your heart’s

desire
whether you’re craving the sand between your toes, a walk
on the wild side, some serious pampering or a return
to romance, these retreats will satisfy your soul.

With a 27,000-square-
foot spa, a hydroponic
garden and views of
Rendezvous Bay from
its 93 rooms, Anguilla’s
CuisinArt Resort is a
balm for body and soul.

4 4    45
 y o u r h e a rt ’ s d e sir e
soak up
The Sun
Nueva Vida de Ramiro, Tulum, Mexico
I’m something of a high-maintenance
traveler. In my book, a good trip begins with limo pick-
up from the airport and includes dinners at swanky
restaurants, daily spa treatments and air conditioning
cranked to high. So imagine my surprise when I fell
helplessly in love with the rustic Riviera Maya outpost
of Tulum, Mexico, and the decidedly homespun digs
I found there at Nueva Vida de Ramiro.
Only ninety minutes’ drive south from Cancún,
Tulum is where the Caribbean vacation is distilled to
its easygoing essentials: pristine beaches, inexpensive
accommodations, casual seafront restaurants and a live-
and-let-lounge vibe. Powered entirely by generators
supplemented by solar and wind energy, Nueva Vida,
like most hotels in this sleepy, off-the-grid boondocks,
has no hot water and no in-room phone, TV or Internet.
Cancún-based architect Oscar Ortiz and his wife, Gea,
opened the eco-resort 11 years ago and have created a
low-frills getaway where rest and relaxation are the top
priorities. “This is a place to do nothing,” the irrepress-
ibly vivacious Ortiz told me proudly. “Come here and
get lazy; just eat, sleep, read and scratch.”
His beachfront hotel encourages languor with 21
breeze-filled, sea-facing bungalows set amid a sandy
garden studded with native shrubs and spindly coco-
nut palms. My second-story room in the hotel’s new
Corazon area was simply furnished with traditional
Mexican pieces, vibrant local art, a canopied bed, and
indoor and outdoor showers. At night I was lulled to
sleep by cool winds and the whisper of the surf through
French doors wantonly thrown open to the elements.
Surprisingly quickly, I downshifted and learned
to do what the locals do: to take the day as it comes.
Sunny skies invited carefree hours on bone-white sands
lapped by turquoise waters, and afternoon thunder-
storms were simply an opportunity to linger longer over
a lunchtime cerveza. I followed Ortiz’s sage instructions
to the letter (save for the scratching), interrupting my
sloth only for a succession of delectable meals.
On my first night in town, I discovered the piquant
pleasures of sopa de lima (lime broth with chicken and
tortilla strips) at Nueva Vida’s palapa-roof restaurant,
Casa Banana. Farther down the strip, at la Zebra Beach
Cantina y Cabanas, I sipped a mojito as a newlywed
4 6   c a r i b b e a n t r av e l+l i f e   
English couple oohed and aahed over the postcard-
perfect seaside vista. But it was at Zamas’ ¡Que Fresco!
restaurant, where crayon-colored tables and chairs were
strewn casually along the sand beneath a palapa roof,
that I found my bliss. Was it the sea air, the chilled-
out setting or my so-relaxed-I-might-slip-into-a-coma
state of mind that made the seafood quesadilla taste so
heavenly and my chelada (beer with lime, served in a
salt-rimmed glass) slip down so easily?
Don’t tell Ortiz, but I did venture beyond the beach
for a few hours. Tulum is divided into two areas: the six-
mile seaside hotel zone and the town center, or centro,
which borders both sides of the main drag, Highway
307. Lined with a hodgepodge of bars and restaurants,
souvenir stores, tour companies and fruit stalls, the
pueblo is light on charm but heavy on local flavor, best
sampled at one of the many cantinas that line the side-
walk, where you can sip a margarita to the strains of a
roving three-piece band. Snorkeling in the cool, crys-
talline waters of nearby Gran Cenote was a refreshing
break on a sweltering day, and I certainly couldn’t leave
without touring the town’s star attraction, the Maya
Clockwise from
ruins. The compact compound is well worth the hour above: Back to basics
at Nueva Vida de
or so it takes to navigate its three main structures, but Ramiro; local color at
after running the gauntlet of vendors and taxi drivers Mixik gift shop; sea
breeze replaces A/C
in the strip mall at the entrance, I craved the peace and at Nueva Vida; fish
tacos at ¡Que Fresco!
tranquility of my hotel-zone haven.
As a traveler with a taste for luxe amenities, I’d never
have imagined that I could enjoy a hotel that didn’t
offer air conditioning or hot water, never mind nice-
ties like turndown service. But Nueva Vida made me a
believer. In this simple yet satisfying oasis, where dress-
ing for dinner means slipping on a pair of flip-flops, less
is most definitely more. — Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon
From $115 per night in low season ($178 high).
984-877-8512; tulumnv.com
t h r e e m o r e b e a c h y g e t a w a y s
Cooper Island Beach Club, BVI outdoor showers, ocean-view
Enjoy life’s simple pleasures in porches and the secluded
the cozy cottages beachfront crescent at Anse Cochon all to
at Manchioneel Bay on this themselves. From $190 in low
surprisingly affordable private season ($280 high). 758-456-
Virgin, a 35-minute ferry ride 8101; tikaye.com
from Tortola. From $549 for
a seven-night package in low Stella Maris Resort Club, Bahamas
season ($919 high). 800-542- Snorkel, fish or dive at this
4624; cooper-island.com casual Long Island oasis,
where 32 rooms and villas are
Zach Stovall
Ti Kaye Village, St. Lucia At this nestled in a beachfront palm
low-key and intimate old- grove. From $145 in low season
school retreat, 33 colorful, ($160 high). 800-426-0466;
hillside cabins on stilts have stellamarisresort.com
c a r i b b e a n t r av e l m a g . c o m
 y o u r h e a rt ’ s d e sir e

