The best moments of a stay at Mayan Mansion, the 8-bedroom mansion for rent in Playa del Carmen, planned and hosted by house manager Rose Medina: from Rose's Speakeasy Night to Rose's Champagne Brunch and Wake-up Yoga with Rose.
Every experience is optional and priced separately. Rose confirms availability and quotes each one for your group and dates.
Rose's Speakeasy Night
A private party in the soundproof basement speakeasy, so the group can make plenty of noise there without problems.
Rose's Speakeasy Night turns Mayan Mansion's basement into your own private club. The speakeasy is completely soundproof, so Playacar's strict outdoor noise rules never reach it: emerald-green walls, a long wooden bar with a stone top and six green leather stools, arched cabinets in fluted wood, lounge seating around an antique carved Maya daybed, and a disco ball over an open dance floor. Rose sets the room up before you come down, so all your group has to do is walk downstairs.
What's included
A bartender and a cocktail menu for your group
A DJ or your own playlist
Snacks or a late-night taco bar from the private chef
Set-up and clean-up, so the morning after is easy
Best for: Birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette weekends, reunions and the last night of any trip.
A late, lazy brunch built around the champagne bar carved into the kitchen island.
Down the middle of Mayan Mansion's long stone kitchen island runs a champagne bar: a trough carved into the stone that fills with ice. Rose's Champagne Brunch makes it the centerpiece of the morning, with bottles on ice down the island, a brunch cooked by the private chef at the wooden breakfast bar, and the great room's glass wall slid open to the pool. It's the brunch many groups ask for the morning after their big night.
What's included
Champagne on ice in the champagne bar
Brunch cooked and served by the private chef
Fresh juices, coffee and mimosas
Table set-up and flowers
Best for: The morning after the speakeasy night, birthdays, wedding parties and the last day of the trip.
A gentle morning yoga session by the pool, for every level.
Rose is a yoga teacher certified by Yoga Alliance, trained in India, and she has practiced every day for seven years. Wake-up Yoga with Rose is an easy, welcoming session by the pool or in the jungle garden as the morning light comes in, for complete beginners and regular practitioners alike. She adapts every session to the group, from stretching after a travel day to a stronger flow before a big day out.
What's included
A 60-minute session by the pool
Mats for every guest
Options for beginners and experienced students
Fresh fruit and water after the session
Best for: Wellness groups, girls' trips, retreats and anyone who wants to start the day calm.
Each guest picks one album and the group listens start to finish in the listening room.
Mayan Mansion's listening room was designed by professional sound engineers to feel like a high-end audio showroom: twelve gray leather recliners on three stepped tiers, in front of a fluted wood wall. On Rose's Album Night, everyone brings one album that means something to them. The lights go down, drinks come round, and the group listens all the way through, then talks about why they chose it. Guests tell Rose it's the night they didn't expect to love.
What's included
The listening room set up for the evening
Drinks and snacks served in the room
A running order for the group's albums
Help loading your music beforehand
Best for: Music lovers, old friends, reunions and quieter nights between parties.
A private cinema night in the listening room, with popcorn and drinks.
The big screen and twelve recliners in the listening room make it the best private cinema in Playa del Carmen. Rose's Movie Night sets it up as a real night at the movies: a film your group chooses, popcorn and snacks, drinks served in the room, and sound designed by professional sound engineers. It works just as well for a concert film or the big game.
What's included
The listening room set up as a cinema
Popcorn, snacks and drinks
Your choice of film, concert or sports event
Blankets for the recliners
Best for: Families, rainy days, game days and the night after a long excursion.
Arrive to a stocked kitchen and a chef's dinner at one table for the whole group.
The first night of a group trip is the hardest to plan, so Rose plans it for you. Rose's Welcome Dinner starts before you land: a private transfer from Cancún airport, groceries, wine and champagne stocked in the kitchen, and a private chef cooking dinner while the group settles into the eight bedrooms and the pool. Then everyone sits down at one long table, the way the trip should start.
What's included
Private transfer from Cancún International Airport
Groceries, wine and champagne stocked before arrival
A welcome dinner by the private chef
Room assignments ready on every door
Best for: Every group. It's the plan Rose recommends most.
An early swim in the cenotes Rose loves, before the crowds arrive.
Cenotes are natural pools of clear fresh water, sacred to the ancient Maya, and the co-master suite at Mayan Mansion is even named for one. Rose's Cenote Morning takes the group to her favorites early, before the tour buses: usually Jardín del Edén and Cenote Azul for an easy open-air swim, or Dos Ojos with a guide for snorkeling through a cave. Back at the house by lunch, with the afternoon free for the pool.
What's included
Private transport for the group
Entry to the cenotes Rose recommends for your group
A guide and snorkel gear for cave cenotes
Cold drinks and snacks for the ride back
Best for: Every group, including families with children and less confident swimmers.
A night ritual in the pool under Virgo, the constellation of prosperity, for everyone in the group.
