Can I bring my own photographer to Alila Mayakoba?

The events team provides couples with the hotel's preferred vendor list, and the venue listing marks catering and suppliers as in house. No outside photographer fee or day pass is published, so confirm the terms in writing before signing.

How many guests can Alila Mayakoba hold for a wedding?

The Beach and the Balam Ballroom each seat 360; Lagoon Pool seats 180, Balam Garden 150 and Studios Courtyard 140. El Pueblito seats 400.

When is the best time to get married at Alila Mayakoba?

November and February through April are the dry-season sweet spot. August through October is the heart of hurricane season: cheapest, and the biggest gamble.

Skip to the short answer

Venue Guide

Your Wedding at
Alila Mayakoba

Playa del Carmen

Alila Mayakoba is a 182-room luxury resort set on beach, lagoon and jungle inside the gated Mayakoba complex north of Playa del Carmen. It reopened in February 2026 in the former Andaz Mayakoba setting as the first Alila property in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Check your date

01The short answer

What couples ask first

5 figures, each with the caveat that comes with it.

1.1Outside photographers: The events team provides couples with the hotel's preferred vendor list, and the venue listing marks catering and suppliers as in house.
1.2Capacity: The Beach and the Balam Ballroom each seat 360; Lagoon Pool seats 180, Balam Garden 150 and Studios Courtyard 140.
1.3Wedding packages: Quoted, not publishedNo public price we could source. Expect a proposal.
1.4Best months: November and February through April are the dry-season sweet spot.
1.5Airport transfer: Cancun International Airport is about 40 minutes away by road.

02Why couples choose it

What couples choose it for

2.1
The resort sits inside the gated Mayakoba complex, where guests have access to four hotels, more than 30 restaurants and a championship golf course, with room-charging privileges across the properties.
2.2
It reopened in February 2026 after a full renovation of the former Andaz Mayakoba, so couples are booking a property whose rooms and public spaces are brand new.
2.3
Sixty acres of beachfront, lagoon and jungle give portrait options that a straight beachfront resort cannot offer, including canals guests can travel by electric boat.
2.4
Seven event spaces run from a 150-seat garden to a 6,200 square foot ballroom, so a multi-day programme can change setting each night without repeating a backdrop.
2.5
Couples who want a church ceremony can use El Pueblito, the enclave's replica Mexican village, whose Catholic chapel and plaza are shared by the four Mayakoba hotels.
2.6
Luxury planners working this coast list Alila Mayakoba among the properties they take clients to, alongside Rosewood Mayakoba, Belmond Maroma and The St.

03The spaces

Where you would actually get married

Ceremony

3.1The Beach360 seated
The property's beachfront ceremony setting and its largest on-site space, listed at 360 seated and 500 standing.
3.2Balam Garden150 seated
A garden setting away from the sand, listed at 150 seated and 200 standing.
3.3El Pueblito at Mayakoba
The enclave's replica Mexican village, with a Catholic chapel and plaza shared across the four Mayakoba hotels.

Reception

3.4Balam Ballroom360 seated
The indoor ballroom, 6,200 square feet and 19.7 feet to the ceiling, listed at 360 seated and 500 standing.
3.5Balam Foyer100 seated
The pre-function space serving the ballroom, listed at 100 seated and 150 standing.
3.6Lagoon Pool180 seated
A poolside setting on the lagoon side of the property, listed at 180 seated and 200 standing.
3.7Studios Courtyard140 seated
An enclosed courtyard among the studio rooms, listed at 140 seated and 250 standing.

04The honest case against

When another venue fits better

Every point is drawn from the venue's own published terms and documented weddings. None of it makes this a bad venue.

