I’ve had an opportunity to compare three room types at the Banyan now (have posted two, will post the third shortly). The beachfront suites are amazing (but they can get a bit pricy), and are super modern. The lagoon suites are also really nice and modern/lux (due to a recent renovation). That said, Banyan has some less expensive rooms that are still extremely nice. If you look at the other video I’ve got posted, I’ve seen those rooms run for considerably less money, but you’re still getting the banyan experience coupled with the in room amenities of a pool, hot tub, outdoor shower, and steam shower. It is a little more dated (in terms of style) but still very nice.

Thanks for the comment! I do suspect the time of year made a huge impact on the experience (which perhaps is to be expected). With the riviera maya hotels so close by (30-45min from Cancun), I think what I found the most jarring (in retrospect) is how different the overall experience was. Price was NOT a significant enough difference (relatively) but the level of quality and service discrepancy were massive. I don’t envision staying in Cancun again when much better options are such a short taxi ride away.

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words! Good idea regarding planning, I definitely have a unique (and possibly over-engineered) approach. I usually start with Amex FH&R properties as they tend to be consistently great options. Especially in the riviera maya (where this video was from) as there are so many great options. If I’m booking FH&R I get some key perks like early check-in at 12pm (doesn’t always work but usually gets you in earlier than 3), guaranteed late checkout at 4pm, complimentary breakfast, $100+ credit per stay for food/beverage or spa, and room upgrade (subject to availability). Those are pretty amazing perks and they encourage me to do one night stays (in destinations where it makes sense). For example, by staying one night in the banyan tree, I can show up at 12-2pm, get the $100 credit, and leave the next day at around 4pm. That allows me to experience the best restaurants on the property, the pools/beach, etc. And I often leave wanting more (on a good stay) but sometimes I leave just in time (before it gets boring). Because that’s basically 3-4 meals (snack or lunch on arrival, dinner that night, breakfast next morning, and then lunch thereafter). By that point, I may have tried all the restaurants at the hotel. Also, if the beach isn’t great or if the pool area is hit/miss, you’re not stuck spending the rest of your vacation there. The late checkout ensures you’re never left without a room. You just leave the hotel and head to the next one to check-in. And some hotels have a nice check in experience (welcome beverages, cool lobbies, boat rides, etc). The $100 credit is per stay (not per night) so you get more bang for your buck by staying only one night too. And it increases possibility of room upgrade (as they only need it available for that one night). A lot of times, room service will fold your clothes (or you can ask butler to pack for you), so unpacking/repacking isn’t a huge issue. Another huge part here is that you can optimize for pricing. If I’m staying 6 nights, I can put all of the hotels and rooms I want to stay in into a spreadsheet as their own row. Then each column I track the nightly stay for each of those rooms. It’ll often vary by day. Then with some conditional formatting I can spot where the value is. So for example, maybe this room at the Banyan is $600 one night and $900 another night. Meanwhile, maybe the rosewood is $750 this right and $850 that other night. Well then I’m better off paying the $600 for the first night at banyan and the $850 for the next night at rosewood (total cost $1450) vs the opposite ($1750). Lastly, it can help with optimizing travel times or exploration in a city. In riviera maya, I’ll often start furthest away from the airport and then slowly work my way back (so when I’m leaving on the last day, I have the shortest commute to airport). If stay is long enough and pricing allows, sometimes I’ll start close to airport, gradually move further away, and then come closer again. On the other hand, in a place like Mexico City where there’s so many neighborhoods to explore, instead of picking one hotel/neighborhood as a home base, I’d rather just stay in each neighborhood. Then you’re just getting in a taxi and heading to the neighborhood/hotel without needing to taxi back. So it saves time AND allows you to further experience the area (without the annoying stress of needing to get back to base). In terms of the rooms themselves, I’ll usually look for unique in-room features like jacuzzis, pools, saunas, steam showers, outdoor showers, terraces, balconies, etc. I’ll typically go to the hotel website in order to find the pictures (as Amex booking portal kinda sucks). If there’s no FH&R options, I’ll use booking.com as it’s easier to search/filter on amenities. This all kinda breaks if there’s no FH&R though as then you lose too many hours waiting for rooms. Checkout at 11-12p and check in at 3-4pm is no good. Ok every now and then but not on a nightly basis. You can intermix though (eg leave FH&R at 4pm, check into non FH&R after 4pm, checkout of non FH&R at 12pm and then early check into FH&R at 12pm, albeit some risk). It really all comes down to the added time, which is a huge deal IMO. Assuming you’re sleeping 12a-8a, regular check-times mean you get 8hr on check in day (vs 12hr with FH&R) and 4hr on check out day (vs 8hr with FH&R). 20hr vs 12hr is 67% better value! Hope that was informative. I’ll try and figure out how to do a video better outlining this!

