Want to take advantage of Marriott STARS benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked. This is valid for paid stays at BVLGARI, EDITION, Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and St. Regis.
Marriott Bonvoy’s newest luxury property in North America has just opened, though details remain fairly limited…
In this post:
Basics of the EDITION Kanai Riviera Maya
The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai has opened as of December 2023. This follows the debut of the adjacent St. Regis Kanai in early 2023. The resort is located inside the 620-acre gated community of Kanai, near downtown Playa del Carmen, and next to the Sian Ka’an Reserve. The resort is located about 40 minutes from Cancun International Airport (CUN), making it an easily accessible destination for those coming from all across North America.
The EDITION Kanai features 182 accommodations (152 guest rooms and 30 suites), plus a variety of other amenities:
- The EDITION Kanai is suspended above a mangrove forest, with different elements of the hotel connected by elevated walkways
- The EDITION Kanai has access to two miles of unobstructed white sand beach
- The EDITION Kanai features a variety of culinary venues, including KI’IS (a modern Mexican restaurant), SO’OL Beach Club (a Mediterranean beach club with a Mexican twist), KITCHEN (an all-day dining restaurant), and more
- The EDITION Kanai has a spa with six treatment rooms, as well as a gym
- The EDITION Kanai has several pools and a beach club
If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy elite member, just keep in mind that you may want to avoid EDITION properties in terms of status recognition. Marriott Bonoy’s elite breakfast benefit doesn’t extend to EDITION properties. Furthermore, Bonvoy Platinum members aren’t eligible for suite upgrades at EDITION properties, while Bonvoy Titanium members are.
One thing I find so frustrating about many hotel openings nowadays is how there’s not a single real picture of the resort on the EDITION’s website. So if you book a stay here, you really have no sense of whether reality will match the renderings.
Below are some renderings of the resort, and hopefully there are some real pictures soon. These are the only three pictures of the property, and they look rather unrealistic. It’s quite something to sell rooms without even providing a picture of what they look like, no?
EDITION Kanai Riviera Maya rates & points requirements
What’s pricing like at the EDITION Kanai Riviera Maya? I’d say it’s roughly in line with what I would have expected. In the busy season, rates start at over $700 per night. As of now, there’s not that much seasonal variation, and in the quiet season rates start at around $600 per night. Unfortunately those rates don’t include Mexico’s steep 29% tax & service charge, which increases cash rates significantly.
If you are going to book a cash stay at the EDITION Kanai, I’d highly recommend doing so through the Marriott STARS program. This will score you perks like complimentary breakfast, a $100 food & beverage credit, a room upgrade subject to availability, and more. Ford is more than happy to help with Marriott STARS reservations, and can be reached at [email protected].
If you’re looking to redeem points at the EDITION Kanai, the hotel is generally retailing for around 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night when there’s standard room availability. Marriott Bonvoy members receive a fifth night free on award stays, bringing down the average cost over five nights quite a bit.
Personally I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, so redeeming points here could be a good value compared to the cash cost, especially given the taxes and fees that would be due on a cash stay.
This is a great new option, but…
It’s exciting to see more luxury points hotels in the Cancun area. Just recently we saw the opening of the Waldorf Astoria Cancun, then we saw the opening of the St. Regis Kanai, and now we’re seeing the opening of the EDITION Kanai in the same complex.
I’m excited about this, in the sense that Cancun is just a short flight from Florida, so this seems like a great getaway for redeeming points. I love visiting Mexico in general, from the friendly people, to the amazing food, to the beautiful scenery.
As far as Mexican beach destinations go, I’m a huge fan of Los Cabos — there are top notch hotels there (including the Waldorf Astoria Pedregal and Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve), the climate is amazing, and I love the rugged desert-meets-ocean landscape.
Unfortunately I don’t quite share the same enthusiasm for the Cancun area, even though it’s so much more convenient to get to. Maybe part of the issue is that it’s too similar to Florida for me, in terms of the climate (the seasons are similar) and the landscape (you have ocean and you have lagoons with crocodiles/alligators).
Similarly, I haven’t found hotels in Cancun to be of the same caliber to those in Los Cabos. They’re typically luxury factories, with hundreds of rooms, while Los Cabos has lots of more intimate properties.
I enjoyed visiting the Andaz Mayakoba, but it’s not a place I have to return to anytime soon. Admittedly if you’re looking to just get away for a long weekend, often a nice resort can be enough reason to pick a destination.
Bottom line
The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai has officially opened. The 182-room resort is close to Playa del Carmen and Cancun, so is easy to get to. It would appear that the property has several restaurants, pools, etc., though we’ll have to wait for firsthand reports before deciding just how good this property is.
Personally between this and the St. Regis next door, I’d probably prefer the latter, based on elite perks.
What do you make of the EDITION Kanai?
I’m staying on property right now. It’s a beautiful property that makes the older Mayakoba properties look tired and the marriott recognition was pretty solid.
Do they have a lounge for elite members?
I don’t think titanium members are eligible for suite upgrades at Edition properties.
Yanks on tour!
This looks like a horrible tourist trap
I stayed at the Auberge next door last year. It was quite nice- with great rooms, nice beach, excellent service, and very good food- but a little small and not too much to do. The platforms over the mangroves were cool- but there were really only a few paths one could walk.
This will likely be similar and is half the price- so worth a look. Anyone who stays there should walk over to Etereo for several meals.
"near downtown Playa del Carmen, and next to the Sian Ka’an Reserve"
I'm assuming this was grabbed from their website, but it's north and outside of PDC, and very north of Sian Ka'an, which is actually south of Tulum. Why call out downtown PDC and not just PDC? The fact that Sian Ka'an is even mentioned in terms of this property's location at all, let alone "next to" is deceiving (and laughable).
Correct. Sian Ka’an is south of Tulum, a good hour south of these properties.
Rosewood Mayakoba is far and away the best property in the area. Doubt the Edition can compete with that given the comparable rates.
Or you know, maybe Arte which was just named the #1 hotel in Mexico. Depending on your definition of "in the area."
Edition isn't trying to compete with Rosewood
Perhaps you need to visit true boutique hotels and not the large factory resorts from brands with such appeal. I find Cabo to be the exact opposite from Cancun/Playa del Carmen area. Perhaps it’s because I’m from Los Angeles but Cabo is more commercial to me than Quintana Roo. Chable Maroma is the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at in Mexico and it’s just before Playa del Carmen. The beach is quiet, no seaweed, all...
Perhaps you need to visit true boutique hotels and not the large factory resorts from brands with such appeal. I find Cabo to be the exact opposite from Cancun/Playa del Carmen area. Perhaps it’s because I’m from Los Angeles but Cabo is more commercial to me than Quintana Roo. Chable Maroma is the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at in Mexico and it’s just before Playa del Carmen. The beach is quiet, no seaweed, all rooms are suites with their own plunge pools. It’s not a place where you’re booking for points and the recognize status - they treat everyone amazingly. And all the food is organic - they grow their produce and herbs onsite.
I don’t get the appeal of an expensive room that’s stilted over a mangrove swamp. I guess it’s something different, but other than that what’s the draw? The decaying/gaseous swamp smell? The mosquitoes? Seeing the occasional iguana? The beaches in this area aren’t great, either. Plenty of seaweed, water isn’t clear or beautiful. So what’s the draw?
Yup a natural mangrove always has a smell of sewage because of the natural rotting of materials
This looks like a beautiful property to get diarrhea at.