Cancun Alternative

Over the years, Cancun, Mexico has morphed from a beautiful stretch of beach to a tourist ghetto with too many high-rise hotels and partying college students. As a result, I have no interest in ever visiting.

I was surprised, therefore, to come across an enticing description of a luxurious resort in the heart of Cancun in which guests are pampered and fawned over in truly regal fashion without nary a wet t-shirt contest in sight. In fact, the Grand Aqua resort is so high-end that it provides eight different types of pillows for its guests, for God's sake! It also employees two very famous chefs to whip out culinary masterpieces--thus the write-up I discovered in Food and Wine magazine.

I took more interest, however, in the second part of the Food and Wine article in which the author goes in search of a supposedly fantastic restaurant about two hours south of Cancun in the far mellower beachfront community of Tulum.

Hechizo restaurant is owned and operated by two cooks who used to work for Ritz Carlton but have now struck out on their own. Apparently it is difficult to find and a little expensive, but well worth the search. They don't have a website, but reservations can be made at hechizo@bigfoot.com.

My advice? Skip Cancun altogether and just head straight for Tulum. I did so last week and loved it. I only wish I had known about that restaurant...

Filed under: Mexico