Mayan retro spa in Cancun

by Tom Johansmeyer on

A great massage needs no embellishment. The simple act of kneading stress from your body is enough. Warm Jacuzzi waters afterward complete the experience, especially when washed down with crisp cucumber water. A twist that enhances the experience, though, can matter, as I learned at the JW Marriott’s spa in Cancun, Mexico.

The on-site spa infuses its treatments with Mayan ritual, adding a sense of purpose to what otherwise would be sheer decadence. The therapists add ancient prayers and local ingredients to facials, exfoliation and massages to bring a regional flavor to a luxurious commodity.

The spa itself occupies three floors. The first is open to all guests of the JW Marriott and adjacent CasaMagna. Visitors can swim in the indoor pool, soak in the coed Jacuzzi or hit the weights in the gym. The second floor – where you’ll find gender-specific relaxation rooms, saunas and hot tubs – requires an additional fee of approximately $15. Treatments are conducted on this floor and the third.

The differences between the first and second floors are not limited to the modest fee. As you walk the wide, slightly winding staircase, the softly burning candles and soothing aromas remind you that you’re entering a unique environment, a place where every care you have will evaporate thanks to the skilled hands of a focused masseuse.

Language will not be a barrier when you explain the pressure you’d like, as the team does speak English well. After that first conversation, of course, it doesn’t matter. Once you’re finished and have been presented with warmed slippers and cool water, conversation will be the last thing on your mind. Shuffle back to the relaxation room, and use the view of the indoor pool to see if you want to ease back into society with a stop down on the first floor before heading back to the world.

These are the brief moments, punctuating a hectic lifestyle, that remind you that … just sometimes … you come first.

View the latest deals at the Marriott CasaMagna here.

Gadling Take FIVE: Week of March 6 –March 13

by Jamie Rhein on

Happy Friday the 13th. My day has actually gone well. I hope yours has as well. Once again there is a hodge podge of happenings around the world that have captured our notice here at Gadling.

Cancun’s Mercado 28, a friendly outdoor market

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The local vendors manning the kiosks at Mercado 28 – Cancun‘s outdoor marketplace – do not disappoint. They are ready to cut you a deal and almost seem to be acting in character when you step onto the sidewalk. One instructs you, “It starts here,” ushering you inot his store. All greet with “amigo” and promises of “nearly free” prices on jewelry, pottery and “genuine” Cuban cigars, among other wares.

Mercado 28 is not designed for an easy exit. A mix of covered and open walkways form a maze intended to keep you shopping … and spending. Every salesman offers a broad smile and a polite entreaty to come into his shop. This “smooth operator” approach has only one purpose: to make it hard for you to say “no.” with every person you pass, you feel increasingly rude (and thus increasingly ashamed).

Some pitches are better at inspiring guilt at others. My favorites:

“Your wife would like …”

“You should get your mother-in-law a …”

“Have you bought anything for your kids?”

It takes a triumph of the will – and a readiness to seem heartless – to decline and move on.

As outdoor marketplaces go, Mercado 28 is surprisingly docile. It’s nothing compared to what you’d find in Tijuana, which combines visible abject poverty with an unplanned landscape of desperation. Having recently been to the souks of Marrakech – a labyrinthine pressure cooker of merchandise hawking – I found Cancun’s equivalent a breeze to navigate.

Nonetheless, complacency will open your wallet. If you see something you like and decide to engage (the leather goods are worth your time), expect to settle at 40 percent below the initial offer. A fistful of U.S. dollars may give you a bit more negotiating leverage … finally.

Budget Travel: Mexico

by Brenda Yun on

Spring Break is upon us, and for most college kids, March means two things: basketball and getting your color back on some tropical beach. When I think Mexico, I think drugs and girls gone wild, but there’s something about Mexico that really draws a crowd in March and continues through the summer until late October. As Mexico continues to rank among the top spring break hot spots (this year being no different), what is a Gadling guide to budget travel without a little love the country across our southern border?

