I have been wanting to go to Mayacoba for a Long Time. It is no secret that the Mexican Riviera Maya holds unpaired secrets into it’s beautiful landscape. The opportunity came when I was lucky enough to receive an invitation to attend at a cousin’s wedding. Rosewood hotels are among my world’s favorites mostly because of their eco and holistic life approach.
Situated along a mile-long arc of white sand in the Riviera Maya, Rosewood Mayakoba is the ultimate romantic escape winding lagoons and a mile-long arc of pristine beach, this oasis of indulgence offers 128 suites, mine with private plunge pool, a rooftop sundeck, a garden shower and an individual dock.
The Rosewood Spa® is designed around a cenote, one of the sacred water wells of the ancient Mayans, and sits on a private island a good inspiration to start on an organic, eco, green nutrition The resort after all is built to abide by the highest of eco-standards, offering indulgence with awareness, and has recently been awarded the Rainforest Alliance Certification.
7.00 AM I am promised to end my day in one of the three newly built palapas situated throughout the resort, where I will take a dip in my new suite’s plunge pool, refresh over cocktails on the waterfront terrace, take in the awe-inspiring views of the Caribbean Sea and end the night with a private beach dinner.
Unique to Rosewood Mayakoba, the on-property biologist leads an EcoTour exploring the 61.75 acres of lagoon and 210 acres of mangroves while educating guests on the surrounding wildlife and natural vegetation and my timing has been right: I am among the luckiest guests invited to accompany him to the sea turtle nesting area
10.30 AM. Rising above the tranquil waters of the main pool and the emerald lagoon below, Casa del Lago, the resort’s signature restaurant, is the perfect setting for an all-day dining experience. Each morning as the sun rises over Mexico , an extensive breakfast buffet featuring local and international delicacies. A smiling gentleman in a white Mexican uniform is serving me Rosewood Mayakoba’s signature green Chaya Juice, which combats bad cholesterol, keeps kidneys clean , provides high levels of vitamin C and potassium to keep guests looking and feeling their best. ( See receipe in the gallery above)
Everything looks and tastes delicious, but I am in a rush because the boat is leaving at 11 sharp and Rachel the local biologist is waiting for me to take us on the renowned Mayacoba region eco-tour. There we go, with a few other guests and my camera I am ready for the ride. My suite at the beach will be ready only later , i am fully hydrated and healthily nurtured so all looks like a perfect day.
Rosewood Mayakoba is part of the Mayakoba Complex. In the lagoon area we can see a different colors in the water and is because we have seaweed, and in some areas we can see the water more clear because in that parts we have more natural circulation than other parts. The water closer to the mangrove area sometimes is red or brown, because in that part we have a lot of organic material and the red color is for all the tannin that they have in the wood.
In the mangrove we can see all sorts of animals, like crocodiles, turtles, birds (cormorant, anhinga, green heron etc) fish (tiger fish) The mangrove provides a lot of protection to them and food. For the human they make a wall in the storms or hurricanes, because they reduce the speed of the winds. In Mexico exists four species of Mangrove and in Rosewood they have all of them.
I have found one iguana while eating my breakfast this morning, as it’s a sunny day apparently their blood is cold and they need the sun. The crocodiles have the same kind of blood.
The black iguanas can eat everything when they are adults (leaves, fruit, flowers, eggs, meat, little mice, lizards, frogs, bugs) when they are babies they can are going to eat leaves and bugs)
The crocodiles eat everything (turtles, birds (adults and babies) little mammals, fish, frogs, iguanas) In Mexico we do not have alligators, we only have crocodiles. In Mayakoba we have two species of crocodiles, and in Mexico has three. I have learned that I can recognize a crocodiles from an alligators. When one has the mouth close and you can see the teeth, it’s a crocodile. The small birds are eat seaweed and the big birds eat fish. We have a lot of migration with the birds during all the year.
There are seven cenotes in all the Complex and this cenotes feed all the lagoon area plus the salty water coming from the ocean. The water coming from the cenotes is fresh water. The cenotes are like holes in the ground and have a lot of connection underground and in this system is always fresh water, they are like spring waters.
The hotel has a team who removes the excess of the seaweed, because with the warm weather the seaweed grow up very fast. But they do not remove all the seaweed, because they need to have fish in the lagoon.
Raquel says that they are very proud at the resort for teh continuous increase of flora and fauna over the years.They come to the Mayakoba, because is very healthy the environment and we take care all of them with the resort’s green actions . Part of this is that they do not feed the animals because they have their own food and all they need in the mangrove, forest , paths and walk trees and becausee their guest respect the environment too.
This Cenote Burrodromo is in the Complex and is 10 min by bicycle and 5 min by car. Is a natural cave with water, with seven different species of bats.
In the cenote is everything natural, the resort only put some light and it’s turned on during the day (9am until 18hrs). The water that you can see in the cenote is brackish water and it’s connected with the lagoon system. You can found birds, like the mot mot, and some fish too. The bats living inside eat different things, like nectar, bugs, little fish, and sap. In the day they fly inside the cave , in the evening and night all come out and can be seen out on paths walk.
Some stalactites growth very slowly and if someone touches them their growth stops. And yes, this was the veru interesting lecture of Raquel but I am almost not interested anymore. I am handed a blue bike and shown the way to my beautiful palapa on a pristine white sand surrounded by hundreds of coconut trees and agave plants: My dream is about to come true. I am soon plunging into the crystal clear waters of Mayan ocean and feel ecologically free. Thank you Mayacoba, thank you Raquel, I will give you back!
Joelle’s Picks
Rosewood Mayakoba, Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo
Mexico Luxury Resorts in Riviera Maya | Rosewood Mayakoba | Riviera Maya Mexico Resorts
