Hotel Review
Chable Yucatan Resort
A beautifully modernized historic hacienda
Chable Yucatan is a masterfully restored archeological masterpiece and little-known health, wellness and spa retreat tucked away in the Mayan jungle of Mexico. The team at this luxury resort’s mission is to not only offer a luxury hotel stay, but to elevate your mind, body and soul by creating luxury experiences in a way that you have never experienced. A stay here will unequivocally connect you with nature and balance your being to embrace the spirit of this enchanting property.
Chable Yucatan
Chablé Yucatan is located about 30-minutes from Merida airport in the Yucatan Peninsula. Merida has non-stop flights from Miami…
If you’re flying into Cancun, you can still plan a split-stay visit between Chablé Yucatan and Chablé Maroma, as they are about a 3-4 hour drive between them, and the hotels can arrange for transfers.
Chable Yucatan Location: Chable Yucatan is located about 30-minutes from Merida airport in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Merida has non-stop flights from Miami.
If you’re flying into Cancun, you can still plan a split-stay visit between Chable Yucatan and Chable Maroma, as they are about a 3-4 hour drive between them, and the hotels can arrange for transfers.
Vibe: A beautifully modernized historic Mexican hacienda, Chable Yucatan, has been a pet-project of a renowned architecture and design team who took 15 years to lovingly restore this property to its current splendor. You may find yourself completely disconnected and elatedly riding a bike through the luxury resort’s winding paths to the soundtrack of chirping birds and jungle wildlife.
Accommodations: Chablé Yucatan consists of 40 casitas, family villas, a presidential villa and a royal villa. All accommodations have their own private pool, with family villas being a two bedroom with adjoining living room. The presidential and royal villas are both three bedrooms and offer complete privacy.
Food & Beverage: One of the highlights of Chablé Yucatan is the food. It is authentic Yucatecan gourmet food prepared in a fresh way than your typical tacos and guacamole that you’ll find elsewhere in the Riviera Maya and Cancun. Each morning, they deliver your preferred choice of coffee or tea with breakfast pastries that you can enjoy at the hour you indicate upon your arrival. Post wake-up coffee, you’ll have a poolside breakfast and/or lunch at Ki’ol, which translates to healthy in Mayan and has an ever-changing menu of fresh selections from the gardens.
The Wellness Restaurant next to the spa and fitness center is another healthy option offering vegan, gluten-free, and fresh juices and smoothies. At Ixi’im, which means corn in the Mayan language, is an impressive display of 3,475 bottles of tequila that is as jaw-dropping as it seems. Illuminated by fire and candlelight, this restaurant was a highlight of the trip.
While I don’t drink tequila, I was definitely tempted to at both nights we had dinner here. Sikar is an after-dinner stop to taste the finest selection in whiskey, cognac, brandy and hand-made cigars. Perhaps my favorite of all the culinary options at ChabléYucatan was the Casita Maya, where you’ll experience an extended course authentically Mayan and Yucatecan meal prepared right in front of you by two women. It was such a special experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who visits!
Wellness: The focus of wellness at Chablé Yucatan surrounds the sacred cenote found on property, and every treatment room has its own private balcony overlooking the water. Prior to your treatment, you’re welcome to make use of the circuit, carefully guided by a personal attendant through a series of Mayan rituals that alternate between heat and cold, from sauna and steam room, to ice plunge pool and showers. Each treatment begins with a shamanic ceremony performed inside a large conch shell-like structure, as your therapist describes the 7 elements and their significance. Following this beautiful ceremony, you’ll be guided to your treatment room where you’ll begin with a foot bath and served a rice drink, meant to nourish the mind, body and soul.
Activities: I was surprised by the number of activities available at Chablé Yucatan, having visited the majority of the haciendas in the Yucatan region before and expecting a similar experience. However, Chablé Yucatan offers a 9-course golf course, pickle ball, tennis, miles of nature paths to either walk, run or ride.
There is a melipona bee sanctuary, one of very few of its kind, meant to preserve this sacred bee and its honey of healing properties. They have a temezcal, used to perform ancient Mayan ceremonies, which I highly recommend. There’s a main pool, a spa pool for adults only, and the private pools that each villa offers. If you’re looking to just relax, eat and drink, then you might enjoy the cigar bar for a post-dinner treat.