get back to
nature
I’m certain that one of the ancient Maya
sat in this very spot above the Macal River and mar-
veled at this same sight: a brilliantly colored toucan
following a sine-wave flight path along the forest verge,
its small wings battling the weight of its improbable bill.
The Maya believed that every object contained a life
force and that toucans were sacred spirits, messengers
between the gods and man. Inspired by this toucan’s
passing in the early evening’s golden light, the Maya
craftsman might have begun carving its image into a
limestone frieze on a ceremonial temple. As for myself, I
retain just enough life force after a long day of exploring
the rainforest to toast the toucan with another rum and
fresh papaya, one of the bird’s favorite fruits.
Studies show that connecting with nature improves
both our physical and psychological well-being. It shifts
Chaa Creek’s Macal the mind into a more relaxed and receptive mode than
Cottage overlooks
its namesake river. what we experience in our over-wired, work-obsessed
Below: Chaa guests world. The ancient Maya, who lived in harmony with the
can enjoy a guided
paddle up the Macal. forests and rivers, offer an excellent model for a back-to-
nature escape. Here on the Macal River, in Western Belize,
near the border town and adventure-tourism center of
San Ignacio, the Maya established several settlements,
each with farms, a trading post and an administrative
center active during the civilization’s classic period, more
than 1,000 years ago. Today this site is home to Chaa
Creek, one of the world’s premier jungle lodges.
At Chaa, it’s easy to get into the spirit of the Maya. You
reside within a sprawling village of cottages, garden villas,
tentlike casitas and forest-luxe treetop suites, all topped
in traditional thatch and decorated with indigenous art-
work. The 365-acre property includes a farm — worked
by a Maya family who supplies organic vegetables,
t h r e e m o r e t o p n a t u r e l o d g e s
Al Natural Resort, Panama When power and hot water, as well as
you want to get away from high-impact views of the forest
it all, the Bocas del Toro and ocean. From $105 in low
archipelago is a good place to season ($155 high). 800-392-
go. This Belgian-owned, boho- 9004; maho.org/concordia.cfm
chic eco-camp has bungalows
that open to a marine park with Jungle Bay, Dominica Fitting the
great snorkeling and isolated island’s rugged beauty, its most
beaches. From $220 in low complete resort is a jungle
Bottom: Macduff Everton/CORBIS
chaa creek, belize
fruits and herbs to Chaa’s excellent restaurant — and a
medicine trail, where staff naturalists introduce guests
to local plants used for millennia to treat all manner of
disorders. Nearly six miles of trails wind through natural
areas along the river and in the forest, leading to the re-
sort’s natural history center, Blue Morpho Butterfly Farm
and three Maya archeological sites. Exploring just beyond
the lodge’s manicured lawns by foot, horseback, mountain
bike or canoe immerses you in Belize’s fabled biodiver-
sity. Once you’re inside the lush greenery of rosewood,
mahogany and allspice, the jungle comes alive with the
buzz of hummingbirds, the firecracker pops of white-
collared manakins, the hoots of motmots and the cricket-
like chirps of keel-billed toucans. More than 300 species
of birds have been counted in and around the Chaa Creek
Nature Reserve. Ocelot, coatimundi, jaguarundi, agouti
and giant iguana prowl beneath the forest canopy here
in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, and on an other-
worldly night hike, our guide tickled a tarantula out of its
lair while we were given a hair-raising serenade by howler
monkeys and heard the peeps and shrieks of wide-eyed,
nectar-gorging kinkajous high in the trees.
If you’re going to use your vacation to connect with
nature, you want to make sure nature’s being well taken
care of. Chaa Creek was an eco-lodge before the term
existed. Modern eco-consciousness, though, is a far cry
from a hammock and a hut, as evidenced by Chaa’s
new pool and the river-view Jacuzzis in the decks of its
honeymoon-happy Tree House suites. But the lodge’s ul-
timate luxury is experienced at its hillside spa, where a
wonderful thing happens with an ancient Maya staple.
Astronomy, art, architecture and written language
aside, the Maya proved just how advanced a civilization
they were by cultivating cacao trees and transforming
the seeds into a thick elixir — a little something we
call chocolate. These days, if there’s one thing that can

