PUNTA NIZUC, CANCUN, MEXICO – Located just ten minutes from Cancun International Airport, NIZUC Resort & Spa is Mexico’s newest luxury resort offering in a unique, untapped area of the Yucatan Peninsula. The secluded and pristine Punta Nizuc, formerly a private Mexican presidential retreat, is home to the 29-acre, 274-suite resort, which features six restaurants, three lounges, a distinctive 30,000 square-foot spa, and one of Mexico’s most thoughtfully-developed children and teen facilities. The exclusive location offers a stark change in atmosphere from other spots in Cancun, making it ideal for adults and families seeking a respite in Mexico.
DESIGN
Designed by Alejandro Escudero, a prominent architect renowned for his work with Mexico’s most expansive mansions and haciendas, the property artfully maximizes the beauty of Punta Nizuc. Using the ocean, coastline, and natural environment as his inspiration, Escudero has elevated hospitality design. The resort features open, airy spaces that optimize the breathtaking views with a sophisticated use of indoor/outdoor space. Featuring 109 pools, the design pays homage to the blissful marriage of water and land in this unique locale. Complementing the soothing color palette, Escudero sourced a perfect mixture of organic, rustic furnishings with an unexpected elegance. Natural woods, inspired by the driftwood along the coast, are plentiful: from furnishings to impressive floors, wall art installations, and extra-large doors, Mexican Ziricote, Pucca, and oak are everywhere. Lighting is ample but doesn’t distract from the serenity of the outdoors. At night, fire and water dance along Nizuc’s signature reflection pool.
ACCOMMODATIONS
NIZUC Resort & Spa boasts 274 flexible guest suite options. Each suite is oversized with plenty of seating space, plush beds, expansive outdoor verandas or decks, and large bathrooms with deep-soak tubs.
Ocean Suites, located in the main building near the lobby, feature exceptional ocean views with either king or double bed options.
The Residential buildings have master suites with garden or ocean views; they offer a separate dining and seating area and plunge pools. The building also houses the penthouse suites, which feature a larger veranda with an outdoor shower, seating area, plunge pool, and separate living room. The residences have a limited number of rooms on each floor, allowing families requiring multiple rooms to lock off the whole floor to utilize as a large multi-bedroom flat.
The ultra-private pool villas feature a secluded respite for honeymooners and romantics to enjoy the comforts of NIZUC. Complete with a plunge pool, outdoor garden, and separate living and bedroom areas, the villas also feature outdoor showers and expansive bathrooms.
ACTIVITIES
This isolated area of the peninsula features one of the Yucatan’s premier swimmable white-sand beaches. The bright turquoise waters are sheltered from waves, rip tides, or currents, making this spot perfect for kayaking, paddle boarding, and more. The resort provides complimentary access to an array of marine and beach activities and equipment.
Guests can snorkel in the reef and delight in spectacular views of giant lobsters, barracudas, and manta rays as they swim through crystal-clear waters. Meanwhile, an hour and a half away, the underwater museum, Museo Subacuatico de Arte, brings curious eco-travelers even closer to the second largest reef in the world, the Mesoamerican Reef, located off the resort’s coastline. There, submerged life-size sculptures promote coral growth and are easily accessible to snorkelers and divers.
NIZUC Resort & Spa’s coveted location also makes it perfectly situated for daytrips. Just an hour away, guests can explore Playa del Carmen, a bohemian coastal town on the Riviera Maya, and just two hours away is Tulum, the serene walled city set atop dramatic cliffs and featuring some of Riviera Maya’s best-preserved Mayan archaeological sites. Travelers can also journey to Chichen Itza, a pre-Columbian city in the Northern Yucatan. This UNESCO world heritage site is full of ancient wonders like the Kukulkan Pyramid and the Astronomical Observatory.
Golf lovers also have access to a beautiful and challenging array of courses. Golfers can enjoy the nearby Greg Norman signature course, Playa Mujeres, and Iberostar Cancun, set among Mayan ruins. In Playa del Carmen, a 7,100-yard course offered by the Playacar Golf Club is considered the toughest course on the peninsula. For seasoned players, El Camaleón Golf Club, also designed by Greg Norman, plays to a par of 71 for professional competitions and bends through three distinct landscapes: tropical jungle, dense mangroves, and oceanfront stretches of sand with holes bisected by massive limestone canals . a challenge for any avid golfer.
