We wanted to find the very best of the best for our readers, and we wanted to open the contest up to the very biggest and best (affordable) resorts in all of Mexico. We decided to have a scoring system that gives five different factors equal weighting: the beach (including the swimming, water sports and snorkelling zone); the swimming pools (including the layout of the surroundings); the food and drink (especially what you get on the pre-upgrades all-inclusive package); the price; and a fifth factor that lumps together the environment, the condition of the rooms, the service and the unique features each resort has, with a particular focus of couples who like to go on romantic nature strolls within the resort. We are scoring each and every resort on these five factors, with five perfect 40s being the aim, and so a perfect 200 would be the ideal resort. We were sober, judgmental, demanding and aloof when we scored them, so none of them are given an easy 200.We soon realised that we were going to have to make some very tough decisions early on: whether to make lower prices a factor or not; whether to bring the smaller hotels, motels, villas and boutique garden resorts in or not; whether to impose a quota limiting how many of these resorts can be in any one region of Mexico; and whether to let the tripadvisor scores guide us through. These decisions were not easy to make.We did decide to make lower prices a factor, as we do live in the real world, and we have determined that the most expensive resort must receive a 0.0 for price out of 40 in this category, which turned out to be the lavish Esencia Xpu Ha, followed with 02 points for price by the Zoetry Paraiso. The sky is the limit, and for the lottery winners' and board of directors' palatial feel, these places are options that go well with our top ten, which also boast fine dining and phenomenal sights and views, with great options and lovely architectural designs that make you feel lucky to be there.We have decided not to look at the tripadvisor scores at all, as too many people are already going by them, and we are not sure to what extent its scores are fair or not, as many resorts make visitors (or staff and visitors?) fill in tripadvisor forms while still in the resort and while still under its enchanting spells, its watchful eye, and its soothing tropical garden music.As the question of what constitutes good food is such a tough one, with people's tastes ranging from the rustic to the opulent and from western to tropical, we have decided to make our food and drinks category more about how many different bars and restaurants a resort has to offer, with the idea being that a wider choice of where and how to eat and drink must be better, and is better. With no less than 43 bars, restaurants and snack bars on site, The Grand Bahia Principe won this category clinched its only perfect 40 score. But overall, it narrowly failed to make our top ten. In terms of pools, we decided not to simply count them, but to look for some especially big and beautiful pools, where morning and evening drink moods are catered for. We wanted outdoor swimming pools so big that it takes a long time to explore them, which are lovingly shaped and kitted out with loungers or beds and surrounded by lovely flowering jungle trees and snack bars, and with secret alternative pool spots on offer also for those who wish to escape the noise and the bustle. Only the Grand Palladium scored a perfect 40 in this, as it has the most fantastic variety of big and hidden pools to choose between, but many others came close.To score a perfect 40 for the beach is hard to find in this or any part of the world, as many beaches suffer from a lack of shade, a lack of sand due to erosion and rising seas, lurking trip-hazard rocks, big waves, hassling roaming salesmen, lots of seaweed, a lack of snorkelling biodiversity in its waters, or from other disadvantages. The only resort to score a perfect 40 was ...