Are you sure you’re in good enough shape to relax?
With the summer season just upon us, it’s time to prepare your vacation regimen and because “practice makes perfect,” Marriott hotels are offering “Return of the Vacation” travel packages devised to smooth the transition between work and play. Long weekends at each of their side-by-side properties in Cancun are designed to provide the perfect “training” for doing simply nothing but luxuriating.
Originally a single hotel with two wings situated midway along the stretch of pristine beach which is Cancun’s renowned natural attraction, the Twin Bridges Marriott separated around twelve years ago into the elegantly casual CasaMagna and the somewhat more dignified JW Marriott Resort, two side-by-side entities still connected by an elevated bridge which passes a mammoth ballroom.
Severely damaged six years ago by Hurricane Wilma, both hotels were closed for almost a year of refurbishment. Currently, both boast beige marble walls and geometric marble floors with huge windows overlooking elaborate palm tree landscapes and the almost unbelievable blue of the sea.
Arriving to sample each hotel, I was fetched at the airport and whisked fifteen minutes away to check into the CasaMagna Marriott. All stone columns, marble domes and arches, spacious halls, its entry doors open to reveal a breathtaking view past palm trees and the pool to the bright blue of the Caribbean beyond.
A king-size bed was the focus of a spacious very comfortable room. Doors at the balcony were screened with sheer curtains so that by leaving them open fluttering in the wind I could listen all night to the soothing flow of the ocean waves.
Those who have trouble winding down can ease into idleness by taking a ferry over to nearby Isla Mujures to visit a crafts market and enjoy lunch on the beach. Alternatively an excursion to the local museum a mile or so south of the hotel offers fascinating and instructive archaeological exhibits. Customarily I would have thrown myself into those extracurricular activities, but not this time. Instructions were to override compulsion and simply chill out.
Pre-dinner margaritas in the lobby bar led to dinner downstairs in to the cavernous La Capilla Restaurant. Argentine in theme it specializes in steaks and seafood and a notable delicious lobster crepe appetizer. But the piece de resistance is a huge crescent salad bar laid out with enough choices to serve as a meal in itself. An array of cheeses, cold cuts, breads and cold vegetables, it was a challenge to leave room for the surf and turf entree—a combination of the establishment’s strong points served with little cups of three different sauces. Winding up with desserts as artistic as they were delicious, I went back to my room, slid open the doors and fell asleep to the lull of the waves.
The next morning La Capilla was transformed into the venue for the breakfast buffet with the daylight revealing its clay red walls, and huge dome skylight overhead flooding light onto the salad bar, now an extravaganza of a morning menu: the standard eggs, made-to-order omelets, bacon—plus 19 types of bread (including three versions of donuts), grated coconut and sundried papaya among 12 types of dried fruit, huevos rancheros, quesadillas, chicken in Yucatan pibil sauce, fried rice and miso soup, tropical fruit smoothies—an international array of choices.
After breakfast I went up to my room and packed! Yes, packed in order to check out and move next door.
With equally lovely views the five diamond JW Marriott resort next door feels a little bit more formal and refined. This time I had a spacious room on the 12th floor, all outfitted with lots of drawers, a robe and slippers, a full tray of mini-bar temptations. I positioned the desk so that I could keep an eye on the large flat screen TV while I still had a view of the beach. There were two chairs and a table on the spacious balcony with a view that stretched all the way down the shore. Returning back to my room that afternoon I discovered a delightful elephant the housekeeper had “sculpted” out of a terrycloth towel.
Following instructions not to overly exert, I opted out of parasailing and merely lounged at the beach, sipping pina coladas, and rotating dips in the sea, the meandering swimming pool, and the relaxing outdoor Jacuzzi.
Mid-afternoon I adjourned to the Mayan theme spa on the JW’s fourth floor. In a 90 minute deep cleansing facial the technician exfoliated, massaged, and steamed my face and included a stimulating foot massage. Cleansed and pampered, I stayed behind and tried out the spa’s plunge pool, sauna, steam room and giant jacuzzi.
Dinner was preceded by a tequila tasting in the JW Lobby Bar.
An instructor from the Tequila Museum taught us the differences among plain less expensive tequila blanco and the slightly more refined silver/plata. A notch above are the golden versions aged in old bourbon barrels to enhance their flavors. We were taught how to taste the samples: first swirl the liquor in the glass, a faint oily residue should stay behind on the side. Then inhale the essence of the liquor and put a small sip your tongue. Inhale and exhale before swallowing to release the full essence of the liquor.
Proceeding to dinner we walked into Gustino’s Restaurant and encountered an extraordinary room centerpiece, candles, thousands of them were assembled in a giant luminous central display.
Starting with a strawberry martini I ordered a delicious shrimp crepe filled with a chunk of lobster. All the food was presented in elaborate arrangements and tasted amazing.
Still another wonderful breakfast buffet the next morning featured fresh smoothies and an array of fresh cut fruits.
Again the prescribed in-activity was to spend the day lounging at the beach. Renting one of the comfortable beachside beds we chatted, sunned, sipped Mimosas and Mai Tais in front of the amazing blue sea snacking on flautas and beach walk salads delivered by the cheerful waiter.
Later in the afternoon we mustered ourselves for a little exploring with a guide who took us to rub elbows with the locals. Driven to the center of the city, beyond the Hotel Zone, we shopped for handicrafts at Mercado 28 x (I bought a folding wooden flamingo fruit bowl for my sister), amusing baby onesies and colorful flower embroidered tee shirts.
At El Parque in the center of town couples were dancing to an outdoor band, children were driving loops and circles in little mini-automobiles and colorful vendor wagons were selling more crafts and snacks.
We sampled cheese ice cream and wickedly delicious EsQuites—cups of corn mixed with mayonnaise and cheese! After walking past the ultra modern City Hall we looked in on the crowded mass being held at a very contemporary church.
For the grand finale we stopped by La Habichuela Sunset Restaurant with its elaborate serpent stair rail and balmy outdoor seating.
As the sun went down I sampled Mayan based cuisine TikinXic, a delicious grilled fish marinated in a sour orange sauce and cooked in a banana leaf over an open flame. Dessert was strawberries and bananas which the waiter flambéed in an elaborate ceremony and then he flambéed the coffee as he poured blue flames back and forth between pitchers.
Available until the end of the year, “Return of the Vacation” packages cost $189 per day at CasaMagna and $269 per day at the JW Marriott. Each package includes the deluxe accommodations plus daily credits of $50 for beverages and $50 to apply to the restaurant or spa. Daily WiFi is included as well, but once you’ve mastered the techniques of relaxing you aren’t apt to want to expend the energy to type.
Use the Promotional code ES7 when booking through www.cassaamagnacancun.com or www.jwmarriottcancun.com or by dialing 1-800-228-9290.
