St. Regis Kanai vs Rosewood Mayakoba vs EDITION: Which Riviera Maya Luxury Resort Is Right for You?
Riviera Maya has quietly become home to some of the best luxury resorts in the Western Hemisphere — and three names come up again and again when people are deciding where to spend a honeymoon, an anniversary, or a milestone family trip: The St. Regis Kanai, Rosewood Mayakoba, and The EDITION.
We've stayed at all three. Not on press trips — on our own dates, including over July 4th and New Year's Eve, and importantly, both as a couple and with a young daughter in tow. That last part matters, because most "best luxury resort" roundups are written by people who never had to find a kids' club or wonder whether a fine-dining restaurant would welcome a toddler. We did. So this comparison covers both the romance and the reality of traveling with kids.
The short version: all three are genuinely exceptional, but they have very different personalities. Here's how they stack up at a glance, then a detailed firsthand walk through each.
Quick comparison
| The St. Regis Kanai | Rosewood Mayakoba | The EDITION | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Families and couples | Couples who want adventure + seclusion (works with kids) | Design-lovers & couples who want quiet |
| Vibe | Polished, all-rounder | Romantic, jungle-and-canals adventure | Modern, refined, grown-up |
| Kids' club | Excellent (Tortuga, ages 4–11) | Good, but the resort itself is the playground | Light-touch (daily poolside crafts) |
| Signature | Steps-from-beach pools + butler service | Private boat to your own dock | Living-wall tropical-garden design |
| Standout service moment | Nightly champagne sabering | Rubber duckies in the tub for our daughter | — |
| What we paid | Marriott points (~$800–1,200+/night value) | $1,000/night over July 4 (3rd night free) | ~$1,000/night over New Year's Eve |
The St. Regis Kanai
The setting. The architecture sets the tone the moment you walk in: modern and airy, with high ceilings partially open to the sky and plants everywhere. It feels like the building is breathing with the mangrove around it.
The room. We stayed in a Grand Luxe Guest Room — one king, ocean view, private terrace, and our own plunge pool looking out over the natural mangrove. That plunge pool was the room's quiet luxury: cool water, total privacy, and a steady parade of butterflies and birds drawn to the mangrove off the terrace. The terrace earned its keep after dark, too — a drink out there once the heat broke, under a sky with no light pollution and the stars fully out, was one of our favorite unhurried moments of the trip.
The pools and beach — the standout. The pool area is spectacular. Waterfalls cascade peacefully in the background, lounge seats sit in the water, and the pools are just steps from a vibrant white-sand beach — so you can drift between pool chairs and beach chairs all day, which we did constantly. Poolside food and drink service was attentive and friendly. There's a quieter adults-only pool set apart with its own bar, and a small kids' pool right next to the main pool by the Riviera restaurant — so families and couples each get their own water without anyone compromising.
For families. This is where St. Regis Kanai quietly over-delivers for a brand you'd assume skews couples-only. The Tortuga Children's Club (ages 4–11) sits right by the Riviera restaurant and the family pool, and runs a genuinely full daily program — exploratory nature walks, mini-Olympics, handicrafts, tie-dye, treasure hunts. Our daughter's favorite was a pirate scavenger hunt: they kitted the kids out with bandanas and pirate gear and sent them off hunting for "treasure." She didn't want to leave. Separately there's Jack's Club, a game room with TVs, air conditioning, and a pool table — plus its own small plunge pools that sit in the shade and run cooler than the main pool, a real escape from the midday heat.
The food. High-end Latin American and Mexican is the strength. The best meal was at Toro — though fair warning, it's not the most kid-friendly of the restaurants, so it's one to save for an evening the little one's worn out (or happy at the kids' club).
The St. Regis rituals. The nightly champagne sabering is a real highlight, and the bar snacks that come with it are delicious.
