Recommend November 2017 - 25

For the Eye on the World:
La Coleccion in Cancun, skip on
over to recommend.com.

While enjoying the resort's myriad
amenities, I bumped into a guest who's been
to the resort 11 times, and I asked him why
so many visits. "The biggest attraction is
the staff," he said. "The other reasons are
the incredible service, the location, the
spa environment. I spent 20 years in hotel
management, so I know the business and am
very particular." Rates for a Deluxe Ocean
View are $335 pp per night in high season.

Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancun
Over at this all-inclusive, family-friendly,
576-room and 26-suite oceanfront resort,
which has undergone extensive renovations,
it's a different party altogether. During our
tour of the property, the resort's sales director,
Israel Ortiz, noted, "We try to go above and
beyond with the Mexican folkloric touches."
There's even a life-size traditional Mexican
doll in the lobby that guests are encouraged to
take a selfie with. The Mexican style can be
felt throughout-from the Mexican movies
being screened outside the El Mexicano
restaurant (the resort has nine restaurants),
to the El Cielito cantina featuring posters
paying homage to the country's famed sport,
lucha libre. Dining at El Mexicano is a must,
but for lunch, recommend La Panaderia, with
its typical Mexican antojitos. "This property
is a Mexican icon," said Ortiz. "We offer a
range of Mexican activities, too," he noted,
"including margarita-making classes, making
typical handicrafts with the kids, and by
the pool El Santo [one of lucha libre's most
famous wrestlers] hands out ice cream to the
kids. It's the unexpected things." Rates for a
Premium Ocean View are $235 pp per night in
high season.

Grand Fiesta Americana
Coral Beach Cancun
Speaking of the unexpected, after visiting
Live Aqua and Condesa, I didn't know
what type of property I would walk into
at Coral Beach. It, too, was a completely
different setting from the others, with a
grand lobby that welcomed me with ornate
statues and extravagant flower arrangements.
This oceanfront resort offers 602 all-suite
accommodations, each with a private terrace
facing the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
"We have always been a bit of a star for
our hotel company," said the director of
public relations Erika Mitzunaga while we
walked the resort's stately halls. "And it's
our location that is the main selling point."
Those properties that staked their claim
on the beachfront first, she noted, "got the
best spots, and we've been here 26 years."
The resort faces Isla Mujeres, "so the water
is very calm," she added. The hotel is also

in the heart of Cancun, with easy access to its
restaurants and nightlife.
Mitzunaga showed me the hotel's beautiful
French restaurant Le Basilic-one of only seven
restaurants in the country to be bestowed five
diamonds by AAA-but it was the new goingson at La Joya, with its haute Mexican cuisine,
that really took my breath away. The restaurant
has just launched a video mapping experience
that will take diners through the history of
Mexico's Yucatan region, starting from the
dinosaur age, all accompanied by a singular
menu. "Diners are going to be able to savor the
destination's history," said Mitzunaga.
Something else that blew me away at Coral
Beach Cancun? Its Gem Spa, one of just two
spas in Cancun to be garnered four stars by
Forbes. Each treatment begins with a 10-step,
spa attendant-guided hydrotherapy ritual. I
spent a half-day at the spa enjoying this ritual,
which includes dry and wet saunas, a cold
room, jacuzzis of varying degrees and a wet rock
trail for massaging the feet. You think it's over
and then the attendant guides you to the Pool
of Sensations for relieving muscular tensions-
and then guests receive their treatment. I
had a Thai spa therapist provide me with the
Traditional Thai Massage, and it was one of the
best massages this writer has ever experienced.
EP rates for a Jr. Suite Ocean View in low season
are $231, plus 19 percent tax and a $25 resort
fee per night per suite.
With one visit to Cancun, I had
experienced a trio of delights at three very
distinct properties. ■
Contact Information
La Coleccion Resorts: lacoleccionresorts.com

Opposite page: Poolside at Live Aqua. This page: Gem Spa at Coral Beach (top);
and K'ambu restaurant at Condesa Cancun (this photo).

november 2017 25
http://www.recommend.com http://www.lacoleccionresorts.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend November 2017
