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Over the years, not just Cancun but the entire Mexican Caribbean has grown hugely popular among vacationers from around the globe.
As with anything in high demand, the need arose for more hotels and resorts, and hoteliers responded.
More than a thousand hotels and resorts are located in the state of Quintana Roo, which encompasses most of the Mexican Caribbean.
The prestigious Michelin Guide is spotlighting several of these Mexican Caribbean resorts in its newest guide.
The World-Renowned Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guide was developed in the early 1900s as a method to a means but grew much larger than the French brothers who developed it could have ever imagined.
When Andre and Edouard Michelin first published the guide, its purpose was to encourage people to travel more.
As the story goes, this caused them to wear down their tires quicker and have to buy them more often, but by the 1920s, the Michelin Guide was on its way to becoming the go-to for restaurant recommendations.
The Brand New Hotel Key Rating System
It wasn’t until this year that the Michelin Guide began the key rating system for hotels.
The key rating system works just like the star rating system for restaurants.
Hotels can receive one, two, or three keys.
In the new guide, a total of 87 hotels in Mexico were awarded with one or more keys, located in just five states, and 13 of them are in the Mexican Caribbean.
Criteria For Receiving A Michelin Key
Any hotel in the Michelin Guide can be awarded a Michelin Key.
One key indicates that the hotel provides guests with “a very special stay,” two keys indicate an “exceptional stay,” and three means that the hotel offers “an extraordinary stay.”
There are several criteria that a hotel has to meet in order to receive a key. They are:
- Excellence in architecture and interior design.
- Quality and consistency of service.
- Overall personality and character.
- Value for the price.
- Significant contribution to the neighborhood or setting.
Mexico Featured For The First Time
This year was Mexico’s first year ever being featured in the Michelin Guide.
Along with hotels in it being awarded keys, 18 restaurants were given Michelin Stars as well.
Three of them are in the Mexican Caribbean – two in Playa del Carmen and one in Puerto Morelos.
Mexican Caribbean Hotels With One Key
Most of the Mexican Caribbean hotels that were awarded keys received one or two keys.
These are hotels where you can expect a very special or exceptional stay, above average compared to the thousands of hotels in the guide.
The hotels that received one Michelin Key are:
- The St. Regis Kanai Resort, Riviera Maya
- Viceroy Riviera Maya, A Luxury Villa Resort
- Be Tulum Beach & Spa Resort
- MILAM
- Wakax Hacienda – Cenote & Boutique Hotel
Mexican Caribbean Hotels With Two Keys
A stay at a two-key hotel is even more special than one with one key, an exceptional stay.
Six hotels in the Mexican Caribbean were awarded with two keys.
They include:
- Banyan Tree Mayakoba
- Etereo, Auberge Resorts Collection
- Palmaïa-The House of AïA: All Inclusive Wellness Resort
- Rosewood Mayakoba
- Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Maya
Mexican Caribbean Hotels With Three Keys
The most prestigious of the key awards is the three key awards.
These hotels consistently give guests an extraordinary experience, and only one hotel in all of the Mexican Caribbean was awarded with three keys.
That hotel is Hotel Esencia, near Playa del Carmen.
The stunning hotel is situated on a 50-acre estate and has only 51 well-appointed suites and villas.
Hotel Esencia, and all of the newly honored hotels listed here, can all be booked on the Michelin Guide website.
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