. A comfortable white chair with a stone facet desk shaped a small studying space, whereas walnut hues on one other chair, bench and accent wall offered the room with a few of its restricted pops of colour. It have to be a problem to maintain all that white trying so pristine, however fortunately, there’s twice-daily housekeeping to remain on high of that.

A personal out of doors terrace included a white couch with a espresso desk, terra cotta-potted vegetation and sweeping views of the encircling atmosphere. It was an idyllic spot to retreat to with a beer from the minibar and revel in a little bit sundown solitude earlier than night occasions started in the course of the opening weekend festivities.

The flat-screen tv featured streaming capabilities through a QR code you would scan with a smartphone to log in to Netflix and different streaming providers — nifty for some late-night rewatching of “Fits.”

Again inside, there was ample storage cut up between two closets that had loads of shelf and hanger area, plus the in-room secure, complimentary Nespresso espresso pods and tea and a minibar.

The marble rest room simply off the entry hallway featured a big single-sink self-importance with Version’s signature black-tea-and-bergamot-scented Le Labo merchandise. Whereas it is definitely good for the atmosphere, I have been unhappy because the model has moved away from mini Le Labo bottles to bigger, refillable ones, which are not for taking residence. A rainfall bathe and soaking tub meant I had a wide range of methods to clean up, and I used to be comfortable to see the Version included bathtub salts on a stone facet desk close to the bathtub.

In the event you neglect any toiletries at residence, odds are it they’re going to be in a small white field under the sink: Combs, toothbrushes and shaving kits had been all tucked away inside. There was additionally mosquito repellant subsequent to the sink, and the resort offered sunscreen and after-sun skincare in a welcome bag. (Nonetheless, it is unclear if that extends past the opening weekend occasion. Sunscreen and after-sun lotion had been offered at stations by every pool, although).

Whereas I wasn’t the fortunate visitor staying within the Sky Rooftop Villa, the 27,000-square-foot penthouse on the fourth flooring of my room’s part of the resort is the biggest resort penthouse in North America. The villa includes a non-public infinity pool working the size of the out of doors deck with panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea — it is merely begging to host the perfect celebration ever.

The Sky Rooftop Villa options 5 en suite bedrooms (every with its personal non-public terrace and plunge pool) and a visitor kitchen in addition to one for catering. There’s additionally a grassy finish to the leisure deck the place you may chill on a hammock and bask within the glory of no matter luck it took so that you can afford the beginning price of $40,000 per night time.

Lightning-fast in-room eating

Given the varied opening weekend festivities, my most “regular” and non-party eating experiences entailed in-room eating, a poolside ceviche at So’ol Seaside Membership and breakfast one morning at Kitchen. Nonetheless, all meals had been offered in the course of the hosted occasion.

After I acquired to my room on the primary afternoon, I felt famished and ordered an Italian chopped kale salad with grilled shrimp (740 Mexican pesos, or about $44) from room service, plus a facet of guacamole (350 Mexican pesos, or $21) — when in Mexico, proper? The shrimp had been plump, the salad crisp, and the guacamole hit all the precise notes of lime and cilantro for this hungry reporter. However what additionally stood out was the way it arrived in a couple of half-hour — definitely faster than any room service I’ve had just lately again within the U.S.

One morning, I ordered an egg white omelet (470 pesos, or $28) with a facet of bacon (100 pesos, or $6), and it arrived at an analogous pace.

The entire menus for the Version’s eating places — Ki’is, a luxe Mexican restaurant; Kitchen, a extra informal all-day restaurant; and the pool and seaside venues — had been in preview throughout my keep or specialised for the opening weekend crowd.

My tuna crudo at So’ol (520 Mexican pesos, or $31) had an Asian-fusion aptitude due to being soaked in ponzu and Japanese scorching sauce. A New York wagyu steak with chimichurri sauce and celeriac puree clocked in at 1,450 pesos ($87).

Breakfast at Kitchen included an “encamisado” egg folded inside a tortilla with a smoky sikil paak sauce for 390 pesos ($23) whereas an excellent inexperienced juice of celery, orange, pineapple, parsley and cactus was 180 pesos ($11). It is not low-cost to dine out on the Version, and this definitely is not the place you will discover an all-inclusive cut price. Nevertheless it’s additionally not essentially the most astronomical pricing, both — particularly in comparison with Version properties in metropolis facilities.