Finally, there a multitude of excursions that you can easily do from Chable Yucatan, from enjoying the charm of the colonial city of Merida, to taking a refreshing dip at a one of the nearby cenotes (underground rivers), to visiting flamingos at nearby Celestún to exploring Uxmal, one of the most important prehispanic Mayan cities.
Perfect For: Honeymooners, anniversary trips, destination wedding, culture enthusiasts, adult groups, and even family trips. Our kids loved it, but they are used to a more adult-friendly vibe and tend to refuse any kids club. Small business conferences or incentive trips would be amazing here. The property has a convention center with two meeting rooms, one with a maximum capacity for 50 and the other for 100 people, but they can easily combine to host groups up to 150.
What Sets It Apart: The setting of the Mayan jungle is truly spectacular, but the way Chablé Yucatan was designed is truly what sets it apart. The resort could be at full capacity, but you’ll still feel complete privacy. We felt safe enough to let the kids wander on their own, and the service by every team member was at another level.
How Much Does Chablé Yucatan Cost? The high season for Chablé Yucatan and Merida in general is November through April. The low season will be hotter with periods of rain, which brings more bugs. Rates will really be season-dependent.
Diego Travel Loves: Every aspect of Chablé Yucatan was thoughtfully planned, from the soundtrack of chic background music, to the pristine landscape architecture. And the landscape lighting at night! It creates a whole new magical experience that transforms the property into a magical wonderland of illuminated trees under a vast sky of twinkling stars and fireflies. I cannot think of another resort that pairs current and hip design while still maintaining the integrity of a historic restoration quite like Chablé Yucatan.
Extras You’ll Get with Diego Travel:
- Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
- Complimentary Full Breakfast daily for two guests per bedroom, served in restaurant
- $100 USD equivalent Resort/Hotel credit to be utilized during stay (not combinable, not valid on room rate, no cash value if not redeemed in full)
- Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
Summary of Our Stay at Chablé Yucatan:
While visiting Mexico and working remotely for a month, we wanted to do something special for our daughter’s 10th birthday. After the 3+ hour drive from the Riviera Maya, we were greeted with fresh Lima juice, a fragrant blend between lemon and lime, only grown in this region of Merida. There’s no translation in English for this particular fruit, but when you taste it, you’ll know. Upon check-in, we were asked to fill out a form asking our preferences for morning coffee and pastries, preferred activities and dining times, and any dietary restrictions. I’m always curious, as a travel advisor, if this information gets relayed to every staff member, and I can say with certainty that it did.
As they gave us a tour of the property and finally our private villa, the feeling of having arrived overcame us. This is the life! The kids fell instantly in love with the idea of running off on their own to explore by bike, and we felt safe enough to let them do so. On my daughter’s actual birthday, we surprised them with the Ruta Verde tour, which is a guided tour starting at the gardens, where we picked the lettuce, herbs, and vegetables that they would prepare for us at our Mayan lunch. Then we visited the deer, as they foster about 30-40 on property at any given time, before sending them to a deer sanctuary or back into the wild. After the deer we had a private tour of the bee sanctuary, where we learned about the melipona honeybees and how they were regarded in ancient Mayan times to hold medicinal powers. Our last stop of La Ruta Verde was at an area of trees, where we were each handed a ribbon to tie onto a tree to set an intention. It was such a beautiful and unforgettable experience for all of us.
We planned to stay at Chablé Yucatan for two nights, but shortly after arrival, we extended our stay another night. As a travel advisor and seeing so many hotels and resorts around the world, I have to admit that I rarely do this. A 2-night stay at any given property is pretty normal, but it just wasn’t enough for this hotel. I fell madly in love and I think you will too. It really is one of my favorite resorts in the world, and when you book your stay with me, you’ll have access to special promotions like 3rd night free plus your Virtuoso amenities mentioned above. So it’s always worth it to reach out to find out how Diego Travel can help elevate your stay. Contact us now to get started planning your next getaway.
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