Playa del Carmen Smart Splurges

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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The Mandarin Oriental chain made a huge splash in early 2008 when they opened their first Mexican hotel here in Playa del Carmen. The 120-room property incorporates design elements from around the world, with whitewashed buildings reminiscent of the Adriatic, Southeast Asian accents like seagrass furniture and the occasional Buddha statue, and lagoons, reflection pools, and thatched huts that are pure Quintana Roo. Five bungalows and two-level villas, reached by golf carts, are decorated with Mexican art and have secluded outdoor showers and stone tubs. Each room has a view of one of their water features. Also worth a visit: their 25,000-square-foot spa and contemporary Thai restaurant.

Grand Velas is proof positive that all-inclusive resorts have risen beyond midnight buffets and watered-down margaritas. Colorful serapes top fluffy beds in oversized marble-clad rooms, service is gracious, and the food is fresh, flavorful and beautifully presented. Rooms in the adults-only section sport private plunge pools overlooking the ocean. Spend at least a few hours at the a la carte spa. Built amid the lush jungle that hugs the resort, the massive, water-themed Spa at Grand Velas contains 40 treatment suites and a 28, 672-foot pool area. Still need convincing?  Whether you raid the mini bar for tequila, beer, and snacks or have nachos delivered at 3am, you won’t be billed. Everything’s included!

Formerly known as Ikal del Mar, Tides is the ultimate romantic resort, perfect for honeymooners. Thirty 1,000-square-foot individual villas with soaring palapa roofs and individual plunge pools make up the accommodations, offering the unique experience of a jungle escape combined with white-sand beaches fronting the turquoise Caribbean. Beds are draped in a gossamer canopy of mosquito netting and villas have outdoor showers, hammocks, and day-beds beside the pools. To add to the seclusion, the resort and its seven-mile beach are reached by a tiny dirt road. The villas come with DVD and CD players. Service is top-notch, and at these prices, it had better be!

The world renowned Xcaret is like an ancient Mayan ecological theme park. At times the 200-acre region feels more like a Mexican version of Disneyland, but there’s no denying its appeal. Here, you can swim in an underground river, take a dip with a dolphin, snorkel in a lagoon, watch a Mayan dance, or kick back with a spa treatment. The site even encompasses archaeological ruins and recreated Mayan villages.

Sign up with Punta Venado to go horseback riding on the white sandy beaches of the Riviera Maya, near Xcaret – an outstanding ecological theme park. The experience is truly unforgettable – the ocean views are inspiring and the horses are well taken care of. Even young children will enjoy the ride atop the gentle beasts.

Snorkeling and diving on the beautiful barrier reef just off Playa’s shore is one of the top choices for tourists. The more adventurous divers can swim through the cenote underwater caverns, swim with whale sharks, or even get PADI certified (courses last between 1-4 days). Cyan-Ha Dive Center offers a variety of packages; their two-tank dive ($70) allows you to be under water for 50 minutes – twice the time of a one-tank dive.

The native foods of the Yucatan peninsula and the Mayas are explored in this downtown restaurant...more

The location is one of the best in the Playa. From its second-floor perch in a building located...more