Quintana Roo | Meetings & Incentive Travel

Why Quintana Roo for Your Next Meeting or Event?

Northwest of Cancún, separated by a wide, shallow lagoon, sits Isla Holbox (pronounced hole-bosh), a 26-mile unspoiled island that's part of the Yum Balam Nature Reserve. The car-free getaway offers off-the-grid tranquility, as well as a chance to frolic among flamingos, pelicans and, from mid-May to mid-September, whale sharks. The place is remote: Travel to Holbox is accomplished either via private chartered flight or by a ferry that departs from the small fishing port of Chiquila, about a two-hour drive from Cancún.

The Mexican state of Quintana Roo encompasses the nation's Caribbean coastline, a jewel of a destination studded with gorgeous white-sand beaches and Mayan archeological sites on the Yucatán Peninsula. This slice of southeastern Mexico is home to Cancún, Isla Holbox and the roughly 75-mile stretch south of Cancún known as the Riviera Maya — including Playa del Carmen and Tulum, and countless beachfront resorts in between.

As of summer 2018, the state had consolidated its tourism and CVB services: The Quintana Roo Tourism Board now markets all of these destinations under one roof, hoping to facilitate planning for groups that wish to see more of the state's riches outside of the biggest resort areas.

Additionally, the state is directly confronting any security concerns by providing tech-based assistance in the form of a mobile web app. Planners and attendees can use the app (or download native versions for iOS or Android) by navigating to guestassist.mx. The bilingual tool provides step-by-step instructions regarding emergency contacts, roadside assistance, legal support and more, including free calls to and personalized assistance from a 24/7 call center.

Meanwhile, the area's infrastructure for groups grows stronger in the form of new facilities and ambitious renovations.

Travel Essentials

Taxes: Total tax on hotel rooms, 19% (16% value added tax, aka IVA, plus 3% lodging tax)

Convention Centers in Quintana Roo, Mexico

Cancún Venue Additions & Renovations

Meeting Hotels

by number of meeting rooms

Paradisus Cancun	22
Waldorf Astoria Cancun	18
Royal Service at Paradisus Cancun	17
The Westin Resort & Spa Cancun	15
Hilton Cancun	14
Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancun	12
Marriott Cancun Resort	12
Hotel Plaza Caribe	11
Grand Oasis Cancun	10
Oasis Cancun	10

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The all-inclusive, adults-only Le Blanc Spa Resort Cancún wrapped up a multimillion-dollar renovation project in April. All 260 guest rooms were redesigned, as was the lobby and restaurant collection; six restaurants were added, and two existing eateries were revamped with new designs and menus. The resort's 8,115 square feet of meeting space was renovated and upgraded, and new treatments are now available at the on-site spa.

The Palladium Hotel Group unveiled two adjoining all-inclusive properties in February, in Costa Mujeres at the northeast point of Cancún. The 670-room Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort and Spa offers nine on-site restaurants (such as El Dorado for wine and steak lovers), the Zentropia Palladium Spa and a 15,995-square-foot convention center. Those facilities are shared with the adjacent TRS Coral, a 469-room adults-only resort that is part of Leading Hotels of the World. A beach club and four restaurants are exclusively for TRS guests.

In December 2018, the Melody Maker Cancún opened its doors in the Hotel Zone, offering luxury accommodations and an on-site concert venue. The 679-room all-inclusive resort — named after the British weekly music magazine — features video projection-mapping technology in its concert space, day and night clubs, five restaurants, a luxury spa, and 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space.

The 427-room Now Emerald Cancún is set to open in June in the Hotel Zone on a white-sand beach between the Caribbean Sea and the Nichupte Lagoon. The all-inclusive resort will have eight restaurants and seven bars, a spa by Pevonia, three swimming pools and more than 3,000 square feet of meeting space.

Riviera Maya Venue Additions & Renovations

The Haven Riviera Cancún opened last October in Puerto Morelos, just south of Cancún. Of the all-inclusive, adults-only resort's 333 rooms, 88 are swim-out suites with wide terraces. Amenities include a full-service spa, five restaurants, two pools with swim-up bars and sit-down poolside restaurants, and a cabaret with nightly shows.

The ongoing renovation project at Now Sapphire Riviera Cancún, in Puerto Morelos, began in 2018 with the enhancement of 72 of the property's 496 guest rooms. Work currently is being done to the rear guest-room buildings, and the next phase, to be completed in September, will upgrade the rooms near the pool and beach, adding swim-out rooms to all six beachfront buildings. Also planned are an enhanced Preferred Club, a new beachfront wedding venue, a new fitness center, an upgraded spa facility, an improved lobby bar and café, upgraded meeting rooms and a new water-park experience in the Explorer's Club for Kids. The resort will close from Aug. 26 to Oct. 10 for the finishing touches; guests with reservations on the books will be offered accommodations at nearby AMResorts properties.

The Barceló Maya Grand Resort, a massive complex consisting of five distinct hotels, will open a sixth property in December. The luxury, adults-only, all-inclusive Barceló Maya Riviera will offer 850 rooms, hot tubs on every guest balcony, 110 swim-up suites and junior suites, five restaurants and four pools. In May 2020, the complex will debut the Barceló Maya Arena, a 190,000-square-foot convention center with a 3,400-square-foot terrace.