Amid the occasional chaos of Cancun, the city's JW Marriott and CasaMagna Marriott can offer a welcome dose of tranquility, as I learned during my hosted overnight stays at both properties last month.
Located on a more sedate stretch of the resort town's hotel zone, the adjoining Marriott properties offer enough diversions for those hoping for a little seclusion during their Cancun stay — particularly tempting given the pristine white sand and clear, blue Caribbean waters just steps away.
For its part, the 448-room JW Marriott Cancun Resort and Spa offers two bars and three restaurants (the Southwestern-themed Sedona Grill, the poolside BeachWalk and the AAA Four Diamond-rated Gustino, serving Italian/Mediterranean fare); a kids' club and a game room; and a shopping arcade offering souvenirs and sundries.
Treatments at its 35,000-square-foot spa take inspiration from the region's Mayan roots with offerings such as the Hunab Ku massage (traditional massage strokes combined with Mayan abdominal massage techniques) and Xux Ex Venus Goddess facial (mud from the Yucatan peninsula's Chicxulub crater blended with Mayan herbs).
Guests of the 450-room CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort will find their own on-property diversions, including five restaurants offering everything from Argentine-inspired steak and seafood at La Capilla to Thai cuisine at Sasi Thai, where I sampled an authentic pad see ew (wide rice noodles flavored with soy sauce).
As my stay coincided with a few of America's favorite pastimes — the opening rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, St. Patrick's Day and spring break — particularly popular during my visit was the Champions Sports Bar, with its 40 TV screens and menu of familiar bar grub, where jersey-clad guests and Jameson shots were the order of the day.
I had other plans, which involved going off property, and that was easy, too: Taxis are a mere bellhop's call away, and a stroll down to the hotel zone's Kukulcan Boulevard will enable guests to partake of Cancun's efficient, affordable bus system.
For $1, or 10.50 pesos, visitors can hop on to explore the northern end of the zone, lined with all-inclusives and the requisite resort-town diversions (Coco Bongo and Senor Frog's, a sampling of U.S. restaurant franchises and so on).
Or guests can stay on the bus and continue to downtown, which is how I spent a Saturday morning, fending off the persistent yet friendly souvenir vendors at the bustling Mercado 28.
(Tip: There's a Plaza 28 and a Market 28, but Mercado 28 is the largest and oldest. The good news is, they're all within a short walk of several bus stops and each other.)
Back at the CasaMagna, I relaxed in my oceanfront room with a king-size bed. The property recently completed a $25 million renovation of its rooms, which now exude a beach-chic vibe. (In mid-June, the JW Marriott Cancun will begin a six-month room renovation.)
After the morning's bus rides and haggling, it was the perfect way to decompress.
Nightly rates at the JW Marriott Cancun begin at $279; rates at the CasaMagna Marriott begin at $189. For more information, visit www.jwmarriottcancun.com and www.casamagnacancun.com.