season ($240 high). 507-757-
9004; alnaturalresort.com
Concordia Eco-Tents, St. John Don’t
think tent; think canvas-and-
screen villa. Adjacent to the
national park, with its hiking
trails and snorkeling beaches,
Concordia’s low-impact tents
have kitchens, baths, solar
lodge. Cabins on stilts stand
amid the tropical canopy,
with alfresco showers and
hammocks on the porches.
Good food is locally sourced;
a yoga pavilion offers serenity;
and the spa is sublime. From
$195, including breakfast, in low
season ($209 high). 767-446-
1789; junglebaydominica.com
renew your life force and shift you into a relaxed and re-
ceptive mode, it’s stripping down and communing with
Belize’s natural cocoa butter as Chaa Creek’s masseuse
performs a full-body chocolate massage. — Bob Friel
Cottages and garden suites start at $270, double occu-
pancy, in low season ($300 high). Macal River Camp beds
are $55 per person, year-round, and include breakfast and
dinner. 877-709-8708; chaacreek.com

november 2009 c a r i b b e a n t r av e l+l i f e   4 9

 y o u r h e a rt ’ s d e sir e

surrender to
the spa
cuisinArt Resort & Spa, Anguilla
L i f e i s j u s t a b o wl o f c h e rry t o m at o e s .
Well, it is at Anguilla’s CuisinArt Resort & Spa,
where that’s precisely what guests find in their room
every day: a just-picked selection of what are some of
the sweetest and purest specimens of the fruit known
to mankind. Mini-maters may sound like a peculiar
five-star amenity, but here they’re a signature touch that
speaks volumes about the wholesome, holistic ethos
that permeates the resort. They announce, “You’ve
come to a place that’s going to take good care of you.”
The Rendezvous Bay hotel, whose style was in-
spired by the whitewashed architecture on the Greek
island of Mykonos, was opened in 2001 by Leandro
Rizzuto, the American owner of the CuisinArt appli-
ance company. In a stroke of inspiration, Dr. Howard
Resh was drafted to build and curate a one-acre hydro-
ponic garden, the likes of which is to be found at no
other resort property in the world. The good doctor is
also its docent, leading daily tours that turn out to be
far more fascinating than one might expect of a quick
tutorial on greenhouse horticulture.
Hydroponics is the method for growing plants with-
out soil, using water and nutrients, and man, does it
work — those tomatoes go from seed to bowl in three
months, and the plants grow to 40 feet over a 10-month
cycle. There’s more: Dr. Resh and crew harvest 128
heads of bib lettuce every day, and they grow peppers,
microgreens, cucumbers, and 15 kinds of fresh herbs
and edible flowers. You like salad? They’ve got salad.
“Nutritionally, it’s better for you than what you could
infused with cherry tomatoes for eight weeks. Cumin
and sweet basil are added to the blend; the rim of the
glass is dusted with paprika and sugar; and the drink
is garnished with three cherry tomatoes, orange, red
and yellow. Folks, that is not your everyday cocktail
(but perhaps Petal’s Hydroponic Cucumber and Sage
Martini is). At CuisinArt, the bar’s an adventure in the
possibilities of hydroponic, alcoholic goodness.
So, too, it turns out, is the Venus Spa, a 27,000-square-
foot, state-of-the art facility that underwent a $10 million
expansion this year. “You know that people are going to
leave here feeling better than when they came in,” spa
director Kathy Eggleston said as she showed me to the
men’s locker room. I opted for a 2½-hour regime called
the Pyrat Refresher, named for Anguilla’s own premium
rum blend and offered in the Men’s Club Suite “for all
our distinguished gentlemen,” as the menu put it.
First I was the fortunate recipient of a tandem mas-
sage performed by expert masseuses. Upon my creaky
and aching middle-aged body, they practiced simul-
taneous effleurage — my favorite new word, meaning
slow, circular strokes. They were like four-hand pia-
Clockwise: The artful
nists coaxing a beautiful duet out of an out-of-tune tomatini; Rendez-
vous Bay and St.
instrument. This was followed by a facial — my first Martin; Venus Spa’s
— and then a pedicure, another first. During the latter, I Healing Waters uses
mineral sea salts;
couldn’t help wondering where the nymphs with grapes hydroponic veggies.
were. Then a woman walked in with a tray of fresh fruit
and a mojito made with Pyrat and aromatic mint from
Dr. Resh’s garden. I felt like a pharaoh.
When I got back to my room, I said to my little to-
mato friends, “You were right: I have been well taken
care of today.” — Dave Herndon
From $400 in low season ($740 high; check website for
promotions); 800-943-3210; cuisinartresort.com
t h r e e m o r e t o p sp a r e tr e a ts