CHILDREN’S PROGRAM
With its bright color palette and array of natural, handmade Mexican artwork and toys, Winik’s is a kid’s club that offers a world of entertainment for NIZUC’s younger guests. Complete with all the amenities fit for the modern child or teen, the kid’s club also features a stunning, black-tile children’s infinity pool and a wide range of delightful activities for children ages 4-12. Activities emphasize both creative self-expression and physical activity. Daily themes, such as Eco-Warriors and Mini-Olympics, offer activities in art, culture, nature and sports. Active pursuits include trapeze lessons, yoga, dance, kids’ fashion shows, games, and swimming in the shaded children’s swimming pool. Parents can get involved in family activities such as dance classes, treasure hunts, and challenges based on TV shows like Master Chef and Amazing Race. Kids camp is complimentary and available daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Meals are served for an additional fee.
DINING
NIZUC Resort & Spa pioneers new frontiers of international cuisine by presenting six distinctive global dining experiences led by a team of international chefs and French Executive Chef Vincent Wallez. Featuring Peruvian, modern Mexican, Mediterranean-Italian cuisine, and a steak and seafood grill, the restaurant menus are a perfect complement to the exceptional design of Alejandro Escuerdo.
“The most important thing is to make each dish with love and with heart,” says Bladimir Garc’a, chef of modern Mexican restaurant Ramona. Garc’a joins NIZUC after five years at high-end Riviera Maya resorts. Here, he elevates authentic regional Mexican cuisine with modern techniques, like his favorite dish on Ramona’s menu: a slow-cooked suckling pig with onion compote and roasted pineapple, which reminds him of traditional pork tacos.
At Ni, the resort’s Peruvian restaurant, fresh seafood takes center stage in Lima-native chef Wagner Perez’ simple yet surprising preparations. Cilantro and sweet potato update traditional ceviche recipes made with a daily catch of octopus or shrimp, and a comforting butter bread pudding dessert gets a jolt of Peruvian flavor with Pisco-marinated raisins. Minimalist Italian furniture lends this oceanfront eatery a relaxed atmosphere that is perfect for group dining.
Chef Daniele Tonin of Vicenza, Italy leads NIZUC’s Mediterranean restaurant, Terra Nostra. Italian tile floors and touches of mangrove wood give the sunny interior a whimsical air, and the scent of thin-crust focaccia and pizza waft from the wood-fire oven. Tonin believes that simple regional dishes like homemade pasta and seafood stew emphasize ingredients and technique: fresh seafood steams in a light lime and fennel vinaigrette, while tagliolini is tossed in a touch of squid ink. This philosophy makes Terra Nostra the perfect blend of both traditional and innovative cuisine.
When night falls and fiery cauldrons illuminate the resort, Indochine feels suitably decadent. This Asian-inspired restaurant bathed in golden light features dark wood and marble, overlooking a dramatically-lit reflective pool. The menu is graced by the touch of world chef Arnaldo San, a Filipino native who spent many years training in Japan and Dubai. Fresh, aromatic ingredients like cilantro, mango, and tamarind enliven spicy Indonesian soups, Thai noodles, and sushi.
For brunch, Café de la Playa serves fresh-squeezed fruit juices, homemade pastries, and made-to-order tacos, omelets, and crêpes. Casual lunches by the adults-only pool and beach are served at La Punta Grill, where garden-fresh salads, grilled steaks, and fish are specialties.
NIZUC SPA BY ESPA
Reflection pools with koi fish and a dramatic design aesthetic grace your entry into the 30,000 square-foot NIZUC Spa by ESPA. With a matrix of indoor/outdoor treatments rooms and quiet meditation gardens, the spa uses metal, wood, stone, fire, and water to ensnare the senses and solidify the marriage of the human spirit to nature. Facing the Caribbean Sea, the spa includes ten indoor/outdoor treatment rooms with ocean views, two private villas for couples, a movement studio, and a spa café with cozy lounges and a healthy dining style. This state-of-the-art facility also features a contemporary fitness center and its own salon, complete with a nail bar and private pedicure areas. The hydrotherapy facilities are separate for men and women and offer a wide range of elements to detoxify and relax the body through a guided circuit of hydro massage, contrasting temperatures, and strong but subtle water pressures. Couples may also enjoy the co-ed exterior spa pool with views of the serene meditation garden. All of the therapists at NIZUC Spa by ESPA are specially trained to ESPA’s exceptional standards. NIZUC Spa by ESPA offers a fusion of advanced European therapies that are layered with ancient Mayan healing rituals. Created especially for NIZUC, these special treatments provide guests the opportunity to indulge in a unique and unforgettable spa experience.
Signature treatments include the NIZUC Renewal, which employs healing stones and herbs in combination with natural sea salts and pure Mexican agave to purify the skin and release muscle tension. The Mayan Cacao treatment, a muscle-melting massage, features pure cacao oil and other powerful oils to induce total relaxation. À la carte hydro, gem, and sound therapies are available, as well as yoga and pilates classes in the movement studio.
