Mayan gold

Mexico’s traditional healing therapies have only had marginal appeal to the wellbeing cognoscenti, but the newly opened Chablé is set to change all that. Set in 750 acres of wild forest in the Yucatán Peninsula, the 40-villa spa resort – named after a herb used by the ancient Mayans in their therapies – is centred around a cenote, or sacred natural cave formation. The mood is of an otherworldly Shangri-la of green thickets and natural textures. Using the weathered 19th-century walls of the original hacienda as a framework, architect Jorge Borja and designer Paulina Moran have added millennial comforts, such as outdoor showers, glass-encased swimming pools and large outdoor living rooms. The fabulous spa treatments include a vibrational massage based on percussion and musical tones. And in the kitchen, Jorge Vallejo features grilled meats and produce from the resort’s organic beds. Daven Wu Chochola, tel: 52.55 4161 4262, chableresort.com. Rates: from $780

1,100: 120: the number of men it took to move the wooden headboard in the royal villa the weight in pounds of the quarry-carved baths in the royal and Presidential villas the age of the tree used to make the bar