Resorts with Private Butler Service in Cancun (2023 Update)

Overwater Bungalows in Cancun - An Overview.

Cancun is a hugely popular tourist destination with many top class resorts, especially to the south of the city - the famously beautiful Mayan Riviera and such heralded vacation spots as Playa del Carmen, Puerto Morelos, Puerto Aventuras and Tulum.

Only three resorts near Cancun, and in Mexico in general, have overwater bungalows though. These are Palafitos El Dorado, Rosewood Mayakoba and Banyan Tree Mayakoba.

Only three to choose from then and all are in the aforementioned Mayan Riviera, in Playa Del Carmen to be exact.

The lack of choice hardly matters though as all three are fantastic 5 Star luxury resorts that are very fitting settings for Cancun's overwater bungalows.

Where the lack of choice does matter though is in terms of supply and demand. Overwater bungalows are an extremely popular accommodation choice around Cancun and they get booked out well in advance.

You may ask why then don't more resorts build overwater bungalows to cope with the demand and the answer is mostly that they are specialist structures that generally need certain conditions to be viable, that is a shallow, sheltered, consistently very calm sea bay or lagoon.

The Cancun/Mayan Riviera coast, though stunning, just doesn't have enough suitable places to put them.

Of the three that do have them it is very difficult to judge which resort is better overall but in terms of the actual overwater bungalows for us the Palafitos bungalows at El Dorado are a better choice.

Rosewood Mayakoba's and Banyan Tree's bungalows are sleek, modern and luxurious but we think they may lack some of that romantic, traditional Pacific vibe that makes an overwater bungalow vacation experience so incredibly popular, especially for honeymoons.

The Palafitos overwater bungalows are also more out in the open sea giving you more of that nice floating on the water feeling whereas the Rosewood Mayakoba's and the Banyan Tree Mayakoba's are lined up alongside the edge of the lagoon.

Finally the Palafitos' bungalows have glass floor panels - a classic, and very popular feature of the traditional overwater bungalow.

Palafitos El Dorado Cancun is adults-only and all inclusive. The Rosewood Mayakoba is neither but their overwater bungalows are strictly adults only. Banyan Tree is child friendly - both the overwater bungalows and the resort in general.

Check out our extensive reviews below plus lots of photos and booking information etc.