Mexico’s Riviera Maya is chock full of bombastic resorts with massive footprints and gimmicky attractions. Xcaret’s boutique offering, Casa de la Playa, is the exception. The 63 key, adults-only accommodation tucks away along the northern edge of the multi-pronged resort’s expansive campus and on the other side, untouched jungle. Its circuitously tiered structure makes the most of unencumbered Caribbean Sea views.
The meticulously “crafted” eco-integrative hotel—a deft mix of roughly hewn natural materials sourced from the site and uniform industrial components—forms as a fluid matrix of indoor and outdoor spaces, hugging a coastal cliff and embedding below its idiosyncratic formation. Designed by award-winning architect David Quintana, the carefully sited hotel nods to the climate-responsive spatial distribution of tropical Modernism and the colorful geometry of oh so influential Mexican architect Luis Barragán.
On offer: several Michelin-Star fusion-cuisine restaurants; a subterranean wine cellar with impressive local selection; a self-service tequila and mezcal bar with even more range; a comprehensive multi-level spa; a 130 foot infinity pool that juts out of the water; and series of yachts at the ready for special request excursions along the coast and over to Cozumel. The kicker: the sizable suites—not just furnished with private Caribbean-facing pools and rock-hewn bathtubs—feature bedside aquariums with jellyfish. The level of attention from staff—personal butlers and others—is unmatched and yet tempered.
These accommodations, distributed on three stories and divided by massive “white earth” sascab stone fortifications, are accessed by a series of rectilinear concrete tunnels pitched at split level. Regional sourced wood and red brick inserts create a striking contrast. Certain ceilings are rendered in a collage of sequenced branches.
The constant presence of especially verdant native plants cropping across the semi-indoor, semi-outdoor spaces is an added touch of grounding as is the meticulous collection of bespoke Mexican furniture and art—much of which was crafted in the surrounding Quintana Roo region. The total composition is a feast of visual and visceral contrast, emphasized only by the turquoise sea emerging below. Though eclectic and bold, this confluence of texture and detail feels cohesive, it imbues each public and private space with a rooted, calming effect.
While Xal—helmed by celebrity chef Andoni Luis Aduriz—uncovers the unexpected “global south” culinary connections between Mexico, Basque country, and the Philippines, equally famed Martha Ortiz’s Tuch de Luna serves up local staples in a relaxed eatery setting. Nestled along an interior courtyard that seems to have been extracted from the bustling streets of Mexico City, the Lumbre/Centil restaurant has a chameleon-like decor. A suite of custom furnishings easily changes over each night to reflect the respective haunt’s distinctive Northern and Southern Mexican menus. Here, wood spindle barstools flip over and become low-slung dining chairs and the previously mentioned red brick forms in a particularly patterned three-dimensional wall.
Like in these various restaurants, the Muluk Spa—replete with massage cabins, salt rooms, mud rooms, saunas, steam rooms, and more—utilizes as much locally sourced ingredients as possible.
What: Casa de la Playa
Where: Playa del Carmen, Mexico
How much: $1,736 per night
Design draws: An eco-integrative boutique hotel bold crafted out of locally sourced materials, set along Mexico’s Caribbean coast, and features an extensive offer of hyper-refine culinary experiences.
Book it: Casa de la Playa
Photography courtesy Casa de la Playa.
