SLS Cancun and JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa

BACKGROUND

This new property from SBE Hotels opened in February. SBE is now owned by Accor after the French group bought 50 per cent of the brand in 2018 and then bought the rest while also merging with Ennismore. Among the SBE brands are Mondrian, Delano, Hyde Hotels and SLS. They are all very fashionable, or, as SBE would have it, they represent “a global tribe of individuals, partners and progressives”.

WHAT’S IT LIKE?

The hotel is located on the first four floors of a 20-storey L-shaped building facing the Caribbean Sea and the entrance to the marina. The other levels contain luxury apartments. These have a separate entrance around the corner from the hotel so you don’t mingle with the owners in the lifts, although they do have the use of the pool, restaurants and gym.

I stayed in late April. While many of the apartments had been sold by then, they were yet to be occupied so it was very quiet. Security is very reassuring – you go through two attended gates before pulling up at the hotel.

The interior design is by Italy’s Piero Lissoni and has been beautifully done, with low sofas decked out with cushions in alternating pastel and bright colours. The seating area just off the lobby has a pool table and shelves with coffee-table books.

WHERE IS IT?

In the gated community of Puerto Cancun, a new development close to downtown and the hotel zone. It is about half an hour’s drive from the airport, depending on traffic. There are further hotels planned for the area, which is also home to the Renaissance Cancun Resort and Marina.

ROOMS

The 45 rooms and suites are all elegant, with oak wood flooring, Mayan-inspired wall coverings designed by Lissoni and bathrooms with marble floors, silver Travertine walls, walk-in rainfall showers and Ciel Reserve amenities. About 75 per cent of them have sea views; those that don’t look out over the new developments towards the marina. They range from 51 sqm Deluxe Kings to the 260 sqm Presidential suite. My Deluxe Ocean Front King room had a sliding door between the bedroom and bathroom, a work area with a comfortable sofa, and a balcony with chairs and a hammock.

FOOD AND DRINK

The hotel was still finishing its beach club when I was there (it has since opened), but there was an outdoor terrace for the lobby bar and the restaurant, Leynia, which is an “Argentinean grill inspired by flavours from Japan”. I only ate lunch there but the service was good and my burger was excellent. The restaurant is open daily from 8am to 10.30pm.

MEETINGS

There is one room seating 12 people on the second floor.

LEISURE

The hotel has a 250-metre stretch of sand with a private beach club, a lifeguard and a buoyed-off area for swimming, while further out there are kite surfers and people sailing. It also has a pool with a spa bath at one end. The fitness facilities and the Ciel spa are superb, much too large for a property of only 45 rooms but then they are also for the use of the apartment residents – I never saw anyone using them, although this may change over time. There’s also an 18-hole golf course and private marina, while bikes can be borrowed for free. About a ten-minute walk away is a high-end shopping centre with restaurants and a cinema.

VERDICT

A luxury hotel with great security, beachfront and good food and drink options, with the liveliness of Cancun and the hotel zone a short taxi ride away. I enjoyed the peace and quiet, but as the apartments are occupied and the hotel fills it could become quite a party place around the pool and beach bar area. Tom Otley

BESTFOR

Uninterrupted sea views and a great restaurant with outdoor terrace

DON’TMISS

A morning swim in the infinity pool, then relaxing in a private cabana

PRICE

Internet prices for a flexible stay in September started from US$672 per night for a Superior King, including resort fee (10 per cent of room rate)

CONTACT

“Novo Cancun Torre 1”, Avenida Bonampak; tel +52 998 689 0757; accor.com; sbe.com

There’s a 250-metre stretch of sand with a private beach club, and the fitness facilities and spa are superb