According to an MSNBC Travel article published earlier this month, Cancun is the most popular party place, followed closely by . Cancun, oft coined as the “Party Capital of the World,” has long had a reputation of being a hot party-all-night atmosphere, so it’s natural that this year the city is seeing no change in the flock of tourists to its beaches.
The same goes for Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, and Los Cabos. In fact, according to L.A. Times travel blogger, Jen Leo, roundtrip flights between Los Angeles and Cabo San Lucas are a mere $220 each.

A typically fun Mazatlán is now drawing a record number of spring breakers because it’s now the final destination of the “Maz Party Bus” that leaves from various college campuses in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. For just $299, StudentCity.com is providing an unbeatable package that includes roundtrip transportation to Mazatlán on a luxury motor coach complete with bathrooms, reclining seats, TV’s and DVD players (two nights are spent on the bus), a five-night stay at a resort in Mazatlán, and two free meals per day at participating restaurants. The price is pretty tough to beat.

But Mexico is not just fun and games, you know. Budget Travel and the L.A. Times both love Mexico’s cultural cities like Oaxaca, which rarely see the likes of Cancun partiers, and traveling to this shopping and chocolate haven can be just as cheap as getting to the Mexico’s beaches. Even the neighboring towns of Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta see low numbers of tourists and have some pretty awesome, high-quality silver jewelry for pennies. If you want to escape the rowdy ruckus of Mexican parties and tequila shots, just hop on a local bus, travel along the coast, and you’ll find an untouched beach that you could very well experience all for yourself.

Let’s face it though: Mexico is the type of travel destination best experienced with others. It’s not for the solo traveler, nor for the early to bed, early to rise types. Traveling with friends is both the key to happiness in Mexico as well as the key to saving money, too — lots of it.

Gadling goes to Chichen Itza (and so does everyone else)

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Located in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, Chichen Itza is one of Mexico’s most popular Mayan ruins, and for good reason. Only three hours by bus from Cancún, the thousand-year-old ruins transport you back to an age of hierogloyphics, massive temple-pyramids, and human sacrifices.

Are there tourists? Oh yeah, in spades. Tell someone traveling around Mexico that you’ve just been to Chichen Itza, and within ten seconds some variation of the word “touristy” will escape their lips. Sure, it can be a little crowded, but the tourists come for good reason– to see the mind-boggling, towering remains of this ancient civilization.

First populated by the Mayans around the year 500, Chichen Itza became an important political and cultural center as early as 800 before the civilization began to decline. In the 900s, the city was resettled and appears to have been invaded by Toltecs from the northern town of Tula, apparent from the fusion of Mayan and Toltec architectural styles. The city was abandoned in the early 1200s.

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Another can’t-miss site in the park is the Gran Juego de Pelotas (Grand Ballcourt), where tour guides can be heard clapping throughout the day to demonstrate to their groups the court’s wonderful acoustics. (Go on, try it!) The Grupo de las Mil Columnas (Group of the Thousand Columns) is just what it sounds like– an impressive arrangement of, well, a thousand ten-foot-high columns. For more on the individual buildings at Chichen Itza, check out the accompanying slideshow.

If you go: From Cancún, buses leave for Chichen Itza every hour from 5 am to 5 pm. Expect to pay about US$10 if traveling first-class, slightly less otherwise. Buses typically stop at the park’s western entrance, though a few will drop you off in the nearby town of Piste. Ask before you get on. Outside of Cancún, almost any town in the Yucatan will have multiple buses going to (or through) Chichen Itza every day. The park gets very crowded later in the day, so try to go as early as possible.

Tickets for the ruins, purchased right at the entrance to the park, cost about US$9.

Where to stay: Day-trips to Chichen Itza are possible from tour agencies in almost any decent-sized town in the Yucatan, although the three-hour (at least) bus ride each way makes for a very long day.

A better option is to spend the night in Valladolid, a small colonial town about 25 miles east of the ruins. Places to stay are cheap and abundant and reservations aren’t required. If you’re looking for a more cosmopolitan city, head to lovely Mérida about 90 minutes to the northwest of the ruins. Bus tickets are sold inside the Chichen Itza visitors’ center.