And Esencia, in its tucked-away bird-and-plant-filled jungle setting, gives glorious respite. It’s hard to reconcile haute-hippy Tulum with the hang-your-hammock gap-year territory it once was, with upcycled kaftans commanding huge price tags and legendary queues at Hartwood restaurant. A thoughtful pre-breakfast treat of coffee and pastries is left outside the door every morning in a box, to thwart avian visitors.Īt Mistura restaurant, dishes are on-trend for the avo-loving wellness generation – sea-bass ceviche with habanero sauce packs a punch. Villas have a plunge pool in their garden, and terraces in all rooms provide a spot for parents to sit at night drinking in the sounds of the waves over a spiced mezcal Margarita larger troupes should nab the three-bedroom Yum-Ha private house. Bedrooms are minimalist with flashes of geometric colour – like a monk has had a spending spree in Hermès. The main mansion is filled with art, with pieces by Picasso, Fernando Botero and Eduardo Santiere the beach is pristine (when the seasonal seaweed storms relent) and there are two pools for everyone to spread out. But while a feeling of myth and natural wonder prevails at this fairly low key, feet-in-the-sand set-up, poolside sarongs are still by Chanel. A palo-santo-waving shaman presides over the spa, making potions out of Yucatán lime and hibiscus – a must for budding botanists. Baby sea turtles wriggle in the sand at dusk, waiting to be returned to the water – a thrill for inquisitive marine biologists. In 2014 Hollywood entrepreneur turned property mogul Kevin Wendle fell for the whitewashed hacienda and cotton-soft Xpu-Ha beach and turned it into one of Mexico’s loveliest places to stay. This former home of Italian duchess Rosa de Ferrari is spirited away down a dusty path off the road between Cancún and Tulum.
As a sure-fire winter-sun hotspot or a meet-in-the-middle gathering space for families who are spread out globally, this feels smart indeed. At the kids’ club, youngsters can watch footage from cameras hidden in the nests of oriental pied hornbills.
A cheeky macaque monkey might slide down a tree and sneak into the villa pool. The concept and its diagnostics have been adapted for those on holiday, though are still considerably more results-driven than the usual roster of anti-ageing facials and massages.Īnd yet, in the background, there is still a rawness to this jungle environment. Denial is not exactly part of the One&Only ethos, so here the offering is more like Chenot-lite. At his Italian flagship, programmes revolve around digestion analysis and nutrigenetic testing, broth fasts and mud baths. Henri Chenot is one of Europe’s most respected wellness figureheads and a pioneer of the medical-detox diet. In a clever chess move, the group has added the kind of heavy-hitting spa name that will draw expats from Hong Kong, Bangkok and Australia. As I ‘om’ at its seafront yoga pavilion, the place feels as remote as a private island. Here, 128 acres of wild flora surround a lick of beach and water that turns from a Thai turquoise in winter to a Caribbean cobalt in summer. It is a suitably theatrical architectural flourish on which the old master can bow out with pride. From the lobby, your gaze is channelled down a wide, steep stone staircase to a break in the treeline and a tantalising first glimpse of the South China Sea.
AND BEYOND KICHWA TEMBO WINDOWS
There are imposing triple-height pavilions with timber shutters, walls of windows and brushed-steel ceilings. This, his final play on a modern tropical aesthetic, is rooted to the location and draws on both the kampung, or village, vernacular and Malaysia’s black-and-white colonia-era mansions. Known for his fusion of cultural traditions and technical precision, Hill laid the foundations for a wildly copied contemporary style. This was one of the last projects from the late, great architect Kerry Hill, whose roll-call includes the sharp, striking Aman Tokyo and the jungly classic Datai Langkawi.
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