If you were to look at a map of Mexico, which looks like the lower portion of a mermaid, you would find the Riviera Maya, where her delicate fin curls northward at the tip. The region itself is sandwiched between Cancun and Cozumel, stretching along the Caribbean coast of what is called the Yucatan Peninsula.
Getting there is easy, as it is only an approximately three and a half hour flight from New York City, one and a half hours from Miami, a little over three hours from Chicago, two hours from Houston and just under five hours from Los Angeles. After arriving at the Cancun International Airport, which is also the arrival point for those visiting Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen, the Riviera Maya region is approximately a 20-minute drive.
This coastline covers 81 miles from Cancun south to the Belize border. Like many coastal areas in Mexico, the Riviera Maya is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, meandering arm in arm with the clear turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. Together, they draw visitors from all over the world to enjoy a wide array of aquatic activities and recreational sports, including boating, fishing, swimming, parasailing, kayaking and, yes, just plain laying out and enjoying the magnificent sand and ambience.
The Riviera Maya area is also a big draw for snorkeling and scuba diving, as it possesses an extensive coral reef system that is home to an abundance of marine plants, animals and other biodiversity. This falls right in line with its founding as a series of small fishing villages.
HOME OF THE MAYANS
In addition to its stunning natural beauty, the Riviera Maya is also one of the most historic regions in the country, as it was here that the early native Mayan people settled and left their mark on every aspect of the culture, language and traditions for the generations to follow.
The first Mayans were thought to have arrived in the Yucatan Peninsula—as well as in many regions of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, together called “Mesoamerica”—somewhere around 2600 B.C., establishing a very advanced and sophisticated civilization that thrived for a millennium until they were conquered by the Spaniards, who came here somewhere around the 16th century to extend their global territory.
Even today, the Mayans’ strong influence on modern astronomy, math, seasonal shifts, religious beliefs and practices, architecture continues to confound scientists and archaeologists trying to understand their extraordinary accomplishments.
Everywhere you look in this region, you’ll see Spanish as well as Mayan words on the names of the highways, small towns, resorts, restaurants and tourist attractions. Additionally, many of the early Mayan ruins and temples have survived in one form or another, some still undergoing archaeological exploration.
THE BEAUTY OF EL DORADO
Visitors to the Riviera Maya—an assorted mix of Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Mexicans, Australians and other global citizens—will find an almost overwhelming number of accommodation options from which to choose.
Depending on your preference, you can opt for a secluded hut on the beach, a private apartment or home, boutique hotel, family-oriented resort, singles- or couples-only resort or mega-size accommodation offering everything one can possibly imagine.
On this particular visit, we were looking for adults-only, all-inclusive and on the beach. Our search was extensive, but in the end, we decided to settle on the El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels, by Karisma.
Named among Conde Nast Traveler readers’ top 100 hotels in the world and a AAAA Four Diamond Resort, as well as garnering three of TripAdvisor’s “Top 25 Hotels for Romance in Mexico,” the El Dorado features 478 luxuriously decorated suites in almost a dozen categories: Jacuzzi junior, ocean front Jacuzzi Jr., swim up Jacuzzi Jr., royal, premium and several luxury, two-bedroom presidential suites.
Each encompasses the customary accouterment you would expect with added touches depending on the level of suite you choose, including a Jacuzzi for two, a minibar stocked daily with beer, water and sodas, plush bath robes, double sinks, glass enclosed showers and a private terrace or balcony.
On the gastronomic front, everything is gourmet, and there are nine themed restaurants to choose from for exceptional Italian, Asian-fusion, authentic Mexican, seafood, Caribbean, premium meats and steaks, plus a pizzeria, health food and sandwich bar options. There is also a special Food Network-style culinary theater, where diners enjoy a multicourse dinner by the resort’s executive chef and sommelier. And, should you desire, 24-hour room service.
Wine, sophisticated cocktail, tropical specialty drink, beer and fine tequila fans will find plenty to scratch their liquid itch at any of the 17—yes, 17, some swim-up—different bars, offering an extensive array of local and international premium brand liquors, all of which are included in the price of your stay.
Activities are numerous as well, including tennis, bicycles, paddleboats, kayaks, scuba clinics, yoga, water aerobics, bike tours of the property and adjacent mangrove, beach volleyball, tours of their 70,000-square-foot greenhouse), a weekly 5k run and an activity desk to help you plan off-property activities and excursions.
They also have a wide expanse of beach—not really suitable for swimming while undergoing storm regeneration efforts—with plenty of beach chairs, cabana beds and shade huts, and a nice gym with all of the modern machinery and equipment you could need (and a trainer), plus a variety of (additional cost) classes such as spinning, body sculpting, hand weights and the like.
We were in complete heaven at their Spa Royale, highlighted by full salon (manicure, pedicure and facial, hair) services, relaxation, sauna and steam rooms, a variety of body exfoliating massages, scrubs and treatments, and the bomb, the beachfront Sky Massage, a beautiful, tree house-like structure over the beach with the sounds and scents of the ocean wafting over our senses as we lay there for an amazing one-hour couples massage.
At night, they really turn up the heat with some of the best live music and shows I have ever seen at a resort, featuring their own house band and a different professional featured singer each night, followed by a nightly specialty show, plus a live DJ spinning well into the wee hours of the morning. The property also features a chapel (popular for their many weddings), several retail stores, a photo shop, jewelry store, art gallery and tobacco shop.
One of our favorite aspects was that despite this wide range of amenities and that the resort has a capacity for 1,500 guests (and were at about 80 percent occupancy the week we visited), we never felt like there were more than a couple of hundred guests on the property at any one time. Part of this is because of the design, extending over such a wide expanse of property that they have golf cart shuttles that run night and day. It really felt like a boutique, intimate experience.
Lysa Allman Baldwin is a freelance writer and the publisher and editor of Amazing Escapades, featuring “adventures for the mind, bod and belly” (www.amazingescapades.com).