Soak up the Sun
Nueva Vida de Ramiro, Tulum, Mexico
I'm something of a high-maintenance traveler. In my book, a good trip begins with limo pickup from the airport and includes dinners at swanky restaurants, daily spa treatments and air conditioning cranked to high. So imagine my surprise when I fell helplessly in love with the rustic Riviera Maya outpost of Tulum, Mexico, and the decidedly homespun digs I found there at Nueva Vida de Ramiro.
Only ninety minutes' drive south from Cancún, Tulum is where the Caribbean vacation is distilled to its easygoing essentials: pristine beaches, inexpensive accommodations, casual seafront restaurants and a live-and-let-lounge vibe. Powered entirely by generators supplemented by solar and wind energy, Nueva Vida, like most hotels in this sleepy, off-the-grid boondocks, has no hot water and no in-room phone, TV or Internet. Cancún-based architect Oscar Ortiz and his wife, Gea, opened the eco-resort 11 years ago and have created a low-frills getaway where rest and relaxation are the top priorities. "This is a place to do nothing," the irrepressibly vivacious Ortiz told me proudly. "Come here and get lazy; just eat, sleep, read and scratch."
His beachfront hotel encourages languor with 21 breeze-filled, sea-facing bungalows set amid a sandy garden studded with native shrubs and spindly coconut palms. My second-story room in the hotel's new Corazon area was simply furnished with traditional Mexican pieces, vibrant local art, a canopied bed, and indoor and outdoor showers. At night I was lulled to sleep by cool winds and the whisper of the surf through French doors wantonly thrown open to the elements.
Surprisingly quickly, I downshifted and learned to do what the locals do: to take the day as it comes. Sunny skies invited carefree hours on bone-white sands lapped by turquoise waters, and afternoon thunderstorms were simply an opportunity to linger longer over a lunchtime cerveza. I followed Ortiz's sage instructions to the letter (save for the scratching), interrupting my sloth only for a succession of delectable meals.
On my first night in town, I discovered the piquant pleasures of sopa de lima (lime broth with chicken and tortilla strips) at Nueva Vida's palapa-roof restaurant, Casa Banana. Farther down the strip, at la Zebra Beach Cantina y Cabanas, I sipped a mojito as a newlywed English couple
oohed and aahed over the postcard-perfect seaside vista. But it was at Zamas' Que Fresco restaurant, where crayon-colored tables and chairs were strewn casually along the sand beneath a palapa roof, that I found my bliss. Was it the sea air, the chilled-out setting or my so-relaxed-I-might-slip-into-a-coma state of mind that made the seafood quesadilla taste so heavenly and my chelada (beer with lime, served in a salt-rimmed glass) slip down so easily?
Don't tell Ortiz, but I did venture beyond the beach for a few hours. Tulum is divided into two areas: the six-mile seaside hotel zone and the town center, or centro, which borders both sides of the main drag, Highway 307. Lined with a hodgepodge of bars and restaurants, souvenir stores, tour companies and fruit stalls, the pueblo is light on charm but heavy on local flavor, best sampled at one of the many cantinas that line the sidewalk, where you can sip a margarita to the strains of a roving three-piece band. Snorkeling in the cool, crystalline waters of nearby Gran Cenote was a refreshing break on a sweltering day, and I certainly couldn't leave without touring the town's star attraction, the Maya ruins. The compact compound is well worth the hour or so it takes to navigate its three main structures, but after running the gauntlet of vendors and taxi drivers in the strip mall at the entrance, I craved the peace and tranquility of my hotel-zone haven.
As a traveler with a taste for luxe amenities, I'd never have imagined that I could enjoy a hotel that didn't offer air conditioning or hot water, never mind niceties like turndown service. But Nueva Vida made me a believer. In this simple yet satisfying oasis, where dressing for dinner means slipping on a pair of flip-flops, less is most definitely more.
From $115 per night in low season ($178 high). 984-877-8512; tulumnv.com
Choose Your Next Heart's Desire:
Three More Beachy Getaways
Enjoy life's simple pleasures in the cozy cottages beachfront at Manchioneel Bay on this surprisingly affordable private Virgin, a 35-minute ferry ride from Tortola. From $549 for a seven-night package in low season ($919 high). 800-542-4624; cooper-island.com
At this low-key and intimate old-school retreat, 33 colorful, hillside cabins on stilts have outdoor showers, ocean-view porches and the secluded crescent at Anse Cochon all to themselves. From $190 in low season ($280 high). 758-456-8101; tikaye.com
Stella Maris Resort Club, Bahamas
Snorkel, fish or dive at this casual Long Island oasis, where 32 rooms and villas are nestled in a beachfront palm grove. From $145 in low season ($160 high). 800-426-0466; stellamarisresort.com
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