The Best Resorts in Mexico, From Pacific Hideaways to Riviera Maya Icons

This story was originally published in June 2023. It was most recently updated with new information on November 6, 2026. Mary Holland, Devorah Lev-Tov, and Laura Dannen Redman also contributed to this story.

For Afar’s Hotels We Love series, our editors and contributors selected the 19 best resorts in Mexico, which we’ve stayed in firsthand, from Los Cabos and Riviera Nayarit to the Riviera Maya and Oaxaca’s Pacific coast. Every pick, whether a major luxury brand or an independent retreat, showcases the work of Mexican architects, chefs, and artisans.

For more intimate stays, explore our guide to the best small hotels in Mexico with eight rooms or fewer.

Which Mexico resort is right for you?

If you’re planning a specific kind of trip, start with these picks.

• Adults-only, all-inclusive luxury: Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort
• Families: One&Only Mandarina
• Wellness and relaxation: Chablé Yucatán
• Architecture and design: Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo
• Classic Cabo luxury: Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal
• An intimate beach escape: Hotel Esencia
  

Alila Mayakoba

Courtesy of Alila Mayakoba

Alila Mayakoba, the brand’s first property in Latin America, opened in February 2026 following a top-to-bottom renovation of the former Andaz Mayakoba. The resort spans 60 acres of beach, lagoon, and mangroves within Mayakoba, a sprawling resort community just south of Playa del Carmen. The renovation brought a greater emphasis on wellness, with signature experiences that draw on Maya traditions. These include an Ixchel Water Blessing at a nearby private cenote.

At Spa Alila, treatments range from a temazcal sweat lodge to sound immersion sessions. Huber Design reimagined the interiors using regional materials, including tzalam and parota hardwoods, Mérida limestone, and reclaimed travertine, and furniture was created in collaboration with local artisans.

Chablé Yucatán

Courtesy of Chablé Yucatan

The Yucatán is known for its ancient Maya ruins and historic haciendas. At Chablé Yucatán, about a 30-minute drive from Mérida, the state capital, guests can experience that history firsthand at a restored turn-of-the-century hacienda set on 750 acres. Chablé seems worlds away from the busy resort communities along Mexico’s Caribbean coast.

Its 40 guest rooms occupy glass-fronted, stand-alone casitas with hammock-filled terraces overlooking the surrounding jungle. Here, nature takes center stage—even the spa overlooks a cenote, a natural limestone sinkhole. The hacienda’s former engine room now houses Ixi’im, a Michelin-starred Mexican restaurant with a tequila collection of 3,435 bottles, among the largest in the world.

Cuixmala

Courtesy of Cuixmala

Set along Mexico’s wild Pacific Coast, within the 36,000-acre Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve, Cuixmala is one of the country’s most secluded beach retreats. Its 40 guest rooms, suites, and villas occupy various locations across the property, ranging from beachfront to hilltop.

Housed in ornate, tangerine-colored buildings, the accommodations have stark white interiors with soaring ceilings and colorful bedspreads in shades of electric pink and bright yellow. Views extend toward the Pacific Ocean or the surrounding wilderness.

Conservation is central to Cuixmala’s mission. The Cuixmala Ecological Fund works to protect the area’s diverse ecosystems and wildlife, such as jaguars and pumas.

Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo

Courtesy of Four Seasons Tamarindo

Jungle meets the Pacific Ocean at Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo, on a secluded peninsula on Jalisco’s southwestern coast. The resort sits within a 3,000-acre private nature reserve, of which only 2 percent has been developed. Evoking the tiered forms of Mexican pyramids, the resort’s striking concrete structures were designed by Mexican architects Victor Legorreta and Mauricio Rocha.

The 157 guest rooms are split between cliffside suites with private infinity pools on the hill, and beach and garden rooms closer to the public spaces. Rooms feature framed textiles on the walls and handwoven hammocks on the patios. Tamarindo has three levels of infinity pools, alongside a casual taqueria, a beachside seafood spot, and Coyul, run in partnership with acclaimed Mexican chef Elena Reygadas. Guests can also visit Rancho Lola, the resort’s 35-acre working farm, with a cadre of pigs, goats, chickens, and a family of Great Pyrenees dogs, which often roam the property.

