Beauty And Spas In The Riviera Maya

Get pampered in some of the world’s best spas that combine ancient Mayan techniques with the most modern technology and a breath-taking setting.

The Riviera Maya, known for its white sand beaches, azure Caribbean sea and rich Mayan history, invites guests to share its natural secrets of rejuvenation, beauty and relaxation. Based on ancient Mayan techniques of purifying, cleansing, rebuilding and beautifying body and mind, Riviera Maya’s multiple spas indulge all the senses, whether you crave to silently disconnect from the outside world in the middle of a jungle, to be massaged with local oils and herbs while lying in a palm tree shade on a soft powder beach or to experience the authentic Mayan temazcal ceremony where you are reborn a warrior. Here are some of the Riviera Maya’s most remarkable spas and treatments:

Noteworthy and unique:
Rosewood Mayakoba – Sense, A Rosewood Spa TM is uniquely designed around a cenote, one of the freshwater limestone pools found throughout the region that the ancient Mayans held to be sacred. Sense Spa is designed as a retreat-within-a-retreat. To enter, guests cross a bridge to reach the private spa island, and then are pampered in twelve treatment rooms, steam rooms, pool, mediation platform and relaxation deck.  The Spa combines the beauty and natural elements of the local environment and Mayan traditions with exceptional Rosewood service and luxury for ultimate spa experience.

The prices at Sense Spa start at $170 for 1 hour of Temazcal Ritual, $165 for 1 hour of Brightening or Radiance Facial and $145 for 1 hour of Swedish Massage. Guests enjoy access to the resort’s spa and fitness facilities, including a heated pool, cenote, fully equipped gym, juice bar, saunas, steam rooms, Jacuzzi, plunge pool and relaxation areas as well as yoga and mediation classes. For more information, please visit http://www.rosewoodmayakoba.com/spa.cfm.

Ceiba del Mar – This resort’s Unique Holistic and Aromatherapy SPA is set on more than 8,600 square feet surrounded by the sapphire Caribbean sea and green jungle. The SPA uses a personal selection of more than 50 different English essential oils, mostly organic, mixed with sweet almonds. SPA’s signature treatments create a Mayan experience with a fusion of ancestral Mayan wisdom, Mexican herbal remedies, essential oils and modern know-how. Before each signature treatment, a purifying ritual is performed with copal, Mayan sacred tree resin, which is burned and used to harmonize body, mind and spirit. The prices for special Mayan treatments start at $75 for 40 min. of the Mayan Goddess Scrub, $60 for a 30 min. Express Facial, and $90 for 50 min. of Swedish Massage. The SPA offers a full selection of services such as massages, body treatments, wraps, beauty salon services, salt glows, facials, relaxation room and juice bar. For more information, please visit the website at www.ceibadelmar.com or call +52 (998) 872-8060.

Fairmont Mayakoba – Willow Stream Spa is a 37,000 square foot spa that offers guests a place to find their energy in a space inspired by the tropical jungle, mangroves and lagoons that surround the resort. Many of Willow Stream’s 20 treatment rooms feature private balconies overlooking the forest. This connection with nature continues throughout the spa, from the outdoor Mexican gardens that dominate the men’s and women’s locker areas to the sea-mineral soaking pool, to the fitness studio that overlooks the mangrove forest. One of the special treatments is the 90 min. Cha Chac Rain Ritual, for “letting loose” in the room of Chac, the ancient Mayan Rain god. The treatment includes application of a healing body mask of cornmeal, clay and oats, which is then exfoliated with an Ayate cloth, followed by a warm overhead rainwater rinse and a massage application of sage oil is the final ingredient in letting go.  For more information, please visit www.willowstream.com or www.fairmont.com/mayakoba or call 800-441-1414.

The Tides – The Mayan Spa is a stylish treat for senses. A wide range of tropical and therapeutical treatments are available, such as facials, wraps and massages. Traditional Mayan herbs and fresh local ingredients are used in many of the treatments, but the equipment is modern and highly professional. One of the most recent additions to the spa’s repertoire is a signature treatment called Lava Shell Therapy, which utilizes a revolutionary system of self-heating. Prices at The Mayan Spa start at $65 for 30 min. of The Tides Riviera Maya Massage that includes a relaxing massage by the ocean with the application of Mayan mud, herbal clay, kaolin and essential oils. For more information, visit www.tidesrivieramaya.com/spa/index.html.

