Nature meets 'made-for-coffee-table-books' design in this exclusive gated enclave on Mexico's famed Riviera Maya coast: a stunning setting for this soothing Asian sanctuary of courtyard villas, their enclosed gardens dotted with indigenous flowers, orchids and ferns. A lesson in multi-cultural fusion and awareness of social and ecological considerations, Banyan Tree Mayakoba prides itself on its meticulous maintenance of its ecosystem of dunes, mangroves, freshwater lagoons; its whiter-than-white sandy beach with its toes in the Caribbean Sea; as well as the pristine all-pool, villa-only accommodation.

Dining at Oriente, Tamarind, La Copa, Sands or the Beach Club is a harmonious meeting of East and West, but perhaps none is more exotic than the Banyan Tree’s signature floating restaurant “Saffron”, or the deliriously romantic ‘drifting dinner’ aboard the resort’s trajinera. And when it comes to pursuits, the award-winning Banyan Tree Spa alone is compelling enough, but combined with the Greg Norman 18-hole championship golf course, the snorkelling and diving in the Great Maya Reef – the world’s second largest coral reef – and the amazing Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, the draw becomes irresistible.