Maroma: Less than 30 minutes from Cancun, but what a difference...
Written: Nov 09 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful and secluded hideaway. Extraordinary service and food; friendly staff.
Cons: Very expensive - rooms start at $375 per night. Restaurant service can be slow.
The Bottom Line: For a taste of romantic Mexico away from the madding crowds of Cancun, look no further than Maroma. Request a room in the main building if you can afford it.
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| kboo's Full Review: Hotel Maroma |
I knew we were in for a different experience when our transportation to Maroma showed up. We had just spent 5 days at spa resort on the Riviera Maya (the stretch of coastline on the Yucatan Peninsula that goes south from Cancun toward Tulum). Punctual to the minute, this brand new, top-of-the line Ford Expedition was a far cry from the typical resort-logo'd minivan.
OVERVIEW
Maroma started as a private hideaway on one of the most beautiful beaches in Mexico. (I'm sorry, but you will have to stay at the resort to read the full story, but it is like a fairy tale.) In the fall of 2002, Maroma became affiliated with Orient-Express Hotels and began its expansion from 30 rooms to about 58 rooms. The resort itself occupies only about 100 acres of a 1000 acre nature preserve, so that even though you're only a 30-minute drive from the hustle and bustle of Cancun, you feel like you're in the middle of the jungle. It's only when you go for a walk along the beach that you see buildings and other resorts and homes.
The entrance to the resort is an unmarked dirt drive that is easy to miss even in broad daylight. For that reason alone, I recommend taking advantage of their complimentary pickup and dropoff service. (It also doesn't hurt to enjoy the fancy car with the stereo blasting classical music - an odd touch - to get in the mood of being pampered.) After passing two sets of gates we began our drive into the jungle. In a few minutes we really appreciated the brand new shock absorbers in the Expedition. If this had been a minivan, we would have knocked heads a few times already!
Finally, the car pulled up to a turnaround, with a burbling fountain in a reflecting pool with Mayan-style carvings. The "hospitality areas" opened with a thatch roof portico framing lush jungle greenery that in turn framed a perfect slice of the turquoise water beyond.
(Later, upon walking through the resort, I realized that I was looking through a large section of the grounds, over the pool and in turn through a perfectly placed archway of the main building, a carefully aligned little tunnel view about 1/4 mile long.) Some of the hotel staff, dressed in traditional Mexican garb (the women in white peasant-style dresses with colorful sashes, the men in loose fitting pants and white shirts), came up to greet us.
Margaritas in hand, we were taken into the courtyard and seated at a patio table where we filled out a few forms. I sipped on my [very strong] margarita and eyed the macaw that lived in the foliage nearby. All of the nearby, low slung buildings were made of white stucco and roofed with clay tiles. Some of the gardenview rooms were visible here, and all had private patios with decorative mexican tile and colorful woven hammocks.
The original part of the complex includes the main building that has been expanded in different directions over the years, and some low-slung garden view rooms clustered around the a courtyard full of mature jungle plantings. The macaw lives in this courtyard, and the oldest pool in the complex is also here, surrounded by a thick lawn, teak lounge chairs, and canvas umbrellas.
The bar, restaurant, library and auditorium are also located in this section.
Maroma has recently completed a major expansion to the south, nearly doubling the resort's size. It's also added a gym and workout room, two pools, and a few 2-4 bedroom villas. There is also a smaller bar at this end of the resort. We didn't even find the new annex until our last day at the resort, when we were walking along the beach and saw a low cluster of buildings that looked just like Maroma and were too close to be part of another resort.
THE ROOMS
The charm of the main building lies in its history and the unusual layout. Terra cotta-tiled hallways lead to secret seating nooks. Although the building looks hapazardly laid out, each secret nook is designed to take advantage of another fabulous view.
The bathroom in our corner oceanfront room (#22) on the third floor was a prime example of this design. The irregularly shaped shower tub combination, covered with blue and yellow handpainted tiles, had an oval cutout window in it. While standing in the shower, it was slightly below eye level, resulting in what I thought was an extremely exposed view of the showering person's torso.
(Note to the modest: the shower/tubs in these bathrooms do not have shower curtains or doors on them, so you're open to the rest of the bathroom. The little window had a wicker/bamboo privacy shutter that could be closed if showering at night.)
