UNICO 20 87 Hotel Riviera Maya Review

Last week Zach and I visited Mexico’s newest luxury all-inclusive, UNICO 20 87. As I shared our experience on instagram so many of you wanted more information about the resort so I put together this little review. UNICO 20 87 is an incredible adults-only, all-inclusive experience. The name comes from the coordinates of where the resort is located, 20 degrees north and 87 degrees west and alludes to just how unique (no pun intended) this resort is since no other place can claim those coordinates. Later this week I’ll spill all the secrets on my vacation style but today I want to tell you all about this property! Especially since right now you can book for as little as $207 per person / per night because they are running specials of 30-40% off having just opened in March of 2017. To make a sweet deal sweeter your stay not only includes unlimited food, drinks, free wifi and a host of other amenities but also select excursions, golf and spa treatments for a mere 20% service charge. I kid you not. And that’s just the beginning.

Getting There

UNICO 20 87 is located approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes from the Cancun International Airport between Playa Del Carmen & Tulum. I have flown into the Cancun airport several times and this was by far one of the smoother transfers. We arranged everything through the resort prior to arrival and once we exited baggage claim there was a friendly gentleman there to greet us. We loaded into a nice van complete with wifi and cold beverages and were off!

The Property

Confession. I only want to stay at resorts that are pristine, modern and beautiful. UNICO 20 87 is all three wrapped into one. The grounds and buildings are immaculate. I really could not get over how beautiful everything was. They are all about introducing you to modern Mexico and immersing you in it’s rustic & contemporary charm. Many of the materials for the decor are sourced from within the area and everything was designed with extreme attention to detail. The pools are spacious (no problem finding a chair), clean (no murky water) and have an amazing vibe. The mornings start off peaceful and quiet then throughout the day they are very intentional about the mood and will rotate through playlists as well as have live music and DJs. There are also different pop-up stations throughout the day featuring artists (they painted hats for my girls), stations where you can learn to make specialty drinks and more. The property has three pools, a main pool, one large pool with access to the beach and a smaller, more secluded pool. There are two?swim-up bars, restaurants and food options nearby and they all give off a sophisticated but playful vibe. You won’t find pool aerobics or loud games (at least not while we were there) but you will find posh pool parties complete with festive balloons and a large quirky inflatable or two. There are cabanas surrounding the pool and beds suspended in the water for lounging, sunning and sleeping. The beach is just steps away and has chairs for laying out and a ton of coastline for a good walk.

When you are at UNICO 20 87 you feel like you’re extremely secluded but there are modern amenities at every turn. The best of which is the free high-speed wifi throughout the property. Not in the “we say there is free wifi but it kicks you off every four seconds” kind of way but in the “I didn’t have one issue posting an instagram or facetiming my babies back home” kind of way. That in and of itself is worth the trip!

But don’t take my word for it…. have a look for yourself.

Unico 20 87 – The Rooms

Here again, nothing but positive things to say about these rooms. First off the decor was speaking my language. Concrete floors, naturally sourced materials, rustic meets modern meets ultra clean and swanky. What is not to love? When we walked into our room there were complimentary sun hats set out on a bench to our left followed by a spacious closet. To the right was the bathroom area with a walk-in shower with a rain head, a separate room with the toilet, a full double vanity and a sliding partition with a full-length mirror. There was more than enough room for both of us to get ready at once without bumping into each other. Our room was spacious with a bed, couch & sitting area. There was a stocked mini-bar, Nespresso machine, 24-hour room service, bathrobes that felt like sweatshirts (which we totally regret not buying), bedroom slippers that felt like heaven, comfortable beds, a flat screen TV with all the American channels you could ask for?and more. (When you are traveling during the Final Four it’s important to get all of the sports channels you know?) The only, and I mean, the only thing that was even remotely inconvenient about our room was that the phone was set to Spanish when we arrived. Now if that doesn’t tell you how much we loved our stay I don’t know what will. 3 clicks on a wireless phone to set the language to English and we were in hotel room bliss. Not only was our room fantastic, all of them are. There are plenty of different room categories for you to chose from but ALL of the ground floor rooms have swim up pools and ALL of the balcony rooms have outdoor hydro spa tubs.

And again. Free wifi. That actually works. I just feel like we really can’t bring that point home enough.

Unico 20 87 – Food & Drink

If there is one thing that surprised me the most about UNICO 20 87 was the food. I was texting all of my foodie friends while there that they needed to book a trip ASAP because the food is unreal. It wasn’t too fancy that you couldn’t get a burger & fries, guac & chips or a hotdog or ten (don’t judge). But it was fancy in the sense that all of the foods I love just tasted so much better. When we arrived for lunch I ordered a margarita and the server asked if he could make one special for us. I obliged (don’t have to twist my arm) and he brought me the most delicious pineapple margarita with about 8 ingredients in it. I should have been listening to what it was but all I could think about was how soon I could get another. For breakfast and lunch we ate at Restaurant 20.87 which had a casual beachside vibe. The full buffet with diverse made to order meals was better than any buffet I’ve had. There were endless choices of food options and made to order specialties. My favorite was the fresh ahi tuna I got at lunch each day that was seasoned and grilled right in front of me. For snacks we had tacos, quesadillas, guac and sliders by the pool and an endless array of snacks and coffee from Cafe Inez. The dinners were phenomenal too! Our favorite was the Italian at Mi Carasa but we also thoroughly enjoyed Mexican at Cuvea Siete and sushi at Mura House.

Every restaurant, bar and venue at UNICO 20 87 tells a story. Case and point, the Palmera Lounge which is inspired by the Cuban cocktail renaissance. The lounge mimics the Cuban cocktail clubs of the 40s with crafted cocktails, live entertainment and a cigar bar. I mean where do I sign?!?!

Unico 20 87 –Amenities

We’ve covered the property, rooms and food + drink but what sets UNICO 2087 even more apart are all of the extras. For starters, they have an app. A very good app that is easy to use where you can request a turndown service, make dinner or spa reservations and read up on all of the restaurants. I turned on notifications while we were there and it alerted me of the pop-up activation schedule, rotating menus, live music and reminded me of my spa treatments.

Every guest also gets a personal Anfitrion, who serves as your local host. In keeping with this extreme level of all-inclusiveness your stay also includes select tours, spa treatments and unlimited golf for a 20% service fee. That’s right people. You can go on an excursion, get a pedicure, massage, facial and only pay the 20% gratuity to the staff. I’m actually spiraling into depression as I write this because I’m not currently still there. I thought they were 100% pulling my leg when they told me about it and low and behold we get there, book our treatments, show up and had world class spa treatment included. In addition there are live muralists at night, salsa dancing, beautiful art everywhere you look and an incredible gym, basketball and tennis courts.

What holds the entire place together was the staff. They were gracious, helpful and incredibly friendly. If we needed anything they were more than willing to help us or find out the answers to our questions. We enjoyed chatting with the bartenders, baristas and our waiters to learn more about this incredible resort. It was a perfect stay and I cannot encourage you enough to plan a visit.

This post is in partnership with UNICO 20 87. As always, I only work with brands I truly love and would support with or without this blog. All opinions are my own and I really did love this place that much. You know I would never lie to you all!