grow in your own backyard,” says Dr. Resh. It’s also Ceiba del Mar Beach & Spa Resort,
prepared more expertly than you probably could in Mexico Just outside the sleepy
your own kitchen; the ultrafresh produce is, of course, village of Puerto Morelos,
about 20 miles south of
an extraordinary resource for executive chef Daniel Cancún, Ceiba’s 88 ocean-view
le Guenan. “Now I can playing with that!” says the rooms and suites surround a
Frenchman. In his “Meditaribbean” fusion cuisine, he 9,000-square-foot sanctuary,
which specializes in Maya-
uses little butter or oil, cooks quickly and incorporates inspired rituals, including the
local ingredients like plantains, sweet potatoes and traditional purifying sweat
fresh fish. Le Guenan hosts an educational chef’s table lodge, the temazcal. From $148
in low season ($280 high). 877-
near the kitchen and offers hands-on cooking classes. 545-6221; ceibadelmar.com
“My cooking is a part of my heart,” he says. “I love to
waters and offers treatments
(including the neem leaf facial)
that utilize locally harvested
ingredients. From $450 in low
season ($650 high). 888-767-
3966; littledixbay.com
Jamaica Inn, Jamaica Intimate
and low-key, this 47-suite Ocho
Rios classic offers tasteful
accommodations, exceptional
service and the KiYara Ocean
Spa, where plant-based
treatments are administered
Zach Stovall

share it with my staff and guests.” Rosewood Little Dix Bay, BVI Lap in a thatch-roof waterfront
up the luxury on Virgin Gorda, cottage. From $300 in low
Not to be outdone, the bar staff also exploits the where the cliff-edge Sense season ($590 high). 800-837-
garden’s bounty. To make a batch of tomatinis, vodka is spa overlooks glistening 4608; jamaicainn.com

5 0   c a r i b b e a n t r av e l+l i f e    c a r i b b e a n t r av e l m a g . c o m
 y o u r h e a rt ’ s d e sir e
Beach houses at
Parrot Cay boast
twin master suites

fall in love
and a private pool.
Below: A secluded
gazebo makes a
perfect lunch spot.

