Hotel Esencia

While the grounds are immaculate, the rooms are impeccable, and the food is sensational, the standout feature at Hotel Esencia is the staff. Everyone is personable, charming, attentive, and simply delightful to be around. We are a family with young (under-11) children who spend very full days at the beach — building sand castles, snorkeling, kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, and riding ‘seabobs’. The staff helped us navigate between activities and did so with genuine smiles and laughter throughout. Plus, the hotel arranged and guided us on a fantastic excursion that included snorkel and swimming with the manatees at a nearby lagoon (highly recommended!). We would encourage everyone to ‘wake up starving’ because breakfast is phenomenal with pancakes, eggs, smoothies, French toast, and breakfast sandwiches to rival the very best otherwise offered in Mexico City. We will be back and sincerely recommend the Hotel Esencia experience!

This was my second time visiting beautiful Hotel Esencia - my first time solo! The pick up from the airport was seamless, as was check in/out (I love that you moved it from the building at the entrance to the Concierge office). The attention and service from the entire staff was EXCEPTIONAL. The concierge team was very communicative both in person and via WhatsApp, it was nice to get a daily message listing available activities. The pool/beach service was stellar - Alfonso & Kennedy were so warm and friendly, they made me feel at home. Alfonso makes a killer margarita! The pool deck/lounges were always pristine. I also want to acknowledge the beach crew who work tirelessly to keep the beach beautiful. Housekeeping is consistent and on point & the turn down service was just as fun as I remember, always leaving fun treats and charming little souvenirs. The sunrise yoga is great for all levels with excellent instructors & under a shaded pavilion with ocean breeze. I had two excellent spa services, one helping me shift gears at the beginning of the week and another helping me prepare for another week of travel. Marcos was my guide for the lovely lagoon/cenote snorkeling tour - I have been dreaming about doing that again since our last stay. So beautiful, refreshing & serene. The Cocktail Reception/Mexican Grill Feast on Thursday night was new to me this visit and so much fun. The live music was great and the oceanfront dinner was outstanding. Elias kept bringing me courses and plates of the most delicious food and I joked that he was trying to kill me. And the food!! Stand outs from the week - the pumpkin salsa (OMG), beet/pineapple/avocado salad, wood fired pizza, ceviche, sushi, steamed ginger fish, gazpacho rojo, the list goes on. Overall, just one of the loveliest, most peaceful weeks of my life! Thank you to all the staff who worked to make that happen! (I have two suggestions: Provide printed menus in the suites (I'm old school I guess) & offer half portions on certain items like salads or apps for solo travelers.)

Hotel Esencia is the perfect blend of elegant, secret and chic. If you are driving north on the 307 you will miss it if you blink. It is a nondescript green sign on the side of the highway. But if you are lucky enough to pull off in time, a secluded paradise awaits. Apparently it was the private villa of an Italian duchess (part of the Ferrari family?) in the 90’s to early 2000’s before being turned into a boutique hotel. She must have been quite the partier because the place is sick. You walk along a narrow jungled path until you reach an open plaza with perfectly manicured St. Augustine grass, peacocks and a well designed restaurant patio, adorned with hammocks and chic loungers. Continue along the path and you eventually get to the main house which is a stunning white and terracotta building with a beautiful salon where they have an afternoon tea and coffee service. Step out onto the patio and you are looking at the most perfect pool and just beyond that, the Gulf of Mexico. Everything is perfect. The colors the smell, the iguanas and the faint but repetitive lapping of the small waves. While the set and setting are perfect it is the quality of service and friendliness of the staff that stands out. I have a natural aversion to being waited and doted on, it makes me uncomfortable and aware of the unfairness of our economic system, think White Lotus. But at Esencia while the service is absolutely impeccable the staff was easy to talk to, funny and it wasn’t long before I was practicing my Spanish and making jokes. Everyone was personable and attentive; Kennedy, Alfonso (Poncho), Francisco (Pancho), Apollo, Willy, Daniel, Elias, Marcos, and others who I can’t seem to remember (I blame the Palomas Xatics, best drunk out of a cold coconut). By day two it felt like we were surrounded by friends more than staff. The attention to detail was also impressive. At 4pm everyday they switch out the pool lounge chair cousins from white to black. It took a decent amount of effort and had they not done it I probably would not have noticed, but once they did do it I understood why. It changed the whole vibe from “pool day” to “romantic cocktail hour”. Another detail that I absolutely loved is that during the turn down service they wrap your cell phone code in a little embossed leather band. One of the coolest parts of Esencia is that they have access to a private cenote/mangrove lagoon that is home to a family of manatees. Unfortunately we did not get lucky enough to see them despite taking the tour twice (thanks Marcos). The beach is picturesque, although there was a decent amount of seaweed, which is unavoidable this time of year. We had 2 different rooms over the course of the stay. Both were big, airy, super white and clean which gave them a modern yet refined feel. Both rooms had personal plunge pools that we sat in each night enjoying the sunset. Over the course of the four days we barely got a chance to experience the amenities. We did

