Boutique Hotel in Playa del Carmen

Hello blogging friends.  We have been back a week from our time in Mexico and I'm just now getting up to speed with work and blogging.  It was a lovely vacation with 5 days at Sandos Playa Resort, an all inclusive 5 Star resort on the Mayan Riviera.  Beautiful white sands and gorgeous ocean waters.  It was heaven and I spent most of the day reading mindless fiction on the beach and in the pool and the ocean. 

 

 Heaven on earth to me.

 

Say hello to my little friends.

 

 This iguana lived near the resort theater and greeted us every morning as we walked to the main pavilion.  He was about 3 feet in length.
 

I was walking towards the pool after a morning on the beach and I see everyone standing around the pool with their camera's and phones taking pictures.  Seems a huge pelican dropped in for a swim.

 

He swam for about 20 minutes and then hopped out of the pool and onto a lounge chair.  He stood about 3 feet tall with a wing span of about 5 feet.  He was not afraid of people and when he finished preening his wings, he got bored with us and just flew off.

  

The super moon came out while we were there and I took this outside our patio around 10 pm.

Okay, shameless plug.  My friend sells Beauty Control products and they just came out with island Sunset Dry Body oil spray.  I adore dry oil and its hard to find so when she showed me the product I had to have it.  I use this on my hair when in the sun.  Just a few spritz's and it protects your hair from the salt and minerals in the ocean and the chlorine in the pool.  With the hot sun beating down on your hair it becomes a hot oil treatment as well.  My hair following a shower was always smooth and healthy thanks to this marvelous product. 

 I didn't realize how badly I needed this time to decompress until I finished my first book. The first five days flew by and with two days left, my honey booked a two day stay at a "boutique hotel" in old Playa del Carmen called Adventura Mexicana.   He had heard some good things about the boutique hotels in Mexico and so we extended our vacation by a few days at this best kept little secret.  

 

A short cab ride from Sandos to Adventura Mexicana and we walk through the open lobby off the street and this sculpture garden and pool greets us.  Everything about Adventura Mexicana is an intimate portrait of a hotel from the 1940s. Spanish colonial structures, hidden gardens, fountains, pools (yes pools), lounge areas and all in the center of the hotel property. 

 

The little patio area off the main pool and just outside the Mayan Bistro, the restaurant on the property.

 

Lucky us, this pretty little pool was just outside our room.  Be still my heart.

 

The main pool and lounge area. Such pretty little gardens everywhere.

 

 Smooth and alternative jazz played throughout.  Great conversation with guests from all over the world, we would all gather around the bar, the patio and the pool.

 

  

The stairs leading to the second and third levels were inlayed with beautiful Majolica tiles.  Adventura Mexicana was filled with artisan sculptures, lighting fixtures and tiles.  

 

At the top of the stairway was a natural arbor.  It is these details that made this property so lovely.

Brilliant fuchsia flowers abound.

 

Red Hibiscus surrounded the pools.

 

Another arbor of natural flowering shrubs.

 

The view from the outdoor patio.  We would have lunch here and then return to the pool. The property has their own restaurant called the Mayan Bistro.  We decided to do the VIP inclusive for $32.00 a day which gave us unlimited drinks and food.  At night, we would eat in the restaurant and were never disappointed.

 The chef cooked everything to order and the portions were huge.  I had the Pollo Mole (chicken breasts with a chocolate and chili sauce) with fresh spinach.  It was fantastic. 

 

The wait staff would bring a basket of fresh rolls to your table at each meal.

My last meal of our stay here was their steak  burritos stuffed with fresh peppers, onions and all grilled to perfection.  So good.

El Gato came to visit my husband at every meal.

 

The Mayan Bistro bar even had Big  Bang Theory playing.  LOL

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At night, all of the trees were lit with tiny white lights, tiki torches and lanterns.

 

The main pool at night. So inviting.

 

 One of the many little nooks you could spend time alone reading.  Use the hammock or sit in the jacuzzi.

 

I moved as the sun did around the property and utilized different lounge areas so I always had the sun shining down upon me and a pool I could sit in and read. There is such a quiet intimacy to this lovely hotel.  Extremely attentive staff with a welcoming smile and genuine love for hospitality.  We felt more like family than guests and plan on returning again.

  

You could walk to the beach which was a block away right out the lobby entrance or through the Mayan Bistro you found yourself in the town of Playa Del Carmen.  Safe and friendly, we walked around the block to use the Pharmacy, purchase tequila and do a little window shopping.

The sun was just going down on out last day there and I will miss the friendly face that greeted us each morning and evening.  

It was a lovely vacation but they always seem so short.  I'm now back in the groove at work and spent the weekend junkin.  Those treasures will be for another post.  So blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch