Playa del Carmen · Venue guide
UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya
Adults-only all-inclusive on Kantenah Bay with a local-culture design concept and refined beachfront event spaces.
UNICO 20°87° is the adults-only design hotel of the Riviera Maya — named for its coordinates, styled like a gallery, and aimed squarely at couples who want their wedding to look like an editorial. The property’s art, textures and moody interiors give us materials no beach resort has.
Weddings here skew intimate and stylish; our UNICO gallery shows how far the venue’s design language can carry a wedding story beyond the standard beach shots.
Where to say “I do” — and how each spot photographs
Wedding Gazebo
Located on the east wing with the Caribbean as the backdrop. The resort currently lists ceremonies up to 80 guests. A January wedding here used the Gazebo for a 5:00 p.m. ceremony.
Beach Shoreside
Open beachfront ceremony space for up to 150 guests. It gives the strongest direct Caribbean backdrop but also the most exposure to wind, reflective sand and midday contrast.
El Patio
A tropical terrace next to the Convention Center, currently listed for receptions up to 275 guests. One wedding here used El Patio for a 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. reception.
Terraza Verde
A large-scale outdoor reception space adjacent to Esencia Wellness Spa. The resort lists receptions up to 800 guests and cocktail events up to 1,120.
Nayade Terrace
Central-esplanade terrace with open Caribbean horizons, currently listed for receptions up to 240 and cocktails up to 450.
Costera Terrace
Central resort terrace with Caribbean views, currently listed for receptions up to 140 and cocktails up to 340.
A photo timeline that works here
Based on a winter ceremony (sunset ≈ 6 pm). I adjust it to your date and your venue coordinator's schedule.
- 2:00 pm
- Getting ready — details, dress, final touches of makeup
- 3:15 pm
- Bride portraits and first look
- 4:00 pm
- Ceremony
- 4:40 pm
- Family and group photos, right where the ceremony ends
- 5:10 pm
- Couple session in the golden hour
- 6:15 pm
- Reception entrance and first dance
- 8:00 pm
- Open dance floor, toasts and party
First look — yes or no?
Yes — and do it indoors. UNICO’s interiors are half the reason to marry here, and a first look in the design spaces gives your gallery its editorial spine before the beach takes over.
Logistics worth knowing
UNICO is on Federal Highway 307 at Km 260 in the Kantenah/Akumal corridor. Typical private-transfer planning from Cancun International Airport is around 70-90 minutes depending on traffic. The resort offers airport transfers on qualifying direct reservations. Current wedding policy requires outside vendors to be preregistered and REPSE-compliant. Outdoor private functions must end by 10:30 p.m.
Vendor rules at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya
- Outside photographers: Accepted
- Day pass required: Yes
- Each outside vendor staff member requiring hotel access is charged a Vendor Day Pass for each day, and outside vendors must be registered under REPSE. For photography, videography, hair, makeup or a DJ with no equipment, the outside-vendor fee may be waived when all outside vendor staff stay on property for a minimum of three nights under individual reservations. Your coordinator confirms both the amount and the waiver for your date.
- These rules belong to the resort, not to me. The resort sets the fee, charges it and changes it, often from one season to the next and sometimes from one wedding to the next, so I do not publish an amount here: any number you find online is already out of date for your date. Ask your wedding coordinator at the resort to confirm it in writing, and ask early: it is a real line in the budget. It is also worth asking whether there is any flexibility. Some venues waive or reduce the fee, often when the vendor team books rooms for a few nights or when the wedding is booked through certain agencies, and plenty of couples never find out because they never ask.
- Tell me about your wedding →
The light here
UNICO's Caribbean side faces east, so the water is the sunrise direction and sunset falls inland. Protect the final 45 to 60 minutes before sunset for portraits. Around January, sunset is roughly 6:20 p.m.; around June, roughly 7:25-7:32 p.m. A 5:00 p.m. January ceremony leaves useful portrait light afterwards.
Real weddings at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya
Photo sessions at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya
Questions couples ask about UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya
Can we bring our own photographer to UNICO 20°87°?
Yes. UNICO allows outside photographers, and its Wedding Sales Guide applies an outside-vendor fee per vendor, per service, per day unless a qualifying waiver applies. The resort sets it, collects it and revises it, so we do not publish an amount: any figure would already be old for your date. Ask your wedding coordinator to confirm it in writing.
Can the outside-vendor fee be waived?
Yes, and it is worth asking early: for photography, videography, hair, makeup or a DJ with no equipment, the current guide says the fee may be waived when all the outside vendor's staff stay on property for at least three nights under individual reservations.
Does the photographer still need a Vendor Day Pass?
The current guide says each outside vendor staff member who requires hotel access is charged a Vendor Day Pass for each day. The guide does not publish the current pass price, so confirm that amount with the wedding specialist.
Does our photographer need REPSE registration?
Yes. UNICO's current Wedding Sales Guide says outside vendors must be registered under REPSE in order to provide service on property.
What time do outdoor receptions have to end?
The current 2026 guide says outdoor private functions must be over by 10:30 p.m.
How much does a wedding photographer cost at UNICO 20°87°?
Experienced destination wedding photographers in this area generally run from about $3,000 to $8,000 USD for the wedding day, and more for multi-day celebrations with film. Most couples marrying at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya book 6-8 hours, so the coverage reaches from getting ready to the party. Travel to this venue is included or minimal, we are local. To see where I would begin for your date, the collections live at /pricing/.
Getting married at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya?
I've photographed here — I know the light, the spots and the rules.