...again
“It’s like a honeymoon!”
Is there any more satisfying a string of words a man
could hear from his beloved on their first night at a
resort he’s selected for its romantic allure?
Skyrockets in flight!
parrot cay, Turks and Caicos
Parrot Cay, in the Turks and Caicos, had long been a
place I dreamed of going for an amorous escape. Not be- that delivers you to a four-mile-long, one-mile-wide
cause it’s a well-known hideaway for the likes of home slice of Out Island loveliness incarnate. Golf carts
owners Christie Brinkley, Donna Karan, Bruce Willis transport you down lanes lined with bougainvillea and
and Keith Richards (though I wouldn’t mind being a frangipani, passionflowers red and white. The main
fly on the wainscoting when and if the latter two gents campus — a small hotel on a hilltop, a smattering of
get together for a neighborly howl), but because the beachfront houses, a pool/bar/restaurant pavilion and
resort quietly projects an image of enlightened beauty a gym — is quiet, almost to the point of monastic (or
and serenity. A castaway private isle where you go to at least it was till we got there). Rooms and furnishings
walk hand-in-hand on a dreamy sweep of sand lapped are by no means opulent, but they are spacious, gra-
by tepid turquoise wavelets, have massages, take naps cious and eminently comfortable. Teak Balinese-style
and read books in cozy intimacy with the one you love pieces and pervasive white muslin establish a tone of
— and Thing One and Thing Two. simple, functional elegance that’s just right for the
Yes, this romantic retreat was to be somewhat ... beach. And what a beach: Just over the dunes lies a
enlivened by the exigencies and antics of two rascally mile-long stretch of sand so soft it pampers your feet
lads under the age of five. Let’s stipulate that the Thing as you walk. Pairs of lounge chairs with umbrellas are
brothers aren’t yet attuned to the concept of serenity set apart at discrete 20-yard intervals, and the A-list
and that their attitudes toward mommy-daddy togeth- private houses are down past a rocky point, so there’s
erness have not evolved beyond the Oedipal. And that plenty of privacy for everyone.
is why their primary caregiver and I were so secretly One afternoon, Martini took the boys out to hunt for
thrilled to meet a delightful Balinese woman with the endemic lizards, and the love of my life and I slipped off
007-esque name of Martini. When she was introduced to the Shambhala Retreat — a veritable temple of the
as a butler we magically heard the word nanny, and soothing arts — for a couples massage, a blissful hour
by the time we had enjoyed dinner for two that night of sensual healing all the better for having been shared.
in the very grown-up Terrace restaurant, the second Another day, Martini patiently coached the youngsters
honeymoon was underway in earnest. in crafts while we sought out the “old spa,” a mostly
You know going in that Parrot Cay is going to be forgotten oasis where it’s possible to pass a couple of
nice — but what’s it like? You kiss the world behind hours in near-total privacy, rotating between a hillside
at Provo’s marina and embark on a half-hour boat ride Jacuzzi, a plunge pool and a steam room. Seldom since
the blessed arrival of Thing One had we enjoyed such a
t h r e e m o r e r o m a ntic e sc a p e s peaceful and, yes, romantic afternoon together.
Casa Colonial Beach & Spa, Island shines with water’s- It was then that we understood why the guests who’d
Dominican Republic Amid a edge suites, five beaches, and arrived before us were walking around with beatific
compound of all-inclusive stellar sailing and snorkeling expressions on their faces, and what makes Parrot Cay
resorts, this stylish Puerto opportunities off its 135 acres.
Plata luxury boutique exudes From $725, all-inclusive, a favored destination for a clientele that can go pretty
understated chic with sleek and in low season ($855 high). much wherever they want: Parrot Cay isn’t just a resort;
spacious suites, a rooftop pool 866-237-2157; palmisland it’s a sanctuary, a place that has what it takes to soothe
and bar, and prime position resortgrenadines.com
on a sandy crescent perfect the harried, metropolitan soul.
for romantic sunset strolls. Rock House, Bahamas This “This really is a paradise,” said my bride as we float-
From $286 in low season adults-only, 10-room Harbour ed back to the room from our secret rendezvous. “If I
Top: Adriano Fagundes

($350 high). 809-320-3232; Island boutique offers attentive

casacolonialhotel.com
Palm Island, Grenadines Nothing’s
more romantic than a private-
island retreat in the limpid
waters of the Caribbean. Palm
service, fine cuisine and a were dead I’d like to walk down this path forever.”
villa-like ambience that draws And so would I, as long as we could do it together.
honeymooners and anniversary — Dave Herndon
celebrants. From $300
year-round. 242-333-2053; From $690 low season ($930 high); 877-754-0726;
rockhousebahamas.com parrotcay.como.bz

november 2009 c a r i b b e a n t r av e l+l i f e   5 3