Instead of guest rooms, Viceroy Riviera Maya has 41 private villas, to insure the privacy of their guests. — Photo courtesy of Viceroy Riviera Maya

Each year, the well-known and incredibly reputable travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, publishes its Gold List. The list showcases the best hotels in the world, but also breaks the list down into different regions and highlights the best hotels & resorts from each area. The hotels are rated on certain criteria, like quality of food, service, or guest rooms, and past guests are the ones that do the rating.

In the Mexico region, thirty-one hotels made the 2012 Gold List. Of those hotels, fifteen of them are located in Cancun or the Riviera Maya. And, of those fifteen hotels, four are in Cancun and the remaining eleven are south of Cancun, in Riviera Maya. 

The outstanding view from the Presidential Suite at Secrets Maroma Beach Resort & Spa. — Photo courtesy of Secrets Maroma Beach Resort & Spa

The area's top hotel is Viceroy Riviera Maya (formerly The Tides Riviera Maya), which came in at number three on the list, with a rating of 95.9 out of 100 points. Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita (number 6 on the list), Maroma Resort & Spa (#7), Rosewood Mayakoba (#9), and Omni Puerto Aventuras (#10) rounded out the list of the top ten hotels in Mexico.

Each villa, at Banyan Tree Mayakoba, has a private swimming pool. — Photo courtesy of Banyan Tree Mayakoba

The rest of the best hotels in Cancun and Riviera Maya are (listed in order of their ranking) The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun, Ceiba del Mar, Secrets Maroma Beach, Banyan Tree Mayakoba, Valentin Imperial, Grand Velas Riviera Maya, Excellence Playa Mujeres, Fairmont Mayakoba, Beach Palace, and Le Meridien Cancun, which recently changed ownership and is now called Sandos Cancun Luxury Experience Resort. 

You can see the entire 2012 Gold List here: http://www.cntraveler.com/gold-list/2012