Andres Garcia Ricard at work
Luxury resorts that are too hectic are no good for the high-powered businesswomen who want to relax, away from the madding crowd. I saw the perfect such retreat at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan, in Ubud, where females holidaying alone were more than happy with a good book, and solitude apart from the pleasing background noise of the adjacent Ayung river. You find the same such rejuvenation possibilities at the 218-room Presidente InterContinental Cozumel Resort & Spa, Mexico. Spend your days in one of the cabanas, above, by the pool.
The beach-set resort is run by Uruguay-born GM Andres Garcia Ricard, who came from Four Seasons. He knows that his guests stay, on average, five nights. 75% of guests are from the USA, especially California and Texas – the remainder is nearly all domestic Mexican, with 2% total from Europe. All are drawn to the resort for its reputation, plus its 700 yards of sandy beach and the renowned Palancar Reef, the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere, plus its pools, and its spacious grounds, and there are also about 25 weddings a year. There will also be more activity just before Ironman Cozumel, which next takes place November 26th, 2017.
You have no need to venture outside the resort, to explore the 249 square mile island of Cozumel. It has year-round population of only 100,000 but it claims to be the world’s number one cruise port. Statistics of how many ships arrive every year vary but they certainly bring in, for only a few hours. around four million tourists annually The format is pretty much the same. To avoid paying overnight moorage charges, and to be back at sea by evening so that they can open the onboard casinos which are a big source of income to the shipping companies, the vessels typically arrive before dawn and leave at sundown, after which the island is pretty dead.
No, stay onsite. You have four restaurants, including a Grupo Presidente favourite, Alfredo Di Roma. You have a spa and gym, and that beach. I would take one of this luxury resort’s Oceanfront room, and I would enjoy photographing the foot-longblack spiny-tailed iguana that often venture past the outside terraces.