For as long as people have gathered, they have gone to the water to be renewed. Pilgrims travel to the springs of Lourdes. The ancient Maya held their cenotes sacred, as doorways between the world above and the world below. Mayan Mansion's pool was built in that spirit. It follows the old principle "as above, so below": the constellation of Virgo, the sign of prosperity, is set into the pool floor in LED lights, so at night the stars are mirrored in the water. Rose's Virgo Night invites the whole group into that moment. After dinner the house goes quiet, the pool lights come on, and candles are lit around the deck. Rose tells the story of the house, from the door to Xibalba and the four columns of wind, water, fire and earth to the stars under the water. Then everyone steps in together to set an intention for the year ahead and, in our tradition, to ask the stars for a share of the prosperity of the ages. Everyone can take part in whatever way suits them: swim or float above the Virgo lights, sit on the pool steps with your feet in the water, or join from a lounger on the deck by candlelight. Children, grandparents and non-swimmers are as much part of the ritual as anyone else. We don't promise miracles. We do believe that a night under the stars, in water, with the people who matter most, sends everyone home a little renewed, and that some prosperity from the stars is worth inviting into the house.
What's included
The pool and deck lit with candles for the evening
Rose's telling of the Maya story of the house
A moment for each guest to set an intention for the year ahead
Drinks served poolside, plus a non-alcoholic option for every age
Towels and robes for every guest
Best for: Every group on its first or last night, especially birthdays, new beginnings, reunions and anyone starting a new chapter.
A short walk through the Maya story built into the house, on arrival.
Every part of Mayan Mansion's design was drawn from the Maya world, and most guests only see it once someone shows them. On Rose's Maya Story Welcome, Rose meets the group at the front: the Maya arch, the front door that represents the entrance to Xibalba, the Maya underworld, the four columns of wind, water, fire and earth, and the circular window for the fifth element, quintessence. Then inside to the antique carved Maya daybed in the speakeasy and the Virgo constellation in the pool.
What's included
A 20-minute guided welcome by Rose
The group photo at the entrance, with the four columns
A walk through the bedrooms and their Yucatán themes
The house dressed for your birthday, bachelorette, anniversary or reunion.
Rose has planned private and corporate events from start to finish, and she brings that to every celebration at Mayan Mansion. Rose's Celebration Setup dresses the house for your occasion before the group arrives or while you're out for the day: decoration in your colors, flowers, a cake from a local bakery, and a photographer for the big night, so the host gets to enjoy the party too.
What's included
Decoration and flowers for the occasion
A cake from a local bakery
A photographer for the evening
Coordination with the chef, bartender and DJ
Best for: Milestone birthdays, bachelorette weekends, anniversaries, engagements and reunions.
Massages and spa treatments at the house, by the pool or in your room.
There's no need to leave Mayan Mansion for a spa day. Rose brings professional massage therapists to the house, so guests can book a massage by the pool, in the jungle garden or in their own bedroom, one after another, while the rest of the group swims, reads in the floating reading room or naps in the hammock behind the pool.
What's included
Professional massage therapists at the house
Relaxing, deep-tissue or couples massages
A schedule for the whole group
Fresh water, fruit and towels
Best for: Wellness groups, the day after the speakeasy night, and rainy afternoons.
Tee times for the whole group, minutes from the house.
Mayan Mansion is in Playacar Phase 2, which is built around the Playacar golf course, so golfers can be on the first tee minutes after breakfast. Rose's Golf Morning books tee times for every foursome in the group, at Playacar or at El Camaleón in Mayakoba, the first course to host a PGA Tour event outside the United States and Canada, with an early breakfast before and the pool waiting after.
What's included
Tee times for every foursome
An early breakfast before you leave
Transport to the course
Cold drinks by the pool when you get back
Best for: Golf groups, company retreats and anyone who packed their clubs.
A hands-on class with the private chef in the Mayan Mansion kitchen.
Mayan Mansion's kitchen was built for a group: a long stone island, a professional range with a griddle and custom hardwood cabinets made by a local carpenter. In Rose's Mexican Cooking Class, the private chef teaches the group to make salsas, guacamole, tortillas and tacos together at the island, and then everyone sits down to eat what they cooked.
What's included
A hands-on class with the private chef
All ingredients and aprons
The dinner you cooked, served at the big table
Recipes to take home
Best for: Families with teenagers, rainy days, team-building and food lovers.
An evening that starts in the listening room and ends in the speakeasy.
Rose's Vinyl & Speakeasy Night uses both of the house's signature rooms in one evening. It begins in the listening room with champagne and a curated session of classic albums, played on an analog vinyl setup brought in by a DJ, in the room designed by professional sound engineers. Midway through the evening the group goes downstairs, where the speakeasy has become a private cocktail club, with a mixologist making classic and house cocktails at the stone-top bar and the DJ moving to the dance floor.
What's included
Champagne served in the listening room
A DJ with an analog vinyl setup and a curated set
A mixologist and cocktail menu in the speakeasy
Small plates from the private chef
Best for: Music lovers, milestone birthdays and groups who want one unforgettable night.
