One of the best luxury resorts along Mexico’s Riviera Maya recently unveiled a complete top-to-bottom revamp just in time for the busy holiday season.
Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Maya, reopened its doors in August. Set amongst 200 acres in the tropical jungle and against the secluded white sands of Mexico’s Caribbean coast, Maroma is the definition of a tranquil escape, a feeling that seeps in immediately upon arrival as one drives up a carefully designed driveway, shrouded in a thick canopy of trees, from the highway to the hotel. And while the resort does welcome families, the resort is noticeably peaceful and restful, aided by the lush foliage offering abundant shade over most terraces and pathways as well as four pools scattered around the estate.
The renovation project was overseen by London-based designer Tara Bernerd, with a focus on Mayan design, traditions, and culture at the forefront. The property now hosts 72 rooms, suites, and villas outfitted with a blend of local materials, artisanal patterns, and traditional craftsmanship. And there are new guest experiences rooted in Mayan culture and traditions, including cooking classes for learning the artisanal process of cooking corn and making tortillas by hand during the Nixtamal Journey as well as a sommelier-led tasting session exploring the multiple origins and methods behind tequila and mezcal.
Also central to the hotel’s commitment to Mayan traditions and culture is the sublime culinary program. The hotel has four dining options, including a new gastronomic restaurant, Woodend by Chef Curtis Stone, and Casa Mayor, spearheaded by Michelin-star and Mexican-born executive chef Daniel Camacho; both restaurants pride their menus on dishes made with locally and sustainably sourced seafood and produce.
But at the heart of the new Maroma is the new Guerlain spa, the French brand’s first in Latin America, in a newly renovated biophilic space. The new iteration of the spa also reflects Belmond’s new sustainability initiatives to further protect the endangered Melipona bees.
Melipona bees are fundamentally critical to the ecology of the Yucatan peninsula, but they are quickly vanishing, which would be fatal to the local ecosystem. As they gather pollen, Melipona bees interact with many unique flowering plants and tall forest trees in the area, particularly those of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, but especially the vanilla orchid. They are one of the flower’s very few pollinators, and are one of the reasons vanilla was cultivated exclusively in Mexico for centuries. Attempts at getting the orchid to produce fruit elsewhere initially proved unsuccessful, and to this day, vanilla grown outside of Central America must be pollinated by hand, driving up the production costs by approximately 40%.
Tragically, the number of Melipona bee hives hase declined by more than 90% in the Yucatan over the last 30 years. There are an increasing number of conservation efforts across the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, where the Riviera Maya is located, including the one led at Maroma now.
In partnership with Guerlain, Maroma plans to expand resident hives on the property (along with the hiring of more beekeepers), unveil a new Melipona sanctuary for educational guest experiences, and introduce Guerlain’s Bee School and “Women for Bees” initiatives into Yucatán communities. The diminutive size of Melipona bees, with a stingless physiology and docile nature, also make them a beekeeper’s dream, with many valuing these particular creatures as both pets and as worker bees.
Within the spa, guests can choose from a variety of different massage and facial treatments, among other offerings, but the signature bee healing ritual is unlike any other. Approximately two hours, the enveloping experience consists of full body (including scalp) and facial exfoliation with Guerlain’s honey-based Abeille Royale skincare products, renowned for their effective soothing and regenerative effects.
While many Belmond hotels and experiences have spa and wellness facilities, none are quite like the other, and that’s reflective of the LVMH-owned brand at large, says Marisol Ledesma, communications manager for the Maroma. Belmond doesn’t refer to itself as a “chain” but rather a collection of several dozen experiences around the world—which include hotels, safaris, and overnight train journeys—as no two properties are identical. The Maroma is one of only two Belmond-owned properties in Mexico, the other being Casa de Sierra Nevada in San Miguel de Allende.
Room rates start at $1,695 per night for a deluxe guest room with a garden view.