Esencia – Aroma Spa is located in an enormous palapa and surrounded by a garden that produces most of the treatment ingredients. The spa has five treatment rooms, including one for couples and features such unique rituals as a Full Moon Pre-Hispanic Ritual for couples. The ritual celebrates life in the temazcal ceremony with the rhythms of Mayan drums, flutes and shells, along with singing and dancing. At the end of the ceremony, participants are invited to take a bath in the Caribbean sea and to relax in a hammock. Special ritual prices start at $60 for 45 min. of a Private Jacuzzi Ritual that includes relaxing in a private Jacuzzi overlooking the jungle with a mix of aromatherapeutical herbs of the guest’s choice. For more information, visit www.hotelesencia.com.

Iberostar – El Spa has facilities that consist of humid areas on the ground floor that include sauna, Turkish bath, Roman bath, Jacuzzi, Bubble Beds and a Thalasso therapy pool with water jets, equipped with salty marine nourishments. Treatment rooms on the first floor offer such treatments as Janzu, an underwater massage, which means “peaceful river” in Mayan, and combines holistic therapeutic methods that take body and mind on a trip of relaxation. The access to the humid area costs $35 per person, and it is free if it is combined with any beauty treatment. For more information, please visit www.iberostar.com

Paradisus Riviera Cancun – Named the Leading Spa for 2006 by The Leading Hotels of the World, Renova Spa offers a variety of treatments, such as the tropical body wrap, hydrotherapies, shiatsu, deep tissue massage and more. Guests can choose the exclusive program called Paradisus Natural, which uses natural products and herbs and can be combined with special meals offered at all of the resort’s restaurants. Wedding couples can ask for the special bride and groom packages with treatments such as a couple’s massage by moonlight. For more information, please visit www.paradisusrivieracancun.travel.

Aventura Spa Palace – The Spa at this resort is its highlight. The Spa, set amongst beautiful golf landscapes or breathtaking ocean views, offers an array of relaxing and rejuvenating treatments from soothing massages and nourishing sea fango wraps, to relaxing footbaths and hydrating facials. A personalized or couple spa experience awaits at spa Golden Suites. A 25 min. back massage starts at $81, a 25 min. body scrub costs $58 and a seaweed wrap starts at $119. For more information, please visit www.palaceresorts.com/spatest/spa/(phvfbu55f2z00ivyqt41neqf)/index.aspx.

Paraiso de la Bonita – Thalasso Center & Spa is the first of European Thalasso luxury spas in North America and is a temple of healing and rejuvenation. It occupies 22,000 sq. feet and combines ancient traditions and modern health science. Thalasso therapy, which uses heated sea water, cures and gives a sense of general well-being.  Balneotherapy treatment starts at $141 for 25 min and is applied using a computerized hydro-massage tub programmed to fulfill guest’s specific needs. Apart from massage, there are added benefits of seawater, ambient temperature, and micro-blasted seaweed and/or customized aromatic oils or toning salts. Other treatments include Marine Relaxing Under Afussion Exfoliation ($188 for 50 min.), Aromacean Body Treatment ($188 for 50 min.), and even Janzu, a therapy based on Tibetan relaxation and meditation principles ($167 for 50 min.) For more information, please visit www.paraisodelabonita.com/eng/thalasso.htm.

Reef Playacar Resort & Spa – The Spa, located in the beautiful tropical gardens of the hotel, offers different treatments divided into a few categories: Radiance (includes facials, starting at $130 for 80 min.), Comfort (for 50 min. of Chocolate Happiness treatment prices start at $90 and 25 min. of Exfoliation before Tanning is $40), Wellness (Aroma Therapy Massage starts at $80 for 50 min.) and Balance (Hot Stone Therapy costs $20 for 80 min.)  For more information, please visit www.thereefplayacar.com/en/spa.asp.