A restorative sound bath with crystal bowls and gongs, followed by botanical drinks.
Rose's Sound Bath brings sound-healing practitioners to Mayan Mansion. In the listening room, or in the jungle garden in the cool of the morning, guests lie back while quartz crystal bowls, gongs and flutes fill the space, with guided breathing and an optional gentle yoga session led by Rose. It ends with fresh cold-pressed juices, coconut water and a light lunch by the pool.
What's included
A sound bath led by sound-healing practitioners
Optional breathwork or gentle yoga with Rose
Mats, cushions and blankets
Fresh juices, coconut water and a light lunch
Best for: Wellness groups, retreats and the morning after a big night.
A guided tasting of tequila and mezcal with a local expert, paired with small bites.
In Rose's Tequila & Mezcal Masterclass, a local agave expert guides the group through a tasting of tequilas and mezcals, from blanco to extra añejo and mezcals made from different wild agaves, served with orange slices and traditional salts. The private chef pairs each pour with a small bite, and the evening can move from the poolside terrace at sunset down to the speakeasy, where the mixologist turns the group's favorites into cocktails.
What's included
A guided tasting with a local agave expert
Tequilas and mezcals selected for the group
Pairing bites from the private chef
Agave cocktails in the speakeasy afterward
Best for: Company retreats, forum groups, golf groups and anyone curious about Mexico's spirits.
A multi-course Yucatecan and Mexican tasting menu at the big table.
For Rose's Chef's Table Tasting, the private chef sets the main dining table, or a table by the pool, for a tasting menu of contemporary Yucatecan and Mexican cooking, course by course, with the story of each dish told at the table. Wine or cocktail pairings are optional, and the evening can end with digestifs in the speakeasy.
What's included
A multi-course tasting menu by the private chef
Table set-up, service and the story behind each course
Optional wine or cocktail pairings
Digestifs in the speakeasy
Best for: Anniversaries, milestone birthdays, retreats and food lovers.
A private acoustic performance in the listening room.
The listening room was designed by professional sound engineers, which makes it a beautiful room for live, unplugged music. For Rose's Live Music Evening, Rose books local musicians for a private set: a classical or flamenco guitarist, a Latin jazz trio or a singer-songwriter. After the set, the group and the musicians move down to the speakeasy for drinks.
What's included
A private acoustic performance by local musicians
The listening room set up for the evening
Drinks and small plates
Drinks with the musicians in the speakeasy afterward
Best for: Anniversaries, music lovers, wedding parties and a quieter, special night.
The champagne brunch, upgraded with a raw bar and a mimosa station.
Rose's Champagne & Seafood Brunch takes Rose's Champagne Brunch one step further. Around the champagne bar carved into the kitchen island, the private chef adds a seafood raw bar with oysters and ceviche, an omelet station and tropical fruit, while a mimosa and bellini station runs at the breakfast bar.
What's included
Champagne on ice in the champagne bar
A seafood raw bar with oysters and ceviche
An omelet station and tropical fruit
A mimosa and bellini station
Best for: Wedding parties, birthdays, bachelorettes and celebration mornings.
A poolside lounge at sunset with aged rums and cigars rolled on site.
As the sun goes down, Rose's Sunset Rum & Cigar Lounge sets up an outdoor lounge on the pool deck, with aged rums from Mexico and the Caribbean, dark chocolate pairings and a cigar roller hand-rolling fresh cigars in front of the group. It's held outdoors, on the terrace by the pool.
What's included
An outdoor lounge set up on the pool deck
A tasting of aged rums
A cigar roller rolling cigars live
Dark chocolate pairings
Best for: Golf groups, forum retreats and milestone birthdays.
Blend your own fragrance from native Yucatán botanicals to take home.
In Rose's Maya Botanical Scent Workshop, a local perfumer guides the group in blending their own fragrance, body oil or room mist from native Yucatán flowers, herbs and resins, with calm ambient music in the background. Everyone leaves with a personal keepsake from the trip, and the mixologist can make botanical cocktails with the same flower and herb notes afterward.
What's included
A guided workshop with a local perfumer
Native botanicals and essential oils
A bottle of your own blend to take home
Optional botanical cocktails afterward
Best for: Bachelorettes, girls' trips, wellness groups and families with teenagers.
An outdoor movie by the pool, then a guided look at the night sky.
Rose's Poolside Cinema & Stargazing moves movie night outdoors: a screen and sound set up by the pool, loungers with pillows and blankets, gourmet popcorn and drinks. After the film, a local stargazing guide brings a telescope and shows the group the night sky, including Virgo, the constellation set in lights on the pool floor.
What's included
An outdoor screen and sound by the pool
Loungers, pillows and blankets
Gourmet popcorn, small plates and drinks
A stargazing guide with a telescope
Best for: Families, couples and anyone who loves a clear night.
Rose Medina answers every question personally, usually the same day. If it's a question other guests will have too, her answer may end up on this page.