As for what’s in the end going to be on the finalized menu on the Riviera Maya Version? Do not count on a taco and tamale extravaganza right here. Throughout a press convention, Schrager informed reporters that he would intention to keep away from “the cliches” of eating.

(However do not panic: You possibly can nonetheless discover tacos on the menu at Pool Bar.)

Splash in type

You may have a wide range of locations to chill off within the water once you keep on the Riviera Maya Version. For starters, ground-floor visitor rooms function plunge swimming pools (although a few of my fellow company in these rooms complained of an disagreeable scent because of the proximity to the mangroves — an issue I did not have three flooring up).

The lagoon-style pool closest to the resort options partially submerged loungers in a small part, together with loads of loungers and cabana choices across the pool. Pool Bar is the place you may order all the pieces from a Corona beer to small bites. This pool is the extra laid-back, quieter spot to submerge or chill poolside with a ebook — or take a stylized picture in a kind of pool loungers when the sundown gentle is hitting at simply the precise angle.

The pool at So’ol Seaside Membership is the trendier hangout. Not that it wasn’t modern on the central pool nearer to the resort, however So’ol is unquestionably the watering gap the place you debut the newest Vilebrequin swimsuit that value a small fortune. That expensive pair of swim trunks will certainly slot in with the gang that ventures backwards and forwards from the pool to the seaside to a personal floating deck with cabanas straight on the ocean — all to the backdrop of pulsating pop music blaring from the sound system.

Towel service is offered at each swimming pools and the seaside.

Well being and wellness

The spa and health amenities on the Version had been each exemplary by resort requirements. The health room featured a spin studio for biking fanatics wanting to remain on high of their class schedule even whereas on trip. A large mixture of Technogym cardio and power coaching tools plus free weights rounded out the gymnasium.

The Spa consists of indoor-outdoor remedy rooms, hydrotherapy swimming pools, a rest room and steam and sauna amenities. There’s additionally a salon for manicures, pedicures and hair styling. Whereas the ability was busy throughout my go to and never preferrred for taking photographs throughout therapies, my 60-minute Restfulness Therapeutic massage (5,300 pesos, or $317) was simply the correct quantity of firmness to get a number of the knots out of my muscle tissues … however soothing sufficient to not agitate the sunburn I accrued from having fun with the So’ol Seaside Membership a little bit an excessive amount of the prior afternoon.

Dawn yoga and different actions happen in an outside pavilion with a hovering wood exoskeleton construction that is simply as a lot of an architectural showstopper as it’s a den of Zen for the individuals inside.

Why the Riviera Maya Version at Kanai will probably be best for you

• For these searching for a seaside getaway with a glamorous backdrop and fashion-forward fellow company, that is the place to unwind and get some marquee photographs to publish on Intstagram.
• There are ample methods to have a tendency to at least one’s well being and wellness right here, from yoga to eating to spa therapies — select your personal path for internal peace throughout your keep.
• In the event you’re extra of a reposado on ice and mezcal-rita form of particular person fairly than tequila photographs and swim-up bars, that is the luxe Mexican resort for you.

Why the Riviera Maya Version at Kanai won’t be for you

• Meals costs and spa providers are removed from low-cost on the Riviera Maya Version, so anticipate finding some hefty prices on high of the nightly room charges.
• You may need to pause on walks across the property so the particular person in entrance of you may end filming their second try at a TikTok or Reels shot. Do not choose — you is perhaps that particular person as soon as the seaside vista clears up on your flip.
• If you wish to be linked to native eating and varied off-resort choices, the Riviera Maya Version’s comparatively secluded location is not an incredible match.

Accessibility

Elevators and ramps are prevalent all through the property for accessibility, although the sandy pathway to the seaside just isn’t preferrred for wheelchairs. There’s a agency walkway under that’s utilized largely by Version workers members transferring backwards and forwards from the resort to the seaside and pool, and it’s the most accessible strategy to get to the seaside.

The resort additionally has an accessible ocean-view king visitor room and an accessible ocean-view suite, each of which include varied accessibility options.

There are not any chair lifts at both pool.

Options

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