Viceroy Riviera Maya Review: Is This Luxury Resort Worth It?

If you're looking for a luxury adults-only resort in the Riviera Maya, The Viceroy Riviera Maya is a five-star hotel that promises exceptional service, private plunge-pool villas, and a peaceful jungle setting.

We spent several nights at the resort to see whether it lives up to its reputation. 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (any links marked with * are affiliate links). If you purchase through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

For more information or to view availability and book your stay, use our affiliate link here*.

Review Summary

My Rating - 8/10

Official Star Rating - 5 Stars

Price Range - Luxury (heavily dependent on season, in peak season £600+)

Location - Near Playa del Carmen

Who is this hotel for?  - Couples and honeymooners looking for a relaxing stay.

Highlights:

• The poolside service is next level and the best we’ve experienced.

• The villas are spacious, luxurious and thoughtfully designed, with each featuring a small plunge pool.

• There’s plenty of wildlife around the hotel,  including capybaras.

• The weekly Garnacheria Night is a fantastic experience and a real highlight of our stay.

The cons to this hotel are:

• Noise from neighbouring hotels can be significant at night

Rooms at The Viceroy Riviera Maya

The villas at The Viceroy truly transport you, making you feel as though you’re staying in a peaceful jungle hideaway. Surrounded by lush greenery, each villa offers a tranquil atmosphere that's perfect for relaxing.

We stayed in the Luxury Villa King with Private Plunge Pool, the entry-level room type, and found it incredibly spacious, private, and luxurious. 

Each villa comes with:

• A comfortable king-size bed

• A private, kidney-shaped plunge pool 

• A daybed and a hammock

• An outdoor rain shower

• An indoor shower

• Spacious indoor and outdoor areas

The villas are incredibly spacious, beautifully designed and offer plenty of privacy. We really enjoyed our stay and loved the peaceful atmosphere.

Facilities at The Viceroy Riviera Maya

• A large swimming pool surrounded by luxurious sunloungers, with incredible poolside service.

  
  

• Direct access to the Caribbean Sea, with a variety of water sports equipment, including kayaks.

• An incredible spa offering facials, massages and authentic Mayan wellness rituals such as a traditional Temazcal ceremony.

• Fitness Centre with Technogym cardio and strength-training equipment, with a full equipment list on their website.

• Yoga and Pilates classes.

• Soap Concierge service,  where the concierge visits your room after check-in to help you select the perfect soap for your stay.

Activities at The Viceroy Riviera Maya

The Viceroy Riviera Maya offers a fantastic range of activities, whether you’re looking to create some of Mexico’s iconic dishes, see some of the Riviera Maya's best excursions or just relax. 

Culinary Experiences

The resort offers a variety of cooking classes and tasting experiences, including:

• Guacamole and Margarita Making (we wish we had time to do this one!)

• Tequila and Ceviche Tasting

• Tamales Cooking Class - we absolutely loved this experience. We learned to make both sweet and savoury tamales before sitting down to enjoy everything we’d prepared. 

• Mezcal and Taco Tasting

• Mexican Wine Flight

Excursions

The hotel can also arrange a range of excursions, including:

• Cenote tours

• Scuba diving and snorkelling

• Fishing charters and yacht trips

• ATV adventures

• Visit to nearby archaeological sites 

The hotel also has a painters' corner where you can access paints and easels and create incredible paintings. 

Food and Drink at The Viceroy Riviera Maya

We were extremely impressed by the food at The Viceroy, Riviera Maya. Their menus offered lots of options, and every meal we had was delicious.

The resort has two restaurants: Coral Restaurant & Bar and La Marea.

Coral

Coral is the resort’s main restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. This beautiful al fresco restaurant overlooks the beach, and we loved watching the sunset while eating dinner.

Breakfast 

Breakfast is served à la carte with plenty of options from Mayan toast to Chilaquiles to fresh fruit and classic breakfast dishes.

It was one of the highlights of our stay, and every meal was beautifully prepared. Breakfast was included with our stay.

Lunch 

The lunch menu has something for everyone, with lighter options such as tacos and tostadas alongside larger dishes including fresh fish and hamburgers.

You can dine in Coral restaurant or on your sun lounger by the pool.

Dinner 

Dinner at Coral was delicious. Although the menu has changed the menu since our visit, it still features an excellent selection of dishes.

Garnacheria Nights

An absolute highlight of our trip was the Garnacheria Night, a weekly event that truly sets this hotel apart. 

Every Wednesday evening, the Coral restaurant is decorated with papel picado and piñatas, while the chefs serve delicious authentic Mexican street food.

I highly recommend planning your stay to include a Wednesday; you won’t regret it. 

The menu includes Tamales, Empanadas, Tacos and Corn.

La Marea

La Marea, the Viceroy’s second restaurant, is open only for dinner. While it does not have the same beach views as Coral, it more than makes up for it with delicious food and a fine-dining atmosphere. 

Our stand-out dishes were the black risotto and the delicious crab taco; both were absolute highlights.

The food at The Viceroy Riviera Maya was consistently excellent throughout our stay. Whether it was breakfast overlooking the beach or Garnacheria Night, the resort truly delivered an exceptional dining experience.

Location at The Viceroy Riviera Maya

The Viceroy is located just outside Playa del Carmen, and is around a 44 minute drive to and from Cancun Airport. 

While it is accessible, the resort is still quite secluded. Taxis are unlikely to be cheap, so if you’re planning to explore local restaurants and spend time on Fifth Avenue (Playa del Carmen's main shopping and dining street), this may not be the best choice. However, as we were looking for a relaxing escape where we could make the most of the resort's facilities, it was perfect. 

One downside is that the resort is next to a very lively hotel that regularly hosts loud parties. Unfortunately, the music could be heard from our villa, particularly at night, and we did find it disruptive. 

It’s a shame because, besides this, our stay was exceptional, and the noise is completely outside The Viceroy’s control. The music did stop later in the evening and didn’t bother my partner at all, but if you’re sensitive to noise, it’s worth considering before booking.  

Service at The Viceroy Riviera Maya

The service at The Viceroy was exceptional, from housekeeping and the front desk to every member of the restaurant team. The staff seemed to think of everything, from hair ties on windy days to providing complementary sunscreen. Every interaction felt warm and attentive.

A particular highlight was the poolside service. Out of all the hotels I’ve stayed at, this was by far the best. As soon as you arrived at the pool or beach, a staff member would greet you, help you choose a spot and set everything up for you.

Throughout the day, they would stop by with thoughtful treats like frozen fruit and ice pops, making time by the pool feel even more special.

They also offered little extras, such as cleaning your sunglasses. These small touches made our relaxing days by the pool feel incredibly luxurious. 

This level of service really sets The Viceroy apart, and it’s one of the main reasons we would happily return.

Is the Viceroy Riviera Maya Worth it?

Overall, I would absolutely recommend The Viceroy Riviera Maya and would happily stay again. The spacious villas, exceptional dining, beautiful surroundings and some of the best poolside service we've ever experienced made it a truly memorable stay.

The only drawback was the noise from a neighbouring hotel in the evenings. While this is outside The Viceroy's control, it's something worth bearing in mind if you're a light sleeper or are looking for complete silence.

If your priority is exploring Playa del Carmen every day, there may be better-located hotels. However, if you're looking to unwind, enjoy incredible food, relax in a private villa and make the most of a luxury resort, The Viceroy Riviera Maya is an excellent choice.

With thoughtful touches like the Soap Concierge, authentic Mexican experiences such as the weekly Garnacheria Night, and outstanding service throughout, it's a hotel that delivers a genuinely special stay.