It wasn't until I was seated at the toilet that I understood the placement of the window... it framed Punta Maroma ("Maroma Point"), a heavenly juncture of turquoise sea, cobalt sky, creamy sand, and the lush green jungle, and skillfully excluded any sign of human building or intervention.
The 12-foot ceilings and walls were gently rounded stucco, and french doors to our small balcony occupied the entire east wall of the room. The balcony had a macrame rope seat/swing tied to an overhead support beam made of a rough hewn log (At least the main building is constructed primarily of natural materials found on site.) The built-in sofa bench also faces down the beach, toward Punta Maroma.
The king sized bed, covered with a woven white spread, faced the south windows that opened onto a vista of green jungle, bougainvillea, rounded arches of white stucco (the hotel's new addition) and more water (Punta Maroma).
Other rooms have private and shared balconies with hammocks, rope chairs, and chaises. Another nice touch is the aromatherapy diffusers that are lit as part of the turndown service - I suspect they also help keep the bugs away. (Although the pictures on the hotel's website show mosquito netting on the beds, this was cosmetic. We slept with windows open and no mosquito netting, and had no problems at all.)
The rooms have no TVs and no AC (I think the new wing has some air conditioned rooms, if that's important to you. I never needed it.) Caution - the terra cotta tiles can be very slippery, especially when wet.
OTHER FACILITIES
Beach
The beach at Maroma was recently listed in one of the Travel Channel's top 10 (but Travel Channel top 10s everything to death, so make of that what you will.) The calm, even waves (about 1-2 feet in January), steady breezes and soft sandy bottom make for excellent splashing, swimming and kiteboarding, but are not as good for bodysurfing or snorkeling. (The beach is calmed by the presence of reefs offshore: good locations for snorkeling and scuba but not close enough to swim to. The resort runs a daily free snorkel trip.)
As if the wide sandy beach and warm turquoise waters were not enough, Maroma makes your lounging experience pure pampering. Thatch-roofed palapas (like permanent beach umbrellas) cover teak lounge chairs with blue canvas cushions, and of course the oversized towels are always available. Colorful woven fabric flags are tilted at an angle behind each palapa. If you need anything - food, water, more towels, you need only stand the flag upright and someone will magically appear to fulfill your request. Periodically, they will also just walk around offering fruit juice and fresh fruit skewers just for snacks.
Restaurant
If your only experience with Mexican food has been the oily fast-food version at Taco Bell, you will be in for a treat. The restaurant at Maroma has some of the best food I have eaten in Mexico, but it comes at a price. Dinner is a more formal affair, served in the candlelit dining room facing the ocean. The furniture is dark, heavy wood with more colorful woven and embroidered cloths on the tables. Prices are in U.S. dollars (and then you will be charged the equivalent pesos based on that day's exchange rate), and a la carte entrees start at $20.
We took advantage of two special buffet dinners while we were at Maroma. The first was a "taco buffet" ($30 pp) that forever erases all those bad memories of high school cafeteria and college dorm dining hall "build your own taco" nights. No greasy, lukewarm salty ground beef here. The soft corn tortillas were being rolled and grilled by a wizened mamacita, and they were a delight to eat just plain. Guacamole, pico de gallo and salsas were fresh (and some were very spicy!) and cool. The fillings were out of this world. In addition to chicken, strips of beef, and grilled vegetables, there was also shrimp and strips of grilled fish. When I got too stuffed to eat a full taco, I still munched slowly on strips of tortilla hot off the griddle that tasted of sweet corn.
The other buffet was an eye-popping $98 per person, but again it was worth every penny. Arranged as a circuitous mixed grill, the salad options alone would have satisfied most gourmands: grilled marinated octopus and conch, jicama and tomato slaw, tropical fruits, cactus leaves that reminded me of okra, to name only a few. I almost ate too much to save room for the main course of grilled meats: filet mignon, marinated chicken, whole red snapper, marinated pork chops, and whole langoustes (spiny lobster) split down the middle.
