Small is good in Mexico
The joy of small and medium sized resorts on the Mexican Riviera.
Maybe it’s our age, but our ideal all-inclusive Mexican get-away now involves a relatively small resort, a natural and ecofriendly tropical setting, wonderful food, a great beach and a quiet swimming pool area with no loud, thumping music. We found that ideal resort on the Mayan Riviera near Cancun.
Maybe it’s our age, but our ideal all-inclusive Mexican getaway now involves a relatively small resort, a natural and ecofriendly tropical setting, wonderful food, a great beach and a quiet swimming pool area with no loud, thumping music.
We found that ideal resort on the Mayan Riviera near Cancun. Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita is a 90-unit AAA Five Diamond boutique hotel with every tworoom balcony suite facing the ocean and sandy beach.
Zoetry is the high end brand for AM Resorts (18 properties in the Cancun area including Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, Now and Sunscape Resorts) and brings an unmatched level of luxury and service to an area of the Caribbean very popular with Canadians. That luxury is evident in the imaginative Mexican/Middle East decor in each spacious suite, the welcoming bottles of champagne and tequila, the sophisticated lighting and entertainments systems (three TVs!) and the huge bathroom with Bulgari toiletries, twin sinks, a great shower and a tile bathtub big enough to hold a family.
The spacious grounds are obviously well-tended with great respect for flora and wildlife. Iguanas soaked up the sun, peacocks roamed freely and a dozen colourful macaws squawked loudly for attention.
We were told the goal of Zoetry is to keep the guests, “well rested and well fed.” The latter was clearly evident in the creativity of our meals. Unlike most all-inclusive resorts, there’s no buffet restaurant and everything was made from scratch. Menus included nutritional information and calorie count. Breakfast offered an amazing selection of traditional dishes plus an array of superb Mexican specialties. A harpist offered soothing melodies
For dinner we enjoyed wonderfully presented grilled shrimp with lobster sauce and an imaginative watermelon salad that was almost too pretty to eat. Fish entrees were remarkably good; obviously very fresh. A guitar and piano entertained on the lawn in front of the restaurant during dinner.
“Wellness” is another key goal at Zoetry and we enjoyed a Thalasso Spa treatment followed by a swim in the warm salt-water pool. In addition the resort offers a traditional Mayan healing ceremony where we took part in an ancient ritual with meditation, steam, heat, drumming and chanting. A remarkable ceremony with great respect for Mayan culture.
We split our week with just two days at Zoetry and five at Secrets Capri, another AM Resort along the beach near Playa del Carmen. It was the first property in the all-adult Secrets chain and like all resorts in this part of Mexico has tight security at the gate and throughout the grounds. We have never felt unsafe in Mexico.
Secrets Capri was a slight shock after Zoetry because it’s bigger (but not too big – just 291 rooms) with smaller suites in a U shaped complex. And yes, it’s livelier with energetic games, a swim-up pool bar, occasional loud music and regular evening entertainment. Guests range from newlyweds to seriously old geezers. But the room, although average in size for Mexico, was clean, elegantly decorated with a comfortable king-size four poster bed and a marble bathroom with both a jetted tub and a shower.
The mini-fridge had a plentiful supply of bottled water, pop and beer. Complimentary wi-fi connections were especially good in the rooms and, like Zoetry, there were free phone calls to anywhere in Canada or the U.S. An outstanding service!
We arrived on a Friday, just in time for the weekly “Mexico Night”. Tables were set up around the swimming pool with a variety of food stations featuring authentic Mexican dishes. A mariachi band, a singer and colourful dancers entertained.
Secrets Capri has a large buffet restaurant (breakfast, lunch and dinner) with tasty offerings while its a la carte restaurants are uniformly excellent.
As Atlantic Canadians we love fresh seafood and were delighted to learn that fresh fish is delivered to the resort every day. The fish taco and octopus ceviche at the informal Cactus Club were excellent. Our snapper, grouper and shrimp dinner at the seafood specialty house, Oceana, was remarkable good and beautifully presented. We also enjoyed the Italian fare at Portofino and thought the entertaining chef at the popular teppanyaki table at the Asian restaurant was the best we’ve seen (lots of flames and drama).
There has been erosion at the beach but the staff has been remarkable in keeping it free of seaweed and inviting for guests like us who love swimming in the ocean. There are lots of beach loungers but comfortable Bali beds with thatched roofs are also available for rent on a daily basis. Servers roam the beach offering complimentary cold drinks and menu items. Pampering at its best.