Venue Guide
Your Wedding at
Hotel EDITION Kanai
Riviera Maya
The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai is Mexico's first EDITION hotel, 182 rooms and suites set on a 620 acre nature reserve inside the gated Kanai development. Weddings run on a private pier over the water or in a mangrove side ballroom the hotel calls the Forum.
Check your dateWhat couples ask first
5 figures, each with the caveat that comes with it.
- 1.1Outside photographers
- The hotel does not publish an outside vendor policy or photographer fee.
- 1.2Capacity
- The hotel gives a wedding range of 10 to 400 guests.
- 1.3Wedding packages
- Quoted, not publishedNo public price we could source. Expect a proposal.
- 1.4Best months
- The hotel reports highest demand in February, March, April, October, November and December, and asks for at least a year of lead time on those dates.
- 1.5Airport transfer
- About 40 minutes from Cancun International Airport, roughly 46 km south on Highway 307, ending at the guarded gate of the Kanai development.
What couples choose it for
- 2.1
Two miles of white sand beach and a 620 acre nature reserve, with only 182 guest rooms and suites on the property.
- 2.2
Ceremonies can be held on a private pier with ten lounge cabanas and direct ocean access, sold for up to 200 guests, which is a less common setting on this coast than a beach aisle.
- 2.3
The indoor reception room, the Forum, holds up to 450 across 10,545 square feet with 18 foot ceilings, floor to ceiling glass and sea view terraces, so a weather plan does not mean a windowless ballroom.
- 2.4
The resort sits inside the gated Kanai development alongside The St.
- 2.5
The hotel's event executive puts the wedding range at 10 to 400 guests, so the same property suits a small ceremony and a full multi day celebration.
- 2.6
A planner of record published a two day Persian and Caribbean celebration for 90 guests, with a sunset ceremony on the Pier and the reception in the ballroom.
Where you would actually get married
Ceremony
3.1The Pier200 seated
A private pier reaching over the water with ten lounge cabanas and ocean access, offered for up to 200 guests.
3.2The Beach
The beachfront ceremony setting on the resort's white sand, which the hotel presents as its headline canvas for weddings and social events.
Reception
3.3The Forum
The main event room, 980 square metres or 10,545 square feet, set amid the mangroves, with an 18 foot ceiling, floor to ceiling glass and sea view terraces.
3.4Forum A, B, C and D
The hotel's floor plans list four sections, Ballroom Section A to D.
3.5Forum Foyer and Terrace
The hotel describes a spacious pre function area with a terrace serving the Forum, listed among its bookable spaces as Forum Foyer and Terrace.
3.6Studios 1 to 4 and Studio Foyer
Four small rooms in the main building, 342 to 616 square feet, which the hotel describes as suited to private board meetings.
3.7Bird Nests
Listed by the hotel among its bookable event spaces.
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 are bringing your own photographer.No outside vendor policy is published for this property, and fees elsewhere on this coast commonly run 500 to 1,500 US dollars per vendor, so get the figure in writing before you sign anything.
- You are comparing this against an all inclusive quote.It is not an all inclusive, so food and drink are billed separately and the wedding budget behaves like a hotel and catering contract rather than a fixed package price.
- You want to book inside a year.The hotel names February, March, April, October, November and December as its highest demand months and asks couples to inquire at least a year before the date.
- You have a guest list near the top of the event capacity.There are 182 guest rooms and suites on a property whose event spaces are sold for up to 400 guests, so a large guest list will need rooms at neighbouring Kanai properties or further afield.
- You expect guests and vendors to just turn up.Kanai is a gated community with a guard at the entrance, so guests, transport and any vendor you hire have to be on an access list before the day.
- Your date is between May and October and the beach is the plan.Sargassum season on this coast typically starts in late spring and runs through summer, so a beach ceremony in that window needs a second location you like as much as the first.
The honest considerations
- No outside vendor policy is published, and fees elsewhere on this coast commonly run $500 to $1,500 per vendor, so get the figure in writing.
- Not all-inclusive, so food and drink are billed separately; the wedding budget behaves like a hotel and catering contract, not a fixed package.
- The hotel names Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov and Dec as its highest-demand months and asks couples to inquire at least a year ahead.
- 182 guest rooms and suites against event spaces sold for up to 400 guests, so a large guest list needs rooms at neighboring Kanai properties.
- Kanai is a gated community with a guard at the entrance, so guests, transport and any vendor you hire must be on an access list beforehand.
- Sargassum typically starts in late spring and runs through summer, so a beach ceremony between May and October needs a second location you like as much.
Arrival, and where you get ready
- 6.1Fly into
- Cancun International (CUN).
- 6.2Then drive
- About 40 minutes, roughly 46 km south on Highway 307.
- 6.3Arriving at
- The guarded gate of the Kanai development in Solidaridad, north of Playa del Carmen. The hotel address is Paseo Kanai, Solidaridad 77730, Quintana Roo.
- 6.4Tell guests
- Names have to be on the access list before they arrive. Collect full names for guests, drivers and vendors and send them to the hotel ahead of the day.
- 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
What's your outside vendor fee per vendor, and is a day pass required for photography and film? Nothing is published for this property.
- 6.8
Is our date in your highest-demand window, how much lead time do you need, and what's the minimum spend for the Pier and Forum at our count?
- 6.9
How many of your 182 rooms can you hold for our block, and where do you put guests you can't house?
- 6.10
What's the deadline for the Kanai access list, and what details do you need for guests, drivers and vendors to clear the gate?
How the light works at Hotel EDITION Kanai
This is the east facing Caribbean coast, so the sun rises out of the water and sets behind the land rather than over the sea. As the direct light drops behind the jungle the sky above the water turns pastel, and twilight arrives fast, which is why Arch generally advises starting a Riviera Maya ceremony roughly 90 minutes before official sunset. The Pier runs out over open water, so an afternoon ceremony there sits in open light and a later start is worth arguing for. The Forum is the opposite problem solved well: an 18 foot ceiling, floor to ceiling glass and sea view terraces mean an indoor reception or a rain plan still holds daylight. After dark the resort's look is deliberately minimal and quiet, so where the light actually comes from during dinner and dancing is worth settling with the events team early rather than on the day.
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. Riviera Maya, 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
Planning a wedding at Hotel EDITION Kanai?
We are based in Playa del Carmen, so there is no travel fee anywhere in Cancun or the Riviera Maya.