The room rates include coffee and juice service to your room in the morning, as well as a full sit-down breakfast in the restaurant or on the beach terrace. Unlike many hotels' "free" breakfasts, the Maroma breakfast is an event that can easily take 2 hours. First, you are offered an assortment of fresh juices (even if you had juice in your room beforehand). In addition to the usual orange, grapefruit and pineapple (all fresh-squeezed, of course), there is also a rotating selection of fresh mango, papaya, and watermelon. Then you are offered fresh fruit -- melon, berries, mango, papaya, pineapple, star fruit -- and pastries -- croissants, brioches, pains au chocolat, danishes, muffins -- as your juice and coffee are refilled. Only after the fruit-and-pastry ritual do you get your main course, a selection of pancakes and egg dishes with a decidedly Mexican flair, like eggs coddled in a corn chip "basket" with peppers and onions, or huevos rancheros with a tangy hot pepper sauce and more fresh corn tortillas.
With all this food, I thought I should try to work out a little. Maroma does have a gym in its new addition, with Nautilus, rowing machines, treadmills, and a view of the beach. But it seems silly to work out in the gym when the beach and all its activities are there. Needless to say, the gym was empty when I poked my head in. Dr. kboo and I did, however, do some laps in the newest outdoor pool. Then we decided we needed to jump into every pool on the property (there are 4) just to say we'd done it. The 2 newest pools near the addition have large straw mats and pillows, but little shade. The original pool in the main complex is shaded with mature palms and has teak lounge chairs and soft springy grass surrounding it - but it's also the most popular. If you want to have a pool to yourself, go to the new section.
Maroma also has Temazcal, a Mayan-inspired spa ritual where you sit in a clay pyramid on the beach and get steamed to oblivion. Temazcal is to Mexico as luaus are to Hawaii, it seems. The ritual begins at sunset and consumes several hours. We were too busy stuffing our faces at dinner. We'll have to do it next time...
SERVICE
Service was also magical. My only complaint was that service in the restaurant was a little slow. Everything always arrived when it was supposed to, and the orders were always correct -- everything just took a little longer than I'm used to. (Now before you start jumping on this review, calling me an ignorant American tourist and making a case for slow food, please be reminded that I am officially known as The World's Slowest Eater. I am the tortoise of slow food. I have opened -- and closed -- restaurant dining rooms in the same night.) In any event, I didn't mind the slow service much since the setting was so beautiful and the company so romantic.
Little touches, like the aromatherapy burners lit at turndown, the welcome margarita, and the snacks and treats on the beach, worked together to produce a seamless, unobtrusive whole. The staff, always smiling, projected a sense of peace and calm and above all, competence. During the check-in process, our bags were taken from the car to our rooms without us even seeing the process: when we arrived at the front archway, we were immediately greeted and handed drinks. We were then shown to a small table on the patio with a view of dense jungle with the ocean beyond. The resort's tame parrot entertained us as we filled in the minimal check-in paperwork. One of the greeters took us on a quick tour of the original hotel building, showing us the bar, restaurant, library, auditorium and water sports kiosks. We were also shown numerous hidden nooks that were perfect for stargazing, watching the beach, or just cuddling - around a curve of stucco wall, up a short flight of terra cotta steps - that we would not have found on our own. Our tour finished in our room, which, as described above, was a corner oceanfront room that we had not reserved.
And this takes me to the most telling aspect of the resort's service: we had reserved a garden view room -- at $375, the least expensive rooms in the hotel. We were taken to one of the premium rooms, that normally costs around $700 per night. We asked if there was some mistake, since we had certainly not booked an oceanview room, and were told it was not. At check out, we learned that it was, indeed, the hotel's error, and our initial bill was double what we expected to pay. But when we told the staff what had happened, they immediately admitted that it had been their mistake, and charged us (only) for a garden view room.
I have to admit, now that I've stayed in the premium rooms in the old building, I think I'm spoiled for anything else. In the evenings, votive candles lined the walkways and steps of the original building, as strolling musicians serenaded us from the darkness.
TRAVEL TIPS
As you can see, I'm rather ambivalent about the new addition. The older section of the hotel has mature plants and had expanded haphazardly. But that was part of the charm - the hidden spaces, the paths leading to new views and secluded nooks.
You'll need at least 3 nights at Maroma to settle into the rhythms of the place, more if you plan on taking trips to Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Cancun, or Chichen Itza.
No matter how active a traveler you are, spend at least one day just hanging around the resort and the beach, doing nothing. You'll feel like a different person.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kboo
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 130
Trusted by: 283 members
About Me:
De-fezzed in two topics. Ask me if I care. Hey, what happened to my picture?
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