I just got back from a stay at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya, and I have to be honest, it wasn’t quite the dreamy inclusive resort experience I expected. I’ve stayed at a lot of resorts in Mexico, especially in Cabo, but this was my first trip to the Cancun side of the Riviera Maya.
Sadly, it ended up being the most expensive and least impressive stay I’ve had.
It’s one of those hotels that look perfect in photos: sleek lines, white sand, turquoise water. But in reality, the experience didn’t match the luxury branding. Think three-star resort pretending to be five-star.
Why You Can Trust My Unico 20°87° Review
I’m a professional travel writer for Whimsy Soul and Yahoo who’s stayed in dozens of luxury hotels around the world and written reviews about them. I’ve reviewed many resorts in Mexico, and this Unico 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya review reflects that firsthand experience and expert comparison across global five-star properties.
The Good Stuff
Let’s start with the positives.
The rooms at Unico Hotel Riviera are big and well laid out. I liked the sliding bathroom windows, they give you privacy but still let you chat with your roommate while getting ready.
The toilet is in its own little closet, and the deck is roomy with a comfy couch and soaking tub. Also, random win: the shampoo and conditioner made my hair feel really nice.
Unlike Cabo, the beach here is calm and swimmable. You’ll need to wade about seventy-five feet out to get into deeper water, but once you do, it’s warm and clear.
The food scene has options so you aren’t just stuck eating tacos for 5 days. There are five restaurants on-site:
- Mi Carisa (serving coastal Italian dishes),
- Cueva Siete (Yucatecan and Mexican cuisine),
- Mura House (Japanese and teppanyaki favorites),
- 20°87° Restaurant (International grill and steakhouse), and
- Café Inez (for coffee and pastries).
If you love sushi, you can grab rolls at lunch or dinner, which I always appreciate at an all-inclusive since in regular life, sushi normally costs a fortune.
The pool area is sprawling with several connected pools and plenty of lounge chairs. I never had to play the 6 a.m. towel game. They also offer fun daytime activities like macramé workshops, water-workout classes, and the occasional live music set near the bar.
The small shopping plaza by the lobby is actually worth browsing for cute souvenirs and one of my friends bought a ring that was sized for her during her trip. It was beautiful.
Upon arrival to UNICO, you’re assigned a personal attendant reachable via WhatsApp for requests or questions, which is convenient. When my roommate got engaged, I brought decorations to surprise her, and the team kindly set them up before we even got our keys, a thoughtful touch that started the trip off strong.
So yes, there were some genuinely sweet moments here.
The Not-So-Good Stuff
This is where things went downhill fast.
First off, UNICO doesn’t offer an airport shuttle so you have to book your own. There’s options and it’s not hard, but for the price point of UNICO, I expected there to be an option to book a hotel shuttle so you don’t have to have the added stress.
For a hotel Riviera Maya property that starts around Unico Riviera Maya prices of $600–$900 a night, that felt like a miss.
Another miss was the turndown service. Our room wasn’t cleaned for more than 30 hours after check-in, and when housekeeping finally came, they left dirty glasses and forgot to restock the water bottles and coffee pods. On our last morning, we woke up to no coffee and only half a water bottle left. I called for room service coffee, was promised it would come ASAP, but it arrived 70 minutes later.
The balcony setup was another letdown. While the soaking tubs look dreamy on Instagram, the patios face directly into neighboring rooms, so it felt awkward to actually use them. The only time people in our group used them was late at night with all their lights turned off.
At the pool, service was slow and inconsistent. I missed having dedicated servers I found at places like RIU in Cabo where you could build a rapport with; it was hard to even flag someone down for a refill.
And the food? Disappointing for the price. Even with five restaurants, it’s surprisingly difficult to get a dinner table because reservations fill up instantly.
There’s no all-day buffet, which makes no sense for a resort of this size (448 rooms). We tried to grab a table at Mura House at 7pm and the only time left was 9:30 p.m., way too late after a day in the sun. We walked around for nearly an hour trying to find anywhere to eat and were turned away repeatedly at all their dinning options.