The one logistical catch (and the fix). The walk from the rooms to the pools and beach is long — a boardwalk out over the mangrove forest. It's gorgeous, full of butterflies and birds, but it's not a quick hop, and that matters more with a toddler. The move is to call your butler for a golf cart or flag one of the frequent passing carts. The same service runs you to the neighboring Kanai resorts for dinner — Etéreo (Auberge), The EDITION Kanai, and Mandarin Oriental Kanai — so you effectively get four resorts' worth of restaurants from one base.
On value — a great points redemption. We booked St. Regis Kanai on Marriott Bonvoy points rather than cash. For a property that runs roughly $800–1,200+/night depending on season, it's one of the better aspirational Bonvoy redemptions in the region — worth knowing if you're sitting on points and weighing where to burn them.
Verdict — who it's for. Both, genuinely. There are distinct zones for families and for couples, so you never have to choose between a romantic trip and a kid-friendly one. If you want one resort that does everything well, this is it.
Check live rates at The St. Regis Kanai →
Rosewood Mayakoba
The arrival — unforgettable. Rosewood makes its first impression count. The entire resort is built along a series of manmade canals winding through the mangrove, so check-in becomes an event: you enter the lobby, descend to the boat launch, and a private boat chauffeurs you through the jungle to your room's own private dock. It immediately signals you're somewhere unlike anywhere else.
The room and its setting. The outdoor area is stunning — a private plunge pool ringed by jungle and wildlife, with your own dock on the lagoon. Turtles and fish drift by in the water right off the deck. One honest note: the lagoon is tidal, so you'll sometimes see green plant material in the morning. It clears through the day, but it's worth knowing if you're picturing crystal-blue water at the dock.
The main pool. Gorgeous — waterfalls throughout, exotic birds dropping in, and a dramatic drop-off from the pool deck down to the lagoon where the boat launch sits. It plays the whole resort's canal-and-jungle theme back to you in one view.
Service — the best of the three. The personal butlers check in daily and genuinely go above and beyond. The moment that defined it: one night they surprised our daughter by filling our sunken in-room tub with inflatable tubes and rubber duckies. She was over the moon. That kind of unprompted, kid-delighting touch is something you can't manufacture — and it's why Rosewood's service is the standard the other two are measured against.
For families. There's a dedicated kids' club near the drop-off, stocked with a huge assortment of games — honestly nice enough that I would've happily hung out there. Our daughter (5 at the time) was less interested in parking herself indoors (the canals and wildlife were too tempting), but she dropped in for the activities and loved them: the make-your-own tie-dye shirt was a hit, and so was s'mores making. So the structured programming is there and it's good — but Rosewood's real magic for a kid is the property itself: the boat rides, the turtles off the dock, the bikes, the wildlife.
Getting around — and what's included. Every room gets free bikes, and we used ours constantly; the beach is about a 5-minute ride (or have your butler arrange a golf cart). Rosewood includes more than you'd expect for the rate: a complimentary biological tour — a friendly, knowledgeable guide pointing out local birds and plants threaded across the property, great for curious kids and adults — and one evening a free wine-and-cocktail hour to meet the management and fellow guests, a warm social touch before dinner.
Food. Breakfast near the main pool and lobby was excellent: a huge daily spread of fruits, meats, and hot stations, with a fresh fruit juice that rotated daily (amazing) and excellent coffee. In the evenings, Zapote Bar was a standout — and welcoming even with a kid. We sat out on the patio overlooking the pool and lagoon a few nights for small plates and a few genuinely fabulous cocktails; it became our easy go-to.
On value. We stayed over July 4th at $1,000/night with a 3rd-night-free promo (stay three consecutive nights, get one free), which brought the effective rate to roughly $667/night over a peak holiday — strong for this tier. Promos like this rotate, so check the current offer before you book.
Verdict — who it's for. Both, but it leans romantic. There are plenty of families here, yet the property is large and layered enough that there are remote, secluded corners made for a romantic getaway — you're never forced to share the family energy if you don't want it. Pair that with the best service of the three and Rosewood becomes the pick for couples who want a little adventure — boats, bikes, wildlife — without giving up seclusion, and it still works beautifully with a kid.
