Place Archive

Cancun

Cancun is a coastal city on Mexico’s northeastern Yucatan Peninsula, developed from near-scratch by the Mexican government in the 1970s as a planned resort destination on a narrow barrier island separating a lagoon from the Caribbean Sea. The Riviera Maya, a developed corridor running south from Cancun toward Tulum, became home to large all-inclusive resort complexes as international tourism expanded through the 1990s and 2000s. Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancun, a Spanish-owned all-inclusive property along that stretch of coast, operated under earlier names including Palmar Beach Resort and Azul Beach Resort Riviera Cancun before Iberostar Hotels and Resorts acquired and extensively renovated the property, reopening it under the Selection brand, the company’s adults-oriented upper tier, in 2023. The eastern coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula has faced recurring sargassum accumulation in recent years, a regional problem affecting resort beaches along the Mexican Caribbean.

10 photos

Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancun 1 set 9 photos

Passengers walk through Cancun International Airport departures hall in Cancun, Mexico. — Passengers move through the departures hall at Cancun International Airport in Cancun, Mexico. Overhead signs direct travelers to departures, check-in, ticket sales, and passenger services inside the terminal.

Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancun pool at night in Cancun, Mexico. — Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancun in Cancun features a lagoon-style pool area at night. The resort was previously known as Azul Beach Resort Riviera Cancun and Palmar Beach Resort.

Towel monkey arranged in a guest room at Iberostar Selection Riviera in Cancún. — A towel monkey is arranged in a guest room at Iberostar Selection Riviera in Cancún. The figure is made from folded white towels and clipped to a wooden hanger above a mirror.

Sandy beach and low seawall along the Caribbean coastline at Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún, Mexico. — The beach at Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún fronts the Caribbean Sea along Mexico's Riviera Maya, south of downtown Cancún. Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, a Spanish hospitality group founded in 1990, operates the property as part of its all-inclusive Selection tier. Like much of the Yucatán's eastern coastline, this stretch of shore is subject to seasonal sargassum seaweed accumulation, which resorts in the region typically manage with regular beach cleanup crews and low retaining walls to control sand loss.

Thatched palapas and blue lounge chairs line the beach at Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún on Mexico's Caribbean coast. — Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún sits along the Riviera Maya coastline south of Cancún, part of the Iberostar Hotels & Resorts chain. The all-inclusive property lines its stretch of Caribbean beach with thatched-roof palapas and lounge chairs for guest use. Sargassum, a seaweed that has affected much of the Mexican Caribbean coast in recent years, regularly washes up along this shoreline. The resort is one of several Iberostar properties clustered along this section of the Riviera Maya, a coastal corridor stretching roughly 80 miles from Cancún to Tulum.

Resort pool with swim-up bar and palm trees at Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún. — Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún sits on the Riviera Maya coastline south of Cancún, part of the Iberostar Hotels & Resorts portfolio based in Spain. The property underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation and reopened under the adults-oriented Selection brand, one of several tiers Iberostar uses to differentiate its properties across the Caribbean and Mexico. Its pool complex connects to a swim-up bar and palapa-covered lounge areas, a common design at large all-inclusive resorts in the region. The resort's guest rooms are arranged in multi-story buildings facing the pool and beachfront, typical of the master-planned developments along this stretch of coast.

Front entrance of Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún — The front entrance to the newly re-opened and re-branded Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún Mexico.

Towel and blanket animal figures displayed on a bed at Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún resort. — Housekeeping staff at Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún fold bath towels and blankets into animal figures as a turndown-service tradition common at all-inclusive resorts along the Riviera Maya. The practice, often called towel origami, is typically taught to housekeeping teams as a guest-amenity touch rather than a regional craft. Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún operates as part of the Iberostar Hotels & Resorts group's rebranded "Selection" tier, marketed toward couples and adult travelers along Mexico's Caribbean coast.

Winding pool complex with palm trees and cabanas at Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún near the Caribbean coast. — Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún sits along the Riviera Maya coastline south of Cancún, facing the Caribbean Sea. The property's pool complex includes a winding lazy-river-style pool connecting several sections, with swim-up access near the beachfront palapa bar. Cabanas and lounge chairs line the pool decks for guest use. The resort operates as an all-inclusive property under the Iberostar Hotels & Resorts brand.

Pool complex with a footbridge and lounge chairs at Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún resort in Mexico. — Iberostar Selection Riviera Cancún sits along the Riviera Maya coastline in Quintana Roo, Mexico, south of downtown Cancún. Iberostar Group reopened the property in 2023 after a multimillion-dollar renovation that reworked much of the resort's grounds, including a network of connected pools linked by walking bridges. The "Selection" designation marks it as part of Iberostar's upscale all-inclusive tier, distinct from the company's budget and family-branded properties. Guest rooms line multi-story buildings that wrap around the pool complex, a layout common to large-scale Riviera Maya resorts built for high seasonal occupancy.

Minneapolis Photographer