Carved from jungle that meets the Caribbean at one of the Yucatán Peninsula's last undeveloped stretches of coastline, Maroma has operated as a singular kind of refuge since its founding by American expat José Luis Morales in the 1970s — long before the Riviera Maya became a byword for resort tourism. The property, now part of the Belmond collection and recently reimagined by Mexico City-based designer Paulina Dosal, spreads across 25 acres of protected jungle in low-slung white-plastered structures whose palapa roofs, visible from the air as a scatter of thatched cones above the canopy, keep the architecture in quiet conversation with its surroundings rather than imposing on them. Dosal's renovation deepened the property's Mexican vernacular rather than replacing it. The 72 rooms and suites are grounded in hand-painted encaustic cement tiles — their ochre, chocolate, and ivory geometric patterns drawn from traditional Mexican craft traditions — set against white-washed walls and warm walnut millwork with cane insets. Textile-hung tapestries in bold Rufino Tamayo-influenced graphics anchor the headboards, while turned-wood lamps and mid-century inspired nightstands give each room the feeling of a well-loved house rather than a managed hotel interior. In the restaurant, exposed timber-beam ceilings and woven rattan pendant lights frame a room that opens toward the palms and sea, the curved plaster banquette at its centre tiled in blue-and-white geometric patterns that echo the Talavera tradition.

30min drive from Cancun airport (CUN)

No description provided yet.