Even the COVID-19 pandemic can’t hold back new hotel development in Mexico. According to hotel industry website Hospitality Net, Mexico is currently the top country for hotel construction in Latin America, with Mexico City, Cancun and Guadalajara among the cities with the most rooms in the pipeline — though travelers will find new accommodation options in all the major tourism destinations.
Here are some of the top developments for 2021 and beyond.
New Hotels in the Mexican Caribbean
Among the biggest new hotels this year in Cancun is the all-inclusive, 898-room Planet Hollywood Beach Resort Cancun, which opened in January in the Costa Mujeres development with 11 restaurants, a spa and lots of Hollywood memorabilia. Also open since January is the 359-room Sensira Resort & Spa Riviera Maya, which features 13 restaurants and bars, a 650-person convention center, tennis courts and an 18-hole mini-golf course.
Sensira Resort & Spa Riviera Maya features an on-site pool.
Credit: 2021 Sensira Resort & Spa Riviera MayaOpen since February, meanwhile, is SLS Cancun Hotel & Residences, the first SLS hotel in Mexico, which features 45 suites, 130 residential units, a private marina and an 18-hole Tom Weiskopf-designed golf course. Also celebrating a February debut is the 140-room Aloft Tulum, which marks the arrival of the first internationally branded property in that popular beach destination. The hotel has a rooftop lounge and bar with an infinity pool, as well as what is billed as Tulum’s only hotel venue for corporate meetings. Aloft won’t be the only international brand for long, however, as Wyndham Hotels & Resorts puts the final touches on the soon-to-open, 96-room Esplendor by Wyndham Tulum Nook.
New hotels that are decidedly family-friendly include the 280-room Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts Riviera Maya, which launches in June with six restaurants, a 6-acre waterpark and a variety of kid-friendly activities including character experiences.
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Grownups, meanwhile, may be interested in the 900-room Hotel Xcaret Arte, the first adults-only Grupo Xcaret property, which is scheduled to debut in July. Also slated to open in July is Live Aqua Beach Resort Riviera Maya Tulkal, part of a new La Coleccion Resorts development that will also include the Fiesta Americana Riviera Maya Tulkal, which opens in November, as well as the Tulkal Convention Center, which will have a 3,000-person ballroom and 400-seat theater.
Hotels scheduled to open in the final months of 2021 in the region include the all-inclusive, 715-room Hilton Cancun and the 683-room Secrets Moxche Playa del Carmen.
Hotel Xcaret Arte will be the first adults-only Gupo Xcaret property.
Credit: 2021 Hotel Xcaret ArteNew Hotels on Mexico’s Pacific Coast
A variety of vacation destinations on the Pacific Coast are expanding their hotel offerings. Villa La Valencia Beach Resort & Spa Los Cabos, which will have a sizeable spa, opens in October 2021, and the 120-room St. Regis Los Cabos Hotel and Residences, featuring the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Quivira Golf Club, will open in the fall of 2022. Slated for a 2024 launch is Amanvari, part of Aman Resorts, which will offer luxury accommodations with contemporary design elements.
Elsewhere in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, the 35-room Paradero Todos Santos opened in February, fewer than 50 miles from the airport in San Jose del Cabo. The property combines stylish settings with nature-based activities.
Across the Sea of Cortez, Mazatlan is preparing to welcome new hotels including the 150-room Hyde Hotel & Residences Mazatlan, which in 2023 will mark Accor’s first foray into Mexico with its new lifestyle brand, and an Avid hotel, representing one of IHG Hotels & Resorts' newest mid-market brands.
Properties offering a variety of price points are also in the works in Mexico’s Riviera Nayarit. Among the largest scheduled for debuts this year are the 278-room Secrets Bahia Mita Surf & Spa Resort and the 363-room Dreams Bahia Mita Surf & Spa Resort (both opening in August), and the 59-suite Susurros del Corazon, an Auberge Resorts Collection property scheduled to launch in November. In addition, the Grand Matlali Hills Resort & Spa is being renovated and reflagged as the first all-inclusive Delta Hotels by Marriott resort, with plans to expand room count from 117 to 300 by 2023.
Upscale travelers, meanwhile, will soon have yet another reason to consider a visit to Costalegre, the relatively new luxury beach destination in the state of Jalisco. The 155-room Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo will open its doors later this year with a spa, championship golf course by David Fleming and cliffside suites with private pools.
Paradero Todos Santos is conveniently located fewer than 50 miles from San Jose del Cabo’s airport.
Credit: 2021 Paradero Todos SantosNew Hotels in Mexico’s Interior
Travelers headed to Mexico’s interior cities will find lots of new options in the coming months and years, as well. In Mexico City, for example, new hotels include the 168-room Novotel Mexico City Toreo, scheduled to open this spring; the 400-room Wyndham Grand Mexico City, which opens this fall; and the 153-room Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City, which is slated for an October opening date.
In Guadalajara, IHG is planning to open a 115-room Avid Hotel and add yet another 120-room Holiday Inn Express in 2021; the completion date for a second Avid Hotel, located near the Guadalajara Expo, has yet to be announced.
Further north, in Monterrey, the 233-room JW Marriott Monterrey Valle is slated to open in May, while IHG is preparing to open a 170-room Holiday Inn Express near Monterrey’s Parque Fundidora, a popular urban park with multiple attractions.
