Hot List Hotels 2006
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Carretera 307
Xpu-Ha
Mexico
Tel: 877 528 3490 (toll-free)
Tel: 52 984 873 4835
Earthy, spartan, luxurious. These words rarely apply to a single property, yet they aptly describe the Hotel Esencia, 40 miles south of Cancún's airport. Guests enter the 11-acre property through a traditional Mayan mud hut, then walk along a jungle path to the main building, which holds 9 guest rooms (the other 23 are in cottages and houses). Scavenged pieces of driftwood, coral, and shells decorate guest rooms; the furniture, too, is elegantly simple, with sitting areas and bed platforms built into the smooth plastered walls. Luxury here is in the details—sumptuous bed linens, pizza-sized showerheads, speaker plug-ins for iPods—and the service. Because the staff know guests' names, signing for charges isn't necessary, including at the excellent Meso-American restaurant Sal y Fuego. Among the myriad spa services is a temazcalli ceremony, a traditional cleansing ritual inside a Mayan pyramid on the grounds.
When to go: December through March.
Which room to book: An ocean-view garden cottage or, for groups, a four-bedroom private house with its own pool (doubles, $350–$525).
Amenities:
24-hour Room Service,
Bar/lounge,
Beach,
Pool,
Spa
Information may have changed since date of publication. Please confirm details with individual establishments before planning your trip.
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