You want the party outdoors and late.Outdoor events end at 11:00 pm. The venue says extended hours can be held in the Balam Ballroom, so a late reception has to move indoors.
You want to see many weddings before you book.The wedding programme is new. The property reopened in February 2026 under a different brand, so the public record of weddings held under the Alila flag is still thin.
You want a rate sheet to compare.No wedding package pricing is published, so a budget can only be built from a direct quote rather than compared against a printed rate sheet.
You have guests and vendors driving themselves in.Mayakoba is a private gated complex reached from Highway 307, so guests and suppliers arrive through a controlled entrance rather than pulling up at the door.
Your date falls between May and October.Seaweed on this coast is seasonal, with the heaviest arrivals typically between May and October, so a summer beach ceremony wants a garden or courtyard alternative held in reserve.

05Before you book

The honest considerations

Outdoor events end at 11:00 pm.
The wedding programme is new; the property reopened in February 2026 under a different brand, so the public record under the Alila flag is still thin.
No wedding package pricing is published, so a budget can only be built from a direct quote rather than compared against a printed rate sheet.
Mayakoba is a private gated complex reached from Highway 307, so guests and suppliers arrive through a controlled entrance rather than pulling up at the door.
Seaweed here is seasonal, heaviest typically May to October, so a summer beach ceremony wants a garden or courtyard alternative in reserve.
The dry-season months are the most contested on this coast, and a Saturday in that window is worth locking 12 to 18 months out.

06Getting here

Arrival, and where you get ready

6.1Fly into: Cancun International (CUN).
6.2Then drive: About 40 minutes by road. Groups on this corridor usually charter private coaches or vans rather than book individually.
6.3Arriving at: The gated Mayakoba complex north of Playa del Carmen, entered from Highway 307.
6.4Tell guests: Send the full name, Alila Mayakoba. The property carried a different brand until February 2026, so older search results still point at the previous hotel.
6.5At the airport: Ignore anyone offering a ride between the arrivals door and the curb, however official they look. Only pre-arranged and federally authorized transport may pick up at the terminal, and the walk-up offers are where the overcharge stories come from. Ride-hailing apps work for the trip back to the airport but are unreliable for arrivals, so do not plan a pickup around one.
6.6Book the drive before you fly: Reserve a private transfer in advance: the driver meets you with a name sign, at a fixed price agreed up front, and tracks your flight if it runs late. We use Private Driver Cancun, WhatsApp +52 984 132 3989, mixofcultures.com. USA Transfers and eTransfers are two long-established operators for larger guest lists.

What to ask the wedding office

6.7
A written quote for our guest count and menus, since no package pricing is published.
6.8
What extended hours in the Balam Ballroom cost and how late they run, given outdoor events end at 11:00 pm.
6.9
How many weddings the property has held since it reopened under the Alila flag in February 2026.
6.10
The outside photographer fee and any day pass, since neither is published and the events team works from a preferred vendor list.

07Light and timing

How the light works at Alila Mayakoba

This coast faces east, so the sun rises over the Caribbean and sets inland behind the jungle and the mangrove. A late-afternoon beach ceremony therefore falls into open shade well before the published sunset time, which means soft even light, no squinting, and a pastel sky over the water rather than a fiery one. The trade-off is that twilight arrives fast once the sun drops behind the tree line, so couple portraits after the ceremony have to be efficient. The lagoon and canal edges are worth scouting for late-day portraits, since water holds warm light after the open beach has gone flat. Balam Garden and the Studios Courtyard sit inland of the sand and are the obvious fallback when the beach is bright, windy or covered. Outdoor events end at 11:00 pm, so the last stretch of any outdoor party runs entirely on lighting the couple brings in.

The best time to start your ceremony

Arch's own rule for this coast is to begin the ceremony about 90 minutes before sunset, which leaves the vows in soft light and still keeps time for portraits afterwards. Start times are rounded down to the half hour. Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo. UTC-5 all year: the state left daylight saving in 2015. Times are town level, so they run within a couple of minutes of the property.

4:30 pm: January, October, November, December
Sunset around 6:00 pm
5:00 pm: February, March, September
Sunset around 6:30 pm
5:30 pm: April, May, June, August
Sunset around 7:00 pm
6:00 pm: July
Sunset around 7:30 pm