When we asked the front desk for help, we were told we should have “planned better,” which felt pretty dismissive given I’d emailed the hotel weeks earlier asking to book in advance and was told they couldn’t do it that far in advance. The feeling of being dressed up for dinner, sunburned from a day in the sun, super hungry but standing in the lobby being gaslit by the hotel staff was not it.
We can’t be the only guests in the history of the resort to not be able to actually eat dinner, which is insane.
The poolside food situation was equally odd. One day they literally rationed guacamole! My friend got a tablespoon for her chips and was told she couldn’t have more. At an “all-inclusive” charging five-star rates? Not a great look.
As for quality, the food hovered around a 6/10. Some dishes were tasty, but most were forgettable. Drinks were hit-or-miss. Some great margaritas, others watered down. This isn’t a foodie resort like the ones in Cabo or the Maldives that had me genuinely excited for every meal.
Other issues that stood out:
- Wi-Fi barely worked outside the lobby.
- With no wristbands, it would be easy for someone to walk in from the beach and use the pool or restaurants.
- The luggage storage area near the entrance wasn’t monitored; anyone could walk in and grab a bag.
- They constantly ran out of plates and cups; one night my friend’s cocktail arrived in a coconut shell because they had no clean glasses left.
All of this added up to an overall feeling that the service and systems just weren’t up to par for the price. Staff were sometimes kind but clearly stretched thin. The hotel wants to be seen as chic and modern, but the execution felt unfinished: lipstick on a pig.
Pro Tips for Visiting Anyway
If you’re heading here for a wedding, retreat, or group trip and can’t choose another resort, here are a few ways to make the best of your stay:
- Book dinner reservations before you arrive. Their system doesn’t allow too early of bookings apparently, and the restaurants fill fast, especially Cueva Siete and Mura House. Book about 7 days before arrival or the second you arrive. If they don’t have tables at a time you need, voice an issue right away and see if they can move things around.
- Bring bug spray. The Maya Riviera has more biting insects than Cabo, and I wish the hotel provided repellent.
- Pack extra coffee pods or instant coffee. Housekeeping frequently forgets to restock them, and room service can take an hour.
- Bring a reusable cup. They sometimes run out of glasses, so it’s handy for cocktails or water by the pool.
- Keep valuables with you. The luggage room by the lobby isn’t well-monitored, and there are no wristbands verifying who’s a guest.
- Use the beach early. The water is calmest in the morning.
- Rent from Nuuly: I rented cute beach dresses from Nuuly and got so many compliments. My link gets you $30 if you want to try them out.
Little tweaks like this can help you avoid the biggest frustrations.
Unico Hotel Riviera Maya Honest Review
In theory, UNICO 20°87° has all the makings of a luxury Riviera Maya resort: modern design, warm water, pretty pools, and curated restaurants. In practice, it doesn’t come close to the five-star promise. The rooms are stylish, but the service, food, and consistency weren’t there.
If this were a $300-a-night property, I’d probably shrug it off, but at these Unico Riviera Maya prices, it’s hard to justify.
If you’re planning a trip to the Maya Riviera, I’d suggest checking out other nearby hotels that actually deliver the level of care and quality their websites advertise.
It wasn’t the worst trip ever, but it was far from worth the cost or the hype.
Bottom line: Pretty resort. Pretty disappointing. Save your money and book somewhere that actually feels five-star.
Unico Hotel Riviera Maya FAQ
Is UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya all-inclusive?
Yes, it’s an adults-only inclusive resort with unlimited food, drinks, and activities included.
How many restaurants does the resort have?
There are five on-site restaurants (Mi Carisa, Cueva Siete, Mura House, 20°87° Restaurant, and Café Inez) plus limited 24-hour room service (that is very slow so order ahead of time).
Is the beach swimmable?
Yes! The beach is calm and shallow, though you’ll have to walk out a bit before you can really swim.
What are Unico Riviera Maya prices like?
Definitely expect rates between $600 and $900 per night for two adults, depending on your room type and season.
Where are Unico Resort locations?
Currently, UNICO 20°87° is the brand’s flagship property, located along the Riviera Maya coast between Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
