Mayakoba at Playa del Carmen

Nestled between Cancun and Tulum -- 45 miles south of Cancun’s International airport -- on the eastern coast of Mexico is the Rosewood Mayakoba. One of four luxury resorts (the others are Fairmont, Andaz and Banyan Tree), the Rosewood Mayakoba seamlessly integrates unfussy, open-toed luxury with natural beauty. Fresh water lagoons, indigenous plants, amphibians, fish and fowl can be found on the way from the resort’s entrance to its mile-long stretch of white sand beach.

It’s a world away from Cancun, notorious for decades of raucousness, wet T-shirts and spring breakers, or Tulum, to the south, which has transformed from a quiet, hippy beach community into a bustling row of beachfront hotels, high-end restaurants and shops to satisfy young hipsters and foreign tourists.

These beach towns have their merits -- there’s a lid for every pot. But if the feeling of peace, quiet, solitude is your goal, then the Rosewood Mayakoba is your best bet. The quiet, rambling walk towards the beach at the Rosewood is unmitigated pageantry -- witness first-timers upon seeing the infinity pool leading into the sea, mouths agape with disbelief. This is the platonic ideal of idyll -- the equivalent of an exhale when someone tells you to “relax.”

Choose a navy blue chaise lounge on the sand or admire the Caribbean Sea from the beachside bar and restaurant, Punta Bonita. And if you feel a bit of guilt from indulging in all the luxury, you can feel better knowing that all Mayakoba has recently undergone a “coastal ecosystem restoration,” in an effort to restore coral reefs and sand dunes.