A private cenote and food by one of Mexico’s best chefs are among the highlights at this Yucatán hotel.
In the Mexican city of Mérida, where I have a vacation home, the chatter has been building over the last few years about a mysterious hacienda hotel less than an hour out of the city. There have been hacienda hotels in the Yucatán jungle before now, but what sets Chablé — one of Travel + Leisure’s best new hotel openings of the year — apart is the sophisticated dance between historic and modern, along with a sense of drama that infuses every aspect of the property.
The First Impression
I arrived at Chablé late at night, traveling via a long dirt road through scrappy jungle and past the Mayan village of Chocholá. A lantern-lit road led me to the main house, an oxblood-red 18th-century hacienda built on the era’s typically grand scale. The main house has been restored to its original glory, with hand-made tile floors, wooden beams, soaring ceilings, and a long colonnaded veranda overlooking manicured jade-green lawns shaded by gnarled trees.
The Rooms
The 40 guest rooms are discreetly set apart from the hacienda, among lushly landscaped gardens. The thoroughly modern casitas (courtesy of architect Jorge Borja and interior designer Paulina Moran) are studies in minimalist cool. Constructed from rough-hewn limestone, rich dark wood, and what feels like acres of glass, each freestanding villa is an intimate hideaway with its own hammock-strung plunge pool, double walk-in showers, and a spacious terrace with lounges and a daybed. Sweet touches abound: fresh flowers, handmade turndown treats, a complimentary mini-bar, and coffee and pastries left each morning on the terrace.
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