@alexisrodriguez8279 that’s awesome and congratulations on the wedding! I loved the sauna features built into the room and Rome is an amazing backdrop for a honeymoon. Enjoy!

I did not begin to notice all of the bad things until after I did the video. Then I checked out shortly after and went to a different hotel. I commented what I didn’t like into the video description though!

Good to know. Thank you! ​@@thesweetsuites

I had left it in the description of this video - are you able to access? The TLDR is that the service was non existent, most of the resort was closed, and there were issues I noticed in the room shortly after filming this video. When compared with my other stays in the area (15min+ south of the hotel zone in Cancun into the riviera maya), I was deeply disappointed. So I checked out in 60 min and went to the semi-nearby nizuc.

The absolute BEST part of the viceroy was the service. There was a gentleman named “Pepe” who was providing drink service to the beach area (adjacent to the plunge pool). He came up directly to our outdoor unit to take our orders. We were literally never left with an empty glass. Also other folks in the hotel regularly brought things to the room/outdoor area (water bottles in ice buckets, coffee in the morning without me even needing to order it, etc). Plunge pool wasn’t too deep, it felt pretty standard… maybe 3-5ft? Was able to swim around in there easy enough…

I booked through Amex and on that I believe it was called “Studio, 1 King Bed, Ocean View, Corner”. The key is the “corner” part as those are the ones with the epic outdoor areas!

Hello! The beach was nicely right off our suite. They had solid seating along it for lounging (including hammock/swing style beds). That said, the beach overall wasn’t my favorite. It was rocky and water was rough. Not ideal for swimming or laying in the sand. It was also a fairly small stretch for the hotel (and neighboring hotels seemed busy with commercial vendors). I believe there may have also been some seaweed (which hotels in mayakoba or kanai would have removed). I hope that helps!

Nope! I’m a mosquito magnet and didn’t get bit at all at the St Regis (they fumigate there it seems). I did get bit elsewhere in the region though (eg at the viceroy where I don’t think they fumigated, and then at Mayakoba because it rained). But wasn’t really too bad.

Hey dude! This was a “Grand Chamber King Suite”.

Even better in person! I was pretty blown away. 🙌

That balcony would freak me out!

I suspect it varies a lot depending upon time of year/dates… But I’d think it would hover in the $1500-2500 per night zone.

@@thesweetsuites thks any restaurant you like the most?

Ah I missed this sorry for the delay. Restaurant at the Banyan Tree? Everyone loves their Thai restaurant (I thought it was solid). Their Italian was nice too. But my favorite thing there (aside from their amazing breakfast) was their nachos at the beach pool. The Rosewood has great restaurants too (including La Fondita in the little pueblita village). But best restaurant in the area overall I think is Toro at the St Regis Kanai!

Maybe their penthouse suite 😜😂

Yes it was, very clean!

Yea… I was bummed that the fireplace wasn’t working! Although I saw a post saying they’ve since done some renovations so maybe they’ve refreshed the furniture. 🤞

I think their base rooms were in the $300-400 zone and then upgraded rooms like this were maybe in the $600-700 range.

Nice definitely recommended! They have a pretty sweet view toward the top of the crane - with a hot tub! There’s also a few pretty solid restaurants surrounding the crane (one has a beachy kinda vibe). Tons of great street art nearby too. That said, I did find that nearby restaurants closed earlier than I expected, so ended up needing to order some mediocre pizza one of the nights (so plan accordingly). Safe travels!

Hey sorry for my delayed response! You can access all of the pools in the resort. There are I think 3-4 smaller ones (like the one in front of my room), one of which I believe was ‘adult only’. Then there’s a really big pool (with a bar in it) that was pretty nice (but crowded). There’s also a quasi-beach that leads into the water (but despite all of the sand around the resort, most doesn’t actually lead to the sea, as it’s all blocked by shrubs and cliffs). Pretty nice though nonetheless (just a little disappointing as I imagined walking right into the ocean).