The middle of the lobby and its Banyan Tree and a bedroom shot

Back from Banyan

by Kelly Hushin Email this blog to a colleague

T hanks to the Brandman Agency and Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, a few lucky journalists (myself included) were invited to stay a few days at the brand’s first North American property, The Banyan Tree Mayakoba, which opened at the beginning of March in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico.

With Mexico getting such a bad rap lately for various reasons that need not be repeated, I wanted to take a moment to share a few of the trip’s highlights and remind everyone that the country is not only beautiful but rich in culture and true-blue hospitality.

With only 132 villas, the Banyan Tree Mayakoba’s size skirts the line between boutique and resort; able to offer hints of service that characterize your typical lifestyle hotel. A few examples of the delightfully over-the-top touches: your own bike to ride where you please, sinks that look like they’ve been excavated from Mayan temples, and get this – an outdoor bath tub. Not hot tub – bath tub. Complete with candle wall and utter privacy.

Despite all the luxury amenities, it’s really the merging of hospitable Thai and Mexican cultures that make this spot one to visit...perhaps when your fear of swine flu subsides. The Banyan Tree is an established luxury resort brand in Asia and Europe, and is now stepping into the American market and boasting a Thai-inspired design sense and hospitality like none I’ve seen in my travels and online hotel voyeurism. (An objective, not "blogger-who-just-came-back-from-paradise" story about the hotel's design is to come in the International Issue of boutique DESIGN.)

In addition to exploring all the restaurants (Saffron, Tamarind, Oriente, Sands), boating through the resort's canals and indulging in a three-hour Thai massage treatment, we also left the grounds to explore some of the historic Mayan ruins in the area. Climbing temples, zip-lining, canoe-ing and cenote-swimming (that's the Spanish word for fresh water swimming holes) proved that this area of the world is not one to be visited only to waste away under the sun on a beach. It's got roots - and its intrigue is centuries old.

While I’m happy to be back home, the dreary gloom that has set over NYC is certainly making me wish I was back in my own personal pool, or riding a bike through the resort’s windy roads to the beach overlooking a crystal blue sea.

Gotta dream, right?