Cancún International Airport (CUN): Approximate driving time is 20 minutes and distance is 12.5 miles.

Driving directions from Cancún International Airport: Take airport access road going east and follow signs to Zona Hotelera and Blvd Kukulcan. Proceed north on Blvd Kukulcan, hotel is located near Km marker 14.5 on right hand side of road.

Authorized taxis, minivans (or collectivos), and private cars are the best way to make the journey from the airport to your hotel. Transportation options can be accessed as you exit the terminal to your right. A private taxi to downtown Cancún: $16–$25 USD. A private taxi to the Hotel Zone: more than $36 USD. Collectivos provide transportation to downtown Cancún: $5–$15 USD. A private car service to your hotel can be arranged: more than $36 USD. Rental cars are available at the airport and on this Web site: more than $36 USD. Note: Only authorized taxis are allowed to transport guests from the airport to their hotels. However, all taxis can take passengers to the airport from the city or Hotel Zone–cutting the fare almost in half.

Getting around: The hotel is located within Zona Holtelera, or Hotel Zone. Public and private buses connect the Hotel Zone to downtown and ferries: less than $5 USD. Once downtown, most tourist attractions are easily accessible by walking. Taxi rates in Cancún are determined by zones and the minimum fare within the Cancún Hotel Zone is $5 USD per ride. A list outlining the various taxi rates throughout the city should be available at the resort front desk: $5–$15 USD. Taxis can be rented by the hour or day if you want to visit the historic ruins outside of the city: more than $36 USD. Always negotiate your taxi fare before beginning your trip. Rental cars offer a convenient way to visit historic points outside the city: more than $36 USD. Mopeds are a convenient, yet extremely risky, way to get around the city and islands: $26–$35 USD.

Cafe Salsa - This multi-level restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with both a sumptuous buffet and à la carte selections available in the morning. Mexican regional food is featured at lunch and dinner, except for Wednesdays and Sundays, when a prime rib/lobster buffet is laid out.

Beachwalk Market & Pantry - Serving the sunbathers on the beach and around the pool, this beachwear shop and restaurant serves light lunches. Indoor seating and terrace seating are available.

Gourmet Deli - This spot has takeout foods, espresso drinks, pastries, and gelato available at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Lobby Bar - Espresso, brandy, cigars, and tropical drinks are the features here, in a gracious setting of plush seating and floral carpets.

The hotel also contains a deli/espresso/gelato shop.

Amenity highlights: The two-story spa offers 35,000 square feet of lavish pampering, including an indoor Euro-pool unique in Cancún. Located in a three-story, air-conditioned room filled with light provided by floor-to-ceiling windows, the pool has a 25-yard side for swimming laps and jets on a shorter side for swimming against the current. Adjacent is a 25-square-foot spa.

Mostly marble, hushed, and scented by incense, the spa features men's and women's sections, each supplied with side-by-side hot and cold spas, saunas, steam rooms, Vichy showers, and "living rooms" with magazines, plants, and upholstered couches and chairs. For various massages and body and facial treatments there are 17 quiet rooms and supplies of Mayan herbs and other natural materials to rejuvenate and refresh. The spa also includes an enormous, state-of-the-art fitness center; an aerobics/workout room; a beauty salon; a boutique; and a juice bar offering many choices and complimentary cucumber water.

Arrayed along the resort's front above the beach are a main pool complex, a 20-foot-wide spa, and a second, two-level pool secluded on the hotel tower's south side. A long, sinuous affair, the main pool complex includes two spas, a toddler's wading area, and a children's pool. Its infinity edge overlooks the Caribbean. Multi-level sundecks are furnished with plush, padded lounge chairs and umbrellas.

Insider tip: Guests unwilling to abandon the health spa's cosseting even for a meal can order from room service and dine in the juice bar's lounge of overstuffed chairs and marble-topped tables or next to the spa's indoor pool, where handsome wood tables and candles await.