Rosewood Mayakoba

The Rosewood is the smallest and most private of the four luxury resorts in the gated Mayakoba complex just north of the Playa del Carmen. It sits apart, at the far northern end of the long white sand beach next to a mangrove-lined lagoon (with resident infant crocodiles).

The emphasis here is on living spaces, rather than rooms. Suites are huge – with ample glass, neutral tones and light wood. They open onto private sundecks with plunge pools set over the lagoon or facing the beach.

But it’s the lagoon or beach villas that really set the Rosewood apart. Beautiful modernist cubes fronted with wall-high glass and secluded by trees, each feels like a private holiday home rather than a hotel villa; with suites of bedrooms, living areas, swimming pools and vast patios.

Like the other Mayakoba resorts, the hotel has a suite of upmarket eateries, a spa and access to the Greg Norman 18-hole PGA golf course.