
Cancun’s preeminent green hotel, El Rey del Caribe, is a retreat from the downtown’s concrete and glass just outside its wrought-iron gates. Frugal, eco-friendly guests bask in the holistic sentiment and sustainable ingenuity at work:
The cheerful proprietors built the family-run B&B in 1983, arranging the colonial Mexican design around a courtyard enveloped in native flora. Fruit-bearing guaya, mango and banana trees dovetail into a canopy of sapote, mahogany, cedar and palms, where talkative toucans rest on their migratory route.
All 31 rooms—whitewashed with splashes of marigold and indigo—open to the lush vegetation with bromeliads and orchids, a gurgling 12-foot rainwater fountain, and bijou pool area.
Guilt-free enjoyment continues in the rooms, outfitted with aromatic cedar furniture, tropical hardwood floors, cable TV, phone and wi-fi. Some even have composting toilets. Watch for other El Rey locations in Playa del Carmen and Chichen Itza opening later this year.
Breakfast at the “shoes-off” palapa cafĂ© is included and most of the rooms have kitchenettes, so self-sufficient travellers can prep their own meals (and bevvies). All rooms cost the same, so snag the second-level units for the best views of the courtyard and easy access to a serene rooftop retreat.
Room rates start at US$55.
Chris Bowerman is a freelance writer who’s travelled hither ’n’ yon. The bookworm, ski bum and musical tenderfoot lives in Fernie, B.C. Recently, he worked at Avenue Calgary and Swerve and has been nominated for several Western Magazine Awards.
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