Maroma Resort & Spa – Kinan Spa is a healing sanctuary that offers a full range of services in unique environments ranging from ultimate luxury couple suites to open-air massage palapas. The 7,000 square foot Kinan Spa was designed based on sacred Mayan Geometry by the principles of astrological alignment to allow the positive energy flow. Many of the treatments are also based on ancient Mayan healing and some of them cannot be found anywhere else in the world. It offers such services as Aphrodisiac’s Chocolate Invigoration, Mud bath, Reflexology and much more. For more information, please visit www.orient-express.com/web/ocan/ocan_c4a_introduction.jsp.

Independent Spas Located in Playa del Carmen:
The Village Esthetic Spa – Located in the center of Playa del Carmen, it is the first spa in town to offer needle-free mesotherapy that uses allopathic medicaments permeating the body and curing such problems as cellulite, stretch marks and others. Other services include facial treatments, massages, tanning and more. In addition to separate services, there are packages available: the Village Day, for example, costs $270 and offers 4.5 hrs that include Relaxing Inspiration Massage, Facial Skin Type Facial and Village Pedicure and Manicure. Please visit www.villageestheticspa.com/english/index.html.

Spa Itza – The elegant Spa Itza is located in a secluded garden in the “Calle Corazon” in Playa del Carmen. Guests begin their spa journey by crossing a shallow candle-lit pool via a symbolic stone and wood bridge. Different floors of the spa are dedicated to different treatments and procedures, and the rooftop level offers views of the turquoise Caribbean sea. Spa Itza harvests natural botanicals from the jungle according to the ancient techniques of the Mayans, taking great care not to deplete natural resources. Mayan Healing baths start at $55 for 50 min. and facials start at $70 for 50 min. The Fall Special for Two (from September 1st to October 31st) includes roundtrip air transfer, 7 nights of lodging and breakfast, welcome with bottle of wine, cheese and fruit, two massages, romantic dinner and starts at $1,112 for Standard Room. For more information, please visit http://spaitza.com/english/home.htm, email info@spaitza.com or call 011-52-984-803-2588.

New treatments:
Mandarin Oriental Riviera Maya – The Spa, renowned for creating new healing therapies, has recently introduced  a Mayan Tzolkin Ritual. Using the power and strength of natural elements and Mayan belief in the lunar calendar, this ritual is focused on balancing of body’s energies in relation to the internal and external world. The treatment commences with an introspective journey into the Medicinal Garden Manadala and the guest’s selection of healing herbs. Upon entrance into the treatment room, the experience begins with a footbath using fresh herbs followed by a full body scrub and herbal poultice on areas of tension. A healing massage is performed based on the principles of Tzolkin, the Mayan lunar calendar, and results in a balanced, relaxed and replenished body. 2 hours of Mayan Tzolkin Ritual cost $310. For more information, please visit www.mandarinoriental.com.

Traditional Mayan:
Dos Palmas – An ecotourism project, Dos Palmas is a Mayan community developed in the middle of the jungle, which provides guests with the ancient Mayan healing services and ceremonies. One of the main services provided by Dos Palmas is called the Traditional Mayan Night, and includes a hotel pick-up, transportation to Dos Palmas, introduction to the Mayan purifying rituals by a visit to a temazcal, a rustic sauna bath located inside a sacred stone semicircle-shaped structure, and a refreshing swim in a cenote, a natural sink hole, after which, according to the Mayan tradition, every visitor is reborn as a warrior. The Mayan Night is concluded by a delicious Mayan dinner prepared by local women and a visit to the Mayan village. Traditional Mayan Nights at Dos Palmas are performed from Tuesday to Saturday and cost $85 per person. For more information, please visit www.dospalmas.info or call 52 (984) 80 32462.

EcoTulum Resorts & Spa – Maya Spa, on site at Cabanas Copal and providing services to Azulik and Zahra, the spa stands out by offering a unique experience of a dry flotation tank, nestled in the middle of the jungle. The dry flotation tank is designed with a special completely enclosed mattress that keeps all light out and minimizes all sound. The large mattress is filled with salt and water, creating maximum buoyancy and the sensation of floating in space. This environment provides with the least amount of outside stimulation and the maximum relaxation, resulting in a profound stress relief, as the body and mind get a chance to relax in an environment without light, sound or gravity. In general, Maya Spa specializes in the mystical Mayan experience, as guests can use the indigenous sweat lodge, get a Mayan clay massage, Mayan healing mask or Mayan crystal therapy.

