RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico — Nestled within the new luxury resort community of Kanai in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Edition’s newest property marries its signature brand of hospitality with the Yucatan Peninsula’s modern and ancient cultures.
The opening of The Riviera Maya Edition at Kanai combines dining and entertainment, services and amenities with the unique traditions and tastes of the locale. Created by Ian Schrager as a result of a partnership between Schrager and Marriott International, the Edition brand has become synonymous with individualized, customized and one-of-a-kind hospitality experiences.
The resort’s event offerings include a ballroom set among the mangroves, providing a setting for meetings and events for up to 450 guests across 10,545 square feet. The venue features floor-to-ceiling glass and expansive terraces offering sea views. It can be partitioned into three smaller areas and comes equipped with multimedia technology, Additionally, the main building of the resort houses three smaller studios suitable for private board meetings.
With interiors by Ian Schrager Company in collaboration with architecture and design firm Rockwell Group, and architecture by Edmonds International, the resort has three main buildings, and natural materials make up the structures – local limestone and sustainable bamboo. A massive rippling bamboo structure, designed by Eduardo Neira, seems to rise from the water and funnel back down into it.
The property boasts 182 guestrooms, including 30 suites, with many rooms featuring plunge pools and terraces that provide ocean or mangrove views. Additionally, it offers a one-of-a-kind Sky Rooftop Villa – the largest hotel penthouse in North America. The Sky Rooftop Villa presents a 27,000-square-foot suite featuring ocean views through floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides, with a mid-Olympic-size outdoor infinity pool and a large, landscaped entertainment deck. Nearly 16,000 square feet of interior space presents a living area, catering kitchen, guest kitchen and five, apartment-like suites, each with their own plunge pool, jacuzzi and private terrace.
Situated within a 620-acre nature reserve with two miles of white-sand beachfront, the property is surrounded by mangroves and tropical flora. The newest Edition property was designed with a minimal construction and environmental footprint to protect and preserve the area known for its mangroves, lagoons, tropical beaches and the Mesoamerican Reef, the world’s second-largest coral reef.
The Villa’s flexible living and entertainment area is flanked by integrated grand reflecting pools with an infinity edge, giving the appearance of a penthouse floating on water. An expansive covered outdoor terrace, accessed through full-height sliding glass doors, transforms the floor into a space for large private events. An adjacent uncovered terrace of the same size leads to an outdoor raised private swimming pool with an infinity edge creating a waterfall on one end, while a sunken garden lounge on the prow of the pool deck boasts views out to the ocean.
Edition presents culinary experiences envisioned by award-winning chefs Francisco “Paco” Ruano and Tomás Bermúdez, two of Mexico’s most acclaimed and youngest chef-restaurateurs. Edition’s signature restaurant, KI’IS, offers a tasting menu inspired by regional flavors, local ingredients and a clear focus on the sea and the Mexican vegetable pantry, especially that of the Yucatan Peninsula. The beach club restaurant, SO’OL, brings cuisine reminiscent of a Mediterranean beach club with Mexican influence. Flanking the lagoon-sized Pool and adjacent to the main lobby building, the Pool Bar offers a health-conscious selection of food items.
The Riviera Maya at Kanai EDITION is now open in preview. For more information, visit editionhotels.com/riviera-maya.
