Almare All-Inclusive Resort, Isla Mujeres Review

I was in a downward dog position when I noticed the school of little silver fish darting beneath me in the water. This was the daily yoga class held at Almare’s dock, and in the cracks between planks of wood, I could see the celadon shallows of the Caribbean Sea.

I had arrived at the new resort on the island of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, a day earlier, having been dropped off at the same dock after a 25-minute ride from Cancun on the hotel’s 42-foot catamaran. Eight miles away in the distance, the popular vacation metropolis was barely visible, its concrete towers and sprawling all-inclusives a grey smudge on the horizon. The two settings couldn’t be more different, even in cosmic terms, as I learned from Enrique Solari, Almare’s general manager. The coastline of Cancun and the Riviera Maya faces east; Almare, on Isla Mujeres’s western side, faces towards the setting sun.

“The island Mayans were different from the earth Mayans from the rest of the peninsula,” Solari explained. “Isla Mujeres stands looking at things the opposite way. It allows for many of our visitors, after experiencing the activities and the parties of the Riviera Maya, to come to a place where they can look more introspectively and actually spend time with more of the Mexican culture without leaving the Cancun area.”

Opened in November, Almare, the first all-inclusive entry from Marriott’s Luxury Collection in Mexico, offers a fresh approach to luxury vacations in this region: this is not the kind of all-inclusive where you bake all day on the beach and eat from a buffet at night. A daybreak walk arranged by the hotel takes guests to the rugged cliffs of Punta Sur, the island’s southernmost point, steeped in Mayan history, where Mexico’s first sunrise takes off from. Golf cart rentals—the preferred way to get around the island—are easy to book at reception, as are boat trips on various vessels. On a recent Friday, I splayed out on the netting of a sailing catamaran with a michelada in hand, before diving into the waters off of Playa Norte, the island’s main white sand beach crowded with palm trees.

While the island can be lively, with Corona and lime bars that are best enjoyed in small doses, Almare offers a respite. In pockets around the hotel—on a daybed along its private sliver of beach, dining on the rooftop as a local flutist performs, in the golden-lit lobby bar where I took a nightly digestif—the tranquility returns. On the dock, my yoga teacher Maru noticed it, too. “I normally play music in class,” she told us one morning, “but the sounds of the birds, the wind, and the water right here, I thought, were enough.”

Keep reading for a full review of Almare, A Luxury Collection, All-Inclusive Resort on Isla Mujeres.

The Rooms

Almare’s 109 guest rooms and suites are light-strewn and sand-toned, with modern decor that pulls influence from local techniques without feeling folksy. Many of the walls are plastered with chukum, a protective resin used by the ancient Mayans that adds a wispy texture to the concrete. “It gives you this velvet sensation that I find very warm in the hotel,” Galo Rosas, a principal at Design Positif, an interior firm that collaborated on Almare’s renovation, told Travel+Leisure.

My second-floor room had a large whirlpool tub and beautiful travertine surfaces in the bathroom. Its broad balcony sat just above the beach club, with the water a stone’s throw away. “When you step out on the balcony, you feel almost like you’re on a boat because you’re so close to the sea and the contact is so direct,” Rosas said.

Almare also has seven impressive duplex suites with private sea view plunge pools and the 1,485-square-foot presidential suite, which has an oversized marble bar and a tropical wood dining table perfect for entertaining.

Food and Drink

It was easy to forget that Almare is all-inclusive with its dining spread out over seven stylish spots, each offering à la carte service. I started my mornings at Botanik, the all-day cafe, for an espresso and a gluten-free cookie, before a full breakfast at the main lobby restaurant, Boga. The morning menu here is filled with Mayan-inspired dishes, like papadzules, a hand-pressed tortilla stuffed with lobster and poached eggs and drowned in green salsa.

For lunch by the pool, I ordered from The Breeze’s menu, which has the kind of snacking plates you want while reading a magazine: guacamole, ceviche, or a poke bowl. The day I was at sea on a charter boat, the hotel packed a box lunch with a chicken baguette from Botanik, fruit, and a chocolate oblea, a delicate Mexican wafer treat.

During my visit, I enjoyed dinner at Seasalt, the rooftop restaurant with a more relaxed menu, and downstairs at Boga. Both have great service and are the kind of places where you’ll linger long enough to get hungry again. My favorite dish was a tender short rib chilmole, a regional sauce blackened with charred tortillas, that I had at Boga.

There’s also AlVento, the palapa bar on the beach with a signature dark rum cocktail; AlPaso, a beachside food truck; and the intimate lobby bar, perfect for a nightcap.

Activities and Experiences

The hotel offers a full schedule of daily activities listed in their app. They range from wholesome—coconut painting on the beach—to emboldening—new friends were made at the mezcal tasting. A sunset barbecue, usually held weekly, was especially memorable. On a westward-facing table set up on the beach, chef Carlos from Boga passed out the ingredients to prepare tikin xic, the island’s signature fish dish: fresh filets of mero, a local grouper, along with spices, sliced vegetables, and achiote paste, a peppery blend of dried seeds that looks like wet clay. With gloved hands—the achiote can stain—we dusted the fish with salt, pepper, and garlic, and coated it with the paste. After a quick pass on the grill, the earthy tikin xic was returned to our table as dinner, just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Excursions, including to the incredible Underwater Museum of Art just off shore and the nearby uninhabited island of Isla Contoy, a national park, are available to book on-site. The hotel also has a well-equipped fitness center, a spa, and two pools—one on the rooftop and one just off the beach, complete with a swim-up bar.

The Spa

Almare has a large spa with an extensive list of services, including a 50-minute shaman consultation. There is also a full hydrotherapy circuit—steam room, sauna, whirlpool, and cold plunge —along with a set of soft cocoon chairs with warm water running through them meant to simulate the sensation of being in the womb. I had a 60-minute detox and lift facial with volcanic glass and activated charcoal that left my skin looking “movie star” good (my boyfriend’s words, not mine).

Accessibility and Sustainability

There is one ADA-certified room at the hotel.

Almare’s renovation was conducted with sustainability in mind. The beams around the resort were made from recycled materials, the lighting is LED, and a special HVAC system was designed to reduce water use. Drinking water is provided in Tetra Pack cartons, and guests are gifted an Almare-branded water bottle to refill at fountains throughout the resort.

Location

Almare is located near the less-touristy southwest side of Isla Mujeres, resulting in exquisite sunsets. It’s next door to La Casa del Tikinxic, a beachfront grill rumored to have popularized the island’s signature tikin xic fish dish. A 10-minute drive—or a 30-minute walk—will take you to Punta Sur, the island’s southernmost lookout with a sculpture park that honors local history. Playa Norte, a lively public beach, and Calle Miguel Hidalgo, a hub for the island’s nightlife, are about a 15-minute drive. Taxis are available for hire, though many people rent golf carts.

Cancun’s international airport is the closest to Isla Mujeres. From there, I took a car service arranged by the hotel to the Renaissance Cancun Resort & Marina in Puerto Cancun. At the Renaissance, I was escorted to the slip where Almare’s private twin-engine boat was waiting to whisk me and other guests to the hotel.

How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay

Almare is part of the Marriott Bonvoy program, so members can book a stay with points and receive special rates, as well as room upgrades, late checkout when available, and free spa services for guests at certain status tiers. 

Nightly rates at Almare, A Luxury Collection, All-Inclusive Resort, start from $774.

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