The prices start at $88 for a Healing Package, which includes 1 hour of Healing Massage and 30 min of Energy Cleansing. The Tulum for Two Package, designed for couples, includes two one hour massages, two tickets to temazcal ceremony and bottle of wine in the personal cabana, and costs $192 per couple. For more information, please visit www.maya-spa.com or call 888-898-9922.

Eco-park spas:
Xcaret – Xpa, a spa built in the middle of a natural eco-park, Xcaret, provides an unmatched environment for pampering in nature: by one side, there is the Underground River, and all around are the sights and sounds of the Caribbean rainforest. Guests can receive their tension-eliminating and pain-relieving massages on a massage table or in a hammock. At Xpa, guests can also use an authentic Mayan bath, which includes going deep into the rainforest into a completely private environment, and receiving an exfoliating body scrub, bathing under a crystaline waterfall and receiving a relaxing massage. Massage prices start at $40.

Xcaret also features traditional Mayan bath, Temascal, which reconnects visitors with four nature’s main elements: water, wind, fire and earth.  For more information, please visit www.xcaret.com.

Xel-Ha - Xpa offers a holistic experience to visitors of Xel-Ha’s eco water park, and blends the latest progress in aromatherapy and physiotherapy with age-old Mayan wisdom. All this is set in an unsurpassable setting – rowboats take our visitors to secluded platforms around the Inlet, nothing but the breeze and rippling of the waves to take it all away. Treatments are ultimate combination of techniques and all-natural ingredients to achieve health and renewal in mind, body and soul. For more information, please visit www.xelha.com

Soon to Open:
Capella Bahia Maroma - With the opening of Auriga in the first quarter of 2009, guests will be afforded an experience once reserved for Maya royalty. From shaman-led ceremonies to jungle-setting treatment pavilions corresponding to the Maya moons, Auriga’s distinctive approach to wellness and beauty is based on the cycles of the moon. All treatments will use natural products of the highest quality, incorporating local ingredients with healing properties, such as orchid, avocado, tepezcohuite (tree bark), maiz (corn) and cacao.  Among them will be a Sacred Obsidian Massage, After-Sun Tepezcohuite Body Balm, Cacao and Coffee Ceremony and a Mayan Orchid Body Wrap. Set within the lush jungle landscape of Mexico’s Riviera Maya, along a mile-long, white-sand beach, the Auriga spa at Capella Bahia Maroma will be an integral part of the Capella lifestyle, one that will allow the spa guest to define his or her experience with every visit. Pricing is not yet available. Further information is available by calling 1-866-248-8466, or visit www.liveatbahiamaroma.com.

Hacienda Tres Rios – Ya’Ax Che Spa will be open when the property opens its doors in the fall of 2008. The 13,900 sq. foot Spa will feature two couples suites with private hydro-therapy baths. It will provide indoor and outdoor massage treatments, area with reflexology, cold plunge, indoor pool, Swiss and chromo therapy showers, a full body treatment menu, salt water pool and much more. Ya’Ax Che Spa Temazcal Treatment, for example, takes place in a specially constructed Nahuatl hut beside one of the sacred cenotes. The cleansing experience is accompanied by traditional music and ends with optional dip in the clear waters of cenote. Pricing is not yet available. For more information, visit www.haciendatresrios.com.

Easily accessible from many cities throughout the U.S., the eighty-one mile stretch known as the Riviera Maya is situated in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Beginning eleven miles south of Cancun International Airport in Puerto Morelos, the Riviera Maya extends to Tulum, one of the most important archeological sites in the Mayan World. The region features the tranquility of uncrowded beaches, a vast network of underground rivers, over 100 cenotes, the action of eco-adventure sports including kayaking, mountain biking, scuba diving, snorkeling, trekking, bird watching and deep sea fishing, proximity to many of Mexico’s most significant Mayan archeological sites, the varied activities of the eco-archeological parks, plus golf courses, spas, shopping, gourmet dining and a range of accommodations to suit every lifestyle and budget. The Riviera Maya has been named a Top Destination in Mexico for four consecutive years by Travel Weekly (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007), one of the hottest beach destinations by Orbitz in 2008 and was also featured in the January 2006 issue of Travel + Leisure as “The Next Riviera.”

For more information on the Riviera Maya visit www.rivieramaya.com.