Hotel Esencia

Tanveer Badal Photography

Hotel Esencia began as the private beachfront estate of an Italian duchess, and it has retained the intimate feel of a private home. It sits on Xpu Ha, a white-sand bay on the Riviera Maya between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, where sea turtles nest each year. (Staff will even alert guests when the hatchlings make their way to the water.

Accommodations range from two-story garden cottages with private pools to rooftop wellness suites overlooking the jungle. The estate also has its own cenote, where guests can take a freshwater dip, while the spa offers temazcal ceremonies, an infrared sauna, and a sensory deprivation tank.

For larger groups, the separate four-bedroom Esencia Mansion has three private pools, a screening room, and a rooftop terrace.

Hotelito at MUSA

Courtesy of Hotelito

On a secluded stretch of coastline outside the lively beach town of Zihuatanejo, Hotelito at MUSA opened in January 2023 with a focus on conservation and community. The hotel is part of Musa, an eco-minded development by Mexico City–born designer Andrés Saavedra and Canadian entrepreneur Tara Medina. Designed by Saavedra, the hotel’s architecture is minimalist, with 19 guest rooms constructed from natural materials, including stone and sustainably sourced local hardwood.

The property’s sustainability initiatives include a bio-pool, composting and soil regeneration programs, and rainwater harvesting and gray water recycling systems that help irrigate on-site gardens. Hotelito has also contributed to Musa’s efforts to restore fragile coral reef habitats in the nearby Pacific Ocean.

Montage Los Cabos

Courtesy of Montage Los Cabos

Swimmable beaches are rare in Los Cabos, where strong waves and currents often make entering the ocean dangerous. But guests at Montage Los Cabos can swim and snorkel right off the resort’s private beach. Set along the shoreline, the 122 accommodations range from guest rooms and suites to spacious, open-plan casas with as many as five bedrooms. All have terraces with daybeds and outdoor showers, while a handful feature private pools.

Active travelers have plenty to do, with three pools, a fitness center and movement studio, tennis courts, complimentary kayaks and paddleboards, and two yachts available for charter. Golfers also have access to a 19-hole course designed by Fred Couples. For a slower pace, the 40,000-square-foot spa offers organic treatments, some inspired by local healing traditions. Four bars and restaurants serve a range of cuisines, including Mexican and Thai.

Monte Uzulu

Courtesy of Monte Uzulu

Tucked into a jungle-covered hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean in San Agustinillo, Monte Uzulu offers both nature and village life: You’ll fall asleep to the sound of thundering waves and wake to the sounds of locals going about their daily routines. Set at the base of town and just minutes from the beach on foot, the hotel offers 11 sandy-hued cliffside rooms with a minimalist aesthetic, constructed with materials like local macuil wood and cement. Founder Alan V. Favero is an interior designer and artist known for his eco-conscious design firm, Taller Lu’um, which collaborates with artisans across Mexico.

Monte Uzulu says it reuses 100 percent of the water it takes in. The hotel also has a rainwater catchment system, biodegradable skin products, and retractable walls that cool interiors with ocean breezes instead of air-conditioning.

Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort

Courtesy of Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort

Naviva, part of the Four Seasons portfolio, is the brand’s first all-inclusive luxury tented camp in the Americas, with 15 bungalows across 48 acres of coastal jungle in Punta Mita. This adults-only property offers an alternative take on barefoot luxury, with meals and drinks, a 90-minute spa treatment, and guided experiences such as coastal hiking, snorkeling, and birding included in the rate.

The main restaurant and bar, Cocina Copal, has no fixed menus or mealtimes, so guests order what they want, when they want it (though a signature dish of the day is always offered, such as cochinita pibil or slow-roasted barbacoa). At the outdoor spa, two treatment pods are surrounded by thick palms, creating a mini hideaway. Guests can seek additional restaurants and activities at the nearby sister property Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, five minutes away by car.

Related: Private Glamping Tents, White Sand Beaches, a Botanist on Site. And It’s a Four Seasons

One&Only Mandarina

Rupert Peace/One&Only Mandarina

One&Only Mandarina, the first property in the multibillion-dollar Mandarina development, is a destination resort with 105 stand-alone tree houses and cliff-top villas that each have a plunge pool, all spread across 80 acres for privacy. The resort offers panoramic views of rainforest-covered cliffs or the Pacific Ocean.

