Mexico Smart Splurges

The new four-room hotel in a 17th-century house is a dramatic mix of present-day high style with antiques and folk art. Bathrooms, for instance, have the newest fixtures accented with antique lights. The rooms are all unique; some with fireplaces, some with four-poster beds, all with plush seating areas, flat-screen TVs, DVD players, and complimentary WiFi. Linens and towels are top quality and the amenities are all organic. A fountain splashes in the courtyard, and cocktails are served on the rooftop terrace with views of La Parroquia, the central church.

There’s no check-in desk at this premier all-star resort, made up of white-washed hacienda-style villas facing the Pacific. Instead, check-in is carried out in your room where a welcome gift of tequila, salt, and chili-ed nuts get your Mexican vacation started right. Extravagant suites have 42” flat screen TVs, fireplaces, telescopes, and an outdoor shower, hot tub, and upstairs terrace, in some.  The redesigned Lounge restaurant sports rainbow-like contemporary colors while the Sea Grill restaurant specializes in the region’s best asset, super-fresh seafood. Pool amenities include Evian spritzes, iPod loans, and ‘Hot Type’ books, which means you’ll read the latest Janet Evanovich before Borders gets it. The Ceviche & Tequila bar has over 50 types of firewater and in the evening it morphs into a Mexi-sushi joint.

Built in 1969, Cozumel’s first luxury hotel is still one of its best, with 220 sleek, modernist rooms, all facing a perfect semicircle of protected bay. There’s a lavish spa as well.

Part of the massive 1,600-acre Mayakoba luxury development, these 128 suites constructed in wood and limestone come with plunge pools and butlers. Set on mangrove-lined lagoons, the resort has a spa, cigar bar, and tequila “library.”

Maroma’s sparkling white-sand beach is renowned for its beauty, and this resort is perfectly located mere steps from the shore. Service is excellent here, and the resort has grown over the years to offer ever-more-pampering accommodations. Maroma was the Riviera Maya’s original luxury resort, built by a Mexican architect on a former coconut grove. Though it belongs to Orient Express now, it retains its Mexican heart. At night, the resort’s pathways are lit with nearly 1,000 candles, while cicadas sing in the jungle. The dramatic Kinan Spa offers a wide range of treatments using organic products. One word of caution: the ground-floor, garden-view rooms in the oldest buildings are a tad disappointing and not worth the high fare.

2008 SMART LUXURY WINNER
Lovingly Crafted Seaside Escape

From the unmarked dirt road leading to its doorstep to the astrologically determined alignment of its spa structure, Maroma has never been afraid to stand out from the crowd. And the crowd on the Riviera Maya has never been bigger, as new megaresorts blossom each season.

Owner José Luis Moreno fell in love with the 500-acre seaside property on a 1976 trip to the Yucatán. Four years later he fell in love with another visitor, Sally Shaw. They both stuck around, got married, and built this 65-room resort in part so their friends could visit, employing local artisans to create a one-of-a-kind environment (and using bamboo from the premises and marble from quarries nearby). The hotel took some 20 years to finish, evident in the custom oversize tubs, handmade tiles, and hand-carved lighting niches.

On arrival, guests are handed a margarita infused with a traditional Mayan honey liqueur known as xtabentún, just one of a host of Mayan-influenced elements. The resort’s Kinan spa (Mayan for “source of life”) offers traditional treatments, such as a volcanic healing steam bath called temazcal. Just off the white-sand beaches, the world’s second-longest barrier reef beckons diving enthusiasts. Best season for value: winter/spring.

Great Value Alternative: Rustic-chic Amansala, a yoga resort near Tulum, is known for its Bikini Bootcamp rejuvenation programs. From $125/night; www.amansala.com

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Playa Azul’s 50 breezy, wicker-furnished rooms have a Caribbean-hideaway feel, with all the perks of a larger resort like multiple restaurants and access to the nearby golf club. The beach here is small but pretty.

This tony hotel, is ideally located on the beach and just a few blocks away from the malecón. The fresh property offers chic, contemporary digs with an intimate feel. Guests can indulge away at the fabulous bi-level spa (reason enough to stay here) that offers a plethora of hydrotherapeutic treatments and massages. Another plus, if you’re traveling with your sweetie, is that guests must be 16 and older so, you won’t be bothered with the noisy family crowd that monopolizes many of the all-inclusive beach resorts. Enjoy some down time by the beachfront pool while lounging on suspended Arabian bamboo beds or, dining at La Ceiba, the beachside open-air restaurant. All 83 rooms here – although in four different categories – are quite deluxe, some with hammocks and hot tubs on their own large terrace. Most standard units have Mexican-style furniture and art, private balconies, and sliding doors that overlook the ocean. Soft muted colors and recessed lighting contribute to the overall calming feel. Upscale amenities include pillow menus with four fluffy choices, plush bathrobes, and bathrooms with whirlpool tubs.

Two former Hollywood execs, Eileen and Phil, own this small organic farm and hacienda on a hilltop overlooking el Valle de Guadalupe, the heart of Mexico’s wine country. Stay in one of their six rooms with designer threads and bathrooms (three also have balconies and chimneys). In your free time, join them for horseback riding, let them teach you how to make cheese and olive oil, or practice Tai Chi or Chi Gong beside them in the onsite classes.

Situated between the Caribbean Sea and a picturesque lagoon, this 260-room adults-only Cancun resort boasts breathtaking views and an atmosphere custom-made for romance. Some of the offerings on the long list of all-inclusive treats include dining options at haute eateries, premium drinks, non-motorized water sports, regular entertainment, and even butler service. In-room amenities offer guests equally enticing luxuries such as a free bottle of wine upon arrival, LCD TV with satellite cable, bathrobes and slippers, BVLGARI bath products, purified water, and an upgraded liquor dispenser featuring premium scotch, vodka, rum, and tequila. Other non-inclusive services are worth the additional splurge – don’t miss a treatment in the large onsite spa, an outing on the nines, or a must-do tour of the region’s magnificent Mayan ruins.

Well-situated at the bay’s northern tip, the Four Seasons offers all the usual comforts, plus inviting beaches, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and a spa that offers indigenous temazcal treatments.