Check live rates at Rosewood Mayakoba →
The EDITION
The design — a tropical garden. EDITION is modern but funky: living walls, planted ceilings, and thousands of potted plants make the whole resort feel like you're staying inside a tropical garden. It leans jungle rather than beach-glam, and the effect is immersive.
The vibe. This is the most grown-up of the three — trendy, refined, and genuinely quiet. The energy is calm and relaxing rather than buzzy; even over New Year's Eve it kept a serene, adults-leaning feel. If St. Regis is the polished all-rounder and Rosewood is the romantic adventure, EDITION is the design-lover's retreat.
The room. We had a Deluxe room with two queens and an ocean view — and the two-queen layout is worth flagging for families, since it comfortably fit the three of us without needing a suite. The balcony was the highlight: a perfect spot for stargazing or a quiet drink whenever we weren't down at the pool or beach.
The pools. There's a large pool right outside the lobby and breakfast area, with its own restaurant — convenient and lovely, and where we spent most of our time.
The beach — with honest caveats. The walk to the beach is long, but it's shaded under palm trees and ends at a sandy beach bath with soothing music. On the good days it was beautiful and quiet. Two real notes, though: a few days there were bug issues at the beach, and — like everywhere in this region — sargassum can show up. To their credit, EDITION cleans it daily and runs protective netting to keep the swimming area clear. There's overwater deck seating, but it needs to be reserved and ran far too hot when we tried it.
On the water. We did a Hobie Cat sail off the beach (extra cost) — a fun way to get out on the water for an hour.
For families. EDITION skews adult, but it doesn't ignore kids: daily activities run at the pool, heavy on arts and crafts — ceramic painting and t-shirt painting were the ones our daughter (age 5) did. It's lighter-touch than St. Regis's Tortuga club, which fits the resort's quieter, grown-up character.
Food. We mostly ate breakfast and dinner at Kitchen, the EDITION's main restaurant, and it was consistently good — easy enough to make it our default. And because the EDITION sits in the Kanai development alongside The St. Regis, Mandarin Oriental, and Etéreo, we also used the shared golf-cart transport to dine across the neighboring resorts, which kept the food interesting all week.
On value. We paid roughly $1,000/night over New Year's Eve — peak-of-peak dates — which is right in line with what the St. Regis and Rosewood command at the top of the calendar. Off-holiday rates run lower, so if you're flexible on timing this is a place where shifting a week or two can meaningfully change the price.
Verdict — who it's for. The design-lover's and couples' pick. It's the quietest and most refined of the three, ideal if your idea of luxury is calm, beautiful spaces and a grown-up atmosphere. Families are welcome and the kids' crafts are a nice touch, but it's the least kid-centric of the three — best if your child is easygoing or you're after a more adult-feeling trip.
Check live rates at The EDITION →
So which should you book?
After staying at all three, here's the honest decision guide:
Pick The St. Regis Kanai if you want one resort that does everything well — especially if you're traveling with kids. The Tortuga club genuinely entertained our daughter, the steps-from-beach pools are the easiest layout of the three, and the family and couples zones are separate enough that everyone wins. It's also a standout Marriott Bonvoy points redemption.
Pick Rosewood Mayakoba if you want romance and a sense of adventure without sacrificing seclusion. The private-boat arrival, the canals and wildlife, and the best service of the three make it the most memorable. It works with a kid, but its soul is romantic.
Pick The EDITION if you're a design-lover or a couple who wants the quietest, most refined atmosphere. It's the most grown-up of the three — beautiful, calm, and adult — and lighter on structured kids' programming.
One last thing worth saying: because The St. Regis Kanai, The EDITION, and Mandarin Oriental all sit in the Kanai development with shared golf-cart transport between them, you can stay at one and dine across all of them — a nice way to sample more than one of these properties in a single trip.
Whichever way you lean, use the buttons above to check live rates and availability for your dates. And if you'd rather wait for a price drop, hit Watch Price on any of these resorts on our destination pages — we'll email you the moment the rate falls.