Aldea Kuká

Style

Thatch made in heaven

Setting

Hammock-strewn Isla Holbox

The way Mexico weaves artistry into the everyday is celebrated wholeheartedly at eco-friendly, boutique beachfront stay Aldea Kuká. The owners’ passion for and support of local makers is evident in the smallest details: say, the staff’s Kahlo-esque embroidered uniforms, the earthenware vases and hessian lampshades that make the wood-and-bamboo-built suites so characterful, and the eye-catching art provided by a native maker-in-residence each month. This, combined with Isla Holbox’s intoxicating beauty and laidback, take-it-easy nature makes for a fun and authentic stay. Honoured is the country’s love of a mezcal-sloshed knees-up, too: the owner throws a killer Day of the Dead bash.

Facilities

Rooms

45, including 27 suites.

Checkout

12 noon. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More Details

Breakfasts of fresh fruit, oatmeal, eggs any-way, chilaquiles, French toast and pancakes are usually included in the room rate (for a little extra you can get smoothies and milkshakes too).

Also

The public areas are mostly made of sand, but ground floor rooms have plenty of floorspace.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Beach, spa, gym, bikes to borrow, free WiFi. In rooms: Nespresso machine, minibar, beach bag and sunhat, air-conditioning. Guests staying in the Honeymoon Suite and above will get a free yoga class and some suites come with free gym entry too.

Our Favourite Rooms

Being ethical has never looked so romantic as it does in these palapa-thatched villas. Choose a suite or loft room for a heady combination of view, terrace and a beach-in-reach setting. Local artisans are responsible for the interiors’ uniquely Mayan take on rustic chic: woven hangings, earthenware vases, hollowed-out gourds and raffia baskets shout out to native talents.

Poolside

The hotel’s outdoor pool is lined with twinkling black tiles and glitters like a disco ball. An effect enhanced by the water cascading over its infinity edge and – after dark – the ceiling of stars up above. Loungers are laid out around the sides, kept shady by shaggy parasols, and ice-cool drinks can be brought over.

Spa

Holbox has an undeniable neo-hippie feel, and the hotel’s spa follows suit; its two treatment rooms are all set for holistic treatments with all-natural products. They’re carried out from 6am to 10pm and must be booked in advance – and if dreamy design hits your sweet spot, you’ll love the touches here (a knotted-rope feature wall, honeycomb tiling…). The gym follows the hotel’s all-natural look, but with added treadmills, fixed bikes, weights and more state-of-the-art equipment. Personal trainers and pilates practitioners can put you through your paces, and yoga classes are held at sunset.

Packing Tips

Not all the nature here is majestic – bring mozzie repellent to keep sundowners itch-free. If you’ll be staying over Carnival or Day of the Dead (or another excellent reason to party), pack face paint, glitter, masks, sequined bikinis, ostrich-feather hats and the like – as sartorial a spectacle as you dare.

Also

Staff uniforms are made by craftspeople in Oaxaca, if you’re taken with them, the same craftspeople make the sarong in your room, and you can buy it for a little extra.

Children

The littlest Smiths will have to stay home, but over-12s are more than welcome.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Top Table

Drinks are best enjoyed on the beach. Otherwise, sit anywhere you can admire the sea from.

Dress Code

Glammed-up Gaia.

Hotel Restaurant

There are two restaurants at the hotel. Kukatch feels like a chiringuito, yet again making stylish use of wood and bamboo, with some endearing stylistic touches: the jazzy pattern on the bar and light fixtures made to resemble little fish caught in netting, which gives you some clue as to the food here. Fresh catches are grilled up throughout the day, alongside generously heaped nachos and other light bites, and here’s where you’ll take breakfast too. More polished dining spot La Malix is actually named after the owners’ dog – a lovable and very spoiled Peruvian Inca Orchid – whose visage appears in the logo and the mosaic on the terrace. It’s no dog’s dinner though: black-wicker chairs, a wall of vases and eye-catching lampshades tempt ‘grammers and the seafood is so fresh (and the beach so near) it could’ve just hopped onto your plate. Depending on how open-minded you are about your protein sources (and Mexicans have been so for a while now), guests will thrill or balk at dishes of guacamole with deep-fried crickets and tortilla-wrapped escamoles (ant larvae – or Mexican caviar as it’s otherwise known).

Hotel Bar

Follow the Broadway-style name in lights to Kuká Bar, where tenders like to shake things up a bit – say by swapping rum for mezcal in a mojito. There are excellent gins here too and sparkling sea views.

Last Orders

Late-risers will be thrilled to hear that breakfast at Kukatch runs from 8am till a lie-in-enabling 12 noon; then a lunch and dinner menu runs from 1pm to 10pm at both Kukatch and La Malix. Drinks flow at the bar until 11pm.

Planes

You’ll need to fly into Cancún; then to reach the island take the two-hour drive north to the port of Chiquila and catch the ferry to Holbox. The hotel’s around a 10-minute drive from the ferry port. Or, the faster and more luxurious way to reach the island (with a hefty price tag, mind), is to hire a private plane for the 30-minute journey from Cancún airport. The hotel can arrange this for you for MXN40,000 one-way.

Automobiles

The island is car-free and residents zip around in golf buggies, so leave your wheels behind.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Isla Holbox was allegedly founded by pirates, and much like them you’ve come across some rare bounty in Aldea Kuká, so you may wish to kick back and just take it all in. The natural beach is down a small path and has fine crushed-coral sand lapped by waters with this region’s luminous emerald tinge (thanks to a colourful clash between the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea). Waters are calm and there’s an array of perches to choose from – we rather like the nest-shaped ones you can curl up in. After a day spent not doing very much, the spa will help you to find reserves of relaxation you didn’t know you had and sunset yoga will gently limber you up. Upping the adrenaline ante – a bit – are bikes to borrow and stand-up paddleboards.

Isla Holbox’s name translates to ‘black-hole island’, but this description was largely used to turn away nosy tourists, we’re sure. And we can’t say we blame the residents for wanting to keep it to themselves. The island’s part of the Yum Balam Nature Reserve, an Attenborough-doc-worthy patchwork of mangrove-laced wetlands, clear-enough-to-see-your-own-flippers sea and run-free green spaces which house jaguars, crocodiles, tapirs, manatees, pelicans and flamingos and – its headline act – whale sharks. These polka-dotted gentle giants can be spotted happily munching on plankton offshore from June to September; the hotel can arrange a boat out so you can swim alongside them. Otherwise, you can conduct your own safari by golf cart, the speediest mode of transportation on this car-free isle.

Another watery wonder is bioluminescence, whose eerie glow can be seen brightest from Playa Punta Cocos, just along the shore, around the same time the whale sharks arrive. Or keep it classic with a sunset boat ride. The hotel can also cast you adrift at Cabo Catoche island, but they won’t leave you to your own devices – lobster ceviche and freshly cracked coconuts will be available and the water’s rich with sea turtles – for snorkelling and admiring purposes, just to be clear. And, if all that natural wonder and utter indulgence has you feeling overwhelmed, Yalahau lagoon has hot springs with rumoured healing properties.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .