Originally built as the private home of an Italian duchess, Hotel Esencia is a place where the traditions of the past come together with a cosmopolitan sense of how to live well today.
Hotel Esencia is a majestic 50-acre estate at the midpoint between Tulum and Playa del Carmen in Mexico. It has long enjoyed a storied past in this ancestral cradle of culture, cuisine, and comfort. Originally built as the private hideaway home of an Italian duchess on the most beautiful beach of the Mayan Riviera, it later became a hotel, and, for some time, has been a sought after destination for honeymooners seduced by the serene comforts of this timeless mansion.
A new chapter began in 2014 with the arrival of a new owner and a bold, worldly outlook on how to savor paradise. The estate’s provenance as a place of leisure for nobility is the guiding inspiration for a modern reimagining. The Main House remains the hotel’s centerpiece, around which footpaths lead to only 47 suites and 4 villas where guests enjoy genuine privacy and top flight hospitality. Ideally situated far from huge resorts and the roar of pleasure boats, the immaculate bay of Xpu-Ha is a natural haven where each year sea turtles make their nests. Hotel Esencia invites the happy few who know how rare it is to find a place that is truly unique, to make it their home in the tropics.
Spa & Health Club
At the east end of the gardens is Esencia Spa; housed under traditional palapa thatched roofs, and designed to echo principles of sacred Mayan geometry and circular patterns, our philosophy integrates hallmarks of modern wellbeing with ancient customs of cultivating beauty, balance, and peace.
‘Mexico’s Best Spa’ – Forbes Travel Guide
Guest Rooms
Every room at Hotel Esencia by any other standard would be called a suite, featuring luxury amenities ranging from plunge pools, private fitness areas, rooftop terraces with plunge pools and outdoor showers, to private terraces and sitting areas that offer peaceful views on the garden canopy or an impressive panorama of the Caribbean.
Restaurants
Dining at Hotel Esencia is at once a culinary voyage and a coming home. Meals are simple yet sophisticated, drawing as much from Mexico’s eclectic range of regional cuisines as from the well-loved comforts of Mediterranean cooking. Ingredients are sourced locally from farmers and artisans in Quintana Roo, or further afield from the places in Mexico known for exemplary delicacies—mole from Oaxaca, fruits from Yucatán, and wines from Baja.
Activities
Situated squarely between Tulum and Playa del Carmen, Mayan Pyramids, underground cenotes and some of the Riviera’s best nightclubs, all are only 20 minutes away. For an adventure only steps off the hotel’s beach, there is a reef sanctuary for sea turtles and colorful exotic fish – one of the region’s best kept secrets.