Imagine you’re on a desert island with the best beach, spa, food and service you could ever dream of. That’s what you can expect at Hotel Esencia. We learned that it was once the small private estate of a royal family and it feels like you’re part of the family with all of the privileges that come with that. Not one detail has been overlooked, it’s just heaven. A huge thank you to all of the genuine lovely people there who made our vacation dream come true. We can’t wait to return.

If you want intimate, personalized service, incredible food and a relaxing vibe, Esencia is now the #1 resort in Riviera Maya. Belmond Maroma? Not since LVMH bought it. Rosewood Mayakoba? Not since seaweed took over the beach. Waldorf Astoria? No elevators please. What makes Esencia best-in-class are the little touches no other property does. These include: *Fresh flowers everywhere, several vases in our suite *Handmade gifts to take home *Afternoon tea service *Pool cushions changed daily at 6:00 from white to black *Clean and bright bathrooms galore throughout the property and best toilet paper *Daily pastry basket delivered to your room *Custom charging cord sleeves to keep them organized and neat *24/7 service via WhatsApp and no dedicated butlers to deal with *Beach cabanas that are not only comfy but offer shade all day long and so much better than umbrellas With only 35 or so rooms and suites, we stayed in one of the new beachfront duplex units with outdoor shower and plunge pool just steps from the beach. A splurge worth splurging for. Food is fresh, local and so good at the three restaurants. By far the best and most popular restaurant is BeefBar, located in a little oasis that features outdoor seating with ambient lighting and a “living room” setting with couches and chairs to relax after dinner. Yes steak is a feature but so is the fresh sea bass and amazing pizzas. The grilled veggies are sublime. Thursday and Saturday the very cool Speakeasy at the mansion is open from 8:30pm-1:00am. And the new tiki bar by the beach is open for happy hour and offers Mezcal tastings. The spa was recently updated with a new ice room and flotation tank added. Service is over the top and the employees are smiling and know your name quickly. They also remember your preferences. Managers are always around. There are two pools right next to each other, family and adult. If traveling with no kids, I recommend coming here not during holidays or spring break as the resort has a completely different vibe with and without kids. Overall, Esencia shines over the rest and continues to refine what luxury travel is all about.

This place is exceptionally beautiful. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Our room was wonderful. The beach is gorgeous. The plunge pool in our suite was exquisite. Our manatee encounter was a huge highlight. They also arranged for us a private snorkel and cenotes experience that was so fun. It was a special experience all around. My one quibble is that, as a scuba diver, I needed to get going every morning and be ready to be picked up by the dive company I hired. So I was counting on breakfast at 7 AM. The told us the first night that they could deliver coffee and pastries to our suite. That never happened. It wasn't late. It just never came. I went to the breakfast restaurant at 7:15 AM. It took them half an hour to get me avocado toast. To be fair, it was very delicious avocado toast. But I had no time to enjoy it. The second morning, coffee and pastries arrived to our room, but only after we called to remind them. On the third morning, it was finally on time without prompting. The staff seems to be a little slow to get moving in the morning. If you're not trying to eat at 7 AM, you would never notice this problem. Oh, and that avocado toast and coffee cost... $41. Which is steep.