Carao, the cliffside restaurant developed with Mexico City chef Enrique Olvera of Pujol, serves creative takes on Mexican dishes. Families have plenty to do, too, from a 42,000-square-foot kids club with its own tree house and butterfly sanctuary to the Mandarina Polo & Equestrian Club. The surf towns of Sayulita and San Pancho are close enough for a day trip, which can be organized through the resort.

One&Only Palmilla

Courtesy of One&Only Palmilla

At the edge of the Baja Peninsula, One&Only Palmilla was originally built in 1956 as a 15-room hideaway by Don Abelardo Rodriguez, son of a former president of Mexico. Today, it’s one of the region’s most luxurious resorts, with 174 oceanfront accommodations, including two villas, decorated in neutral hues and splashes of red; many have infinity pools and patios facing the Sea of Cortez.

One&Only Palmilla has one of the area’s few swimmable beaches, plus three private rocky coves complete with floating beds, lounge chairs, and dedicated butlers. Activities include snorkeling, surfing, parasailing, and golf at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Palmilla Golf Club. The spa’s wellness garden features 13 treatment villas; several have private plunge pools and rain showers.

The resort’s sustainability initiatives include a water purification system that produces and bottles filtered water on-site. It also supports sea turtle conservation efforts, including monitoring nearby nesting sites and educating young guests about marine conservation.

Paradero Todos Santos

Courtesy of Paradero Todos Santos

Paradero Todos Santos, a Baja California–based hotel, is designed to immerse guests in the destination. Unlike many Cabo resorts an hour away, Paradero is less a pool party and more a cultural retreat, set at the intersection of sun-drenched desert, mountains, and Pacific coast, with a working farm on-site and the art-and-surf community of Todos Santos a 10-minute drive away. Mexico City–based founders Pablo Carmona and Joshua Kremer have created experiences that go beyond the beach.

All visitors can book complimentary yoga and fitness classes; a surf lesson at La Pastora (famous for big waves, with gentler breaks nearby for beginners); a guided art walk through Todos Santos, which has drawn artists from across the United States and Mexico for decades; and even gardening or farming lessons. The hotel itself is an indoor-outdoor retreat, with 42 suites designed to blend into the desert landscape, with rough concrete walls and handcrafted Mexican furnishings.

Park Hyatt Cabo Del Sol

ENRIQUE SERRANO

The first Park Hyatt in Mexico opened in December 2025 in Cabo del Sol, a private community along the coastal corridor between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo. Mexico City firm Sordo Madaleno designed the 251-room property, drawing on historic Mexican courtyards and integrating hand-finished stone and native woods throughout.

Executive chef Miguel Gomez oversees four dining venues: Mesa Madre, which focuses on traditional Mexican home cooking; Silán, a Levantine restaurant; Costamar, a beach club serving coastal California-inspired dishes; and Dátil, a coffee shop and bakery. Saria Spa is part of a 59,000-square-foot fitness and wellness center with a yoga studio and a lap pool. Golfers can play the 18-hole Cabo del Sol Desert course, designed by renowned golfer Tom Weiskopf.

Rosewood Mayakoba

Courtesy of Rosewood Mayakoba

At the all-suite Rosewood Mayakoba, set on a handful of private islands amid a mangrove forest in the Riviera Maya, guests take an electric boat to reach their rooms. The 129 spacious accommodations all have butler service and feature outdoor terraces and private plunge pools; many have outdoor showers.

Daily eco-tours teach guests about the flora and fauna of the area, which the resort’s sustainability practices aim to protect. Its conservation efforts, from energy and water conservation to locally sourced, lower-waste culinary practices, have earned the property Preferred by Nature certification for sustainable tourism.

Guests looking to take a dip have four pools and a sparkling beach to choose from, while the 17,000-square-foot spa on its own private island offers a hydrotherapy circuit, meditation platform, and 12 treatment rooms for therapies incorporating locally grown aloe and agave.

