Venue Guide
Your Wedding at
The St. Regis Kanai
Resort
Riviera Maya
A 124 key St. Regis inside the gated Kanai reserve north of Playa del Carmen, where circular architecture inspired by the Pleiades star cluster is raised above protected mangrove with the Caribbean beyond. It runs on a European Plan, so this is a luxury hotel wedding rather than an all inclusive one.
Check your dateWhat couples ask first
5 figures, each with the caveat that comes with it.
- 1.1Outside photographers
- Independent planners and outside photographers have documented weddings at the property, so external teams are accommodated, but the resort publishes no vendor fee or written policy anywhere.
- 1.2Capacity
- Over 50,000 sq ft of event space across seven event rooms, the largest listed at 800 guests.
- 1.3Wedding packages
- Quoted, not publishedNo public price we could source. Expect a proposal.
- 1.4Best months
- Arch's guidance for this coast is October to December, once the rain has faded and before the busiest weeks.
- 1.5Airport transfer
- Cancun airport is roughly a forty minute private transfer.
What couples choose it for
- 2.1
The avant garde circular architecture is inspired by the Pleiades star cluster and floats above the mangrove canopy, which gives the property a silhouette nothing else on this coast has.
- 2.2
The resort is built inside a 620 acre nature reserve inspired by neighbouring Sian Ka'an, and its beach fronts one of the largest undisturbed reefs in the area.
- 2.3
Planners who work the region's luxury circuit summarise the property in three words that a couple can actually use to brief a designer: minimalist glamour, white marble, ultra modern statement.
- 2.4
It sits between Cancun and Playa del Carmen, roughly forty minutes from Cancun airport, so guests get a remote arrival without a long transfer at the end of a travel day.
- 2.5
The resort publishes room block incentives, including a complimentary suite upgrade at 25 rooms per night, a complimentary room for the couple at 45 rooms per night, and waived resort and room rental fees.
- 2.6
It adjoins The Riviera Maya EDITION at Kanai, and the two hotels can be combined for programmes of up to 306 rooms on peak, which matters if your guest list outgrows one property.
Where you would actually get married
Ceremony
3.1The Beach200 seated
Several separate seaside areas, each of which the resort sizes at up to 200 guests for a ceremony, with dinner on the sand capped nearer 100.
3.2The Grand Lawn450 seated
A beachside garden setting the resort sizes at up to 450 guests for cocktails and 200 seated, listed on Marriott's capacity chart as Grand Lawn I, Beach Club, at 7,320 square feet.
3.3La Ceiba150 seated
A private outdoor terrace with an ocean view, which the resort quotes at up to 150 guests.
3.4Astor Ballroom400 seated
The indoor option and the honest rain plan, 6,297 square feet under a 19.6 foot ceiling, quoted by the resort at up to 400 guests for a ceremony.
Reception
3.5Astor Ballroom
6,297 square feet, quoted by the resort at 200 for a wedding reception, and listed by Marriott at banquet seating to 440.
3.6The Grand Lawn200 seated
The main outdoor dinner setting, 7,320 square feet on Marriott's chart as Grand Lawn I, Beach Club, listed at up to 500 for a reception and quoted by the resort at 200 seated.
3.7Great Event Lawn II, Residences
The largest space on the property at roughly 29,000 square feet, listed at a capacity of 800 for a reception, on the residences side of the resort.
3.8La Ceiba150 seated
A private ocean view terrace for up to 150 guests, the middle option between the ballroom and the open beach.
3.9Foyer Ballroom100 seated
915 square feet adjoining the Astor Ballroom, listed at up to 100 guests for a reception and the natural cocktail hour space before an indoor dinner.
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 comparing this against the all inclusives nearby.This is a European Plan resort, so meals and drinks are not included in the room rate and guests pay for their own dining, which changes the per guest maths.
- You need a large room block.There are only 124 rooms, suites and residences, so a sizeable block takes much of the hotel, and the resort recommends booking roughly a year in advance for wedding dates.
- You are bringing outside vendors.The resort has not published an outside vendor fee. Arch's guidance is to get that figure in writing before signing any venue contract, since it can run from several hundred to well over a thousand dollars per vendor.
- You are booking a venue by name.Three separate hotels share the Kanai name, so the contract, the guest communications and the vendor bookings all need to say The St. Regis Kanai rather than the EDITION or Etereo.
- You are planning seating off a published chart.The wedding capacities the resort quotes differ from the meeting capacity chart on Marriott's site, so the seated number for your specific space and floor plan has to come from the events team.
The honest considerations
- Meals and drinks aren't in the room rate, so guests pay their own way, changing the per guest math versus nearby all inclusives.
- Only 124 rooms, suites and residences exist, so a sizeable block takes much of the hotel; the resort recommends booking about a year ahead for wedding dates.
- No outside vendor fee is published; Arch advises getting it in writing before signing, since it runs several hundred to over a thousand dollars per vendor.
- Three hotels share the Kanai name; confirm contract, guest communications and vendor bookings all say The St.
- Wedding capacities the resort quotes differ from Marriott's meeting chart; confirm the seated number for your space with the events team, not the chart.
Arrival, and where you get ready
- 6.1Fly into
- Cancun International (CUN).
- 6.2Then drive
- Roughly a forty minute private transfer from Cancun airport.
- 6.3Arriving at
- The gated Kanai development at Paseo Kanai 15, between Cancun and Playa del Carmen.
- 6.4Tell guests
- Write The St. Regis Kanai in full on every booking and message. Three hotels share the Kanai name and a driver given only Kanai can arrive at the wrong one.
- 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.
Where you get ready
Details below come from planners and photographers who have worked the property, not from the venue's own material; confirm with the wedding office.
- Lounge for bridal partiesThe resort's spa, adjoining the co-ed lounge; the same spa has 7 treatment rooms, separate men's and women's locker rooms, and a hair salon that also offers nail services.
What to ask the wedding office
- 6.7
The outside vendor fee for our date, in writing, per vendor, since the resort publishes no figure anywhere.
- 6.8
The seated capacity of our specific space and floor plan, since the wedding numbers the resort quotes differ from the Marriott meeting chart.
- 6.9
How many of the 124 rooms the resort will release to a wedding block on our date, and by when we have to confirm.
- 6.10
A written wedding proposal for our date, since no package pricing is published by the resort, by Marriott or by any listing site.
How the light works at The St. Regis Kanai Resort
The property sits on the east facing Caribbean shore, so the beach and the Grand Lawn take direct sun through the morning and lose it behind the buildings in the afternoon. Sunrise breaks straight over the water, which makes this a strong property for a first light couple's session or a day after shoot on the sand. By late afternoon the sun drops inland behind the mangrove reserve the architecture is raised above, so there is no fiery sunset over the sea from the beach; what you get instead is even open shade on the sand and a pastel sky, which is flattering and easy to work with. Arch's own guidance for the corridor is to start the ceremony a few hours before sunset so the ceremony and portraits land in golden light and the reception starts once the heat has dropped.
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
Planning a wedding at The St. Regis Kanai Resort?
We are based in Playa del Carmen, so there is no travel fee anywhere in Cancun or the Riviera Maya.