Siari Riviera Nayarit, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Courtesy of Siari, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Siari Riviera Nayarit, which opened in late 2025, welcomes guests on arrival with a commanding view of Nayarit’s jungle, mangroves, ocean, and volcanic cliffs. The resort sits within Nauka, a private 920-acre members’ club, where dense coastal wilderness meets the Pacific. Its design, wellness programming, and cuisine are inspired by the traditions of the Wixárika (Huichol), an Indigenous people of western Mexico.

Those connections are reflected throughout the property. Artisans contribute to the resort’s interiors, while single mothers from the community in nearby Tepic make handmade tostadas served at the hotel. The kids club also offers Indigenous craft workshops. Mexico City firm Bernardi + Peschard Arquitectura designed the 86 suites and villas with stone walls, Wixárika ceramics, and splashes of emerald-green tile.

Related: Is Mexico’s Newest Ritz-Carlton Reserve Worth the Trip?

The St. Regis Kanai Resort

Courtesy of St. Regis Kanai Resort

The St. Regis Kanai Resort was built on stilts with elevated walkways to protect the surrounding mangrove forest, which runs parallel to the two miles of white-sand beach fronting the property. The circular design by Mexican architectural firm Edmonds International Design was inspired by the Pleiades constellation, significant in Maya culture, and local craftspeople and artists are highlighted throughout.

The resort features both adults-only and family pools, a spa with hydrotherapy treatments, and seven dining venues, including an outlet of Richard Sandoval’s Toro and a library offering Mayan cacao and afternoon tea. The 143 guest rooms and suites feature green marble sinks inspired by cenotes, ceramic light pendants that evoke the stars, and intricate walnut-carved headboards inspired by ancient Mayan textiles.

Susurros del Corazón, Auberge Collection

Courtesy of Susurros del Corazón

Set on a white-sand beach between Puerto Vallarta and Punta Mita, the 59-room Susurros del Corazón offers a secluded coastal retreat. In the bungalow-style rooms and suites, all of which feature patios or balconies, Dallas-based designer Paul Duesing showcases the work of local makers, including hand-carved whitewashed wood headboards and oversize dream catchers made from driftwood and seashells.

Restaurants like Elio and La Boquita celebrate the region’s ingredients, with dishes ranging from fresh seafood and seasonal produce to tacos and ceviche. When guests aren’t relaxing by the three-tiered pool, at the spa, or in the ocean, activities abound, including yoga classes, surfing lessons, sound baths, and workshops celebrating local crafts and culinary traditions.

Terrestre

Photo by Fabian Martinez courtesy of Grupo Habita

In the Oaxacan hills, with views of the Pacific Ocean, Hotel Terrestre marries modern style and sustainability. Mexican hoteliers Grupo Habita commissioned Mexico City–based architect Alberto Kalach, known for his environmentally conscious designs, to create the property. (He also designed the Casona Sforza retreat in Puerto Escondido.)

Kalach fashioned Terrestre’s 14 villas out of locally sourced clay, wood, brickwork, and concrete that blend into the sand-colored landscape. Each accommodation has a private terrace with an outdoor shower, a dipping pool, and a hammock; custom furnishings were designed by Mexican architect Oscar Hagerman and built by local craftspeople.

The hotel, which operates entirely on solar power, is cooled by fans and cross ventilation, while landscaping includes endemic flora (copales and mesquites) that thrive in the arid climate.

Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal

Courtesy of Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal

Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, the brand’s first hotel in Mexico, completed a multiyear renovation in March 2026, with redesigned accommodations and refreshed public spaces. The 24-acre resort sits at the southernmost tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula. Paul Duesing, the resort’s original designer, returned to redesign all 112 rooms with furnishings by Mexican artisans. Above the beds hang metallic sea turtle shells handcrafted by Preciado Iluminación in Jalisco. Accommodations also have private terraces and plunge pools, fireplaces, and binoculars for spotting humpback whales.

Executive chef Gustavo Pinet oversees the menu at El Farallon, a seafood restaurant set on the cliffs above the Pacific, with a champagne terrace for predinner drinks. Meanwhile, the spa draws on curanderismo, or traditional Mexican folk healing, with treatments inspired by the moon’s phases.